The REAL gangster look

[Patrick Murtha]

Too bad he didn't follow his buddy George Raft into the picture business. He was a pretty handsome cat.

Boy, he really was. One of the rare instances in which the real-life figure is actually handsomer than the actor who played him (and I know that people think highly of Warren Beatty's looks).

 

[Baron Kurtz]

They're not wearing 'girls' jackets anymore!

Eh? Nothing about the originally posted picture suggests that the jackets are buttoned right-over-left. In fact *everything* suggests the opposite.

A man who's facing you doesn't look like your inversion of the picture.

[edit]Unless they're being photographed while looking into a mirror . . . doubtful.


bk

 

[Alan Eardley]

It's a modern photo. The details of the jacket and the patent 'pleather' shoes give it away.

And the clean car!

Alan

 

[Copper]

Aside from style issues, if you've ever had to get at something on your belt in a hurry, it's a lot easier with a SB jacket. Fewer buttons and fabric to manipulate. Also, an unbuttoned SB just looks casual, an unbuttoned DB looks out of place.

If you want to have quick access but not stand out, SB is the way to go, tools of the trade wise.

This is a very good point and a trend that continues today with gang members - at least the ones I meet. They dress not for style per se, but with concealment in mind. in a day when suits were the norm this was easier. Now the trend is towards sloppy, layered clothing which serves the same purpose.

Interestingly one can see the same phenomen in close protection units for high profile political types; they are almost always in an unbuttoned SB with rubber soled shoes.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Now here is the real Benny Siegel....

I had the chance to chat with Ben and asked if he'd come back...

..but he said only if he can be a FL Bartender ... in the 'Vice' category!

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Right you are!....

Eh? Nothing about the originally posted picture suggests that the jackets are buttoned right-over-left. In fact *everything* suggests the opposite.

A man who's facing you doesn't look like your inversion of the picture.

[edit]Unless they're being photographed while looking into a mirror . . . doubtful.


bk

I 'mirrored' the photo to read the scribble and ended up confusing my own bad self. Very perceptive Mr. Kurtz - would you like a Wilky button?! (I'll bet you would!!) Thanks for the heads-up!

-dixon cannon

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Maybe a Willkie button. That would be funny.

bk

 

[Dixon Cannon]

A Wilky Button for you, my friend..

Maybe a Willkie button. That would be funny. bk

It is done! lol


-dixon cannon

 

[SamMarlowPI]

How much were the real-life gangsters influenced by the gangsters in the movies, I wonder?

i believe i read somewhere that George Raft, and maybe others, had some influence on the gangsters style...but you are definitely on to something...