The Cary Grand Style
To call Cary Grant one of the most popular actors in the world would certainly be a big understatement, one that should be supplemented by some further factors. Because up to this date, Cary Grant is the impersonation of a true gentleman, a textbook example.
As a charismatic icon of timeless elegance, Grant, born in Bristol in 1904, will remain forever in our hearts as one of the best dressed men ever. No other gentleman was able to cover up his flaws and highlight his merits simply be dressing well.
But not only in film history - place 2 of the American Screen Legends! - Cary Grant played an extremely important role, but also in the career of Michael Jondral. At a young age it was the influence of Jondrals father, as well as the style of Cary Grant, Steve McQueen & Gianni Agnelli, who generated the curiosity and passion for the masculine fashion.
Grant as one of the extraordinary gentlemen, who Jondral lovingly calls „MJ’s Style Icons“, gave direction for Jondral’s interest and passion for the sartorial world.
Reason enough to revive Style Icon Cary Grant in our today's Gazzetino Post. Who was this man? What characterized his style? Why did he stay in our minds like no other actor?
Read for yourself!
The Beginning of the Young Grant
The fact that Cary Grant was not only able to keep the audience in suspense while wearing his tailor-made suit in North by Northwest, was proven when wearing other clothes such as the famous striped turtleneck pullover in To Catch a Thief or the stylish pajama in Indiscreet.
By the way, Ronald Reagan was so impressed by the striped turtleneck pullover that Grant, after a casual remark by Nancy Reagan, offered the president two of his own pieces. A gentleman to the core!
Grant excelled not only in every piece of cloth with a perfect fit, but above all with a convincing hairstyle. This inevitably meant that Cary Grant was like a transforming American monument in every single film. Is it surprising that this man has broken the heart of many women? After all, he was married 5 times…
But how did Cary Grant manage to outdo other major actors of his time in this discipline? Let us go back further into the past.
From conversations between Cary Grant and Ralph Lauren, it is surpassed that a fateful encounter changed the life of young Grant forever.
It was the year 1920 and Cary Grant emigrated to the USA to find happiness as an actor. As it was destined, he was on the same ship as Mr. Douglas Fairbanks. Although the young Grant and the famous actor traveled in different classes, Grant could catch a glimpse of Douglas Fairbanks and his elegantly dressed escort.
The encounter with the elegant appearance of Douglas Fairbanks had such an impact on the young actor that, many years later, he was philosophizing about the lapel width, the tie knot, and the pocket square of Fairbanks in conversations with Ralph Lauren.
As Grant himself reported, he knew from this day on who he wanted to be. Having arrived in the USA, Grant started to cultivate these qualities through hard work.
„I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person.“
With the quotation by Cary Grant, interesting parallels to books about personality development - e.g. from Dale Carnegie - arise. Is it possible that this is where we found the "guidance" to the groundbreaking success of a gentleman?
The Style of a Legend
Nobody wore suits as elegant and nonchalant as Cary Grant. His image, transported with it, was and remains timeless. Like no other, Grant was a „suit-wearer“, but this circumstance did not come by chance.
As a big fan of military uniforms, Grant saw them as the top of men's fashion. The young Grant was particularly impressed by the fact that soldiers, by virtue of their uniform, radiated masculinity and a special form of recognition from the female sex. Not only did the uniform convey an advantageous figure, but also concealed flaws or drew attention to the merits of the male silhouette.
Grant wanted to transfer these advantages to his wardrobe. From then on he no longer looked at his clothing as clothing, but rather as his personal uniform.
It is therefore hardly surprising that his style of clothing was more inconspicuous, reserved. But in this coordination, the "elegance" of a Cary Grant is concealed.
With monochrome suits in winter and summery bright colors in the warmer months, Grant excelled by the playful ease of the different combinations. He put own highlights with a folded pocket square and a tasteful tie.
Because of his physique, which he kept up to his old age, Grant did not always wear tailor-made suits. Often, he wore suits off the rack of manufacturers, such as Alfred Dunhill or Abercrombie & Fitch (not today's mainstream brand!).
What Grant did right, was to make sure the clothes fit perfectly. Problems such as "neck folds" or "too long sleeves" were just as strange to him as unstarched shirts. Suit and coat always fit comfortably. They were perfectly cleaned. The shoes always polished. In summery: always flawless. Cary Grant has always taken his time for all these things.
Although Cary Grant was always happy with high-quality clothing off the rack - e.g. his famous Aquasqutum Trench Coat - he also wore tailor-made suits and shirts. He trusted in the Cifonelli house in Rome or Alfred Dunhill in London.
Cary Grant’s Take on Style
Male leading roles did not have the luxury to go back to big wardrobes. Often the male protagonists had to wear their own clothes. But this circumstance played greatly into the young Grant’s hands. At a young age, he already understood that the right clothes are important.
Grant's philosophy of clothing was developed by these circumstances. Some of his suits have been ten to twenty years old and were not only made by famous tailors worldwide. On the contrary, some were rather cheap suits off the common racks, as Grant used the idea that American ready-made clothes belonged to the best clothes.
Cary Grant felt that dressing was not primarily about money, but about personal taste.
"The simplicity of dressing has always been the essence of good taste for me."
This motto can also be traced back to its wardrobe. Due to his work as an actor, Grant has acquired dozens of suits over the years. All were selected according to the same attribute.
They were in the middle of fashion: not too fashionable, nor overly conservative or dated. In other words, the lapel was neither too wide nor too narrow, the pants neither too tight nor too loose, the coat neither too short nor too long - for us, this sounds like the „timeless elegance“ of Cesare Attolini! True to the motto "Great Minds Think Alike!"