Why The Top Hat and Cape Wouldn't Work In Real Life?

[quasar]

There is no doubt that wealthy people also frequented the East end in search of 'action' - that may have been lacking elswhere. We know that Prince Albert(himself a ripper candidate) frequented brothels there.The same way the notorios 'Golden Mile' (Kings cross) district in Sydney attracts the top end of society, and the bottom. There is no way you could rule out a mentally deranged upper class gent, who would have had better opportunity to kill in the jungle that was the East end, than the quite West end.

As for the popular image. I noticed the term ' real life' in the thread. There in lies the problem.We are all well aware now in 2010 that there are people willing to alter, or forgo completely, 'reality' in the unscroupulous pursuit of profit.In the world of fiction, which has become a sea of mental illness, one now has to be very wary in decerning 'reality' from the crud.This goes for movies, TV and books. Jack the Ripper, wether rich or poor, would not have worn an outfit that would draw attention to him.So maybe choose J.Lawende's description as a best bet.

Thanks, Q.

[smezenen]

1-How much would a "top hat' cost in 1888?
2-While comiting the murders would the hat have stayed on his head, or would it fall to the ground to get mucked up and thus possibly ruined?
3- Could a cape possibly hinder the movements of a killer as he forces his victim to the ground kills then evicerates.
I would bet my entire years pay that Jack dressed just like the rest of the locals.
Simple clothing not expensive not movement restricting thats what he would have wanted.

[Madam Red]

Trevor:

Haha, fair point.....any relation to Dr. Bond of the JTR case that you know of?

MR:

These few links might be of some help to you as well hopefully.....the last link even advertises the costume as a JTR costume!

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/vi...hing-guide.php

http://www.costumesofnashua.com/CNWe...TheCentury.htm

http://www.buy.com/prod/new-mens-cos...211549247.html

That should keep you going for a while....

Cheers,
Adam.

Oh,thank you! <3 This is going to work wonders for my program!

[Adam Went]

Trevor:

Haha, fair point.....any relation to Dr. Bond of the JTR case that you know of?

MR:

These few links might be of some help to you as well hopefully.....the last link even advertises the costume as a JTR costume!

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/vi...hing-guide.php

http://www.costumesofnashua.com/CNWe...TheCentury.htm

http://www.buy.com/prod/new-mens-cos...211549247.html

That should keep you going for a while....

Cheers,
Adam.

[Madam Red]

He probably looked like a slightly shabbier-dressed version of this dude:

Thanks!

[cappuccina]

He probably looked like a slightly shabbier-dressed version of this dude:

[Madam Red]

Adam - Try having the surname 'Bond' in the UK!

MR- that costume is truly awful! From the gratuitous goatee beard (not all that popular in the LVP from what I've read!) to the pinstripe 'city-boy does casual' trousers and the tiny knife...hmmm...and is it my screen or is there a blue tint to the hair?

I honestly had no idea this stuff was out there to this level. As a study in the odd 'influence' of JTR into the public conscience this could be fascinating.

Whoa! I bet you never hear the end of it! Am I right?

Yeah, that's the worst one I found. And so expensive! It's utter nonsense! I could get this at a joke shop for maybe 10 dollars.

It's quite fascinating, indeed.

I could use some help, though. I'm looking for more examples of Ripper costumes. Any ideas?

[tnb]

Adam - Try having the surname 'Bond' in the UK!

MR- that costume is truly awful! From the gratuitous goatee beard (not all that popular in the LVP from what I've read!) to the pinstripe 'city-boy does casual' trousers and the tiny knife...hmmm...and is it my screen or is there a blue tint to the hair?

I honestly had no idea this stuff was out there to this level. As a study in the odd 'influence' of JTR into the public conscience this could be fascinating.

[Adam Went]

Hey MR!

Yes, Madam Adam....and "Went, where did he go!?"....heard it all before. Those jokes were pretty popular in about 1994. lol.

Glad you like the Victoriana site, it's definitely a beauty....you can subscribe to daily updates on there as well. It's filled with interesting stuff.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Madam Red]

You said it all pretty well there Adam.

