Lafont
Distinguished Member
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- Aug 9, 2007
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I had a great uncle who was born in Rochester but spent most of his life in NYC as a vaudeville performer and then a theatrical agent who was responsible of starting the careers of many famous actors and actresses, such as Danny Kaye. He died in 1989 with very little left but, apparently, for many years the man lived quite lavishly.
Damon Runyon wrote in Short Takes, for example, that Harry Bestry owns or owned "3,000 Charvet neckties, which is more than Charvet has now, 75 suits of clothes by an expensive tailor, 75 pairs of shoes, each pair made to order and nicely treed, and hats and shirts and overcoats and sweaters in similar profusion." He added that a friend of Bestry once reported one could barly get into the man's apartment "because of the amount of wearing apparel stashed away on the premises."
In Paris in 2009 I got to Charvet and purchased one magnificent tie as part of the 50%-off sale covering the second floor. I consider this one tie very, very special and only wear it on limited occasions. I don't know that this uncle ever made it to Paris but I suppose there was at least one store in NY in the '30s-'40s that carried Charvet. This uncle wanted to be well known for his attire and sense of style. He also had a very dignified walk and stature in general. One of our more colorful relatives....
Damon Runyon wrote in Short Takes, for example, that Harry Bestry owns or owned "3,000 Charvet neckties, which is more than Charvet has now, 75 suits of clothes by an expensive tailor, 75 pairs of shoes, each pair made to order and nicely treed, and hats and shirts and overcoats and sweaters in similar profusion." He added that a friend of Bestry once reported one could barly get into the man's apartment "because of the amount of wearing apparel stashed away on the premises."
In Paris in 2009 I got to Charvet and purchased one magnificent tie as part of the 50%-off sale covering the second floor. I consider this one tie very, very special and only wear it on limited occasions. I don't know that this uncle ever made it to Paris but I suppose there was at least one store in NY in the '30s-'40s that carried Charvet. This uncle wanted to be well known for his attire and sense of style. He also had a very dignified walk and stature in general. One of our more colorful relatives....