Johnny's ivory zoot suit, vintage or new?...Enquiring minds want to know

[DanielJones]

So this was sort of started over in the Hats section and I thought it might be an interesting topic to discuss. Is the suit that Johnny Depp is wearing vintage or (dare I say) new? Take a look and weigh in your valued oppinion.

I'm of the idea that it is something new, but I've been known to be wrong before. Enjoy the lighthearted debate.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Wild Root]

Don't look much like a zoot... the coat is too short to be a zoot... it has a real 50's look to it... I like that suit, it's very nice!

=WR=

 

[herringbonekid]

whatever it is it's too big for him.

 

[Lauren]

I like it. But he lives in France, where clothes are amazing and vintage is cheap.

 

[BellyTank]

It looks like an exaggerated expression of a '50s style.

B
T

 

[Wild Root]

Yeah, it's a little baggy on him, the pants look a little long but, at least he's got them on his waist and not around his but! The coat does look a little big but, it is unbuttoned so, maybe it's just the elusion of being too big... not sure. But, one thing is for sure... it looks very late 40's to early 50's.

I still like it.

=WR=

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It looks like an exaggerated expression of a '50s style.

These suits were commonly found in in America from 1943 to about 1950 or '51. Two-button, with big, low-slung lapels and a long silhouette. Padded shoulders. Very similar to Armani suits made around 1990.

I do think that Johnny Depp's suit is vintage. Not only because it looks authentic, but because Depp really does wear vintage.

In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that it's a Palm Beach Cloth suit. I once saw a vintage PBC that had this same silhouette. The color and drape of Depp's suit match it.


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[flat-top]

Vintage or not, this cat knows how to dress! I don't think you'll see another A-list actor wearing high waisted pants with a whip belt, at least not in 2006!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

These suits were commonly found in in America from 1943 to about 1950 or '51. Two-button, with big, low-slung lapels and a long silhouette. Padded shoulders. Very similar to Armani suits made around 1990.

Check lester!

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Bingo.

.

 

[DanielJones]

Don't look much like a zoot... the coat is too short to be a zoot... it has a real 50's look to it... I like that suit, it's very nice!

=WR=

Like I said, I've been wrong before.
Since this may be from the late 40's to early 50's, what is style of suit?

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In the mid-'40s to very early '50s, this style was called "the Bold Look". Three-button suits and double-breasted suits also followed the Bold Look.



Some hallmarks of the style:


-- longer, drapier, less darted jackets;

-- highly padded shoulders;

-- very wide, lower-slung lapels forming a somewhat lower gorge;

-- lower-placed chest buttons;

-- slash pockets (without flaps);

-- more often than not, a Hollywood waist on the trousers;

-- the trousers nearly always have pleats;

-- legs that noticeably taper;

-- often made of wool gabardine or rayon gabardine.



Questions?



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[DanielJones]

Cool! Thanks MC. You wouldn't happen to own something like this and be willing to show it off like the shoes?

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I used to, but I sold it back in 1998. No photo record, alas.

I haven't seen Depp's suit style on eBay for a while. Used to be that you couldn't give the two-button models away -- everyone wanted the three-button or double-breasted versions only.


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[herringbonekid]

it's an oversize hollywood suit.
i'll forgive him the extra-large jacket if he takes off those beads and necklaces.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

You're absolutely right. The suit is too big for him. Bold Look suits are drapey and longish, but not that much.


.

 

[Wild Root]

I have a suit with a 1949 copy write... it's three button, blue gab, three patch pockets and long drape with wide shoulders... it's a bold suit! I like it and it fits really well in fact! I might post some photos if you all ask very nicely.

=WR=

 

[herringbonekid]

when i first got into vintage i wasted a lot of time and money buying late 40s loungey jackets that i loved the look of, until i finally accepted that the long untapered shape just didn't work on my build (the opposite was the case.....shorter, fitted more english shaped jackets work on me). it was a hard lesson and took far too long to learn but i'm over it now, i think... :eusa_doh:

 

[DanielJones]

Here's another suit that seems similar. I'm presuming a 'bold suit' as well?

Is this similar to what you had WR?

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Yes, it certainly is.


For reference, here are a couple of photos from 1951:




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