14 November 2011

Coop's Closet - 1950



(Photos by Karl Bissinger - Click on image to enlarge)

Excerpts from Flair Magazine, July, 1950

"In the minute dressing room of his own town house in Brentwood outside Hollywood, Gary Cooper's wardrobe presents something of the impression of its owner.

"...some star chambers hold as many as two hundred suits, but not so Cooper's. There are some twenty five outfits in his closet, where often-used , friendly jeans jostle the casually draped double-breasted suits that Eddie Schmidt of Los Angeles cuts for him."

"By preference Gary Cooper wears one of his assortment of loose fitting, simple sport coats with gray flannel trousers, a plain white silk shirt ordered from Jerry Rothchild and Co., and moccasin-type shoes specially designed for him by Farkas and Kovacs."

"He favors silk striped ties, many of which are chosen by his wife. He reorders, whenever he needs something new (which is not often), sportswear from Kerr's, shoes from Peal of London, generalities from Brooks Bros. and F.R. Tripler."

"During the summer, Montana-born Gary Cooper of Hollywood migrates to the great beaches and attractive estates of Southampton on Long Island. (After all, Mrs. Cooper is a New Yorker.) Here he is a familiar figure--tall, lanky, hesitant and consistently disarming -- in Bermuda shorts, on his way to the tennis courts or in brightly colored cotton slacks at the Beach Club."

9 comments:

Makaga said...

Tintin, are you going to the gary Cooper book signing on Tuesday?

tintin said...

Makaga- Abso-fucking-lutely.

Anonymous said...

Magazines from the fifties are so cool. I never tire of paging through them.

But did you see it?: Cooper's Oscar statue can barely be seen tucked into the shelf niche above the open drawers and next to the shirts.

-DB

Alice Olive said...

"Tall, lanky, hesitant and consistently disarming" - love this description and also his minimalist approach.

Richard M said...

I have the magazine; also has Tony Biddle's closet. I'll take either one!!

Dallas said...

i'd win if i never saw another men's magazine again. 50s or not.

"all male issue"?

somewhere in the midst of this cooper homage someone typed jp belmondo. saw leon morin again last night. that guy was/is good.

makaga you sleuth you.

tintin said...

DB- Good eye. The story refers to it but thought I'd see if anyone caught it. You figure out what brand Wilder was smoking with Cooper on the train?

Alice- There was no by-line with the article so I assume it was the menswear editor at the time, Perkins Baily.

Richard M- I've stolen from this issue a couple times. A year or two ago every issue, in leather holders no less, came up on ebay. It was down to me and one other bidder. I lost. I have a pretty good idea who beat me. It got into stupid money. At least for someone who wanted to own it versus someone who wanted to sell it.

Dallas- Most every night I read old Esquires from the '60s and early '70s. Most fun I've had with my clothes on. Review of Bruce Boyer's book tomorrow. I'd send you a copy but you seem to be burned out on this kinda stuff.

Anonymous said...

Of that interview: I couldn't get a handle on the cigs brand, but I dug the ambiance of the train. I have a reupholstered CHAIR with almost exactly the same fabric pattern as the interview's jacket. A sort of enlarged herringbone. It's pink with black pattern. But I'm thinking the jacket is not.

-DB

tintin said...

DB-That guy's coat would look a lot better if it were a chair.