Does Alfred Hitchcock's 1941 film Suspicion make the cut?
For most well-dressed men, the silver screen is considerable source of sartorial inspiration. Naturally, for us here at Camp Smoke, that begs the question, What are the best films for classic men’s style? To help us answer it, we put film buff Dr. Andre Churchwell to the test and asked him to name an F.M. ALLEN Five: Best Films for Men’s Dress. As expected, he delivered, coming up with a list sure to entertain and inspire. So grab the popcorn and fire up that Netflix queue.
Because it was so difficult to settle on one list, we had Churchwell select five films from the “Classic” era (pre-1960), as well as a top five from the Modern era. According to Churchwell, it was much easier to make the pre-1960 selections. “Those movies point out how there was a time when movie actors understood that their image was partly due to what they wore,” he said. “They brought their suits/clothes to the set and worked with the directors to insure that the clothes fit the movie.”
Obviously, Hollywood has changed since then. “The problem with modern films is that the current male stars have no idea that proper, stylish dress can create as much star power as their personality and looks. Also, the modern studio system has designated costume designers to dress the stars (partly, I suspect because the stars have no compelling “sartorial signature” to display).”
Still, whether you prefer the classics or more modern fare, he’s put together his best of both eras and we present them without further ado:
Five Best Films for Men’s Style of the Classic Era (Pre-1960)
1. Suspicion (With: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine.) 1941
The movie stars Cary Grant at his peak. He wears the full gamut of man’s dress: black tie, white tie, sport outfits, suits, and really cool sport outfits including a throat closure sport coat with an ascot. He wears some amazing outfits (one is peak lapel suit with a covert type double breasted waistcoat). He shows how you adjust a jacket by extending the shoulders if your head is a little big.
2. Daddy Long Legs (With: Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron.) 1955
This movie stars Fred Astaire and he wears number of flannel suits (double breasted, mostly) and one scene shows how you can wear a suit coat with an odd set of flannel trousers. He shows how you can wear a scarf around his waist to replace a belt.
Fred Astaire in Daddy Long Legs.
3. Top Hat (With: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton.) 1935
Fred Astaire again. This time he wears black tie and white tie, along with spectacular sport coats with the ever present grey flannel trousers and brown suede shoes. He shows that the proper way to wear a waistcoat is to make it short enough so it does not extend beyond the points of the front of the tailcoat. Doing this makes a clean look and extends the eyeline so that the legs appear to be longer.
Astaire shows how to pull off tails in Top Hat.
4. Now and Forever (With: Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, Shirley Temple.) 1934
A Gary Cooper Paramount picture movie. He wears white tie and black tie spectacularly. He wears a number of suits and sport outfits. He starts the movie in a white gabardine four button double breasted suit and white dress shoes. He wears at two topcoats and a number of hats. This movie shows his great taste in clothes. These guys dressed themselves and they brought their clothes to the movie.
Gary Cooper in Now and Forever.
5. Trouble in Paradise (With: Herbert Marshall, Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis.) 1932
With Herbert Marshall (he and Ronald Coleman were England’s contribution to Hollywood before Cary Grant); he wears a number of great outfits all while playing a thief and butler. I would say there is a tie between this movie and To Catch a Thief (1954), a great movie starring Cary Grant as a jewel thief. Grant wears a signature sweater shirt with a red and white polka dot ascot. He wears the requisite number of great gabardine suits, too.
Herbert Marshall in Trouble in Paradise.
Five Best Films for Men’s Style of the Modern Era (Post-1960)
Steve McQueen in the original Thomas Crown Affair.
1a. Thomas Crown Affair (With:Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke.) 1968
Starring Steve McQueen, who I believe was dressed by Saville Row tailor Doug Hayward.
1b. Thomas Crown Affair (With: Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary.) 1999
Pierce Brosman was dressed by Gianni Campagna, who apprenticed for the legendary Domenico Caraceni, and is one of Italy’s top bespoke tailors.
3. Wall Street (With: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah.) 1987
Starring Michael Douglas dressed by Alan Flusser.
