Understood - you want something like the over-hyped "Petzval" look.
If you look at my tree example, the trunk of the tree is fairly detailed. It is just that I included so much image veiling flare in the image that there isn't much contrast.
Perhaps this is more of what you are looking for - courtesy of a 1939 vintage lens on a Zeiss Ikon 521-2:
You should note, however, that the relatively limited depth of field is a major contributor to the outside of the main subject blur and character.