Who is your favorite style icon from the golden era?

[Samsa]

34 votes so far, and only three for Fred Astaire. That's shameful!

 

[ITG]

Cary Grant got my vote! Will y'all be doing something similar but with women's style?

 

[Citizen Ed]

Forget the golden era. Cary Grant is the Style Icon period.

 

[Paisley]

In Like Flynn!

Ride the wave of the Pirates of the Caribbean craze!

 

[Pilgrim]

I really debated between Astaire and Grant...finally went with Grant.

 

[Feraud]

No! No William Powell... Dick Powell trumps him every day of the week!

A very interesting comment!
We should have a separate thread titled "Battle of the Powells". With pics of course.

Back on topic. I vote Grant!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. ... because he adopted the perfect look for his physique and character, and he was loyal to it 'til the end. Doug Jr. -- whose father, Douglas Fairbanks, was born in England -- favored double-breasted English drape suits in flannels, checks and plaids. His ties were solids, dots or stripes in sophisticated colors. A pocket square and a boutonniere ALWAYS.

I met Mr. Fairbanks in the late 1990s. He was dressed EXACTLY as a 1930s gentleman. The 1960s and '70s never broke into his closet:

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[ortega76]

I had to vote Bogart, but it was tough between him and Bing Crosby. Bogart not only played tough, hard edged charecters; he also radiated a classic, mature style all his own.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Edward VIII

 

[jake_fink]

I voted for Fred Astaire who selected most of his own wardrobe and directed most of his own dance numbers. His style on film and in images from his private life is of a piece. He makes formal look effortless and gives to his workout clothes more panache than most people give to their wedding suits. He has, to my mind, a great eye for detail and for combinations that are both classic and on the edge.

I think Cary Grant looks great, but I think it is his physique and his dark good looks and not so much his "style" per se (unless comportment is part of style). You could stick him in a bin liner and he'd make it look just fine, thank you very much. As well, the style comes out of the wardrobe department primarily not out of his own taste and eye necesarily, which is also true for many of the men on this list. Bogart, for example, has been clocked in some very silly-looking boat wear. I am not dissing either one of them, and any one of the folks on the list would make a fine style icon (okay, not Pregory Peck... and maybe not so much Jimmy Stewart... anyway).

I agree that Douglas Fairbanks Jr. should have been on the list, now that I think about it.

 

[The Wolf]

Many answers

William Powell and Humphrey Bogart are the men I look to for style.
Cary Grant always looked great, he had panache.
However, for the magazine, Gary Cooper is a good candidate because he had a great eye for "casual" style as well as formal clothes.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Terry Lennox]

looks like Cary is the winner for the first issue

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Probably the best choice for the first issue. Grant was liked by both men and women, and he stayed out of trouble. Folks today still find him handsome ... his look isn't stuck to his era. Had an eternal sort of classiness. Elegant without a trace of fussiness.

Yup, Grant's the one.

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[Baron Kurtz]

I must say, of the others (other than PoW) Gary Cooper is my favourite.

bk

 

[Terry Lennox]

But what about the uh.. rumors...

 

[Marc Chevalier]

But what about the uh.. rumors...

Grant stayed out of trouble, but trouble sometimes followed him ...

Bisexual? Almost certainly. But that's not "getting into trouble"; that's simply having a preference.

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[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Grant stayed out of trouble, but trouble sometimes followed him ...

Bisexual? Almost certainly.

I thought almost certainly not. Just a conscious publicity gag.

 

[Pilgrim]

If you're going to ding Cary Grant for bisexuality, don't even THINK about voting for Errol Flynn! There's too much history there.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I don't have icons, but I'd say

best looking: Cary Grant (why did he change his great name?)

most "manly" and present: Humphrey Bogart (not Cooper or Flynn)

best in style: Gary Cooper (very good looking, too)

independence in style: the Duke of Windsor (Apart from his preference for belts, I hardly like any of his peculiarities in style, let alone in politics, but I respect his self-confidence and inno-, er, innovativity.)

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I thought almost certainly not. Just a conscious publicity gag.

Recent biographies of Grant conclude that the rumors had weight. Housemate Randolph Scott was probably more than just a friend to Grant.

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