Madam (Madam and Adam...this is going to get as confusing as the Goulston Street Graffiti thread where we had Trevor [Mariott] and Trevor [me]!) - that sounds like an excellent idea. Part of the motivation behind my documentary is a little bit of myth-busting, and while the whole costume idea is not one that had crossed my mind it sounds an excellent idea.

It is not about being at 'levels' - God knows I am WAY below the level of many on here, Adam included for example - but the internet is a wonderfully democratising medium and with a bit of imagination anyone can turn the lack of mass commercial distribution to their advantage in allowing them to explore more 'leftfield' angles than are commonly addressed - such as you are doing. My documentary is internet only too, as it happens.

If you want to PM me any drafts of your script or just for a pointer or to run ideas past someone else, feel free. You sound like you know where you're going though, and as I say it sounds good. Good luck!

Hurhur, Madam...Adam....

Thank you. <3 I see these costumes all over the place and figured, hey, why not let the general public know they're getting ripped off.

Especially by this one, which is $99!!!

Mine was only $20 more and it looked magnificiently better! (A picture of it is on my profile picture.)

Thank you for the offer, I greatly appreciate it. I haven't even started the script yet, I've mostly been working out the rough edges of the video. I should start soon, though.

Not sure if you've seen this page before or not, but this link might be of some interest and help to you as well.....

http://www.victorianamagazine.com/ar...ashion-history

Cheers,
Adam.

I've never seen this before, so thank you extremely much!

[Adam Went]

Not sure if you've seen this page before or not, but this link might be of some interest and help to you as well.....

http://www.victorianamagazine.com/ar...ashion-history

Cheers,
Adam.

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

Well, when we think about the descprition of the astrakhan man, a Top Hat and a Cape would have been described even better!

All the best
Jukka

[tnb]

You said it all pretty well there Adam.

Madam (Madam and Adam...this is going to get as confusing as the Goulston Street Graffiti thread where we had Trevor [Mariott] and Trevor [me]!) - that sounds like an excellent idea. Part of the motivation behind my documentary is a little bit of myth-busting, and while the whole costume idea is not one that had crossed my mind it sounds an excellent idea.

It is not about being at 'levels' - God knows I am WAY below the level of many on here, Adam included for example - but the internet is a wonderfully democratising medium and with a bit of imagination anyone can turn the lack of mass commercial distribution to their advantage in allowing them to explore more 'leftfield' angles than are commonly addressed - such as you are doing. My documentary is internet only too, as it happens.

If you want to PM me any drafts of your script or just for a pointer or to run ideas past someone else, feel free. You sound like you know where you're going though, and as I say it sounds good. Good luck!

[Adam Went]

I would have thought that the top hat & coat image of JTR is largely thanks to films and fictional descriptions that have been given of him. It is more of a generalisation about Victorian men's clothing than a likely image of the killer.

Don't forget the old black gladstone bag either! Aside from what everyone has already mentioned about this, it's worthwhile considering as well that in making his escape, he would have been hindered by wearing such clothing, or carrying the bag. It would have slowed him down, lessened his agility and ability to hide should he see a policeman coming, for example.

Also, top hats were the most popular in the middle of the 19th century. By 1888, no doubt they were still very popular but not so much as they once had been. I've read in the past that apparently it worked something like, the higher the top hat on the man's head, the more affluent he was in society. They were used to draw attention to yourself. Not what Jack would have wanted.

Other than that, can only agree with what's already been said.....best of luck to you for the documentary you're working on! Sounds good!

Cheers,
Adam.

[Madam Red]

As it happens MR I am currently working on a documentary of my own, obviously its up to you but if you are willing to share any details of your film I would be very interested to hear more about it and to help in any way I can.

Thank you very much.

Ah, you're making a documentary? That's excellent! I would love to hear more about it.

I'm not at that level yet. I have plenty of ideas, I'm just saving them until I get better equipment.

My project is actually a four to nine-minute review of Jack the Ripper costumes. I'll be posting it on youtube once I finish it.

It's partially me disproving the iconic depiction of the Whitechapel killer and partially a customer commentary.

It's kind of difficult explaining the video, I'm still planning it out. Hopefully, however, it'll prove enlightening and entertaining.