By Christina Binkley
Today the clothing of celebrities goes to auction; the actor's daughter gave away his famously stylish wardrobe without anyone realizing
About eight years ago on a chilly evening, a homeless man on the beach here was handed a cashmere-wool blend overcoat that formerly belonged to Cary Grant. The man wasn't told of the coat's provenance, so he didn't know he had received one of the last items remaining from the wardrobe of one of Hollywood's best-dressed legends.
Jennifer Grant, Mr. Grant's only child, offered the coat to a stranger she had noticed shivering on the beach. "I wasn't comfortable keeping it," she says. "He could really use it." The only indication of the coat's previous owner: an embroidered inscription inside. "Dad, I love you. Jennifer."
Cary Grant's daughter Jennifer gave away her famously stylish father's clothing without anyone realizing. Jennifer, left, in her L.A. home with daughter Davian, 4, and son Cary, 8. PHOTO: AUSTIN HARGRAVE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
At a time when clothes are the subject of popular museum exhibitions and auctions, the tale of Cary Grant's tuxedos, coats and meticulously monogrammed pajamas offers a surprising contrast. In June Joan Rivers' couture and other belongings were auctioned in New York by Christie's, which has been making a specialty of such sales. In 2014, Christie's sold items belonging to Joan Fontaine, including the Academy Award she won as Cary Grant's co-star in the 1941 Alfred Hitchcock film "Suspicion." In September, the auction house will auction personal items of President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan.
At the time of Mr. Grant's death by a stroke 30 years ago, his daughter, a student at Stanford University at the time, kept some of her 82-year-old dad's art and furniture, and several items of jewelry, including a cravat holder that she wears as a ring. Ms. Grant kept the overcoat, and a favorite cashmere sweater of his that was particularly special to her. "Clothing carries someone's scent. It's very personal," she says.
Ms. Grant and her stepmother donated his suits and much of his clothing to a charity for men seeking work. Everything was donated anonymously, so no job candidates went into their interviews with an inkling of what they were wearing. Mr. Grant's monogrammed pajamas went to Goodwill.
Among Mr. Grant's jewelry was his Cartier watch. Ms. Grant had his diamond and amethyst cuff links made into earrings. PHOTO: AUSTIN HARGRAVE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL