Robert De Niro as Jack Walsh in Midnight Run (1988)

Vitals

Robert De Niro as Jack Walsh, tough bounty hunter

New York to Los Angeles, Fall 1987

Film: Midnight Run
Release Date: July 20, 1988
Director: Martin Brest
Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“This is an easy gig, it’s a midnight run for chrissakes!”

Bounty hunter Jack Walsh has withstood plenty of action and abuse tracking down fugitives for bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano), but the inherent danger of bringing in Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin), an accountant in the crosshairs of the Mafia, has Jack demanding $100,000 for the job. A pro, Jack has an easy enough time finding the Duke in New York, but bringing him back to L.A. and his hundred-grand payday brings a fresh set of challenges between the Duke’s reluctance to fly, the interference of the FBI, a rival bounty hunter sabotaging him at each step, and—oh!—a couple of deadly doofuses sent by the mob to whack the Duke… and anyone who gets in their way.

“I can see this is gonna be some fuckin’ trip, boy,” Jack bemoans after a dinner with the prickly Duke.

Having built his career on serious roles in movies like The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and most recently The Untouchables, Robert De Niro was looking for a comedic change of pace and found in an action comedy being developed by Martin Brest and George Gallo. While De Niro had played light before (i.e. The King of Comedy), Midnight Run would be his first straight comedic role, enhanced by his buddy dynamic with Charles Grodin as the Duke. “The way Chuck Grodin is, it worked,” De Niro later explained to The Playlist. “His character was irritating and Chuck knew how to do that… I felt like that was a good way to go.”

Though he still had Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Heat, and more ahead of him, Midnight Run broke the comedic mold for De Niro to explore a more comedic side best seen in movies like Jackie Brown, Wag the Dog, and Meet the Parents.

Looks like I’m walkin’.

What’d He Wear?

Jack Walsh dresses in one of my favorite screen examples of a hard-wearing, practical outfit for traveling across the country by plane, train, and automobile. In addition to Midnight Run, 1988 also saw the release of Rain Man, in which Tom Cruise cycles through a wardrobe of fashionable yuppie-wear while driving Dustin Hoffman through the U.S. Cruise may look stylish for the ’80s, but De Niro looks timeless and road-ready in his rugged leather jacket, work shirt, and dark jeans.

“I see you’re still spendin’ all your money on clothes,” jokes Mafia boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina), resplendent in his off-white suit as opposed to Jack’s dirty, road-worn rags. Of course, it was only four days earlier when Serrano’s henchman Joey (Robert Miranda) couldn’t stop himself from complimenting Jack’s wardrobe: “That’s a nice jacket! What is it, goatskin?”

Several days, states, and shootouts after his henchman had first complimented Jack Walsh’s jacket, Jimmy Serrano is less than impressed with the state of Jack’s clothing.

Many of Robert De Niro’s screen-worn costumes, accessories, and effects are now databased in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Among these wares are many pieces from Midnight Run, including three leather jackets—all described as black—as well as black jeans, a black belt, and sneakers.

Jack’s black leather jacket blends styling points of the classic A-2 flight jacket with the sensibilities of a thigh-length car coat. The versatile, rugged jacket looks presentable yet tough with a few extra pockets for storing sunglasses, cigarettes, pilfered badges, and canceled credit cards, with the extra length coming in handy when it needs to double as a blanket.

The A-2 affectations are primarily seen around the neck and upper chest, such as the concealed snaps keeping the shirt-style point collar in place, the fly over the front zip, and the shoulder straps (epaulettes) sewn in place at the neck and shoulders with X-stitched patches. The sleeves have square-ended cuffs that also each close with a single snap.

The front of the jacket is detailed with two chest pockets and two hip pockets, each closed with a single concealed snap on a squared flap with additional “hand-warmer” pockets accessed behind those on the hips. A swelled horizontal yoke crosses the upper back between the armholes, with a vertical seam down the center to the bottom, where there are no vents.

Some people just don’t like helicopters.

For a man who puts function over form, the khaki work shirt serves Jack well for his rough days on the road with the Duke. Like the Dickies work shirts often worn by security guards, janitors, and other uniformed workers, the shirt’s construction is likely a blend of cotton and polyester. The khaki-toned four-hole plastic buttons fasten up a plain “French placket” front, with Jack leaving the top button undone at the point collar. The squared patch pockets on the chest each have a single-button pointed flap to close, and the cuffs close through a single button as well.

Leather jacket and work shirt: timeless. Pay phone: not so much.

Even Jack’s white undershirt has a pocket, bringing his grand total of pockets up to 14 (including six on the jacket, two on his work shirt, and five on his jeans), including any on the inside of his jacket.

This short-sleeved cotton T-shirt has a full crew neck that remains visible—and thus gets increasingly sullied—under the open-neck work shirt.

As Jack wires his undershirt before his confrontation with Serrano, we see just how much dirt the shirt has accumulated during his days with the Duke.

Jack’s black jeans unite his outfit into something resembling a uniform while also concealing dirt, grime, and whatever else he may encounter during days of traveling without the chance to change or significantly wash up. The lack of tags, tabs, or identifiable stitching prevents us from identifying his jeans as any of the big three American denim purveyors (Lee, Levi’s, and Wrangler), though they’re styled with the traditional five-pocket layout of two back patch pockets, two front pockets, and a coin pocket slotted on the right, all detailed with copper rivets in the corners.

Jack holds up his jeans with a black leather belt that closes through a silver-toned single-prong buckle. (The Harry Ransom Center includes a Bianchi belt-clip holster supposedly worn by De Niro in Midnight Run, but I don’t believe we ever see this clearly on screen.)

Stranded in the middle of Arizona, a manacled Duke may have felt a bit taunted by Jack’s ability to stretch out his arms like that.

Thanks to the Harry Ransom Center database, Jack’s all-black leather athletic shoes can be conclusively identified as Avia sneakers, worn with black socks.

Avia founder Jerry Stubblefield reportedly conceptualized the name for his new shoes while on a flight, selecting a variation on “avis”, the Latin word for “bird”. Launched in 1979 by Jerry and his son Don, Avia revolutionized athletic footwear for men and women throughout the following decade and remains in production today as a subsidiary of Sequential Brands Group.

Jack Walsh puts his whole body into hot-wiring.

Jack constantly brings his steel wristwatch to his ear to see if it’s ticking, prompting the Duke to comment: “You should get yourself a new watch.”

Indeed, the timepiece looks like it’s seen better days with its plain, round off-white dial under the aged crystal, secured to his left wrist via a silver-toned expansion band, though Jack later reveals that he keeps the battered watch as it was the first gift he ever received from his now ex-wife Gail, who had set it a half-hour ahead to battle his chronic lateness. At the end, Jack gives the watch to the Duke as “something to remember our adventure by.”

Jack uses his flight from L.A. to NYC to perfect his commandeered identity as agent Alonzo Mosely.

When Jack gets pulled into the FBI car, head agent Alonzo Mosely (Yaphet Kotto) pulls Jack’s sunglasses from his face, prompting Jack to look around at the shaded sets of eyes staring back at him and quip: “Can I ask you something? These sunglasses, they’re really nice.. are they government issue or do all you guys go, like, to the same store to get ’em?”

In exchange for purloining Mosley’s identity via a slyly swiped badge, Jack rechristens him “Agent Foster Grant” in reference to the American manufacturer then famous for its celebrity-based “who’s that behind those Foster Grants?” ad campaigns.

A no-frills guy like Jack Walsh probably wouldn’t care if he’s wearing the same glasses as Raquel Welch, but his Carrera 5547 sunglasses are still consistent with ’80s eyewear trends as this sporty variant of classic aviator frames had emerged over the previous decade. Jack’s sunglasses have tortoise-toned matte “Optyl” plastic frames, brown gradient-tinted photochromic lenses, and white arms detailed with brown stripes broken up by “CARRERA” branding at the temples.

The Midnight Run prologue establishes Jack Walsh’s character and costume as he wears the same jacket, jeans, and sneakers, only swapping out the work shirt for a heathered gray cotton crew-neck sweatshirt with long sleeves that are starting to fray at the cuffs.

After taking on the Duke’s case for Eddie, Jack dresses up a bit for his trip to the police station to conduct more research on his new subject. He wears a white poplin off-the-rack dress shirt, detailed with a semi-spread collar, front placket, breast pocket, and single-button cuffs. He also leaves the black jeans at home, now dressed in a pair of dark gray flat front slacks with wide belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms.

The Gun

Jack Walsh’s main sidearm is a third generation Colt Detective Special, a modernized variant of the classic “belly gun” that Colt introduced in 1927. When the Detective Special was debuted, this snub-nosed revolver was hailed by both sides of the law for its easy concealment and ability to carry six rounds of the .38 Special police cartridge.

The Detective Special would remain in constant production over the next sixty years, though Colt innovated updates to the venerable belly gun’s design to stay competitive in the modernized weapons market. The “Third Series” variant introduced in 1973 marked the most substantial cosmetic change in the Detective Special’s half-century history, adding a shroud under the barrel to protect the ejector rod and transitioning to full-ramp front sights.

By the 1980s, law enforcement was increasingly transitioning from six-round service revolvers to high-capacity semi-automatic pistols. Colt ended production of the Detective Special in 1986, reviving it only briefly for a Fourth Series run in the ’90s.

One of the pistols that marked the end of the wheelgun’s reign in the police market was the nine-millimeter Beretta 92-series, an Italian-made handgun introduced in the mid-1970s evolved from the aging Beretta M1951 design.

As Beretta improved the 92’s design into the following decade, the rest of the world took notice. It was the M9 variant of the Beretta 92F that replaced the venerable M1911 after more than sixty years as the American military’s iconic service pistol, and 92-series pistols carried by Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson in Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, respectively, signaled the modern police embrace of the high-powered, high-capacity semi-automatic pistol over older revolvers like the Detective Special.

Interestingly, Jack’s sworn rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton) arms himself with a set of Beretta 92SB pistols, possibly chosen to establish Marvin’s ambitions at unseating the revolver-carrying Jack as a top bounty hunter in the world of Midnight Run.

Developed for U.S. Air Force trials in the early 1980s, the 92SB was introduced a little earlier than the more recognizable 92F and 92FS, but it marked a transition to the modernized version with its conveniently placed magazine release (next to the trigger guard rather than at the base of the grips as on earlier models), ambidextrous safety levers, and a firing pin block (signified by the “B” in the model name.) Not yet standardized for combat like the later 92-series, the Beretta 92SB pistols were still commonly rigged with smooth wooden grip panels detailed with gold medallions. Until the later development of the 96 and 98 variants, all Beretta 92-series pistols were chambered for the universal 9×19 mm Parabellum cartridge.

Jack ends up taking both of Marvin’s 92SB pistols from him; the first, a nickel-plated model, is misplaced during their fight aboard the train. Marvin’s second 92SB, finished in standard blue steel, becomes Jack’s weapon of choice after he takes it from him to conduct battle against the mobsters in the helicopter.

Jack takes careful aim with Marvin’s Beretta. If you’re going to try to shoot down a helicopter with a handgun, it’s going to take patient diligence.

How to Get the Look

Robert De Niro as Jack Walsh in Midnight Run (1988)

Jack Walsh dresses for the road in a hard-wearing khaki work shirt, black jeans, and a multi-pocket leather jacket that serves as both baggage and blanket as needed.

• Black goatskin leather car coat with A-2 style snap-down collar, shoulder straps/epaulettes, zip-up fly front, four snap-flapped pockets, and single-snap squared cuffs
• Khaki poly/cotton work shirt with point collar, plain front, two button-flapped chest pockets, and single-button cuffs
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeve “pocket T” undershirt
• Black cotton denim five-pocket jeans
• Black leather belt with silver-toned single-prong buckle
• Black leather Avia sneakers
• Black socks
• Tortoise matte-framed sport aviator sunglasses with brown gradient lenses and white arms
• Steel wristwatch with round off-white dial and steel expanding bracelet

Magnoli Clothiers produces a replica, the Deniro Jacket, accurately described as “a hybrid of the classic A-2 bomber and longer car coat.”

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

Because you’re a fucking criminal and you deserve to go where you’re going and I’m gonna take you there, and if I hear any more shit outta you I’m gonna fucking bust your head and I’ll put you back in that fucking hole and I’m gonna stick your head in the fucking toilet bowl and I’m gonna make it stay there.

The post Robert De Niro in Midnight Run appeared first on BAMF Style.

Glenn Ford as Ben Wade in 3:10 to Yuma (1957)

Vitals

Glenn Ford as Ben Wade, bandit leader

Arizona Territory, 1880s

Film: 3:10 to Yuma
Release Date: August 7, 1957
Director: Delmer Daves
Costume Designer: Jean Louis

Background

Looking for a movie to watch on 3/10? I recommend 3:10 to Yuma, the swift, suspenseful, and compelling Western based on an early short story by Elmore Leonard.

Modern audiences may be more familiar with the 2007 adaptation starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale as the outlaw and the rancher, respectively, though the original black-and-white version was produced in 1957, four years after Leonard’s story was published in Dime Western Magazine.

A decade before revisionist Westerns would become fashionable in “New Hollywood”, the original 3:10 to Yuma followed in the allegorical tradition of High Noon (1952) with complex characters and moral questions that paint a worldview where the concept of right and wrong are less black and white than the cinematography.

The cunning, confident, and complicated outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) operates by a unique moral code. During a stagecoach robbery, Wade duly executes a member of his gang after he put himself in a position to be subdued by the stagecoach driver, only to then gun down the driver in retribution… and then asking the stagecoach owner to return the driver he just killed to be buried in his hometown.

Mild-mannered family man Dan Evans (Van Heflin) witnesses the robbery, and one may expect the worst for the rancher and his sons after we saw Wade’s quick trigger finger in action, but Wade merely relieves Evans of his horses to delay him running to the nearest marshal, informing him where can recover them later. Wade has no expectations that Evans won’t share what he saw, but he still lets his guard down just enough to be captured in a Bisbee saloon.

Having played his role in engineering the outlaw’s recapture, Evans believes he’s done his duty and can return home with his recovered horses to continue trying to run a profitable ranch for his family, but the less-than-effective local lawmen enlist him into their posse escorting Wade to the eponymous 3:10 train to Yuma, where he’ll be locked away in a territorial prison. As Wade’s dangerous gang tracks them in the hope of rescuing their leader, Wade engages Evans in thought-provoking conversation and questions of ethics as they ride to Contention City and wait out the remaining hours in a cramped hotel room.

What’d He Wear?

Starting at the top, Ben Wade wears a well-traveled cowboy hat that seems to have been a favorite for Glenn Ford across more than a dozen of the Canadian-born actor’s Western films with its tall, cattleman-style crown, an unevenly curled brim, and a narrow lace-like leather band around the sweat-stained base. Golden Gate Western Wear, the home of Knudsen Hat Company, replicated Ford’s 3:10 to Yuma-worn hat in a stone-hued silverbelly felt with a 4.75″-tall crown and 3.5″-wide brim.

Wade’s work shirt is puckered with thin white stripes against a medium-colored ground (likely on the blue-to-gray spectrum), resembling seersucker. At the time of the film’s setting in the 1880s, seersucker was still a hard-wearing cloth for rugged workwear—hence the “railroad stripe” association with train conductors—before New Orleans tailor Joseph Haspel would rebrand this puckered, striped cotton for warm-weather business suits after the turn-of-the-century. Though the fabric may be accurate, Wade’s long-sleeved shirt with its narrow point collar and full-length front placket could be considered anachronistic for the era as this style wouldn’t be popularized for another few decades. The squared barrel cuffs at the end of each sleeve close with a single button.

Like many Hollywood Westerns of the ’50s, the characters in 3:10 to Yuma dress in a modernized reinterpretation of workwear with more contemporary sensibilities than would have been worn by actual gunslingers of the old West.

Henry Fonda and Glenn Ford in The Rounders (1965), Fonda sporting a contemporary Levi’s “Type 2” denim jacket while Ford wears his tan needlecord jacket with Lee Rider jeans.

Wade’s waist-length jacket stands out as the most obvious anachronism. Likely the same tan needlecord cotton jacket Ford would wear a decade later in the modern-set Western The Rounders (1965), the style of the jacket echoes the then-contemporary iteration of the Levi’s denim trucker jacket, the “Type II” 507XX seen in movies like Badlands, with its double chest pockets and pleated front, though it’s fitted with a cinch-back like the original “Type I” 506XX Blouse that Levi’s introduced in 1905.

In looking for more information about Ford’s screen-worn jacket, I encountered a post in The Fedora Lounge‘s forums where user “Fatdutchman” had ordered a similar vintage jacket that had been made from Scully RangeWear, which may have possibly made the jacket seen in 3:10 to Yuma and The Rounders.

Wade’s jacket has six buttons up the front from the straight-cut waist hem to the shirt-style collar. A horizontal yoke extends across the axis aligned with the second button down, with a set of double forward-facing pleats extending down from this yoke on each side of the placket. The chest is detailed with two mid-slung pockets, each closing with a single button through the mitred-corner flap. The set-in sleeves are finished at the wrists with squared cuffs that each close through a single button, and the back has a short cinch strap with a buckle to adjust the fit around his waist.

The marshal’s gambit includes a decoy swapped onto the Butterfield stage in the hopes of fooling Charlie Prince (Richard Jaeckel), Wade’s ruthless lieutenant. This initially works, due in part to the decoy wearing a corduroy cinch-back coat similar to Ben Wade’s jacket.

Captured in style.

Wade wears darker flat front trousers, possibly made from a brown or gray wool. The trousers have curved front pockets, no back pockets, and are cut straight through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms. Through the trouser belt loops—another possible anachronism—Wade wears a wide dark leather belt with a large squared single-prong buckle. The end of the belt, fed through the buckle, appears to have a lighter-contrasting tape piped around the edges.

Marshall Trimble explored the history of belt loops in a 2019 feature for True West magazine, noting the earliest recorded use seen on baseball uniforms in the late 1850s though it wasn’t until the hot summer of 1893 that Westerners seemed to begin trading in their braces for belts en masse. Thirty years later, Levi’s introduced belt loops to its venerated 501 jeans, marking a more universal shift to trouser belts that would catch on over the following decade.

Wade wears a pair of dark leather cowboy boots with decorative stitching on the shafts and rigged with a set of spurs.

Wearing boots in bed is one thing, but spurs too? That hotel must have been relieved when Ben Wade checked out!

Before he’s taken into custody, Ben Wade holsters his Single Action Army revolver in a brown leather buscadero-style gun belt. “Back in the 1880s, holsters (when they were used) looped over the top of the belt; low-slung holsters like the buscadero weren’t common,” wrote Jane C. Bischoff for True West in 2006, exploring when this popular holster may have originated. Bischoff points to a period photograph of lawman Commodore Perry Owens to suggest the buscadero’s origins may be earlier than the 1920s, when many purport it was developed for use in Hollywood Westerns, though it still would have been uncommon among true cowboys and gunfighters of the old West even if someone like Owens had pioneered one to be specially made.

The belt hangs low on Ford’s waist, fastened in the front via a slimmer ranger-style leather strap that closes through a squared single-prong buckle. The holster itself hooks onto the right side of the belt, laced around Ford’s right thigh for additional support. The cartridge loops around the left side and back of the belt are mostly filled with presumably .45 Long Colt rounds that would be used in Wade’s Peacemaker.

The Gun

Fabled alongside the Winchester rifle as one of the guns that “won the West”, the Single Action Army revolver is Ben Wade’s sidearm of choice. Colt had introduced the Single Action Army in 1873, initially chambered for the powerful .45 Long Colt cartridge though it would ultimately be produced in at least thirty different calibers. Wade’s Single Action Army has a 5.5″-long barrel, designating it as an “Artillery” model as opposed to the longer “Cavalry” or shorter “Quickdraw” models.

Rather than Colt’s wordy designation “New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol”, the Single Action Army eventually earned its “Peacemaker” moniker, though this nickname could be considered ironic given its ubiquity in the hands of bandits from the fictional Ben Wade to the real-life Butch Cassidy.

Ben Wade breaks the peace with his Peacemaker.

Wade’s Single Action Army doesn’t feature too prominently in this 1957 film, though it would be mythologized in the 2007 remake in which Russell Crowe carried a shorter-barreled “Quickdraw” Single Action Army configured with the reportedly cursed “Hand of God” grips. (See more of this weapon at IMFDB!)

What to Imbibe

Consistent with the hard-drinking cowboys of Hollywood Westerns, Ben Wade and his men down several shots of whiskey upon hitting the local watering hole, in this case a Bisbee saloon operated by Wade’s sweetheart Emmy (Felicia Farr). The bottles powering the boys’ drinking spree are affixed with prop labels for a likely fictional Old Hickory, presumably a rye or bourbon though the equally fictional “Old Meirkirk” that Alex Potter (Henry Jones) sleeps aside touts itself as Scotch whisky.

Though the Old Hickory labels featured in 3:10 to Yuma may be fictional, the name was revived for an actual 86-proof bourbon developed by R.S. Lipman Company and named in tribute to President Andrew Jackson who—according to the Old Hickory site—”enjoyed his own blend from a distillery on the grounds of the Hermitage, his Tennessee plantation home.”

Ben Wade caps up the bottle of “Old Hickory” during an intimate moment with Emmy.

The 2007 remake features a similar scene in her bar, though Vinessa Shaw’s character has been renamed Emma and the bottles are labeled Robertson’s Genuine Bourbon Cordial, an actual whiskey distilled in Harrison County, Kentucky, during the 19th century.

How to Get the Look

Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in 3:10 to Yuma (1957)

Though it may not have been strictly accurate to the 1880s time frame, Glenn Ford’s wardrobe as Ben Wade in the original 3:10 to Yuma is comprised of rugged Western-inspired workwear that could be easily translated to hard-wearing weekend casual style today… sans gun belt, of course.

• Tan pinwale-corduroy cotton pleated-front trucker jacket with six buttons, two button-flapped chest pockets, back cinch-strap, and 1-button cuffs
• Slate-and-white railroad-striped puckered cotton work shirt with narrow point collar, front placket, and 1-button squared cuffs
• Dark wool flat front trousers with belt loops, curved front pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Wide dark leather beelt with squared single-prong buckle
• Brown leather buscadero-style gun belt with right-side revolver holster and cartridge loops
• Dark leather cowboy boots with decorative-stitched shafts and spurs
• Silverbelly felt cattleman’s-style cowboy hat with narrow leather band and curved brim

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, which was thoughtfully remade by director James Mangold. The 2007 adaptation built upon the relatively simple story with more days and obstacles added to Evans and Wade’s journey to Contention, an extended role for Dan Evans’ oldest son, and a modified ending that may surprise viewers more familiar with the original story.

Readers should also track down Elmore Leonard’s original 1953 short story, included in the collection Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories.

The Quote

Squeezin’ that watch ain’t gonna stop time.

The post Glenn Ford in 3:10 to Yuma appeared first on BAMF Style.

Cleavon Little as “Super Soul” in Vanishing Point (1971)

Vitals

Cleavon Little as Super Soul, blind radio DJ

Nevada Desert, Summer 1971

Film: Vanishing Point
Release Date: March 13, 1971
Director: Richard C. Sarafian
Wardrobe Master: Ed Wynigear

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Before he blazed into Rock Ridge as the controversial new sheriff, Cleavon Little was already shaking up the desert as Super Soul, the almost mystic blind radio DJ who guides our laconic hero in in his white Dodge Challenger through the blue highways of the west in Vanishing Point, released 50 years ago today on March 13, 1971.

The Oklahoma-born Little was already a stage star at the time he walked Super Soul’s dog to the KOW radio booth in Goldfield, Nevada, having won a Tony Award in Ossie Davis’ Purlie just one year after making his Broadway debut. Vanishing Point was only his third credited screen role, his charismatic energy a contrast to Barry Newman’s taciturn Kowalski, whom Super Soul dubs “the last American hero.”

