Hello!  I’m Patrick, Janey’s husband.  Over the past year I’ve gotten into the vintage fashion scene (in no small part thanks to her) and I’ve been wanting to share my thoughts and opinions  and give out some tips to other guys interested in vintage fashion.

Over the next few weeks I am planning to write posts on several topics and share some of my fashions and resources. Here is the list of things I will be talking about:

• Jeans
• Shirts
• Shoes
• Evening attire
• Jackets
• Shaving
• Hair
• Shopping List

I’ll be trying to do one post a week. If you want to see a post on a specific topic get in touch and I will see what I can do.

But before we dive into some of those topics, I want to answer a few questions.

Do I have to wear a suit all the time?

No.  You don’t have to wear a suit all the time.  Let me repeat that. You don’t have to wear a suit all the time. There are plenty of casual vintage styles that you can do simply and cheaply. Sit down with your wife or girlfriend and watch a few old movies or movies that take place in the period you’re interested in, and look at what the men wear, its not all suits and ties, they have more casual outfits that still look great.

How is vintage menswear different from vintage women’s fashion?

Vintage menswear is generally more difficult to find for a combination of reasons.  First, men simply wore things out, thus clothing got tossed out or turned into household rags.  Additionally, people tended to save Grandma’s dresses, but not Grandpa’s shirts. This is not so say it isn’t possible to find. I’ve built a pretty respectable collection of 60s shirts and 70s western wear, augmented with a few new pieces that have that vintage look.

On the plus side vintage menswear tends to be much much cheaper then vintage women’s fashions. I usually pay about $20.00 per shirt.

What should I be looking for when I shop?

Look for high quality, great fitting clothes.  Seeing “Made in U.S.A” on a tag is a great sign.  Experiment a little to find out what looks good for you. I’m partial to 60s shirts and I have a vintage suit and an extra dinner jacket for when I need to look nice. I’ll be doing a shopping list with a list of essentials as my last post, which will have a great list of things to start looking for.

What else can I do to find good clothes?

It’s ok. You can buy new items to add to your closest, just keep it respectable looking and whenever you can, buy high quality garments that you can break in yourself.

I buy all my jeans new and break them in myself.  Often the same goes for boots and shoes.  Leather and denim will conform to your body and give you a great fit over time rather then starting worn in, which will reduce the life of your clothes. Dress shirts with French cuffs are also a great thing to buy new and get tailored rather then trying to find the perfectly fitting shirt and a vintage shop or thrift store.

Until next time

Put This On is a fantastic web series that helped launch me into the big wide world of mens fashion and looking like you know what you are doing. You can watch season one now while you wait for my next post.