Sports Style c. 1930s


Gregory Peck | 1. Lanvin Rabbit-Felt Fedora Hat 2. J.Crew Ludlow Herringbone Linen Blazer 3. Brooks Brothers Non-Iron Cotton Shirt


Quartering one’s initials on the shirt’s outer sleeve is either a custom peculiar to show-biz types or another affectation of the privileged with too much time on their hands. Whether such swank smacks more of the titled than the theatrical, one thing is for sure: hallmarking one’s shirt sleeve on its upper forearm certainly reinforces its bespoke provenance, a proposition not likely to be overlooked by those so inclined. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion



classicmenswear:

Classic Menswear | Pinned Collar

Considered by many shirt savants to be the pinnacle of collared carriage, this is not neck trapping to hide behind. Unlike the cutaway or button-down, the pinned collar’s stylishness rises or falls in relation to the skill of its execution. Wearing it with panache demands little practice, some manual dexterity, and a bit of patience. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion


classicmenswear:

Classic Menswear | The Neckerchief

The Neckerchief was a solid color or patterned square of silk, cotton, or other material that was knotted or draped in ascot fashion around the neck. At one point in the mid-thirties, other than a formal-wear layout, every Hollywood head shot of male seemed to feature one version or another of these casual neckscarves. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion


Photograph by Tony Von Horn in the September 1931 Vanity Fair.


classicmenswear:

Classic Menswear | The Striped Suit

Of all men’s suitings, none has ever matched the glamour and popularity of the striped suit. At one time or another in the thirties, the striped suit probably graced every pair or male shoulders, from the humble to the most famous, from unemployed to the chairman of the board. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion


classicmenswear:

Classic Menswear | The White Buck Shoes

No article of footwear better typified the postwar trend toward relaxed style than American white bucks. Their slightly scuffed appearance lent them that lived-in character so characteristic of the country’s natural-shoulder fashion. Uniquely American in their understated temperament, the white buckskin oxford lace-up with its red rubber soles first served as comfortable summer accompaniment to resort clothes worn in the early 1930s. Later on, resourceful commuters discovered that these comfy suedes comported themselves equally well on steamy summer pavements under lightweight gabardine, seersucker, or tropical worsted suits. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion


Ever the style setter and ever comfortable with his clothes, Fred Astaire was certainly no stranger to shuffling around different patterns. Here he chooses the perfect dance partner for his four-in-hand; his Brooks button-down’s closer-set stripe arrangement has no difficulty following the lead of the repp tie’s larger-spaced-stripe design. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion


Humphrey Bogart relaxing in a melangé of Scottish woolens, his hand-woven wool hose feeling bonny comfortable playing opposite a tweed jacket from the same highland. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion


Classic Menswear | Riding Clothes


classicmenswear:

The Mess Jacket

In late 1931 fashion reporters at American tropical resorts noted a new vogue among socialites for the white mess jacket, a civilian counterpart to military formal wear that resembled a tailcoat cut off at the waistline. Apparel Arts explained that the jacket originated as evening wear for British naval officers “but by its adoption by well-dressed Americans for wear aboard their yachts and at smart Palm Beach evening functions, it is accepted as being correct.” With the sanction of high society the trendy garment soon became all the rage.

At first the jacket was made either in gabardine, duck, or a washable material and had self-faced peaked lapels and front buttons. It was worn with a waistcoat of the same material, a wing collar formal shirt and high-rise dress trousers of black or midnight blue without back pockets. The bow tie and accessories were as per standard informal evening wear. A couple of years later a “smarter”, more informal shawl collar variation appeared sans buttons or breast pocket. It was appropriately paired with a soft-front turndown collar shirt and the recently (re)introduced cummerbund.

Then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, the mess jacket fell out of favor. Its primary disadvantage was that the cut was unbecoming to anyone with a less-than athletic build. Its second drawback was that it was rapidly adopted as a universal uniform for bellhops and jazz bands and few gentlemen of any fitness level wished to be mistaken for hired help or entertainers. (via BlackTieGuide)


English full and dinner dress, 1934.