{ “MUSCLES” Magazine – 1940s/50s (?) – Dick Dubois }
This is some exquisite work on all fronts. Check out the beautiful art direction here. It’s pretty much the epitome of the “lost in paradise” feeling we’re always yearning for here at The Eye of Faith. The colors are magnificent and romantic and beautifully thought through.
Then there’s Mr. Dubois. Dick Dubois. Looking mighty awesome even to today’s standards. In fact I feel like I know guys that would rock those denim shorts, and have that awesome curly, sweeping hair-do – but I’m not sure if any of them have the true body of a Greek God. You have to give it up for these heroes of our modern world. They leave people for us guys to look up to. Is here anything wrong with that?
Best part is people think that this kind of buff man persona is something new invented as of late by surf culture and materialism in the 80s, but it’s completely not the case. Men have always been obsessed with the male form and the male figure, and it has always dominated our world.
That’s why I can equate him to a Greek God, because that’s essentially what their statues were – just depictions of perfection that had been achieved by mortals. Mostly athletes and wrestlers, maybe warriors- just like these men; Probably athletes (possibly aspiring actors) and young disbanded war vets (the odd criminal, too).
We all deserves our idols. Worship them for strength.
Such a cool cover. They really don’t make ’em like they used to.
Too fucking cool.
+
So we have been going through a rough time here at The Eye of Faith, and there have been some sad events that have occurred that have prevented us from providing to our global audience as much as we should or like to. But I hope that we can still keep providing you all with our inspired content and continue bridging the gaps between the {PAST} {PRESENT} & {FUTURE}
Please feel free to DONATE if you have the chance….there’s a button on the right side bar in bright yellow that says “DONATE”. Click it and give what you can….
Help ensure both our {FUTURE}s
+
If not, no worries. But, you owe me another visit!
Until next time,
+
Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter
+
+
+++ {theEye}
+++
+
The Case for Hawaiian Shirts really began when I was 8 years old and my mother brought home a Hawaiian shirt for me from her trip to Hawaii. I had begged her to grab me one while she was touring the islands for work. Seemed to me like the coolest thing!
It was a wicked print, nothing too crazy, pretty much an example of a classic Hawaiian shirt.
I remember my locker neighbour saying: “Whats wrong with you?”
“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!” is what I wanted to say, but I just shrugged and laughed her aside. She didn’t even have a sense about her as she was herself wearing something completely typical of the girls in my classes around these times…
She just couldn’t appreciate it the way I did. For me, it made me feel the most ahead of the game. I was different than the rest, and that’s always a good thing. For me, there’s just no doubting a really great Hawaiian Shirt.
{Donna Reed + Montgomery Clift, “From Here to Eternity” [1953]. }
{Michael Pitt for Prada S/S 2012 by David Sims}
Lately there’s been a huge influx of Hawaiian and tropical shirts in both runway shows and magazine editorials – it seems the world is finally catching on and getting a little more in tuned with not just my drift, but the truth of the whole matter.
The case for Hawaiian and Tropical print shirts is that they are as much a classic staple in ones wardrobe as other pieces heralded as being part of our sartorial lineage.
There is plenty of mythology revolving around the the true origin of the Aloha shirt (as they are also called) that range from birth in the Philipines to the islands of Samoa.
Until the early 18th century, kapa was the main currency of many islands of the South Pacific. Kapa was a simple patterned cloth found in the South Pacific made from pounding and dyeing the bark of a mulberry tree. These prints later made a splash again in the 1950s.
However, it is safe to accredit much of why we still sport and wear these styles to the craftsmanship and entrepreneurial efforts of one, Musa-Shiya the Shirtmaker. Throughout the 1920s and 30s, Musa-Shiya was one of the top Japanese tailors in Honolulu, who profited from his made-to-order custom silk shirts made with colourful and bright Japanese fabrics with Western-style tailoring.
