Month / October 2022

by Mike Strange

Vintage Halloween Post Card Secrets. Forgotten Love Divination Rituals of Halloween’s Past.

Back in the 1900’s Halloween Began to go mainstream, and began to to more commercialized with the creating of die-cut paper decorations and post cards. Now the custom of wearing Halloween costumes started in the1930’s as they appeared in stores, and the custom of “Trick or Treating” appeared in the 1950’s. However before the the 1930’s-50’s Halloween was celebrated by young women performing romantic divination rites to discover their future husband or lover, which are illustrated by vintage post card of the period.

One such ritual is the “Burning of the Nuts”. Ladies would grab a handful of Hazel Nuts and toss them onto a fire, (after writing the name of a potential love interests on each one of them) the one that burned to ashes was the match instead of popping.

“These matchmaking rituals ranged from the creepy to the absurd. Thanks to the preservation of old Halloween postcards we now have an idea of how some of our ancestors spent their nights on Halloween”.

Now there are a few that utilized apples.

“An old school holiday matchmaking tradition. These days people only bob for apples for fun, but back in the olden days, it was all done to find the perfect mate. At parties it was popular for ladies to mark apples and drop them in a tub of water. Men would then “bob” for the apples to find a match”.

The most popular tradition was sort of creepy (and scary), young women would go into a dark room and gaze into a mirror holding a single candle to catch a glimpse of their future husband in the mirror behind them. If a woman saw a skull in place of a handsome face, it would mean that they would die before they married. This practice was especially popular on Halloween night, at the stroke of midnight.

Seems Halloween was a bit more interesting back then?

by Mike Strange

Fashion News: 2023 Met Gala will pay Tribute to the late Karl Largerfeld.

It was announced on Sept 30 2022 that the theme for the 2023 Met Gala will be a tribute to the late designer Karl Largerfeld. The late former creative director for Chanel who died from pancreatic cancer in 2019 will be honored as some speak out against it. “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” will “explore the artistic methodology and stylistic vocabulary of Karl Lagerfeld’s designs through recurring themes across more than 65 years, from the 1950s to his final collection in 2019.” According to the Met.

The Met Gala will be held on May 1st 2023, and the exhibition will run from May to July 2023 which will feature about 150 of Karl’s designs that he created while creative director for Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, Balmain and Patou, as well as items from his eponymous label. The head curator of the Met Andrew Bolton said that he got inspired after hearing Largerfeld’s design assistants pay tribute at the memorial service of the late designer.

“I was so fascinated by how they communicated [with Lagerfeld], which was by drawings,” Bolton told CNN Sept. 30. “Every single design in his life was a sketch. And when I saw the drawings, I thought, ‘These are so charming, so whimsical, so impressionistic.’ But what I didn’t realize was that they contained really precise information—about a shoulder line or the length of a sleeve. And [his staff] knew exactly what this line meant or what that dot meant, and they could decode it.”

Jameela Jamil took to social media to say: “Why is THIS who we celebrate when there are so many AMAZING designers out there who aren’t bigoted white men? What happened to everyone’s principles and ‘advocacy.’ You don’t get to stand for justice in these areas, and then attend the celebration of someone who reveled in his own public disdain for marginalized people. ”Lagerfelt’s controversial 2009 interview in which he told German magazine Focus that “no one wants to see curvy women.” she also stated. “If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model! Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent,” Lagerfeld reportedly told Numero in 2018. Well not everyone is happy about the theme for the biggest event in fashion.

However the late designer was highly talented, and his contributions to fashion was nothing less then amazing! The show will go on nonetheless.

by Mike Strange

Men’s Fashion: The History & Evolution of the Ascot.

One of the most oldest, masculine and classy articles of men’s neck-wear would in my opinion be the Ascot! This elegant and unique accessory has it’s origin in Europe and Great Britain. The Ascot has also changed a great deal over time, as well as the way stylish men wear it in both casual and formal situations.

Now very often the ascot is referred to as a cravat, and the cravat an ascot (both very similar, but not the same), however in North America an Ascot (or ascot tie) is a neckband which consists of two wings of wide, pointed fabric, usually of the same size, with a connecting strip. While a Cravat is any cloth tied around the neck for decorative purposes and can therefore encompass neckties, bow ties, scarves, and even ascots. It is, essentially, an umbrella term for any decorative article worn about the neck.

Ascot

Cravat

And to make things a little more confusing there is what’s called a “Neckerchief” which is neither a ascot or cravat, but is both or a hybrid of the two, so to quill the confusion it would fall under the definition of a cravat. While these interchangeable definitions can be a little daunting, the style and elegance of wearing one is quite simple. But an ascot is a cravat, but not all cravats are ascots! Men have been wearing decorative cloths around their necks for millennia.

“In 1660 a regiment of Croats arrived in France — a part of their singular costume excited the greatest admiration, and was immediately and generally imitated; this was a tour de cou, made (for the private soldiers) of common lace, and of muslin or silk for the officers; the ends were arranged en rosette, or ornamented with a button or tuft, which hung gracefully on the breast. This new arrangement, which confined the throat but very slightly, was at first termed a Croat, since corrupted to Cravat.” The Art of Tying the Cravat (1828).

Now During the 17th & 18th centuries neck-wear was very much diverse and un-standardized, and simply consisted of various cloths and patterns of different sizes worn around the neck for decorative purposes. (“These neck-cloths evolved into a variety of standardized types that included the jabot, the stock tie, the ascot, and the bow tie”). “Fashion influencer Beau Brummell is well known for many innovations to menswear, but one of his most noticeable accomplishments was refining and subduing neck-wear. Prior to Brummell’s fashion reforms, gaudy and exuberant neck-wear, often featuring massive ruffles, lace, and detailing, was the norm. Brummell helped popularized a more sedate style of neck-wear, featuring a clean white neck-cloth in a subdued, neat knot that would become the progenitor of modern formal neck-wear.”

The ascot had it’s beginnings from the neck cloths that were commonly worn in the 17th & 18th centuries, but it came into a standardized form in the late 18th and early 19th century. It was made commonly from heavily starched linen to retain it’s shape. Over time the ascot developed into the more modern ascot-tie with a pin to hold the ascot in place.

By now you could be asking yourself, how did the ascot get it’s name? Well in England of course! The famous Ascot Racecourse near Ascot Heath in Berkshire England is were the it got it’s name. The most well dressed and biggest event in sport. The dress code for this event was highly formal, and still is! The ascot got it’s name from this event sometime in the late 19th century as the Royal Ascot race became extremely popular, as well as the namesake neck-wear which was considered very formal attire.

During the 20th century the ascot was worn at day time social (formal) events, but was considered more casual than a neck or bow tie, and subsequently banned from the English Royal Ascot Races as gentleman began to wear them more casually in the 1930’s, which is called a “Day Ascot”. Unable to distinguish a Day Ascot from a Formal Ascot, the ascot became a stylish classy neck-wear accessory for gentleman.

“An ascot paired with a dressing gown was a common form of lounge wear in the early and mid-20th century.”

So what are you waiting for? Go out and incorporate this stylish and classy neck wear into your tie collection.