Tom Tyler's shirts: The secret is in the zipper

"Fast Bullets" - note the side zipper!

Have you ever wondered how Tom Tyler managed to wear his shirts so well?

While he certainly kept fit on a regular basis during the 1930's through weightlifting, the real marvel of his onscreen wardrobe was how his shirts managed to fit him like a glove. Since Tom had a perfect torso, having shirts that fit so perfectly was no problem, whether they were front button-down shirts or the pullover shirts he periodically wore. Like all other actors and actresses, a tailor would take the physical measurements, and match the ideal wardrobe according to the film genre and story. Tom had

two different long-sleeved pullover styles in his wardrobe; one was black with white trim and a laced bow at the throat, the other one, white with black trim and laced bow.

"Cheyenne Rides Again" - the zipper once again

Tom often had to change clothes several times throughout one film, particularly if he got dirty from rolling around on the western soil when fistfighting a small group of men. Once that shirt got dirty, Tom switched into his pullover shirt. This shirt was worn in “Pinto Rustlers”, “Mystery Range”, “Cheyenne Rides Again”, “Coyote Trails”, “Terror of the Plains”, and “Fast Bullets”, to name a few movies made during the 1930's. The most notable thing about this shirt, however, was visible whenever Tom raised his left arm from his side: a zipper that ran from a few inches below his armpit to the bottom hem of the shirt. This zipper did not just help mold Tom's marvelous torso, though; it was also functional in helping him get in and out of it with ease, especially when he was given only a few minutes to change clothes in between scenes being shot. Unlike the button-down shirts, which sometimes came undone – a button slipping loose from its matching hole – there was no similar concern with the zippered shirts that Tom wore so well.

"Ridin' Thru" - the second button from the bottom came undone