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182 IT TOOK NINE TAILORS
his clothes with the air of an ambassador. He had a white carnation in his buttonhole and was wearing white spats. I sized him up as a tailor who loved fine clothes, and when Owen introduced us, I could see Schmidt giving me and my clothes an appraising glance.
Tailors are only human; they enjoy making clothes for men who will display them well. Because of my early training at Culver I have always carried myself erectly, with my shoulders thrown back; consequently a coat always drapes well on me. Tailors also like to fit a man with long legs. Although I am about average height, my legs are quite long in comparison to my body. An artist might find me out of proportion, but a tailor is pleased by the long line of my trousers. Schmidt took this all in at a glance and I knew that he was impressed.
"Mr. Schmidt," I said, giving him my best smile. "I find myself in a very difficult position. I am an actor and I need clothes, for clothes are an actor's tools. I have very good prospects, if I can replenish my wardrobe, but at the moment I have very little money. In other words, we cannot do business unless you give me credit."
Schmidt hesitated only a moment as he cast a rather critical glance at one of my lapels. "I think that can be arranged, Mr. Menjou."
"Good. I'll need six suits to start."
I think six suits were more than Schmidt had bargained for, but he didn't bat an eyelash. I selected the materials and he called for Bergman, his cutter. The suits were $125 each, so he gambled $750 on me. Mr. Schmidt is now dead, but his firm is operated by his son and is one of the foremost in America.
My loyalty to Eddie Schmidt after I became a star and my insistence that he was one of the great creative tailors of the world led to rumors around Hollywood that I owned an interest in his tailor shop or that I got a special discount on the clothes I bought there. That was not true. During the time I was receiving so much publicity as one of the world's best-dressed men my patronage