It is always a bittersweet experience when I see the old ads. I never dreamed our style, with a very few exceptions, would have almost completely become a total anhedonia.
Go togethers, Timothy Leary and Batik!
Sorry, but I think Batik is hideous and reminds me of the psychodelic days and the beginning of the end for Ivy’s heyday.
I remember the batik button downs, but most weren’t “tribal” prints. They were paisleys and more like large foulard tie prints. OneI must remember that batik is as much a process as a style of print.
You’re right. Didn’t give it a thought on the earlier article, but I had a batik button down back around 1965. It was predominately blue with the geometric print, like the Arrow shirt in the first ad. I don’t know why, but at the time, I identified the shirt with the Dave Clark Five.
It was my favorite shirt at the time, and my mother promised to buy me another when the shirt became tattered. I recall a small rip that disintegrated the shirt sleeve almost overnight. I never got another; I recall she told me she couldn’t find one. Mom made it into a short sleeve for summer duty.
If I see a similar shirt on clearance sale at Macy’s or somewhere, I’ll buy another. Full price, NEVER.
Why did they portray a man with an eye patch in The English Shop ad? Were they trying to be funny by mixing the images of an old English pirate and a modern father? Maybe it was part of a witty marketing plot, but I don’t get it. I think it would look rather sinister in today’s advertising. 🙂
On the other hand, I love the first jacket on the Saks Fifth Avenue ad.
Confronted with $35 Batik jackets and $32.50 Madras jackets it must have been a tough job to convince yourself that you preferred the look of an $18.50 Seersucker jacket.
The last ad is a fascinating rundown of the breadth of the genre during the heyday. Who says Ivy can’t be elegant?
It is always a bittersweet experience when I see the old ads. I never dreamed our style, with a very few exceptions, would have almost completely become a total anhedonia.
Go togethers, Timothy Leary and Batik!
Sorry, but I think Batik is hideous and reminds me of the psychodelic days and the beginning of the end for Ivy’s heyday.
I remember the batik button downs, but most weren’t “tribal” prints. They were paisleys and more like large foulard tie prints. OneI must remember that batik is as much a process as a style of print.
@MAC
You’re right. Didn’t give it a thought on the earlier article, but I had a batik button down back around 1965. It was predominately blue with the geometric print, like the Arrow shirt in the first ad. I don’t know why, but at the time, I identified the shirt with the Dave Clark Five.
It was my favorite shirt at the time, and my mother promised to buy me another when the shirt became tattered. I recall a small rip that disintegrated the shirt sleeve almost overnight. I never got another; I recall she told me she couldn’t find one. Mom made it into a short sleeve for summer duty.
If I see a similar shirt on clearance sale at Macy’s or somewhere, I’ll buy another. Full price, NEVER.
Cheers!
Olive seersucker, please (University Shop ad).
As if madras weren’t bad enough!
Why did they portray a man with an eye patch in The English Shop ad? Were they trying to be funny by mixing the images of an old English pirate and a modern father? Maybe it was part of a witty marketing plot, but I don’t get it. I think it would look rather sinister in today’s advertising. 🙂
On the other hand, I love the first jacket on the Saks Fifth Avenue ad.
Confronted with $35 Batik jackets and $32.50 Madras jackets it must have been a tough job to convince yourself that you preferred the look of an $18.50 Seersucker jacket.
Explanation for Alex and other youngsters:
http://wax-wane.com/2012/09/06/the-man-in-the-hathaway-shirt-the-most-interesting-ad-in-the-world/
Here’s an easier-to-read version of the full text of the “Man in the Hathaway Shirt” ad:
http://www.directmarketinginstitute.com/HathawayShirtAd.htm
Where would one wear such a thing nowadays, other than to a screening of “Magical Mystery Tour”?
@ OldSchool,
Thanks for calling me a “youngster”. You’ve made my day! 🙂
Now I understand what it was all about. It was, indeed, part of a witty marketing plot. Glad to have learnt something new today.