Duke of Windsor

A fashion leader of the Art Deco era was Edward, Prince of Wales (1894-1972), the son of King George V. A handsome, eligible bachelor, he was a major figure in the London social scene. His penchant for golfing, cocktails, and setting the latest fashion trend meant that eyes were always trained on his doings. Like many other Princes of Wales, he had a long tenure in that role. This gave him plenty of time to make subtle, but critical,
dress alterations. He disliked the heavy Victorian and Edwardian clothing regulations that governed his father and grandfather, choosing instead more comfortable shirts and trousers that permitted greater freedom of movement.

Edward introduced the midnight blue evening suit in the 1920s, understanding instinctively that blue looked better than black for tailoring details when one was being photographed by the press. By the early 1930s, he wore unlined, unstructured jackets, abandoned trouser braces for belts, and had his trousers made with cuffs. He also championed the transition from button to zipper flies. All in all, his fashion leadership presaged the greater social changes of the urban man.

His tenure as King of England lasted barely a year, when he abdicated in December 1936 to marry the woman he loved: American divorcee Wallis Simpson (view a video clip). The hullaballoo over his romance with Simpson sounds odd to our modern ears, so jaded as we are with moral lapses from even those highly placed. Whether you read the official biography of his life, or examine the complexities and contradictions of what he became as Duke of Windsor (he and his wife hobnobbed with Hitler, among other questionable figures), you’d have to agree that his effect on masculine fashion was a positive one.

Back in August, I had the opportunity to do a little background research for a magazine writer who was investigating the origins of the white shirt and black tie. While the tuxedo’s beginnings date to around 1885 and the assistance of England’s then Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, it took the twentieth century for masculine formal wear to really take off. The black bow tie was an innovation of the 1920s and jacket lapels grew progressively sleeker into the 1930s.

In preparing my curatorial lecture on “Fashions of the Art Deco Era,” I reinvestigated the effect of Hollywood on fancy dress for men. “Black Tie” costume is still considered a variation of the tuxedo. The white shirt achieved its authority in 30s versions with the aid of pearl buttons or studs and an obligatory wing collar. Historian Alan Flusser still possesses the definitive word on the principles behind formal dress, in his Clothes and the man and Style and the man.

Mark van de Walle was kind enough to give me a fabulous link to a website called London Lounge. Check it out! And then he alerted me to another great site, The Black Tie Guide.

And, by the way, my predictions about the presidential candidates have proved true. They are too busy slugging it out in their rather dull suits and neckties; given the financial roller coaster ride of recent weeks, there is no room in this campaign for fashion to rear its head. There are other social forces of a much more serious nature at stake. And please don’t get me started on the so-called “Palin Chic…” Talk about desperate journalism!