Once he had reached the height of his fame Dirk declined to capitalise on his status by appearing in advertisements. In earlier days he had allowed his photograph to be used, for example, by Capstan cigarettes and in a campaign with the slogan ‘If you want to get ahead get a hat!’ In May 1968, several years after he had shed the mantle of matinée idol, he agreed without much enthusiasm to appear in a commercial for Foster Grant sunglasses, which earned him $25,000. And in 1974, as the pictures on these pages show, he posed for L’Uomo Vogue, wearing Yves St Laurent. In the main, however, any influence he might have exerted on fashion was less deliberate. << >>