Dress codes seem to be much more relaxed these days in many places where formal attire had once been the norm. When I began my career in the insurance industry just over twenty years ago, I had been required to wear a tie every day. At some point maybe ten years ago, a change had been made first to allow for “business casual attire” (which meant nice slacks and a collared shirt) during summer months, which eventually led to a year-round adoption of this more relaxed style of dress.
While I don’t necessarily miss having to spend my extra money on ties and nicer pants and shirts, I will say that there was something about wearing a tie every day during the week that made me sit up just a little bit straighter at my work station and feel slightly more serious. I had grown up watching my dad, a college professor, go to the office wearing nice ties and sportcoats, and I’m sure the kid in me had looked forward to doing the same once I was a “grownup” who had entered the working world.
Even my place of worship on Sunday mornings has a very chill approach to manner of dress. I had been raised in a very conservative religious environment where many men wore suits and ties, and women wore nice dresses, shoes and costume jewelry. I rocked a clip-on tie for years as a youth, and usually the first thing to get yanked and tossed into a corner when our family got home was said “tie”. Nowadays, I feel perfectly at home in a pew wearing a nice, hole-free pair of Levis and a button-down short-sleeved shirt. When it’s really hot outside during the summer, I will not think twice about wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
It was on a Sunday morning a few years ago when our featured car came rolling up to a local intersection in my neighborhood. If the background looks somewhat familiar, it should, as these were the buildings against which I had photographed a ’65 Ford Thunderbird Landau that was traveling in the opposite direction. The Edgewater Beach Apartments Building (which actually houses co-op units) is a splendid-looking structure that could probably make any car in its foreground look more glamorous. The Lincoln was its match, in my opinion.
I’m particularly fond of the last of these big Town Cars (and Coupés), having written about two of them last year. These cars have been amply covered here at CC, so you might want to click here and here for more comprehensive reading. I just love the idea that this one materialized in traffic on this particular morning looking as scrumptious as a peach bellini cocktail with raspberry drizzle served at Sunday brunch.
Judging by the temporary plate out back, this one looked to be a new purchase for this fortunate owner. About that factory color, it was called “Light Apricot Metallic”. The range of vibrant, pretty hues available for ’79 as exterior colors stands in stark contrast against the tuxedo black color that many of this car’s descendants from just twenty years later were painted. I’m at a loss to identify another make and model of car that had seemed to fall so far in apparent prestige from being a truly luxurious status symbol owned by many private buyers to the livery vehicle of choice in many urban areas.
Don’t get me wrong. I do very much like the new-for-1998 Town Car that had traded its trademark, boxy style for a more rounded, “aero” look, and in the right colors and with the right wheels, they can be stunners. (A friend owns two.) The truth is, though, that I’ve seen and ridden in too many examples of these that seemed to have slid very quickly down into the pit of used-up beaterdom to be able to look at these latter day examples in quite the same way as I would be able to, otherwise. Much like dress codes in many types of places have been relaxed in recent years, around the turn of the Millennium, Lincoln’s design language (like that of many other upper-tier makes) had come to abandon many traditional styling cues as it sought to redefine what a modern luxury car should look like.
I do love that American buyers sent our outgoing ’79 Town Car out in style, having responded by nudging final-year sales of this generation up by 4.5% over the prior year, to a total of about 76,000 units (before plummeting to 31,200 units in the face of 1980’s economic recession, among other factors). People knew a good thing when they saw it, and perhaps when they laid eyes on the ’79-era Panther-platform Ford LTD (not a bad-looking car to my eyes, but not to everyone’s liking), they figured they had better get on the last, full-figured train to Lincoln Land before it left the station for the last time.
As for our featured Town Car, it provided more than a touch of class on an otherwise casual Sunday morning. Sometimes, getting there can be at least as fun as arriving at one’s final destination. Can I get an “Amen”?
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, April 3, 2016.
Wonderful comparison to the building. The Lincoln’s front literally repeats the 2-3-2 rectangles of the building’s front.
I honestly hadn’t noticed that until you pointed it out! Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I like this added connection between the car and the building.
I had to chuckle Joseph about your comments about work attire. I too, spent most of my working career in an office environment and didn’t mind the more formal dress code except for the blankety blank ties!
The day I officially signed the papers for my long term disability pension I knew my working career was permanently over. When I arrived home the first thing I did was get a pair of scissors go to my closet and cut up every single tie I owned except one.
I was very stressed at the time as being forced to retire due to health in my early forties was a life changing experience to say the least but 15 years later that tie cutting ceremony still makes me smile!
