April, 1948: Meet THE BOLD LOOK

[Fletch]

1946 suit

Not the time for trying new things. The style of the day: back to normal, normal defined as "1941."

Differences from the Bold Look:
-A little rounder shoulder (but still wide)
-a little less lapel
-and most noticeably, a little more hourglass thru the waist.

The closing buttons are at waist level, lower than the 30s DB style, and it's a little more dramatically proportioned.

 

[metropd]

When one looks at it. The bold look was a pared down version of the zoot suit. And could also be associated with the look of some gangsters clothing style, bold, bigger and brighter even a bit garish. These subculture dress codes were set in the late 30s and early 40's. At That time the bold gangster image was abhorred by the middle classes . Gangsters believed they were dressing like the middle class business man . However during that period Fashion exuded the idea of the trickle down theory were middle class were the arbitors of fashion taste and that their taste would slowly trickle down to the lower classes who wouldnt understand the subtleties of it, and get it wrong. Therefore the middle class business types were scared that their idea of fashion was being highjacted by hoodlums and would through many channels, including all media, point out style difference between the middle and lower classes ,when in many cases the same styles were worn by both. I Think ironically after the war the reverse happened and there was a trickle up in fashion codes from the lower sub classes of the Zoot suiter and the gangster to the middle classes, were the bold look as an accepted and much lauded fashion statement of the middle classes, took it look of broad shoulders load ties wider lapels from the very people they had earlier abhorred. Now they were happy to look like gangsters of old bigger bolder brighter and just a little bit garish. Of course the gangsters wouldnt complain either as they could now legitimitely look like a a late 40's business man. More over some gangsters had learned to dress more conservatively like the business man of the early 40s, a nice justiposition???. Any thoughts, Cheers Tony

I think it is a myth and quite bluntly false, that gangsters in in the 20s, 30s, or 40s, collectivity wore louder ties, brighter colors, bigger suits etc.... There was no universal characteristic of clothing attributed to gangsters. Looks at pictures of gangsters or each decade most gangsters dressed exactly like every body else of that span of the decade. If you think Who Framed Roger Rabbit is real life, well that is a different story.l

 

[Fletch]

The White Hat Gang, 1937

Would you pick them out of a crowd?

Credit: leastwanted @ Flickr

 

[Feraud]

These guys look suspicious in any era.

Would you pick them out of a crowd?

Credit: leastwanted @ Flickr

 

[resortes805]

If you think Who Framed Roger Rabbit is real life, well that is a different story.l

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a truer story than some would believe.

 

[Widebrim]

That's an interesting tidbit of information. I actually have an episode of Richard Diamond: Private Detective where Diamond discusses the new Bold Look--and Francis (Helen's butler) ends up getting a suit in the Bold Look for his Birthday.

Yes, and it was the episode, "Mrs. William Blake" (9/3/49). Diamond refers to the Bold Look as, "Santa Claus with jaundice." He adds, "Imagine walking down 5th Avenue, very casual, decked out in a new, bright purple, non-shrinking suit, pastel shirt...yellow, maybe...handpainted tie, and argyle socks." Interestingly enough, although Diamond's comments make it sound like the Look had just come out, the phrase had been coined about a year-and-a-half earlier, as the Esquire article documents. Of course, Bold Look elements actually go back to at least 1943, as posts on this thread accurately point out.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I like the bold look. Too bad I have no reason to wear a suit. I don't think I've worn one in over a year and can't remember last time I wore a tie! I wish this look would come back, so I could wear a tie and jacket and hat and look a bit more with a touch of class.

 

[Widebrim]

Be Bold...

I like the bold look. Too bad I have no reason to wear a suit. I don't think I've worn one in over a year and can't remember last time I wore a tie! I wish this look would come back, so I could wear a tie and jacket and hat and look a bit more with a touch of class.

AET, there are times when a man needs to dress up for no particular reason, apart from wanting to feel good about himself and exhibit "a touch of class." I invite you to do so, brother, and see how it makes you feel. The Bold Look would certainly be a step in that right direction! (And according to your new avatar, you're wearing at least a coat and tie now (if not an actual suit). I encourage you to keep it up.
__________________
Greetings from L.A.

Widebrim

 

[resortes805]

Since I had the pictures, here's another bold look suit. Now that I have a decent mannequin, I don't have to model my suits anymore!

 

[Feraud]

Some Bold Look formal wear info -

 

[Widebrim]

^^Thanks for that bit of info, Feraud. Although the Bold Look has been criticized for its "boxiness," I think the style looked good on certain men, and at least provided some color after a few years of wartime drabness.

 

[DanielJones]

With the exception of the foorwear, Johnny Depp pulls off the "Bold Look" nicely.

He had a blue one that looked super, and from what I understand they are vintage suits. Lucky dog.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Marc Chevalier]

With the exception of the foorwear, Johnny Depp pulls off the "Bold Look" nicely.

It looks very much like a true, authentic 1940s zoot suit (though the trouser legs could be more pegged below the knee).


.

 

[dhermann1]

"White cummerbund" . . . "dark red bow tie" . . . .!

 

[Richard Warren]

With the exception of the foorwear, Johnny Depp pulls off the "Bold Look" nicely.

He had a blue one that looked super, and from what I understand they are vintage suits. Lucky dog.

Cheers!

Dan

Yikes!!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Yikes!!

Save Johnny! That foo dog is about to bite him!


.

 

[Richard Warren]

Save Johnny! That foo dog is about to bite him!


.

Somehow you get the impression he wouldn't feel it.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Somehow you get the impression he wouldn't feel it.

lol :eusa_clap


.

 

[Feraud]

Bold Look comments from Esquire's Encycolpedia-

Esquire’s bold look was heralded as the first truly new concept in men’s clothes since pony express days – “a keen, direct, look-you-in-the-eye-and-take-your-measure-look.” This “dominant male” look accordingly demanded a shirt with a widespread “command” collar and a big-knot necktie with big dots, big checks, or strong stripes. It was a look that appealed to men of all ages, but in particular to younger men who, after suffering the conformity of khaki or navy blue, were ready to break out and show their colors.
The bold look continued to gather momentum in 1949, and in its April issue Esquire held forth on the subject of the bold shirt and tie: “You may think that your face is a permanent fixture – and that in the normal course of things, only age, a hangover, or a punch in the eye can change it – but the truth is that you can do awful things to it with the wrong tie and shirt combination. A man who works over the stubble on his chin with all of the studied skill of a surgeon often picks his tie for the day as carelessly as he would pluck an apple out of a deep barrel. We don’t mind, or course, if your prefer to wear a black knitted tie every day of your life, or go in for explosive effects suggesting a disaster in a hothouse of shingle factory. But you should have a fighting chance, we figure, at the color harmonics and collar styles that mark you as a man of good taste and pleasing individuality. Vary the color you wear from day to day. Wear the style of shirt appropriate to the occasion. You might even experiment with a new kind of tie fabric than your usual – a lightweight wool, for example, will blend handsomely with your sport clothes, whereas with your business suit you might try a foulard with a small hand-blocked print effect characteristic of this fabric.” The bold tie, Esquire reminded its readers, was bold without being noisy.

The conformity of khaki and navy are still visible in many office environments. Here's a push for the Bold Look.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Well said, and agreed!:eusa_clap