Foldable Top Hat!

Also from the collection at Brede Værk (just north of Copenhagen) – a SIDE-FOLDING collapsible top hat! Has anybody seen one of these before? I’d love to know of others if you know of any collections that has one.

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Black menswear in glass cases – the curse of people trying to photograph museums displays.

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Lace Cravats

For those of you who liked the de Largillierre painting I posted a while ago, here are some real examples of that brief but interesting period (1670-1700) of scrumptiously lacy cravats.

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Worn by the Duke of York (the future James II) at his wedding, 1673. Victoria & Albert Museum.

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large-scale raised Venetian needle lace (with contemporary linen and ribbon), 1670-90, from the Bowes Museum, UK.

And here’s the full version of the painting I posted earlier:

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Nicolas de Largillierre, “Portrait of a Gentleman” (Possibly Pierre van Schuppen). 1680, Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco.

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The Sapeurs

This story about the stylish Sapeurs, or La Societé des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes (Society of Elegant Persons of the Congo) is a fantastic look at this group of peaceful, polite, and outrageously well-dressed gentlemen – and lovely to see men’s fashion outside of the traditional contexts. Yes, it’s a Guinness commercial – and it’s totally worth it.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-clothes-make-men-stylish-guinness-spot-congos-sapeurs-154995

Here’s the original advertisement:

And here’s a brief documentary of the men behind it:

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