Tuesday, September 10, 2013

How to Dress Well 201

Continuing the discussion of Bob the immaculate dresser ... the picture below was used in a 1970 newspaper feature article on the well-dressed man.  The caption fits Bob perfectly:  "Robert Montgomery, star of film and television, dresses according to the common-sense rules.  Shirt cuffs show below the jacket, jacket collar rides comfortably but snugly around the neck, shoulders of jacket are not over-padded.  A good example of how to wear clothes, not let them wear you."
                                 Robert Montgomery (1950ish)

Dressing well was always part of the Montgomery psyche.  In the photo below from Hell Below (1933) Bob is being dishonorably discharged from the navy, but that doesn't stop him from dressing well.  The collar is snug, the jacket sleeves cover the shirt cuffs --- per navy guidelines --- and his pants cuffs come to just above the top of his shoes.  Note the baggy pants that extend to the heel of the shoes of the other sailors.  Of course, having your own personal valet on the set does give one an advantage in keeping up one's appearance. 

                                       Hell Below (1933)

Getting down to the basics, Bob looked just great without any clothes!

                                         At home in 1938

4 comments:

Kristina said...

paraphrasing J.Carrol Naish from one of the Mario Lanza movies, some men are dressed while some are just covered. I kind of feel sad we are way beyond the days of his kind of style for all occasions being considered "common sense!" or for that matter, having a valet (an Eric Blore style "buddy butler" would be a cool thing to have)

Kathy said...

Quoting J. Carrol Naish...I'm impressed. And it certainly would be wonderful to live a lifestyle wherein you can afford your own valet...and I would want a valet, not a maid. T'would be so much more fun.

Kristina said...

*bows* not trying to impress, really! Just that Naish's comeback to Mario Lanza's loud stripe suit was so darn memorable. Yes I agree a manservant that doubles as comic relief after a tough day or date would be swell. It must've been a nice job, frankly, during the depression, assuming your boss was decent.

Kathy said...

I guess most any job in the depression was a "good" job. Hey, I can imagine being a maid living in a room over Bob's garage. Sounds okay to me.