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."

The Duke's Closet

I try to keep my other blog separate from The Trad but did want to share something on Veteran's Day. You can see it here.

There were many influences on my southern sartorial upbringing. A golf pro cousin in Hilton Head. The Cowan's Ford Country Club on Lake Norman. Chapel Hill. The Ft Monroe Officer's Club. But nothing comes close to the effect my enlistment in the army had. Your appearance was everything and rarely did a good soldier dress like Joe Shit the Rag Man... although I was a good example of a poor soldier dressing well.

The Duke was a soldier, sailor and airman. Certainly there was an affection for uniforms but this love of the cloth -- and of the very best military tailoring -- must have influenced him for the rest of his life. Tailoring in my army consisted of $10 to the cleaners for pegged trousers and buying jackets one size smaller. I guess you have to start somewhere.