The Bunny Roger Style.

I recently got the Sotheby's catalog of the Roger Collection, which was the 1998 sale of the personal effects of Mr.Neil Munroe "Bunny" Roger. Among the furniture and decorative pieces was his wardrobe, tailored to accentuate his broad shoulders and size 29 waist. He had his suits done at the Savile Row firm of Watson, Fargerstrom & Hughes and the shoes were by Poulsen, Skone & Co. His sharply upturned bowlers were by Herbert Johnson. The catalog notes that every year, he would order about 15 new suits, each costing up to 2,000 pounds back in the '60s. He favored an extremely fitted Edwardian shape with turn-up sleeve cuffs, and tapered military trousers which suited his Chelsea boots and faux-spatted button boots. When he was vacationing in Capri, he kept telling the Italian tailors he was commissioning some pants from, "stretta, stretta" until the narrow fit was achieved. Another one of his signatures was a carnation that coordinated with whatever color he was wearing at the time. He also abhorred turn-ups on trousers. His day-suits usually had three waist seams to achieve the desired curve. Among the more interesting items was a lurex psychedelic Nehru suit for evening wear, like something Austin Powers might wear for a ball. When he was in the Rifle Brigade, he saved a fallen cadre in no-man's land, whilst rogued and wearing a chiffon scarf with his uniform. His measurements, as noted by Sotheby's, were: Waist: 29 Chest: 40 Inseam: 32 Shoe: 7

An anecdote, about him : while Bunny was walking down a London street. A cab driver accosted him, “Watch out, luv, you’ve dropped your diamond necklace.” Roger shot back, “Diamonds with tweed? Never!

LABELKING, props on the find! I myself had searched high and low for pictures and information about his style and this auction after (i believe you...) mentioned that Hammish Bowles was a large purchaser of his wardrobe

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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His day-suits usually had three waist seams to achieve the desired curve.
What does this mean, exactly? A standard suit coat has darted quarters as well as the seam in the center back, and the seams between these pieces for a total of five seams, I believe. Did Bunny's tailors do additional or different seams?

Roger was a hardcore queen. He adored dressing in drag and throwing flamboyant parties.

This little snippet from an obit by the Guardian is just great:

Fighting for the British Rifle Brigade during the second world war, he went to battle wearing a chiffon scarf and brandishing a copy of Vogue. Once, when his sergeant asked him what should be done about the advancing enemy troops, Roger, who liked to wear rouge even with his khakis, replied, "When in doubt, powder heavily."

Lovin' the button boots in the pic of his closet.

Wonderful anecdotes, great wardrobe, interesting photos. Top thread!

That man had some serious waist suppression.

That catalog is a great find. Nice hunting!

Originally Posted by Connemara

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Roger was a hardcore queen. He adored dressing in drag and throwing flamboyant parties. This little snippet from an obit by the Guardian is just great: Fighting for the British Rifle Brigade during the second world war, he went to battle wearing a chiffon scarf and brandishing a copy of Vogue. Once, when his sergeant asked him what should be done about the advancing enemy troops, Roger, who liked to wear rouge even with his khakis, replied, "When in doubt, powder heavily."
In the catalog, there's actually a large-scale photo of him in drag. Like many men in drag, he actually looked more interesting and rather convincing as a woman than an actual woman. I'll see if I can scan it.

Originally Posted by mack11211

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What does this mean, exactly?

A standard suit coat has darted quarters as well as the seam in the center back, and the seams between these pieces for a total of five seams, I believe.

Did Bunny's tailors do additional or different seams?

I don't know what that exactly meant since I'm not a tailor, but maybe it meant that the shape was achieved by three separate individual seams instead of the standard darting usually found in coats.

Originally Posted by Will

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That catalog is a great find. Nice hunting!
The catalog notes that his tailors used to spend a great deal of time sourcing and hunting out rare fabrics for Roger's commissions since they knew him to have a great sense of personal style and taste. Whilst he loved to shock--he called mauve, menstrual mauve--he was also a great gentleman; he would actually knock off the hats of men who didn't take them off when passing the Cenotaph in London I should also post the images of his shirts by Turnbull & Asser. They were all candy-colored stripes worn with high stiff white collars.

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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I should also post the images of his shirts by Turnbull & Asser. They were all candy-colored stripes worn with high stiff white collars.
Please do. That drag photo sounds fascinating too.

tiny feet! crazy waist suppression for a 40" chest!

Originally Posted by Connemara

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Please do. That drag photo sounds fascinating too.

He said that a high wing collar disguised a turkey neck quite well.