I usually don't watch "colorized" films, but some articles of clothing leave me curious about exactly what they were. For example, is Cary Grant really wearing a silk blazer??
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| Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House |
And what are we to make of Charles Coburn's sumptuous bathrobe?
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| The Lady Eve |
Could that be dark blue and turquoise? Black and gold? Purple and gold? Forest green and burnt orange? Velvet collar, and deeper pile on the dark parts? What a gorgeous robe. If only we could see it in the original colors.
Well, on a smaller scale but just as much style, there's the neckties in the Thin Man films, with William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles.
Nick was a snappy dresser, and that includes his ties. In an era of hats, the tie was a close second- but their glories are lost to black and white. Until today.
There were 6 Thin Man films, from 1934 to 1947, covering a decade of unparalleled fashion: Zoot suits. Reet pleats. Not to say that Nick would ever drape his shape in that way- a simple, iridescent power-tie was good enough for the first film.
He was even more restrained in "After the Thin Man" (1936), dressed like a banker with sparkly pinstripes and a simple gold tie clasp.
This sort of choice led to him being challenged in "Another Thin Man" (1939) by one of his co-stars, Abner Biberman, who showed up in a gold-lame-on-velvet job that blew out a film camera:
He was given a stern talking-to by another co-star, Otto Kruger.
But Nick was on guard after that, and apparently started reaching into his stash of classic neckwear.
There was his red satin "I had blueberry Jello for lunch" tie:
A purple paisley, which no wardrobe should be without:
And this one, from the Richard the Lion-Hearted collection.
The challenges to him were few after that. Keenan Wynn had a nice yellow orchids tie, like a kooky jazz musician might wear, in the final film, "Song of the Thin Man"-
but Nick donned this Cocktail Hour number that reflected his main hobby over the entire series.
Must have been a present from Nora.
