The Turtleneck | From Beatniks to Bullitt.

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“The style horrifies restaurant headwaiters, who are still weathering the onslaught of women in pants suits.”

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–TIME Magazine, 1967

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Steve McQueen in Bullitt — sporting the turtleneck, ripe for a comeback.

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Turtleneck sweaters have long been a staple for winter sportsmen, as well as an indispensable part of the beatnik uniform. The reasons for their popularity are obvious: they look trim and they eliminate the bother of a necktie. They are now being worn with blazers and sports coats to the office (among advertising art directors, the turtleneck has virtually become a uniform). At some small Manhattan parties, half the men now show up in turtlenecks.

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Steve McQueen and his Triumph Bonneville on the set of Bullitt.

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So popular are the sweaters that Manhattan’s Bonwit Teller has repeatedly sold out its Pierre Cardin version, at $30 and $37.50, to such customers as Steve McQueen, Jason Robards Jr. and Paul Newman. Cardin, the designer most responsible for the trend, insists that the turtleneck is appropriate for any occasion, provided that the suit it is worn with is “modern”—by which he means a suit designed with a high-cut jacket. The style horrifies restaurant headwaiters, who are still weathering the onslaught of women in pants suits. But it appeals strongly to brolly males on both sides of the Atlantic. Bound for a first-night supper party with Princess Margaret in London recently, Lord Snowdon slipped on a black wool turtleneck under his velvet dinner jacket. But what suits Lord Snowdon may not suit everybody. Gibed the London Daily Mirror: “Will these commoners never learn?”

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Steve McQueen — Bullitt

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Steve McQueen with wife Neile Adams – Le Mans

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Steve McQueen – Le Mans

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Steve McQueen — Bullitt studio shot

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