In Like Flynn | A Swashbuckler’s Legacy
“A boat is like a horse... every ship has her own personality, the tricks she does, the foibles she has.” – Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn was born in the British Commonwealth seaport Hobart, Tasmania, on June 20, 1909. His father, a distinguished marine biologist, introduced him to the sea at a very young age. Flynn always said the one true love of his life was the ocean. Sailing became a lifelong obsession and his favorite escape.
"I like my whiskey old and my women young." – Errol Flynn
A young Brigitte Bardot cooing over 47 yr old Errol Flynn. –1956. He passed 3 yrs later. The phrase “In like Flynn” originated as a coarse reference to his powers as a seducer.
"I allow myself to be understood as a colorful fragment in a drab world." –Errol Flynn
Flynn lived life on his own terms and lived life to the full. He made movies, performed his own stunts, thumbed his nose at studio rules, and when it all became too much– left Jack Warner fuming in his Burbank office suite and went off to sea.
"You once liked the blissful mobility, but then you wonder, who's the real you? And who's the chap on the screen? You know, I catch myself acting out my life like a goddamn script." – Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn behind the wheel of a 1928 6.5 litre straight eight Packard Roadster.
"I can't reconcile my gross habits with my net income." – Errol Flynn
In 1942, Flynn was charged with statutory rape, arrested and brought to trial, then acquitted. It was Flynn’s belief that the L.A. district attorney had made him a scapegoat for Hollywood in order to discipline the film community. Jerry Giesler (Flynn’s ace lawyer) considered Flynn an excellent witness and thought that his “gentlemanly demeanor throughout the trial had been an important factor”.
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love this post.
love your site.
That first picture of Errol Flynn is killer. He’s wearing a Navy flight jacket – possibly a M-422a. The earlier Navy jackets were longer and his seems long waisted, even compared to his high waisted pants. That picture is begging to be reproduced and “updated” by some fashion layout.
I completely agree with you on all points. What a great fashion photo!
Question is– who are the next generation going to look back on 50 years from now as fashion icons?
Scratchin’ my head… there is no consistent benchmark for style anymore… not like back then.
We’ll probably still look back to the stars and moguls of the 1930s & 40s.
At least I will be… if I’m still around.
I think there are few people who have ‘style’ as opposed to ‘fashion sense’. I don’t personally like all of it, but I think history will record Johnny Depps positively.
I think that with the death of real societal norms (not something I am bemoaning, just saying), people can express ‘themselves’ and the lazy dress sloppy, but those interested in style still find ways to express it. It just doesn’t look like it did 60 years ago.
But I bet people will always be inspired to find their own style by the classics. The part of classic style that has survived the transition is the attitude. How you wear it is as important as what you wear.
My two cents.
One of the original wild ones, he definitely had a unique style and flair! Good stuff!
Today is the 100th anniversary of Flynn’s birth so I was thinking about him and looking for photos on Google and came across your site. I really love that first photo! Flynn really did have such a great sense of style and it really suited him. It’s such a shame he died so young, but at least he spent his time doing exactly what he wanted to be doing.
Hi,
¤ I love that old whiskey thing, too. A real class act, a man’s man but without the starship!
¤ – kw
Love this post. Great site too
I love his movies and he was so handsome. Thank you. Girls Against Boys have a song called “In Like Flynn” and I’ve always wondered if it had anything to do with Errol…
Fashion, through the ages always represented a style of some sort!
Let’s take the last hundred years!
1900 -1910 was the Edwardian fashion era
1911 – 1919 was the Art Deco era
1920 – 1929 The Roaring Twenties – The Flappers Culture
1930 – 1945 The Costume Style Culture
1945 – 1955 Bobby Soxers
1958 – Mary Quant and The Mini Skirt after this era the Jackie Kennedy style era and after that started pretty much the “”Style-less Era”, which dominates the fashion world to this day.
What is the style of clothing in the last 30 – 40 years? Could we call it any of the following:
Cheap and Tatty
Casual Extreme
Anything Goes
Design a la Nothing
No Idea New and Revised
It would be nice to have some kind of fashion again!