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When you think of men’s fashion icons, you don’t often think of sitcom stars. Donald Glover and Aziz Ansari sure, but people aren’t really gagged by what their characters wear. While you can name a ton of women that have turned the world on with their style (Mary Tyler Moore, the Sex and the City quartet, Bewitched’s Samantha, The Good Place’s Tahani, Issa on Insecure, even Kimmy Schmidt!), we all saw the fear in Queer Eye fashion expert Tan France’s eyes when a client said they idolized Frasier Crane.
That’s more or less the reaction Tan had to a lot of male sitcom characters when we asked him to weigh in on some TV #lewks (Michael Scott is out, Al Borland is in!). And honestly, that reaction is usually justified! We live in a society where men, and that includes male characters, aren’t expected to value what they look like. That’s the whole reason Queer Eye exists! Women become fashion icons when they ace a style test society forces them to take, whether they want to or not, whereas men are never even handed a scantron.
I say “boo” to that! Let’s celebrate the male style icons of sitcoms, starting with my personal fave, a man that played a sitcom psychologist with actual style (sorry Frasier): Bob Newhart.
Okay, obviously you knew where this article was going, judging by the headline. But still, surprising, right? Whatever–today is Bob’s 89th birthday and I’m gonna champion this living legend in the one way he has never been championed, as a peerless pioneer for flashy menswear!
Truth: I did spend the first five months of this year cataloguing every single outfit Newhart wore as Bob Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show, so I know I’m the only person on Earth that’s an expert in Newhart Fashion. As Dr. Bob Hartley, Newhart showed off a flair for menswear the likes of which you rarely see on sitcoms. Men’s clothing tends to be functional at most, the less distracting the better. Jerry Seinfeld’s white sneakers, Ron Swanson’s earth-tone polos, Dwight Schrute’s short-sleeve dress shirts–these aren’t clothes meant to stand out. Like, can you differentiate between what Chandler, Ross, or Joey wear in the back half of Friends? Chandler wears bowling shirts, sometimes? That’s not the case with Bob Hartley, a man who dresses up for work and really dresses up!
He plays with patterns and suit styles, mixing and matching like he’s also got a fashion degree hanging in his office. Notice all the details, too, like that signet ring on his pinky and very of-the-time bracelet, even his choice of pocket square. And when Dr. Hartley dresses up, he goes straight-up Bond, Bob Bond.
I do want to point out that the ’70s were… an interesting time. Bob was able to pull off these looks because they were readily available (as someone that has been trying to find nice plaid trousers for years, let me tell you this stuff ain’t just hanging in 2018 Macy’s). Men wore a lot of crazy stuff in the ’70s, and Bob was definitely caught up in some unfortunate trends. No one could escape leisure suits in the ’70s, no one.
But the real reason I’m singling out this character as a fashion plate is because most of his wardrobe has aged well. Just look at Bob’s dapper date night looks!
And look at how he goes casual! I want that entire look, from H to T!
If you think Bob doesn’t serve looks when he’s just at home with his wife Emily, think again! Even his PJs exude class and confidence! He even has a hanger specifically for his bathrobe.
This isn’t just a case of men being more stylistically adventurous in the ’70s, either, although that was the case. Bob sticks out compared to not only the other men on the show (Howard and Jerry are never so put together) but every other leading man of the time. Bob Hartley was the stylish yin to Archie Bunker’s slovenly yang. Bob Hartley is even way more fashion-conscious than Bob Newhart’s other sitcom character, cardigan-enthusiast Dick Loudon of Newhart.
Just look at how other, more modern sitcoms like Seinfeld or Friends treat menswear. When Ross or Jerry wear something out of the ordinary, it’s for laughs. Jerry gets roped into wearing a puffy shirt or Ross wears leather pants that ruin his night. When the Hartleys go away on vacation, Bob wears a big fur-collar coat, heavy knit turtleneck sweater and powder blue pants because that’s what he wants to wear!
When Bob dresses up, the show doesn’t comment on it because that’s just who this guy is. This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite things about one of my favorite sitcom characters. Bob Hartley is the quintessential mild-mannered everyman, not a showboat like Tom Haverford or a rock and roll stereotype like Uncle Jesse. The fact that he puts so much unremarked upon care into crafting a classy image absolutely delights me. It tells me, the guy so deep in this ridiculousness that he dedicated a daily blog to it for months, that men shouldn’t feel bad about caring how they look. And when a man takes a fashion risk, it doesn’t have to be the unusual thing that inspires hijinks. Some dudes just like looking good, and some psychologists just like looking cool.
