Men’s Style Inspiration, The Illustrations of Laurence Fellows

What tie goes with this shirt? If you have ever asked yourself that question, (and what man hasn’t) here is a great resource for finding answers: The men’s fashion illustrations of Laurence Fellows. They can serve as an excellent men’s style inspiration for color and pattern combination when wearing suits and sportscoats.

Laurence Fellows was a men’s fashion illustrator during the 1930s and 40s whose iconic illustration style adorned top men’s apparel magazines of that time including Apparel Arts and Esquire. He both illustrated the trends of the time and started a few of his own. His illustrations are collectively a men’s style guide that can be mined for combining colors, patterns, and textures in modern suits and sportcoats.

These illustrations, from the “Golden Age of Menswear”  offer style suggestions that can be easily adapted to modern menswear and contemporary clothing.

Here is a look I adapted from an iconic L. Fellows illustration. It uses the colors and ensemble style characteristic of the L. Fellows style. I am wearing a vintage Hart Schaffner & Marx linen sportscoat purchased second-hand on eBay for $11.00 along with a silk Polo Ralph Lauren tie (purchased for $1.00 at a local thrift shop), white shirt and cotton khaki trousers by Brooks Brothers (purchased for $3.00 at Savers Thrift Store).

While you can go to a library to access archives of old Apparel Arts magazines to see these illustrations, there is a much easier way to browse them. Online! Here is another way to browse a wide collection of these fascinating illustrations:

Google Image Search – Laurence Fellows Illustrations

A Google image search for Laurence Fellows will also provide a rich selection of his iconic fashion illustrations.

Google Image Search: Laurence Fellows

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