Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds

Reader, the sky is blue. Grass is green, the Daily Mail will never get over the death of Diana and - at major football tournaments - the Dutch will implode eventually.

Assuming that I've started as I mean to go on, you should be able to gather that this post is going to be an exercise in stating the bleeding obvious.

I'm watching a lot of DVDs lately, which is only partly to do with the persistent wet weather. Like the Greeks, I'm happier without austerity. Unlike the Greeks, however, I'm willing to accept it as a necessary means to a greater end. DVD nights, book nights, hot bath and a cup of tea nights. All cheap Reader, all very cheap.

For only three English pounds, HMV are happy to part with Frank Capra's 1936 feel-good movie Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The film stars Gary Cooper as small-town nice guy Longfellow Deeds, who inherits a fortune and struggles to deal with the cut and thrust of New York City life. You may be familiar with the 2002 'remake' Mr. Deeds, starring Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder. And featuring John Turturro as a 'berry berry sneaky' Spanish servant.

Anyway, to deal with the bleeding obvious I was talking about earlier. Namely, Gary Cooper is beautifully dressed in the film. Gary Cooper was always beautifully dressed, of course, and you can explore the validity of that statement at your leisure with a copy of G. Bruce Boyer's Gary Cooper: Enduring Style (2011, Powerhouse Books).

My favourite outfit is actually the one in which he makes his entrance on screen, before he's fitted up for a wonderful (and mostly double breasted) wardrobe. Shirt, patterned bow-tie and cropped leather jacket. And an enormous tuba. Here it is:

The rest of Longfellow's wardrobe is considerably more showy. And is comprised of: silk chequerboard pyjamas with leather slippers; a silk robe and white silk scarf; double-breasted suits and overcoats; unvented jackets with a mix of peak and notch lapels; waistcoats; and trilby hats. There are also some great single-breasted pieces thrown in for good measure. See:

And the pyjamas (with leather slippers):

And one more for luck (the chequerboard tie is lovely, I think):

There's not much else to say really. I like Deeds's impeccably side-parted hair (which is less than impeccable when he's hungover, understandably) and the fact that he appears unshaven when he has important work to get through. And I like that his response to being offered tails by his tailor is: "Why, that's a monkey suit. You want people to laugh at me?"

You should watch the film, it's good fun.