Shirt
ca. 1960 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This shirt and the trousers (T.465-1995) were worn and given by John Hardy. They were exhibited in the V&A's Streetstyle exhibition of 1994 as a gay man's outfit worn in the mid-1950s. The donor worked in the shop 'Vince', and was a photographic model for its mail-order catalogue before becoming a successful full-time model.
Opened in Newburgh Street in 1954 by Bill Green, 'Vince' was the first men's boutique opened in the Carnaby Street area. The distinctive merchandise was influenced by continental European styling and often ahead of its time. The clothes were designed to enhance a muscular or athletic male body, with closely fitting trousers and short-sleeved shirts. This attracted a certain type of clientele, which the actor John Gielgud described as "Chelsea homosexuals, artists and theatricals, and muscle boys". (Nik Cohn, Today There Are No Gentlemen, London, 1971)
Opened in Newburgh Street in 1954 by Bill Green, 'Vince' was the first men's boutique opened in the Carnaby Street area. The distinctive merchandise was influenced by continental European styling and often ahead of its time. The clothes were designed to enhance a muscular or athletic male body, with closely fitting trousers and short-sleeved shirts. This attracted a certain type of clientele, which the actor John Gielgud described as "Chelsea homosexuals, artists and theatricals, and muscle boys". (Nik Cohn, Today There Are No Gentlemen, London, 1971)
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Printed cotton |
| Brief description | Shirt, hawaiian, semi-abstract floral design in various shades of brown, Paradise Hawaii, Honolulu, ca. 1960 |
| Physical description | Hawaiian shirt, short sleeved, shades of tan, chocolate and brown on white, semi-abstract floral design |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by John Hardy |
| Object history | Registered File number 1995/1519, Streetstyle exhibition 1994-1995, in the exhibition it was part of an outfit called 'Gay Style UK mid-1950s' (includes the trousers T.465-1994). |
| Summary | This shirt and the trousers (T.465-1995) were worn and given by John Hardy. They were exhibited in the V&A's Streetstyle exhibition of 1994 as a gay man's outfit worn in the mid-1950s. The donor worked in the shop 'Vince', and was a photographic model for its mail-order catalogue before becoming a successful full-time model. Opened in Newburgh Street in 1954 by Bill Green, 'Vince' was the first men's boutique opened in the Carnaby Street area. The distinctive merchandise was influenced by continental European styling and often ahead of its time. The clothes were designed to enhance a muscular or athletic male body, with closely fitting trousers and short-sleeved shirts. This attracted a certain type of clientele, which the actor John Gielgud described as "Chelsea homosexuals, artists and theatricals, and muscle boys". (Nik Cohn, Today There Are No Gentlemen, London, 1971) |
| Bibliographic reference | Surfers, Soulies, Skinheads & Skaters : Subcultural Style from the Forties to the Nineties
Described in the exhibition publication, part of an outfit called 'Gay Style UK mid-1950s'. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.673-1995 |
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| Record created | August 5, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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