Vitals

Gregory Peck as David Pollock, American hieroglyphics professor

London, June 1965

Film: Arabesque
Release Date: May 5, 1966
Director: Stanley Donen
Tailor: H. Huntsman & Sons, London

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The stylish espionage-themed romantic comedy thriller Arabesque was released sixty years ago tomorrow on May 5, 1966. Producer and director Stanley Donen had hoped to replicate Charade‘s success with Cary Grant in the lead, but the now-retired Grant wasn’t thrilled enough with the script to make this his return to the silver screen. Donen himself wasn’t impressed with the script either, adapted from Gordon Cotler’s 1961 novel The Cipher (published under his pseudonym Alex Gordon.)

With Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren contracted as the leads, the script was constantly being rewritten, but cinematographer recalled that “the more the script was rewritten, the worse it got,” and that Donen told him their “only hope was to make it so visually exciting the audience will never have time to work out what the hell is going on.”

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What’d He Wear?

For a sequence set on the same day of the 1965 Royal Ascot, American hieroglyphics professor David Pollock (Peck) and his new acquaintance Yasmin Azir (Loren) scour London in search of the cipher that Pollock had ingeniously snuck into a candy wrapper. Aside from when he briefly changes out of the suit to meet Ascot’s strict dress code of morning coats, Pollock wears a black-and-white herringbone tweed suit that was cut for Gregory Peck by his usual Savile Row tailor: H. Huntsman & Sons, conveniently also located in London.

The single-breasted suit jacket has notch lapels of moderate width which taper to a two-button stance positioned over Peck’s natural waist. The silhouette is trim but never tight, with lightly structured shoulders—padded just enough to square the line without looking rigid—and a gently suppressed waist that avoids overt shaping. The sleeves are each finished with three buttons at the cuff.

A subtle softness throughout is appropriate for this countrified suiting, including visibly textured tweed cloth, edges that aren’t excessively padded or roped, and overall drape that feels natural rather than sculpted. Cut with double side vents, the jacket also has a welted breast pocket with narrowly flapped hip pockets that reinforce its propriety as a business suit (rather than sportier patch pockets).

As he keeps his suit jacket buttoned and I haven’t found extant set photography without it, we can only assume that Pollock’s herringbone tweed trousers are styled like his other tailored trousers with traditionally English double forward pleats as well as side pockets, button-through back pockets, and belt loops for his scaled burgundy leather belt. We do see that the trousers taper down to the bottoms, which are finished with turn-ups (cuffs) that break over the tops of his usual dark burgundy-leaning brown leather apron-toe derby shoes. These appear to be worn with dark-brown cotton lisle socks.

In addition to his English-tailored suits, Peck was also a customer of well-regarded London shirtmaker Frank Foster, whose shirts he wore in Arabesque. Especially at this time, button-down collars—especially with suits and ties—were more associated with American style, dating back to the turn of the 20th century when John E. Brooks found inspiration from English polo players fastening their collars onto their shirts and introduced Brooks Brothers’ “Original Polo Shirt” with a built-in button-down collar.

Thus, this English-inspired, American-developed shirt design was made by an Englishman for an American actor in an English-set film. Peck adds a colorful dimension to his black-and-white tailoring with his light-blue oxford-cloth shirt, styled with button-down collar, front placket, and single-button cuffs. His subdued foulard tie features a repeating geometric motif of slate-bordered, burgundy-filled medallions against a muted navy ground.

In the true Hitchcockian tradition of innocent men trying to disguise themselves after being wrongly wanted for murder, Pollock conceals his appearance with a set of gold-framed aviator-style sunglasses with green-tinted lenses—though wearing them at night may make him more conspicuous than not. He also tops his look with an olive-brown felt short-brimmed trilby that has a wide, matching grosgrain band around the base of the tall, pinched crown and a short, self-edged brim.

Less prominent through this sequence is Pollock’s elegantly minimalist gold dress watch with its round silver dial and russet brown leather strap.

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How to Get the Look

Gregory Peck models an Anglo-American blend of mid-century “thinking man’s” tailoring with his English herringbone tweed suit and Ivy-informed blue oxford button-down collar shirt, completed with a foulard tie and brown shoes.

• Black-and-white herringbone tweed tailored suit:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and double vents
  • Double forward-pleated trousers with belt loops, side pockets, button-through jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Light-blue oxford cotton shirt with button-down collar, front placket, breast pocket, and 1-button rounded cuffs
• Navy subdued foulard tie
• Burgundy scaled leather belt with squared gold single-prong buckle
• Burgundy leather apron-toe derby shoes
• Dark-brown cotton lisle socks
• Gold dress watch with round silver dial on russet brown leather strap
• Olive-brown felt short-brimmed trilby with matching grosgrain band
• Gold-framed aviator sunglasses

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

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The Quote

You know how it is… I don’t care what they say about me as long as they spell my name right.