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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.