William Powell

[Simply Refined]

I'm writing an article about William Powell and can't seem to find who his tailor(s) was/were. His clothes from The Thin Man often look Drape-cut, but with a slightly American flair to them. I don't think they look quite like Scholte, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for any information.

[Mark Seitelman]

Good luck.

It is most likely that Powell's suits were made in Los Angeles or Hollywood by studio in-house tailors. It is also likely that his suits were made by Eddie Schultz.

Adolphe Menjou in his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors, said that most of his clothing was made by Eddie Schultz in Los Angeles. I think that the shop was also known as Schultz & Galuppo or something like that.

Using a London or New York tailor for a movie would have been impractical in the pre-airplane Hollywood. That is why the major studios had large in-house costume departments.