That survivor tie, of course, is the mandatory dress code for weddings and funerals. Retiree’s code.
I’ve decided to toss the “survivor tie”. I refuse to put one on ever again.
Couldn’t agree more on the survivor tie, I believe it to be a necessity.
I stopped having to where a tie for business at least 20 years ago but I still like donning one every now and again.
I like the symbolism of the tie cutting ceremony, Bill! As for my own (unused, unworn) ties, they’re all hanging on a rack in my closet. The ones on top are probably a little dusty.
Aaaaaaah, but when you work at home on your computer, you can wear whatever you want, even your pj`s.
Great piece Joseph. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for those forged aluminum wheels with the thin white stripe Michelins. My parents’ 1976 Continental Mark iv Givenchy edition also had them. Of all the cars my parents owned I miss that one the most. My dad practically gave it away when the second oil shock hit in April of 1979.
Was there ever a car that had wheel choices that could change the car’s personality so much? My father’s 78 had the standard polished wheelcovers at the top of Joe’s brochure shot.
For reasons I am still trying to understand, those polished aluminum wheels never looked just right to me (and I seem to be in the minority on this). The turbine style was at the top of my rankings, then the plain wheelcovers, with those polished aluminums coming in 3rd. I don’t hate them, but don’t love them either.
Those fake wires are simply awful. They could be the worst wire wheel covers ever offered on any American car. How those stayed in the FoMoCo options sheet for so many years is one of the things I hope to understand after I die.
What I miss most about these cars (and the same era of Cadillacs) is how they commanded attention and respect whenever they were seen.
Does this type of admiration exist today with any current vehicles outside of a truly exotic car like a Ferrari or Rolls Royce?
I’m not sure how I feel about the casualization of America. On one hand, dressing up for everyday activities seems to be a little like a vanity exercise, but on the other hand, I see a lot of people running errands in their pajamas. Few of the teachers at my school wear ties anymore, whereas it was still pretty common 15 years ago. It’s nice not having to wear a tie. But when I see someone wearing jeans at a wedding or something, I wonder if we’ve gone too far. I will say, I feel underdressed when driving my ’63 T-Bird or when watching a ’50s movie. Regardless of what I think, there’s no going back.
My traditional iciness toward ’70s Lincolns, however, is slowly melting. They may not be truly growing on me, but I can now look at one and say “Hey, that’s a pretty neat car.” Times change.
I found this comment of Joseph’s interesting:
“there was something about wearing a tie every day during the week that made me sit up just a little bit straighter at my work station and feel slightly more serious.”
When I was in my 20s I worked at a retail store, and dressed casually, since work often involved unloading trucks, unpacking boxes, etc. But a buddy of mine and I decided to start a “dress up day” on Saturdays — we’d wear ties. It’s amazing how differently we were treated by customers. While on most days customers would treat us effectively as servants, just by wearing a tie we were treated more respectfully.
That said, these days, I rarely wear ties to work. I’ve succumbed.
I can say the same thing. I have not worn a tie to work every day for years, mostly becoming a khaki and button-down shirt kind of guy (with golf shirts in hot weather). But on those days where I don my full lawyer-suit with the oxford shirt and the hard shoes I really, truly feel like a lawyer.
Eric (and Aaron and JP), what’s funny about this is that I wore a tie today, inspired by this piece. Has my productivity increased? Perhaps not, but I do feel a bit more “official” than I otherwise would on any given Monday.
A car big enough to accommodate Kool and also the Gang.
This calls for a Celebration!
Great analogy. And I couldn’t help thinking how the beginning shots featured the stately Edgewater Beach building in the background, while the later shots feature what looks like a 1950s-era apartment building that’s been facelifted to comport with modern design trends. The results are somewhat anonymous… that building could be anywhere, and would just blend into the background — not unlike the later Town Cars that have slid down the scales of respect.
On the other hand, like that Edgewater Beach Apartment Building, an Apricot ’79 Town Car will always make a statement. Not that everyone likes that statement, but it’s unmistakable, unique and forever classy.
Eric, I think you make some great and valid points. In your last sentence, I agree that the boldness of this Town Car – its size, color, and styling – command respect, even if the car isn’t to one’s specific taste.
When I was teaching at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, Korea, there was no dress code per se, but there was pretty strong hinting that formal dress was a good career move.
In Confiscation culture, there is a concept called “the rectification of names.” Basically, it means a professor should look and act like a professor. For this, I had several bespoke suits made in Namdeamun in Seoul. I even had bespoke shoes.
It was literally worth the weight in gold. My contract was renewed as often as I wanted and every evaluation I had was positive.
