The summer weather in Chicago has been doing this thing where it has been sunny and hot during the work week for what would be perfect beach weather. Then, right in time for the start of the weekend, the clouds and/or rain roll in for an extended stay starting on Friday evening. There’s no use in complaining about it. More than probably anything else, this trend has forced me to think about taking some time off from work instead of staying behind my laptop and distractedly pining away for the chance to be outdoors. These weather patterns haven’t been the rule. It’s just that this past July, when I snapped these photos of our subject car, has been particularly fickle in that regard. Most months contain exactly four weekends, and all of them are precious to me, especially during summer.
Senior management made a visit to our branch last month, which mandated that full-on business attire be worn in the office as opposed to the more relaxed dress code to which many of us have become accustomed. This was on one of the days when the high temperature reached into the ninety-degree (Fahrenheit) range, with sun enough to spare. I was already sweaty and greasy following just the short walk from my home to the Red Line train into downtown. It reminded me of when I lived in Florida, many years ago. Here I was, sitting in my air conditioned train car, dressed more nicely than I am probably ninety-five percent of the time, as I could feel my drying perspiration bonding my dress clothes to what had previously been freshly showered skin. Blech.
Most summer weddings I’ve attended have at least been outside, where a nice breeze will help matters, but no. I was headed to my cubicle downtown in the Loop, wearing a tie (the tying of which I nailed on the first take, which was something I was not expecting) and a nice shirt and trousers, ready to plunk down at my desk with the expectation that nobody outside my department was going to actually see what I wore that day. Which is fine. This was all such a small price to pay in keeping with temporary protocol for a job, career, employer, work environment, and culture for which I remain eminently thankful.
On Howard Street. Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois. Saturday, April 8, 2017.
Returning from brunch with a friend last month in the nearby Andersonville neighborhood, our featured Cadillac moved smoothly and confidently southward on Broadway. It was a moment of déjà vu. I realized I had seen this exact car just over five years ago, slightly north in Rogers Park near the border between Chicago and Evanston while exploring the area. So much in my life has changed since then, much of it for the better. Both now as back then, the formality of this big Cadillac’s lines, its bright white paint, wide sidewall tires, and various accessories gave the impression of it wearing a “suit”. It looked like the kind of crisply tailored and pressed suit I used to see worn by some of the more distinguished-looking gentlemen in the first church I attended with my family back in Flint, Michigan.
Those wide-whites on what look to be genuine wire wheels would be the equivalent of a nice pair of Italian shoes. The spare tire kit on the trunk is like a fedora. This car looked classy to begin with, but it was dressed to the nines on this warm, sunny Saturday. The front windows were down, so the owner / driver appeared to have prized fresh air over the Cadillac-caliber of air conditioning unit bolted to this car’s 5.0-liter V8 engine. He might have been cruising with the air on with the windows down, and if he was, kudos to him. I didn’t get a good look at the driver, as I was too busy trying to trace this car with my Canon as it passed by me, but I wonder what the sartorial situation was inside this car. My guess is that he was dressed more casually than his Cadillac, as I would have been roasting in formal wear that day, even with the windows down. For the record, over 65,500 of these ’87 Broughams found buyers, making them the second most-popular Cadillac that year, behind the front-wheel-drive Sedan DeVille, which sold 129,500 units.
As this Cadillac Brougham passed by, I saw the word “SHALOM” in the smaller window of the rear door. “Shalom” is a Hebrew word that translates roughly as “peace” and is also used as a greeting. I made this discovery as I flipped through these frames at home, and it occurred to me what a powerful thing it was for this gentleman to use his very visible, embellished Cadillac as a personal platform for promoting peace. Isn’t this kind of sentiment that more of us want to see in our daily lives? “I come in peace.” Those are powerful words that can also be conveyed by a friendly smile or nod at a stranger. People can’t see your tattoos or message t-shirts while you’re sitting inside your car. Why not put your general philosophy in an obvious and logical place on the outside of your automobile? Angel of Broadway, I hope it’s not another five years before we cross paths again. Please continue to use your platform for good as an example for the rest of us.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, July 9, 2022.
