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Wednesday, March 3, 2021


Somebody (not me!) made an interesting GIF out of three Royale photos.  In a puzzling mix of thematic elements, we have a soldier in army boots disrobing an athletic type.  They even threw in a jockstrap.
In an interesting marketing ploy, Clavering and Parkhurst marketed some of their work under the name "Hussar," a type of light cavalry original to Hungary, but used in several European militaries.

 

2 comments:

  1. The one thing one can say about Royale is that the costumes used - however incongruously as in this one above - were absolutely authentic, they weren't just eclectic props cobbled together. Forget Sargeant Major Puttees on the left - which were, however, the genuine article in the British Army of the 1960. The runner on the right is wearing a period cotton running vest, a cotton short - a size too small - and a running shoe which was one of the first to come with a compound rather than leather sole. They were very light with high quality but very thin leather uppers. They were designed for the new tartan track surfaces and came with a "spike" version for greater grip. It is the jockstrap that hits the nail on the head. British jockstraps traditionally were of cotton and Litesome (manufactured in Nottingham, an area of the country just down wind of the northern cotton mills) was the Rolls Royce of British "athletic supporters". The pouch was made of generously thick, two-ply, woven cotton with an elastic surround for the most comfortable fit and the elastic leg straps had a light cotton "concertina" cover to prevent chafing. The leg straps met the waistband further back than the Bike. The trouble was that in the damp English climate, they took an eternity to dry. The Nylon, cotton and elastic American Bike jockstraps started to be imported into Britain by the very late 1960s and the demand for them was huge. (My own father - who was in Navy Intelligence - managed to get me some from the sports shop on one of the American Army bases on Salisbury Plain - from one of his visits. We had exchange control in those days and I don't know how he managed it, because they only took dollars.) Look at the tell-tale leg straps in this picture. Clavering and Parkhurst - circa 1970 - were absolutely authentic and up-to-date in the way they dressed their models.

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    1. Fascinating details and a great personal story as well! Yes, Royale's pants were always a size or three too small, lol.

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