The classic era of black-and-white movies has always been renowned as one that provided a variety of Hollywood stars who were timelessly stylish and elegant. Despite the lack of colour photography, the way they dressed and looked is considered incredibly suave, even by the standards of today. So far, our style icons have come from relatively modern backgrounds but today we’ll be covering the men who added style to the silver screen and carved their names in history as icons of men’s fashion.
5) Marlon Brando
The actor and star of “The Godfather was always renowned as a master of his art and a commander of personal style. Both on and off the screen his masculinity and charisma was infectious, with many interviewers regarding him as one of the most passionate actors who ever lived. Voted “The Greatest Actor of All Time” by AskMen and undoubtedly one of the all-time greats of Hollywood, Brando is undoubtedly a model of sophistication and smart styling.
4) Frank Sinatra
As a musician, actor, dancer and all-round entertainer, Sinatra was and always will be one of the great stars of Hollywood and music. Starring in a variety of films including “High Society” and “On The Town” he stood alongside the likes of Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly and Louis Armstrong who influenced his career, his fashion and his music. A personal favourite here at The Male Stylist, he is without a doubt a gentleman’s icon and one who will remain that way for centuries to come.
3) Gene Kelly
Described by a variety of Hollywood stars as the definitive “triple threat” of entertainment, Gene Kelly is renowned as a master of dance, an acting heavyweight and one of the most iconic voices in movies. His roles in “Singin’ In The Rain” and “An American in Paris” demonstrated all of his talents in one platform and showed his perfectionist attitude could create timeless beauty in motion pictures. His style always followed a tailored or slim-cut fit that ensured his athletic prowess was always on show. Any man wanting to capture maturity with youth, Gene Kelly is an icon worth following.
2) Steve McQueen
One of the original “bad boys” of Hollywood, the icon on his motorbike made his mark in movies with the likes of “The Great Escape”, “Bullitt” and “The Thomas Crown Affair”. Whether sporting a fully tailored suit or his famous leather jacket, McQueen stood above most of his peers as man whose style was unmatchable. The rogue-ish flair of his fashion gave him the bad-boy look often associated with him and ensured his rugged sense of style would be cemented in the halls of fame forever.
1) Paul Newman
A racing driver, Hollywood actor and entrepreneur, Paul Newman covered all the areas of a gentleman’s lifestyle in one stroke of his brush. Having worked alongside Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, James Dean and Steve McQueen the company he kept made him all the more stylish. A combination of ruthless businessman, rogue racer and suave gentleman there’s very little Newman could be thought of as uninformed in. For the more mature gentleman who is looking for a fashion icon, you can never go wrong with Paul Newman.
Well that covers our top 5 male style icons from the silver screen era. As always if you’ve enjoyed the article feel free to like, comment and/or share this with your friends and followers. If you feel we’ve missed someone out make sure to comment below and we’ll see if they make it into our next article.
