I have a question about Fred Astaire's outfit that I doubt anyone can answer, but I'll give it a try. When Fred was in Mr. Acuna's office trying to get him to see him dance, he was wearing some sort of satin tie for a belt. I found that really strange, and I'm wondering if this was some sort of fashion craze for men in 42. Anyway, it's a trivial questions, but it piqued my curiosity.
"This is not good for my rage."
Good eye! Astaire was rather famous for using an old necktie as a belt, and he started doing so in the late 1920s, setting a fashion trend as he often did over the many years of his stardom. There's a great (and very fun) book on his sartorial sense called 'Fred Astaire Style'; I really recommend it.
share
Thank you so much!! I didn't expect an answer this soon! I found the book on Amazon, and I will certainly purchase it. Thanks again!
Creek
"This is not good for my rage."
I have read about the neck tie being used for a belt in several books about Astaire. I wonder if the reason behind it is that it was lighter, and didn't feel as cumbersome for dancing as an ordinary belt would.
Barbara
The reason behind it was that Mr. Astaire thought it was chic...and it was. Had nothing to do with comfort, dancing or anything else other than STYLE. Which he had in spades.
shareThis is on TCM right now. I took the necktie-for-a-belt thing to be a
little hint that Astaire's character was severely down on his luck
(which is why he was so desperate for a job).
This reminds me of speculations on the part of some Astaire fans that in Swing Time he didn't wear the signet ring usually seen on his little finger because he was playing a gambler sometimes down on his luck...
But he did wear the tie for a belt in several movies before YWNL, going back to the thirties. You have to be very slender to get away with it, which is another reason he could!