Dean Martin's Sport coat/Celebrity Clothing

[Mr Maltby]

Hello all! I was not sure where to post this, so I chose suits. I recently acquired a suit coat which belonged to the one and only Dean Martin. I found it at a thrift store, and they didnt even know they had it. I picked it up because I liked the cut of it. then while standing in line, I peeked at the tag-- Sy Devore. "Ok, thats great!" I thought to myself. Then I thought, gosh, wouldn't it be something if this was one of Sy's suits for his celebrity clients. So, to humor myself I looked inside to see if i could find a name, and there it was, Dean Martin. Sept. 6th, 1966. So he got this when he was making the Silencers I assume, wore it a couple times, and handed it on. Who knows. I thought I would share this story with you all. Because if anyone would appreciate it, its you ladies and gentlemen. Oh, I also paid 95 cents for it.

Thats part one. My second thought, after writing that, was does anyone else have any stories like this? Or any clothes from our entertainment heros from our golden era? I apologize if there is already a thread for this. But if there isnt, lets get one going. Anyone want to jump in?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Interesting! Congratulations! :eusa_clap


I once found a three-piece, double-breasted suit made by "Sy Devore" for Dean Martin. The date on the label was 1956. Sy Devore was a midcentury haberdasher with stores in Palm Springs and Las Vegas. Devore was an early proponent of the Italian "continental" style, and his clients included the Rat Pack and some Vegas mafia types.


I found the suit at the estate sale of a doctor who also had a movie studio suit made for Roger Moore, and a sportcoat made for Rock Hudson. The clothes showed me that Dean Martin, Roger Moore and Rock Hudson were tall and wore about the same size in suits: 42-43 L.


I sold the Dean Martin suit to one of writers of Everybody Loves Raymond. Flush with his success, the writer -- who was short and pot-bellied -- decided to have Dino's suit tailored down to his size. I didn't see the results.


I ended up selling Roger Moore's beautifully tailored '50s suit to Art Fawcett. (It was a single-breasted, peaked lapel job in lightweight, dove grey flannel, with triple-pleated trousers! The best-cut trousers I've ever seen in my life. The suit looked like something Cary Grant would have worn in a Hitchcock film.)

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[Feraud]

What a great story.:eusa_clap I hope you show us pictures of this coat!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Me too! I'd love to see it. Sy Devore had excellently made stuff (and never an ounce of polyester), even though it became WAY groovy in the '70s.


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[Mr Maltby]

okay! I was hoping you guys might dig that. Ill get pictures up in the next week or so! its SO nice. surgeons cuffs, black with gold pinstriping, two buttons, 2 inch lapels. Sy Devore is kinda my favorite of the suit makers (i favor the early 60's as my golden era), and Dean Martin is kinda my hero. So it was the best of both worlds.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Surgeons cuffs, black with gold pinstriping, two buttons, 2 inch lapels.

That's Sy Devore, no mistake about it. Then, in the '70s, his lapels, stitching and bell bottoms got REAL wide.


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[Mr Maltby]

darn the 70's...Im sure they did. He always was the acme, the extreme, of whatever was currently hip. So when it was good, it was *really* good. and when it was bad, well....

You know there is still a Sy Devore store? For some reason it makes me sad. It's just like anything I guess. Looking at it and seeing what it once was. Same old story for us folk, right? Now I'm curious. How is it that you came to know his work? Most people give me a pretty blank expression when I mention it.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

[Sy Devore] was always was the acme, the extreme, of whatever was currently hip. So when it was good, it was *really* good. and when it was bad, well....

But I give Devore a lot of credit for one thing: even in the depths of the '70s, he never, ever sold suits, sportcoats or trousers made of polyester. Natural fibers only. :eusa_clap


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[Marc Chevalier]

How is it that you came to know his work?

My dad bought some shirts, pants, and coats at Sy Devore in the '70s.

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[Mr Maltby]

ahhhhh i see. Yes, I think that is a claim that is difficult to make. They could even use it as a tag line now. "Sy Devore- So Classy, we didnt even use polyester in the 70's." Since you seem generally interested in it, heres a couple fun facts. Jerry Lewis, who exclusively used Sy Devore in it's heyday, would wear a suit once and then discard it because he was allergic to dry cleaning fluids. Also, When Sammy Davis, Jr lost his eye, Jerry ordered Sammy
something like one hundred silk eye patches made by the one and only, sy devore. Now, I dont know if its true, but he has been crediting with (at least making famous) the narrow lapel revolution. Now now, men, dont give me a hard time. It's just my personal preference. Im not saying you need to endorse it.