Color of 1930s-40s dress shirts?

[Tomasso]

Yep, those old time Hollywood cameras were finicky beasts in regards to coloring and makeup. One of the reasons Cary Grant kept such a dark year-round tan was that it allowed him to forgo wearing makeup on camera. The stuff was not very comfortable to wear and required constant upkeep throughout the day.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Anyways, so you folks are telling me it's okay to use my 1930's ensemble with a non-white dress shirt?

Leading horses to water..

You took the words right out of my mouth, Feraud.

 

[Feraud]

This thread makes me want to rephrase the question to Why would you wear a white shirt when so many other colors were available??

 

[Marc Chevalier]

This thread makes me want to rephrase the question to Why would you wear a white shirt when so many other colors were available??

As Tom Paine said, "These are the times that try men's souls."


BowlofRice's first question --whether it's okay to wear a non-white dress shirt with his '30s ensemble-- was very reasonable. It has been amply answered. The short response: "YES".

 

[HodgePodge]

This thread makes me want to rephrase the question to Why would you wear a white shirt when so many other colors were available??

Because white is safe? It's pretty difficult to screw up an outfit by chosing a white shirt.

Sadly, not all of us are gifted with the sartorial aplomb regularly displayed by a quite a few Loungers.

 

[Edward]

White is a safe choice, that's true. It can also be perceived as more 'formal'. A particularly loud tie might also be well set off with a sober suit and a white shirt, thus avoiding too many heavy clashes. It also 'goes with everything', if you're seeking a capsule working or holiday or, indeed, business trip wardrobe. The other thing is that if you prefer certain details on a shirt (such as one with a pin collar and double cuffs) it can sometimes be harder to find that in anything other than white.

So true. Heck, even George Reeves wore a brown costume in the black and white TV episodes of Superman...

Oh, now that's I'd love to see a colour photo of!

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

 

[filfoster]

So true. Heck, even George Reeves wore a brown costume in the black and white TV episodes of Superman...

I have seen photos of the Reeves costume. Weird looking.
http://www.66batman.com/yabbfiles/A...rman-costumes-indiana-state-museum-flickr.jpg

 

[Feraud]

Of course I understand the practical and necessary use of a white shirt.
Considering how much variety there was in shirtings I was having fun with the original question.

 

[Widebrim]

There you go, although it looks more grey rather than the brown color often mentioned by authors on the subject...

 

[Tomasso]

Considering how much variety there was in shirtings.............

Charvet offer over 400 different white shirtings out of a total collection of 6,000. They have around 200 blues.

 

[Rudie]

I guess too much variety can make things difficult. I imagine I'd just flip a coin or I'd never be able to decide which shirting to choose.

 

[Mr Vim]

All of these shirt ad images are from the 1930s:

I'm curious if anyone has seen any shirts like the ones in the upper left side of this photo? New or old it doesn't matter, but I have yet to see any such styled shirts and I want one!

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

I'm curious if anyone has seen any shirts like the ones in the upper left side of this photo? New or old it doesn't matter, but I have yet to see any such styled shirts and I want one!

Me too!

There you go, although it looks more grey rather than the brown color often mentioned by authors on the subject...

I think the red parts are brown on this one.

 

[Feraud]

I'm curious if anyone has seen any shirts like the ones in the upper left side of this photo? New or old it doesn't matter, but I have yet to see any such styled shirts and I want one!

I've something similar. Shirts in interesting patterns are not common but pop up once in a while.