Oy Vey! The heat is too much here in New Jersey. OK, I’m lucky enough to be able to wear shorts and a polo shirt to work. Much appreciated in this 90 degree plus weather.
Great writeup Joseph. Always enjoy your posts first thing in the morning before I get ready for work.
Thank you so much! I’m glad my own work attire situation is back to normal.
My absolute worst experience was back in 2012, going around Kuala Lumpur interviewing people for a corporate publication I was co-writing. Had to be in a suit, all the damn time, in tropical weather, for two damn weeks. Horrible. And getting from A to B was in lousy Proton taxis, too. A white Caddy would have been a definite improvement…
I can imagine it being quite a challenge keeping those suits looking nice during that time. My experience has been that several consecutive, really hot days of being in a suit or sport jacket, and everything starts to look less than ideal in short order. The condition of those clothes in those temperatures after a while only serves as a contrast to how dressy they’re supposed to look.
A white Cadillac on a hot day is an enticing combination. These were the last Cadillacs that could truly, proudly Cadillac. Everything else has been a pale shadow.
Dressing up? Only for job interviews and I haven’t had an in-person interview in a few years. Yesterday I happened to be in the same room as the organization’s #2 person; he was wearing the same work-related polo shirt. Did he also have on jeans? I believe he may but without tennis shoes as I had.
It’s funny you mention the work-related polo shirt. Just the other day, one of the higher-ranking managers was asking if any of us were interested in taking home one of the leftover polo shirts with our company logo. I politely declined, as I’m not sure I would wear it outside the context of a work-related event. Maybe to do laundry, but then again, I think I’d rather be in a t-shirt.
Wearing a suit has become a rare occasion for me. Though I sometimes wonder if we have gone too far. I think of the old-timers who wore suits every day in the days before air conditioning was common. And they added hats.
These Cadillacs occupy an odd place for me. Sometimes I agree with Jason above, when he says that these still had some Cadillac cred. But then again, having just written my COAL about my time with a 1963 Fleetwood, I see these as a (woefully underpowered) Caprice Luxe.
One nit – I think 1986 was the last year these were called “Fleetwood Brougham”. The 1987 Fleetwood name stayed with the smaller FWD cars. These were just the “Cadillac Brougham” – a name that always sounded wrong to me. Why would they choose a name that had previously been glued to Ford LTDs and Plymouth Valiants?
D’oh! I need to fix the title right now. Thanks, JPC!
Coincidentally, the brick building in the background of my first couple of shots was originally a Studebaker dealership. The company crest is visible in the masonry toward the top of the side facing Broadway.
I can empathize with those who must wear traditional business attire in hot and sticky weather. After more than 20 years of wearing business casual (and sometimes just casual), I started a new position a year ago where everyone must wear suits and ties. In cooler weather, I actually don’t mind this edict, as it sets a tone and makes the day feel purposeful. However, on these 90+ degree humid days, it’s miserable arriving at the office with my shirt already plastered to my back.
As for this Cadillac, I am not a fan of the non-stock embellishments here, but have grown to appreciate the basic shape and undeniable presence of this last generation of RWD Fleetwoods. I prefer darker colors, especially navy blue or black on cars of this sort, but on a hot day, this white Caddy is a cool linen suit. Peace to all!
One of the things I believe I like the most about the events of the past 2+ years is the permanent dent that it seems to have made on the practice of dressing up for work. Not being in a profession such as “circus clown” (where I suppose dressing appropriately and specifically for the job is necessary), I have always questioned/resented the need to wear things such as ties and jackets when working in my clients’ workplaces…schools. The need to “look professional” (What? More “professional” than the client? That seems uncalled for.) has always stumped me. Why can’t everyone just wear comfortable clothes that are as inoffensive to wearer and viewer as possible? Well, now that seems to be so. After more than a year of EVERYONE wearing “maybe pants” on video meetings, the bar seems to be finally lowered around performative dressing. Thank goodness, and now maybe we can get on to devoting that portion of our brains previously devoted to “how to tie a tie” to something actually meaningful to work.
rant over 😉
Joe, great article as usual! I’m not usually a fan of the surface-mounted continental kit (that makes ones car look like a hovercraft with just one engine), but it works on this white example. I think that with that vinyl roof and wheel/tire combination, the car would just look unfinished without that thing on the trunk lid.
