Photo: LIFEMost of us are probably too young to remember the late Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., pillar of the American establishment when there still was such a thing, and Ambassador to South Vietnam during the American adventure there. Here he is on the cover of the magazine, teaching us a lesson about fit, if we ever needed one. And that is, stop wearing your suits as soon as you become larger than they are.
Mr. Lodge is not quite beautifully turned out for the tropics, in classic American style. I would be praising his taste were his jacket not too tight at the button point, which in turn highlights the paunch beneath it. If the coat were a couple of inches larger around the waist his weight would be disguised.
Thanks to Style Forum member Voxsartoria for discovering this photo in the LIFE archives.
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10 comments:
The soldiers next to him look better turned out than he does because their uniforms fit.
That said, loafer vs trouser length is great.
While the pose may exaggerate the problem, your essential point is vital. Nothing is less flattering to those with anything but perfect physiques than clothing that is too snug. Interesting choice of socks and shoes also.
The tailoring looks as if it might be a hangover from the Ivy League. Things were cut closer for trim young men. But he isn’t either. I wonder who the perpetrator was, Hong Kong, NY or Father Time and lobster bisque?
The ankle-high cuffs, white socks and loafers aren't doing him any favors either.
His family lives right down the way here and I assure you the remaining generations look fabulous. But the ill fitting jacket and highwaters do indeed speak to a sort of flinty eccentricity in people of a certain place in the world: He did many great things, odd clothing habits aside. And in comparison to the well-heeled rumpled pig pens in these parts I would say, he looks like he just stepped off Savile Row... thread bare tweeds baggy in the rear, long-unwashed bed head and mismatched socks they arrive in church every week. This is indeed the least of it.
I agree that there is a kind of quasi-academic tone to this outfit; donnish and smug, but you really are not finding open patch fine line chino suits in 1964 other than in your tailor's swatchbook. However, it could have been off the peg at say, Abercrombie and Fitch prewar when Mr. Lodge was much younger, and much more likely to have been purchasing a life-long wardrobe, as pointed out by Blushing so precisely.
Actually the neckwear and shoes seem to be left over from some previous outfit- perhaps the bon voyage on the eve of this very journey.
I served as a Junior Foreign Service Officer under
another pillar of the New England WASP diplomatic
establishment, Amb. Ellsworth Bunker, during
the Dominican Intervention 1965-6. Historically,
this was a side show during the rapidly escalating
Vietnam conflict and has been largely forgotten,
except for Latin American hands and those who were involved. Bunker went on to succeed Lodge in Vietnam where he was no more successful than his predecessor except perhaps sartorially:
ttp://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=7ac85fdd98186e48&q=ellsworth%20bunker&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dellsworth%2Bbunker%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1
For those too young to remember the personalities in this 1969 shot, the tall guy in the poplin suit is
Amb. Bunker. The fellow pointing is South Vietnam
President Nguyen Van Thieu, and the guy in the ascot is none other than Air Vice Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky, most recently of southern, California.
I owned a similar poplin suit which had patch flap
pockets, welted seams and came from Brooks Bros.
those two well turned out men are Marines.Back in those days we always gave great attention to how the uniforms looked.
I can't stand the new PJ uniforms one sees everywhere.What happened to the class "A" uniform while out in public?
I've seen a number of fairly affluent men with the same issue (and some not so affluent as well).
I wonder if in Lodge's case this could be almost a sartorial statement: "we're in a serious crisis - people who can run to the tailors to have their suits altered aren't serious men."
If that seems odd, think of all the other oddities of the post war WASP. Again - just a theory.
Pillar's a bit of an oversimplification given Lodge's shameful politicking leading up to the U.S.-backed coup in Guatemala, all for the sake of the United Fruit company's profits.
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