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Photo by Salt Water New England
Muffy Aldrich
Editor, Salt Water New England.
Co‑founder with her husband of Short Sims, Researching, Designing, Building Micro‑Simulations for the Corporate/Military/Government/Non‑Profit Sectors.
12th Generation New Englander.
Coastal New England Prep
Salt Water New England Blog - The Definitive Guide since 2010. Original Photographs. Commentary. The New England WASP Ethos. Timeless, Preppy Clothing. Most Items Sent By Vendors.
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Glen Plaid for the win. Wonderful images.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing too, re: glen plaid.
DeleteWow, wow, wow!!!
ReplyDelete1960s ... America before the deluge. Seems so long ago.
ReplyDeleteJohn Kerry is on the left in the second to last photo.
The standing naval cadet in sunglasses looks like a Matt Damon prototype.
Excellent eye, sir!
DeleteGreat photos of some interesting people from back when dressing with dignity was the rule, not the exception.
ReplyDeleteNaval Academy Midshipmen...not cadets.
ReplyDeleteNice to see adult men dressed as adults and not wearing their pyjamas in the street.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting to see how trim everyone is, for the most part.
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show... a little investment in your appearance goes a long way. Better to be overdressed than under. Thank you for sharing these!
ReplyDeleteA glorious time.
ReplyDeleteI have an early '60s J.C. Penney suit jacket that I got at a thrift store and use as a travel jacket. It's made as well as what you'd get at a high-end men's clothing store today. My dad, a small-town newspaper man at that time, would look like a god nowadays. Things were very different when looking well-assembled was the norm. Although class differences were detectable if you knew where and how to look, they were not as glaringly evident as they are in today's supposedly democratic aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteA couple faces I recognize.
ReplyDeleteI flew last weekend. Wore a button down collar, v neck sweater, and sport coat. The "uniform." The looks I got.... Appreciative looks I should say, but made me self conscious...
Just being me.
Aside from Kingman Brewster standing beside William Scranton beneath the alligator, John Glenn and Mini-Glenn, and Mayor Lindsay, I don’t recognize anyone.
DeleteNo matter, of course, everyone in these photos is either long gone, or quite old now. Sic transit gloria mundi.
Does anyone know who is the bow-tied, vested, bespectacled, pipe smoking gent?
DeleteNYT writer Alden Whitman
DeletePerfect. Thank you.
DeleteSeveral years ago when we started attending a local Presbyterian Church I was nicely informed that it was not necessary to "dress up" for service. Since then I have made sure that I dress to the nines and no runs in the stockings. Seems mostly the women of the congregation care or should say, object. Anyway, it is rather fun....PA
ReplyDeleteHonest question: Why was everyone so much thinner sixty years ago? The abundant alcohol and tobacco use of the time (not to mention the notorious womanizing) suggest the answer is not self-discipline. Is it the chemicals we spray on crops today? Or the additives we put in processed food? It mystifies me.
ReplyDeleteThat's a leading question. Based solely on my own memories of what some people looked like then and what some people look like now, I'm not at all certain people were thinner. (I'm 75). The observations of others may be different.
DeleteIn case you're interested, the US adult obesity rate tripled between 1960 and 2020: from 14% to 42%. Data below:
Deletehttps://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_adult_09_10/obesity_adult_09_10.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db360.htm
I understand that the normal to overweight threshold was lowered some years ago, thereby defining more people as overweight.
DeleteBe that as it may be, we live in Northern Virginia. My daughter went to school in another state for two years and mentioned once that she saw a lot of fat people there, meaning among her classmates. So there may be something to the claim that more people are overweight now. But it's not an epidemic and it's not catching. I suspect, without a shred of evidence, that it's because people eat more.
I remember when my wife and I first visited the United States, probably thirty plus years ago, (I'm "accross the pond") we were truly shocked by the amount of obese people. Thirty plus years later the situation is just as bad over here. I believe Blue Train is correct, people are eating more food, especially processed and fast food. I am pleased to say I am not among them.
DeleteIt's worth mentioning that in some cultures, not necessarily in ours, being overweight to some degree is considered a good thing. That's possibly the case where many people are underweight. I don't suppose that being overweight is healthy, but neither is smoking or drinking. I've had relatives who were heavy smokers, were not overweight, and never made it to age 70. On the other hand, a relative of my wife smoked and drank (some) and lived past 100.
DeleteA distinction should be made, I think, between being overweight, having a pot belly and being out of shape. A fat person can be strong and nimble. It just doesn't fit the image. A pot belly, on the other hand, is more bad posture than anything. Of course, the Duchess of Windsor, formerly of Baltimore, said you can never be too rich or too thin.
Friends of mine raised their family in Africa while they were working in the foreign aid field. They brought the children, several years ago to Disney World (the place in Florida) while they were on home leave. The children had two questions, “why are all the people so fat?” And, “where are all the goats?!”
DeleteYes, obesity is a modern problem.
DeleteIan Anderson (Jethro Tull) even wrote a song about it with these sad lyrics:
"Don't want to be a fat man
People would think that I was just good fun, man
Would rather be a thin man
I am so glad to go on being one, man
Too much to carry around with you
No chance of finding a woman, who
Will love you in the morning and all the nighttime too."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqbGXl5lxEg
The first line reminds us that for centuries girth was seen as being accompanied by a jolly disposition - high livers who enjoyed their food - think of Falstaff and Santa Claus.
From what I see, overweight people today feel cursed - tormented by another sort of plague for which their is no vaccine.
"there is"
Delete