Style and the movies

[BlueTrain]

I am reluctant to admit that I am influenced by the style of the characters in movies but I am. Probably no one else here would admit to such a thing. In my case, however, it's only certain movies, naturally, and one obscure serial in particular comes to mind. There are others but this one stands out. It's called "The Great Alaskan Mystery," from 1944 starring Milburn Stone. It is really an action movie serial but the plot is immaterial.

The main character as played by Stone gets involved with his girlfriend's father who is trying to developed some scientific method of transporting things through the air but it turns out that it's a terrific ray gun instead. Everyone goes to Alaska to find the special mineral needed for the projector.

Stone starts out wearing a nice double-breasted suit and proper snap-brim felt hat. They travel by ship, which hits an iceberg and spend a little time in furs but is soon rescued and is seen telephoning his father who operates a mine in Alaska (The famous Gunsite Mine). His felt had has reappeared and he turns up wearing a leather flying jacket, wool shirt with necktie and bloused boots. After further adventures before reaching the mine, he continues to wear the bloused boots and khaki trousers and the wool shirt but the necktie is laid aside. His felt hat is replaced by a watch cap and eventually the wool shirt by an ordinary work shirt and for the rest of his adventure he is dressed the same. The bad guy wears a necktie and a field jacket (the original short field jacket). The scientists wear suits all the time and the mine foreman actually wears a baseball-style jacket (I think).

I realize it's only a movie and who would dream of being influenced by anything like that. It's romantic, true, though I find jungle movies to be even more romantic. In fact, another serial, Lost City of the Jungle (1946) features a certain style, which I'm sure they made no special effort to introduce, that is no longer seen anywhere, not even in movies set in the 40s or 50s, yet I distinctly remember it. It was the habit of wearing the collar of a sport shirt, even a Hawaiian print shirt, outside and over the lapel of the sports jacket. I guess it's a little over the top for now, like rolled stockings or socks.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Lots of people here have written about the influence of movies on their clothing and style. It's one of the major reasons this site exists. You're not alone.

 

[tropicalbob]

I'm not quite sure of the connection between jungle movies and wearing one's collar outside the jacket. That was a very popular look back in the 1930's and '40's and was considered a casual look at the time. I'd imagine it was an extension of wearing one's collar over a sweater, which is something I do all the time.
The question of the influence of movies on the style trends of a particular time, though, is a tricky one. From the '20's through the '50's the major influence was probably the Hollywood fan magazines, but, starting with Elvis, the biggest influence has been popular music, with a few exceptions such as Steve McQueen's look in The Great Escape. These days it's hard to tell, as there doesn't seem to be much style, what with the predominance of cheap athletic clothing. The movie stars these days, with exceptions such as Johnny Depp, seem to me to be following the fashions rather than creating or even pioneering them, and Depp's look is a version of Keith Richards'.

 

[BlueTrain]

Oh, I wasn't suggesting there was any particular connection between jungle movies and a collar being worn outside the jacket, only that I saw that in a certain movie. Don't recall if I've noticed it in any other movie. It's interesting how so many people wear suits in the old movies, even the bad guys and even if it's a western. Of course, if you look at photos of, say, the gold rush, lots of the men appear to be wearing suits, although they generally look pretty rough and workmanlike. They were in fact their everyday clothes and not just for getting dressed up. When they got "dressed up," they probably wore something else, like a frock coat or a tail coat. Naturally you will see an equal number of photos of men wearing what we would call work clothes, too, which haven't changed a great deal over the years, although there are a number of detail differences.

I know who Elvis and Steve McQueen are but who's Johnny Depp?

 

[Seb Lucas]

Depp was a pretty boy 1980's tv actor who attempted to cross over into movies.

 

[Fading Fast]

Big picture, as noted above, style and movies - especially in the Golden Era - were well entwined. Cary Grant gets the most discussion, but many (most?) GE movies and movie stars had style.

Jimmy Stewart was probably up there with Grant, but get's less press. Hitchcock's movies - especially once you've seen them a few times and can focus on the secondary details - are style heaven. Yes, both Grant and Stewart pop up in many Hitch movies, but even in ones like "Dial M for Murder," the clothes are incredible and part of the story (the urbane murderer dresses in a distinctly more refined way than the common street thug).

While I've personally taken a lot of style tips from movies - how a suit should fit / what tie works well / etc. (as I didn't grow up in that world, but needed to learn for my career) - the few times I remember seeing a movie and wanting the look was I thought Kevin Costner looked very cool in his baggy chinos and old green nylon flight jacket (never bought the jacket) in "Bull Durham" and Redford's jeans and herringbone sport coat looked awesome in "Three Days of the Condor," a look I still wear today (but look nowhere near as good - not even in the same zip code - as Redford does in it).

 

[BlueTrain]

There are a few things that prevent me from really dressing the way I'd like, beyond the cost, of course.

The first thing is the simple impracticality of certain outfits if worn on a day-to-day basis. Did you ever notice how no one seems to sweat in the old Tarzan and Jungle Jim movies, yet they were supposed to be set in the jungle. The reality was, they were filmed just north of L.A., those parts that weren't filmed on sound stages. Where I live, the woods are always hot and humid in the summer. A two mile stroll through the brush and the weeds and the creeks leaves me wet with mud and sweat. I still go but as soon as I get back home, I change to dry clothes. Even a bush jacket is too hot. The winter is sometimes actually more comfortable and interesting, provided it's cold enough.

Another thing is that a suit for me is too expensive to wear everyday when I don't need one. The pants wear out long before the jacket and they don't come with two pair of pants anymore. During the winter (see above), however, I usually wear a jacket. Or I did last winter, at least. Some expensive shoes don't last any longer than ordinary shoes. I am currently wearing a pair of Rockport dress shoes for which the soles show very little wear, although the inside of the shoes exhibits a lot of wear. The uppers otherwise still look pretty good.

I guess it mostly still boils down to the cost after all. It seems a pity to have things that are too good to actually wear or use.

There are still a number of things that continue to be fairly practical in most ways and do not appear dated, not that I necessarily still have any. One example is the soft-sole desert (chukka) boot that has been popular more or less my whole life. I've worn out a couple of pair but I don't have one now. They really aren't any better as everyday shoes than boat shoes (or deck shoes) that everybody sell and which wear better.

Another thing that seems to be going on forever is plain old khaki pants. I've a dozen pair at least, from relatively inexpensive khaki workpants to relatively expensive Filson pants in different weights, some of which are actually olive. Olive used to be more popular than it is now, even for suits. They're even good for wearing in my almost private jungle but I save the good ones to wear to work. The Filson ones are too good to wear for anything.