I agree. I have always, and still do believe dress codes are the most basic form of discrimination there is. Who are you to tell me what to wear? What I wear has NOTHING to do with my ability to do my job. PPE, in dangerous environments, however, is a different matter. But a suit and tie when the most dangerous thing that can happen is a paper cut or change the toner in the copier? Gimme a break.
Rant over…
Jeff, I’ll agree that time that used to be focused on certain attire-based protocol is now better spent actually getting down to the nitty-gritty of what needs to be done. I’m just shy of a quarter-century into my career, and I remember those days in the late-’90s and early-’00s of having to dress a certain way. Part of it felt exciting, in that it solidified in my mind that I had successfully transitioned from working outdoors to working in an office environment, but I honestly don’t think I performed better at my job based on looking more formal.
I remember those days in my career too. Part of it did feel exciting.
Most of it just felt sweaty.
When I was in my early 20s, I worked in a retail store for a few years. Since this involved not only retail sales but also things like shipping/receiving, etc., my co-workers and I always wore comfortable clothes like t-shirts and shorts/jeans. One day, a buddy of mine and I decided to wear shirts and ties to work on a Saturday – we were amazed at how differently customers treated us… much more respectfully. For the next year or two he and I did made Saturdays a “dress-up day.”
These days, I wear business attire only for formal meetings – even the last funeral I attended was casual. Times sure have changed.
This Brougham is definitely the automotive equivalent of a dress-up day. Certainly not necessary, or fitting everyone’s personality, but it gets one noticed, and I bet, treated differently by other people.
Just one random additional observation on the car: Upon looking at the pictures closer, I was surprised that this car has a beige interior. When I envision Cotillion White Broughams, I tend to think of a red, blue or even white interior color. I’m sure beige was an option – just seems like an uncommon combination.
Eric, I could just now imagine an episode of “The Office” where Darryl Philbin and the warehouse folks do “dress-up Saturdays”, and Michael Scott gets wind of it. I could see how customers might respond a little more positively, to be honest. Regardless, I think good posture goes a long way, and wearing nicer clothes can lend itself to that. People seem to want to deal more with people who seem confident – clothes and / or good posture can help project that. Me, I’d rather stand up straight and wear comfortable clothes. LOL
Hi Joseph, Just as I was finishing your very appropriate post (yesterday real feel in northern NJ was 103 degrees F) I swiped left and up pops Paul N’s post titled “Vintage PR Shot: 1960 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – The Target Demographic”.
A recent re-post on this site has excoriated GM for the fall of Cadillac and the juxtaposition of your and Paul’s posts show respectively the high point of Cadillac and [close to] the end of the fall of that marque. If the white shalom Caddy had the 4.1 V8, then it would be the bottom.
Note: I’m not even going to go [too far] into how the mention of race, religion, national origin, or politics on a car can sadly invite trouble pretty much anywhere in the USA.
I’m retired now and gave away to the church rummage sale all but one suit and I tossed out all but a few dress shirts. I’ll probably never wear that one suit or any of the shirts, but I keep them as a reminder of how blessed I am to not be on a NYC subway platform where the A/C powered and very crowded cars of a train I am not taking adds many therms to the already unbearably high ambient temperature.
Sweating is designed to cool the body through evaporation. A suit and tie does not promote evaporation. It is a real health threat; I’ve experienced it first hand.
Hey, even the President and most members of Congress are tilting into the direction of casual wear.
Sweating is designed to cool the body through evaporation. A suit and tie does not promote evaporation.
