So I'm curious to know if anyone has suggestions as to any good sites for really getting into the wardrobe that goes with Lovecraft's stories. Places to get old P.I. outfits and other such accouterments. I can find some stuff, but it seems like I'm just not coming up with a lot.
Much appreciated.
Artiphax
Thanks to my receptive young brain being permanently warped by watching too many old black-and-white movies on television as a kid, I fell in love with the classic era of gentleman's clothing at a very young age. Or perhaps it was just in my DNA, as my grandfather on the Sicilian side was a tailor in Chicago from 1918 to the late 1950s during the golden era of men's fashion. Forty years later, I choose to wear nothing but vintage-styled clothing from the 1920s and 1930s, so I believe I'm in a unique position to help you on your quest.
The first thing you need to assess is your seriousness, because to do this right is not some cheap-'n'-quick, one-stop shopping convenience lark. There's
a lot of information to absorb and the devil
is truly in the details. Those details coalesce and converge to either nail the look or miss it by a wide margin. Do it right and compliments will be coming your way. Do it wrong and you'll look like a clown. Here are the reasons why:
Complacency and general ignorance by vendors serving this niche market about what constitutes a vintage cut is the first and largest obstacle you'll encounter. Say "Roaring Twenties" to any costumer and you'll shuffle away in a garish, double-breasted chalk-stripe parody of an Italian mobster. So, narrowing the field down to avoid costumers altogether, we'll focus on genuine clothiers. There are approximately two or three websites that sell authentically styled clothing from the Teens, Twenties and Thirties, the era covered in Lovecraft's stories. These online, made-to-measure clothiers
claim to specialize in this niche specialty and will charge you an arm and a leg (or a tentacle or two) for it, but ultimately will deliver some ill-fitting togs with a modern cut in off-the-rack, made in China quality. The mark-up is ten times the vendor's original cost and none of the value is passed on to a
knowledgeable consumer. As an example, one such vendor charges about $3,800.00 USD for a three-piece suit, but the armholes are low, the material doesn't have the correct drape because it is too lightweight and the shoulder pads are like a linebacker's, thus the jacket hangs poorly and is uncomfortable to move around in. The very antithesis of golden era styling.
If you just wanted something non-era specific, generally tweedy and professorial to wear, you might do better spending $100.00 at a consignment shop. The likelihood of you scoring a vintage suit in your size (men were considerably shorter and thinner on average 80 years ago than they are now) isn't very high. You'd think that consignment shops like Goodwill would be the charm, but such is not the case. Vintage clothes hounds typically pay a kickback to Goodwill employees to alert them to newly-acquired items, so it gets snapped up quickly and the really classy stuff quickest of all.
The Bay Which is Evil (i.e. eBay) is another option to seek your heart's desire, but many vendors misrepresent their goods and the last thing you want to be drawn into is a bidding war with a rich vintage clothing hound.
There's a lot more information I could share with you, but I think this will do for a starter.
