Advertising Menswear: Masculinity and Fashion in the British Media since 1945 (Dress and Fashion Research)

Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2014 In what was a golden age of British advertising, the notion of the 'peacock male' was a strong theme in fashion promotion, reflecting a new affluence and the emergence of stylish youth cultures. Based on a detailed study of rich archival material, this pioneering study examines the production, circulation and consumption of print, television and cinema publicity for men's clothing in Britain during the second half of the twentieth century. The study explores design issues and period style in advertising, the role of market research and consumer psychology in determining target audiences, the idea of the 'new man' in representing fashionable masculinities, and the various ways that menswear retailers and brands dealt with sex and gender, race, class and age. From y-fronts to Austin Reed suits to Levi's jeans, menswear advertising epitomised the themes, stereotypes, contradictions and ambiguities of masculinity in an age of great social change. This meticulously researched and detailed work of scholarship will be essential reading for students and scholars of fashion, history, sociology, advertising, media, cultural and gender studies. In What Was A Golden Age Of British Advertising, The Notion Of The 'peacock Male' Was A Strong Theme In Fashion Promotion, Reflecting A New Affluence And The Emergence Of Stylish Youth Cultures. Based On A Detailed Study Of Rich Archival Material, This Pioneering Study Examines The Production, Circulation And Consumption Of Print, Television And Cinema Publicity For Men's Clothing In Britain During The Second Half Of The Twentieth Century. The Study Explores Design Issues And Period Style In Advertising, The Role Of Market Research And Consumer Psychology In Determining Target Audiences, The Idea Of The 'new Man' In Representing Fashionable Masculinities, And The Various Ways That Menswear Retailers And Brands Dealt With Sex And Gender, Race, Class And Age. From Y-fronts To Austin Reed Suits To Levi's Jeans, Menswear Advertising Epitomised The Themes, Stereotypes, Contradictions And Ambiguities Of Masculinity In An Age Of Great Social Change. This Meticulously Researched And Detailed Work Of Scholarship Will Be Essential Reading For Students And Scholars Of Fashion, History, Sociology, Advertising, Media, Cultural And Gender Studies. Machine Generated Contents Note: Pt. One Going For A Burton: Menswear Advertising From Austerity To Affluence, 1945-57 -- 1.the Post-war Market For Men's Clothing -- Key Themes: The Rationing And Utility Schemes; Class And Earnings -- 2.menswear Advertising: Agents, Accounts And Audiences: `will It Be Seen? Will It Be Remembered? Will It Be Accepted?' -- Key Themes: The Ipa Social Groups, Target Audiences And Consumer Categorization -- 3.the Economics Of Press Advertising -- Key Themes: Newspaper And Periodical Readerships; Advertising Rates And Product Placement -- 4.the Design And Rhetoric Of Menswear Press Advertisements -- Key Themes: The Use Of Illustration And Photography; The Commercial Artist And Copywriter; Barratt Shoes; Austin Reed; Zero And Ici Terylene -- 5.the Art Versus Commerce Debate -- Contents Note Continued: Key Themes: Eric Newton, Mary Gowing And The Women's Advertising Club; Taste And Class; The Use Of Type Forms And Intertextuality Of Word And Image; The Layton Award; W.s. Crawford, Ashley Havinden And Daks; The `cut-off' Body And Spectatorship -- 6.poster Publicity And Menswear -- Key Themes: Regulation Of Sites And Circulation Costs; Poster Visibility; Baracuta; Moss Brothers; Abram Games -- 7.early Commercial Television And Menswear, 1955-60 -- Key Themes: Itv And Regionalism; Production And Circulation Costs; Burton's Rael Brook Shirts -- 8.the Impact Of Consumer Psychology And Motivation Research -- Key Themes: Walter Dill Scott; Mass Observation And The Advertising Service Guild Survey; Ernst Dichter; Vance Packard; Mccann-erickson And The Personality Of The Product -- 9.