What’d He Wear?

Super Soul protects his eyes with a pair of black wraparound sunglasses, a style popularized in the early ’70s by models like the Ray-Ban Balorama that Clint Eastwood famously wore the same year in Dirty Harry. Super Soul abandons these shades partway through his Kowalski-themed broadcasts, now relying solely on his mystical sense of second sight as he guides Kowalski through the desert.

He also wears a kufi-style skullcap, open-woven in brown, tan, and beige. The traditional kufi originated in West Africa, and can be “a sign of peace, mourning, renewal or protection of the mind,” according to Wikipedia. Kufis are made in a variety of colors and styles, with the open weave of Super Soul’s cap providing additional ventilation in the extreme heat of the Mojave Desert.

Super Soul puts his whole body into disc jockeying, moving with the tunes he turns even as he goes from spinning music to guiding muscle cars. Such hard work calls for a rugged shirt, made from classic chambray, the denim-like cotton cloth whose dense weave but light-wearing properties make it a popular shirting for warm-weather work shirts.

Blue is the most traditional and typical color for chambray shirts, with Super Soul’s shirt no exception with its blue warp and white weft creating an overall sky-blue effect. Apropos the Western setting, Super Soul’s “cowboy shirt” has pearl snaps up the front placket, two double-snap “sawtooth”-flapped chest pockets, and pointed chest yokes. The cuffs presumably also have a two- or three-snap closure, though Super Soul wears them undone with the sleeves rolled up his forearms.

Super Soul spins some wisdom on the air.

Super Soul’s light brown straight-leg trousers are made from a coarse cloth, likely cotton or a cotton-linen blend that would wear cooler in the desert heat than wool. The front pockets are shaped on a curved slant from under the belt line out to the side seams, and the back pockets are jetted with a button to close through the left pocket. The bottoms are plain-hemmed with a short break that doesn’t interfere with his tan leather open-toed sandals that appear to be worn with black socks. He holds up his chinos with a brown edge-stitched leather belt fitted through the tall loops and fastened through a thick silver-toned single-prong buckle.

Super Soul’s morning commute.

Super Soul wears a wide, ornate silver ring on the third finger of his left hand, traditionally the finger for wedding rings. On his left wrist, he wears a gold watch with a round gold dial on a light brown “Bund” strap, the wide leather cuff developed by the German air force (Bundesrepublik) to protect pilots’ skin from how the watch metal would be impacted by extreme temperatures in flight.

Though their costumes differ in almost every other sense, both Kowalski and Super Soul wear their watches on Bund bracelets. This could be a mere coincidence, as Bund straps were arguably most popular during the early ’70s, but it could also signal how Kowalski and Super Soul are united in time, explaining their almost supernatural connection.

Super Soul preps his opening track for the day, the catchy “The Girl Done Got It Together” by Bobby Doyle.

Super Soul’s unrelenting support of the anti-establishment Kowalski encourages a gang of bigoted locals—led by the discomfited deputy Charlie (Paul Koslo)—to storm the station, attacking Super Soul and his engineer (John Amos, making his uncredited screen debut) and briefly commandeering the KOW controls.

The next day, Super Soul defiantly returns to work for the first time on a Sunday morning, no longer wearing the skull cap and dressed in a voluminous black shirt with wide sleeves, side vents, and hip pockets like a barber’s smock, worn untucked over the same khaki-hued trousers and tan sandals that he wore the day before. This pullover shirt has a V-neck draped on each side by a long-pointed, curved collar, echoing the shirts made popular by “King of Calypso” Harry Belafonte decades earlier.

Super Soul returns to work, clad in a somber, funereal black, as he makes one last-ditch effort to contact Kowalski shortly after remarking: “the question is not if he’s gonna stop, but who is gonna stop him.”

What to Listen to

Kowalski and Super Soul never directly or physically communicate in Vanishing Point as the disc jockey instead speaks to the driver through music, the tracks he’s spinning at KOW correlating to the mood inside Kowalski’s Challenger as it powers west.

Super Soul in the booth on Saturday morning, sourced from a contemporary lobby card found on The Last Drive-In.

Super Soul kicks off his Saturday broadcast with the energetic and brassy “The Girl Done Got It Together” by Bobby Doyle, appropriately the most pop-friendly of the Vanishing Point soundtrack as it plays when Kowalski’s stakes are at the lowest, though the opening lyric—”I just got the feeling like my life was due”—foreshadows how Kowalski’s expedition will end. The lyrics also underline the exposition as we eventually learn that Kowalski’s fatalism may be motivated by his mourning the loss of a woman who “turned [him] inside out with the love you just can’t hardly find.”

By the end of the song, Kowalski has attracted the attention of the Colorado Highway Patrol and his refusal to stop forces him to ask himself “Where Do We Go From Here?”, echoing the rocking Jimmy Walker track that Super Soul selects next, even before he’s apprised of Kowalski’s situation. (Super Soul attributes this track, “the first really monstrous hit of the ’70s,” to a fictional musician named Brian Obine?)

Jerry Reed’s pulsating “Welcome to Nevada” welcomes Kowalski into, well, Nevada. Not subtly titled, the brief but memorable instrumental track was recorded specifically for Vanishing Point by the Georgia-born picker who was famous at the time for songs like “Amos Moses” and “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” and who would eventually star alongside Burt Reynolds in the Smokey and the Bandit series. Reed’s track plays as Super Soul learns of the mysterious Mopar driver tearing up the desert, leading to more on-the-nose tracks like Eva’s “So Tired” that directly correlates to Kowalski’s exhaustion as he works his way through the Mojave Desert.

The next morning, Super Soul arrives back at the station following his attack and greets Sunday morning with “Sing Out for Jesus” by Big Mama Thornton, the R&B pioneer who originally recorded songs like “Hound Dog” and “Ball ‘n Chain” that later became hits for Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin, respectively. He maintains the boisterous energy with “Over Me” by Bob Segarini and Randy Bishop, though this brass-infused anthem becomes Kowalski’s swan song when his Challenger meets a blazing end in the blades of two bulldozers arranged to stop him in the unincorporated hamlet of Cisco, California (in fact filmed in Cisco, Utah.) Super Soul should have realized nothing good comes out of playing Segarini and Bishop, as it was while he was playing their more somber “Dear Jesus God” the previous day that he was attacked in his station.

Once Kowalski cashes in on the life due, the soundtrack closes with the funereal but catchy “Nobody Knows”, an early recording by Kim Carnes who would later be famous for her global hit “Bette Davis Eyes”.

How to Get the Look

Cleavon Little as “Super Soul” in Vanishing Point (1971)

Unapologetically individual, Super Soul dresses to broadcast over the airwaves of the far West in a snap-front shirt like those often associated with the frontier, appointing the look with kufi, sunglasses, Bund-strapped watch, and one of the few times you’ll likely see socks and sandals worn together on this blog.

• Sky-blue chambray cotton Western-yoked work shirt with narrow spread collar, snap-up front placket, double-snap “sawtooth”-flap chest pockets, and snap cuffs
• Khaki cotton chino flat front trousers with tall belt loops, jeans-style front pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Brown edge-stitched leather belt with silver-toned single-prong buckle
• Tan leather sandals
• Black socks
• Tan, beige, and brown open-woven kufi-style skullcap
• Black wraparound sunglasses
• Wide engraved silver ring
• Gold wristwatch with round gold dial on brown leather “Bund” strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, and track down the Super Soul-approved soundtrack.

The Quote

The blind leading the blind…

The post Vanishing Point: Cleavon Little as Super Soul appeared first on BAMF Style.

Steve Carell as Michael Scott on The Office (Episode 2.19: “Michael’s Birthday”)

Vitals

Steve Carell as Michael Scott, paper sales regional manager

Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 2006

Series: The Office
Episode: “Michael’s Birthday” (Episode 2.19)
Air Date: March 30, 2006
Director: Ken Whittingham
Creator: Greg Daniels
Costume Designer: Carey Bennett

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today is my b-day and people around here just go crazy for it, I don’t know why. Oh, fun fact: I share my birthday with Eva Longoria. So I’ve a perfect icebreaker if I ever meet Teri Hatcher.

Before Andy Bernard brought his Brooks Brothers-informed sense of style to Dunder Mifflin Scranton, regional manager Michael Scott probably thought himself the branch’s snappiest dresser and particularly chose his 41st birthday as the time to exhibit that. Though this episode aired March 30, 2006, Michael citing that he shares a birthday with Eva Longoria would position the celebration fifteen days earlier on March 15, with Dwight adding the dubiously necessary detail of 11:23 a.m. being “the exact moment [he] emerged from [his] mother’s vaginal canal.”

Jim Halpert’s observations of the day are a little less creepy, sharing that “Michael’s birthday [is] pretty fun to watch, actually. He gets very excited, and then he eats a lot of cake, and then he runs around the office, then he has a sugar crash in the afternoon, then he falls asleep. And that’s when we get our work done.”

Before the work gets done, Michael has a grand celebration in store thanks to the party-planning committee “working 24/7, all day yesterday,” though he’s dismayed when the party is upstaged by Kevin’s anxiety surrounding the results of his skin cancer screening. Not that anyone would have been in the mood to eat eight feet of a bologna, tomato, and ketchup sub anyway.

What’d He Wear?

Through most of The Office‘s run, Michael Scott dresses for each workday in the typical business dress expected of mid-oughts corporate America: gray or navy suits in solid or subdued patterns, likely off-the-rack from Jos. A. Bank or Men’s Wearhouse. Michael’s birthday calls for something a little different.

“That suit is amazing,” Dwight compliments after Michael refuses a birthday hug on the grounds that he’s wearing a new suit.

Thank you very much, it is from Italy- actually, no… Bulgaria. So…

The bold white chalk-stripe of Michael’s wool suit immediately differentiates it from the other navy suits we’ve seen him wearing to work. Looking closer, we see that the single-breasted jacket is rigged with peak lapels, a fashionable alternative to notch lapels that has cycled in and out of fashion every 40-odd years and was just making its trendy comeback by the time Michael debuted his Bulgarian birthday suit.

The two-button jacket has four buttons on each cuff, padded shoulders, and double vents. Even the pockets indicate some trendy detailing, with the jetted breast pocket a noticeable alternative to the traditional welt and jetted hip pockets that gently slant toward the back.

Michael finds his birthday ruined not only by the attention shifting to Kevin’s skin cancer scare but also the mere fact that Toby still works at Dunder Mifflin.

Michael also introduces a new tie that follows costume designer Carey Bennett’s suggestion to The Hollywood Reporter that Michael owns “ties that I believe he thinks are power ties, but, to me, they are hideous… we get them at drug stores and places like that.”

I try to follow a rule that, the harder it is to describe a tie, there’s a lesser likelihood that it should be worn too frequently. Consider Sean Connery’s James Bond and his go-to navy grenadine tie: three words. And then we have this particular cravat. The ground fades between wide horizontal gradient stripes that repeatedly cycle through beige, brown, beige, and blue. Arranged over these gradient stripes are wavy parallel lines alternating between a thin dark brown stripe and a wider brown stripe overlaid with a gold paisley effect.

The French blue cotton shirt may be another off-the-rack item, but the double (French) cuffs differentiate it from Michael’s usual button-cuff shirts, fastened with a set of silver rectangular links, each with a large black rectangle filling the center.

Maybe Michael would have had a better birthday if he opted for the rarely seen “lucky tie” as seen in “The Client” (Episode 2.07).

Michael wears a black leather belt with his suit trousers, which are finished with turn-ups (cuffs) that break over his black calf leather shoes, likely the same split-toe four-eyelet derbies he wears throughout the second season.

All eyes (and arms) on the birthday boy.

Michael braces against the chill of late spring in Scranton in his go-to charcoal woolen topcoat, detailed with an Ulster collar, three-button single-breasted front, set-in sleeves, and flapped side pockets.

In addition to the makeshift yellow paper Livestrong bracelet he crafts to signal his “support” of Kevin, Michael wears his usual Timex Indiglo Perpetual Calendar quartz watch that—despite the “Quality Seyko timepiece” touted by the certificate framed in his office—would be his go-to wristwatch throughout The Office‘s second and third seasons.

Strapped to his left wrist on a black leather bracelet, Michael’s Timex has a squared tonneau-shaped stainless steel 40mm case with a slightly hexagonal black dial, marked under the mineral crystal with silver non-numeric hour markers and white day-date windows in the 3:00 position. Designated T2D611, the watch features Timex’s signature “Indiglo” night light feature and touts water resistance up to 100 meters, should one fall overboard during a motivational booze cruise.

The gregarious Michael offers an attention-sharing olive branch to Kevin by strapping on a homemade Livestrong bracelet.

As someone whose favorite cologne is the Rite Aid smell-alike “Night Swept”, the Timex was an inspired choice for Michael Scott, the underpaid and oblivious mid-level manager. Michael probably assumes that any analog watch ending in “-ex” is just as prestigious as a Rolex, and his Timex of choice is decent-looking enough—and certainly functional, as even the most affordable Timex watches tend to be—that he wouldn’t feel ripped off.

This certainly isn’t a knock at Timex, who are great at what they do: making a range of budget-friendly timepieces that look good and work well enough; after all, I have a few myself! It’s just that it’s all too easy to picture Michael jabbing his left wrist into a conversation with his corporate colleagues in their Omegas, Seikos, and TAG Heuers and tout that his quartz watch set him back a few bucks but, other than the cost of replacing a battery at the mall kiosk every few months, it’s been keeping time just fine.

Though no longer produced, older Timex T2D611 watches can still be found on Amazon, eBay, and other used retailers.

How to Get the Look

Steve Carell as Michael Scott on The Office (Episode 2.19: “Michael’s Birthday”)

Birthdays are a time to celebrate yourself, dressing to mark the occasion. Even if one may not exactly share Michael Scott’s fashion sense, one can admire his going the extra sartorial mile in the spirit of self-celebration and his Bulgarian pinstripe suit, tacky tie, and cuff links are actually the least intrusive of his birthday festivities.

• Dark navy chalk-stripe wool Bulgarian-made suit:
  • Single-breasted 2-button suit jacket with peak lapels, jetted breast pocket, slanted jetted hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and double vents
  • Trousers with belt loops and turn-ups/cuffs
• French blue cotton shirt with semi-spread collar, plain “French placket” front, and double/French cuffs
  • Silver rectangular cuff links with black rectangle centers
• Beige, brown, and blue horizontal gradient-striped silk tie with wavy brown and gold-paisley overlaid lines
• Black leather belt with silver-toned squared single-prong buckle
• Black calf leather 4-eyelet split-toe derby shoes
• Black socks
• Charcoal wool-blend single-breasted 3-button topcoat with Ulster-style collar and flapped hip pockets
• Timex Perpetual Calendar T2D611 stainless steel quartz watch with 40mm tonneau-shaped case, black hexagonal square dial (with 3:00 day-date windows), and black leather strap
• Yellow paper “Livestrong” homage bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the whole series, available on Blu-ray and streaming on Peacock.

For any astrologists out there, Michael’s birth details—March 15, 1965, at 11:23 a.m. in Scranton, Pennsylvania—would establish him as a Pisces sun, Virgo moon, and Cancer ascendant. Based on my astrological knowledge, this jibes!

The Quote

You know what, Toby? When the son of the deposed King of Nigeria emails you directly asking for help, you help. His father ran the freaking country, okay?

The post The Office: Michael Scott’s Birthday Suit appeared first on BAMF Style.

To celebrate Kurt Russell’s 70th birthday, please enjoy this submission from BAMF Style reader and contributor “W.T. Hatch” featuring a frequently requested character said to be the actor’s personal favorite from his filmography.

Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken in Escape from New York (1981)

Vitals

Kurt Russell as S.D. “Snake” Plissken, “cycloptic cynic ’80s cyberpunk” as one reader eloquently described

Manhattan Island Maximum Security Prison, Summer 1997

Film: Escape from New York
Release Date: July 10, 1981
Director: John Carpenter
Costume Designer: Stephen Loomis

Background

Call me Snake.

Set in John Carpenter’s dystopian vision of the future, Escape from New York is the story of a one-man rescue attempt to save the President of the United States from a maximum security penitentiary located on Manhattan Island. Police Commissioner Bob Hauk, played by the legendary Lee Van Cleef, offers recently captured bank robber S.D. “Snake” Plissken a deal: save the President (Donald Pleasence) in under 24 hours and receive a full pardon. As a forcing mechanism, Hauk orders his medical detail to secretly place two small explosive charges in Plissken’s bloodstream that will explode if he fails to make the deadline (nice pun, eh?)

Kurt Russell’s portrayal of Snake marked a clear departure from his usual family-friendly characters in Disney cinematic fare. Indeed, Snake’s entry onto the silver screen initiated a new generation of antiheroes who lived by their own rules and their own code of honor. Snake is a former U.S. Army Special Forces lieutenant who was the youngest man decorated by the President, with the implication that he earned the Medal of Honor, along with two Purple Hearts during his military service. A veteran of combat against the Russians in Leningrad, Plissken is qualified to fly the Gullfire glider, an expert at both armed and unarmed combat, and the ultimate BAMF survivalist.

Kurt Russell knew Snake was going to be a successful character before the film was even finished with primary shooting. In an interview available on YouTube, Mr. Russell shares the story of setting up a shot while filming on location in East St. Louis. This particular moment required Snake to walk down a darkened street in full costume to include his signature MAC-10 submachine gun. The film’s rather paltry budget meant limited set security, so Russell simply walked to his mark without any escort. Rounding a corner and now out of sight of the rest of the production team, Russell had a chance encounter with four “pretty rough characters.” Unfazed, Russell simply stood his ground. One glance at Snake’s appearance was sufficient and the four men beat a rapid retreat from the area.

What’d He Wear?

Although Snake is a former soldier, he retains very little clothing from his previous life in uniform. The most obvious item indicating a military past are a pair of camouflage pants with a unique urban disruption pattern. Assuming these pants are successors to the U.S. Army’s venerable Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), they are made from a rip-stop composite weave of nylon and cotton material found in the heavier Temperate Weather issue. The pants differ, however, from traditional BDUs in that they are tight-fitting, lack belt loops, and have just two large bellows-style pockets, all of which are unusual features in a combat uniform. Unlike BDUs or modern U.S. Army combat uniforms, the trousers’ snap-closed flapped pockets are located on the front of the wearer’s thighs.

Snake teams up with “Brain” (Harry Dean Stanton) and Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau).

My assumption is the Army issued Snake these pants in his capacity as a glider pilot. Cramped cockpits are no place for extraneous material such as belt loops that might catch on the glider’s controls, and the pockets are ideally placed for access during flight operations.

Snake wears the pants without a belt when first brought to Staten Island but is later provided a black leather utility belt to carry his weapons and other gear during infiltration.

Snake keeps his scope-mounted Smith & Wesson Model 67 revolver holstered.

Snake wears his pants tucked into motocross-style boots that reach nearly as high as his knees. These particular boots were custom-made for the film and further modified by Mr. Russell, who installed four metal golf cleats along the toe of each boot. Although small in size, these improvised weapons enhance Snake’s combat abilities while remaining easily concealed. The boots’ defensive value is improved by the addition of large silver-colored metal shin guards fabricated in a reptile skin pattern. Snake secures his footwear with five gray bail sky-type buckle closures on the outside of each boot.

Motorcycle boots are an interesting, if logical, choice for Snake in how they offer protection against injury from fires, edged weapons, kinetic impacts and even biohazards while allowing him to easily run, climb, and jump.

As a further hint to his background with motorcycles, Snake wears a heavily distressed brown leather 1930s-style motorcycle jacket prior to his insertion via glider into the prison. The jacket features wide lapels with deep set notches. The left lapel includes a large buttonhole, but Snake is hardly the type to accessorize à la Bogart with a chrysanthemum.

Snake keeps the jacket open throughout the movie reflecting both the warm summer weather and his continual need to be on guard. There are two large slash pockets on the front of the coat near the waist and an additional small chest pocket over the left breast. The leather jacket includes a fourth vertical zipper pocket near the center line of the coat which is surprising in a pre-cell phone era garment. The jacket sleeves are closed by a plastic button at each wrist while the back includes belted tabs for individual fitting.

Snake gets an offer he can’t refuse.

Perhaps the most unusual item in Snake’s appearance is his black sleeveless shirt that is far less militaristic in appearance than his pants and more of a nod to the ’80s punk scene. Like his trousers, Snake wears the shirt tight to his body thereby allowing him a full range of motion as he flies, fights, and runs throughout New York City. The basic black color affords Snake additional concealment somewhat offset by the material’s sheen under light. Given the era and the character’s background, the shirt is likely made from polyester or spandex cloth. What makes the shirt even more striking are two silver zippers which run from the neck to the armpit along the front of the shoulders. The zippers’ exact purpose is never specified and will remain a mystery for future movie fans to ponder.

Prior to his arrest for bank robbery, Snake’s ensemble did not include any observable jewelry, a situation soon rectified during his mission briefing and equipment draw. Plissken dons a large “lifeclock” on his left wrist to monitor the countdown to the detonation of his bloodstream borne explosives. The lifeclock features a very large red-light LED display in a bronze color metal housing worn on a broad brown leather strap, mounted to the strap with four brass rivets and secured to the wrist via Velcro fasteners.

Snake’s lifeclock counts down.

On his right wrist, Snake wears a large brass bracelet with a U.S. Police Forces eagle motif concealing a red button. When pressed, the button initiates a signal allowing Commissioner Hauk and his team to track Snake’s location in the prison for 15 minutes. Snake loses the bracelet when captured by the Duke’s henchmen attempting to free the President. He later spots another of the Duke’s men wearing the bracelet during his gladiator fight—with spiked baseball bats—against the behemoth prisoner known only as Slag (played by hirsute professional wrestler Ox Baker).

Throughout Escape from New York, Snake wears a black eyepatch over his left eye which, according to the novelization, he lost in Russia. Like so much of the character’s iconic appearance, the eyepatch idea was the brainchild of Kurt Russell. Clearly, the loss of the eye had little impact on Snake’s depth perception given his accuracy shooting, flying, or driving.

The Tattoo

Reflecting on Snake’s unique ink of a large rampant green cobra with red eyes, Russell once observed, “I must say that after we did this I got some of my favorite fan letters from girls who saw this tattoo.”

“If you’re gonna wear a cobra, wear it there,” Russell laughed in a 2013 interview.

The Guns

Commissioner Hauk lays out the weapons that Snake will have for his mission, consisting of a compact M10 submachine gun (with scope, suppressor, and carry strap) for primary combat as well as a backup .38-caliber revolver (also with a scope) holstered on his belt for backup work, not to mention spare ammunition for each. At various points, both of Snake’s firearms fall into the hands of others—”The Duke” (Isaac Hayes) handling the M10 while his ally Maggie defends herself with the stainless revolver—though both find their way back to Snake.

Snake preps himself for 24 hours in a dystopian New York City.

Snake’s primary weapon carried during his mission to retrieve the President is a MAC-10 submachine gun, accessorized with a scope and sound suppressor. This compact open-bolt “machine pistol” was designed by weapons engineer Gordon B. Ingram in 1964 and first produced six years later by his firm Military Armament Corporation (MAC), leading to the colloquial “MAC-10” though the weapon itself was actually designated M10. Ingram had hoped that his new weapon—available both in 9x19mm Parabellum and the .45 ACP round then in use by the U.S. military—would replace the venerable M1911A1 as the Army’s sidearm of choice, but the M10’s frantic rate of fire demolished its reputation for accuracy, with International Association of Police Chiefs weapons researcher David Steele dubbing the weapon “fit only for combat in a phone booth.”

What differentiated the M10 and earned it some begrudging respect in the firearms community was the innovative sound suppressor designed by former OSS operator Mitchell WerBell III of Sionics, though—at nearly a foot in length—the distinctive-looking two-stage suppressor counters the compact qualities of the weapon. However, the suppressor aided in controlling the M10’s fully automatic fire.

