Easy and Elegant Life

The Search for Everyday Elegance and the Art of Living Well.

The Icon Collection: North By Northwest

It is arguably the most famous suit in movie history.

Two tailoring houses can lay claim to it. The label seen here seems to be from Quintino of Beverly Hills.

 

The colour is hotly debated and difficult to find.

The cut is classic, but not sack-like as was the prevailing style of the day.

 

Its wearer was the most elegant man of his, or maybe even our, day.

After much research, hours of viewing the film in super slow motion, days of internet research, and weeks of fabric research, I’m going to reproduce it for The Icon Collection.

Introducing the North By Northwest suit, as close as any of us will get to being Cary Grant.

 

9 thoughts on “The Icon Collection: North By Northwest

  1. Of course, it will have to pass the North By Northwest test…..where an airplane can lay you flat out in the dirt and you will arise, still looking immaculate!

  2. In the works. I’m debating the lining and whether or not to hold off (I can’t find the right one) or substitute. Should be done in about a month.

    Liz, in all fairness, there were six suits created for the movie. But I’m pretty handy with a sponge.

  3. Wouldn’t his shirt and tie be considered classics? And almost not a hair out of place.
    Looking forward to the reveal.
    BarbaraG

  4. Another point of common confusion is the sunglasses. Contrary to popular guess, they are not Wayfarers, but another model of Ray-Ban’s, long since discontinued, called the Dallas. I’ve been collecting them for a few years now, so I don’t mind giving out the secret since my drawer is full. There is a world of difference in the details between the Wayfarer and the Dallas, and IMO the Dallas is much more elegant. They were made in both tortoise and black frames.
    See here: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.frontrowreviews.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/North-by-Northwest.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.frontrowreviews.co.uk/editorial/spy-couples-in-the-movies/5601&h=442&w=600&sz=39&tbnid=SqFH5pC-Jyu70M:&tbnh=102&tbnw=138&prev=/search%3Fq%3DNorth%2Bby%2Bnorthwest%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=North+by+northwest&usg=__iAuWNvIYBncUeOF75wQoTV1cnYQ=&sa=X&ei=1BPoTdyTKIGztwfDpu3lCg&ved=0CGkQ9QEwCA&dur=2991

  5. Is this perhaps the best example of “the man wearing the suit”; and not the other way around?. It all comes together here. My favorite Cary costume was the blue knit top he wore in to “Catch A Thief”. (A look the Elegantologist wears frequently.)

  6. Well, any news about the suit ? Have you been able to identify the suit fabric at a cloth merchant ?

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