Of course I can not find it when I need it but a week or so ago I saw a new-to-me photo of Cary Grant wearing a dark suit and necktie with light socks. And so it was that I set out to do the same.
In the photo, a gray flannel suit accessorized above the waist with a gray on white striped shirt, white micro-dot on black necktie and a white linen and cotton pocket square with a gray-green border. 
Below the waist, beige socks with beige and green stripes and brown semi-brogues.
Mr. Grant, of course, did it better.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Somewhat of an Homage to Cary Grant
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11 comments:
Will,
The rig looks great as usual, but I am still a bit baffled with your combo of black (tie) and brown (shoes). One of the first things I can remeber my mother telling me about dressing was that black and brown are neigh impossible to mix. Infact, the only way I would normally think to do this would be by wearing black shoes with a chocolate suit. Like I said, your rig looks nice. I just can't get my head around this particular color mix. Enlighten us...
Black and brown next to each other can be difficult. In this case, the gray of the suit intervenes between the black and the brown.
I remember reading somewhere that Grant wore light socks regularly because, as a former acrobat and dancer, he wished to draw observers' eyes to his footwork. In some films Fred Astaire followed suit.
Will,
My late father, Michael Wilding, was one of Cary's boon companions. (Someone had to carry cash, and Grant was thrifty to the point of cutting buttons off discarded shirts. He also eschewed wallets, credit cards and blanched at being asked to provide any variation of payment.)I write today, though, to relate one of the rather unknown CG stories and, fittingly, it has to do with Cary's socks.
It seems that Grant was dining one night with pals at Chasens when in walked Swifty Morgan, Hollywood character and rumored onetime jewel thief. Morgan was wearing a dark suit and, astonishingly, light pink socks. Asked why the socks, Swifty, under almost constant scrutiny by authorities repled, "It's like this: When somebody's looking at your socks, they can't be looking at your hands."
Taking this to heart, Grant promptly ordered dozens of light-colored socks from former agent Dick Carroll's haberdashery. He had a special fondness for the pink ones.
Louche,
I'm with you and never combine black and brown (though I do combine black and burgundy, a.k.a. cordovan). However, perhaps the black tie/brown shoe combination can be considered dégagé, the style ideal that Will espouses.
My mohter said the same thing; she was wrong, as it turns out.
In this case, I am not a fan of the tie/suit combo. I feel there is too much texture there and not enough solid colour. I feel a solid black tie might have worked better.
Cary Grant had quite a large head in proportion to the rest of his body, so had his jacket shoulders made
wider than normal in the 30s and 40s to balance him out, perhaps he thought the socks would distact in an era of smaller shoulder styles.
He did this often. Try Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style, by Richard Torrgrossa for a few examples. Of note, he mixed a tan sock and gray trousers (and an odd jacket) with brown socks, effectively matching the sock with the shoe and not the trouser in contravention of tradition. Thus, like his eyewear, Mr. Grant adopted imperfection, and much like ASW's advice about avoiding an overstudied look, made it perfect by making it his own.
Will,
As usual, I like the outfit. However, I find that the width of the lapels warrant a larger collar spread and length to make the look appear better balanced. Please let me know your thoughts about this upon second glance.
Regards,
MV
The Louche, I couldn't agree more. The brown shoes look like "stuck on." Will has shown, however, that this can be possible when other parts of the outfit reflect the brown colour palette; see his blog on the last day of 2008. This style may be ok in a suburban or country-ish setting, although I personally would refrain from it always. Will rightfully notes here that brown and black next to each other are problematic. On the other hand, see Wayne Wilding's comment, in case a jewel thief walks into the room, maybe someone who looks at your shoes doesn't look at your hands.....
gray and gray and contrasting textures! for the young and old
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