A screen-used poly-foam stunt prop (listed by The Escape from New York & L.A. Page) inscribed “M10. CAL 9MM PAR/RPB Industries, INC./Atlanta, GA. U. S. A.” establishes that Snake carries a 9mm M10 with a 32-round magazine rather than the .45-caliber M10.

In addition to the Sionics suppressor, Snake’s M10 is fitted with a scope.

Snake is additionally armed with a 4″-barreled Smith & Wesson Model 67, the stainless steel counterpart of Smith & Wesson’s blued Model 15 revolver, also chambered in the classic .38 Special police round. The Model 67 has adjustable sights (which differentiate it from the cosmetically similar Models 64 and 65, according to IMFDB), enhanced by a mounted scope for additional accuracy as needed.

Typically, the Secret Service does not allow individuals with loaded revolvers to get so close to the President, but Escape from New York‘s circumstances are far from typical!

N.B. This weapons focus was drafted by your usual BAMF Style author, though the rest of the content in this post was scribed earlier by contributor “W.T. Hatch”.

How to Get the Look

Kurt Russell with Lee Van Cleef in Escape from New York (1981)

Fortunately, reproductions of Snake’s clothes and accessories are readily available for online purchase, providing further testament to the character’s continued appeal.

• Black polyester or spandex sleeveless shirt with superfluous shoulder zippers
• Brown worn-out leather motorcycle jacket
  • Reproductions available from Magnoli Clothiers
• Urban camouflage military trousers with snap-flapped front cargo pockets
• Black leather motocross boots (adding improved weapons is not recommended)
• Bronze color “Lifeclock” with red light LED display
  • Reproduction timepieces available from Lifeclock One
• Brass eagle motif tracking bracelet (and don’t forget about the hidden safety catch!)
• Black eyepatch

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie… but remember the first rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Escape from L.A.

The Quote

The name’s Plissken!

The post Snake Plissken in Escape from New York appeared first on BAMF Style.

Fred Rogers on the set of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

Vitals

Fred Rogers, America’s favorite neighbor

Pittsburgh, late 1960s through early 2000s

Series: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Air Dates: February 19, 1968 through August 31, 2001
Created by: Fred Rogers

Background

I’ve written plenty about characters and figures who may have influenced my fashion sense and lifestyle, but today I want to recognize someone who (I hope!) had one of the most significant impacts on my personality during my formative years. Fred Rogers was born 93 years ago today on March 20, 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, just about an hour east of where I currently live. For more than thirty years, he celebrated acceptance, inclusiveness, curiosity, emotional intelligence, open-mindedness, and love as the warm host of the Emmy Award-winning series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, filmed at WQED Studios in Pittsburgh.

Nearly two decades after he died in February 2003, Mr. Rogers remains an American icon, particularly celebrated here in Pittsburgh, where the Heinz History Center hosts the most expansive collection of artifacts from the show, including a life-size figure of Fred wearing his iconic sweater, sneakers, and tie, with even more housed around the city at locations like the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh International Airport.

More evidence of Mr. Rogers’ cultural impact across the country? Even the Smithsonian National Museum of American History hosts one of his screen-worn sweaters, donated by Fred himself in 1984.

Fred Rogers in one of the green sweaters hand-knitted by his mother, taken on the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood set during the mid-1970s. With its unique collar and the cable-knit stitching flanking the zipper, this particular cardigan was characteristic of those seen early in the series.

What’d He Wear?

Throughout his life, Fred Rogers maintained his weight at 143 pounds, a number that he saw “as a destiny fulfilled,” as he told Esquire writer Tom Junod that “it takes one letter to say ‘I’ and four letters to say ‘love’ and three letters to say ‘you’.”

Fred’s self-disciplined routine of daily swimming and efficient sleep allowed him to remain at this weight and, thus, cycle through the same sweaters worn over the show as he progressed from middle age into his early seventies.

From the start, Fred began each show by changing out of a blazer, sports coat, or suit jacket and zipping into a cardigan sweater from his closet, signaling to his young audiences they were being welcomed to relax and feel comfortable for the next half-hour.

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was first broadcast late in the afternoon when adults came home from work, so his idea was that he was coming home from work but was going to spend time with the ‘television neighbor,’ AKA the child watching, and wanted to make it a more casual time,” explained Margy Whitmer, a producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, in an interview with Rewire.

In the first episode, Mr. Rogers takes the time to remove a raincoat and suit jacket, wrapping up the song before he’s even started buttoning up his cardigan, so he bridges the transition by assuring viewers that “I shall button my buttons on this sweater, change my shoes, then get ready to have some time with you in this very special studio of ours.”

When Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood premiered in 1968, Fred’s cardigans were originally of the more traditional button-front variety, but the time it took to fasten them on live television led to his switch to zip-up cardigans, always zipping up straight to the top and then down a few inches to show more of his tie. Though the stitch patterns frequently varied on the body and sleeves, these acrylic cardigans were almost always detailed with short ribbed collars, similar to those on MA-1 bomber jackets and varsity jackets, with ribbed cuffs and hems.

Famously knitted by his mother Nancy McFeely Rogers until her death in 1981, Fred’s sweaters were made in a range of colors including green, purple, blue, gold, gray, and even black, though it’s likely the bright red cardigans that are most frequently associated with Mr. Rogers. Despite this association, The Neighborhood Archive creator Tim Lydecker’s comprehensive research suggests green was actually Fred’s most frequently worn color.

Mr. Rogers would time singing “let’s make the most of this beautiful day,” with the practice of zipping his cardigan to the top, then back down just a few inches to show his tie. The green sweater seen in this 1985 episode was likely the same as the cardigan in the above photo taken a decade earlier of Fred and his trolley.

It was while wearing a differently styled gray sweater—lacking the collar and trimmed with black piping—that Fred explained to his audience in the 1980 episode “Mister Rogers Makes an Opera” that his mother knits his TV sweaters, highlighting “the beautiful work that she does… each stitch she makes with her hands” on his cable-detailed salmon, green, tan, and blue cardigans.

“It’s a lot of practice… a lot of work. She makes sweaters for many different people, but that’s one of the ways that she has for saying that she loves somebody. She uses needles and yarn and her own hands to knit the sweaters,” he elaborates, before taking the audience on a tour of Bob Trow’s knitting mill.

Nancy McFeely Rogers was celebrated on air for the sweaters she made for her son in this episode produced in 1980, the year before her death.

“For as long as I can remember, she made at least one sweater every month,” Mr. Rogers recalled in a 1999 interview with the Archive of American Television, adding that she would also make one for him every Christmas. “She would say ‘Okay, now what kind would you want next year? I know what you want, Freddy, you want the one with the zipper up the front.'”

For the final decade of the show’s run, the production faced an issue as zippered cardigans had long fallen out of fashion and the yarn on Nancy’s hand-made cardigans was wearing thin. Series art director Kathy Borland explained to Smithsonian Magazine that she eventually chased down a postal carrier in a similar sweater to ask if she could jot down who made the sweater.

Once she started buying these white cotton sweaters from this new source, Borland would stir them with rich-colored dyes in an industrial soup pot, with assistant art director Catherine McConnell using a permanent marker to appropriately color the fabric flanking the zipper. Following more modifications—specifically, removing part of the collar and waxing the zipper—the dyed cardigans were ready for Fred.

By the time of this 1998 episode, almost all of Mr. Rogers’ sweaters—including this purple one—would have been sourced and modified for him by art team Kathy Borland and Catherine McConnell, possibly from the same company that sold sweaters to the U.S. Postal Service… though Mr. McFeely (David Newell) doesn’t appear to be a sweater-wearer like his pal Fred.
Key characteristics of these later cardigans are the wider-ribbed collars, raglan sleeves, side pockets, and lack of cable-knit stitching on the body of the sweater.

Mr. Rogers typically wore white or pale blue cotton shirts, detailed with gold-pinned collars and double (French) cuffs held in place with gold links. Each outfit was completed with a necktie, often striped but occasionally patterned in a plaid or scattered motif that was always tasteful, never distracting. His gold-finished lavalier microphones were fastened on the right side of his ties, almost possible to be mistaken as a high-placed tie clip.

As Fred pauses to indicate that “I’ll think of you when I’m not here”, we see the details of his shirt and tie more closely as he hangs up a gold cardigan hand-knitted by his mother at the conclusion of this November 1981 episode.

Fred’s trousers ranged from traditional gray flannel and navy wool to dark brown and khaki, typically flat-fronted and worn with a belt. These trousers had side pockets, button-through back pockets, and were usually plain-hemmed on the bottoms in accordance with prevailing trends throughout the show’s long duration.

After hanging up his jacket and zipping on his cardigan, Fred would take a seat while still in mid-song to progress to the next phase of getting comfortable, removing his dress shoes—either lace-ups or loafers—and tying on a pair of sneakers. These casual shoes were always laced in white on navy blue canvas uppers with white rubber outsoles. “Rogers’ famous sneakers became his choice in footwear after he found that they allowed him to walk quietly behind the scenes of the live television productions,” according to a “Pioneers of Television” profile by PBS.

“Do you ever change your shoes when you come home from some places, your school or work or getting ready to play? How are you doing with your tying?” asked Mr. Rogers in the first episode, setting a precedent that would become a series signature.

A fan in the r/TheChurchOfRogers subreddit shared exhaustive research and eventual confirmations from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh proving that Mr. Rogers wore both the Converse Skidgrip and Sperry Cloud CVO deck sneakers, the latter differentiated by the white contrast stitching present on their uppers.

In a November 1982 episode, Mr. Rogers compares his current sneakers to a display shoe at Wagner Quality Shoes, which continues to sell footwear from its location on Butler Street in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. The contrast stitching suggests he’s wearing the Sperrys rather than the Converses.

The Sperry seems to have been Mr. Rogers’ shoes of choice for the first two decades of the show, gradually switching to the Converses with their solid blue uppers by the end of the 1980s. Throughout the series, he wore thin dress socks, typically in navy blue, black, or dark brown, depending on what tonally coordinated with the rest of his outfit.

The solid blue uppers of Fred’s sneakers in this 1987 episode suggest that he has switched from the Sperrys to the Converses by this point.

Daniel Tiger’s sneakers and red sweatshirt were chosen to evoke Mr. Rogers’ signature look.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, an animated offshoot of Fred’s shy puppet character Daniel Striped Tiger, debuted in September 2012. “We were trying to incorporate important iconic elements from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood into… Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and so having him wear an updated iteration of the sweater and sneakers was one charming way to do that,” said Margy Whitmer, one of the show’s producers of the decision to dress Daniel Tiger in a red hooded sweatshirt and sneakers in addition to the wristwatch that Fred’s puppet had worn in the original series.

In addition to the more than 900 episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood produced between 1968 and 2001, Fred Rogers’ legacy remains accessible thanks to a plethora of exhibits, books, and productions celebrating his work, most recently the 2018 documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and the 2019 feature A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks and directed by Marielle Heller, dramatizing Rogers’ interviews with Junod (reimagined as a journalist named Lloyd Vogel and played by Matthew Rhys.)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood‘s costume designer Arjun Bhasin recreated some of the signature sweaters that Fred’s mother had made for him, choosing to focus on the iconic red sweater. She explained to The Hollywood Reporter that “I felt very much like we had to honor his legacy and be true to the show as much as possible,” by employing a hand-knitter from the New York theater and seeking the exact shades of dyed wool. In addition, Fred’s widow Joanne Rogers provided Hanks with some of Fred’s actual ties to wear on screen.

Already clad in the red zip-up sweater and one of Fred’s actual ties, Tom Hanks laces up Mr. Rogers’ famous Sperrys in this promotional photo for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). Photo by Lacey Terrell.

In a 1993 episode, Mr. Rogers and Officer Clemmons (François Clemmons) recreate the groundbreaking 1969 moment where they shared a foot-bath. Fred’s rich kelly green sweater is one of the ones that Kathy Borland’s team sourced elsewhere to supplement the older, hand-knitted cardigans.

Fred Rogers’ signature sweater and sneakers have kept his comfortable sense of on-screen style in the public eye for decades, and the below sources were extraordinarily helpful when researching this piece:

• “Remember when Fred Rogers swapped his sport coat for a knit cardigan?” by Jessica Rapp for CNN (link)
• “This Detail About Mr. Rogers’s Sweaters Will Seriously Warm Your Heart” by Samantha Sutton for InStyle (link)
• “How to Dress Exactly like Mister Rogers” by Nick Riccardo for Medium (link)
• “Every Mister Rogers Sweater Color, Visualized” by Shaunacy Ferro for MentalFloss (link)
• “The Importance of Sweaters and Sneakers in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” by Christine Jackson for Rewire (link)
• “The Behind-the-Scenes Quest to Find Mister Rogers’s Signature Cardigans” by Cristina Rouvalis for Smithsonian Magazine (link)
• “Mister Rogers’ Style in ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ Starts With a Sweater” by Cathy Whitlock for The Hollywood Reporter (link)

How to Get the Look

Mr. Rogers would encourage you to find your own routine that makes you comfortable, whether that’s slipping on your favorite sneakers and a bright cardigan sweater that was hand-knitted with love, or something else!

Fred Rogers on the set of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in June 1989. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

• Rich-colored acrylic or cotton zip-up cardigan sweater with short ribbed collar, raglan sleeves, ribbed cuffs, and ribbed hem
• White or light blue cotton shirt with pinned collar, front placket, and double/French cuffs
  • Gold collar pin
  • Gold cuff links
• Classic-patterned tie
• Solid flat front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, button-through back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark leather belt with single-prong buckle
• Navy blue canvas deck sneakers with white laces and white rubber outsoles
• Dark socks
• Gold wedding ring

In partnership with The Fred Rogers Company, Sun Valley Alpaca Company produces a Mister Rogers Sweater Collection with detailed reproductions of Fred’s screen-worn cardigans in several different varieties and colors.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series, streaming free at the official Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood website for all to enjoy.

The Quote

Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.

The post Mister Rogers appeared first on BAMF Style.

M. Emmet Walsh as Loren Visser in Blood Simple (1984)

Vitals

M. Emmet Walsh as Loren Visser, sleazy private detective

Texas, Fall 1982

Film: Blood Simple
Release Date: January 18, 1985
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Costume Designer: Sara Medina-Pape

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Spring is officially here, the season of warmer weather and bright colors… though a tacky yellow leisure suit may not be exactly what you had in mind! On the 86th birthday of prolific character actor M. Emmet Walsh, today’s post explores his eccentric but dangerous private eye in Blood Simple, the directorial debut of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.

Frances McDormand—who also made her screen debut in Blood Simple as the adulterous wife Abby—recalls that the then-47-year-old Walsh was typically the oldest person involved in the fledgling production as filming commenced over eight weeks in the fall of 1982 on location in the Austin, Texas area. Following a year of post-production and attracting investors, Blood Simple premiered at the New York Film Festival in October 1984, three months before it would be officially released in theaters.

Many of the Coens’ idiosyncratic trademarks are present from the beginning in this taut thriller (including oversized private eyes stuffing themselves into VW Bugs), and the brothers’ original screenplay feels like something that could have been written by Jim Thompson (even more than most actual Thompson adaptations!) Indeed, the Coens cited the influence of noir and pulp fiction in their work, even cribbing the title from Dashiell Hammett’s line “if I don’t get away soon, I’ll be going blood-simple like the natives” from Red Harvest… which would later be one of several Hammett novels loosely adapted for the Coens’ noir-esque Miller’s Crossing (1990).

Written specifically with M. Emmet Walsh in mind, the yellow-suited private eye at the center of Blood Simple‘s action is never actually named beyond the script, though we get an in-universe clue from his personalized Zippo lighter inscribed with a roped “Loren”.

What’d He Wear?

He is settling himself into a chair facing the desk. He is LOREN VISSER, a large unshaven man in a misshapen yellow leisure suit.

Per the Blood Simple screenplay, the Coens had always envisioned the “misshapen yellow leisure suit” as central to Loren Visser, certainly more integral to the character than even his name. Paired with his straw cowboy hat and substantial turquoise ring, the image presents a twisted and tacky Texan alternative to the traditional noir private eye in his suit, trench coat, and fedora.

Whoever said chicks don’t dig bright yellow polyester leisure suits?

In a way, the leisure suit was inevitable. The popularization of synthetic fabrics coincided with an increasing distaste for formality throughout the 1970s that gave rise to the leisure suit as we know it. These cheap two-piece outfits found in many a discotheque shared little with their more stylish forebears that had originated as warm-weather wear for wealthy vacationers, particularly catching on in the less formal side of the proverbial pond as Americans in the hot Southwest found comfort in the light-wearing garment. This regional embrace made it a rhinestone-bedazzled favorite of country music stars, though it wasn’t until the disco era that the leisure suit truly gained a foothold in American culture, detailed with the wide-collared jackets and bell-bottomed trousers that all but guaranteed its quick demise as soon as fashion trends shifted with the dawn of the 1980s.

The sleazy Loren Visser is exactly the type of man who would still be wearing a leisure suit in the early ’80s, especially given his propensity for creating chaos among the outer edges of decent society in the beer-soaked honky-tonks of the Lone Star State. A self-styled cowboy, Loren may see his outmoded relic of the previous decade more along the lines of a Nudie suit made for the likes of Roy Rogers, Tex Williams, or Elvis, its fraying edges merely battle scars.

Loren’s fashion choice is made all the more garish by his bright yellow slub-textured polyester fabric selection, not only failing to disguise the suit like a more conservative navy, gray, or brown might, but actually drawing more attention to it.

“Walsh’s ill-fitting leisure suit has peculiar bulges, as seen in the film, because he insisted that the Coens pay him in cash at the beginning of every week of shooting, and carried the money on him at all times. Whether that was method acting or a personality quirk is impossible to say,” wrote Andrew O’Hehir for Salon.

Like many a leisure suit, the jacket shares little with a traditional suit or sports coat. The long-pointed collar sits like a shirt collar, cut away at the chest where the first of three pearl-effect plastic buttons are spaced down the front, though the rotund Loren wisely elects not to even try buttoning his jacket over the course of Blood Simple. Polyester isn’t particularly breathable, especially in the humid subtropical climate of central Texas, but Loren’s leisure jacket may benefit from being only partially lined in a yellow paisley fabric.

The shoulders are yoked with horizontal seams in the front and a shallow Western-style point in the back, and a straight vertical seam extends down from each side of the back yoke down to the bottom, just within the two short vents cut into the back. These seams mimic a similar pleat-like effect on the front of the jacket, running atop the four patch pockets: one on each side of the chest (with two pens clipped into the left chest pocket) and one on each hip. The jacket’s set-in sleeves are finished at the cuffs with a short tab that extends out from the seam just above the wrist, uniquely shaped on a mitred corner and fastened into place with a single ornamental button.

Already positioned at a leisurely low rise, Loren’s matching yellow polyester trousers are locked in constant battle with his waistline. This conflict isn’t helped by his lack of belt or braces as there appear to be no loops or buttons to support them, just a double hook-and-eye closure meant to be hidden at the fly.

The front pockets are slanted, the back pockets are jetted, and the plain-hemmed bottoms have only a slight flare when compared against some of the more egregious bell-bottoms of the ’70s.

I did say spoiler alert at the top of this page, right? If you didn’t see it, then, uh… here’s the scene where Loren Visser deals with a horrendous stomachache.

Loren’s aged cotton shirt may be his only piece of clothing made from a natural fabric, its fraying edges suggesting that the only reason may be that he purchased it during an era that pre-dated polyester’s fashionability. Not quite white, the “grayish yellow” ecru cotton tonally coordinates with the overwhelming yellowness of his outfit.

He tends to keep the button-down collar fastened, though the one or two buttons at the top of the wide front placket tend to be worn open as Loren likely lost the ability to comfortably fasten the neck a few sleazy cases ago. The yellow strings dangling from the shirt’s breast pocket suggests that this is where he keeps the bag of tobacco he uses to confuse naïve young women into thinking his hand-rolled cigarettes are marijuana.

Unlike the other characters in Blood Simple, Loren never changes his clothes—not even his tie!—over the days depicted on screen… though it’s not likely he’s changed his clothes much in the last five years anyway.

I have to yield a begrudging respect to Loren Visser for maintaining his commitment to loud clothing, choosing not to ground his outfit with a subdued tie and instead tying on a busy cravat comprised of stone-gray and orange patterns embroidered against a charcoal woven polyester ground. At least the patterns are somewhat organized, following a “downhill” direction with the stone-hued shapes organized in diagonal rows that alternate between three-ringed circles and ornate squares set against four compass-like points. Every three “rows” of stone stripes are separated by a diagonal row of orange-embroidered shapes that appear to be horseshoes with a horse head emerging through the center.

Loren Visser tops his look with a natural straw cowboy hat, detailed with three open-woven rows toward the top of the tall, cattleman’s-style crown that would bring welcome ventilation to keep the top of Loren’s dome cool. A slim band of mixed brown and beige thread surrounds the base of the crown, tied around the left side. The brim is reinforced with tan stitching around the edges, including around the upturned sides.

Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) pitches Loren Visser a potentially uncomfortable job.
Loren: “Well, if the pay’s right and it’s legal, I’ll do it.”
Marty: “It’s not strictly legal.”
Loren: “…If the pay’s right, I’ll do it.”

Though the Texan detective may lean into some cowboy-style affectations, Loren Visser isn’t one for boots, instead exclusively wearing a pair of two-tone apron-toe loafers with beige thin-ribbed socks.

These slip-on shoes are constructed from a black exotic textured leather upper, with a smooth but supple napped light brown “apron” sewn over the vamps. A black leather strap bridges the top of each vamp, detailed with a gold square bit.

Loren dresses his right hand with a large statement ring comprised of two irregularly sized turquoise stones set on a wide sterling silver ring. (He almost always wears this on his right hand, though we do briefly see it on the same finger of his left hand when he’s watching Abby in the bar prior to the finale in her apartment.)

Though it’s also been mined in Egypt and Iran, turquoise has long been associated by Americans with the southwest region of the United States, particularly its indigenous populations. Loren Visser’s turquoise ring works with his cowboy hat—and even, to some extent, his leisure suit—to complete his idealized self-image as a quasi-cowboy private eye.

Loren wears a steel watch with a round black dial fastened to his left wrist on what looks like a dark olive nylon strap with a black stripe through the center.

For the finale, Loren slips on gloves… though no sinister black leather for this assassin! Instead, he dons a pair of pale yellow knitted cotton three-point gloves with navy elasticized ribbing over the wrists.

Using gloves probably saved the Coens a bundle in visual effects when the time came for Abby to plunge Ray’s knife into Loren’s right hand.

The Guns

From Abby’s purse, Loren retrieves an old-fashioned top-break revolver that IMFDB has identified as an Iver Johnson, likely one of the “Safety Automatic” models that the Massachusetts-based manufacturer introduced before the turn of the 20th century. Despite unarguably being a revolver and not a semi-automatic pistol, the Safety Automatic nomenclature refers to the automatic ejection of cartridges upon opening the break-top mechanism.

The year after Iver Johnson debuted the Safety Automatic in 1894, the Safety Automatic Hammerless was developed with no external hammer that could snag on clothing. Both models were continuously produced until 1941 as Iver Johnson halted production of its increasingly outdated revolvers and single-barrel shotguns leading up to American entry into World War II. By then, Iver Johnson revolvers had earned infamy in the hands of political assassins like Leon Czolgosz, who used a .32-caliber Safety Automatic when he shot President McKinley in 1901.

Iver Johnson offered the Safety Automatic in .22, .32, and .38 calibers throughout its production timeline. Abby mentions that her husband gave her “a little pearl-handled .38”, though the nickeled barrel is etched “.32 S&W CTG” and the box of Winchester ammunition she uses to load it clearly reads “.32 Smith & Wesson”… though the label also clearly states that this is blank ammunition rather than the lethal rounds they’re depicted as on screen.