I had honestly never thought about it in those terms. Thank you for this. Today, it was a very nice, fall-like 73 degrees outside today. I think I have two suits left in my closet, one of which I’ll probably need to have cleaned and pressed in anticipation of in-person sales calls later this year.
And you’re also absolutely right about a concentration of people on public transit increasing the ambient temperature. That’s especially true on Cubs baseball games here in Chicago.
It was so warm last week that my office thermometer read “80” and since I am still the only person in my office – I was shirtless with no shoes or sox, and beach shorts. My shirt was hanging over a box fan trying to dry out. I got the work done, but it is a far cry from my first days working at the Capitol and dressed like a store mannekin in a Brooks Brothers store window years ago.
COVID shutdown permanently changed things. Zoom doesn’t replace in-person.
This Cadillac is a snap shot of the Reagan years – the end of an era of formality now long gone.
The prediction the pandemic would lead to a permanent shift to online retail was off. After the worst of the pandemic has passed, many people now want that in-person retail experience. Leading online e-commerce company Shopify, based here in Ottawa, just laid off 1,000. Senior management were over optimistic the explosive growth in online retail, was here to stay.
There’s a reason my Brougham is called the “Jew Canoe”….aside from the religion of the owner 🙂
Beautiful find – the real wire wheels and wide white walls make the car look even more formal than Bill Mitchell envisioned.
I had my Bar Mitzvah in May of 2001 – in Houston Texas. I was in a suit and tie, and couldn’t wait to get the tie off and breathe again. Still don’t like wearing ties, but I do like getting dressed up for date night with my wife – pinky ring, Cadillac Brougham and all.
The valet at the local Italian restaurant gets a kick out of the Brougham…it stands out among the sea of Lexi, BMW’s, and Benz’s.
As far as the heat…I can’t wait for fall. Summer is not friendly to working on the cars – spent the afternoon on Sunday changing the plugs and wires on our new to us 92 Brougham in 94 degree heat with the humidity factored in.
Hope the visit from the big wigs went well at work!
This was all great stuff, Tom. I’ll assume that the visit from upper organizational leaders went well, because I don’t remember hearing anything about their visit, afterward, except that it happened. Sometimes, no news is good news, as the saying goes.
And I love your pluralization of “Lexus”.
I hated having to wear suits and ties back in the 80s as I found myself in management. I kept thinking “why can’t we fast forward to the Star Trek era, when everyone was comfortable clothes?” Well, eventually, it’s happening. And I predict the trend will continue until…the pope goes casual. 🙂
I’m writing this from Port Orford, where the summer temps rarely exceed the mid-60s. And the winter lows rarely drop below the mid-40s In fact, year round the maximum temperature swing is only some 20 degrees. So why did I have so much spray foam insulation put into the pole barn I’m converting into a cabin? But I’m keeping the two big roll-up garage doors so that on nice sunny days we can open them up.
Enough gloating. Summers really are getting worse, even in Eugene, where historically a/c was not needed or common. But it was last summer’s torrid heat wave and smoke that caused us to buy this place here.
And as to suits, I kept one for some 25 years strictly for my parents’ funerals back in Baltimore. I wore it for my father’s in 2012, but never needed it for my mother’s, as she died during the height of the pandemic (not from Covid). I tossed it then. I’m suitless; never again.
What about your funeral?
There won’t be one. I hate traditional funerals. My ashes will be spread in the woods where I love to hike. And if a few friends want to join the hike as something of a celebration, they sure as hell won’t be wearing suits. For that matter, I’m 99.9% certain that none of my close friends here own suits.
Out here, the only people that still wear suits are attorneys that have to wear them to court. It’s literally a rare sight to see a man wearing a suit except within a few blocks of the court houses downtown.
Me too! (even though no one asked).
1. Quick cremation.
2. Spread ashes under the 30 foot tall river birches we planted together.
3. Sell the Miata.
4. Keep the Tacoma.
Would you like your ashes taken to the woods in a white Caddy with white walls n wires then?.
A final ride in a GM Deadly Sin would be highly welcome and most fitting!
