How Cary Grant Built his Hollywood Career with Suits and Style

Book Review: Cary Grant a Celebration of Style.

Cary Grant's early life and long Hollywood career reveal how his popularity and success grew from a suave personal style, both on screen and in his everyday life. Journalist Richard Torregrossa follows Grant, real name Archie Leach, from his humble beginnings in England and early career in New York City as an acrobat at age 16, to his early struggle to establish himself in plays and films. With little education, no skills and no contacts, the teenage Cary Grant was truly on his own in the United States.

As he struggled to create an acting style and persona, Cary Grant initially copied the style of well-dressed actors like Noel Coward and Douglas Fairbanks. Cary Grant came to be seen by movie goers as handsome and perfect, but his early career was a struggle to conceal his physical flaws as Archie Leach and become the stylish and constantly well dressed Cary Grant. After moving to Hollywood and failing his first screen test he worked at minimizing his flaws by making adjustments in his wardrobe. Grant gradually adopted well made suits, lost his British accent, and often wore a shirt and tie to conceal his overly muscular neck.

In the 1930's and '40's, the film studios often had the actors wear their own clothing. As he became a better actor, Grant began to wear custom made suits both on-screen and off. As he continued to create his own style, Grant began wearing custom made shirts and custom suits from Saville Row tailors in London.

Cary Grant A Celebration of Style is illustrated with photos from Cary Grant's early film career through his final days. Richard Torregrossa's well researched book shows how Cary Grant continually learned from his mistakes and continually shaped his image to become one of Hollywood's most glamorous and successful leading men. The lessons learned from this biography of style can be applied to creating your own style for business or your personal life.