Black blazer buttons: owner. Brass blazer buttons: crew. Is this the case?

[Malabar]

Then there is another hurdle..

If you look at the photographs of classic yachting in the 30's..
Tommy Lipton, Charlie Nicholson and the J Class crowd..
...they wore whites at sea and then the trousers had 1 inch turnups.

So the kit to wear at the helm was:

Blazer with black buttons, white shirt double cuff and club cufflinks and club tie, white silk pocket handkerchief, white trousers with turnups, white socks and white tennis shoes and cap with shiny peak, club badge and white cover.

Oh for the days of Sartorial Elegance under sail..

If you don't believe me come here or consult the photo library at Beken of Cowes.

Away from Cowes the rig for yachting was more likely to be your 3rd best tweed suit and brogue shoes. Colin and Stanley Smith sailed their 20', virtually-open Nova Espero, from Canada to Dartmouth in 1949 dressed very much in that style. Colin's pictures record that with no safety harnesses etc, if it blew a bit you just wrapped the mainsheet round your middle. Men were hard in those days.

 

[VO5]

Not wanting to wander off topic, but I don't think men were hard. I think it was more probably the ability to face adversity and discomfort with fortitude, resolute fortitude.

Think of handling natural fibre ropes and wearing clumsy rubber boots and oilskins and Souwester hats, and no heating or handwarmers.

This is without considering other discomforts, such as damp bedding, poor lighting, and very basic victualling.

And yet they maintained standards and dressed correctly ashore and in regattas and stood out from the crowd and identified themselves as yachtsmen.

Nowadays you walk down the High Street and you see many wearing shorts, polo ****rts and deck shoes and Tilley hats. These are not necessarily yachtsmen, but they are caught up in the fashion of the age. There is nothing to distinguish people so dressed from real yachtsmen.

Its not a bad thing, it comes with the popularisation of the sport and its availability to everyone which is good because it has ceased to be elitist, but with it has gone, in large measure, the exclusive glamour attached to sailing, I think.

 

[Talbot]

My blazer has gold plated buttons - each with a silver crest. This does not appear to meet either the specification for owner or crew alluded to above. Thus I must be entirely unfashionable - which is a statement that I have heard before

 

[shmoo]

My blazer has gold plated buttons - each with a silver crest. This does not appear to meet either the specification for owner or crew alluded to above. Thus I must be entirely unfashionable - which is a statement that I have heard before

You aren't the King are you?

 

[Keen_Ed]

Not wanting to wander off topic, but I don't think men were hard. I think it was more probably the ability to face adversity and discomfort with fortitude, resolute fortitude.

Think of handling natural fibre ropes and wearing clumsy rubber boots and oilskins and Souwester hats, and no heating or handwarmers.

This is without considering other discomforts, such as damp bedding, poor lighting, and very basic victualling.

And yet they maintained standards and dressed correctly ashore and in regattas and stood out from the crowd and identified themselves as yachtsmen.

Well, that and they didn't know any better. People didn't mind not showering for days on end because they didn't do it at home. If a bath once a week is good enough for the office, why bother with anything more when you're on hols! My mothers tells of going skiing in the 50s with my father and his brothers. They all wore the same shirts all week. Whiffy!

And as for damp bedding, my grandfather's (non centrally heated) house...

 

[doug748]

Away from Cowes the rig for yachting was more likely to be your 3rd best tweed suit and brogue shoes. Colin and Stanley Smith sailed their 20', virtually-open Nova Espero, from Canada to Dartmouth in 1949 dressed very much in that style. Colin's pictures record that with no safety harnesses etc, if it blew a bit you just wrapped the mainsheet round your middle. Men were hard in those days.

And not only yachtsmen, Mallory on Everest:

"They [Mallory's team] were a raggle-taggle crew…. To keep out the cold and the constant wind of Tibet, they brought their old tweeds and greatcoats, their woolly scarves and cardigans. They brought stockings knitted by their wives and their Alpine climbing boots. Surprisingly, there seems little consideration given to clothing at all, if we are to judge by extant correspondence between the organizers and team members, who were simply given an allowance to kit themselves out."

PS
Rather than ramble on here I have started a new thread:
"Modern sailing clothing - any good?"

 

[AntarcticPilot]

And not only yachtsmen, Mallory on Everest:

"They [Mallory's team] were a raggle-taggle crew…. To keep out the cold and the constant wind of Tibet, they brought their old tweeds and greatcoats, their woolly scarves and cardigans. They brought stockings knitted by their wives and their Alpine climbing boots. Surprisingly, there seems little consideration given to clothing at all, if we are to judge by extant correspondence between the organizers and team members, who were simply given an allowance to kit themselves out."

PS
Rather than ramble on here I have started a new thread:
"Modern sailing clothing - any good?"

Actually, recent research on the clothing found on Mallory's body suggests that it was at least as effective as modern materials; that the multiple layers of wool, cotton and silk provided effective thermal insulation while giving better freedom of mobility than modern gear.

 

[VO5]

My blazer has gold plated buttons - each with a silver crest. This does not appear to meet either the specification for owner or crew alluded to above. Thus I must be entirely unfashionable - which is a statement that I have heard before

I don't agree. A smart blazer is perfectly acceptable with gilt buttons but not for club use on this side of the pond. In the USA, anything goes.

Years ago I missed an opportunity to acquire a full set of blazer buttons which were replicas of Nelson's coat buttons. I have kicked myself ever since.

My comments are not based on any snobbery but on angst that style has progressively and relentlessly been crushed out of yachting clothing.

It seems that designers take delight in ignoring the classic and promoting the naff.

For example, to my knowledge only one manufacturer makes proper deck shoes (with leather uppers and rubber soles) in white for men, and then in very limited quantities.

It is surprisingly difficult to find white slacks in cotton for men.

Similarly with certain crew polo shirts, like for example white and navy one inch stripes with navy collars.

Curiously they are available but with white collars only, like Rugby shirts with the sleeves cut off.

Ladies' tops with 3/4 sleeves and a split neckline with narrow navy and white stripes again.

Any cravat with a nautical theme, and so on.

At the risk of being accused of being a dandy, I will now be quiet...

 

[Lakesailor]

Terrific troll.
Well done!

 

[VO5]

Terrific troll.
Well done!

LOL.