These shirts helped tourists visiting the island make that final transformation to truly being on vacation, taking it easy, and saying goodbye to the stresses of the mainland. Forget your troubles, come on be happy!
Soon after other Japanese tailors were doing the same, and quickly the demand for these tailored tropical refuges only began to soar. The 1953 film, “From Here to Eternity” would pretty much seal the deal with stars such as Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and even Frank Sinatra sporting the casual cuts of florals and tropical sunsets.
+ + +
From here on out, it pretty much has become the go-to expression of ease. Picking the right pattern is about 90% of the magic. There must be literally thousands, if not millions of different Aloha prints floating around in this world, and not all of them good. The key is equal parts colour as it is pattern – make sure both are really slamming. Compromise on this and you could really fall flat.
FIT would be another major point. So make sure it fits to your liking. If you’re feeling a little more lax and party you may want to embrace some volume (think Sean Penn as Spicoli from Fast Times, or Johnny Depp in Fear & Loathing) or you can keep the cut classic and simple with a bit more of a tailored look to emulate classic stars like Clift, Sinatra, or Delon. Either way – you’re pretty much laughing …
And just in case you’re unsure, check out our pics of style stunning inspiration that ranges from the {PAST} to {PRESENT}. So take a look, and decide your {FUTURE}…it’s calling!
All year round, these shirts takes you where you want to go!
It’s time to declare the Hawaiian Shirt an equally valuable piece of everyone’s wardrobe. It’s a defining piece with the magical ability to transport us from our everyday, and for those dedicated followers of fashion these pieces are definitely gaining visibility.
This is what I’m saying! If you don’t look back, you can never go forward! So hopefully you appreciate this menagerie of the exotic and wild! Check out The Vintage Hawaiian Shirt for more history, and a look at the web’s most impressive collection of them!
Don’t be stuck staring at your everyday checks, plaids, and plain…carry on the {TRADITION} and accelerate the past!
Take a look at some of the pieces in the +SHOP+ that can help you bring this look to life!
As you may, or may not have noticed, we have opened up a site on ETSY, which has been very good to us thus far, so we have started stocking it with E.O.F. EXCLUSIVE pieces that you can find only on our ETSY SHOP! Very exciting . . .
Take a look at a few of the things we’ve pulled for you!
Indeed, not your average vintage finds. That’s because each piece has been hand picked to ensure only the best and most relevant pieces make it to the +SHOP+. We love the thrill of the hunt, and when we get our hands on pieces like these, we know that we definitely have something special.
So why don’t you help us out, and bring the past to life with your new purchase directly from your one and only – The Eye of Faith!
“They say I live a fast life. Maybe I just like a fast life. I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. It won’t last forever, either. But the memories will.”
-Dennis Wilson
+++
Since the summer started we’ve been excited to write a piece on Dennis Wilson, the infamous bad boy and drummer of The Beach Boys; the band that brought the beach lifestyle to the forefront of popular culture in the 1960s – a romantic notion that still resides in the populous today.
It’s hard to think of that era without the The Beach Boys and their iconic sound, a mix of harmony, rhythm, soul, and blues all dedicated to Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and girls.
Hits such as Surfin USA, California Girls, and Good Vibrations, encapsulated the image we still associate with the notion of surf and beach living to this day.
Their music certainly came to define the dreams and musings of many who longed for the coasts and beaches of California, and the utopian recluse this magical land of surf and sun could provide (Don’t tell me it’s just us!)
Though his eldest brother Brian Wilson is accredited with much of the band’s creative and technical genius, it was the rebel bad boy drummer Dennis who lived and breathed the California that inspired the band in the first place.
+ + + +
“I don’t do much surfin’, no I don’t. Actually, I don’t even know how to surf, but one guy in the group is a real good surfer, he’s a lot better than any of us, actually, all of us put together. His name is Dennis Wilson, of course, he’s our drummer, and he’s actually the inspiration behind this whole sort of surfing image for the Beach Boys. He encouraged me to write a surfing song a couple, 2, 3 years ago which started the whole thing moving.”
