23 April 2009

Sesame Street Traditional

One of my son's current favorite bedtime books is "Ernie's Neighborhood". While reading it tonight, my eye was caught by this well dressed gent, just an anonymous character walking down the street:
This guys got it all: navy blazer with 2 button cuffs, button-down collar, regimental tie, plain front khakis, cuffed just slightly "high water", and a spiffy hat. He even appears to be wearing brown suede Alden tassel loafers.

Pretty sharp for a random character in a Sesame Street book.

I wonder if his nose is red from too much Scotch...

22 comments:

Old School said...

Better dressed than the majority of people I see.

Anonymous said...

Yours is one of the few blogs out there that is not self-absorbed. Thank you for writing it.

Could you do a post on the button-down collar? I've always passed them in favor of the clean lines of a pinpoint.

Anonymous said...

Children need to see their Father's dressed like men. The older we get the more important it is. There is nothing worse than seeing a man in his 40's (like me) wearing a cheap pair of Jeans, new balance sneakers and an old navy T-Shirt.
Being a first time Dad at 45! I told my wife my son will not see me dressed poorly in addition to having a "book" oriented house, meaning not having Televisions blasting in the House.

I can think of no better example for a child to see his dad come home after a long day at work, dressed like the character shown, sit in his favorite chair with a newspaper and converse in a civilized manner with his children.

Sadly being a devout Catholic I am seeing men in Old Navy T-shirts at Mass.

Anonymous said...

Could we have the name of the Sesame Street book?
Thanks.

JS said...

That's great! He is even showing the proper amount of shirt cuff.

DAM said...

Well Observed.

David V said...

The subtle education of youth.

Andrew M. said...

I don't think they had Scotch on Sesame Street. If they did, Oscar probably wouldn't be such a grouch

Anonymous said...

Yes, I'd like the name of the Sesame Street book as well.

Thanks in advance.

Young Fogey said...

Hey, Anonymous,

Could I ask a small favor of you all? If it's not too much trouble, could you choose the "Name/URL" option and post under a consistent name? That makes it much easier for the rest of us to follow your comments. In this one comment thread alone, there are three anonymouses (anonymice?) already.

To anonymous #1: I believe that the non-button down collar is most often called a straight collar. Of course, there are many variations of straight collars, like spread collars, club/golf/Eton collars, cutaway collars, tab collars, and the like.

Pinpoint usually refers a cloth woven with fine thread. The thread used is much thinner than that used for broadcloth, one type of which is used for Oxford shirts.

And yes, I, too, would like to see what Giuseppe has to say on the topic of button-downs vs. straight collars.

Giuseppe said...

The book is called "Ernie's Neighborhood". Check the link at the beginning of the post.

Anonymous said...

"Ernie's Neighborhood" was published in 1987, for those who wonder why we don't see characters like this stylish gent in children's books published in 2009.

By the way, 1987 was the year we lost
Ray Bolger
Danny Kaye
Randolph Scott
Rita Hayworth
Fred Astaire
Lee Marvin
Woody Herman

Anonymous said...

The right link for "Ernie's Neighborhood":

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ernie's_Neighborhood

Anonymous said...

1. If somebody hasn't already done it, it would be a great research topic: The depicition of adult fashion in children's book illustrations.

2. How I wish that somebody would scan some illustrations from this book for those of us who have no access to it:

http://www.masoncrest.com/preview_1.php?bookID=164

Anonymous said...

Some details on that book:

At the start of the 20th century, men wore clothes, not fashions. Men who made a point of dressing well, like the British king Edward VII, were wealthy exceptions to the rule. Most men's clothing, usually custom-made by tailors, was practical and built to last. Today, menswear is a major part of the fashion industry. Men's Costumes looks at how men's clothing went from the local tailor to the catwalks of Paris, Milan, and New York, and the social factors that caused changes in style and attitude, from the anti-consumerist hippies of the Sixties to the Armani-suited power dressers of Wall Street in the Eighties. We also meet some of the trendsetters who have influenced fashion through their own personal style, including President Teddy Roosevelt and his Panama hat, designers such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, and Kurt Cobain and the rise of grunge style.

3button Max said...

enjoyed the post- and remember reading such books to my kids.
Max

Anonymous said...

Here's one more vote, Giuseppe, for you to do a post on button-down collars.

Since BB haven't patented the cut/measurements/dimensions (whatever the proper term is) of their BD collar, why can't LE and LLB just copy it--since it is the standard by which all others are measured. (LE comes somewhat close, but LLB isn't close at all: wrong point length, wrong spread. Why?)

Really looking forward to you dealing with this topic.

NKD said...

does anyone know where you get can cool briefcases like the one he's carrying?

Young Fogey said...

Taj,

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Anonymice,

You're all doing it just to get my goat, aren't you?

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