The BBC show Peaky Blinders is one of the most beautiful sources of inspiration for the 1920s. The gang of the same name from Birmingham cultivates a very special style, which is only partly representative for this time. Nevertheless, I think the outfits of the performers are great and would like to explain in this article how to imitate them.
The suit on the cover photo is from John Crocket.
Cap, coat, Cosa Nostra
Probably the most important accessory of the Shelby brothers is the bakerboy cap. It always consists of a wool cloth – mostly tweed. It is important to note that these are not so-called flat caps, which are commonly referred to as “golf caps”. The caps in the series are 8-pieced caps, which appear more voluminous due to their construction. On the road, the gang members like to wear single-breasted woollen coats. These should be long enough to cover the knees.
Photo by Annie Blackwood
Shirt and collar
The shirts are mostly bright and striped, e.g. white-light grey or white-light blue. The Peaky Blinders also like to use cuffs with golden cufflinks. The used collars are always removable, which can be recognized by the golden buttons on the front. The Shelbys often do without a tie, but sometimes they also wear neckties or bowties.
The Suit
The suits of the Peaky Blinders are actually always three-pieced and made of wool. In everyday life, the boys rely on coarse tweed or wool flannel. But especially in the later stages of their lives you can see finer wool fabrics and even pinstripes more and more often.
To round off the overall appearance you can add a pocket watch and put your feet in balmorals.
Low budget version using thrift shop items and a selfmade collar.
Purchase tipps
Nice dark tweed three-piece sets are available at John Crocket, whose shop in the city centre of Cologne is highly recommended. Especially worth mentioning is the use of best British tweed from well-known weaving mills such as Moon, Lovat, Magee and Harris. There you will also find flat caps, knee-length coats and other gemsof British men’s fashion. The original Peaky-Blinders caps are available at Amazon*.
This post was sponsored by John Crocket.
An explanation of the Peaky-Blinders style in moving pictures can also be found on my YouTube channel:
arthur beaudelot 20. August 2024
do you sell patterns for an early 1920’s 3 piece suit like the one you describe in your article? is it present in your E-book?
Connie Finch 22. March 2020
Thanks for taking the time to write/translate your blog posts into English, your international fans appreciate your efforts!
Giovani Pérez Ramos 22. March 2020
Hey , I want yo know if John Crocket also deliver to South America?
Vintagebursche 23. March 2020 — Post Author
I guess so, but you should ask them yourself.