Wtfoffers Someone recently asked me why the “golden age” of a certain interest is always in the past.
And I thought…really? Does it have to be that way?
The term generally refers to the tailoring of the 1930s and 40s. That’s essentially because there was a broad consensus among people about tailoring. “That era had the best tailoring.” Men wore tailors on a daily basis. Double-breasted suits (which, interestingly, are better than single-breasted suits) were much more common at the time. Full cut pants, structure… everything looked great.
It didn’t end because people got tired of it. It wasn’t “outdated” in the typical sense. Rather, it fell into disuse due to the war. The rationing of fabric made clothing even worse.
For those of you who don’t know, during World War II, many governments, including Britain and the United States, decided that the war effort required a national tightening up. Of particular interest here are the various clothing policies they have issued. These will be collectively referred to as “fabric rationing.” Everything has become slimmer. Everything is now shorter. The waistcoat disappeared because it was not really needed. Double-breasted jackets have given way to single-breasted (curse!). This is because the latter used slightly less fabric. The rise is a little lower and there are fewer pleats. None of these choices were driven by art or anyone’s taste.
These restrictions applied to newly made clothing, so it wasn’t until the late ’40s that they really started to appear. We associate them with the 50s and 60s. Let me tell you, the slim, short tailoring of the ’50s and ’60s wasn’t as bad as the mass market slim, short tailoring of the 2010s. Indochina’s standard cut is unfair. But still, it was shorter and slimmer than anyone had hoped. It was a patriotic duty, not a style. But we no longer have that obligation.
Great fabrics are expensive. But it’s actually not that rare. That’s not unusual in the sense that in this country at war, it doesn’t matter what you want. You can get what you want and fabric availability doesn’t have to dictate your beauty choices.
Plus… it’s easy to be frugal. You can save money on suits of your favorite style. Yes, J.Crew Ludlow can be recycled. But if you have luck, patience and money, you can recycle vintage Armani, vintage Ralph and even vintage Savile Row. You have options. You can do whatever you want.
We don’t have the same standards as people in their 30s and 40s. But no one will stop you from dressing like that. No one will fault you for wearing a structured DB with full-cut pants and a perfectly horizontal canopy (sometimes referred to as a “tautz lapel”).
What we lost on that basis, we gained more than ten times as much in terms of freedom. You can wear 40s DB. DB can be worn with jeans. You can also wear DB with swim shorts. There are no rules.
This is a different kind of golden age. Perhaps this is a golden age of freedom. Maybe it’s a golden age…I hate to say it now because it’s become such a buzzword…personal style.
The key feature here is freedom. Freedom can be terrible when you’re focused on what others are doing. Some people are terrible. The worst dressed men in their 30s and 40s are still very well dressed. If you look for it now, you’ll hate what you find–trust me, I know that as well as everyone else.
Among billions of men, and probably millions of subcultures, the first key is to find your own. Find the aesthetic that suits you. Find the community that’s right for you. For me, Alfargo’s marketplace was a huge reaffirmation. This was my second time meeting real menswear friends in person (the first time was with one friend and it wasn’t that exciting). It gave me the opportunity to build friendships in the community (it’s nice to have repeated unplanned interactions). It’s known for its tailoring, prep, ivy, and similar “classic” aesthetics, but I met people there who expanded my horizons beyond those norms.
If you’re into tailoring, fall in love with tailoring. If you’re into gorpcore, get hooked on gorpcore. If you love denim, be a denim lover. If you like both golf and clothes… First of all, sorry, but second of all, hey, do you follow my friend Damian?
In other words, style is personal. This fact has become a strange and confusing refrain on social media in recent years. Mina Le delves into that perspective. But as someone who’s been championing this theme since before social media trends, style is personal. It’s not a trend. Personal style is not a recent concept, nor is it a momentary thing. It’s just a basic thing about style, and style is personal.
At some point, repeating the phrase “personal style” became so popular that people started using the term to define the era of personal style as the era of people dressing outlandishly and trying to be completely unique. This era has ostensibly been replaced by the current era of performativity (or, rather, the era in which we all repeat the phrase “performative man” until we’re all a little dead in our hearts).
However, personal style is not like that. Personal style is simply how you choose to dress for yourself. It can be loud and unique. It could be a small sign, such as Gianni Agnelli’s clock movement or Yasuto Kamoshita pressing the bottom button. If you like to wear charcoal and navy blue all the time, it doesn’t matter if those colors are very common. If you want to be boring, your personal style is boring, and that’s okay.
We do not recommend forcing signatures to get signatures. I don’t recommend making your style quirky just for the sake of being quirky. My goal is to help you find what you really like and dress like that. Whatever it is, it’s possible in 2026.
We have tailors who create styles inspired by the 1940s. There are still suits from the 1940s left in the world that can be recycled. Dirk hasn’t bought everything yet.
Alternatively, you can get a soft Neapolitan cut. Or the classic British drape cut. Or a dramatic Tommy Nutter style cut. Or a more modern invention like this, partly inspired by the 30s and partly modern and soft. Or a hunting jacket with bellows pockets and a throat latch. This isn’t even half of the unique styles I wanted to feature here, but the list has to end eventually.
There are a lot of mil saps and goaps. There’s Ralph Lauren and there’s ALD. It’s like, “What if we built a brand around the way people in New York wore Ralph Lauren in the ’90s, but also brought Greece into it?” There’s high fashion. From weird references to old French movies you’ve never heard of to shows featuring models with copies of their own heads, the sky’s the limit.
If you don’t like that, you can go to Fred Niedoo and have him make you anything. He is a bespoke tailor and costumer.
So what about us? do not have Are we living in a golden age?
The problem today is that style is difficult. You can’t go to a random tailor anywhere and get a great suit. Generally required not to wear a suit anywhere. It actually takes some effort to develop your aesthetic and dress well.
Are you okay. You are now reading a men’s style blog. you are putting some Strive to find your own aesthetic. You are developing your own palate. If you’re into tailoring, we’ve provided a list of bespoke tailors who can handle different home styles. I mentioned some casual aesthetics and pointed out some avant-garde designs.
Whatever style works for you, it will work for you in 2026 as well. Whether online or in person, you can find a community of people who will pick up anything you write. The internet has proven time and time again that it’s not just about tailoring, it’s not just about the shit I wear, it’s about vegan leather men’s leggings, this “Starboy” nonsense, whatever Dimitri is doing (he really has a lot of accounts), just about everything. If scammers can find their allies, so can you. (Don’t dress like them).
this teeth A golden age, if you will.
