The incredible shirt of Carlos Gardel

[Veronica Parra]

Have you ever heard of Carlos Gardel (1890-1935)? Born in France (or Uruguay,depending on whom you speak to), he emigrated to Argentina at the age of two. Gardel was (and remains, more than 70 years after his death in a plane crash) the single most popular interpreter of tango songs in history. In addition to singing and writing tangos, Gardel starred in numerous Argentine musicals, performed on NBC radio in New York, starred in several "videos" (with Bing Crosby, Ray Noble and others) for Paramount Pictures, and had just signed a Hollywood film contract when his life was cut tragically short.

Argentina has three icons: Eva Peron, Diego Maradona, and Carlos Gardel. To this day, images of the singer are found on postcards and posters in Buenos Aires. The sound of his voice drifts from open windows. For Argentina, Gardel is Crosby, Sinatra and Elvis rolled into one.

What's less well remembered is that Carlos Gardel was the most stylish of all Golden Era dressers. Below is a photo of a shirt he was famous for wearing: the dapper horizontal stripe body. I know at least one Argentine man who has had his tailor copy this shirt.

In other sections of the Lounge, I've posted more photos of Gardel in hats, suits and brillantined hair.

Viva Gardel!

 

[Daniel Riser]

But it's a spread collar?!? I know they've been around for awhile but... I'm not a huge fan of them. I love the stripes though.

 

[Veronica Parra]

Gardel wore spread collars, long-point collars, button-down collars -- everything.

 

[Mycroft]

That stripe shirt looks well with the suit, what kind is it?

 

[Veronica Parra]

It's just called a horizontal stripe shirt. Around since the late 1800s, the style has always been considered a bit daring. It all but disappeared until the 1980s, when the movie Wall Street showed Michael Douglas's character, Gordon Gekko, wearing a version (with a white collar) made by Allan Flusser. The revival was short, and largely confined to New York junk bond traders.

About three years ago, the Italians revived the horizontal stripe shirt in a wide-striped, '70s-esque way, but it didn't hit big in the U.S. I myself had two (narrower striped) shirts made for me in Chile about a year ago. Love them!

-- Marc

 

[Mycroft]

It's just called a horizontal stripe shirt. Around since the late 1800s, the style has always been considered a bit daring. It all but disappeared until the 1980s, when the movie Wall Street showed Michael Douglas's character, Gordon Gekko, wearing a version (with a white collar) made by Allan Flusser. The revival was short, and largely confined to New York junk bond traders.

About three years ago, the Italians revived the horizontal stripe shirt in a wide-striped, '70s-esque way, but it didn't hit big in the U.S. I myself had two (narrower striped) shirts made for me in Chile about a year ago. Love them!

-- Marc

Oh yea, I remeber those I think Bill Lumberg (sp) wore one in Office Space, very 80's look. Do they mostly come in colars that are differnet than the shirt?

 

[nightandthecity]

Thank you Veronica for raising the tone of the Lounge. Carlos Gardel sits on the right hand of God. In fact he isn't dead at all, he's only sleeping. Peron and Maradona are much lesser beings.

I'm interested in a lot of music from that era, not just the British and American stuff. Snappy dressing seems to have been an essential part of all local vernacular musics back then. I'm a particular fan of Rembetika, the music of the 1920s-50s Greek underworld, and boy were they SHARP dressers! I have a video of a BBC programme on rembetika from the 80s where they interviewed surviving original performers, and they all talk about their hats and suits as much as the music.

 

[Flitcraft]

That horizontal striped shirt used to be a big favorite with a lot of the old time tailors in downtown NYC.
Don't see it much any more, but thatnks for the post!

 

[Veronica Parra]

More of Gardel's horizontal-stripe shirt: