LAURENCE FELLOWS

MASTER OF MENSWEARS ILLUSTRATION

In the spring of 1934, a gentleman with a neatly trimmed mustache

casts an eye in the direction of the door to an office waiting room,
temporarily distracting him from the copy of Esquire hes just
picked up. Is he waiting for a stockbroker? A dentist? A divorce
lawyer?

We can tell hes a man of means and sophistication from his outfit.
Hes sporting a lightweight double-breasted suit in a strong check
pattern. His blue shirt has a starched white collar and cuffs, and his
Guards tie is finished with a four-in-hand knot. His blue pocket
square is a few shades paler than his shirt, and matches his socks.
His shoes are brown cap-toe balmorals. A gray homburg and rattan
cane have been casually placed on an adjoining chair.

Wearing a checked suit in town is something nearly unheard of, but

this man pulls it off smashingly. We know hes confident in his
clothes and his worldbecause the world he inhabits is the creation
of an artist who signs himself L. Fellows. And you can be sure that
in the months after this illustration appeared, far more checked
double-breasted suits were seen on city sidewalks.

If youve ever cracked open an old Apparel Arts magazine or

vintage Esquire from the 30s to the 50s, youve seen the distinctive
fashion art of Laurence Fellows. But who was this Fellows fellow,
anyway?

Fellows was born in Ardmore, Pennsylvania in 1885. He was trained

in illustration at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art, and honed his
trademark continental style studying in England and France. But
the real story begins when he returned to the States in the early
1910s and burst on the scene as an eager and talented young artist.
Fellows found work contributing to satirical magazines like Life and
Leslies, and his European-influenced style was fresh and new,
reflecting the sleekness and stylization that led to Art Deco. His
work was so fresh, in fact, that he found many of his better-known
contemporaries, including John Held, Jr. and Ralph Barton, were
adapting his stylistic elements for their own use.

Fellows style during this period was very mannered and graphic,
with thin black outlines enclosing flat expanses of tone and
compositions that emphasized graphic weight and balance over
fussy illustrative detail. His bread and butter throughout the 1920s
was his work for the Kelly-Springfield Tire company. He brought an
idea to the Kelly advertising manager for a series of magazine ads
featuring smart cars and smart types of people. It was the
beginning of an assignment that lasted for nearly a decade. The ads
are still smart and fashionable today (and becoming collectible, by
the way).

But it was in the 1930s that Fellows found the niche that would
shape the lives of dandies for the next 80 years: fashion illustration.
Though he contributed to Vanity Fair, McClures, and The American
Magazine, among other publications, it was mens fashion where he
was most in demand, and Apparel Arts, aimed at the tailoring trade,
and Esquire were his showcases.

Fellows technique as a fashion illustrator was more painterly and

detailed than his earlier commercial work. The man could draw
fabric, plain and simple. His fabric had weight, heft, drape, texture,
and sheen. His flannels, worsteds, tweeds, and linens, his barathea
and velvet and twill were all fabulous.

He also defined a very specific, very masculine world. Unlike

todays fashion magazines, Apparel Arts didnt dictate fashion trends
by using underfed models in unwearable suits. It showed what was
already being worn by the well-heeled, trend-setting folk. Fellows
genius as an illustrator lay in his ability to depict them in their
everyday activities. Whether they were traveling the world, hosting
dinner parties, hunting grouse, or just lounging around the penthouse
or club, Fellows somehow made their rarified universe accessible.
Ordinary folks could look at the illustrations and say, I could wear
that.

Rather than looking overdressed and stuffy, or merely human shapes

on which to hang clothes, Fellows subjects are men for whom
dressing splendidly comes naturally. Theyre having a good time,
smiling, and enjoying themselves in their relaxed, party-filled
sphere, and all of them are illustrations of casual, well-tailored
elegance.

Laurence Fellows died in 1964, and in 2009 was named to the

Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. His immortality in the world of
mens fashion is assured simply because he had the ability to
illustrate real men in their real lives and make those lives ones we all
want to live. BILL THOMPSON

Trained as a graphic artist, Bill Thompson is currently an amateur

tailor and sartorial historian. His interests are varied, but his
ultimate goal of being a gentleman of leisure is hampered an
inability to pay his bills without actually working. He lives in North
Carolina with his wife, dog and cat.

Monday, December 21st, 2009