Cary Grant Gray From North by Northwest

[whittaker]

Most of you will not require a reminder of the suit that Cary Grant wears here in North by Northwest.

I have long admired the colour of this suit but am finding it difficult to find this shade of gray. Have you seen any interesting worsteds matching the description?

[Concordia]

I haven't checked against a DVD case, but there is a nice blue-grey pick&pick in the Smiths Connoisseur (11.5oz) book.

[Mark Seitelman]

Incidentally, GQ did a list of the most influential "fashion" films. "North by Northwest" headed the list.

[richt]

Most of you will not require a reminder of the suit that Cary Grant wears here in North by Northwest.

I have long admired the colour of this suit but am finding it difficult to find this shade of gray. Have you seen any interesting worsteds matching the description?

You're in London, I assume, so why not stop in at Kiilgour (8 Savile Row )and have a chat with Carlo Brandelli, if you're serious about finding a suit similar to the one CG wore in N by NW. Tell him Richard Torregrossa sent you. I am the author of Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style (published in the US by Bulfinch Press and Aurum Press in the UK). Kilgour, according to Carlo, made the suits for that film.

There's also a bit about the suit in my book with quotes from Carlo explaining it a bit.

Hope this helps. Cheers, Richard Torregrossa

[whittaker]

Thank you, Richard. That's a good idea. I own and refer to your book frequently.

I've sorted through a lot of fabric books with my tailor and found one in a kid mohair/wool mix (about 8oz) that is a good fit for the blue-grey of Grant's suit. I've got it earmarked as a project for the Spring.

[Trey]

Did you find your suit? I have had the same quest for some time - to no avail. The color is stunning.

[whittaker]

Well. I was not happy with the quality of the kid mohair and wool mix. I've had a suit made from a blue-gray Smith's Finmeresco fresco that is the closest I've got to the colour. It is not close enough but ...

[alden]

I have moved this thread to the Cloth Club in order to gauge the member’s interest in an attempt to recreate the cloth.

It will not be an easy thing to achieve from a photo or at least the various photos I have seen on the net. Can some brilliant techy come up with a good screenshot from the film? If so we might have something to work from that will promise good results.



If we were to make the cloth in flannel, it might wind up looking something like this…what are your thoughts about flannel as a fabric choice?



Your input is greatly appreciated. Like many of you, I am keen to have a few lengths of cloth in this color.

M Alden

[RWS]

I haven't seen the film in many a year, but my memory (or imagined memory) is of a worsted, light to medium weight, with at least a touch of mohair. Though I'd be pleased with a flannel, of course, I think that a summery mohair-and-wool would be ideal. Doesn't the cool color accord better with the heat?

[alden]

N by NW was made in 1959, a good fifteen years before lightweight cloth came to be..this would have been a traditional weight cloth, maybe a 16 ozs mohair as was normally produced at the time.

[whittaker]

The paler colour suggests a lighter flannel, a wool-mohair blend or, ideally for me, a fresco.

[bry2000]

I would participate. 13 oz flannel or 10 oz fresco.

[luk-cha]

i think a fresco close to the minnis style in a 10-12oz would be great

[culverwood]

I would be interested though perhaps not in a flannel. It might be interesting to see if Kilgour would also like to join the game.

[RWS]

A fresco or, again, a mohair or mohair-woollen mix would interest me. I need to expand my warm-weather wardrobe.