So today, cleaning out some trash, I found this old copy of International Male.
Alert the Smithsonian!
Remember back in the ancient of days when this had to suffice for gay porn?
Oh, the pity of it all.
The pity of it all.
Anyway, let's take a look, shall we?
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| The appliqued black shirt. Sadly the cover looks like the "classiest" thing about the whole catalog. |
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| Striped bellbottoms. In the 90s. Let that just sink in, will you. |
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| One detail too many on each of these. Ok, maybe twelve details too many. |
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| Who doesn't need a sleeveless linen shirt? Or pukka shells. |
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| The ubiquitous extra long 90s suit. Now seen only on black men d'un certain âge. In lemon. |
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| The classic leather trench coat. It's a "staple" Isn't this what they wore at Columbine? |
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| Two of the most hideous shirts I've ever seen. In lemon. |
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| How many Orlons had to die for this? |
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| And, of course, the classic linen overalls. You know you need them |
The worst part of it was that by '97 all the underwear pictures were close cropped without heads or pecs and smoothed out by photoshop. Without the models in high cut thong bikinis, there really is no reason for IM at all, is there?
8 comments:
Oh, and don't forget the the ubiquitous stringy centre parted hair. It always reminds me of waiters in terrible 'classy' restaurants. "My name is Cory, and we serve the finest tiramisu in Indiana"
such fabulous clothes !
What on earth were we thinking?
What?! No puffy shirts? No mesh tees? No harem pants? Truly I don't recognize this pale shadow of a once-great retail giant.
I firmly believe that it only existed for its porn-substitute value. It was doomed not by the horror of its fashion, but by the rise of the Interwebs.
No thongs? No rentboy-wear? Really, if I wanted trashy respectable clothes, I could go to Penny's.
oh, how i loved the IM. low-rent porn, indeed.
i recall when i lived in LA & would drive by their store.
i found it hard to believe it existed.
Flashback central! Once, when I was drunk, I called and asked them if I ordered a particular item would the model come with it. We all had a good laugh with that.
Years ago, I went dancing with friends and we ended up at a straight bar and there was a man in his late 1950s who looked to be dancing with his "daughter" and he was wearing "The Stoker", a mesh tank top that IM used to sell. It at once horrified, and yet I could nopt remove my eyes...
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