Having wiped his prints from the weapon, Loren places Abby’s pearl-handled revolver on the floor by his feet.

Loren leaves Abby’s revolver at a crime scene, where its eventually recovered by Ray (John Getz) and returned to Abby, who uses it to defend herself during the finale when Loren conducts battle with a pair of his own firearms: first, a barely seen bolt-action rifle used to snipe Ray from across the rooftops before he pulls his own Smith & Wesson Model 39 pistol and uses it to fire through the bathroom wall at Abby.

After a century of success with revolvers, Smith & Wesson expanded into the increasingly competitive realm of semi-automatic pistols in response to the U.S. Army’s service pistol trials of the early 1950s. It wasn’t the venerated manufacturer’s first go at a semi-automatic, as the more compact Model 1913 had made a minor splash earlier in the century with its proprietary .35 S&W ammunition and was one of the few pistols authorized for federal agents to carry during the early years of the FBI.

Following World War II, the Pentagon’s top brass was impressed with the double-action system of the Walther P38 pistol fielded by the Germans and tasked American manufacturers with developing double-action pistols that could replace or supplement the M1911A1 service pistol. Though none would eventually enter widespread service following the 1954 trials, the Model 39 pistol developed by Smith & Wesson became the first mass-produced double-action pistol designed and manufactured in the United States when it was introduced to the market in 1955. Like the P38 and the Luger, the Model 39’s eight-round magazine carried 9x19mm Parabellum ammunition.

After firing a full magazine of eight rounds through the wall, Loren drops his empty Smith & Wesson Model 39 next to those snappy two-tone shoes and his fallen straw hat.

Aluminum-framed with a blued carbon steel slide and walnut grips, the Smith & Wesson Model 39 took styling, safety, and operational cues from the Browning Hi-Power and 1911 but created a new class of pistol on its own. Smith & Wesson used the Model 39 as a base for future variants, including the rare Model 52 target pistol in .38 Special and the steel-framed, double-stacked Model 59 that would be the basis for Smith & Wesson’s increasingly popular second- and third-generation semi-automatic pistols.

How to Get the Look

M. Emmet Walsh as Loren Visser in Blood Simple (1984)

The Coen brothers established their trademark of idiosyncratic characters and villains right from the start, with Blood Simple starring M. Emmet Walsh sweating through a bright yellow polyester leisure suit, straw cowboy hat, chunky turquoise ring, and two-tone loafers. If you’re really striving to crib this look, either make update the fit and the style of suit… or save it for an esoteric Halloween costume!

• Yellow slubby textured-stripe polyester leisure suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with shirt-style collar, four patch pockets, single-button vertical-tab cuffs, Western-style pointed back yoke, and double side vents
  • Flat front low-rise trousers with beltless waistband, slanted front pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Ecru cotton shirt with button-down collar, front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs
• Charcoal woven polyester tie with alternating stone-gray and orange circle and square motif
• Black exotic textured leather apron-toe square-bit loafers with napped brown leather apron-style vamps
• Beige thin-ribbed socks
• Natural straw cowboy hat with tall, ventilated cattleman-style crown and brown-and-beige threaded band
• Two-piece turquoise silver ring
• Steel wristwatch with round black dial on olive-and-black striped strap
• Pale yellow knitted cotton three-point gloves with navy elasticized wrists

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

You give me a call whenever you want to cut off my head.

The post Blood Simple: M. Emmet Walsh’s Yellow Leisure Suit appeared first on BAMF Style.

Steve McQueen in The Honeymoon Machine (1961)

Vitals

Steve McQueen as LT Ferguson “Fergie” Howard, enterprising U.S. Navy officer

Venice, Summer 1961

Film: The Honeymoon Machine
Release Date: August 23, 1961
Director: Richard Thorpe
Costume Designer: Helen Rose

Background

To commemorate Steve McQueen’s birthday 91 years ago today, let’s take a look at how the King of Cool incorporated some of his personal style into one of his earliest—and least popular—movies.

Based on Lorenzo Semple Jr.’s 1959 play The Golden Fleecing, The Honeymoon Machine belongs to that unique sub-genre of ’60s farce that made light of Cold War paranoia and seemed to end up with everyone throwing punches (executed suitably in The Glass Bottom Boat, poorly in the 1967 Casino Royale.)

The role of the mischievously ambitious, Nietzsche-quoting naval lieutenant Fergie Howard was originally intended for Cary Grant, however the middle-aged actor was nearing his retirement and turned the job down. Rather than casting another screen vet of Grant’s age and standing, the production went in the opposite direction and brought on Steve McQueen for what would be his third top-billed movie after The Blob (1958) and The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959).

The Honeymoon Machine turned a profit but McQueen considered it a dark mark on his career, reportedly walking out of the first public screening and vowing never to work for MGM again. Don’t worry, Steve… The Great Escape is only two years away!

What’d He Wear?

“We can’t get into the casino in Navy uniform, it’s off-limits,” Fergie comments before teaming up with civilian scientist Jason Eldridge (Jim Hutton) and fellow officer Beau Gilliam (Jack Mullaney) to execute their plan that uses a secret computing system to engineer their own luck at the roulette table. For Fergie and Beau, the plan requires changing into civvies. Both men would end up in suits by that evening, but Fergie takes a more casual approach to his off-duty daytime wear, peeling off his summer whites and pulling on a comfortable powder blue sweater just in time for the ingenue admiral’s daughter Julie Fitch (Brigid Bazlen) to surprise the conniving trio in their suite.

An interloper threatens to ruin a potentially profitable boys’ night out.

Not yet at the levels of superstardom that would allow him to bend his screen costumes to meet his off-screen wardrobe, McQueen still incorporates some elements of his personal style preferences into Fergie’s attire, particularly the soft V-neck sweater that resembles one his photographer pal William Claxton would shoot him wearing several years later during production of Baby, the Rain Must Fall in Texas.

Taken in Texas in 1963, Clax’s black-and-white photo means we can’t discern the light-hued sweater’s color, but it illustrates that the V-neck pullover sweater had just as much a place in the King of Cool’s wardrobe as the famous shawl-collar cardigans he was also known to wear. The casual Bedford cords, once-white sneakers, and Persol sunglasses add a distinctively McQueen touch.

The powder blue sweater from The Honeymoon Machine looks to be made from a soft wool, likely cashmere. As McQueen wears it comfortably sans undershirt (which curiously also does with his uniform tunic), there may even be some manmade fiber blended into the sweater’s construction that would keep it from being too itchy; indeed, acrylic had been a popular alternative to cashmere for nearly two decades at the time of the production, and a well-traveled naval officer would no doubt appreciate acrylic’s washability and defiance to moths… though this fear is more outwardly expressed by the LTJG Gilliam with his multi-mothball suits.

McQueen’s pullover sweater has long set-in sleeves with ribbed ends that he folds back once at each cuff. The narrowly ribbed V-neck dips just low enough that he can effectively wear it without an undershirt without breaking decorum, while still suggesting a more liberated attitude than his suit-and-tie comrades.

This timeless sweater style is still considerably available to find 60 years later, offered among the wares at Bloomingdale’s, Brooks Brothers, Cashmere Heartland, Gobi, Lona Scott, and State Cashmere, among others, as well as affordable cotton alternatives from Amazon Essentials for those whose budget, skin sensitivity, or general preference would exclude cashmere.

Dark gray wool trousers provide a neutral, grounded bottom half against McQueen’s light sweater. These flat front trousers have gently slanted side pockets, button-through back pockets (with a button through the back right), and plain-hemmed bottoms. McQueen holds them up with a plain black leather belt with a silver-toned single-prong buckle.

A tale of two civvies: Beau deconstructed in his mothballed suit, Fergie slipping into a sweater and slacks.

McQueen’s ribbed socks may be a shade darker than his gray slacks, but they otherwise provide near-perfect continuity of the leg line into his penny loafers. Maine-based manufacturer G.H. Bass popularized this style of footwear when it launched the “Weejun” shoe in the mid-1930s, becoming an Ivy staple over the decades to follow. The legend that prep students kept a penny in the diamond-cutout saddle slot gave rise to the term “penny loafer” that many contemporary shoemakers use to market their loafers to this day, including Bass itself with their Bradford model. (Aspiring kings of cool may also look to Bass’ Larson or Whitney weejuns to complete their Ferg-alicious look.)

McQueen wears oxblood leather penny loafers that coordinate and complement—rather than outright matching—his black leather belt, a variation on the “rule” suggesting gents should match their belt and shoe leather. Of course, the casual nature of his outfit—presumably donned primarily to lounge around his hotel suite—would override any strict sartorial expectations, as may the fact that McQueen’s untucked sweater would cover his belt… when he’s not being acrobatically pushed over the room’s furniture, of course.

The shoemaker may be discerned from the bottoms of the hard tan leather soles, though the shoes’ profile and the signature “beef roll” stitching on each side of the saddle straps suggests that McQueen may indeed be wearing genuine Bass Weejuns.

Note LT Howard’s discarded Service Dress White uniform tunic on the bed as he slips into his loafers for the day.

Before he’d strap on iconic timepieces like the Rolex Submariner or the Le Mans-era Heuer Monaco, McQueen wears a stainless steel wristwatch in The Honeymoon Machine, detailed with a white dial (with silver sub-registers at the 9:00 and 3:00 positions) and worn on a unique bracelet that appears to be accented with gold-finished inlays.

Famously a southpaw, McQueen wears his watch on his right wrist, balanced by a wide-surfaced silver signet ring on the third finger of his left hand that may be personalized with an engraved monogram.

Fergie makes a date with Julie.

What to Imbibe

Upon arriving in Venice, Fergie makes an expensive order from room service, requesting “two bottles of Scotch, two bourbon, two vodka, one gin, one vermouth, one cognac.”

Evidently, champagne would also be delivered as he mixes up “a mild concoction of brandy, vodka, and champagne” to toast with Julie at the start of their date that evening, though the intimacy devolves into chaos once their scheme—and liquor collection—envelops more and more people, including the clueless signalman Burford Taylor (Jack Weston).

Fergie, Julie, and the newly engaged Jason and Pam (Paula Prentiss) are joined by the bourbon-swilling Signalman Taylor. Fergie appears to have switched to straight gin on the rocks.

How to Get the Look

This contemporary poster for The Honeymoon Machine depicts Steve McQueen in the white sneakers he wore for the promotional photos rather than the Weejuns seen on screen.

Before changing into his suit for the evening to match his partners-in-crime, Steve McQueen looks characteristically cool, casual, and comfortable in his simple spring-friendly outfit of a powder-blue pullover sweater, gray slacks, and penny loafers.

• Powder-blue cashmere long-sleeve V-neck sweater
• Dark gray wool flat front trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather belt with silver single-prong buckle
• Oxblood leather penny loafers
• Dark gray ribbed socks
• Silver monogrammed signet ring
• Steel watch with white dial (with two silver sub-dials) on gold-inlaid steel bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

You know, there was once a great philosopher named Nietzsche who said “live dangerously, it’s the only time you live at all.”

The post The Honeymoon Machine: Steve McQueen’s Blue Sweater appeared first on BAMF Style.

James Caan as Frank in Thief (1981)

Vitals

James Caan as Frank, professional jewel thief

Chicago, Spring 1980

Film: Thief
Release Date: March 27, 1981
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Supervisor: Jodie Lynn Tillen

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Considered by many to be one of the director’s best movies, Michal Mann’s debut Thief was released in theaters 40 years ago today. Thief established many of what would become Mann trademarks, from its “principled” yet ruthless professional character who expertly handles a .45 to the setting city elevated to a secondary character itself, particularly its less glamorous underbelly as photographed at night. (Originally titled Violent Streets, even the one-word title would become a Mann signature as evidenced by his future features Ali, Blackhat, Collateral, Heat, and Manhunter.)

Mann adapted the 1975 novel The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar by real-life thief John Seybold (writing as “Frank Hohimer”) for his screen debut, retaining the first name of Seybold’s nom de plume for the taciturn thief that would be memorably played by James Caan, who celebrated his 81st birthday yesterday.

After Frank gets stiffed following a big heist, he requests a meeting to demand his cut… leading to a “business” opportunity with Leo, a dangerous yet deceptively avuncular Chicago Outfit boss played by Robert Prosky in his first credit screen role. The meeting may be professionally fortuitous for Frank, but it dents his personal life by making him late for a date with Jessie (Tuesday Weld), the attractive waitress at his favorite diner. The two make amends over late night coffee, during which Frank opens himself up to her by sharing a story of how his mental attitude helped him survive eleven years in prison, resisting brutal inmates and guards while adopting a sense of pragmatic nihilism:

So you know what happens? Nothing. Nothing happens. ’cause I don’t mean nothing to myself. I don’t care about me. I don’t care about nothing. And I know from that day that I survive, because I achieved that mental attitude…

Caan’s acclaimed monologue is considered a high point in Thief, and the actor has stated that he found this particular scene to be a shining moment in his career.

What’d He Wear?

When you think of a leather jacket, what comes to mind? A classic brown goatskin flight jacket or maybe a weathered black horsehide motorcycle jacket… what, no gray?

James Caan’s wardrobe as Frank boasts not one but two gray leather jackets, one a trendy blouson and the other a longer belted coat. Today’s post focuses on the former after the response to my last post about Frank’s black flight jacket signaled there would be continued interest in learning about his style.

Frank generally wears timeless clothing, though this dark gray leather blouson may be his most significant concession to trending fashions of the early ’80s. The hip-length jacket has a convertible standing collar with a button to fasten at the top that can be flattened into narrow but widely notched lapels, finished along the edges with sporty welted stitching. Three low-slung buttons are positioned below the right lapel and the straight-hemmed bottom of the jacket.

Not that the famously square-shouldered Caan needs the boost, but the shoulders are padded with shirring along the seams at the top of each raglan sleeve. The sleeves are finished at the wrists with swelled-edge, squared cuffs that close through two buttons, though Frank typically wears these cuffs undone. A slanted opening is cut into each side for Frank’s hand pockets, and the two set-in chest pockets each have a horizontally positioned brass zipper to close.

I wear $150 slacks! I wear silk shirts! I wear $800 suits! I wear a gold watch, and I wear a perfect D, flawless, 3-carat ring! I change cars like other guys change their fuckin’ shoes! I’m a thief, I been in prison, alright?

Frank uses his expensive wardrobe to justify the complexities of his work. Though his leather jacket and jeans wouldn’t qualify into the $800 suit or $150 trouser categories, the sheen and soft folds of his garnet long-sleeved shirt back up his stated preference for silken cloths. The shirt has a point collar, though Frank keeps the top two buttons of the plain “French placket” front undone, wearing the shirt open over the neck and upper chest. Unlike the jacket, Frank wears the shirt’s barrel cuffs buttoned.

Frank knows the key to a woman’s heart is to show her your Willie Nelson-anchored vision board.

Despite their reputation for quality, “I wear Levi’s jeans!” wouldn’t have been much of a boast if Frank was truly to prove how much he could afford to spend on clothing as a new pair of 501s could be purchased for around ten bucks at the time. Frank wears his blue denim Levi’s sans belt.

Under the surveilling eyes of local law enforcement, Frank and Leo cement their unholy alliance.

Frank wears tan nubuck leather work boots with heavy lugged soles and five or six derby-style eyelets for the flat beige laces.

And now that “perfect D, flawless, 3-carat ring,” which he later specifies is “3.2-carat emerald cut.” An experienced jewel thief, Frank would have exactly the ring he wants, wearing this shiner mounted in a gold pinky ring worn on his left hand. Let’s break down Frank’s ring using the “four Cs”, a system I for which I had to familiarize myself with while shopping for engagement rings last summer!

• Color: The “perfect D” refers to color and, indeed, D is said to be the highest grade of colorless diamonds on a 23-grade scale.
• Cut: Frank doesn’t give us any specific guidance regarding the correctness of the cut (“cut” does not refer to shape, so his “emerald-cut” description doesn’t apply here), but we can imagine that he would prefer an SI (Super Ideal) cut.
• Clarity: Frank twice calls his ring “flawless” which, rather than just being a superfluous description, refers to the clarity on a scale of 11 ratings that ranges from FL (Flawless) at the top end to I (Included) at the low range. To be considered “flawless”, a diamond must appear perfect with no internal flaws or blemishes at 10x magnification.
• Carat: Frank specifies that he wears a 3.2 carat diamond, referring specifically to the weight. It doesn’t refer specifically to size, though it’s reasonable to expect that a 3.2-carat diamond would fall around 9.5×7.5mm for an emerald cut (according to brilliance.com).

Taking just the color, cut, and clarity into consideration, a diamond like this would start at around $10,000 today, a dollar amount that you could realistically expect to be more than tripled for the 3.2-carat size. When I entered Frank’s specifications into a calculator at Washington Diamond, the final total was more than $154,000!

Frank’s yellow gold watch hasn’t been conclusively identified (at least not by any sources I’ve seen), though we see some details in the coffee shop with Jessie when he flashes its flat squared case and the white square dial with black Roman numeral hour markers.

Any thoughts on Frank’s watch?

The nighttime-set opening scene shows Frank leaving the scene of a heist, pulling an almost identical gray leather jacket from the back of his Cadillac and pulling it on over a bright blue cotton raglan-sleeved sweatshirt tucked into his blue Lee jeans. We can tell these are Lees and not Levi’s because of the “Lee”-printed tan leather patch on the back right of the belt line as well as the smaller black branded patch—with “Lee” embroidered in yellow—along the top of the back right pocket.

Though the jacket is only briefly seen worn with this outfit, the promotional photo of Caan wearing it over his blue sweatshirt while leaning against a pillar supporting an L-train on the darkened streets of Chicago has become an enduring image from Thief, even used at the top of this page! (Note the slight differences between that jacket and the one worn in the diner; this earlier-seen jacket has a leather band across the jacket’s center while the diner-worn jacket lacks this band and has zip-closed chest pockets.)

The bold color of Frank’s blue sweatshirt portends the iconic pastels that costume designer Jodie Lynn Tillen would make famous in her next collaboration with Michael Mann, dressing Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas across the first season of Miami Vice.

The Gun

Like all criminal pros in the MCU (Mann Cinematic Universe), Frank relies on the stopping power of the .45 ACP cartridge for his primary sidearm. Depending on the work ahead of him, Frank cycles through a pair of 1911-style semi-automatic pistols. A “longslide” Colt Government 1911 customized by Jim Hoag for the production gets pressed into action for heavier-duty work like infiltrating Leo’s home, while everyday carry calls for the slightly smaller Colt Combat Commander, chrome-finished and—according to IMFDB—customized with an adjustable Bo-Mar rear sight and skeletonized hammer.

The pistol is most clearly seen when Frank pulls it from his jeans to intimidate a bar bouncer (William Peterson, making his screen debut). While not as sizable as a full, 5″-barreled 1911 service pistol, Colt’s downsized Commander variant is still a substantial and heavy pistol for concealed carry, particularly when slung in the waistband of Frank’s jeans rather than in a holster.

Frank keeps his 1911 “cocked and locked” with the hammer cocked and thumb safety engaged, known as “condition one” to firearms experts and the recommended readiness condition for those who carry it as it can be quickly engaged for combat while still requiring two safeties to be disengaged before firing. From a safety perspective, I’m still not wild about Frank foregoing a holster, but he seems to know what he’s doing…

Colt developed the Commander after World War II, in response to the U.S. military’s request for lighter alternative to the M1911A1 that could be issued to officers. The government stipulated that this new pistol should weigh no more than 25 ounces and measure less than seven inches long; for reference, the standard, 8.5″-long M1911A1 weighed 39 ounces. To account for the downsizing, the government stipulated that the pistol be 9×19 mm Parabellum rather than .45 ACP.

Colt modified John Browning’s original 1911 design to address these parameters, using an aluminum alloy frame and shortening the barrel length to 4.25 inches to lessen the weight to 27 ounces. This was evidently close enough, as the design was approved over competition from Fabrique Nationale, Inglis, and Smith & Wesson. The Colt Commander went into government and civilian production in 1950 as the first mass-produced semi-automatic pistol to have an alloy frame as well as Colt’s first 9mm handgun, though variants were offered in the high-pressure .38 Super and powerful .45 ACP from the outset. As the Commander grew steadily more popular, Colt refreshed the weapon in 1970 with an all-steel frame that offered the shooting experience of a full-size 1911 in a Commander-size package. This new model was designated the Colt Combat Commander while the lighter, alloy-framed pistol was renamed the Colt Lightweight Commander.

Despite these lighter options available, Frank still chooses the heavier steel-framed Combat Commander in .45 ACP for his daily carry, only three ounces lighter than a full-size 1911. Dick Williams explains why serious shooters may still opt for the heavier model in his 2018 history of the Commander model for Shooting Illustrated: “Shooting a lighter 1911 with a shorter slide does pose some problems, particularly for relatively inexperienced shooters. For example, when shooting the .45 ACP original lightweight Commander after firing a full-size, all-steel 1911, the 3⁄4-inch shorter slide and 9 ounce lighter gun can’t help but make you notice the increase in felt recoil, even for an experienced shooter.”

How to Get the Look

James Caan as Frank in Thief (1981)

Frank may brag about his ability to spend hundreds of dollars on his suits, slacks, and shirts, but he can also dress fashionably on a budget, wearing a unique gray leather blouson detailed consistent with ’80s trends as well as his function-informed Levi’s jeans and work boots… though the silky wine-colored shirt, gold watch, and diamond pinky ring arguably increase the net value of his ensemble.

• Dark gray leather blouson jacket with convertible notch lapels, low 3-button front, raglan sleeves with two-button cuffs, straight-zip chest pockets, and slanted hand pockets
• Garnet-colored silk long-sleeve shirt with point collar, plain front, and button cuffs
• Medium-dark blue denim Levi’s jeans
• Tan nubuck leather derby-laced work boots
• Gold pinky ring with emerald-cut diamond
• Gold watch with white square dial on gold expanding bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

I am a straight arrow, I’m a true blue kind of a guy. I been cool. I am now unmarried, so let’s cut the mini-moves and the bullshit and get on with this big romance!

The post James Caan in Thief: Frank’s ’80s Gray Leather Blousons appeared first on BAMF Style.

Warren Beatty as Joe Frady in The Parallax View (1974)

Vitals

Warren Beatty as Joe Frady, maverick political reporter

Rural Washington state, Spring 1974

Film: The Parallax View
Release Date: June 14, 1974
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Costume Designer: Frank L. Thompson

Background

Happy birthday to Warren Beatty, born 84 years ago today on March 30, 1937. A rising star through the ’60s, Beatty established himself as a forced to be reckoned with when he spearheaded production of Bonnie & Clyde in 1967, not only starring in but producing the acclaimed gangster film. Following his innovative success with Bonnie & Clyde, Beatty slowed down his career to only occasional movies, frequently going several years without acting while putting much of his energy into political activism and—more notoriously—dating his way through many of Hollywood’s hottest before marrying Annette Bening after the two co-starred in Bugsy.

One of Beatty’s most notable post-Bonnie & Clyde films was The Parallax View, the second in a trio of Alan J. Pakula’s paranoid political thrillers of the ’70s. Appropriately released on Flag Day in 1974, The Parallax View begins with the assassination of an ambitious independent senator during a fourth of July celebration which, like the JFK assassination, was officially ruled the work of a lone assassin.

Cut to three years later, and journalist Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss) shows up at the motel bungalow being rented by her ex, renegade reporter Joe Frady (Warren Beatty). In tears, Lee fears she will be the next to be killed after six other witnesses to Senator Carroll’s assassination have died in mysterious circumstances, but her conspiracy theories are initially dismissed by Frady, who rationalizes that “people were crazy for any kind of explanation then… every time you turned around, some nut was knockin’ off one of the best men in the country!”

