It is arguably the most famous suit in motion picture history. It’s the blue/gray glen check suit with notch lapels, three buttons and no vents on the jacket and inward pleats and cuffs on the trousers worn by Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller North by Northwest (1959). Except for a brief disguise as a porter on the Twentieth Century Ltd., Cary Grant wears the suit throughout the first two acts of the film.
Made by Savile Row tailors Kilgour, French and Stanbury (now just Kilgour), the lightweight Glen check wool suit was made directly by Kilgour tailor Arthur Lyons. According to legend, sixteen of them were made for the film shoot and at least one of them was famously dusted in dirt and pesticide spray.
Grant was famous for being a clothes horse, and it was part of his contract that he got to keep the clothes made for him in his films. And according to Geoffrey Aquilina Ross, author of “The Day of the Peacock: Style for Men 1963-1973,” “he had tailors rework his suits and shirts until he was satisfied,” even down to 1/8″ altering on a sleeve.
According to many sources, Grant was entrusted by Mr. Hitchcock to choose his own wardrobe for North by Northwest. Even Hollywood costume design icon Edith Head stepped aside for Grant in the choosing of his clothes for To Catch a Thief with Grace Kelly in 1955. The finished films prove that the trust was well placed.
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