Bearded A-lister challenge

Yours truly has been invited to an A-list themed costume party in a couple of weeks. This poses a problem though, as being goateed and middle aged seriously narrows my possibilities. Google has thrown up some candidates, but you really would have to actually look like these guys to pull it off, eg:



Not being able to match these looks (with the exception perhaps of poor old derelict Brad), my fall-back position is "actor as their famous character". With inspiration from old 80s action movies, and blogs 'Top 10 beards in film' and 'Top 10 Bearded Movie Characters', here's some possibilities:



I'll be hitting the op shops & $2 shops this weekend to see what's possible vis-à-vis costume bits & pieces ... hope I'm in luck.

WWII Vintage

As it was ANZAC Day last weekend I've dragged out what is most likely my oldest complete vintage outfit, a (68yo) WWII Australian 2nd AIF Army uniform. Put together from various thrifted sources about a decade ago, everything dates to the period except the hat and boots, which are later but virtually identical to the wartime ones. It's rare to find vintage WWII items like these cheaply nowadays.


WWII Australian Army Winter SD uniform:
- 1942 Wool Tunic & 1966 Army Slouch Hat [Op Shops]
- 1942 Wool Trousers, P-37 webb belt and gaiters [Disposal Stores]
- WWII badges, buttons and 1958 hobnail army boots [Secondhand shops]
Note: Boots were originally tan coloured, but have been blackened by someone since.

Golden Era Vintage

The 1930s-1950s is considered the Golden Era of classic 20th Century style, and I unexpectedly obtained my own piece of it from Ruby Rouge last weekend, an original 40s/50s men's double breasted jacket. I've seen complete Golden Era suits recently ranging from $250 (2 piece @ Lost & Found) to $550 (3 piece @ Circa) so I thought $30 was a pretty good deal for an original jacket (pictured above with vintage shirt, modern vintage style tie and pocket square, the jacket is in great condition for a 60+ year old garment). For more original suits of the period see The Houndstooth Kid's vintage (US) menswear blog.

Also picked up a few more vintage style ties ($1-2 ea), including a wonderfully gaudy brown and orange paisley number from the Brace Bargain Browser.

Left: A late 60s look, the paisley tie with my recently thrifted 70s dress shirt.

The small things

Lately I've been gathering some accessories to compliment my meager collection of men's vintage ware. I already had a pair of vintage cuff-links from Circa, but I've added two more pairs (new with tie clips) from eBay ($8.27 ea. delivered).



Also from eBay a pair of faux Ray-Ban Wayfarers ($16.49 delivered). These work for 1950s/60s and 80s looks ....plus are popular again these days with Hipsters.

The Safari Suit Group

Found this group from South Australia a couple of years ago when researching Safari Suits. Their about page explains ".. a group of friends have been getting together every year to celebrate the safari suit and dress up in safari suits and other 1970’s fashion including accessories. We celebrate by visiting various establishments around Adelaide. Our aim has been, and continues to be, to celebrate the safari suit in all its glory".

Their annual "Safari Night" has grown steadily since its official beginning in 1992, as shown by this recent picture from their blog:


Safari Suits (Leisure Suits in the US) are Op Shop gold these days, so if I ever find one cheap I'll be grabbing it for sure.

The well dressed man of the 21st Century

Behold the man of the future ...today! According to Vogue magazine (1939), this is what the well dressed man would be wearing in the year 2000. This and many other past visions of the futute can be found on Matt Novak's Paleo-future blog, a wonderful collection of images and articles dating back to the 1870s, showing how previous generations imagined the future. As for this particular fashion, I may not have the coveralls, electric vest and antenna hat, but I do favor slip on boots and facial hair :)

Manifest 2009 – Melbourne Anime Festival

Yes, the Manifest Anime Festival is on at the Melbourne Showgrounds this weekend (Aug 21-23)! Being a bit of a fanboy I've always wanted to check out a full on sci-fi or anime convention, the costumed fans, traders stalls, collectibles, special events etc, but alas I can't make it down to Melb this weekend. Oh well, there's always next year I suppose.



On the local front it's interesting to note that BAKA (Ballarat Awesome Klub for Anime) held their first cosplay event back in July. For more on that see Kirri-Joy's blog here & here.