"I was mocked, and I did think I was an oddball. I figured who else but me would want to dress in their grandfather's clothes and drive a car that's not fuel efficient?" Johnny says. "But now I'm accepted, and have made a lot of good friends. I know people will still say I'm nuts; to move ahead, that things have changed. But I say you live your life, and I'll live mine."
Inside the unapologetically smoky Club DeLuxe, Johnny shares a booth and an after-work cocktail with his friends. They are wearing shiny suits and crisp hats, the '38 Buick is parked outside, a Duke Ellington tune is playing. Life is good. But if none of the men who are sipping martinis and lighting up unfiltered cigarettes were born more than 35 years ago, tonight they reminisce as if they came of age in the 1940s.
The guy with the wavy pompadour, in the gabardine jacket over a wide-collared, pink, embroidered shirt, complains the loudest.
"No one today recognizes glamour, or the idea of sophistication, or chivalry, or how a gentleman should act," says Michael Moss. "In our crowd, if a girl holds up a cigarette, 20 guys pull out a lighter. It's not an act, it's a way of thinking."
The notion of a simpler time when roles and attitudes were easily defined appeals to the young men. Especially when it comes to women.
"Everyone is in T-shirts and jeans today. Everyone looks the same," says Mark Jordan, who tonight wears spectator shoes and an original double-breasted, midnight-blue suit from the 1940s, with peaked lapels and a satin handkerchief tucked in the front pocket. "I like to feel presentable, and it's great to see women who do, too. I'm not saying a woman's place is the home, but gee, it's nice to see a girl in a dress."
The smoke begins to obscure the dim light over the booth; the friends are on their third round. The topic has turned to the swing fad, and what it has done to fuel their movement -- and, in many ways, destroy it. No matter what happens to the fad, Mark and Johnny agree, swing will always be the life for them. "We'll still go to clubs whether swing is in or not, and we'll still dress the way we want," Mark says. "And if people laugh, then fuck them, because this is who we are."
Johnny won't give up the swing style, either. The camaraderie that comes with the clothes is too precious to him. And he genuinely believes that the 1940s will bring him happiness. Maybe even love.
"Ladies like it when guys dress up," Johnny says. "At least that never changes."
"Yeah," Mark says. "And if you're a well-dressed guy who can dance, then you've got it all wrapped up.
