The Jet Age of Fashion

Hello there everybody. I'm Mel Allen. I'm  just wondering, have you ever thought how much this great country of ours has  changed since the turn of the century? You know, of course, we're traveling faster and  further than ever before, curing more diseases than our grandparents ever knew existed and  making startling new discoveries every day. As a matter of fact, just in the essential  day-to-day pleasures of living—food, housing, and clothing—the changes  have been simply enormous. What do you say we take a brief nostalgic look at  the tumultuous opening years of the 20th century? Even then, the USA was a land of  plenty. But except for prices, round steak at 12 cents a pound. How about that? Today's food  story just can't be topped. Did you know, for example, that the  United States can feed six times as many people on 21% less acreage with  35% less manpower than the Soviet Union? That's right. And that's quite  a feather in democracy's cap. The odd thing is that Americans  today are spending 20% of their take-home pay to feed themselves,  but millions more to diet it off or exercise it away. In housing,  the story is just as dramatic. The great migrations of this  century brought millions to this land of opportunity to dwellings like these. Our modern migration has carried new  millions from the cities that housed their grandparents and parents to ranch houses, split levels and colonials that today dot  millions of acres of the American landscape. And the working homes of more than  96 million of us have changed, too. In 1913, America boasted only  one building over 60 stories. Today they top every metropolitan skyline  from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles. Yes, fashions have certainly changed in food and  housing. And you know something else? They've changed quite a bit in that very personal  department of what the men of America wear. And let me add this: they've changed  for the better. More colorful, more comfortable, and better looking, too. Remember back in 1901, Teddy Roosevelt  was in the White House and American men were wearing tight-fitting  Edwardian styles like this one. The four-button front was high and  snug and cut away sharply below. Today's world moves faster and  we move right along with it. Our male fashions are designed for this new  jet age of fashion. Trim but not confining. An olive and white seersucker type  band trims this dark olive Milan. Lighter and brighter, like this blue-green  heather mix in an attractive version of the three-button West Coast model, and the  blue-black and olive theme is carried right through by his spread-collar  shirt in an olive sharkskin fabric. His twill tie combining blue, black, and  olive stripes and his silk pocket square. All in all, friends, a handsome, up-to-date look.  Then 1910, the great Georgia Peach, Ty Cobb, was in the process of winning his fourth  consecutive American League batting crown. And the crowning glory of the American  male was a suit with padded shoulders, pinched waists, slanting pockets, and  full-cut trousers with, of course, spats. But today, spats are gone, and so are  the dark drab colors and fashions. Yes, it's a lighter, brighter fashion world  exemplified by this sand-shaped bengaline suit in a traditional model and this natural  shoulder two-button model in a bold Glen plaid. Now, in each case, the accessories  are just right with the sand shade: an olive Shantung tie with blue and red figures, olive pinstriped shirt with a smart tab collar,  and a sparkling summery silver palm straw. And with the Glen plaid, a red, olive, and black striped twill tie that harmonizes  perfectly with a red over-plaid in his suit. A black pinstripe tab-collar shirt and  a snap-brim black lightweight felt hat. And back in 1920 when the New York Yankees were  winning the first of many pennants to come, male fashions gave up the padded shoulders  of 10 years earlier for a completely unpadded look with narrow shoulders, high  waists, full-cut coats, and belted backs. The modern design of the 1960s  is engineered for comfort, right from the fiber to the finished  product, such as this lightweight gray sharkskin, and a smartly proportioned  three-button model with tailored shoulders. This dressy business suit is worn  with a bamboo-colored poplin shirt with a short spread collar, a medium  gray and silver woven pattern tie, and a regimental striped silk pocket  square along with a dandy Sennit straw. I tell you, it's a great outfit  for a fashion-wise man on the move. By the 30s, the Jazz Age was ended  and men's clothing styles in the USA had left the Jazz Age concept of fashion in  favor of fuller puff shoulders and sleeves, wider lapels, double-breasted vests, and  the last of the bell-bottom trousers. The jet age means jetline  styling and new jetstream colorations. Here come two good examples. A bright blue traditional model with a matching  vest and a wash-and-wear polyester cotton blend and an iridescent mohair blend with a gray-olive  cast and a two-button shawl collar treatment. The eye-catching blue outfit picks up  added spice by way of a solid color Madras bucket hat, a short-sleeve blue and  white tape-striped Oxford button-down shirt, and a neatly figured red tie with  a deep blue silk pocket square. The jetline shawl-collar model just can't  miss with these self-supporting trousers and fashion-right accessories like this  short-sleeve white-on-white shirt with a rolled spread collar, a twill tie  with teal, black, and silver stripes, and a modern silhouette felt  hat in a soft olive shade. Big was the look of the 40s. Big and bold and a sign of the drape shape that was to set  the trend for the next several years. Shoulders were again high, wide, and heavily padded. Lapels were  big and reached way out to here. And the drape effect was accented by the double-breasted styling that  typified this era in fashion. This new model called the American Envoy typifies  new ideas in manly