`feeling With' And `feeling Into': Appealing To Men And Women -- Contents Note Continued: Key Themes: Gender And Consumption Patterns; Shirts And Underwear; Lyle And Scott Y-fronts, Visual Pleasure And Tactility; Maurice Merleau-ponty On Seeing And Touching; Freud, Fetishism And Phallic Power -- 10.the Turn To New Consumers And Youth Culture -- Key Themes: Neo-edwardianism; Teddy Boys And Bricolage Fashion; Clothing, Colour And Decoration; Burton's And The Male Peacock -- Pt. Two Thinking Young: Menswear Advertising And The Generation Game, 1958-78 -- 11.sedimenting The Youth Market -- Key Themes: Class, Earnings And Clothing Expenditure; The Male Peacock; Boutique Culture And Mods -- 12.cinema And Television Advertising For Menswear -- Key Themes: Markets And Viewers; Straight Versus Symbolic Selling -- 13.menswear Advertising In Newspapers And Magazines -- Key Themes: Readerships, Advertising Rates And Product Placement; The Impact Of Photography; The Rise Of The Colour Supplements -- 14.poster Publicity And Menswear -- Contents Note Continued: Key Themes: Visibility And Receptivity; Advertising For Shirts And Tootal's `girl' -- 15.`you Bring The Body, We've Got The Clothes': Publicity For Tailors -- Key Themes: John Collier And `the Window To Watch'; The Male Peacock; Burton's And Brand Identity -- 16.from Dummies To Dandies -- Key Themes: Hector Powe And The Tailor's Dummy; Austin Reed, The Gentleman And The Dandy -- 17.ironing Out The Creases: Artificial Fibres And Menswear Advertising -- Key Themes: Du Pont; Bri Nylon; Polyester; Acrylic; Terylene; Shirts And Trousers -- 18.synthesizing Sex: Publicity For Artificial And Natural Fibres -- Key Themes: Visual Pleasure And Gender; Terylene; Dormeuil Mohair -- 19.`cloth For Men': Wool And The Whisper Of Darker Things In Dormeuil's Tonik Press Campaign, 1968-75 -- Key Themes: Dormeuil Tonik; Transvestism; Androgyny; Decadence; Narcissism; Style Revivalism; Camp -- 20.looking Good, Feeling Good: Materiality And The Interplay Of The Senses -- Contents Note Continued: Key Themes: Dormeuil Tonik; Austin Reed; Viyella; Haptic Visuality -- 21.getting More For Your Money: Menswear Publicity And The 1970s Recession -- Key Themes: The Impact Of Inflation And Unemployment On Consumer Spending; The Changing Of The Guard From Suits To Casual Wear -- Pt. Three Leader Of The Pack: Jeans Advertising Since The 1960s -- 22.the Jeans Market And Advertising Between 1950 And 1985 -- Key Themes: Levi's, Wrangler And Brutus Press And Moving Image Publicity; The Music Soundtrack; Advertising Production Costs; Jeans Sales And Age Groups -- 23.levi's 501: Back To The Future? -- Key Themes: Bartle, Bogle And Hegarty; The `bath' And `laundrette' (1985) Campaigns And Style Revivalism -- 24.here Comes New Man --- Again -- Key Themes: Haptic Visuality And Erotics; The Male Body And Visual Pleasure; The Male Consumer, Street Style And The Style Press; `dual Marketing' To Straights And Gays -- Contents Note Continued: 25.a Soundtrack For Consumerism: Music, Image And Myth -- Key Themes: Levi's, Wrangler And Lee; The Music Token; The Music And Image Narrative; Myth -- 26.more Than Just A Number: A New Style Of Advertising For The 1990s -- Key Themes: Wrangler, `crosstown Traffic' (1990) And Verite; Levi's, `settler's Creek' (1994), Photography And The Chronotope -- 27.racial Sameness And Racial Difference -- Key Themes: The Advertising Industry And Institutional Racism; Black Male Models; Levi's And Race; `taxi' (1985), Transsexuality And Race -- 28.from `mothers' To `flat Eric': Race, Gender, Age And Generation -- Key Themes: Mimicry And The Black Subject In Hush Puppies Publicity; Levi's And Age; The Downturn In The Jeans Market And The Shift To Experimental Advertising; The Rise Of Laddism, Ben Sherman And Levi's `flat Eric' (1999). Paul Jobling. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 239-252) And Index. Part I. Going for a Burton: menswear advertising from austerity to affluence, 1945-57 The post-war market for men's clothing : The rationing and utility schemes ; Class and earnings Menswear advertising: agents, accounts and audiences: 'Will it be seen? Will it be remembered? Will it be "accepted"?' : The IPA social groups, target audiences and consumer categorization The economics of press advertising : Newspaper and periodical readerships ; Advertising rates and product placement The design and rhetoric of menswear press advertisements : The use of illustration and photography ; The commercial artist and copywriter ; Barratt shoes ; Austin Reed ; Zero and ICI Terylene The art versus commerce debate : Eric Newton, Mary Gowing and the Women's Advertising Club ; Taste and class ; The use of type forms and intertextuality of word and image ; The Layton Award ; W.S. Crawford, Ashley Havinden and Daks ; The 'cut-off' body and spectatorship Poster publicity and menswear : Regulation of sites and circulation