ask the MB

Not sure if you should wear that Tommy Bahama shirt out tonight? The magnificent bastard is here to help. Go ahead. Ask away.

channels
channel: turtleneck
  • Ask the MB: More Turtleneck Clarification

    Ask the MB: More Turtleneck Clarification

    Q: Clarification on the turtleneck. Surely you refer to the ribbed/knit examples you show and NOT the cotton tight-necked number we all remember from childhood winters.
    --Palmy

    A: Paul Newman made a fairly tight-necked turtleneck work pretty well in perhaps the most famous turtleneck photo of all time. Palmy, maybe your 2nd-grade sartorial memories aren't as bad as you think.

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    posted:

    11.20.08

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  • Ask the MB: Turtleneck Clarification

    Ask the MB: Turtleneck Clarification

    Q: I'm unclear on your turtleneck position. Are saying it was only ok in 1968 and for chaps much more MB than I'll ever be? I have a navy tall mock turtleneck (taller than a mock but not enough to fold over) that I love. Not MB?
    --Scott

    A: We're saying McQueen, Player, and Newkirk helped make the turtleneck forever cool. If you don't have enough material to fold over, or let flop down in an artfully disheveled way, then you ought to keep it in your closet. Or perhaps burn it. Anything even veering towards mock should be avoided or you might start looking like Tiger Woods. And that ain't good.

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    posted:

    11.14.08

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  • Ask the MB: Turtlenecks

    Ask the MB: Turtlenecks

    Q: Is the turtleneck completely dead? Are there any exceptions? Is it coming back? I have a bunch -- not sure whether to burn 'em.
    --AJ

    A: Many may remember 1968 as kind of a downer, with RFK and MLK getting shot, the Tet Offensive, and Nixon's election. However, AJ, for the turtleneck, 1968 defined it as forever cool.

    Top: In 1968's Bullitt, Steve McQueen paired a turtleneck with a tweedy blazer and cemented his status as a style icon.

    Middle: In 1968 Gary Player paired a turtleneck with 289 at Carnoustie and got his name inscribed on the Claret Jug.

    Bottom: In 1968 Newkirk paired a turtleneck with pickpocketing, locksmithing, and card-sharking to defeat Col. Klink and the Third Reich.

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    posted:

    11.12.08

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  • Ask the MB -- Steve McQueen in <em>Bullitt</em>

    Ask the MB -- Steve McQueen in Bullitt

    Q: Steve McQueen, Magnificent Bastard. Mock turtleneck. Bullitt. MB pronouncement, repealed?
    --Marcus

    A: Yes, Steve McQueen certainly was a Magnificent Bastard, but we can assure you that at no time in Bullitt did he wear a mock turtleneck. Open your fucking eyes and you'll see it's perhaps Film's Most Famous Real Turtleneck; a blue ribbed turtleneck sweater, shown underneath a tweed blazer (top).

    Overshadowed by the famous turtleneck was McQueen's demonstration of how to nail a chunky shawl collar cardigan with woven shirt (bottom).

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    posted:

    5.19.08

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