Paul, this made me think about what’s in the future for business attire. The “Star Trek” era! That made me chuckle, but hey – I’d absolutely rather be comfortable than itching to remove my tie and unbutton that top shirt button at the end of the day.
Warm memories of a rare GM car of the 80’s that weren’t a trail of disappointments…they may have been out of style and out of date, but maybe marked the final end of what GM was good at.
My in-laws had a yellow on yellow on yellow 85 Fleetwood Brougham with the 5.0. As a young married man in my 20’s, I borrowed it in 1989 to take my wife and infant son on our annual 500 mile trek from Cincinnati to see my family in Toronto. I recall it having about 50,000 miles on it. Despite the fact that I was a GTI driving and BMW aspiring yuppie of sorts, the 4 year old Caddy provided a thoroughly enjoyable experience…a great smooth highway ride and all that space to cart everyone around very comfortably. It had adequate power and the gas mileage wasn’t disturbing…no issues whatsoever. Not a car for me in any color, but I completely respected it’s pupose.
Unfortunately, the very good experience wasn’t enough to change my family’s entrenched view of GM products. After a run of reliable and ulitately loaded full size Pontiacs (71, 74, 76 and 79) my Dad could have easily become a Cadillac guy if they offered the right product. He loved the original Seville. Then we were deeply scarred by my Mom’s horrible stalling 76 Sunbird disaster of a car (converted to a faultless 80 Honda Accord) and then there was Dad’s 82 Buick, which kept bouncing and bottoming out over moderate bumps. After a couple dealer visits for shocks and bigger tires, they finally reported it had the wrong front springs in it…it was a V8, model with the springs of the V6 model. That was the final nail for Dad…he went for 5 BMW’s over his final 25 years…not that they didn’t have occasional issues, but none had the wrong springs.
In the days of a la carte options and dozens of color combinations, before bar codes and computers were everywhere, it’s actually amazing that more cars didn’t get the wrong springs.
Car plants and equipment/part codes were computerized decades before his dad’s ’82 Buick was built when a careless worker grabbed the wrong springs. The big three were pioneers in adopting computers and such for precisely that reason.
I’m sure you’re right…kind of like an extreme version of dropping beer caps in the doors!
Perhaps that’s why Caddies have become American BMWs, the words of UTubes Tyler Hoover. If car buyers want to buy a BMW then sell them your version of a”BMW”?. What America needs is not a gas guzzling SUV but a large 6 passenger sedan. Did not Toyota build one in the late 90s?.
Not sure….the obnoxious in your face gas guzzler strategy seems to be the only strategy that’s working.
IMO, the only real Cadillac product is an Escalade…big, brash and I would guess pretty comfortable and well screwed together. It’s a shame it’s a Suburban with a thin veneer, yet it’s somehow effective at trying to be a Cadillac…at least my perception one. And, it seems to have plenty of buyers willing to pay six figures.
On the other hand, the other Cadillac models posing as BMW’s seem like good enough cars, but based on how thin they are on the roads it would appear most buyers prefer the real thing. It doesn’t help that cars (versus SUV’s) as family transportation are a thing of the past.
Well seen and well told, Joseph, as always!
There’s something screwy with this car’s headlamps. The first pic shows the inboard high beam lamps ablaze alone, apparently at full intensity. Looks like someone who didn’t know what they were doing didn’t let that stop them cobbling up what they mistakenly believe is a daytime running light setup.
Thanks, Daniel. And before you mentioned the headlights, I didn’t notice that the inboard lights were on, in a reversal of in the picture from 2017. I did notice last night that a new grille cap had been added since then. I hadn’t noticed that when I had originally put this essay together.
I no longer own a suit. The last time I can recall actually wearing one was in 2007. It was a beautiful suit, but it was lost in a move along with quite a few other seldom worn garments in a box that never arrived at the intended location. I never replaced it and haven’t had occasion to need to. I still have a box of ties in storage, but only for sentimental reasons. I spent the better part of nearly two decades in a suit and tie, hard bound leather oxfords, a heavy and cumbersome cashmere overcoat in winter…I look back with fondness at those times, but the wardrobe was an expensive and uncomfortable affectation that wasn’t necessary at all.
