Friday, May 27, 2011

Our Parents, the Style Icons--1950s East Coast Classic

One of the great sites that has sprung up recently is My Mom, the Style Icon. Curated by Piper Weiss, it began as a tribute to her own mother, Marilyn, and her stylish way. With the blog's popularity, though, it quickly expanded to include submissions from her readers as well. Whereas GlamAmor looks at the origin of fashions in classic cinema, My Mom, the Style Icon looks at how real women wore those fashions and interpreted them with their personal style. It's a great opportunity to look to our family's past for vintage inspiration as well as the likely seeds of our own style. Here's photographic evidence from my family that proves this to be true. Lucky magazine now ends every issue with an example from My Mom, the Style Icon and you'll see one below.

My own readers at GlamAmor have begun to be much more interested in what their parents were wearing when reminded how much the fashion from classic cinema continues to be reinterpreted today. I've received many emails from people with fantastic family photos and thought I would finally start sharing. Since I just did an article on Robert Redford and his 1950s classic casual cool from The Way We Were, I thought the timing was perfect for Jon Karkow's photos of his father, Edward. Edward also generously shared the details of what he was wearing with GlamAmor along with his own thoughts on fashion then and now. He's definitely an inspiration for the timeless nature of classic style.

Thanks to both Jon and Edward! Keep those photos coming and I'll continue to share from time to time on GlamAmor.

ABOVE: Edward Karkow in uniform (with his Jaguar Mk IV) during Naval Officer's Candidate School

Newport Country Club, Rhode Island, 1952

Brooks Brothers tweed jacket and gabardine pants

Villa of Gracie Fields on the south coast of Capri, Italy, 1956

Edward tells GlamAmor, "Regarding dress in the 1950s, there was of course a social class thing, but as a rule I was just going along with the prevailing style. For example, men (even children older than say...ten) were not allowed entry into the better restaurants without a coat and tie. And one never flew on an airline without a coat and tie. The airlines were for a while considering imposing a dress code to prohibit warm-up suits and the like, but the masses ultimately prevailed. And fashion, as a requirement for social acceptance, started going out the window in the 60s."

Brooks Brothers suit

Grand Hotel in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 1959

"My entire getup, except for the shoes, was from Brooks Brothers. I still have the jacket and, in fact, wore it when we went to Denmark in 2005. It fits me just as well today, and is just as fashionable as it was when it was bought."