fashions in the trim lines of its one-button styling, its midweight fabric,  and a subtly striped medium gray diagonal weave. Of course, old-timers didn't think  they were getting their money's worth, unless the suit was heavy enough  to give them round shoulders. But not the jet age man. He  wants lighter, brighter fabrics. And he wants style-selected accessories like  this pale blue broadcloth shirt with a long pointed spread rolled collar, a silver tie with  a woven blue design, and a gray double-brim hat. Yes, we look for fashion with comfort  today, and it's so easy to find. We've discovered that the weight of a  fabric doesn't necessarily mean warmth. Thanks to America's mills and producers  of new chemical fibers and modern woolens, we've discovered that we can be as  warm and look as fashionable as we want to in top coats that weigh just  a fraction of what they did in 1918. Coats like this suiting-weight sharkskin with  its peaked lapels and deep hooked center vent. Or this young man's model in the finely checked split raglan treatment with angled  pocket flaps and a bal collar. Or this novel top coat of the jet age in a  wheat shade which features angled flap pockets, an extra ticket pocket, peak  lapels, and deep side vents. Yes, sir, a handsome trio. The jet age  man naturally has more leisure time. Time in which to look at himself  and see what he's wearing. And he's found that he likes clothes  with the look and the feel of leisure. Lightness and brightness of color and  fabric give him all he wants and more. Sport coat and slack outfits as we know them today  were virtually unheard of before the mid-30s. Coordinated jackets and slacks were around, of course, but well, by any  comparison, they were drab. Let's face it, today we have lightness, brightness, and boldness  in pattern as never before. Let's start with this soft medium blue  in a fancy hopsack weave that comes up beautifully in this new double-breasted blazer. Traditional in cut, it's modern all the way  in its color and its accessories: the pale blue slim slacks, a pink pullover button-down  shirt, and a navy ascot with red polka dots. Now, maybe that sign should  read "jackets desired." And here's India Madras plaited entirely in blue. Natural shoulder styling and  naturally good-looking. The accessories play up its good looks perfectly. From the plain-front blue-gray tropical-weight  slacks worn with a red fabric belt all the way to the traditional button-down  collar shirt in an ecru hopsacking. This handsome Tussah silk jacket in a light  natural shade is worn with the pride of an eagle. Its tailored lines are enhanced by angled pockets,  deep side vents and generous shoulder gussets. The solid silk is teamed with self-supporting  antique gold tropical-weight slacks, a multicolored striped pullover  shirt in a linen-like weave and a gold ascot to pick up the color of the slacks. Both handsome outfits, exotic, but  with a strong American style sense. Next in this jet era of styling, a wash-and-wear blend in a Glen plaid  of light olive and blue-gray tones. In a three-button tailored shoulder model that has warm weather leisure ideas  built into its every line. And it's tastefully coordinated  with semi-iridescent single-pleat bengaline slacks and an iridescent  olive button-down collar shirt. A bold brown-on-white plaid patterns this stylish one-button model for  comfortable spring and summer wear. And in a lightweight wool, it features  angled flap pockets and a flared back. Bright accessory ideas include  beltless blue-gray slacks, a deep maroon button-down collar  shirt, and a polka-dot silk ascot. And miniature gingham checks  go light and bright for the leisure season in this polyester cotton blend. It's handsome enough for a coach and  four, particularly when teamed with these self-supporting black  all-chemical fiber slacks, a fly-front spread-collar shirt, and  a silk print ascot and pocket square. Bouclé-like magenta wool in a burst of  color makes good sense and good style and this terrific two-button sport coat. It's  as soft and as light as a spring breeze. The white buttons give it added  flare and so do the accessories. The gray leisure shirt with spaced white  and red print and the colorful ascot. White wash-and-wear slacks—a symbol, an integral  part of the modern American way of life: the sport coat and slacks outfit. Every man  looks his best in an elegant formal outfit, and you can take that from no less  authority than the American woman. But unfortunately, too many men still think of an evening in formal wear in  terms of the 1920s and earlier. Stiffly formal, you know, not comfortably and  elegantly formal, which is the modern design. Start with this bright white  wash-and-wear fiber blend which adds practicality to the dress-up look  of this tailored shoulder dinner coat. Shawl-collared, its wash-and-wear qualities  will resist stains of cocktail sauce, mustard, or—for luckier fellows—even lipstick. It achieves added highlights through the  black satin butterfly bow tie and the black, red and gold regimental  striped silk pocket square. As modern as the swept-wing jet and  as sophisticated as any regal finery is this iridescent olive silk formal ensemble. It sparkles like champagne. The color, fabric, and black satin accents are repeated so  effectively in the grand formal vest. The muted colorings of this boutique striped fabric give even greater zest to  the summer and resort formal scene. A dinner jacket for the young and the young in heart. It's accented by a  black satin shawl collar. This fancy plaid formal jacket in tasteful subdued tones achieves neat highlights by means  of black satin on the collar and cuffs. It brings a fashion flare to any party, complemented as it is by the black  satin bow and pleated-front dress shirt. So, you see, times and fashion have changed, and fashions for men are jetting into  a lighter, brighter, more colorful day. Tell you what, how about going  along for the ride with us?