My office went 100% casual after Covid. Shorts, tennis shoes and polo shirts are pretty much the norm, but in truth we’re allowed to wear anything that isn’t offensive or inappropriate. I recently convinced myself to buy some pricier, “dressier” shorts than the usual. After 7 years of living in Florida and now 2+ years of the current work wear scenario, I’ve given in to the reality that shorts and more-casual-than-business-casual clothing are the new normal. Sometimes old dogs really enjoy new tricks.
I could absolutely see making a case for what defines office wear based on geography. I spent both my college and early workforce years in Florida, and what I remember the most was immediately sweating as I sat in my car as I started it up. There were such great things about living in the Tampa Bay area when I did, and I miss certain things about it on random occasions. Sweating all the time is not one of them.
They’ve made that Caddy into something of a “toon car”.
I’ve always detested neckties. When I was a teenager I ranted about them, I think right before some or other formal event, about an unquestioned, idiotic tradition. My parents said I had to do it anyhow; and hurry up about it or we were going to be late; and I’d better get used to it for when I’d be in the workforce, out in the real world*. And besides, shaddup; girls and women had a much worse burden of clothing and fashion accessories and makeup and hairdos (ohrilly? I see, so two wrongs do make a right, then!). I did shut up, but I vowed to myself I would find a way—and I did—to make a living without putting a noose around my neck.
*They said the same of my beard. They were the opposite of right about that, too.
That makes me think that someday soon(ish) men’s neckties will someday be in the same position as men’s hats are today.
As recently as the early 1960s (see the photo Paul posted today of the 1960 Coupe DeVille, or really any car ad from the century before that), it was simply expected that a presentably-dressed man wore a hat. But that pretty much petered out during the 60s to the extent that men’s hats today are anachronistic enough to be considered “ironic” and therefore cool (which IMO is not true…hats other than winter weather or outdoors gear still look dopey).
We may have just witnessed neckties’ hat moment.
re: men’s hats
I recall this theory being thrown around when I was in my 20s.
https://www.primermagazine.com/2021/learn/jfk-mens-hat
I’ve heard that theory as well. But I just think that JFK was reflective of his times and was less of a trend-setter than he may have been given credit for.
After all, his successor rocked another kind of hat quite well, but that didn’t exactly catch on…
I think JFK liked showing off his thick head of hair, a side effect (as was his perma-tan) of the cortisol he took for Addison’s disease.
Oh, the “out in the real world” argument. I feel like I could write an essay about everything I was told as a youth was going to be good for me in the future. Not to knock much of the wisdom that was imparted to me, but there were a lot of dubious claims made by adults when I was on my way to adulthood, myself. A little extra helping of healthy skepticism might have saved me some trouble in trusting people later on.
I think mostly that argument is made in good faith, but it’s faulty in that it applies to their world, the one they live and work in. The recipient of the sermon lives on the same planet, but in a different world.
(I was told to have fun playing at growing a beard, which was of no consequence in college but wouldn’t fly ITRW™. Wrong; the only business cards I ever had were those pretentious ones I made at my print-shop job in high school—I just don’t need ’em. Biz cards suck; they get lost. People might not remember my name, but they remember my beard, so they remember me: the car-lights guy with the beard. I haven’t seen my chin in a quarter of a century, and this ol’ world is several dozen large notches too real for my taste, so…QED!
Beards are as useless as suits and ties: completely non-functional and all about appearance. A current fad that hopefully will go the way of all fads.
Looks as though you might not know quite all about beards. Thanks for your valued feedback, though!
Most welcome, glad to help! Oh I had one 50 years ago all right. I looked like Lincoln (not the car! though a ’61 would have been ok) until I decided that the maintenance and discomfort plus annoying sanitation issues were not worth the effort just for appearance’s sake, nor was/is one needed to compensate for lack of hirsuteness on other parts of the noggin. And I like to reject anything that is faddish, just because. The fact that my 96 yr old (in ’71) great-grandmother liked to call me The Bolshevik and my boss faceously called me Jesus almost made the effort worth it though!
