I'm not much of a one for fashion, possibly because I've always been too much of an oversized lump to fit into anything trendy. I've lost 20 lbs on my current Paleo diet (I've forgotten what sweet tastes like - or chips, rice, bread, pasta etc.) Another eight or nine pounds and I might even be able to walk into a clothing emporium and buy something vaguely natty off the peg. I should be able to, given how tall young many young people are these days. I might even have a choice of colours - there's a first time for everything! Okay, i'm probably just suffering from delirium brought on by a lack of carbohydrates.
But even if I lost another five stone, I'd still be the wrong shape to fit into outfits like these Varsity types were wearing in 1926 (or thereabouts). They should look ridiculous, given the contrast between the tiny, lung-constricting jackets and the balooning plus fours - but I think they look incredibly debonnaire. Elegant without being effeminate, they strike me as sporting types rather than aesthetes. Despite that, I bet they smoked like chimneys and drank like fish. Mind you, we did that in my day as well, only we were dressed in ghastly clothes as we did so - bell bottoms, tank-tops, and, in my case, a shiny black shirt worn under a military tunic two sizes too small, and, in winter months, a ludicrous Spanish-style sombrero the very thought of which now makes me shudder with embarrassment.
I wonder what happened to the stylish chaps in the picture.
Those swaggering young bloods could have turned into Butch Cassidy and Sundance (What a truly wonderful film).
ReplyDeleteI am pleased I never saw our Blog Meister in a sombrero. Straddling his Francis Barnett motor bike in his teenage years was enough to chill the blood.
The bike you refer to was either my Bantam 125 or, later, a rather whizzy Ariel 250, which I sold after coming off after having to apply the brakes rather too forcefully while doing 70 mph on the Sutton Bypass without a helmet. Although miraculously unharmed, I lost my nerve after that and have never ridden a motorbike since.
DeleteFortunately, I don't have a photo of me wearing the sombrero, but I can assure you that I looked like a CAUC.
It is remarkable that throughout their long 'Occupy Trinity' walk from Jarrow they never once even loosened their ties.
ReplyDeleteand in perfect step...
ReplyDeleteAh, I've found out what happened to them. Apparently, they wrote "F*ck Tory Scum" on a WWI war memorial and, within the hour, were arrested, tried, and executed by firing squad. Ken Loach is making a film about it.
ReplyDeleteThe trousers look as if they might be the 20's fashion item known at the time as Oxford Bags. It is quite likely that after a wild night beating it up in London, they ended up returning to the wrong university.
ReplyDelete"Something tells me, Beastall-Featherstonhaugh Minor, that we're not in Oxford anymore."
Delete"Oh, wow, man - better change our trouserings instantly! Chaps have been rusticated for less."