Indeed, Lee soon turns up dead, chalked up to suicide due to the alcohol and barbiturates in her system, but Joe—following her desperate visit to his home—knows her death unfortunately validates her suspicions. He follows her tips to the small Skagit River town of Salmon Tail where he instantly draws the ire of a few locals when The Fact That He Looks Like Warren Beatty grabs the eye of a few cocktail waitresses in a dive bar. One of the resentful bullies, Red (Earl Hindeman, aka Wilson from Home Improvement), staggers over and needles Joe into a fracas that only serves to embarrass Red and illustrate how well Joe can handle himself.

“You got some interesting ideas about law enforcement,” Joe suggests to Sheriff L.D. Wicker (Kelly Thordson), who invites him to sit with him after sharing that Red is not only his nephew but also his deputy. Joe bends the gregarious sheriff’s ear long into the night over some bourbon, but pays for his candidness the next day when the sheriff gives credence to Lee’s conspiracy theory by revealing his role in the secretive Parallax Corporation. Joe overpowers the murderous sheriff, leading to a brief tonal shift from Three Days of the Condor to The Dukes of Hazzard as Joe takes off in the now-dead sheriff’s mud-spattered squad car (and cowboy hat) as he eludes Red following a high-speed, high-flying chase.

What’d He Wear?

Joe Frady generally wears the same ivory off-white shirts throughout The Parallax View, detailed with long-pointed collars, front plackets, stacked two-button cuffs, and straight hems with side vents that could be effectively worn untucked, though Joe almost always keeps his shirts tucked in.

For his journey up the country to Sheriff Wicker’s domain, Joe inverts his usual outfit of brown trucker jacket and distressed jeans by wearing a classic blue denim “jean jacket” with light brown chinos.

Joe wisely avoids excessive matching by leaving his usual jeans at home in favor of pairing his denim jacket with a pair of dressier chinos.

Joe’s medium-blue washed denim jacket is a Levi’s 557XX, known among collectors as the “Type III” jacket. This iteration of the venerated Levi’s denim work jacket was introduced in 1962 and remains the current standard for this San Francisco-based outfitter, having influenced scores of others in the decades since its debut.

The signature difference between the Type III and the earlier, ’50s-model “Type II” are the lack of knife pleats flanking the placket and the higher-placed chest pockets, rigged with the top of each pointed flap flush against the horizontal chest yoke (which would make way for the addition of lower-placed hand pockets in the ’80s.) Tapering seams extend down from under the flap over each pocket down to the waist, and the signature Levi’s copper rivet buttons are present on the six-button front placket, pocket flaps, squared cuffs, and waist-tab adjusters.

Even if Joe’s jacket didn’t have all the hallmarks of a classic Levi’s trucker, that telltale branded “red tab” attached to the inside of the left pocket flap immediately confirms it… though we don’t get close enough to see if the tab is embroidered with the “big E” that would age it as a pre-1971 model per Mads Jakobsen’s comprehensive guide for Heddels.

The color of Joe’s jacket aligns closely with what Levi’s currently markets as “light stonewash” denim, available via Amazon and Levi’s, though you could also scour eBay for a Parallax-era vintage.

The khaki cotton chinos are another workwear classic, dating back to Spanish military trousers of the 19th century known as “pantalones chinos” in reference to the Chinese-sourced cotton twill used to make them. The American military embraced the light-wearing but durable cloth around the time they fought the Spanish in 1898, setting chino trousers on the same path of civilian assimilation traversed by cardigans, field jackets, and pea coats. Joe wears his light brown flat-front, straight-leg chinos without a belt, despite the belt loops.

Joe laces on a pair of dark brown leather ankle boots, worn with dark socks.

The Parallax View presents a more realistic depiction of a messy barfight, with Joe reeling in pain from a punch against the burly (but blotto) deputy Red.

After Sheriff Wicker drowns during a struggle with Frady filmed in Washington state’s Gorge Dam, the reporter dons the duplicitous sheriff’s fawn-colored felt hat to commandeer his departmental Plymouth Satellite. The wide-brimmed topper can’t hide Frady’s identity when he’s spotted by Deputy Red, and we’re treated to a pre-Dukes of Hazzard car chase as the two Plymouth squad cars splash through the muddy side roads with their sirens blaring.

Don’t get distracted, Joe… it ain’t them Duke boys knockin’ off politicians left and right!

What to Imbibe

Gail (Doria Cook-Nelson) the cocktail waitress sidles up to Joe, offering to serve him: “What can I fix you? How about a martini? You know what they say about martinis? They say that a martini is like a woman’s breast; one ain’t enough, and three is too many.” After a beat, Joe somberly responds, “That’s an amazing joke, Gail,” before ordering a simple glass of milk.

To the victor belong the spoils… as long as it’s not spoiled milk.

Warren Beatty as Joe Frady in The Parallax View (1974)

How to Get the Look

Already an unorthodox maverick in his profession, Joe Frady blends timeless staples for a unique and versatile dressed-down look that helps him fit in more easily in this small Pacific Northwest town than the expected suit-and-tie uniform of many political journalists.

• Blue denim Levi’s 557XX “Type III” trucker jacket with six-button front, chest pockets with single-button pointed flaps, single-button squared cuffs, and button-tab waist adjusters
• Ivory shirt with long-pointed collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Khaki chino cotton flat front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark brown leather lace-up ankle boots

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, one of the latest additions to the Criterion Collection.

The Quote

Don’t touch me unless you love me.

The post Warren Beatty’s Blue Levi’s Jacket in The Parallax View appeared first on BAMF Style.

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 2.11: “House Arrest”)

Vitals

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob boss

New Jersey, Spring 2000

Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “House Arrest” (Episode 2.11)
Air Date: March 26, 2000
Director: Tim Van Patten
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa

Background

It’s been almost six months since we last checked in on some of James Gandolfini’s costumes as the powerful mob boss at the center of The Sopranos. Considering that the 2021 Masters Tournament begins one week from today, which also happens to be the day Wallace Beery was born in 1885, I think the time is right to look at how Tony Soprano dresses for hobnobbing on the green during the Garden State Carting Association’s 13th Annual Couples Invitational Golf Classic!

“House Arrest” may be an aptly titled episode for the self-imposed quarantine that many have been under for more than a year now thanks to the novel coronavirus. While Tony’s Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) has to literally deal with his court-imposed house arrest, Tony himself faces a unique sort of isolation. Following the advice of his attorney during the aftermath of the Matthew Bevilaqua hit, Tony aligns his activities more closely with the legitimate side of his business and his “no-show” job at Barone Sanitation, seeing—to his chagrin—much more of his real family than his Mafia family.

Less mob fraternization also means more Ameri-gan events like “the garbageman’s ball, whatever the fuck it is,” the sort of banal WASPy shindig where Tony finds himself bored to tears listening to fellow sanitation professionals jawing about filing paperwork in triplicate, underscored by inoffensive ’70s jams like “Disco Inferno” and “More Than a Feeling”.

Of course, where Tony Soprano goes, mob drama follows, now in the form of his sister Janice (Aida Turturro)—reinvented in argyle—and her newly betrothed, Richie Aprile (David Proval). The one-two punch of Janice—er, “Jan”—and Richie leads to another panic attack for the Skip after he’s forced to confront the wide-eyed ex-con about his scheme selling cocaine along Barone’s garbage routes with Junior’s blessing. He tries to quell the stressful episode by downing some of his dram of scotch but, as any medical professional will tell you, this does not help.

What’d He Wear?

“You shoulda seen him in the golf outfit, he looked like Wallace Beery,” Richie later jokes to Junior, not that Richie is exactly a fashion icon himself in his Members Only jackets and banded-hem polo shirts.

For those less familiar with 90-year-old cinema, Wallace Beery was a burly actor in the early years of Hollywood, making his debut in short silent films in 1913. Despite his misanthropic reputation (and possible involvement in the mysterious death of comedian Ted Healy), Beery was one of the most bankable stars of the ’30s, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Champ (1931).

“House Arrest” finds Tony playing a different type of character, albeit begrudgingly, as he forces himself to embrace the more Ameri-gan aspects of suburban life to distance himself from the growing investigation into the Jersey mob as well as his own role in the murder of Matthew Bevilacqua. In this context, it makes sense that he wouldn’t be wearing one his unique Burma Bibas prints or retro-inspired Nat Nast bowling shirts, instead dressing like the quintessential suburban dad in his ill-fitting polo with a printed motif perhaps a little too on par for these surroundings.

You can almost hear the conversation in Meadow’s bedroom in the days leading up to Father’s Day, as Carmela asks what gift she picked out for her dad. After ten minutes of strained conversation, Meadow would have hitched a ride to the mall—Carmela’s credit card tucked away in her purse—to find a shirt from Macy’s. “I don’t know, he likes golf… how about this shirt with golf clubs on it?”

The indigo blue shirt has double sets of thin periwinkle stripes that arrange the shirt in a series of strips each detailed with a repeating beige print of crossed golf clubs and a small white dot, likely representing a golf ball. The shirt is oversized even for the larger-framed James Gandolfini, with the tops of each short sleeve falling off the shoulders as the ends envelop his elbows. There are three white plastic pearl-effect buttons, though he only wears the lowest button fastened, leaving the solid indigo collar flayed out at the top.

I checked in with my pal Gabe who manages and curates the incredible @tonysopranostyle account on Instagram, and he suggests this shirt may be have been made by either Bobby Jones or Como Sport.

While I’ll admit that James Gandolfini may have a passing resemblance to Wallace Beery, I’m not quite sure the effect is enhanced by Tony Soprano’s golf shirt.

Though the golf shirt may be making its one and only appearance, Tony’s triple-pleated khakis are a staple of his wardrobe, coinciding both with the fashion trends of the pleat-happy ’90s as well as the practicality of pleats providing more comfort for larger men. These slacks have three reverse-facing pleats on each side, the most dramatic in the forward position, vertically aligned with the first belt loops on each side of the fly, followed by two shorter pleats and then a jetted side pockets, positioned on a slant to be parallel with the pleats and thus not aligned with the side seams. The back pockets are also jetted, and the bottoms are finished with turn-ups (cuffs).

Tony tended to wear Zanella trousers, though I also have a pair of Cerruti suit trousers that are similarly styled with the triple pleats and jetted—rather than on-seam—side pockets. Tony wears a dark brown leather belt with a brushed silver-toned single-prong buckle.

When Tony takes a tumble after yet another panic attack, we see the walnut leather shoes likely made by his favorite shoemaker, Allen Edmonds. He wears these cap-toe, five-eyelet oxfords with beige socks that effectively continue the leg line of his khaki trousers. The shoes have brown laces and dark brown outsoles with what appear to be beige rubber cleats added for better traction on the green, possibly a precursor to Allen Edmonds’ current Park Avenue Cap-Toe Oxford with Dainite Rubber Soles.

The stress of dealing with Janice and Richie while having to contain himself in this genteel setting fills Tony with more than a feeling and he collapses to the floor.

Almost all of Tony’s usual gold jewelry is here: the diamond-and-ruby bypass pinky ring, his curb-and-Figaro chain-link bracelet, his St. Jerome necklace, and his wedding ring… but no Rolex! Because of the rash that had been growing over his left arm over the last few weeks, Tony had to stop wearing his signature 18-karat yellow gold Rolex Day-Date ref. 18238 watch with the champagne dial and semi-circular “Presidential” three-piece link bracelet.

If you think this is bad, Tony, just wait until you’re trying to order hits via Zoom meetings. You’ll be begging to see Richie Aprile’s Manson lamps in person just one more time!

How to Get the Look

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 2.11: “House Arrest”)

With a few adjustments regarding fit and perhaps a more subdued shirt pattern, Tony Soprano’s golf outfit could provide a fine template for your spring day on the green without looking too much like Wallace Beery.

• Indigo blue striped short-sleeved golf shirt with three-button top and repeating “crossed clubs” motif
• Khaki triple reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, slanted jetted side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Dark brown leather belt with brushed silver-toned single-prong buckle
• Walnut brown leather cap-toe oxfords with rubber-studded soles
• Beige socks
• White ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt
• Gold curb-chain link bracelet
• Gold pinky ring with bypassing ruby and diamond stones
• Gold wedding ring
• Gold open-link chain necklace with round St. Jerome pendant

If you don’t like the look, well… consider this post an April Fool’s Day treat!

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the entire series. I also recommend following my friend @tonysopranostyle on Instagram!

The Quote

Don’t gimme your fuckin’ Manson lamps, just fuckin’ stop!

The post Tony Soprano’s Golf Club-Printed Shirt in “House Arrest” appeared first on BAMF Style.

Alec Baldwin in Miami Blues (1990)

Vitals

Alec Baldwin as Frederick J. Frenger Jr., sociopathic ex-con

Miami, Fall 1989

Film: Miami Blues
Release Date: April 20, 1990
Director: George Armitage
Costume Designer: Eugenie Bafaloukos

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

I wanted to write about some pastels leading up to Easter and stumbled upon this chaotic look from Miami Blues, an adaptation of Charles Willeford’s 1984 novel that was the first in his Hoke Moseley series. “Nobody writes a better crime novel,” Elmore Leonard had once said of Willeford, who died in March 1988, two years before the novel made it to the screen. Miami Blues was only the second cinematic adaptation of a Willeford novel, following the 1974 release of Cockfighter starring Warren Oates.

Fred Ward—who also served as executive producer—starred as Moseley while Alec Baldwin (who celebrates his 63rd birthday today) played the sociopathic Frederick J. Frenger Jr., wreaking havoc through the Magic City with a badge stolen from Moseley. Along for the ride is Susie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a sincere—if naïve—community college student who was initially hired by Junior when she was moonlighting as a prostitute before the two fell into their bizarre version of love.

What’d He Wear?

If Miami Vice illustrated how fashionable ’80s pastels could look (and, don’t worry, you’ll see plenty more of Crockett and Tubbs in upcoming posts!), Miami Blues showed us how wearing these bright colors takes a little more… finesse. (Though Paul Gleason‘s crooked vice cop could have walked straight off the Miami Vice set in his white linen double-breasted suit and yellow open-neck, fly-front shirt.)

Junior throws together an outfit of a crested blazer, OCBD, and plaid trousers that may be more conventionally styled than Don Johnson’s boxy linen suits and T-shirts, but the mishmash of colors creates a look just as delightfully chaotic as his crime spree, which culminates as he recruits Susie to be the unwitting wheelman in his pawn shop robbery.

Junior wears a bright rose pink blazer, likely made from a woven wool and polyester blend and fastened with two crested gilt buttons, each embossed with crossed golf clubs. The welted breast pocket is personalized with an embroidered crest, consisting of a gold shield-shaped border and “X”-shape that divides it into two blue and two red quadrants, each in turn detailed with a smaller gold cross. This blazer also has hip pockets with straight flaps, padded shoulders, a single vent, and three decorative buttons on each cuff that echo those on the front of the jacket. A black manufacturer’s label is stitched onto the right side of the white polyester lining.

Junior’s yellow oxford cotton shirt has a button-down collar, front placket, and breast pocket. Though he never removes the blazer, the fact that we don’t see any shirt cuffs suggests that this is likely a short-sleeved shirt, perhaps chosen to keep cool in the Miami heat as Junior would have little consideration for how his sweat would affect the inside of the jacket sleeves (especially considering the amount of his blood, sweat, and tears eventually stain the garment!)

If you’re going to wear plaid pants, at least Junior brings all the colors back together with these flat front cotton trousers patterned in a pastel-hued mint, pink, yellow, lavender, and cornflower plaid. These colorful trousers have gently slanted side pockets, jetted back pockets, plain-hemmed bottoms, and belt loops for his russet edge-stitched leather belt that closes through a gold-toned square single-prong buckle.

An unwelcome splash of red adds yet another color to Junior’s bright-hued outfit.

Junior’s outfit may evoke images of the quintessential Florida retiree, but he foregoes the white shoes celebrated in Jerry Seinfeld’s monologues for a pair of more versatile saddle tan leather loafers with beige socks.

Is planking still a thing?

Junior cycles through at least three or four pairs of sunglasses in Miami Blues, ending his adventure wearing perhaps the most iconic frames of the ’80s: the Ray-Ban Wayfarer in black acetate with green lenses.

He’s not really a cop… nor does he play one on TV.

Less prominently seen, Junior also rotates between a few wristwatches, and I believe he’s wearing here a gold tank watch on a dark leather strap rather than the all-gold watch he wears in some other scenes.

The Guns

Though there’s little that can be considered smart about his half-assed pawn shop robbery, Junior at least opts for a more easily concealed weapon than the massive Desert Eagle he burglarized from Susie’s neighbor, now packing Hoke Moseley’s Smith & Wesson Model 36 that he stole alongside the badge. Smith & Wesson debuted this popular “snub nose” .38 Special revolver with its five-shot cylinder at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convention in 1950, where it was dubbed the “Chiefs Special” following a vote though it was re-designated the Model 36 seven years later when Smith & Wesson moved to its number-based nomenclature.

Hoke’s blued Model 36 has black rubber grips, which Junior wraps with rubber bands.

Junior draws Hoke’s blued Model 36.

The robbery turns foul when the pawnbroker, Edie Wulgemuth (Shirley Stoler from The Honeymoon Killers), chops off three of Junior’s left knuckles with a machete. The pained Junior retaliates by shooting Edie, then digs into her cash drawer where he finds a second revolver, a Smith & Wesson Model 66 with wooden grips and a 4″ barrel. This .357 Magnum revolver was introduced in the early ’70s as a stainless steel variant of the Smith & Wesson Model 19.

Junior finds the shopkeeper’s unused Model 66 in her cash drawer.

With its longer barrel and a full six-round cylinder loaded with powerful .357 Magnum ammunition, the Model 66 naturally becomes Junior’s new weapon of choice as he shoots his way out of the pawn store predicament and back to the relative comforts of Susie’s bright abode.

What to Imbibe

Junior self-medicates after the loss of his knuckles by pouring himself a glass of Seagram’s dry gin, paired with pilfered prescription medications and his Merit cigarettes.

Hoke Moseley (Fred Ward), dressed in Junior’s misplaced light gray suede sports coat and armed with his own single-action Ruger .44, finally catches up to Junior.

How to Get the Look

Alec Baldwin in Miami Blues (1990)

From manners to menswear, Junior—er, Herman Gottlieb—doesn’t leave much to be desired, but he goes out with a bang dressed in Miami-friendly pastels with his crested pink blazer, yellow OCBD, and bright plaid trousers that tie it all together.

• Rose pink woven wool/polyester single-breasted blazer with 2 golf-motif gilt buttons, welted breast pocket (with gold, blue, and red embroidered crest), straight flapped patch hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and single vent
• Yellow oxford cotton short-sleeved shirt with button-down collar, front placket, and breast pocket
• Mint, pink, yellow, lavender, and cornflower plaid cotton flat front trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Russet brown edge-stitched leather belt with gold-toned square single-prong buckle
• Saddle tan leather loafers
• Beige socks
• Ray-Ban Wayfarer black acetate-framed sunglasses with green lenses
• Gold tank watch on dark leathers trap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and Charles Willeford’s novel, the first of four in the Hoke Moseley series. (The novel actually features on Miami Vice when we see Zito—played by John Diehl—reading it in the second season episode “Bought and Paid for”.)

The Quote

Susie’s gonna get you, Sarge.

The post Miami Blues: Pink Blazer and Pastel Plaid Pants appeared first on BAMF Style.

Gregory Peck as Tom Rath in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

Vitals

Gregory Peck as Tom Rath, hardworking business writer haunted by his war service

New York City and suburban Connecticut, Fall 1955

Film: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Release Date: April 12, 1956
Director: Nunnally Johnson
Wardrobe Director: Charles Le Maire

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Born 105 years ago today on April 5, 1916, Gregory Peck enjoyed one of his most celebrated—and notably tailored—performances in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Nunnally Johnson’s 1956 adaptation of the Sloan Wilson novel of the same name.

Like Peck’s earlier film Twelve O’Clock High (1949), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit explored the enduring trauma of World War II, still a relatively undiscussed subject during the postwar economic boom, a boom powered by—as the film theorizes—the soul-crushing “rat race” of the modern American corporate structure that threatened fathers’ roles in the families so touted by the era’s norms.

Sloan Wilson’s novel was an immediate hit upon its publication in 1955, breaking down the myth of the American Dream while the rest of America was being told they were living it. Nunnally Johnson wrote and directed an adaptation that was released in theaters less than 10 months after the novel first hit bookshelves. In addition to its contemporary impact on writers like Richard Yates who deconstructed the same themes in his 1962 novel Revolutionary Road, the story was a major influence on Matthew Weiner as he created Mad Men, centered around a mysterious ad man balancing his demanding job, suburban family, and wartime secrets in mid-century America.

The title has become shorthand for the quintessential cog in the corporate machine, the quietly discontented “organization man” proudly serving the interests of his company for eight hours a day, not including his two-hour commute to and from the suburbs where he puts in appearances behind the white picket fence as a stern father to his 2.3 children, swapping out his suit jacket and tie for a cardigan and martini while comfortably repressing any lasting impacts of his war service a decade earlier.

Our man in gray flannel is Tom Rath, a 33-year-old Army veteran and father of three who we meet on the same day that the Brooklyn Dodgers clinch their first World Series win. Despite his low pay as a nonprofit foundation writer, his family’s dwindling finances, and domestic concerns like his daughter’s chicken pox, Rath seems content with the honest life he shares with his wife Betsy (Jennifer Jones) and their family in suburban Connecticut. The Raths try to maintain faith in “hope and the breaks” coming their way, but the hits keep coming, from a broken washing machine to a potentially worthless family estate. When a fed-up Betsy encourages Tom to strive for success she can be proud of, he takes his fellow commuter Bill up on the chance to interview for a PR gig at a broadcasting conglomerate.

Tom: I don’t know anything about public relations.
Bill: Who does? You’ve got a clean shirt and you bathe every day. That’s all there is to it.

What’d He Wear?

Flannel: From the Welsh gwalenen, a loosely woven cloth of woolen or worsted yarns in plain or twill weave with a napped surface to conceal the weave. — Alan Flusser, Dressing the Man

“This blog post’ll be easy!” I smugly thought, sitting down to watch The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit for the first time. Of course, even a mildly successful businessman of the ’50s would have more than one suit in his closet, and by the time Tom Rath finally strolled into the UBC office wearing his gray flannel suit, I was pointing at the screen like Rick Dalton in near disbelief that the celebrated suit of Sloan Wilson’s title was finally making an appearance.

Appropriately, Tom first wears his gray flannel suit when he’s returning the UBC office to accept the job that threatens to break him into the rat race he’s been hoping to avoid. (It may be too much of a stretch, but what else is gray and fuzzy like a napped flannel suit? The skin of a rat!)

Though I haven’t yet read the novel, my understanding is that Wilson makes a more significant point of the gray flannel suit as a symbol of the homogenized workforce, though this point is briefly illustrated when Tom debuts the suit onscreen, flanked by his two similarly dressed colleagues Bill Ogden (Henry Daniell) and Gordon Walker (Arthur O’Connell) in their nearly identical gray flannel tailoring.

Alternate title: Three Men in a Gray Flannel Suit

Gregory Peck was famously a customer of Savile Row tailor H. Huntsman & Sons, beginning in the early 1950s, and I’ve read unconfirmed suggestions that it was indeed Huntsman tailors who cut Peck for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, though it’s more likely that the point of Wilson’s symbolism would have been conveyed had Tom Rath been depicted wearing the products of venerated Manhattan clothier Brooks Brothers.
Tom’s suits are detailed with signatures of American business tailoring from the era, such as single vents and soft shoulders that lack roping at the sleeveheads. The wide, padded shoulders were particularly fashionable throughout the mid-1950s, setting a foundation for the rest of the fully cut jacket to elegantly drape over the wearer’s torso. This is particularly the case for Peck, an athletically built man whose tailoring flattered his stature and also balanced his 6’3″ height with a three-button jacket shaped with darts to emphasize the shoulders and chest while pulling in at the waist. The straight hip pockets are finished with flaps, and Tom dresses the welted breast pocket with a straight-folded (or “TV-fold”) white linen or cotton pocket square.

