American Trad men (photos)...

[drpeter]

From my grandfather's 1920 West Point yearbook-- a young MacArthur (West Point superintendent) with trad trendsetter the Duke of Windsor; also an advertisement from a yearbook sponsor in the back of the yearbook:

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Great photographs! Isn't leggings (in the advert) spelled with a "g" or is it American variant spelling?

 

[Retired EE]

Great photographs! Isn't leggings (in the advert) spelled with a "g" or is it American variant spelling?

Dusting off my hardcopy of "Webster's Third New International Dictionary", legging or leggin can both be used and are defined as the same.

There was another unusual word-- "Spoony", which was used in the 2nd advertisement. Webster's doesn't have a definition that connects with men's clothing fashion. It may have been youthful vernacular during that time period. (Input from others would be appreciated on defining "Spoony".)

On a different subject, World War I would have ended about a year and a half before these photographs were taken. Looking closely at the 2nd photo (Duke of Windsor standing near MacArthur), it seems that the two officers standing to the left appear to show in their faces the effects of the war (weariness, tiredness?).

 

[Doctor Damage]

 

[Charles Dana]

There was another unusual word-- "Spoony", which was used in the 2nd advertisement. Webster's doesn't have a definition that connects with men's clothing fashion. It may have been youthful vernacular during that time period. (Input from others would be appreciated on defining "Spoony".)

Look up the definition of “to spoon.” The Internet, quickly enough, will tell you that “spoon” is an old-timey verb meaning “to be amorous, affectionate.”

In the early 1900s, “spoony” was an adjective that popped up now and then. You might not find it on the Internet so easily, but I did some research. I ran across the word in old newspapers. The context in which it was used leaves no doubt that it meant, logically enough, the state of being amorous, flirtatious, affectionate.

Thus, a fellow in the military who looked “spoony” while on leave appeared to be a fellow who was ready to give and receive some sweet romance. Or at least the semblance of it.

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Corcovado]