Style Icon: Gary Cooper

A new book about the style of Hollywood legend and cowboy icon Gary Cooper reveals a man halfway between Savile Row (where he was a regular customer) and the Wild West. Understated and manly, Cooper’s sartorial chops were very much a blend of English heritage and Western frontier influence. The side-effect of a ridiculously successful Hollywood career, Cooper’s social circle took in the elegant (the Duke and Duchess of Windsor) the arty (Pablo Picasso) and the truly American (Ernest Hemingway, no less). The result is a man as happy in formal European wear as he was in the casual classics of Americana.
Though the details have changed, that remains the template of how all modern men dress, switching with ease from outdoorsy denim to luxurious linens and then to tailored cloths. (Well, hopefully.) Cooper’s style is a lesson we can all pay heed to. That new tome about him is called Enduring Style, and there’s a reason for that.

So make like “Coop” and fill your wardrobe with enduring classics. Think quality and simplicity the kind of which Sunspel delivers in its fine, light touch cotton T-shirts – perfect layers and a great easy summer top under your cardigans and knits. Classic flat fronted chinos will be big news this year and a roster of easy colours would have made Coop swoop. Get options in blue, beige and stone to flesh out your smart casual options. You get the idea? It’s all about easy to wear, fuss free garb in block neutrals. Just a touch of adventure will up the ante design-wise, so a classic theme made to work in an offbeat style will finish the look off with aplomb. Try a nautical blazer in a summer-ready ticking stripe.

By the way, Gary wasn’t his real name. Born Frank James Cooper, he changed it to mimic the birthplace of director Nan Collins, who said Gary (in Indiana) was a “rough tough sorta place”. That’s one way to get manly. But don’t expect any film stars called Peckham or Salford to emerge.

Click through for a round-up of enduring essentials.

Gary Cooper: Enduring Style by G. Bruce Boyer and Maria Cooper Janis, published by powerHouse Books.