WIW: Heat and Hollywood

To beat the heat sometimes you have to go the simple route: shirt, tie and trousers. No suit, no jacket. It makes for a classic look in the heat of the day, especially if the trousers are high-waisted.

-1950s NOS Hollywood Waist trousers
-1940s painted palm tree tie
-1940s barely used Freeman shoes
-1940s Stetson Panama hat
-Modern shirt

click images to enlarge

The trousers shown were until recently NOS (New-Old-Stock) meaning they were never worn, never hemmed and still had the original tags attached. Finding such an item is rare, especially when you factor in that these are highly desirable Hollywood-waisted trousers, not to mention the baby blue color.

What is a Hollywood Waist? As the photo below shows, a Hollywood Waist has no waistband. The material is continuous from the leg hem all the way up to the waist. Such a waist makes for a sleek pant.


It also helps that Hollywood-waisted trousers are normally very high-waisted with a rise of 12 inches or greater. Trousers with such high waists will sit at or above the wearer's navel and around the natural waistline, making them wear more comfortably than trousers that sit on the hips. It also gives the wearer a more athletic and long-legged appearance, something shorter men should utilize. Though, there is a point at which trousers can become too high waisted...



^I have to admit, those do drape pretty well.

But I digress.

Of note is the 'slubbing', those woven lines in the fabric. Slubbing could be considered a flaw in the material but is often used to good effect as decoration and texture. Slubbing is quite common in Golden Era clothing, specifically from the mid-1940s through to the 1950s.

Note the slubbing as well as the fine workmanship of the shoes:



The original tag for my trousers, priced at $6.95 which is roughly $63 in today's money. I'm happy to have paid only $25 for 'em.