Hi Ted…Paul Lukas’s Uniwatch blog linked to your article today. Are you familiar with the Helmar Brewing Co which produces distressed baseball cards of old time players? They look like something our grandfathers may have handed down to us but, unfortunately, I never knew either of my grandfathers.
That's very interesting -- I will check those out. I have seen some of the "classic" cards that use Topps designs from the past but paste new players into those templates (1959 was always my favorite). This is great fodder for a future piece on baseball cards. I do wonder whether I, too, am attuned to this kind of stuff because I knew only one of my grandparents so I'm interested in these notions of continuity (or synthetic continuity!) through stuff. Thanks much, John.
Feb 1, 2023·edited Feb 1, 2023Liked by Ted Anthony
I do think that another appeal to these “distressions” is the fact that they harken back to a day when items lasted long enough to be distressed to begin with. Almost every purchasable item these days (though not guitars) is made cheaper and lighter, to be easier to purchase and easier to throw away and make room for the next purchase. For example, Levi’s in the 60’s and 70’s could literally last forever, with holes slowly fraying or patched over until the patches wore through (see early Randy Stonehill). Outlasting their owner and passed on from brother to brother, father to son. Today’s jeans, if you can find an un-distressed pair, won’t fade or soften, and will ultimately rip in decidedly inorganic ways. They won’t outlast a hard day’s work. Hence the need for “proper” distressing…
That’s a cool take that I hadn’t considered. We might not only be longing for “lived-in-ness” but also for the continuity of durability. I want to think about that.
Hey Ted. I only recently started to dig into attachment theory, largely because of a parenting book i've been reading called Good Inside. For sure, substituting real with faux is emotionally ill but i think artifacts like hats and torn jeans are safe, interim, mood-brightening placebos. My take on torn jeans is it reminds us of being kids. But why some folks call them 'distressed' is also revealing and interesting.
Thanks, Ted. Attachment theory comes to mind, a fundamental human need. Maybe these artifacts offer a 'faux' attachment for us in times of need - which is pretty much all the time.
I like this take, Dwayne. My concern comes when the faux is taken over the real because it’s easier to get, and eventually we might stop pursuing these deeper connections. Do you ever worry about that in circumstances like this?
For sure. I think artifacts like hats and torn jeans, tho, are fun, quick placebos. Although calling these things 'distressed' does, perhaps, reveals more about the person's pysch than the garment itself. I've been digging into attachment theory thanks to a parenting book I'm reading called Good Inside.
nice essay, ted. i used to have a beautifully worn-and-used USC cap that had bought in the 80s. yes, "used to have." last baseball season, I plopped it on my little girl's head on our way to a dodgers game, when she couldn't find her glittery blue dodgers cap. around the 7th inning, my friend abe took samantha along with him to buy some treats. she came back wearing a new dodgers cap. "i thought it was ridiculous for her to wear a usc cap at a dodgers game," he said. fair enough--but "where's my usc cap?" i wondered. "oh, that old thing? i gave it to the dippin' dots vendor." who, by the time i rushed over, had already closed shop and disappeared.
I didn't even delve into vintage photo filtering for your phone shots. That's a whole other letter in itself. I'd love to hear from anyone who has any thoughts about how we use vintage filters to add a patina of experience to moments that just happened.
Pardon my cynicism...but buying experiences and the appearance of same is a lot easier, cheaper and safer than actually having some. We love to ooh and ahh at "rebels" from suburban safety. And few working class Americans have the income, time (off), interest or curiosity to step off the well-trodden path to have an adventure. Truly adventurous people gravitate to one another. I don't find American mass culture very adventurous, sorry to say. Eccentricity is seen as weird, valued in some other places.
Thanks for this, Caitlin. I always appreciate your responses. I like the notion that truly adventurous people gravitate to one another. I may paste that up on my monitor. I wish eccentricity wasn't seen as weird. We need more knobbiness in our lives, if only to prevent the tyranny of the "normal."
Thanks! I've lived a somewhat unconventional life (no kids, for one) so the people who take the less-trodden path are often the ones who most intrigue me. It always comes at a cost, whether physical, emotional, professional, relational. I tend to be more European in outlook, where different POVs and social safety nets also make adventuring maybe less hopeless.
