Casablanca 'style' white Tuxedo / Dinner Jacket

[PADDY]

The style of white/cream/ivory Tuxedo that Bogart wears in the movie, 'Casablanca,' is it the typical 'hour-glass' shape with high armpits & fitted waist that one associates with jackets of that era?

Also, what material is it likely to be? ie: wool, cotton, linen, rayon mix...?

Many thanks for any help and feedback that you can bring to this, as I was totally taken by Ben's DB 4X2 white Tux at last year's QM weekend. Just looked so stylish under the Californian stars!! with a cocktail in hand.

 

[cookie]

what size are you? I have a PB job around smallish 44R a bit like this...

 

[Charlie Noodles]

If I ever got a Tux' it'd be a white one like that.

 

[Edward]

No idea what Bogie's was made from, but my understanding is that they tended towards lighter cloths - linen would not have been unheard of, lighter wools. I'm sure I've heard of them in a silk/cashmere blend too? Not aware of them in cotton - I should have thought that while the white jacket was considered to be somewhat less formal, a relaxation in the black tie code in recognition of hot climates, an all-cotton affair would be too casual in the way it would drape? The lapel facings should also be same-material as the jacket itself - satin was generally a no no.

For what it's worth, in the movie The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, a young Sid Vicious wears a jacket identical to Bogart's in the My Way sequence. Not a film for the more, ah, genteel Lounger, but there were some really nice shots of the jacket!

If Indy Magnoli happens to be around and check this thread, he might know a thing or two about the bogart jacket - there is a repro in his range, so I should imagine he's done a bit of research into it? I wonder where the original went.... to my mind, that jacket is as much a Bogart icon as the trenchcoat and fedora...

 

[Feraud]

Here is my getup-

I believe the jacket is a lightweight wool.

 

[scotrace]

That's THE jacket to get your hands on, Paddy - and none-too-easy to find, as it sports both shawl collar/lapel and a double-breasted closure. You can find them with peaked lapels, but with that shawl configuration it's a much tougher game. And that collar/lapel is what makes that particular jacket unique and "Casablanca-esque." Good luck turning one up!

Where did yours come from, Feraud?

 

[Feraud]

The gods of vintage were smiling down upon me one day as I was browsed a vintage shop in NYC. The last thing I was thinking of buying was a dinner jacket but this one fit too perfectly to pass up. Not to mention the obscenely affordable price.

A noticable difference between the Bogey jacket and mine is the lapel button hole on my jacket.
Here is a better pic.

 

[PADDY]

BINGO..!! Now the wait begins...

Just pulled the trigger on this baby. Vintage Palm Beach 2x4 DB with shawl collar. Just waiting for it to come knocking at Rick's Cafe here

 

[Edward]

Nice find! eBay?

 

[cookie]

The gods of vintage were smiling down upon me one day as I was browsed a vintage shop in NYC. The last thing I was thinking of buying was a dinner jacket but this one fit too perfectly to pass up. Not to mention the obscenely affordable price.

A noticable difference between the Bogey jacket and mine is the lapel button hole on my jacket.
Here is a better pic.

Nice one Patrick! Mine is the same as this one of Feraud's with the buttonhole. The PBs are not wide as the bogey job with the bellied lapels..

 

[PADDY]

Another nice photo of Bogie in his Tux (BIG PIC)

Click pic to enlarge - but plenty of detail in this large photo still from the iconic movie. So many iconic items stemmed from this film. The trenchcoat and the white tux being the most notable.

 

[scotrace]

Great discovery Paddy - glad you nailed that jacket.

One note about that last picture - all of the "extras" seated around Bogart and Wilson in that photo were actual refugees, fleeing the Nazis. When Casablanca was cast, there were a lot of European film industry people in CA, and they found work as best they could. Some were well-known in their home countries, but very few ever had any real success in the US. Most returned to their homeland after the war. Their accents were needed in the production of wartime films as someone had to play the Germans or their many non-English-speaking victims. Post-war, they found themselves out of work, though crew people had an easier time of it as their lack of fluency in English didn't matter so much.

 

[Mike K.]

I bought a dinner jacket very similar to this at an eBay store. Off-white, 100% wool, double-breasted, shawl collar. Since I already had a black dinner jacket and pants, I figured this one would pair nicely with the black pants to give me more options. I might add two additional buttons above the existing ones to give it a more traditional look.

 

[Feraud]

Nice one Patrick! Mine is the same as this one of Feraud's with the buttonhole. The PBs are not wide as the bogey job with the bellied lapels..

Not to stray off topic but I prefer the dinner jackets with fuller lapels.
Here is a midnight blue number I found in a local thrift shop.
The jacket was on rack and the pants were in another part of the store.

 

[PADDY]

Mike, re your Tux.

It would be easy enough to change the buttons and pop four on the front and match them with smaller versions on the sleeves.

Feraud - that white tux really suits you sir!! I'm sure that turns a few heads in the cocktail bars of NYC!

 

[Cricket]

I really like the light jackets. But, I would be so nervous about spilling something on them. I am the worst about spilling stuff. Wine, food..you name it. Well, that is why I am leaving it to you men.
Ya'll look wonderful and handsome.

 

[kampkatz]

Thanks for the photos from thrift stores. There are some bargains out there waiting to be swooped up!

 

[Edward]

I really like the light jackets. But, I would be so nervous about spilling something on them. I am the worst about spilling stuff. Wine, food..you name it. Well, that is why I am leaving it to you men.
Ya'll look wonderful and handsome.

For what it's worth, I find that a good dry cleaner can remove the evidence of a multitude of sins.... I once had half a glass of red wine spilled over a linen blazer of mine - one dry clean late,r came up good as new.

 

[thunderw21]

Will over at "A Suitable Wardrobe" highlights the RL jacket that'll be available for next spring.

http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/2008/09/dress-up-for-spring.html

 

[PADDY]

Thanks for that RL heads up.

Nice to see!! though the photo ensemble would look even better with a cumberbund. It 'is' the sort of thing that RL should be adding to their repertoire, as it is so classically colonial which is an image they tend to cultivate in their shops. I visited their Boston store last Fall and it was like walking into a little corner of Olde England. So this jacket I have no doubt will be a good seller for the coming spring and summer.