I still dress for work. Not always a tie, but a sportswear jacket and dress pants, and of course, leather soled power shoes.
What you describe is along the lines of that old adage that we should “dress for the job we want, even if not necessarily for the job we have”. Solid advice!
In twenty-three years in a professional level office job, I can count the number of times I’ve worn a tie on two hands – and have fingers left over. Being on either side of the interview table is my trigger.
Dress codes can backfire. Soon before my career started there was a mutiny about the dress code that required ties. Several people scoured Goodwill for paisley dress shirts, thin ties, etc. mixing the best of the 1960s and 1970s. It worked as the dress codes were relaxed.
As for the Lincoln, this is a quiet and assured formality. Often formality comes across unnatural, like putting Billy Bob in dress clothes. There’s nothing unnatural about the aura of this Lincoln.
Jason, that sounds like my kind of sartorial mutiny! What’s funny about this is that our Friday dress code is slightly more relaxed in the office than on Monday through Thursday, so I have been known to rock some of my favorite thrift store finds on a Friday. (No paisley shirts, though you have reminded me that maybe I need to look for some of that.)
These late 70s Lincolns sent me into a swoon in the 70s and they still do, perhaps the only car of their era to have this effect on me. I have commented often on my father’s 78 Town Coupe – I really and truly loved that car and of all the cars Dad ever owned, that would be the one I would want now.
The 79 was a slight downgrade because the 460 was no longer offered. IIRC the 460 had been made optional in 1978 but many (if not most) of them came this way. The 400 was a little light for this car, at least if you wanted that serene feeling of massive amounts of torque at the driver’s beck and call.
That apricot color really looks good on this one, but then I like copper cars. Unless I miss my guess, that vinyl roof (and matching side moldings) are Dark Cordovan. That color was the reddish-brown/oxblood shade that Dad chose for the interior of his white car (with its white partial vinyl roof). It looked so much more dignified than the regular dark red interior that seemed a little bordello-like to me.
Nice. This scratches my FoMoCo itch this morning. As nice looking as a same year Caddy is, I prefer one of these. Chrysler… well, they kinda lost some stature with the last big Imperial.
Office casual in Bellingham is a pair of pajamas and bed hair.
Ozzy, during that polar vortex thing Chicago experienced in February, I worked from home two days and discovered that it really does have advantages. I always thought I would get too distracted, but the truth is that even when putting together posts for *this site*, I stay pretty focused on what I’m doing.
Perhaps soon, I’ll also be insuring things, unshaven, in my PJ’s. LOL
Come on over to Bellingham… you’ll fit in fine. Lol.
Joe, as always, you have given me plenty to think about with my morning coffee. Where I worked for 30 years, the dress code went from suits and ties for the first 10 years, to business casual for the next five, to Friday jeans days for five years, to jeans all the time for a few years, to just don’t come to work naked and you’ll be fine for two years, back to business casual and then back to jeans all the time except when meeting with those outside the company. As you can probably guess, each change was accompanied by a transition in top-level management.
Regarding 70s Lincolns, I too am doing a slow thaw on these. I generally like the 1970-72 versions best, but those didn’t come in the incredible clearcoat metallics in rich, deep hues that graced the later versions of these cars. All of them had presence to spare, but the earlier versions are a little more subtle (or as subtle as a 5000 lb slab of concrete can be). While I personally favor darker colors for large cars like these (navy, not black) the world was a better place for indulging those who wanted their Town Cars in Apricot Mist.
Last, the Edgewater Beach has always been one of my favorite Chicago landmarks, punctuating the northern end of the Outer Drive with uncommon style and grace in an area otherwise characterized by steel and concrete anonymity.
Thank you, William. About the Edgewater Beach Apartments building, I’ve been in the lobby only once, but it is as beautiful and spectacular as this building’s exterior.
My favorite Continental Town Cars / Coupes are on either end of this generation’s production run. Actually, I take that back – I really love the ’74s, with their horizontal taillamps.
Great photography as usual, Joseph. Your ability to snap these pictures on the fly is impressive.
A few folks above commented on the wheels. I’ve always like the turbines best for the Marks, but on these Town Cars and Town Coupes, I have to say that those polished aluminum wheels (with nearly chrome shininess) are my favorites.
I have to agree with JPC that the wire wheel covers are just awful. I never liked these, however that being said, I really like the classy look of real wire wheels.
Regarding your tie-in (pun loosely intended) to dress codes, it is a new world that way. When I started off in engineering, we had to wear ties to work, and bent over a drawing board, this really sucked as the tie always got in the way. Worse if you were inking a drawing and you ruined both the drawing AND the tie!