The Raths check out their dusty new digs.

Tom Rath’s first shirt with this suit is made from plain white cotton, detailed with a front placket and rounded barrel cuffs fastened with a single button placed closer to the wrists. He secures the shirt’s soft club collar with a gold collar pin under the four-in-hand knot of his scarlet red foulard tie, which is held in place further down his torso via an askew gold tie clip.

During his commute home with Betsy, Tom looks just as ready for work as he did eight hours earlier, his collar and tie still secured and in place.

The suit’s flat front trousers have a longer rise to Peck’s natural waist line, where he holds them up with a slim dark brown leather belt that closes through a small squared brass-toned single-prong buckle. The side pockets are placed along the side seams, and there are two jetted back pockets with a button through the right. The bottoms are finished in then-fashionable turn-ups (cuffs), which break over his brown leather cap-toe derby shoes just high enough that we occasionally glimpse his dark navy socks.

Encouraged by the increased salary he’ll be receiving, Betsy drives Tom from the train station after his first day directly to his late grandmother’s mansion, one of the few assets the family inherited after her death.

After Tom cycles through a few blue and navy suits while working out his role at UBC, he dresses for the finale in this same gray flannel suit, though now having firmly decided he’s content to be a strictly a “9-to-5 fellow” that makes time for his family, not only earning the respect—but also perhaps the envy—of his powerful boss, Ralph Hopkins (Fredric March).

For this finale sequence, Tom dresses in a similarly styled cotton shirt, though the actual cloth appears to have an icy blue cast rather than plain white.

After spending so much of the movie knotted and buttoned up, there may be some significance to the fact that Tom vocally commits to a work/life balance while seemingly dressed for it, his shirt undone at the neck and tie untied.

Tom wears a striped tie, though it isn’t the three-color repp tie seen in some of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit‘s promotional photography, instead patterned in a narrow balanced “uphill” stripe that alternates between navy and periwinkle. The right hip-up-to-left shoulder stripe direction is traditionally associated with British menswear, thus this tie may reflect the real Peck’s preference for having his clothing tailored across the pond.

Once Tom dresses to retrieve Betsy from the local police station (long story!), he dresses up his tie with the usual accoutrement of gold collar pin and tie clip, though the latter is a thick silver bar affixed horizontally.

“Do you mind if I tell you…? I worship you,” Tom admits to Betsy, making amends for his admission of the son he fathered while serving in Italy a decade earlier without his knowledge. (Oh yeah, that was a whole thing too!)

Per the pre-Camelot decorum of the fabulous fifties, Tom Rath isn’t fully dressed for his commute until he dons his hat, in this case a businesslike gray felt trilby with a wide black grosgrain ribbon and the shorter brim that differentiates the trilby from the more dramatic fedora. He also wears a gold watch with a round white dial and raised lugs that fasten to the brown exotic-textured leather strap secured to his left wrist.

All’s well that end’s well.

As I mentioned, Gregory Peck actually spends the majority of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit wearing suits that are not gray flannel, though the taupe-tinted sports coat he wears for the opening scene could also argue its way into the gray flannel category. Following that, we see a beautiful array of suits along the blue spectrum, from a self-striped slate to a rich navy and a blue-gray semi-solid suit worn for the climactic conversations with Hopkins, Betsy, and his Army chum Caesar (Keenan Wynn).

I hope to give each suit more in-depth coverage at some point, but it felt most appropriate for the first discussion of this movie to zero in on Peck actually wearing a gray flannel suit. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit was also the focus of a “Celluloid Style” feature scribed by Nick Scott for The Rake.

What to Imbibe

Though The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit may be a spiritual ancestor of Mad Men, Tom Rath’s liver remains relatively intact compared to Don Draper and his hard-drinking cohorts at Sterling Cooper. Tom and Betsy unwind—and argue—over a pair of martinis, and Tom toasts to his reunion with an old Army pal by ordering a double Scotch and soda in the lobby of his office building, having earlier enjoyed a dram of Scotch on the rocks with his boss.

Tom and Betsy keep the gin and vermouth handy for a quick second round of martinis that only fuels their argument over her discontentment.

How to Get the Look

Gregory Peck as Tom Rath in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

Promotional photography for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit depicts Gregory Peck wearing a classic striped repp tie with his titular tailoring, though Tom Rath unfortunately never wears this neckwear on screen, instead cycling between a red foulard and blue narrowly striped ties knotted under his shirt’s pinned collars as he plays the quintessential mid-century Manhattan businessman.

• Gray woolen flannel tailored suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button suit jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and single vents
  • Flat front trousers with belt loops, straight/on-seam side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• White cotton shirt with pinned club collar, front placket, and 1-button rounded cuffs
  • Gold safety pin-style collar pin
• Scarlet red foulard tie or striped tie
  • Gold or silver tie bar
• Dark brown slim leather belt with squared brass-finish single-prong buckle
• Brown leather cap-toe derby shoes
• Dark navy socks
• Gray felt short-brimmed trilby with wide black grosgrain ribbon
• Gold wristwatch with round white dial on brown exotic-textured leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and read Sloan Wilson’s novel.

The Quote

You remember those 9-to-5 fellows you were talking about? I’m afraid I’m one of ’em.

The post Gregory Peck as The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit appeared first on BAMF Style.

Alexander Skarsgård and Amir Khoury in The Little Drummer Girl (2018)

Vitals

Alexander Skarsgård as Gadi Becker, taciturn Mossad agent, and
Amir Khoury as Salim Al-Khadar, aka “Michel”, Palestinian revolutionary leader

Athens to Munich, Spring 1979

Series: The Little Drummer Girl (Episodes 1-3)
Air Date: October 28, 2018 to November 11, 2018
Director: Park Chan-wook
Costume Design: Sheena Napier & Steven Noble

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

John le Carré was one of the most prolific espionage authors, penning more than two dozen novels including The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The Tailor of Panama, many of which were successfully adapted as movies or limited series that made the most of le Carré’s richly drawn worlds of deception.

Le Carré died in December 2020 at the age of 89, following in death within the month by his half-sister Charlotte Cornwall. Charlotte reportedly inspired the titular character at the center of his novel The Little Drummer Girl about a free-spirited, idealistic, and impressionable actress named Charmian “Charlie” Ross who gets pulled into the world of espionage.

Upon its publishing in 1983, The Little Drummer Girl was almost immediately adapted for the screen, its leading character transformed from a twentysomething Brit to an American in her thirties to accommodate Diane Keaton’s age and nationality. Decades later, BBC’s successful miniseries adaptation of le Carré’s The Night Manager encouraged the network to look at faithfully re-adapting The Little Drummer Girl, this time casting the eponymous Charlie as written with the excellent Oxford-born Florence Pugh.

Following a few sparingly attended performances in London, Charlie follows her theater friends on holiday in Greece, where she encounters the mysterious Peter who spirits her away to Athens… and eventually reveals that he’s an Israeli agent named Gadi Becker, hired to recruit her into the Mossad’s operation against a Palestinian terrorist group. Charlie’s acting experience and history of deception signals her ability—if not her enthusiasm—to play the role of the latest in a slew of young women seduced by the dashing bomber Salim Al-Khadar, known as “Michel”, who had used his manipulative charm to recruit vulnerable women as couriers in his dangerous network… until he was apprehended by agents led by Israeli spymaster Martin Kurtz (Michael Shannon), leaving Gadi to pose as Michel while traveling with Charlie across Europe to establish her credentials.

By establishing one of their own recruits as one of Michel’s trusted confidantes, Charlie’s Mossad handlers hope she can infiltrate the Palestinian revolutionary group and lead them to the leader, Salim’s enigmatic brother Khalil. Of course, as Charlie’s situation grows more dangerous, the reluctant double agent’s loyalties fall into question as the conflicted fledgling spy finds herself drawn to both her case officer Gadi and the Palestinian cause.

What’d They Wear?

The Real “Michel”

For most of the first episode, we primarily see the “real” Michel, Salim Al-Khadar, wearing his signature green jacket. The material is a rich and supple bottle green sueded leather, light-wearing but insulated enough to be an effective layer for transitional seasons like spring. (Indeed, the first few episodes are established to be set during the final days of March 1979, as opposed to the novel’s summer setting.)

Michel’s recognizable green suede jacket is a blouson, fitted at the waist hem with elasticized sides that the jacket “blouses” over. The front zip is reinforced by single brass-finished snaps at the top and bottom of the fly, though he never zips up more than halfway and thus leaves the neck open with the shirt-style collar laying flat. Though the jacket has set-in sleeves, there are seams that stretch diagonally over the chest from each armpit to the neck—raglan-style—from which a vertical seam extends down to the waist. A single brass-finished snap on each squared cuff echoes the hardware across the jacket, and there are two gently slanted hand pockets.

Michel oversees a bombing in West Germany.

Michel exclusively wears sporty red shirts with the green jacket, beginning with a coral-hued knitted shirt textured with a ridged self-stripe. The polo-style shirt has short set-in sleeves with narrow ribbed bands and a non-textured collar that matches the three-button placket. Michel fastens the bottom two of the three dark brown two-hole buttons, leaving the top undone.

Another signature of Michel’s attire is the silver arrowhead pendant he wears on a thin gold necklace, typically on the outside of his shirts but with the necklace chain under the collar (almost like a necktie).

Charlie creates a memory of Michel speaking to her through a letter.

Mossad agents surveil Michel returning to his Munich apartment, dressed in a trendier crimson shirt that would have been fashionable during the Saturday Night Fever era of the late ’70s with its disco-friendly fit, long-pointed collar, and his penchant for wearing half the mother-of-pearl buttons undone up the plain “French placket” front. The shirt is uniquely patterned with scattered but organized rust-shaded dots against the crimson ground, broken up by long, narrow, vertical shapes.

Michel works his manipulative charm under the watchful eyes of Mossad agents.

Inside the apartment, he wears plain black flat front trousers, but Michel otherwise prefers his uniquely textured stone-gray trousers detailed with dark, widely spaced stripes. These flat front trousers have side pockets, jetted back pockets (with a button through the left), and wide belt loops for his dark brown leather belt with its silver-toned rectangular single-prong buckle.

The short break of Michel’s fashionably flared trouser bottoms keep them clear above his cognac brown leather apron-toe tasseled loafers, though this also shows plenty of his dark brown socks. Le Carré describes Michel’s “Gucci shoes” that he stops to have polished on a promenade in Istanbul.

Detailed with braided straps across the vamps from which the tassels are hooked, these would be comfortable shoes for motoring across Europe for hundreds of miles.

Michel falls into a Mossad trap.

Once Michel is in Mossad custody, the agents are thorough in making sure Charlie is well-acquainted with every detail of her supposed lover, which even means pulling down the short black briefs he wears as underwear.

Mossad agents conduct thorough research in order to make sure Charlie is properly prepped for her role.

More instantly recognizable to the casual observer would be Michel’s flashy gold jewelry on his left hand, including a pinky ring with a flush-set diamond positioned toward the front of the round surface.

Michel’s gold Omega Constellation watch would be crucial to Gadi establishing his Michel “disguise”. Omega has issued many versions of the Constellation since its 1952 introduction, responsive to each era’s horological trends. In 1969, Omega introduced a streamlined Constellation with a square-shaped case and integrated five-piece link bracelet, and it’s this ref. BA 368.0847 that Michel prominently wears in The Little Drummer Girl. Powered by a 20-jewel automatic movement, this 18-karat solid yellow gold watch has a light gold squared dial with rounded edges, gold non-numeric hour markers, and a 3:00 date window.

You couldn’t ask for a better shot of the Omega or the ring!

Consistent with his playboy image and reputation, Michel also sports a pair of hip gold-framed aviator-style sunglasses with brown gradient-tinted lenses.

Le Carré describes the jewelry appropriated from Michel (also known as Yanuka in the novel) as “his fine gold watch by Cellini and his linked gold bracelet and the gold-plated charm that Yanuka liked to wear against his heart, believed to be a gift from his beloved sister Fatmeh,” in addition to “a pair of expensive Polaroid sunglasses.”

Gadi as Michel

When we meet Gadi during Charlie’s holiday in Greece, the squared gold Omega and shining pinky ring may indicate to some eagle-eyed viewers that something is awry, though he doesn’t fully assume Michel’s look until toward the end of this first episode. By this time, we know Michel is in Mossad custody, never to be freed again and only dressed in his signature threads when he needs to be identified after his death is arranged at the end of the third episode.

However, Charlie still remains blissfully ignorant as she follows the laconic man she knows as “Peter” through the Athens port to the red Mercedes-Benz which had just been, er, liberated from Michel at the border. It isn’t until she glimpses in the back seat that she sees a green jacket which raises a red flag…

“My mate has a jacket just like that,” Charlie suspiciously comments upon spotting Michel’s green suede jacket in the back of Gadi’s Mercedes. In le Carré’s novel, the coat in question is actually a red blazer with brass buttons.

Gadi slips on the jacket upon their arrival at the Acropolis, a spectacle that momentarily distracts Charlie enough to take her mind off of the familiar jacket, but the distinctive gold ring and watch are too many similarities for her to ignore. The lead-footed Gadi speeds an increasingly nervous Charlie back to the luxurious Mossad safe house, where she’s given a comprehensive—if truncated—briefing into her nerve-rattling mission.

Charlie learns that the first leg of her mission will be to establish a convincing background as the latest young woman to fall for the seductive charms of Michel’s seductive charms, with Gadi conveniently standing in for Michel. To make the guise more convincing, Gadi will continue appropriating Michel’s manner of dress, from his red shirts and green suede blouson to the distinctive jewelry and accessories.

Gadi completes the Michel look with his sunglasses.

From Gadi and Charlie’s arrival in Athens toward the end of the first episode and into the second, Gadi wears what appears to be the exact same coral red textured-stripe knitted short-sleeve polo shirt that Michel had worn during the opening bombing.

He may have the right clothes, but his homework left one detail unaddressed; Gadi indeed wears the arrowhead necklace over his shirt but neglects to tuck the chain under his collar as Michel had.

Gadi’s trousers illustrate another departure from Michel’s established style as he dresses in a pair of plum-colored cotton chinos. These flat front trousers have side pockets, button-through back pockets, and even the slightly flared plain-hemmed bottoms, but he also wears a black leather belt with a silver-toned single-prong buckle that not only differs from Michel’s brown belts, it also contrasts with his shoe leather.

Gadi wears Michel’s same cognac leather apron-toe loafers, with the scenes of his driving through Athens illustrating more unique detailing of these slip-on shoes like the braided leather straps across the vamps, over which the double tassel is looped. During this first day, he wears olive green ribbed cotton lisle socks.

Comfortable and well-fitting driving shoes are particularly an asset for cars with manual transmissions that require negotiating across three pedals.

Midway through Gadi and Charlie’s journey in the second episode and into the third, Gadi wears his most contemporary and unique shirt.

Bright red with white accents and large creamy off-white buttons, this short-sleeved Ban-Lon shirt has large, curved chest yokes that resemble the storm flaps on a trench coat, accented by a vestigial button at the inner corner of each “flap” positioned just above the open-top patch pocket on each side of the chest. The edges of both of these chest pockets, the shoulder flaps, and the large collar are all piped with double tan-and-white contrast stitching.

Gadi’s olive green flat front trousers are styled like his purple chinos, worn with the same black leather belt and brown braided-strap tassel loafers.

Beginning midway through the third episode, Gadi concludes his guise as Michel by wearing the green suede jacket over a silky red long-sleeved shirt that reflects a subtle tonal checkerboard pattern in certain light. He wears the top few flat pearl buttons undone on the narrow front placket.

This may be the most conventional shirt of the trio and is worn with the most conventional trousers, made from a plain stone-gray wool with gentle napping that suggests a lighter-weight flannel. These flat front trousers are styled the same as his others and also worn with the black leather belt and brown tassel loafers.

Aware that people notice details, Gadi is sure to wear the same distinctive gold pinky ring and squared Omega Constellation that Michel had sported on his left hand. Both Gadi and Michel are surrounded by colleagues in less expensive Sekonda watches (for Gadi, this includes fellow agent Shimon Litvak; for Michel, his brother Khalil), but Gadi remains in character with his gold Omega… suggesting that there may indeed be occasion for government agencies to issue Omega watches to their spies beyond the world of Bond!

A spy in an Omega!

Gadi also makes use of Michel’s sunglasses, the gold aviators with brown gradient-tinted lenses in the rectangular frames.

The fourth episode reveals how the Mossad’s plan all comes together as their own surveillance photos of Gadi and Charlie are doctored to position Michel’s head over Gadi’s.

In the same episode, Gadi wears the green suede blouson for a final time, more to “get in character” as he gives Charlie shooting lessons in the English forest. In this instance, he wears it with his own clothing, layering it under his well-worn brown leather flight jacket with a navy turtleneck and jeans.

Promotional photo of Florence Pugh and Alexander Skarsgård in The Little Drummer Girl.
Photo: Jonathan Olley/AMC/Ink Factor

The Gun

The “real” Michel is never prominently armed, but Gadi carries an M11911A1 semi-automatic pistol that he reveals to Charlie before slipping it under his pillow in one of the hotels they patronize while driving across Europe. Later in England, Gadi would again draw this pistol when teaching Charlie how to shoot and familiarizing her with Khalil’s preferred weapon.

Gadi reveals his .45.

The venerable M1911 semi-automatic pistol was designed by John Browning and introduced into U.S. military service in the years leading up to World War I. During the ’20s, the pistol was upgraded with a shorter trigger, arched spring housing, and longer hammer and spur, designated the M1911A1.

1911-style pistols are primarily associated with the .45 ACP cartridge that Browning had designed in 1904 for his prototypes that would eventually become the M1911 and M1911A1 series, though 1911s have been produced in multiple different calibers from .22 LR and 9×19 mm Parabellum to .38 Super and .455 Webley Auto, depending on usage and country of service.

The Car

Part of the Israeli team’s gambit includes obtaining an additional red Mercedes-Benz W123 like the 230E sedan that Michel famously drives across Europe, though the specific screen-used E-Class sedans have been identified by IMCDB as a 1983 model, making it slightly anachronistic for the 1979 setting. (Le Carré’s source novel describes “the polished wine-red Mercedes—not new, but handsome enough.”)

If one red W123 is admirable, imagine having two!

E-Class? 230E? W123? How many different names does this car have?

“E-Class” refers to Mercedes-Benz’s platform of mid-range executive cars that has been continuously produced since 1953, though it wasn’t until the early ’90s that the German automaker formally adopted the E-Class nomenclature. Each generation of the E-segment is differentiated by its one-letter and three-digit code, beginning with the W120 in the ’50s, the W110 in the ’60s, and the W114 and W115 that was produced from 1968 to 1976 and which featured in the 1984 adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl.

Mercedes-Benz introduced its W123 sedan for 1976, which would be expanded to include the C123 coupe, V123 and F123 extended wheelbase, and S123 estate wagon. Within the W123’s ten-year timeline, there were multiple different sub-generations, culminating in a “third series” introduced in September 1982. Within these were sub-models named for engine displacement, chassis, and fuel delivery and system. Thus, Michel’s 230E driven in The Little Drummer Girl would refer to the 2299 cc engine (230) with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection (E) as opposed to, say, the 200T, a wagon powered by a 1997 cc engine with a carburetor or the 300CD, a diesel-fueled coupe with a 3005 cc engine.

1983 Mercedes-Benz 230E

Body Style: 4-door full-size executive sedan

Layout: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive (RWD)

Engine: 2299 cc (2.3 L) Mercedes-Benz M102 E 23 I4 with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection

Power: 134 hp (100 kW; 136 PS) @ 5100 rpm

Torque: 151 lb·ft (205 N·m) @ 3500 rpm

Transmission: 4-speed manual

Wheelbase: 116.5 inches (2960 mm)

Length: 199.2 inches (5060 mm)

Width: 73.6 inches (1870 mm)

Height: 56.3 inches (1430 mm)

More than 2.6 million W123 automobiles were manufactured before production transferred to the new W124 generation from 1986 through 1994. Beginning in in 1993, Mercedes-Benz officially adopted the “E-Class” designation that would be used for the W124, W210, W211, W212, and current W213 generations.

What to Imbibe

Gadi isn’t much of a drinker (at least not as much as some other Omega-wearing spies), but he and Charlie do toast to their mission with a shot of vodka each.

“As a man, I naturally drink more than you. I don’t drink well; alcohol gives me a headache, occasionally it makes me sick. But vodka is what I like,” he instructs Charlie in the novel, informing the spirit of choice seen frequently across nearly each episode fhte series.

Cheers!

Later in Munich, room service brings them a 1974 vintage Riesling with the fictional “Ribaroff” label. In the same scene, he pours Charlie some of the equally fictional “Korolevska” vodka with a dash of lemonade.

How to Get the Look

Alexander Skarsgård as Gadi Becker in The Little Drummer Girl (2018) (Photo by Jonathan Olley/AMC/Ink Factory via AP)

In his distinctive bottle green suede jacket, red shirts, and gold jewelry—including that gold contemporary Omega Constellation—terrorist Michel sets a straightforward template for Mossad agent Gadi Becker to follow when stealing his style for a trip across the continent.

• Green suede blouson jacket with shirt-style collar, zip-up fly with top and bottom snaps, slanted side pockets, and set-in sleeves with single-snap cuffs
• Red short-sleeved polo or button-up sport shirt
• Flat front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, button-through back pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark leather belt with rectangular single-prong buckle
• Cognac brown leather apron-toe tassel-strap loafers
• Dark brown socks
• Silver arrowhead pendant on thin gold necklace
• Omega Constellation BA 368.0847 yellow gold square-cased automatic watch with squared gold dial (with non-numeric hour markers and 3:00 date window) on integrated five-piece link bracelet
• Gold pinky ring with small diamond on round ridged surface
• Gold-framed aviator sunglasses with brown gradient-tinted lenses

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series, described by Troy Patterson for The New Yorker as “a chic, surreal adaptation… that approaches spy craft as a form of experimental art”, and read John le Carré’s 1983 novel.

I’ll be returning to the series this summer to take a look at some of Gadi’s beach looks when he’s undercover in Greece, laying the foundation for ultimately seducing Charlie into the Mossad’s service.

The Quote

The good news is… I’ve lied to you as little as possible.

The post The Little Drummer Girl: Michel’s Green Suede Jacket appeared first on BAMF Style.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina in Pierrot le Fou (1965). As cool as those sunglasses look, Bébel unfortunately never wears them with this outfit on screen.

Vitals

Jean-Paul Belmondo as Ferdinand Griffon, runaway husband

French Riviera, Summer 1965

Film: Pierrot le Fou
Release Date: November 5, 1965
Director: Jean-Luc Godard

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

He may spend most of Pierrot le Fou insisting his name is Ferdinand, but we all know he’s actually Jean-Paul Belmondo—also known as Bébel—the French star born 88 years ago today on April 9, 1933!

Pierrot le Fou was the third and final feature-length collaboration between Belmondo and Jean-Luc Godard, who had directed him to worldwide fame as the criminal protagonist in A bout de souffle (Breathless), considered a seminal work in establishing the French New Wave cinematic movement.

While both of these stylish films shared themes of criminality, philosophy, and doomed love, Pierrot le Fou pops from the screen with its colorful and surreal pop art-inspired presentation of the increasingly desperate Ferdinand Griffon abandoning his family life to join his dangerously free-spirited ex-girlfriend Marianne (Anna Karina) in a life of crime and seaside seclusion.

