I was having a chat with a gentleman on the weekend (you know who you are) about ties and how I’d seen a post discussing the various authentic ways of wearing them. In particular how to keep them from flying all over the place. Then I realised that many folk have been blogging about current vintage trends in the lindy hop scene and linking back to authentic vintage fashion:

The ever stylish Bobby White put together this excellent and extensive guide to ties, bowties and neckerchiefs (if you’re feeling like a gig on Masterchef). Well worth the read even if you don’t wear them. Swungover has this short post about stripey socks. Not only did Fred Astaire wear them, but they’re back in fashion. Bobby plans on doing plenty more blogging about vintage manliness.

Another way of keeping your tie in place is wear a vest. Yehoodi has just posted an article where Lindyshopper interviews David Lochner about Being Well Vested. Lindyshopper has many posts about stylishness (particularly from Lindydandy) and plenty of links to vintage gear available online and on eBay.

But vintage fashion does have a dark side. Dogpossum looks at the recent history of the zoot suit in Sydney. I’d tend to agree that most people who wear them just look a bit naff (and then there’s the whole link to the zoot suit riots. Plus the whole historical appropriation of wearing a symbol of rebellious second generation Mexican American youth whilst doing a dance invented by lower class African American youth boggles the mind a bit).

On a more contemporary note Dax Hock hypothesises that tracky dacks almost killed the lindy hop.

From the tragic to the ridiculous Lindybeige has this video about mustaches. (via Jo Hoffberg)

Speaking of Jo Hoffberg, she’s also made a very strong case for why every man should carry a handkerchief.

Anyhow it’s late and I need to stop pretending like I’m still on holidays. At some point I will write a post about hats, which I like.