As others have said, the dress codes got more and more relaxed over the years, so much so, that even our CEO is often seen in a nice pear of khakis or even jeans, with a nice polo shirt or whatever.
Every once in a while, we’ll get an e-mail from our century (what I call our receptionist up front) that important visitors will be coming on a certain day and for us to look our best.
Sometimes on those days, I’ll wear a tie, to which the ladies at the company will say I look nice, but the guys look at me like I have three heads. Even on these dress up days, the guys will rarely wear a tie, even the executives.
My 36 year old stepson is bucking this trend however, and is dressed to the nines every day when he goes to work. Expensive suits, nice ties, Italian leather shoes, the works. The only thing fun about what he wears to work are the crazy socks. I guess a little fun with attire needs to be had if at all possible. ;o)
Thank you, RetroStang Rick – and I think you hit the nail on the head regarding changes in upper level management and a shift in dress code protocol. Once you mentioned it, that totally made sense and made it seem less arbitrary.
About my camera, I have it with me all the time, including on my morning commute / walks to the office – which has yielded some great photo ops.
By the time I get to the front door of the office, there are usually people (it doesn’t matter how long we’ve worked in the same office) who will ask me, “Hey, what’s with the camera?” or “Howz yer phertography goin’?”. I’ll sometimes mention this site and encourage them to check it out. 🙂
My father sold life insurance from the mid ‘60’s until he gave up his license around 2002. He wore a suit and tie 7 days a week and had a walk in closet with over a dozen suits. Back in the old days there wasn’t only the dress code, but the car code. Salesmen could only drive Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldmobile and Buick and the Mopar and Ford counterparts. Only the Branch Manager could drive a Cadillac, Lincoln or Imperial. This was the days before leasing. My father drove Oldsmobile 98’s for a number of years. He used to say if you couldn’t sell insurance you became a manager. He got fed up with the rule and bought a loaded 1974 Cadillac Eldorado and dared the company to fire him. They didn’t take any action and the rules gradually eased up.
My grandfather sold life insurance from the late 1920s to the mid 1980s (although he retired by the late 70s, just kept the license) and was much like yours. Suits every day to the office. Jackets if you were working or going out to eat anywhere above diner/pizza parlor level. Shorts were for tennis, swimming, and the beach, or maybe a visit to Bermuda.
Drove Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles until he was promoted to general agent. Then Cadillacs, with a Lincoln or two, until retirement, when he stopped trying to make a statement, started reading Consumer Reports, and downsized to the Grand Marquis.
Jack, your pops sure chose a classy ride to “show them”! Props to him.
I’ll search for a 1979 Ford LTD P6 Town Car ‘down under’ with a more integrated look where the bumpers appear to actually belong, unlike the 5-mph afterthought these smog-choked Lincolns have. Inasmuch as I know, one still got better performance from a Aussie Town Car’s 351 vs. a 400M a 1979 Lincoln was stuck with. If one looks closely, much of the dashboard equipment on the P6 Town Car was shared with the US Lincoln, and (someone can correct me if I’m wrong), is the wood in the LTD P6 Town Car was genuine, not plastic as used in the Lincoln.
I loving how the apricot paint, brown vinyl roof and chrome soften the lines, making it look almost cuddly, though I’ve never seen one of these Lincolns in person in my life.. I’m sure it’s presence would be overwhelming..
Love the color on this one…the last time I remember seeing it was on a 1988-91 Grand Marquis owned by the grandparents of an extremely ill-behaved 7 year old named Todd who attended the summer day camp I was also attending in Connecticut at age 10 or 11…so this would be 1992 or 93. I remember being taken by the car (red-green Florida plates of that vintage), but viewing Todd’s arrival with some trepidation: he was really obnoxious and often distracted the counselors from whatever we were doing. Though I’m sure the grandparents were relieved to offload him and have a peaceful day in their crystal apricot Grand Marquis.
I still want one of these Lincolns, and I will get one just as soon as I have space. I think they are breathtakingly beautiful cars, in particular if the color (black, midnight blue, baby blue, or this apricot as examples) is right.
As for dress codes, we still have them in Manhattan: my first law firm was suits every day and I got quite comfortable with that. Though some of the later firms have skewed more business casual I still find myself suiting up, or at least coat and tie, often. And most of our private clubs here still have a dress code–jacket at the bar, jacket and tie in the dining room, whites on the squash court–as do some of the bars and restaurants. The Presbyterian church I sometimes attend is still Sunday Best. Although with the next generation (mine) not very heavily in attendance we will see if that, and any of the other dress codes, continue as the older generation retires. I for one hope they remain; I think professionals and worshippers should ‘clean up’ and you shouldn’t wear ‘play clothes’ when not ‘playing’. : )
I never thought until now about how that preference was in hand with my preference for the formal looking larger cars of the 70s and 80s. Hmm.
