Happy Father’s Day, Dear Readers. Hope it’s a great one for all of you. And in honor of my father today, I thought I’d treat you all to the movies.
Our dad, Ben Roffe, loved the movies.
And he loved Fred Astaire.
He told me that when he was in college, Mr. A. had set the benchmark for him- and every other guy of his generation- for style and sophistication.
“The way he dressed!” Dad enthused. “The way he moved! Everything he wore looked so suave, so debonair, so elegant. He wore a necktie as a belt! I copied everything I could about him.”
Fashion Plate Sidebar: Fred Astaire himself was a copycat. He got his fashion sense- and Savile Row tailors- from the best-dressed man of his day- The Prince of Wales.
So before you head out to the golf course or the bar-be-cue, sit back, relax and check out these best-dressed men’s moments in movie history.
Here’s Mr. A. to lead off the fashion show.
Dad’s other sartorial cinematic hero was, of course, Cary Grant. Was there ever a more handsomer man? And who looked more soigné in a gray suit than he did- whether he was in the Oak Bar at the Plaza Hotel or being pursued by a murderous prairie crop duster.
George Clooney obviously felt the same way. Here he is in my beloved Intolerable Cruelty. (This movie KILLS me, btw. I can’t help it. I identify with Catherine Zeta- Jones’ Marilyn. If you’ve ever seen it, you’ll know why.)
Two other guys who looked great and dressed swell- Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
Let’s start with Redford and an iconic- or should I say “great?” moment in men’s dressing.
And he looked amazeballs in that white Navy uniform.
Out of Africa, Indecent Proposal, his jeans in The Electric Horseman, his casual CIA chic in Three Days of the Condor…I could go on and on.
But the the stakes were doubled when rags-to-riches dapper con man Paul Newman and he teamed up in Chicago. The ante was upped and I was all in for…
But Paul could more than hold his GQ own. He looked pretty damn fine as the down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer in The Verdict. Take a look.
I rest my case.
But blond American pretty boys aren’t the only ones who know how to dress. Let’s a hop a jet to London and catch up with the Fab Four.
The mod suits, the ties, the boots, the haircuts, the accents. These guys had it all and it looked gear.
Michael Caine looked pretty groovy in Get Carter, too. Legendary London tailor Doug Hayward was responsible for his cool gangster look. (He and Caine became lifelong friends, too.) Watch as he nattily throws a guy off a roof. (And check out the cuff links. Classy.)
But there was one guy across the pond that put all these blokes away.
Peter O’Toole.
Whether he was romancing all the babes in What’s New Pussycat? or twirling around the desert in white Arab finery, he has to win the “Best-Dressed Leading Man” Hall of Fame award.
I mean, in How to Steal A Million, he took on Givenchy-clad Audrey Hepburn head to head- and won!
Now let’s take the Chunnel and head for Paris. Home to my all-time favorite movie idol- Alain Delon. He and my other French hearthrob, Jean-Paul Belmondo, both could really rock a suit.
Here they are in Borsalino. It’s in French but ne vous inquiétz pas. You’ll get it. (And don’t worry guys, ici there’s some major Gallic eye candy for you, too.)
Back on good old American cinema soil, let me tip my bowler to The Thomas Crown Affair.
Here’s a case when both actors- Steve McQueen in the original and Pierce Brosnan in the remake- looked fierce. Two ballers in suits.
High finance never looked so good.
Take two.
(Nice homage to the original with that soundtrack, btw.)
I’ll end with a swinging group of cats whose Sy Devore suits were the living breathing end. Whenever I watch this movie, I am reminded of the time that my dad and I caught a glimpse of Richard Conte in Las Vegas. (A very Rat Pack moment. Matched only by the time I saw “Paulie Walnuts” frolicking with young babes in the Hard Rock pool.)
Thanks, for all the trips to the movies, Dad.
And Dad, this year, Kenny and I are sending up a heavenly tie for Father’s Day.
Be sure and wear it as a belt.
Dad’s closet is full of awesome suits! Can’t pull the trigger to donate them to Salvation Army yet. Nice Blog!!
I forgot about those. Yeah, I feel the same way. Just not ready to jettison the memories, I guess. Thanks, bro. See you later. And Happy Father’s Day to you, too.
Save his ties if you still have them. My daughter made several quilted wall hangings out of my Dad’s ties. I have one on my wall, which I love. There’s a wonderful book of quilting ideas for ties called, I think, “Daddy’s Ties.” It has patterns for jackets, wall hangings, lamp shades, book covers, etc. My daughter also made two wonderful lap robes out of some of my Dad’s pants, including a pair or two of his wonderful old plaid golf pants. My mother-in-law made a wonderful quilt for one of my daughters out of some of her grandfather’s pants and jackets. It’s a wonderful way to hang onto memories.
What a good idea! Kenny and I were just talking about this- because we haven’t cleaned out his closet yet. I’m going to do this. Thanks, Susan. And Happy Fourth.
Glad you like the ideas, Ellen. Just a helpful hint – The quilt and lap robes were tied quilts with large squares, which really showed off the material pieces.
Thanks for the hint. I once had a wall hanging made of men’s suit fabrics. It was great. I could do it again with some of my dad’s things. Thanks, Susan!
