And Now Tom Wolfe in White Suits: A Visual Appreciation of the Late Writer’s Singular Style
Once upon a time, Tom Wolfe, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 88, did not wear white suits, just as he did not always write like Tom Wolfe. But when he discovered his indelible look much the way he discovered his indelible journalistic voice—almost by accident: all the newspapermen in New York wore suits, and the only suit young Tom Wolfe had was the white one that everyone from his hometown of Richmond, Virginia wore—he really played it up. The more his words became punctuated with exaggeration and “Kandy-Kolored” ornament, the more his look was accessorized with top hats, canes, silk shirts, colorful handkerchiefs, and dandyish tailoring. He was the rare writer who really looked like his writing—no small accomplishment. Here, revisit some of Wolfe’s finest moments as the man in white. We know what he’ll be buried in.
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American writer Tom Wolfe during Portrait Session held on january 17, 1988 at home in New York, USA. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Writer Tom Wolfe standing with an umbrella, a colorful backdrop behind him and wearing a white three-piece suit and hat. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe, in his signature white suit and shoes, standing on a street corner in New York City, 1968. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe attends a reception at International Place in Boston on Feb. 13, 1990. Wolfe was set to deliver a speech to a crowd of some 200 people from business, government, education and the media among them, the heads of several banks, the city’s largest law firms and the Harvard Business School. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe, 2000. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe, 1988. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe, 2000. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe attends 2015 Take Home a Nude Art Auction and Party at Sotheby’s on October 15, 2015 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe poses for a portrait during the Tribeca Film Festival at the Tribeca Grand Hotel April 23, 2005 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe in his Upper East-Side apartment, New York City, 21st October 2004. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Portrait of American author and journalist Tom Wolfe as he sits at a desk, late 1965. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe attends the “Lonely, I’m Not” Off-Broadway opening night at the Second Stage Theatre on May 7, 2012 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Tom Wolfe attends The Board of Trustees of The Parrish Art Museum Host The Midsummer Party Honoring Alvin Chereskin at The Parrish Art Museum on July 12, 2008 in South Hampton, NY. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
