Show us their suits

[Guttersnipe]

. . . from all I've read (on this forum and elsewhere) a 38 Short or Regular. So doesn't a 44 chest and 42 waist seem huge for him . . .

Remember, Bogart was a stage actor for a good 10 years before he started acting in motion pictures. As such, his career spanned something like 35 years. The Big Sleep was released in 1946, meaning Bogie was about 46 or 47 years-old when the film as made. A very likely explanation is that, while he was a 38 in his youth, as he aged he went up a size.

If the suit is tagged a 40, then a 44" chest would be pretty standard, particularly in the mid and late 40s, when suits weren't cut as close as hey were in the 1930s.

With regards the the 42" jacket waist, that too is believable if the suit has a 44" chest measurement. A 2" drop is doesn't sound like much, but it;s actually pretty tapered. The most wasp waisted 30's suit I own only has a 3" chest to jacket waist drop; most of my bold look suits have a chest to waist drop of 2" or less.

 

[Two Types]

It Always Rains on Sunday (1948)

A classic of British film noir, this has a splendid cast and some excellent outfits:

Nigel Stock in an interesting leather jacket:

and a leather motorcycling coat:

This jacket is rather flash: double breasted, shawl collar, with patch pockets:

 

[Two Types]

More pics from 'It Always Rains on Sunday'

The film is full of 'wide-boys' with a taste for bold stripes and flash overcoats:

They are also keen on belt-back overcoats:

the second belt-back coat has a lovely shape, seen here:

 

[herringbonekid]

those are some seriously wide shoulders. that actor on the left (don't know his name) is also in 'Passport to Pimlico'.

 

[Two Types]

It's John Slater. He was a fairly prominent actor in the 1940s, and appeared in a number of Ealing films.

 

[GoldenEraFan]

Leslie Howard in a quite unusual suit. Notched lapel single breasted with 2 lapel buttonholes.

 

[GoldenEraFan]

Q, that could be a typo, but i can't believe Bogey was a 42 chest. he was a wirey man with a big head:

edit: ok, 40 chest with 4 inches of ease is just about possible.

What kind of jacket is Robinson wearing here? It has the specs of a tuxedo jacket, cloth buttons and no lapel buttonholes, but the light grey tone of it and his patterned bow tie make me think otherwise

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Hollywood Gangsters often had flashy clothes in the movies. He is the boss so he had to dress one step up from the others. Since real formal is practically an uniform and doesn't show much of taste they needed something different.

 

[Guttersnipe]

What kind of jacket is Robinson wearing here? It has the specs of a tuxedo jacket, cloth buttons and no lapel buttonholes, but the light grey tone of it and his patterned bow tie make me think otherwise

In the formal wear realm, there is (was) something called a house suit, which was styled in the same general manner as a dinner suit, or tuxedo if you like (it was the evening equivalent of the so-called lounge suit).

House suits were worn in the evening but were strictly for dining at home, hence the name. As such, they were usually more relaxed in their cut and often had personal embellishments that would otherwise not bee seen in formal wear (note the piping on the pockets and sleeves, these are the kinds of personal flair that was often seen on house suits). Whether house suits were routinely made in colors other than black or navy, I have no idea, though, King Edward VIII / The Duke of Windsor famously had them made from tartan plaid suitings!

It's also worth noting that cloth covered buttons are occasionally seen outside of formal wear on "sporty" suits and jackets.

All of that said, given the sartorial choices Edward G. Robinson's gangster characters often made, Floey is likely correct that he's just wearing the tackiest, most outrageous ensemble the wardrobe department could put together . . .

 

[GoldenEraFan]

In the formal wear realm, there is (was) something called a house suit, which was styled in the same general manner as a dinner suit, or tuxedo if you like (it was the evening equivalent of the so-called lounge suit).

House suits were worn in the evening but were strictly for dining at home, hence the name. As such, they were usually more relaxed in their cut and often had personal embellishments that would otherwise not bee seen in formal wear (note the piping on the pockets and sleeves, these are the kinds of personal flair that was often seen on house suits). Whether house suits were routinely made in colors other than black or navy, I have no idea, though, King Edward VIII / The Duke of Windsor famously had them made from tartan plaid suitings!

It's also worth noting that cloth covered buttons are occasionally seen outside of formal wear on "sporty" suits and jackets.

All of that said, given the sartorial choices Edward G. Robinson's gangster characters often made, Floey is likely correct that he's just wearing the tackiest, most outrageous ensemble the wardrobe department could put together . . .

Makes sense, thanks!

 

[Chasseur]

Bela Lugosi has a nice three piece belted back tweed suit with patch pockets for the first half of Black Cat

Sorry I could not find a photo of the back of the jacket...

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Yes, a beautiful suit. I posted it right at the beginning of thsi lenghty thread. Just another proof that we have just the same taste

 

[Chasseur]

Wow! That is too funny Flo its a good thing we are different sizes otherwise we'd just drive up the prices on the same stuff on ebay!!

But hey that was some of Bela's best acting in Black Cat

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Haha indeed. I think the tweed suit looks very balanced and classy. Not flashy even if has some extraordinary details like the two breats pockets.

 

[Chasseur]

Dick Powell has a great tweed belted back sport coat that is very similar to the one I got from Resortes a couple of years ago. Just his does not have action pleats:

[video=youtube;076OAOvEMJI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=076OAOvEMJI[/video]

 

[Mr. Speakeasy]

Here's a great picture of Buster Keaton, don't know if anyone posted the photo yet but I love the course weave of that fabric, along with his trade mark pork-pie

 

[Two Types]

Paul Robeson in the British film 'Song of Freedom'. I'm assuming the suit is British, which would make it one of those 1930s British lightweight summer suits that are so damn rare:

 

[GoldenEraFan]

The man standing next to Roosevelt is wearing a suit that looks like the precursor to those late '60s mod suits. Though at the time the photo was taken, he was probably just a fan of the old Edwardian tailoring.

Sort of like this one

 

[Dinerman]

The patch pockets on that one in the FDR pic are interesting.

 

[Fastuni]

Spanish Comedian Miguel Gila sporting a jacket made from a very interesting fabric:

For a larger photo:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-076ELklUE...G3Q/xK7ENZbvWIo/s1600/Copia+de+GILA-JOVEN.jpg