Brian Wilson, St. Louis 1964
Perhaps you noticed, but Dennis certainly had a different presence and a certain swag, as they say, compared to the rest of the band. Even his eldest brother Brian, who created most of the music during The Beach Boys’ hit making days, knew that Dennis and his SoCal rebel lifestyle was the clue to the puzzle of making a name for themselves.
Dennis always seems a mystery, a part of his embodiment of the surfing rock n’ roll image, you could say. Definitely an archetype of rebellion, desire, and thirst for danger. Behind his eyes there are stories and thoughts completely untold.
There are not many rock stars today who truly live the fantasies they suggest in their music. Dennis was not only a surfer, but also a pro drag racer, sailor, movie star, and notorious womanizer. These are the stories and tales written into almost every hit breaking, chart smashing song produced by the band.
+ + + +
+
++”I wrest the waters, fight Neptune’s waters, sail through the sorrows of life’s marauders. Unrelenting, often empty, sail on, sail on, sailor.”++
-Sail on Sailors by The Beach Boys from “Holland”
+
+ + + +
+ + +
As much a piece of the puzzle to The Beach Boys’ success, Dennis never seemed to be able to stay far from trouble. As early back as childhood, Dennis was known for getting in fights, and failing classes. He married four times, and had developed a heavy habit for drugs and alcohol.
Most can definitely agree he had some demons.
Free-spirited Dennis would hit the ultimate heights of his notoriety when it was found out that he had housed Charles Manson and his cult for a time. Viewing the group as just a bunch of cosmically inclined free loving spirits with a itching for music, Dennis welcomed the “family” into his home, and housed them for several months.
+ + +
During this time Charles Manson and his groupies were hoping to become the next great music act with the help of Dennis. Dennis would indeed get some of their songs out there, but reworked for The Beach Boys, and in 1968 they would release the single “Never Learn Not To Love” written by Dennis, a reworking of a Charles Manson original.
Morbid, considering the message, and later the acts committed by the Manson Family in the Hollywood Hills…This attachment to the Manson family would always stain Dennis’ reputation, and only further instill his bad boy image in the public mind.
+ + +
His 1977 solo debut album “Pacific Ocean Blue” was a huge critical hit for the artist, which allowed him to demonstrate his very own unique and progressive point-of-view. Many fans and critics agree it is Dennis’ fearlessness, drama, and deep soul that almost eclipse The Beach Boys altogether.
These are the traits we admire in the man. The adventurer in all aspects. His music. His life. His soul. And the whole time, he wasn’t even trying. He just simply was the most pure form of himself at all times. He just was.
+ + +
+ + +
His style is almost the same. It is not pent up in being cool, it just is…sounds silly, but most of the time Dennis Wilson was just chucking clothes on. His wardrobe is simple, always comfortable, and fitted just right. Classic, but he shakes it up with his rough and messy sort of way about him.
Wilson’s body was found curled up in a fetal position at the corner of the dock that once harbored his yacht, Harmony – one of his greatest joys, as well as the scene for many dramas in his life. He had spent the afternoon drinking and diving into the waters finding objects he had thrown over his boat and into the water.
At 39, Dennis Wilson was already a legend in every right. He had inspired his band to create an entire persona around him, and with that they became America’s most famous and beloved band in history.
His devilish grin, and candid charm kept him a favorite of the group, and with a wicked ability to adapt and change, Dennis kept the band going during the band’s hardest times. Sadly, no one would be able to help carry him through his own.
Dennis Wilson was given a burial to sea, his favorite place on Earth, and an honor reserved only to members of the military. The perfect resting place for a restless, wandering, and beautiful soul.
+
We love you Pacific Ocean blue
Yeah we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh I we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
It’s no wonder the Pacific Ocean is blue
