Guardian Fashion 

Hollywood and the Ivy League look

The west coast actors who appropriated America's east coast Ivy League look, elevated the elite style to the height of cool and defined a quintessentially American male dress code for a new generation
  
  


Hollywood & The Ivy look: Hollywood and The Ivy look 5
Robert Redford nails the hipster look of the period in a button-down shirt, diagonal-striped tie, blazer and tidy, preppy hair. This look is from Redford's Barefoot in the Park era, which also starred Jane Fonda, and featured costumes by the designer Edith Head. Ties such as this have resurfaced recently as part of the Don Draper look
Photograph: The Kobal Collection/Paramount Photograph: The Kobal Collection/Action images
Hollywood & The Ivy look: Hollywood and The Ivy Look-Casual Clint Eastwood
On screen, Clint Eastwood worked the cowboy pin-up look in Rawhide, the jazz disc-jockey in Play Misty for Me and perfected loner detective chic in Dirty Harry. Here, the open neckline of his Lacoste polo shirt oozes masculine confidence. Skinny tennis shirts with the Lacoste logo aren't just for Ivy men: they have resurfaced as part of various sub-cultures including skinheads, casuals, Britpop and Camden indie-rockers
Photograph: Hulton Archive/Archive Photos Photograph: Hulton Archive/Action images
Hollywood & The Ivy look: James Caan Hollywood and The Ivy Look
One of James Caan's most famous roles was as Sonny in The Godfather, in which his shirts were unbuttoned to the waist to reveal the kind of white singlet synonymous with on-screen Italian-Americans at that time. Off screen, his oversized plaid check shirt with button-down collar and closely-cropped haircut is pure Ivy League
Photograph: The Kobal Collection/www.kobal-collection.com Photograph: The Kobal Collection/Action images
Hollywood & The Ivy look: James Coburn The Ivy Look
James Coburn gave good hair. Classic, 60s, and, of course, perfectly offset with a pair of Persol sunglasses. This outfit from the 1967 film The President's Analyst also boasts a marvelous seersucker jacket, which mixes US style with a dash of Euro-chic Photograph: © 1978 David Sutton/mptvimages/mptvimages.com
Hollywood & The Ivy look: Leslie Nielsen Hollywood and The Ivy Look
Who would have thought Naked Gun's Leslie Nielsen was a style hero? But look at the sleek hair, knitted tie and pin-through shirt collar. Very chic. Very Ivy. The authors describe him as a "natty dresser" – just don't call him Shirley
Photograph: Silver Screen Collection/The Silver Screen Collection Photograph: Silver Screen Collection/Action images
Hollywood & The Ivy look: Paul Newman circa 1957
If there was an Ivy pin-up lifetime achievement award it would have to go to Paul Newman, seen here c1957. Newman's wardrobe included so many nods to the look, from Bass Weejun loafers to white Oxford shirts tucked into cream cotton twill jeans via cravats and porkpie hats. Best outfit? Bomber jacket, short cord shorts, moccasins and socks, seen in the late 50s
Photograph: Photo: MPTV.net/MPTV.net Photograph: Photo: MPTV.net/Action images
Hollywood & The Ivy look: Sidney Poitier Hollywood and The Ivy Look
Sidney Poitier was one of the most dapper of the Ivy League dressers. This striped mohair jacket in green with a pink micro-paisley tie ensemble from 1958 is just one of many striking looks. Other highs: cord jackets with elbow patches, raincoats over suits, and short-sleeve shirts worn with a T-shirt underneath
Photograph: Photofest/Photofest Photograph: Photofest/Action images
Hollywood & The Ivy look: Steve Mcqueen Hollywood and the Ivy Look
This Steve McQueen look from the 1968 film Bullitt is described by the authors of Hollywood and The Ivy Look as 'probably the most influential set of Ivy threads in movie history'. McQueen's other key nods to the look included suede chukka boots, navy cashmere turtlenecks, Sperry sneakers, tweedy blazers and the iconic G9 Baracuta harrington jacket
Photograph: 1996-98 AccuSoft Inc., All right/T.C.D Photograph: 1996-98 AccuSoft Inc., All right/Action images
Hollywood & The Ivy look: Woody Allen Hollywood and The Ivy Look
Nobody does the the Ivy look with a side of New York geek better than Woody Allen. This outfit, from 1963, boasts a patch pocket, tweed jacket and nerdy belted slacks. Other key Woody Ivy wardrobe details: specs, a love of corduroy and lots of cardigans. You don't have to look far to see the influence of this look – hello Jarvis Cocker Photograph: Photofest/PR
Hollywood & ering look. Sartorial nerds should pay attention to the just glimpsed white T-shirt under the button-down poplin shirt and the lack of button-hole in the plaid lapel. That's because for a period in the early 1960s such holes were removed to give the sleek minimal look that surfaced in that period. The hardcover book is £45 and can be purchased directly from <a href=
Steve McQueen graces the cover of Hollywood and The Ivy Look with a typically smouldering gaze. Sartorial nerds should pay attention to the white T-shirt, barely glimpsed under the button-down poplin shirt, and the lack of button-hole in the plaid lapel. That's because, for a period in the early 60s, such holes were removed for a sleek minimal look

Hollywood and the Ivy Look, by Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh, costs £45 and can be purchased directly from Reel Art Press www.reelartpress.com Photograph: PR
 

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