If you had ‘sanitation issues’, you were doing it wrong and/or had a vivid imagination—or perhaps you fell for one of the shaving industry’s periodic beards-are-yucky campaigns.
As to the rest: everyone’s entitled to your opinion, of course, but I reckon my 26-years-and-counting beard is probably getting just about old enough not to be faddish. Useless…? Maybe your reading glasses could do with cleaning; right up ↑there↑ I went into some detail as to one of the many ways my beard has been very useful.
But thanks for your valued feedback, though!
While I have occasionally worn a sport coat for formal work occasions in the 21st century, and maybe even a tie, I haven’t owned a suit since the early eighties. Nevertheless, starting in the early 2000’s, I’d say there was a fairly strict dress code for men in Silicon Valley. Senior (male) management wore nice unfaded jeans with good dress shoes, and a pressed long sleeved button-down shirt. Maybe short sleeves or a nice polo shirt in summer. Khaki pants paired with athletic shoes branded you as a senior software engineer who didn’t care what people thought about their clothes, only cared about efficient code that worked. Younger engineers usually dressed more formally. Nobody drove Cadillacs.
You bring up an interesting point about line of work. I do think there’s some correlation between what one does and how one would be expected to look. Stated another way, I don’t think that uniform standards across every, single occupation (traditional business attire) would be warranted, especially given the increasing disparity in earnings among certain groups. Those making less money can’t necessarily afford to purchase clothes like that, just to work in an office.
I always look forward to your writing and photography Joseph. You consistently assure fun and offbeat topics! Another great find as well.
I’m in Ottawa, Canada, and climate change has presented a significant evolution in typical business apparel here. We now regularly get extreme summertime humidity and heat often rivalling Florida (or worse). It’s cooled down today, but on the weekend both days peaked at 105.9° Fahrenheit (41° Celsius), with the accompanying very high humidity. Where suits and ties were once common for federal public service workers, both are virtually never seen now. Almost universally, replaced by dress shirts, never ties, and casual pants.
Whenever I see modern cars with outlandish wide whitewalls, I immediately think of the big sponsor white shoes MLB players often wear during the All Star Game, going back decades. A highly uncool look, generally speaking. Though the wire wheels on your Caddy do help some.
Thank you so much, Daniel! And I’ll confess to owning (and really liking) my retro-style white Adidas. No one has said anything to me about them, but even if they had, I’d still be rocking them.
White athletic shoes on the street look great! It was unique, back when a small handful of MLB players wore them for sponsors, as hundreds of players still had on their regular issued blue, red or black shoes.
A Joe Dennis story without some cool music, doesn’t seem right! ‘Dressed for Success’ was released in Europe by Swedish duo Roxette a year later, on August 3, 1988.
This was actually my favorite single released off of “Look Sharp”. I was surprised that it wasn’t a relative success, peaking only at No. 16 on the Hot 100, IIRC. What a high school throwback! Love it…
Time certainly has flown! I was listening to the MTV year end countdowns for 1988 and 1989, and it is those outstanding songs that peak in the teens, that bring you right back. As they don’t get played anymore like the big hits, while remaining fantastic tunes, they deliver you straight back in time!
Given you are featuring 1987, and you’re a Depeche Mode fan, I thought I’d use the chance to include this great DM sound-alike tune by the excellent German group Camouflage. 🙂
Oh, gosh – I remember hearing this at Old Wave nights and dancing to it. I might have assumed it was DM. I recently came across a Peter Schilling (also German) “best of” disc at a local thrift shop, and a lot of that music has similar production values. I love all of it.