costs ; Poster visibility ; Baracuta ; Moss Brothers ; Abram Games Early commercial television and menswear, 1955-60 : ITV and regionalism ; Production and circulation costs ; Burton's Rael Brook shirts The impact of consumer psychology and motivation research : Walter Dill Scott ; Mass observation and the Advertising Service Guild survey ; Ernst Dichter ; Vance Packard ; McCann-Erickson and the personality of the product 'Feeling with' and 'feeling into': appealing to men and women : Gender and consumption patterns ; Shirts and underwear ; Lyle and Scott y-fronts, visual pleasure and tactility ; Maurice Merleau-Ponty on seeing and touching ; Freud, fetishism and phallic power The turn to new consumers and youth culture : Neo-Edwardianism ; Teddy boys and bricolage fashion ; Clothing, colour and decoration ; Burton's and the male peacock Part II. Thinking young: menswear advertising and the generation game, 1958-78 : Sedimenting the youth market : Class, earnings and clothing expenditure ; The male peacock ; Boutique culture and mods Cinema and television advertising for menswear : Markets and viewers ; Straight versus symbolic selling Menswear advertising in newspapers and magazines : Readerships, advertising rates and product placement ; The impact of photography ; The rise of the colour supplements Poster publicity and menswear : Visibility and receptivity ; advertising for shirts and Tootal's 'girl' 'You bring the body, we've got the clothes': publicity for tailors : John Collier and 'the window to watch' ; The male peacock ; Burton's and brand identity From dummies to dandies : Hector Powe and the tailor's dummy ; Austin Reed, the gentleman and the dandy Ironing out the creases: artificial fibres and menswear advertising : Du Pont ; Bri nylon ; Polyester ; Acrylic ; Terylene ; Shirts and trousers Synthesizing sex: publicity for artificial and natural fibres : Visual pleasure and gender ; Terylene ; Dormeuil mohair 'Cloth for Men': wool and the whisper of darker things in Dormeuil's Tonik press campaign, 1968-75 : Dormeuil Tonik ; Transvestism ; Androgyny ; Decadence ; Narcissism ; Style revivalism ; Camp Looking good, feeling good: materiality and the interplay of the senses : Dormeuil Tonik ; Austin Reed ; Viyella ; Haptic visuality Getting more for your money: menswear publicity and the 1970s recession : The impact of inflation and unemployment on consumer spending : The changing of the guard from suits to casual wear Part III. Leader of the pack: jeans advertising since the 1960s : The jeans market and advertising between 1950 and 1985 : Levi's, Wrangler and Brutus press and moving image publicity ; The music soundtrack ; Advertising production costs ; Jeans sales and age groups Levi's 501: back to the future? : Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty ; The 'Bath' and 'Laundrette' (1985) campaigns and style revivalism Here comes new man, again : Haptic visuality and erotics ; The male body and visual pleasure ; The male consumer, street style and the style press ; 'Dual marketing' to straights and gays A soundtrack for consumerism: music, image and myth : Levi's, Wrangler and Lee ; The music token ; The music and image narrative ; Myth More than just a number: a new style of advertising for the 1990s : Wrangler, 'Crosstown Traffic' (1990) and vérité ; Levi's, 'Settler's Creek' (1994), photography and the chronotope Racial sameness and racial difference : The advertising industry and institutional racism ; Black male models ; Levi's and race ; 'Taxi' (1985), transsexuality and race From 'Mothers' to 'Flat Eric': race, gender, age and generation : Mimicry and the black subject in Hush Puppies publicity ; Levi's and age ; The downturn in the jeans market and the shift to experimental advertising ; The rise of laddism, Ben Sherman and Levi's 'Flat Eric' (1999) Epilogue : Getting the right fit: objects/images/readers : Menswear publicity as a potent economic force ; Period style ; Underwear publicity and men as sex objects ; Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche press publicity (1998), queer masculinities, myth, menswear and the commodification of bodies Appendix I. Advertising agents and menswear accounts, 1945-2000 Appendix II. Menswear advertising, 1945-80s: illustrators and photographers Appendix III. Television, film and radio advertisements for menswear in Britain, 1955-2000 Appendix IV. Levi's press, poster, cinema, radio and television advertising campaigns in Britain, 1968-2000.