Belmondo and Anna Karina sharing a kiss from their respective red and blue cars has become an enduring image of the Nouvelle Vague movement.

Ferdinand joins the larcenous Marianne to visit her gun-smuggling “brother”, in fact her boyfriend Fred (Dirk Sanders), who devises a scam for Ferdinand to help them get a briefcase full of money. Of course, it’s a double-cross as Ferdinand is left on the dock watching his lover depart with her man and the money. Following a conversation with a man driven crazy by lust and music, Ferdinand hops aboard a fishing boat in pursuit of the couple, ultimately shooting them both with the revolver Fred gave him. After Marianne dies, asking for his forgiveness, our mad clown paints his face blue and concocts a plan to end his own life by tying yellow and red sticks of dynamite around his head… an act he regrets just a moment too late:

What an idiot! Shit! A glorious death—

What’d He Wear?

In his red shirt and blue-painted face, Ferdinand only needs some yellow to complete the trio of primary colors. Hey, what about those yellow sticks of dynamite over there..?

An oft-discussed aspect of Pierrot le Fou is the use of primary colors—red, yellow, and blue, for those of you who slept through elementary school—as well as the blue, white, and red found in the French flag.

For the film’s final act, our Pierrot—er, sorry, Ferdinand—builds up to fulfill wearing the hat trick of primary colors to an explosive effect. He begins with a startling red shirt that pops from the rest of his relatively subdued outfit. The lightweight, prone-to-wrinkling cloth suggests linen or a linen blend, ideal for his seaside escapades on the Mediterranean coast. The long-sleeved shirt has squared cuffs with red plastic buttons matching those up the plain “French placket” front, which he wears unbuttoned at the neck. The shirt also has a breast pocket with a non-buttoning flap, mitred at the corners.

Ferdinand’s single-breasted sports coat is woven in a black-and-white mini-herringbone wool that creates a lighter gray overall effect when seen from more of a distance. The three-button, double-vented jacket is shaped with front darts and has a shorter length in accordance with men’s tailoring trends toward the end of the ’60s. The shoulders are padded with roping at the sleeveheads, the ends of each sleeve finished with functioning two-button “surgeon’s cuffs”. The jacket has sporty patch pockets on the hips and a welted breast pocket where he tucks his pack of cigarettes.

Ferdinand wears solid gray wool straight-leg trousers with long darts in lieu of pleats to ease the front curve of the trousers over his hips. The trousers have slanted side pockets, plain-hemmed bottoms, and belt loops, though Ferdinand foregoes a belt.

Given his rotten luck, it’s a surprise that Ferdinand manages to keep his trousers up without a belt, which speaks to the power of darted-front trousers.

Ferdinand’s worn-in split-toe loafers with a plain strap across each vamp are appropriate for the relaxed seaside atmosphere, the soft black leather rendered dusty by his most recent misadventures. He wears them with light blue socks that pale in comparison to Marianne’s rich sky-hued corduroy trousers.

This must be one of those bowling alleys that doesn’t care if you’re wearing the proper shoes on the lanes, though I think the footwear champion would be that woman sitting at the bar in her baby blue espadrilles.

Aside from the gold necklace worn under his shirt, Ferdinand’s sole accessory is a gold signet ring, worn on his right pinky finger and inscribed with a straight design running parallel to the direction of his fingers and thus likely not a monogram.

The Gun

Ferdinand ends up with the large Enfield No. 2 Mk. I* revolver that had been carried by the dwarf gangster boss, handed to him by Fred before the dangerous double-cross but ultimately used by Ferdinand to gun down both Fred and Marianne.

Note the spurless hammer on Ferdinand’s Enfield No. 2, suggesting that he carries the later Mk. I* variant rather than the Mk. I with its standard spur hammer.

The Enfield revolver was designed during the interwar period after the British government determined the need for a lighter-caliber service revolver as an alternative to the heavy and powerful .455 Webley that was an effective man-stopper but difficult for the average soldier to fire accurately. Military brass determined that the ideal caliber would be .38/200, a 200-grain variant of the .38 S&W “Short” round developed by Smith & Wesson in the late 1870s.

After Webley & Scott went back to the drawing boards to downsize its own venerable revolver to accommodate the .38/200 cartridge, the government-owned Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) in Enfield used Webley’s new design to deliver its own product, both firms maintaining the traditional top-break design that had been a mainstay of British-issued revolvers for nearly half a century. Enfield’s result followed a different internal operation from the Webley, but the cosmetic similarities were enough to provide cause for Webley & Scott to sue the government-run factory. In the messy litigation that followed, Webley’s claim was denied when Enfield protested that its design was actually drafted by Captain Henry C. Boys, though the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors ultimately awarded £1,250 to Webley & Scott.

Production of both the Enfield No. 2 Mk. I and the Webley Mk IV began in 1932 though, ironically, RSAF Enfield was unable to produce the number of revolvers needed to meet military demands when England entered World War II so the Webley was issued as a supplemental sidearm to the British Army. By that time, Enfield had already introduced its double-action-only Mk. I* variant with a spurless hammer, though even the lighter trigger pull in the Mk. I* made it less popular among troops than the earlier Mk. I or competing revolvers by Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Webley.

In the hopes of reducing costs and increasing production, Enfield introduced the simplified Mk. I** in 1942, but safety concerns halted its production while the Mk. I and Mk. I* would continue to be manufactured after the war until the final Enfield revolver rolled out of the factory in 1957.

How to Get the Look

Jean-Paul Belmondo as Ferdinand Griffon in Pierrot le Fou (1965)

Ferdinand illustrates how to liven up a monochromatic outfit with a statement shirt in bold red linen, drawing the eye against his subdued palette of a black-and-white herringbone sports coat, gray trousers, and worn-in black slip-ons… though painting your face blue may be a little too much of a statement.

• Black-and-white mini-herringbone wool single-breasted 3-button sport jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, patch hip pockets, functional 2-button cuffs, and double vents
• Red linen long-sleeved shirt with point collar, plain front, flapped breast pocket, and 1-button squared cuffs
• Gray wool darted-front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather split-toe vamp-strap loafers
• Pale blue socks
• Gold signet pinky ring

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, newly re-added to the Criterion Collection!

The Quote

My name’s Ferdinand.

The post Pierrot le Fou: Belmondo’s Red Shirt and Herringbone Jacket appeared first on BAMF Style.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 2.04: “Three Sundays”)

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, mysterious ad man and wannabe family man

Ossining, New York, Spring 1962

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “Three Sundays” (Episode 2.04)
Air Date: August 17, 2008
Director: Tim Hunter
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The anthological fourth episode of Mad Men‘s second season checks in with our regulars—particularly Don Draper and Peggy Olsen—with explorations of parenting and piety leading up to Easter Sunday 1962.

April 8th is the first in this trio of Sundays, beginning with Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) joining her ultra-Catholic family for church services in Brooklyn. Forty miles north in Ossining, Don (Jon Hamm) and Betty (January Jones) are engaging in their own sort of religious experience when they’re interrupted mid-coitus by their hungry children. No word on whether or not the Draper kids get their desired Raisin Bran, but the parents enjoy liquid breakfasts via bottomless Bloody Marys mixed and served by eight-year-old Sally (Kiernan Shipka) while the younger Bobby (Aaron Hart) mischievously plays DJ when he defies his mother’s orders by interfering with Mr. C crooning from the hi-fi. (Don may not mind the interruption as he scoffs that Perry Como “makes everything sound like Christmas.”)

Despite Don’s recent foray back into the world of infidelity and Betty letting her mind wander to the young man who recommended she read F. Scott Fitzgerald (hence the copy of Babylon Revisited and Other Stories in her hands), she insists Don join her in dancing to “Blue Room”, one of her favorite songs from her high school dances. (This timing checks out as Como recorded this Rodgers and Hart-penned hit twice in 1948, the same year Betty celebrated her sweet sixteen.)

“Betty and Don’s story frays one more strand in their marital bond, but this time the culprit is different parenting values rather than Don’s insensitivity and secrecy,” writes Matt Zoller Seitz in his biblical volume Mad Men Carousel: The Complete Critical Companion. Seitz describes Bobby as “a one-boy wrecking crew” whose various misbehaviors threaten the “household détente” between Betty’s preference for corporal punishment and Don’s more hands-off approach. That’s not an endorsement of Don the Dad, as his oft-dismissive attitude toward the children he undoubtedly loves will mess them up in other ways, but—when he finds the patience—he chooses to talk and listen, having learned from his own childhood that all being beaten by his father did “was make me fantasize about the day I could murder him.”

What’d He Wear?

From my style writer’s eyes, “Three Sundays” is always a delight to watch as it’s one of the first episodes where we see a few of Don Draper’s off-duty looks when he’s not dressing for work as the quintessential man in the gray flannel suit. We got our first casual looks in “Marriage of Figaro” (Episode 1.03) where Don dressed for manual labor and then hosting a party, but “Three Sundays” meets in the middle as he’s dressed solely for intimate comfort with Betty and the kids, not even bothering to slip into some shoes as he rests his stockinged feet on Betty’s lap.

Don’s dark brown cotton lisle socks are similar to those he typically wears to work, detailed with repeating beige chevrons down the sides that enclose a tonal diagonal striping over the bridge of each foot. The toes are finished with the gold Irish linen thread that Great American Knitting Mills of Berks County, Pennsylvania introduced during the Great Depression to differentiate its durable “Gold Toe” brand.

A terse moment in the Draper household before Perry Como livens things up.

Don’s brown sports shirt and khaki slacks recall the long-sleeved linen shirt and trousers he wore when building Sally’s dollhouse in “Marriage of Figaro”, though this outfit is a little more presentable with the shirt a softer, heavier-weight cloth, more resistant to wrinkling. Don wears the loop collar open at the neck, the placket detailed with tonal brown braided thread along each edge.

Excepting the top button placed under the right collar leaf, there are five brown plastic two-hole buttons through contrasting blue-threaded buttonholes on the placket. Stitched just below the second button down from the neck is a trio of unique, colorful embroidery: a blue spiny leaf at the top above two overlapping diamonds, the center diamond embroidered in a rust-colored thread while the lower diamond is embroidered in two alternating blue threads. The shirt also has two patch chest pockets, finished across the top with a straight, horizontal welt. Don keeps the ends of the long sleeves unbuttoned and rolled up his forearms.

The colorful embroidery on Don’s placket sets his brown Sunday sports shirt apart.

Like many American servicemen who returned with home with a greater appreciation for their light-wearing khaki chino trousers, Don frequently presses his various pairs of beige-hued cotton chinos into service around the house.

The trousers worn for Don’s lazy Sunday with Betty may be the same ones seen later in the episode when prepping pancakes for the kids. These flat front trousers have slanted side pockets, jetted back pockets, with a button-through closure, and plain hems at the bottom of each straight leg. Don’s untucked shirt covers the trouser waistband, but he may be wearing the same slim dark brown leather belt that would be tonally appropriate with his brown shirt.

The khaki trousers that had looked so nicely pressed the previous Sunday appear considerably more worn-in a week later when it’s time to make the pancakes.

The previous episode, “The Benefactor” (Episode 2.03), depicts Don getting his watch back from Betty after she had it engraved… and just after he cheats on her with the domineering Bobbie Barrett (Melinda McGraw) for the first time. He would wear this yellow gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique dress watch throughout the second and third seasons, no longer wearing it after divorcing Betty as its sentimental inscription no longer applied.

JLC pioneered the Reverso Classique in 1931, specifically targeting its reversible hard steel case toward polo players who would want to protect their watch faces during play without having to remove the timepieces. According to an AMC interview with Mad Men‘s property master Gay Perello, Jon Hamm was initially reluctant to switch from the watch he wore during the first season:

Showing it to Jon on the first day… he said, “I’m kind of a round watch face guy.” And I said, “Well, we talked about that, but let’s look at this cool little feature that you can play with.” Then he said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, this will work,” and he started to really like it… And then [Matthew Weiner] had wrote in an episode that Betty takes his watch to have it engraved, so it got to have a little more play than we thought it would.

Ever notice how days spent doing nothing can tucker you out more than usual? (Then again, days welcomed by vodka in the morning tend to be tiring for their own reasons.)

What to Imbibe

Mad Men is famous for its characters’ penchant frequent—and often irresponsible—drinking, among other vices, so there should be little surprise that Don and Betty are lubricating their lazy Sunday with Bloody Mary cocktails… and not much more of a surprise that it’s their precocious eight-year-old daughter Sally who’s ultimately tasked with mixing the concoctions. (After all, it was just two episodes earlier that Sally had proven her mastery of both the Old Fashioned and Tom Collins.)

Don and Betty’s first Bloody Marys may have had more of the signature fixins like lemon or lime, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, or celery, but round two calls for nothing less fancier than the vodka and tomato juice.

“Here’s number two, thsir,” Sally serves her father, having mixed the simple drink by pouring a few splashes of Libby’s tomato juice over a highball glass full of Wolfschmidt vodka and ice. Though it’s now a bottom-shelf vodka often packaged in plastic and sold by the handle, Wolfschmidt was a more prestigious marque in the ’50s and ’60s, cited as the preference of MI6 chief “M” in the third James Bond novel, Moonraker, and an in-universe favorite of Mad Men‘s Roger Sterling (John Slattery), who stipulates it for his Gibson martini six episodes later in “Six-Month Leave” (Episode 2.09).

Jon Hamm and January Jones on Mad Men (Episode 2.04: “Three Sundays”)

How to Get the Look

Don Draper illustrates how dressing for a lazy day around the house doesn’t have to mean that old sweatshirt and pajama pants, balancing presentable and practical in his uniquely detailed brown sports shirt, untucked over his broken-in khakis and accessorized with that classic JLC Reverso: the perfect attire for a laidback Sunday of vegging, vodka, and very slow dancing.

• Brown sports shirt with embroidered placket (with braided edges), loop collar, two chest pockets, and button cuffs
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeve undershirt
• Khaki chino cotton flat front trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, button-through back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark brown slim leather belt with gold-toned square single-prong buckle
• Dark brown cotton lisle “gold-toe” socks with beige mini-chevron side stripes
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeve undershirt
• Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique wristwatch with a gold case, square white dial, and brown alligator leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the whole series.

Also, keep an eye on upcoming posts as a special treat will be coming for Mad Men fans soon!

The Quote

I thought we weren’t doing anything today.

The post Mad Men: Don’s Embroidered Brown Shirt for the First of “Three Sundays” appeared first on BAMF Style.

Michael Goodliffe as Thomas Andrews in A Night to Remember (1958)

Vitals

Michael Goodliffe as Thomas Andrews, shipbuilder

North Atlantic Ocean, April 1912

Film: A Night to Remember
Release Date: July 3, 1958
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Costume Designer: Yvonne Caffin

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

109 years ago, around 11:40 p.m. on the night of Sunday, April 14, 1912, the celebrated luxury liner RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean, sinking within three hours, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 of the 2,200 on board.

Among the dead were many instrumental in the ship’s operations including its captain Edward J. Smith, three of his officers, and Irish-born shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, who oversaw the design of the Titanic and her two sister ships from the time they were conceptualized for the White Star Line five years earlier. As was his practice as a managing director for Harland and Wolff, Andrews and his “guarantee group” would travel on their new ships during their maiden voyages to observe any issues or improvements that would be needed.

The real Thomas Andrews, photographed in 1911, the year before he died during the Titanic disaster.

Andrews spent the first four days of the Titanic‘s voyage noting primarily cosmetic changes needed to the “ship of dreams”, until Smith summoned him from his cabin shortly after the ship struck the iceberg. Following a brief tour, Andrews gloomily surmised that the extent of Titanic‘s damage made it a “mathematical certainty” that she would sink, likely within the hour and certainly with only enough room in the lifeboats for little more than half the passengers and crew on board.

Fans of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster may recognize Andrews as the character so affably played by Victor Garber, apologizing to Kate Winslet’s “young Rose” that he didn’t build her a stronger ship. As with many aspects of Cameron’s drama, several scenes featuring Thomas Andrews—such as his “mathematical certainty” assurance, advising a young couple on their escape, and being asked if he wasn’t even “going to make a try for it?”—were, er, inspired by A Night to Remember, Roy Ward Baker’s 1958 docudrama adapted from Walter Lord’s definitive book about the sinking.

Just as the 1997 Titanic benefitted from the kind, avuncular presence of Garber’s Andrews, A Night to Remember featured the smart casting of reliable character actor Michael Goodliffe to play Andrews, bringing to life the hardworking shipbuilder’s reputation for honesty and humility.

Born in Cheshire in 1914, Goodliffe was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the British Army soon after World War II. He was captured—and mistakenly reported as killed—during the Battle of Dunkirk, serving out the rest of the war in a German prison camp, where he produced, acted in, and often wrote plays to entertain his fellow prisoners.

Goodliffe resumed his acting career following the war, lending an authoritative but affable presence to playing military figures and professionals in films like The 39 Steps (1959) and Sink the Bismarck! (1960), both starring his A Night to Remember co-star Kenneth More, and even an uncredited appearance as MI6 chief of staff Bill Tanner in Roger Moore’s second James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

The last we see of Thomas Andrews, he’s seated in the first-class smoking lounge during Titanic‘s final moments. I’ve always loved Goodliffe’s expression as he steals a look at his watch, allowing Andrews one silent moment perhaps marveling at how long his ship actually lasted, surpassing even his most generous estimates by about an hour.

What’d He Wear?

Thomas Andrews dresses for what begins as a quiet Sunday evening aboard Titanic in a subdued three-piece suit, likely made from a conservative dark gray or navy woolen cloth with a subtle self-stripe effect.

The ventless single-breasteed lounge jacket is tailored in the typical fashion of the later Edwardian era, following the trends of shorter sack suits. The notch lapels end above a four-button front that Andrews typically wears with only the top button done. The shoulders are gently padded, and the sleeves are finished with four-button cuffs. The jacket has a welted breast pocket and straight flapped hip pockets.

As the Titanic settles into the ocean around them, Andrews walks past W.T. Stead (Henry Campbell, in his uncredited sole film appearance) reading in the first-class smoking room. The 62-year-old Stead had indeed been observed, quietly reserved to his fate, sitting with a book in the smoking room. Eerily, he had published a short story in 1886 titled “How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid Atlantic by a Survivor” about the consequences of a fictional unnamed ocean liner that sank in the Atlantic Ocean without enough lifeboats for everyone aboard.

The suit’s matching single-breasted waistcoat (vest) has a high-fastening six-button front, which he wears fully fastened down to the notched bottom. The short notch lapels are an old-fashioned detail that become less common in the decades to follow. The satin-finished back has an adjustable strap, and the front is detailed with four welted pockets.

Andrews wears his pocket watch in his lower right waistcoat pocket, the chain looped “double Albert”-style across the waistcoat with a squared diamond-shaped fob hanging near the fifth button.

More attuned to Titanic‘s operations than almost anyone else aboard, Andrews awakens from sleep to instantly notice that the ship’s engines have stopped.

The flat front suit trousers appropriately rise to conceal the waist line under the waistcoat, and it’s only when Andrews has his jacket off while poring over the ship’s blueprints in his stateroom that we glimpse the white suspenders (braces) he wears to hold them up. These trousers have on-seam side pockets and back pockets with a button to close the right one, and the bottoms appear to be finished with turn-ups (cuffs).

Andrews’ white shirt is the most dated part of his outfit, due to the detachable stiff standing collar he secures in place with gold studs through the front and back of his neck. Fastened with a set of light metal rectangular cuff links, his single cuffs function like the double (French) cuffs more commonly seen today, though without the extra fold of fabric. He also wears sleeve garters just above each elbow, another now-dated element that was common during this era to allow gents to either adjust the length of their sleeves or to keep their cuffs out of the way while working.

While the texture of knitted ties may pair well with coarser fabrics like tweed or slubbier silks and linens, an understated knitted silk tie can also add an interesting dimension to some business suits.

I’ve read that the knitted tie’s origins date back to at least the roaring ’20s, though I’m certain I’ve seen some photographic evidence of gents knotting on knitted neckwear during the decade previous, which would align with when Titanic sailed in the spring of 1912. Nearly a half-century later, knitted ties were being revived in response to the post-World War II “Bold Look” fashions, the subtle yin to the wide and wild “kipper tie” yang. By the early ’60s, the slim and solid-colored knitted tie would reach its greatest heights, embraced by pop cultural heroes from the Beatles to Bond.

Michael Goodliffe’s Andrews wears a very dark silk knit tie with a tie pin positioned just below the knot, securing the tie centimeters above the top of the high-fastening waistcoat.

At this point in time, dark leather lace-ups were the most acceptable footwear with business suits and Andrews is no exception with his cap-toe oxfords, likely constructed with black leather uppers.

“You said you were going to drink the whole bottle!” Andrews walks past passengers taunting each other as they raid the first-class smoking room’s liquor stash during the Titanic‘s final moments. The gent taking the bottle of Gordon’s gin to the mouth is almost certainly based on the observations of 17-year-old Jack Thayer, who saw a man doing just that as the Titanic was sinking and later recognized him as a prominent Philadelphia banker (suggested to be Robert W. Daniel, who survived the sinking.)

Four years before Titanic sank, Thomas Andrews married his wife Helen Reilly Barbour, with whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth. Though the more widespread practice of men wearing wedding rings was still decades away, Andrews is depicted wearing a wedding band, consistent with his legacy as a devoted family man.

Andrews briefly wears an engineering coat when touring the ship before the disaster, though he unfortunately never get to see him wear the black wool coat with astrakhan fur collar that we see hanging on the back of his stateroom door.

Andrews leaves his warm (and stylish) coat behind when he leaves his cabin for the final time… perhaps all too tragically aware that he won’t be in a position to live to need warmth as the night would go on.

Only briefly seen but certainly worthy of discussion would be Andrews’ outfit when joining White Star Line leaders on the bridge as Titanic departed Southampton four days earlier. The Irish shipbuilder’s attire is considerably more festive, if less dressy, with a thin-striped wool suit layered over an odd waistcoat, topped by a Shepherd’s check tweed flat cap.

Andrews wears another standing collar with his shirt, this time with a foulard silk tie consisting of a neat arrangement of small squares against a dark ground. The odd waistcoat is made from a light-colored and soft napped flannel with five mother-of-pearl buttons and a dark contrasting “tape” piping along the edges, including the jetting along the two hip pockets.

Andrews wears a considerably jauntier outfit for Titanic‘s departure from Southampton on April 10, consistent with the celebratory nature of the ship departing on its maiden voyage.

What to Imbibe

Believing the hardworking Andrews to need a break, the ship’s surgeon Dr. William Francis O’Laughlin (Joseph Tomelty), arrives at his stateroom with “sound medical advice” in the form of a bottle of Black & White Scotch whisky and charged water so that the two Irishmen may indulge in highballs that distract Andrews from the number of screws on the stateroom coat hooks.

Bottoms up!

How to Get the Look

Michael Goodliffe as Thomas Andrews in A Night to Remember (1958)

A Night to Remember strove to represent historical accuracy to the extent that it was known at the time, so it’s no surprise that Titanic‘s builder Thomas Andrews dresses almost identically to how he was photographed in real life. Additionally impressive is the fact that a slight adjustment in fit and swapping in a modern shirt with an attached turndown collar is all that would be needed for Andrews’ sober three-piece suit to be fashionable in a gent’s closet more than a century later.

• Dark self-striped wool business suit:
  • Single-breasted 4-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Single-breasted 6-button waistcoat with short notch lapels, four welted pockets, satin-finished back with adjustable strap, and notched bottom
  • Flat front trousers with on-seam side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• White cotton shirt with detachable standing collar and single cuffs
  • Light metal rectangular cuff links
• Black knitted silk tie
• Tie pin
• Black leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Pocket watch with “double Albert”-style chain

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie as well as Walter Lord’s exhaustively researched book that provided much of the source material.