Hi Ted…Paul Lukas’s Uniwatch blog linked to your article today. Are you familiar with the Helmar Brewing Co which produces distressed baseball cards of old time players? They look like something our grandfathers may have handed down to us but, unfortunately, I never knew either of my grandfathers.
That's very interesting -- I will check those out. I have seen some of the "classic" cards that use Topps designs from the past but paste new players into those templates (1959 was always my favorite). This is great fodder for a future piece on baseball cards. I do wonder whether I, too, am attuned to this kind of stuff because I knew only one of my grandparents so I'm interested in these notions of continuity (or synthetic continuity!) through stuff. Thanks much, John.
I do think that another appeal to these “distressions” is the fact that they harken back to a day when items lasted long enough to be distressed to begin with. Almost every purchasable item these days (though not guitars) is made cheaper and lighter, to be easier to purchase and easier to throw away and make room for the next purchase. For example, Levi’s in the 60’s and 70’s could literally last forever, with holes slowly fraying or patched over until the patches wore through (see early Randy Stonehill). Outlasting their owner and passed on from brother to brother, father to son. Today’s jeans, if you can find an un-distressed pair, won’t fade or soften, and will ultimately rip in decidedly inorganic ways. They won’t outlast a hard day’s work. Hence the need for “proper” distressing…
That’s a cool take that I hadn’t considered. We might not only be longing for “lived-in-ness” but also for the continuity of durability. I want to think about that.
Hey Ted. I only recently started to dig into attachment theory, largely because of a parenting book i've been reading called Good Inside. For sure, substituting real with faux is emotionally ill but i think artifacts like hats and torn jeans are safe, interim, mood-brightening placebos. My take on torn jeans is it reminds us of being kids. But why some folks call them 'distressed' is also revealing and interesting.
Thanks, Ted. Attachment theory comes to mind, a fundamental human need. Maybe these artifacts offer a 'faux' attachment for us in times of need - which is pretty much all the time.
I like this take, Dwayne. My concern comes when the faux is taken over the real because it’s easier to get, and eventually we might stop pursuing these deeper connections. Do you ever worry about that in circumstances like this?
For sure. I think artifacts like hats and torn jeans, tho, are fun, quick placebos. Although calling these things 'distressed' does, perhaps, reveals more about the person's pysch than the garment itself. I've been digging into attachment theory thanks to a parenting book I'm reading called Good Inside.
loved that hat, for the reason you stated! more thn a chat, i was pretty furious.
nice essay, ted. i used to have a beautifully worn-and-used USC cap that had bought in the 80s. yes, "used to have." last baseball season, I plopped it on my little girl's head on our way to a dodgers game, when she couldn't find her glittery blue dodgers cap. around the 7th inning, my friend abe took samantha along with him to buy some treats. she came back wearing a new dodgers cap. "i thought it was ridiculous for her to wear a usc cap at a dodgers game," he said. fair enough--but "where's my usc cap?" i wondered. "oh, that old thing? i gave it to the dippin' dots vendor." who, by the time i rushed over, had already closed shop and disappeared.
Sorry you lost that hat full of REAL experiences and history. I hope you had a “chat” with your generous but somewhat misguided friend.
I didn't even delve into vintage photo filtering for your phone shots. That's a whole other letter in itself. I'd love to hear from anyone who has any thoughts about how we use vintage filters to add a patina of experience to moments that just happened.
Pardon my cynicism...but buying experiences and the appearance of same is a lot easier, cheaper and safer than actually having some. We love to ooh and ahh at "rebels" from suburban safety. And few working class Americans have the income, time (off), interest or curiosity to step off the well-trodden path to have an adventure. Truly adventurous people gravitate to one another. I don't find American mass culture very adventurous, sorry to say. Eccentricity is seen as weird, valued in some other places.
Thanks for this, Caitlin. I always appreciate your responses. I like the notion that truly adventurous people gravitate to one another. I may paste that up on my monitor. I wish eccentricity wasn't seen as weird. We need more knobbiness in our lives, if only to prevent the tyranny of the "normal."
Thanks! I've lived a somewhat unconventional life (no kids, for one) so the people who take the less-trodden path are often the ones who most intrigue me. It always comes at a cost, whether physical, emotional, professional, relational. I tend to be more European in outlook, where different POVs and social safety nets also make adventuring maybe less hopeless.