The timing of this article is coincidental. I’ve always loved these big Lincolns. They were as sharp as brass tacks. Yesterday, being Sunday and the dealership being closed, my wife and I went to our favorite dealership to look for a new car for her. This dealership doesn’t lock it’s cars so you can sit in them and casually shop without a salesman following you around. It’s a very nice way to shop ( they have cameras so you’d better behave). They had a used 2018 Lincoln Continental that I just had to sit in. Wow! There is nothing fancy Ford about this car. I didn’t drive it, but just sitting in it, I knew it was the finest car on the lot. Not to be mean, but it made the old Lincolns seem like the antiques that they are. I’m afraid that the Continental is a lot like wearing a tie to work however, most people just don’t do that anymore.
I’ve been seeing (noticing?) a lot more of the new Continentals in downtown Chicago traffic, and not all of them have the yellow “livery” plates on them, though many do. I’ve been curious about their premium-ness since Paul had posted about the stretched versions with coach doors. How cool that you got to sit in one.
I do like their basic looks, but when my brother mentioned how the back end looks like a Hyundai Azera, it’s something I just can’t unsee. Still, I’m conflicted that while Lincoln finally pulled out the stop to build a car worthy of the “Lincoln Continental” name, their looks still seem to be polarizing.
Mighty glad I have my 79. Not as nice as this one, but still a great relaxing ride.
Great write-up as always Joe! I like the comparison of the (d)evolution of the Lincoln to the relaxing of dress codes is brilliant. My job requires me to wear a suit and tie every day, and I suppose I have gotten used to it now, so I don’t mind. And I agree, when you are dressed up with a suit and a tie, I do sit a little straighter and maybe take a bit more pride in my job. However, I do enjoy when I go away on conferences and other work events that I get to “dress down” to business causal.
I used to really dislike these Lincoln’s quite a bit, they are just the opposite of what I like in a car. I have softened on them with time, and now can appreciate them for what they are and the end of the era they represent. These ’77-79 models seem to have a much higher level of surviving compared to the Cadillacs of the same era.
The CC effect was in force as I saw a 1978 Lincoln Town Coupe driving around yesterday, despite the roads being filled with puddles full of salt water. The old Lincoln was still solid, but had some rust, and a small hole that I noticed in the 1/4 panel as it drove past. An elderly gentleman drove it, no doubt his pride and joy.
Thanks, Vince, and I love it when the CC Effect strikes. I find the Town Coupes particularly intriguing as I’m sure the ratio of 2- to 4-door Continentals was skewed very heavily toward the sedans.
I don’t have my encyclopedia with me, but I can say that in the past 3 years since I photographed our featured car, I’ve seen and photographed three Town Cars (probably more) and (with 90% confidence) just *one* Town Coupe.
As I had mentioned earlier in the comments, I did wear a tie to work yesterday just to do it, and while I didn’t necessarily accomplish a significant amount of more work, I did feel more “official”. It may be something that I do from time to time – perhaps if only just to keep people guessing. 🙂
Nice to see this Continental out and about, and Chicago (if not Detroit) somehow seems like a natural place to see it.
Dress Code, day job: as a college teacher I *could* wear about anything I want, but I resist the jeans 99.5% of the time. There’s something of a double standard, ’cause female profs in super-casual dress often get treated/rated poorly by students.
Dress Code, weekend job: my restaurant piano gig has been Saturday nights since 1992. For several years I wore a tux, but then clientele started dressing down, and the tux felt overdone. I’ve settled on a black suit and white shirt—with which I can wear any tie own. If management said “OK to lose the tie,” I don’t know how I could accustom myself to it; it just feels right, and gets me in the right frame of mind to perform.
Times have really changed, with the untucked shirts and so on. The clergy I know acknowledge this, but seem grateful just to have people attending.
Joseph, I look forward to your Monday articles (even though Im 2 days late, sorry its been busy week)
However, you forgot to add a soundtrack to this one so I’ll take care of that for you. Perfect for heading to church.
Perfection, Dan – thank you!
(What’s interesting about Amii Stewart is that after her success in the U.S. was fleeting, she recorded in Europe and was far more successful there than here, where she was seen as a one-hit-wonder.)