July 28, 2011

For People of Inherent Good Taste, 1955

From April to August 1955, Glenmore Distilleries Company ran a sartorially splendid series of advertisements for its whisk(e)y brands in LIFE magazine, with artwork by Alexander Ross.

Although not exclusively clad in Ivy apparel, the dapper gentlemen depicted here display some familiar elements: natural shoulders, button-down collars, club collars, narrow ties, narrow lapels. All while heartily enjoying their alcohol and the company of other nicely-attired gentlemen.









Nothing screams "good whisk(e)y" better than locker room drinks with a man sporting just a towel.


Of note: The distilled spirits industry did not use women to advertise their products until 1959, and Glenmore was, reportedly, the first to break with this tradition.

4 comments:

  1. DonaldJuly 28, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    Well, there is some good news...despite it being a flip-flop, cargo-short, backwards-ball-cap world, you can still enjoy Kentucky Tavern. I saw it in my local liquor store just the other day.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 29, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    The gent standing in the first ad looks timeless - grey suit, pink button-down, black tie.

    I really, really like the "Bon voyage" look - club collar with tattersall vest.

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  3. notanymoreJuly 29, 2011 at 9:47 PM

    Love the ads, but I think the liquor is probably horrible.

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  4. Richard MAugust 2, 2011 at 6:45 PM

    Good point, Donald. Beer ads are now populated with juvenile Neanderthals. What happened to men with a little class?

    ReplyDelete