Kevin Rowland on the cover of 'Don't Stand Me Down'?

I once went for a version of this look while working at J.Simons one day. It felt great for half an hour but after polishing the shoe display and refolding the shirts (both jobs I adored of course - I couldn't believe they PAID me for this) I felt a tad, ahem, damp and not very Wall Street...

GG

I visit your all links... have you any more links for new season..

Seems like a good time to bump this.  The look has been (more or less) alluded to in a number of previous threads.  I imagine the likes of Burt Lancaster doing something close to this in movies like 'The Sweet Smell Of Success'.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.  It was a very 'mature adult male' look, as far removed from what you'll see around you now as it's possible to imagine.  It was KingstonIan, I think, who once referred on here to the 'shell suit granddad' look.  That's evolved into something even odder where I live: granddad walking the dog whilst wearing a thermal jacket and shorts. 
Watch a few old British movies.  'Hue And Cry'.  The bombsite boys are all in jackets and ties.  Even suits.
Clean living under very difficult circumstances.

Slovenly, yes, an excellent, precise word.  S, you're absolutely bang on the money about jeans, too, I think.  They were seen as a bit 'off' when I was growing up in the 60s.  In the end, though, even my grandmother succumbed to wearing them.  My father, who had once gone in for the 'Italian' look as a young jazz fan, ended his days in either Levis or tracksuit bottoms. 
Grant/Peck (and others): an unstated elegance that came naturally to them.  The key: a collar and tie and a shine on their shoes.

And that satisfying ‘snap’ around the ankle that seems to only come from a well fitting, well cut trouser worn with confidence and purpose.

If my wife was intrigued/concerned enough to view my browsing history, I wonder what she’d make of ‘Cary Grant’s pants’?

Of course those guys wore them slightly fuller then perhaps we would. Often with a pleat and turn ups. But I still aspire to it.

I first posted this quote in another thread back in 2012 but it seems more at home here:

“Madison Avenue, U.S.A.??  by Martin Mayer was first published in 1958 and has this to say about how ad men dress:

“The standard of dress is high, for both men and women, and many men do seek to make an effect with their clothes – an effect that might be described as colorful conservatism.  (The women want to look efficiently pretty, and, if single potentially sexy)  Grey flannel was never really popular on Madison Avenue, and has scarcely been worn since the publication of Sloan Wilson’s novel about the man who wore it (and he was in public relations rather than advertising, anyway); Brooks Brothers is on Madison Avenue, but its pink shirts are more likely to be seen in law offices than in the advertising business.  Certainly there is no uniform, and the advertising man’s habitual avoidance of clothing that might seem flamboyant denies him the role of leader of fashion.

Then, in England, in London, we are told about the John Simons 'vision': building upon that of Austin (certainly) and Gee (probably): aiming to sell to some hybrid smart young executive/creative/artistic type.  High prices all round.  The focus is, again, a hybrid: Madison Avenue, the East Village: NYC at a particular moment (perhaps): bringing that 'vibe' back to certain parts of London.  Modern jazz, modern art and architecture.  Advances in eating habits.  Cheaper air tickets. 
'Colourful conservatism' - often denied or dismissed in an English context.  Yet it remains.

AFS,
As usual you're bang on with your views. If you work in a creative industry you're exposed to lots of different influences, aware of the cultural zeitgeist and need to be relevant.
In '86 when I started in advertising it was all about beautiful design.Everything from Tizio lights, Mont Blanc pens, Corbusier armchairs and Dieter Rams.
John Simons vision linking modern art, music and clothes was still relevant and had been updated.

Imagine people power dressing now. I read a news item in the last couple of days that said that Biden had announced the end of formal dress in the office. I was amazed that the US president would bother with such detail, but then when I re-examined I saw that it was actually Boden, the owner of the British clothing label of the same name, so a somewhat lesser figure. But I wonder how it’s going to turn out with the rise of homeworking, CEOs and senior politicians abandoning the tie and even the suit in some cases. Burnham makes a point of being interviewed in his shirt sleeves whenever possible. There’s a societal and therefore a commercial pressure to abandon formality and appear relaxed, friendly and accessible, shop assistants who wear a collar and tie seem to be threatening. I suspect and hope that it will go full circle, but it will take a generation or two so I won’t see it.

@Woof, I work for pretty much a billion dollar company and I've never seen our CEO in a suit and tie (even when we have important visitors), always in terrible looking jeans pointy shoes and Gant BD's.

I don't really have a problem with 'informal' dress at work. Or anywhere. Informal attitude I don't like; "You okay there, Buddy?"

I seem to remember reading somewhere Re Ivy League clothing (vs Italian vs English) "...........the American will not dress uncomfortably" And that is a truly great thing about 'The Look'. It has so many facets that you can generally adapt it to most scenarios you find yourself in. Whether you want or need to wear a suit to work or not. But at least you've put the effort in - even if only for yourself.

But it does seem that everyone's losing perspective on appropriateness. If I watch a news report from some war torn corner of the world I don't expect him to be wearing a suit and tie - but if he's standing outside a library on Tooting High Street he shouldn't be wearing jeans and an anorak. I can't get my head around the thought process. "I'm presenting myself to millions of people on television. I've got something important to say. And they're going to be interested. I'll probably wear jeans and that old Trespass Jacket"