I love Daniel Delis Hill’s American Menswear. It’s one of my go-to sources for men’s fashion in the 20th century. However, I came across an interesting myth this author chose to perpetuate.
Clark Gable in the movie: It Happened One Night (1934) killed the undershirt industry (1).
Did he cite underwear salesmen or stock owners? Letters from men saying, ‘hey if Clark Gable isn’t wearing an undershirt, I don’t have to either.’
Nope.
In fact, he didn’t cite where he got this information at all.
I guess it comes down to always check your sources whether it’s in print or online. Myths are still myths even if they did have slivers of truth to them.
Normally, I would take the time to debunk this myth myself. But Cliff Aliperti in 2013 did that already (here).
Source:
(1) Hill, Daniel Delis. American Menswear: From the Civil War to the 21st Century. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press, 2011, 195.
L.M. Elm, Historical Novelist 