The power and the glory

Of the white suit, from Pepys to Puffy:

A man in white is often searching for something: dirt, or life, or love, money or blood, fame or notoriety. A white suit attracts what you don't have or what you want more of. At least that's the idea, though the experience of wearing a white suit doesn't always follow the script. After Lawrence of Arabia, in which he starred, won best picture, Peter O'Toole bought a white suit in Los Angeles, rented a white Rolls Royce, and cruised Sunset Boulevard. He waved to people in cars and on the sidewalks, as if he was mother of the Queen of England at a parade. "No one took any f------ notice," he told a friend, "but I thoroughly enjoyed it."