A wall hanging made of men’s suit fabrics? I wish I’d thought of it. I was surprised how easy it was to prepare the ties for a wall hanging. It’s explained in the book I mentioned but basically one opens up the tie, pulls out and discards the lining, hand washes the ties, and irons them flat. Quilt pieces are cut out of the flattened ties.
My dad was perhaps the all time worst dresser. He had no idea about fashion or designers. He didn’t know the difference between Sy Devore and Sy Rabinowitz. He thought Jimmy Choo was a brand of bubble gum, Mont Blanc was a ski resort, and Versace was an Italian boxer. His taste in clothes could be summed up in one word….LOUD. The louder the better.
Thanks, Ellen, for jogging my fashion memory about my personal hero. He was a great father whom I miss every day.
Oh, Steve, this was terrific. A laugh- and a catch in the throat. Thank you for dressing up my blog today. And Happy FD to you and yours.
Ellen, not a false note here. I think your Dad and my Dad would have gotten along famously. Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers in your blogosphere.
Thank you, Mitch! And you’re right. Our two dads had a lot in common- including the Navy as I recall. You’re lucky yours is still around and commenting on this blog. (He’s my oldest commentator.) Have a great FD with your terrific group.
Thanks Ellen, one correction my Dad was Air Force, a dashing flyboy.
Duly noted. Thanks, Mitch.
Dearest Ellen:
What a wonderful Fathers Day present ….especially as I hold all things Astaire very close to my heart . I was first introduced to how wonderful the iconic Fred and Ginger movies were by my wife, Deborah , 35 1/2 years ago on the New Year’s Eve I agreed to marry her and WGN ran Fred and Ginger all night in those days. She had no idea what she had released. I studied up on all things about Fred….not just the movies that saved RKO in the 30’s , but the great later MGM pictures of the 50’s, Vincente Minnelli’s ‘The Band Wagon’ and the Richard Avedon/Stanley Donner “Funny Face”, with the equally elegant female equivalent…Audrey Hepburn.
But it was the way Fred wore his clothing that knocked me out. He certainly “wore his tails like a dressing gown and wore his dressing gown like they were his tails.” But what was the part that knocked out all men in an older generation and me in the early 1980’s was the way he wore a suit or odd jacket… so softly and elegantly, grounded by his Brooks Brothers perfect button down shirt and either woven Maccelsfield tie or old school rep stripe…the entire ensemble grounded by pale blue, yellow or pink socks and beautiful, simple reverse calf shoes bespoke from Maxfield’s. (Alas no longer with us).
Anderson and Sheppard, who did have a tangential relationship to the PoW’s tailor, Schulte, defined the soft, almost unconstructed English Drape silhouette, to which Fred put better use than anyone. The A&S unique design provided Fred with the ease of movement and soft elegance of line that merged his entire person into a moving work of art. I am even lucky to still possess 1/2 dozen garments cut by Mr. Denis Hallbrey , retired from Anderson and Sheppard now, but trained by Mr. Astaire’s cutter. I must, however, as a self appointed keeper of all things Astaire and Astaire influenced, correct a few commonly held misconceptions:
1. Although Mr A. did inquire about the cut of the Princes formal waistcoat from the Jermyn Street maker, while appearing on stage in London, he really dressed in quite different ways. (No disrespect to the later Duke of Windsor’s overwhelming influence on men’s dressing for decades….all disrespect for his rarely hidden fascist and racist beliefs).
2. Mr A. rarely used a tie as a belt … when dressed that way he almost exclusively used silk scarves from Hermes…another favorite of his.
3. Although he was a devotee of London’s great menswear emporiums, he most wonderfully democratized his soft A&S suits with Brooks Brothers button down shirts ,
often oddly pinned at the collar and a metal buckle or trinket from Woolworths.
Finally, although I can understand your attraction to all of the actors you later mentioned …all handsome and fine artists, their costume departments attempt at authentic 1930’s soigné, are to the true afficianado, unbearable to watch in their poor lack of scholarship and flaunting their very faux pas, that in the 1930’s men were warned to avoid at all costs. All these costume designers had to do was 2 things to get it right…a little easily available research and open their eyes. This is also true of Ralph Lauren in “The Great Gatsby” and whomever did the costumes for “Brideshead Revisited.”
Hooray to your Father and all the other men who bothered to pass down these paragons of how to just do things right!! It was my late, wonderful Father-in-law, Joe Incandela, who sat with his little girl Deborah, many a New Years and celebrated “Top Hat”, The Gay Divorcee” and “Swing Time”.
Happy Father’s Day to all, including Joe.
Scott
Wow! A lesson in men’s haberdashery from the V and A and GQ combined. Next time, YOU write the post, I’ll do the comment. Thanks, Fred. With love from Ginger
Let’s not beat around the bush. The country has gone the same way people dress today, make movies today and make music today.
Our parents generation was classier, more polite, had a greater work ethic and unquestionably more patriotic!
I long for those days!!
Hmm. Politicizing today’s post wasn’t easy and yet you did it. (And here I thought you were going to talk about Ol’ Blue Eyes.). Thanks, Bernie. Hope you had a happy FD.
Would you expect anything else from me?
It upsets me so from what I remember as a son of “The Greatest Generation”.
I get where you’re coming from. Our fathers’ generation had a lot of style. Hope this post brought some of it back to you- for a little while. Thanks, Bernie.