4. The Great Gatsby (With: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern.) 1974
Robert Redford is dressed by Ralph Lauren and is quite clean.
5. James Bond Movies (With: Sean Connery, various.)
Most of the early Bond movies with Sean Connery; Turnball and Asser did most of the clothes.
So there you have Dr. Churchwell’s take on the best films for men’s dress. What’s yours?
Note: To read more of Dr. Churchwell’s thoughts on classic men’s style, click here. If you are in the Nashville area, join us on Thursday, October 8th for An Evening with Dr. Andre Churchwell: A Discussion of Classic Style. For more information, click here.
Tags: Best Films for Men's Style, Cary Grant, Daddy Long Legs, Dr. Andre Churchwell, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Herbert Marshall, James Bond, Michael Douglas, Now and Forever, Pierce Brosnan, Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Steve McQueen, Suspicion, The Great Gatsby, Thomas Crown Affair, To Catch a Thief, Top Hat, Trouble in Paradise, Wall Street
As always, he generates a great list, but I feel strongly that Random Harvest (ronald Coleman, Greer Garson) has to be mentioned in this group
No Safari Movies?
C’mon guys this is FM Allen right?
Out Of Africa
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (Movie was horrible)
The Garden of Eden (Not Released, but the preview looks good)
Casino Royale (Daniel Craig)
Ken,
As always, many thanks for the contribution. Regarding the absence of a safari flick on the list, I’d have to side with Dr. Churchwell. While safari was a huge part of Bunny Allen’s life, he was much more than that. Bunny was, first and foremost, an Englishman, and we try to use that English Gentleman as inspiration behind all of our design and direction. (Obviously, safari, as a rite of passage for proper English gents of that era, is a critical piece to that both in terms of Bunny Allen the man and the present-day F.M. ALLEN; but it’s still just a part.) For that reason, any list that we have a hand in titled “Best Dressed” is more likely to include films like those listed by Dr. Churchwell than something like Out of Africa.
Now, if we were to change the subject to cinematographic beauty, that would be a completely different story… Out of Africa and even Hugh Hudson’s I Dreamed of Africa (which, like you mentioned about The Snows of Kilimanjaro, is far from a great movie) would be near the top of my list any day.
Cheers!
I understand your point, and having read Bunny’s book as well as Wheeler’s Too Close to the Sun – true these men were english gentlemen, and the dressed the like whether they were at White’s in London or the Muthaiga Club in Nairobe, but their safari and casual style, to me, rounds out the complete look for the films which was why I made the comment. Hope I didn’t step on any toes over there.
Not at all Ken. I understand your point, completely. And you make a great point about the safari and casual style rounding out the wardrobe. To me, the art of dressing for every occasion is what has been destroyed in society the last half century.
Ken,
You definitely didn’t step on any toes, and your point is well taken. No doubt casual dress is big part any modern gentleman’s dress, and obviously, I incorporate much of the look you describe and appreciate in my own personal dress. (In fact, my day involved a great deal of “active labor” and I’m thus sporting our lightweight DeserDry Bush Shirt – a shirt you should know well! – today before putting on my more formal attire for an even this evening.) Thanks again for sharing; your perspective is one that is not only appreciated here but shared in many respects.
Thanks. The DeserDry Bush Shirt is a great shirt, and has become one of the favorites of my smart casual wardrobe. Looks great with a pair of Bills Khaki’s and RM Williams boots and a Basque fisherman’s sweater.
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Absolutely Polprav. We’d be honored! Thanks for reading.
Great choices but Cary Crant has to be the all time champ in men’s dressing. How about “To Catch a Thief” with Gant and Grace Kelly. There are other Cary Grant movies that are in this league as well.
Ted
Great choices but Cary Crant has to be the all time champ in men’s dressing. How about “To Catch a Thief” with Grant and Grace Kelly. There are other Cary Grant movies that are in this league as well.
Ted
Hitchcock is missing from this list. “North by Northwest” gets a lot of praise, but “Dial M for Murder” is my favorite. The best-suited police detective in film history.
I’m partial to North by Northwest, which I would have to have in my top 5. Something about the way people dressed to travel in those days that was very special.