I’ve always hated suits. I haven’t worn a suit since I retired. 🙂 In my denomination the traditional ministerial garb has long fallen into disuse, but my last congregation was very formal and traditional. It was an older congregation where everybody dressed up. Always a suit (I had to go and buy one!) and tie, not a tweed jacket like I got away with previously. That’s always seemed strange to me; common sense would say that in an occupation that involves a lot of public speaking, you don’t want to wear something that constricts your throat. I went along with expectation for the Sunday services, but wore an open necked shirt the rest of the time. Nobody seemed to mind. And my blue Mazda 3 Maxx Sport was the brightest car in the car park. 🙂 The church I attend nowadays is pretty much the antithesis of my last one; there might be two men out of fifty in a suit; needless to say I’m not one of them.
Looking at that Cadillac, I’m sad for what could have been. In my childhood, though I’d never seen a Cadillac, I knew what one was, or what it stood for. As the sixties wore on, and I started reading car magazines, I became aware of a widening gap between the traditional non-American perception (America’s Rolls-Royce) and the reality (GM’s best, but no Rolls). As time wore on, we found it was no Mercedes either. Extending the analogy, I have to think Cadillac hung on to formal wear for too long. While undeniably having a sense of presence, there was perhaps too much gravitas and not enough grace; too much formality at a time when society was largely becoming more casual. If only more attention had been given to what went inside the suit. It was like finding out on the dance floor that you’d forgotten your deodorant.
Extending the analogy, I have to think Cadillac hung on to formal wear for too long.
Maybe this is why I find this one, and ones like it, so compelling in 2022. Much like gentlemanly things like mustaches and hats have made some return in some quarters, the formality of this Cadillac, while it might have been somewhat passe in ’87, looks undeniably good to me today.
And the dress code at my Presbyterian church is about as close to a direct 180 degrees from the first Lutheran churches I attended in early life. The last time I remember wearing a tie to service was when our former pastor of something like 25 years retired and there was a special farewell event for her.
Ah, ties! The stories I could tell! For a while there my wife and then-teenage daughter outdid each other finding oddball but tasteful ties for me to wear. 🙂
In my early days in that last parish a short but vocal elderly Scotsman came up to me and demanded did I know what tartan that was on my tie, and by what right was I wearing it? As it happened I did know; I was wearing Dress Mackenzie, so I told him that and said that since I had married into a sept of the Clan Mackenzie, yes I did have the right. His demeanour changed instantly; and he welcomed me as an honorary Scot! Once I got to know him I realized he’d been pulling my leg, and that he was really a nice bloke.
I have a Cadillac Brougham very much like this (for sale now for 15K dollars, as I have terminal cancer here in Miami; the car is an excellent shape and will drive anywhere), except that mine is bright red with a darker red top and with the gold trim package and the same type of oversized grille shown here; mine is a 1992, the last model year for the Cadillac Brougham. Mine has the much desired 5.7 L engine with factory fuel injection and has a backup camera with AM/FM/CD.
I also have the 1964 yellow Thunderbird Landau with white vinyl top which I purchased in February 1968. AC..
$12k.
Photos of cars available: paul.fausnight@yahoo.com
Oops, in my comment yesterday August 10th I somehow posted the wrong photo, as my old eyes got the wrong thumbnail chosen. Let’s try again.
Simply email me for photos and information for either the 1992 Cadillac Brougham or the 1964 Thunderbird Landau pictured here.
Hot damn! I’ve never before seen a bright-yellow-under-white T-bird, and I love it; this works right out loud!
Two tone baby
Very nice, Joe!
I am trying to post one of my 1992 Cadillac Brougham for sale as described in my comment.
In order to make sure your photos will post, make sure they’re not more than 1,200 pixels wide or tall.
Thanks, Daniel!
I’ll be 80 this calendar year, and this is the second car I ever owned, purchased when I was 25. I even drove it from Jacksonville, where the car is now, to the lakes and mountains of Guatemala back in the day.
Here I go, I think. I had to go down to the garage and take another photo.
I went down to my garage and took another photo this morning of the Brougham.
Now?
Still no luck. Your pics are probably too large, in file and/or image size. Set them to 72 dpi, not more than 1200 pixels wide or tall before uploading, and make sure they’re .jpg or .jpeg files, not .png or any other format.