The Quote

She’s going to sink, Captain.

The post A Night to Remember: Michael Goodliffe as Thomas Andrews appeared first on BAMF Style.

Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978)

Vitals

Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, eccentric Belgian detective

Egypt, September 1937

Film: Death on the Nile
Release Date: September 29, 1978
Director: John Guillermin
Costume Designer: Anthony Powell

Background

Today would have been the 100th birthday of Peter Ustinov, the brilliant dramatist and diplomat who—among his many achievements—played Agatha Christie’s celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot in a half-dozen productions.

Fluent in multiple languages, Ustinov was easily able to glide between the English and French required to play the fussy Belgian detective and was able to provide his own voice in the French and German versions of his movies, including several of the Poirot productions.

Death on the Nile was the first—and often considered the strongest—of Ustinov’s six films as Poirot. Based on Christie’s 1937 novel of the same name, Death on the Nile should be a familiar title for those even unfamiliar with most of the author’s work as Kenneth Branagh’s well-publicized adaptation has been repeatedly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now scheduled for release next February, Branagh’s version will actually be the third adaptation as an extended episode of the long-running series starring the excellent David Suchet as Poirot had aired in 2004.

Ustinov’s Poirot is debuted while on holiday in Egypt, unable to keep himself from eavesdropping on the drama unfolding between the vivacious Jacqueline de Bellefort (Mia Farrow) and the newly married Linnet Ridgeway (Lois Chiles) and Simon Doyle (Simon MacCorkindale). Poirot’s spectatorship of this dangerous—and ultimately deadly—triangle is briefly interrupted by a happy reunion with Colonel Race (David Niven), a lawyer and sportsman working in a secretive capacity investigating Linnet’s shady attorney, Andrew Pennington (George Kennedy).

Colonel Race dryly quips about Poirot’s somewhat inflated opinion of himself as the two recall “that strange affair of the decapitated clergyman” where they had last met, though Poirot finds himself humbled when a drunken Salome Otterbourne (Angela Lansbury) misidentifies him as “Hercules Porridge, the famous French sleuth.”

Cheers!

The joy expressed by Ustinov and Niven upon their reunion was likely authentic as, more than 30 years earlier, Lieutenant-Colonel David Niven had been briefly attended to during World War II by a young private named… Peter Ustinov. Of course, it wasn’t mere coincidence as Ustinov was co-writing Niven’s upcoming film, The Way Ahead, with Eric Ambler. British Army customs forbade association between privates and high-ranking officers, so Ustinov was appointed Niven’s batman to skirt conventions and allow their professional collaboration.

Following the war, Ustinov resumed his multi-faced career as an actor, activist, and author, writing plays, films, novels, and nonfiction. Considered a 20th century Renaissance man, Ustinov was recognized throughout his life with multiple state and governmental honors and more than a dozen honorary degrees from institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and Switzerland. His three Emmys, two Academy Awards, and Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children makes him one award short of the celebrated “EGOT” status… though Ustinov had been nominated for two Tony Awards in his career as well. After Ustinov’s death at the age of 82 near his Swiss home, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy spoke at his funeral, representing United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

What’d He Wear?

For each evening of his holiday along the Nile, no matter how many murders he’s tasked with solving, Hercule Poirot dresses for dinner in the same black three-piece dinner suit, or “tuxedo” to some. Poirot’s approach to dressing may be fussier than many with its various old-fashioned idiosyncrasies, but his sense of decorum informs that he wouldn’t depart too dramatically from the traditions of black tie, instead adapting evening-wear standards to his size and peculiarities.

The differing body types of the rotund Poirot and the lean, athletic Colonel Race offer an interesting comparison of how each man dresses to flatter his respective frame, each following the same general approach of a single-breasted peak lapel dinner jacket, wing collar, and even gold signet rings and a “double Albert” watch chain looped across a single-breasted waistcoat; in fact, the only significant difference of the two men’s approaches are the colors of their waistcoat as Race sports a low-fastening white while Poirot opts for black silk that matches the facings of his dinner jacket.

Indeed, the broad peak lapels of Poirot’s black wool ventless dinner jacket are faced in black silk, rolling to a single silk-covered button positioned at his waist line that he wears open. The shoulders are soft and padded, and the sleeves are finished in four silk-covered buttons. He dresses the welted breast pocket with a white linen display kerchief, often placing his hands in the jacket’s jetted hip pockets.

Poirot shares his findings to an understandably fascinated audience that includes the late Linnet’s frenemy Jackie, Poirot’s partner-in-crimesolving Colonel Race, and the widowed (and bathrobe-clad) Simon Doyle.

Poirot wears one of the traditional shirts associated with the black tie dress code, constructed of finely woven white cotton marcella (piqué) and collarless to allow its wearer to attach the clean collar of his choosing. In this case, Poirot opts for a stiff white wing collar, worn with the pointed wings in front of his bow tie as he does with his daily dress. His thistle-shaped bow tie is black silk, thus the dress code’s naming convention.

Gold studs affix the collar to the front and back of the shirt’s neckband. This old-fashioned system allowed wearers to wash their shirts and collars separately, the collars subjected to rigorous cleaning and starching to keep them stiff, sharp, and presentable… and easily replaced as needed. It was around the time that Death on the Nile was set in the mid-1930s that evening shirts began trending toward their more modern evolution, thanks to increasingly relaxed attitudes, central heating, and improved laundry processes, but Poirot remains a proponent of the old sartorial guard with his stiff detachable collars.

Poirot offers a well-received platitude for the benefit of a drunken Salome Otterbourne (Angela Lansbury).

Though these old-fashioned shirts often had detachable cuffs in addition to collars, Poirot’s double (French) cuffs appear to be attached to the shirt and made from the same lightly textured marcella shirting. He fastens them with a set of cuff links connected by a long double bar that keeps the cuffs together over his thicker wrists.

The squared pearl-effect surfaces of his cuff links match the three visible studs in place of buttons on the shirt’s front placket.

Poirot hands a clue—a torn corner of a thousand-franc note—to Colonel Race at yet another murder scene.

Though cummerbunds were increasingly accepted as alternative waist coverings in warm locales like a late summer evening in Egypt, a gentleman of Poirot’s size—not to mention his old-fashioned sartorial sensibilities—benefits from the full and more flattering coverage provided by a waistcoat as the intermediate layer between his dinner jacket and the top of his trousers.

As mentioned earlier, Poirot’s shawl-collar waistcoat is a black silk to match the lapel facings of his dinner jacket. Styled to accommodate Peter Ustinov’s girth and six-foot height, the waistcoat rises a touch higher than the traditional dress waistcoat—though still not as egregiously full-covering as the modern “prom rental” waistcoat—with four buttons covered in the same black silk as the body of the garment. Lined with white fabric, the waistcoat has two hip pockets, and Poirot wears his gold pocket watch in one of them with the chain worn “double Albert” style through a small hole cut expressly for this purpose near the third button.

Poirot’s black wool formal trousers match his dinner jacket, detailed down the side seams with narrow double stripes in black silk to echo the jacket facings and waistcoat. Even when crouching to investigate a crime scene or less-than-elegantly sprawled in drowsy repose in the ship’s lounge, Poirot’s jacket and waistcoat do their job of covering the top of his trousers so we’re privy to little of the detailing aside from the stripes running down to the plain-hemmed bottoms. We can assume that they’re held up by suspenders (braces), with white silk being the most traditional fabric, and that Poirot would opt for his usual pleats in accordance with both trending fashions and the most comfortable tailoring for his build.

By the 1930s, oxfords had increasingly supplanted the old-fashioned opera pump, or “court shoe”, as the widely seen and accepted footwear with semi-formal black tie evening-wear and even full evening dress of white tie and tails. However, as with his detachable collar, Poirot remains true to tradition as he completes his kit with a pair of well-shined black patent leather pumps detailed with the requisite grosgrain silk bows and worn with thin black silk socks.

In his 1964 volume ABCs of Men’s Fashion, published decades after Death on the Nile was set, the estimable Hardy Amies wrote that pumps “are correct wear with evening dress, especially if you are dancing” though he lamented that they “have been largely, and I think, unfortunately, replaced by a light tie-shoe in patent leather.”

Poirot keeps a pair of ivory dress gloves—likely a soft leather like chamois or suede—in his pocket, fashionable for gentlemanly pursuits like dancing but also likely serving a practical purpose should he need to handle any grisly evidence at the occasional murder scene. Of these too, Sir Hardy observes that “you were once considered to be incorrectly dressed without your gloves,” and it’s thus no surprise that Poirot would continue the tradition well into the ’30s even after many men had abandoned them for all but ceremonial occasions and cold weather.

Poirot signals respect to his lovely dance partner Rosalie Otterbourne (Olivia Hussey) by slipping on his dress gloves before sharing a tango.

For occasions requiring additional scrutiny, such as calculating his quadruple jump in checkers, he keeps his pince-nez handy, attached to a thin black cord worn around his neck. Unlike modern eyeglasses with arms and earpieces, pince-nez were supported on one’s face by bridging the bridge of their nose… hence the name “pince-nez”, which translates from French to “to pinch the nose”.

Pince-nez in hand after waking from an unexpected nap, Poirot explains to Mrs. Van Schyuler (Bette Davis) that he can “hardly keep my eyes open.”

The gloves and glasses may come and go, but Poirot always wears his sole affectation, a gold signet ring on his left pinky that appears to be etched with his monogram “H.P.”

What to Imbibe

Hoping to circumvent the slow bar service in the dining room, Poirot forages behind the bar for a liqueur that meets his gustatory preferences, inadvertently overhearing a damning confrontation between the blustering Dr. Bessner (Jack Warden) and the doomed Linnet. After she leaves the room, he makes his presence evident by rising from behind the bar, a bottle of crème de cacao in hand, to pour himself an apertif.

Poirot’s preference for these flavored liqueurs would continue into Evil Under the Sun when he requests either crème de Cassis or a sirop de banane during cocktail hour.

For the actual dinner service, Poirot’s fondness for Château Pétrus—and the telltale “moldy” sediment noted by Colonel Race—eventually tips him off that his wine must have been tampered with on the night of the first murder.

Poirot: That’s the normal sediment for a great bottle of Château Pétrus. Will you join me in some?
Col. Race: No, thanks. You stick to your wine, I’ll stick to my whisky.

Poirot and Race bicker over the colonel having sent back Poirot’s Pétrus.

One of the most exclusive and expensive wines, Château Pétrus serves as a fitting favorite for our eccentric epicurean. With typically no more than 30,000 bottles produced in a year at its Pomerol vineyard and esstate, this Bordeaux has been celebrated for its refined qualities and complex nose. Though it had been championed for decades, winning a gold medal at the third Paris World’s Fair in 1878, it wasn’t until after World War II and the successful 1945 vintage that the Pétrus global reputation truly begin to grow.

How to Get the Look

Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978)

As fastidious a dresser as he is a detective, Hercule Poirot leaves no detail unaddressed in his period-perfect black dinner suit complete with wing-collar shirt, patent leather pumps, and a shawl-collar waistcoat ornamented by his elegant gold “double Albert” watch chain.

• Black wool single-button dinner jacket with wide silk-faced peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Black silk single-breasted 4-button formal waistcoat with shawl collar, hip pockets, and notched bottom
• Black wool pleated formal trousers with black silk double side stripes and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton marcella evening shirt with collarless neckband, front placket, and double/French cuffs
  • Detachable stiff wing collar (with gold studs)
  • Mother-of-pearl squared shirt studs
  • Mother-of-pearl squared bar-style cuff links
• Black silk butterfly/thistle-shaped bow tie
• Black patent leather opera pumps with grosgrain bows
• Black silk dress socks
• Ivory dress gloves
• Gold monogrammed signet pinky ring
• Pince-nez glasses, attached via black neck-cord

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and read Agatha Christie’s original novel!

The Quote

With me it’s the exercise of the little grey cells. Luck, I leave to the others.

The post Death on the Nile: Peter Ustinov’s Dinner Suit as Poirot appeared first on BAMF Style.

John Slattery as Roger Sterling on Mad Men. (Episode 5.06: “Far Away Places”)

Vitals

John Slattery as Roger Sterling, Madison Avenue ad executive

New York City, Fall 1966

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “Far Away Places” (Episode 5.06)
Air Date: April 22, 2012
Director: Scott Hornbacher
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Tomorrow may have a storied association with cannabis, but today—April 19—has been deemed “Bicycle Day”, recognizing that wild Monday night in 1943 when Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann recognized the highly potent psychoactive properties of LSD during a mind-bending bicycle ride home from his Basel lab.

Hofmann had first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide five years earlier but his experience on April 19, 1943 now considered the first LSD trip in history. In re-synthesizing the product, Hofmann accidentally ingested 250 micrograms, leading to an intense and ultimately “not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition” for several hours. The experience convinced Hofmann of LSD’s power as a psychiatric tool, never imagining that it would be used recreationally. While Hofmann’s initial hypothesis was correct, with psychiatric patients like Cary Grant benefiting from the power of the drug, Timothy Leary’s experimentation with LSD brought the drug to mainstream consciousness, and acid trips became inextricably linked with the zeitgeist of the swingin’ ’60s.

Appropriately, it was during Mad Men‘s often-experimental fifth season, set from 1966 into 1967, that we get some extended time with characters experimenting with drugs. As with many Mad Men episodes, the sixth episode “Far Away Places” refers to a popular song of the era, though few of the characters physically transport themselves any further than upstate New York. In fact, our true New Yorker Roger Sterling doesn’t even leave Manhattan, bringing his trophy wife Jane (Peyton List) to a dinner party that surprisingly ends in an LSD trip that becomes not only a highlight of the episode but of the series as a whole, scored in part by The Beach Boys’ “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times”.

The California band’s landmark album Pet Sounds had only been released three months before the episode’s setting in early September 1966, and the song addresses Roger’s struggle with the looming threat of irrelevancy and his ongoing search for youth. Roger’s life-changing LSD encounter refreshes him more than any love affair with a PYT ever could, changing his course from spiraling insecurities to eventual contentment.

Of course, it’s an ad that significantly speaks to our conflicted Madison Avenue man during his first trip, featuring Ted Knight promoting the invigorating “Great Day for Men” hair dye. Knight was a bit-part actor and commercial voice artist at the time he posed for that Great Day ad in 1966 and—like Roger Sterling—Knight’s greatest days were still ahead of him such via his Emmy-winning performance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and his role in the iconic comedy Caddyshack.

His mind expanded during his inaugural LSD trip, Roger Sterling ultimately gives up his desperate quest for youth and—like Ted Knight, featured in the hair dye ads—would undergo a more organic renaissance as he progresses through middle age.

What’d He Wear?

“Far Away Places” marks the start of a whole new Roger Sterling, beginning a chapter replacing Lucky Strikes with LSD and supplanting business suits with blue blazers and boots. While Roger’s signature three-piece suits would stay in regular rotation through his mustached swan song in the finale, the blue blazer became a late-series staple in his wardrobe, ranging from this traditional navy single-breasted blazer to the bright marine-hued double-breasted jackets he would wear in the final season.

When Roger Sterling steps into the elevator in his super-trad navy blazer, white shirt, and tie, he looks far from the type of man about to experiment with drugs… and yet, the blue blazer signals a sartorial gateway to his own relaxed fashions and mindset in the years to follow.

We had already seen Roger in the occasional sports coat during off-hours, but he debuts his first of several navy blazers for this life-changing dinner party. This particular jacket is the most traditional style of blazer, made from a dark navy wool and single-breasted with two gilt shank buttons on the front matching the trio bedecking each cuff. Roger neatly folds his white linen pocket square into three peaks pointing up from his welted breast pocket. Accented with sporty swelled edges, the blazer’s notch lapels are moderately wider, perhaps signaling Roger’s willingness to follow the expanding fashion trends… as well as expanding his mind.

Roger’s bright scarlet red silk tie still leans toward the skinny side, tied in a tight four-in-hand and detailed with orange crowns that echo Roger’s princely self-image. The tie’s narrow width may make the crowns appear to be haphazardly scattered, but they are actually organized diagonally as though positioned along “downhill”-direction stripes.

The happy couple.

Most of the men at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce still wore primarily white dress shirts at the time, though while Don Draper preferred a rigid “uniform” of French-cuffed shirts, Roger characteristically favored shirts with less fussy button cuffs, rakishly adorned with his monogram. In this case, the left cuff of his white cotton poplin shirt has been embroidered “R.H.S.” in burgundy thread that echoes his tie.

We don’t see Roger’s shoes on screen during this sequence, but he’s almost certainly wearing the black calf semi-brogue oxfords that were his usual footwear throughout the fifth season, both in and out of the office, before he would become a full-time devotee of more mod ankle boots. Also unseen—but likely still worn—is one of Roger’s black leather belts with an “S” etched somewhere on the silver buckle.

One of my favorite aspects of this outfit are Roger’s trousers. I’ve always preferred gray trousers with blazers over khakis, and Roger takes this classic look to the next level with his twill flat front trousers patterned with a subtle dark pinstripe, either dark navy or black. When he’s seated, Roger’s plain-hemmed trouser bottoms break higher over his dark cotton lisle socks.

“My name is Roger Sterling. I have taken LSD. I live at 31 E. 66th St. New York, New York. PLEASE HELP ME.”

Roger wears an ornately detailed gold class ring on his left pinky with a black-filled tonneau face with the regal insignia from his high school, represented only as “PHS”. Each side of the ring commemorates 1927 as the year of Roger’s graduation from the mysterious institution.

Interestingly, it’s the hand with his high school class ring—recalling his youthful heyday—that Roger uses to cover the white-haired side of the hair dye ad that so significantly impacts him during his LSD trip.

For someone born into money and happy to live the carefree of a privileged playboy, the Tudor Oyster Prince may be the most aptly named wristwatch for Roger Sterling. Beginning with the fifth season, series property master Ellen Freund worked with vintage watch specialist Derek Dier to re-dress the wrists of the major characters, with a 1959 Tudor ref. 7967 chosen for the cheeky ad man. Roger’s Tudor was one of a set of four Mad Men-worn watches that was auctioned by Christie’s in 2015 alongside Megan Draper’s Jules Jorgensen, Pete Campbell’s vintage Hamilton, and Don’s luxurious Omega DeVille.

Strapped to Roger’s right wrist via black leather bracelet, the Tudor’s stainless steel case is an elegant 33mm in diameter, small by today’s standards, enclosing a silver-ringed black gloss “tuxedo” dial with luminous hands and powered by a 26-jewel automatic movement.

After a mid-trip bath that transports Roger to the infamous 1919 World Series, he and Jane dry off in silk robes and pink turbans as they lay on the floor and come to terms with their failed relationship.

All it takes is Roger and Jane’s most authentic moment of intimacy to realize that their relationship is effectively over.

What to Imbibe

Sure, anyone can crack a bottle of Stolichnaya, but—for the full Roger-on-LSD experience—you’ll need a bottle of Stoli that fills the room with the Red Army Choir singing “The Song of the Volga Boatmen” every time you unscrew the cap.

Эй, ухнем!

Stolichnaya debuted on Mad Men during the third season premiere, “Out of Town”, when Roger returns from his and Jane’s honeymoon bearing gifts for Don:

I have Stolichnaya and Cuban cigars. I sent them from Greece.

The episode is set in spring 1963, years before Stoli became the first Russian vodka to be legally imported to the United States, adding context to the suggestion that Roger had to package up his contraband and also cultivated a connection that would keep his office bar well-stocked with Stoli, customs laws be damned. According to Brands and Films, SPI Group partner Andrey Skurikhin collaborated with the Mad Men team when they contacted him about the placement, even lending the production team a vintage bottle from 1963.

Brands & Films continues to say that Stolichnaya had started making inroads to American sales in 1965 when it appeared at select retail locations in Brooklyn, giving Roger—and the dinner party hosts—less hoops to jump through in order to stock their respective bars with the Russian state-owned vodka. Under Nixon’s détente policies of the early ’70s, PepsiCo struck a groundbreaking deal with the Soviet government that permitted exportation of Pepsi into Russia in exchange for the rights to market and more widely sell Stoli in the United States.

How to Get the Look

John Slattery as Roger Sterling on Mad Men. (Episode 5.06: “Far Away Places”)

Roger Sterling’s navy blazer, white shirt, and red tie may scream trad, but the outfit sartorially signifies the emergence of a new Roger who’s more prepared to authentically experience life rather than yearning for the appearance of foregone youth.

• Navy wool single-breasted blazer with swelled-edge notch lapels, two gilt buttons, welted breast pocket, hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and double vents
• White cotton poplin shirt with spread collar, front placket, and single-button cuffs (with burgundy-embroidered monogrammed left cuff)
• Scarlet red silk skinny tie with orange crown motif
• Gray dark-pinstripe woolen twill flat front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather belt with monogrammed silver belt buckle
• Black calf leather semi-brogue cap-toe oxford shoes
• Black cotton lisle socks
• Tudor Oyster Prince (ref. 7967) watch with steel case and black-and-white “tuxedo” dial on black leather strap
• Gold class ring with black filling

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series.

The Quote

You always say I never take you anywhere.

The post Mad Men: Roger Sterling’s First Navy Blazer (and LSD Trip) appeared first on BAMF Style.

David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

Vitals

David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton, ambitious humanoid alien

New Mexico, Summer 1975

Film: The Man Who Fell to Earth
Release Date: March 18, 1976
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Costume Designer: May Routh
Tailor: Ola Hudson

Background

In the spirit of Earth Day, let’s check in with The Man Who Fell to Earth. Only David Bowie could have truly played the idealistic humanoid alien who makes a desperate voyage to Earth in order to gather the technology to save his drought-ridden home planet, only for his ageless character to succumb to the materialistic pleasures offered by the sex, drugs, and capitalism that characterized American zeitgeist in the ’70s.

Our eponymous humanoid falls to Earth in the mountains of New Mexico, from where he stumbles into the fictitious town of Haneyville. Set to the tune of Louis Armstrong’s meandering “Blueberry Hill”, he barters his gold ring at a local pawnshop once its aging owner verifies his identity via a British passport that christens him Thomas Jerome Newton, adding another twenty dollars to his growing bankroll. (The passport retains Bowie’s January 8th birthday—indeed, had he been born on Earth, the taciturn, hardworking, secretive, and determined Newton would be the quintessential Capricorn—but reassigns the year to 1946, one year before Bowie was actually born.)

Not that time matters in the world of The Man Who Fell to Earth, as the narrative spans decades but the overall look never shifts from the summer of 1975 when visionary director Nicolas Roeg helmed the production on location in New Mexico.

David Bowie in New Mexico during production of The Man Who Fell to Earth.

“Conceptually daring, experimental, avant-garde – epithets that could equally well apply to the 1976 sci-fi cult classic The Man Who Fell to Earth, its idiosyncratic director Nicolas Roeg, or its leading man, the Thin White Duke himself, Mr. David Bowie,” wrote Desmund Huthwaite for The Rake‘s tribute to the movie.

I saw The Man Who Fell to Earth for the first time about a year ago, about a month into our collective quarantine when the offerings of the Criterion Channel provided much-needed escape. After my first viewing, I felt both overwhelmed and underwhelmed, my initial thoughts akin to “well… that was different.” Despite what I perceived as my own lukewarm reaction, I found Newton’s saga, Bowie’s presence, and Anthony B. Richmond’s breathtaking cinematography sticking with me as I kept replaying parts of the movie until ultimately rewatching it and appreciating it considerably more just before it left the channel at the end of the month. Now, that‘s a powerful movie experience… and you’ll never be able to hear Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou” the same way again!

What’d He Wear?

Thomas Jerome Newton makes his boots-first landing in the Ortiz Mountains in northern New Mexico, dusting up his black oiled leather work boots, before ultimately making his way to the edge of Fenton Lake… about a hundred miles northwest on the other side of Santa Fe National Forest. Newton’s heavy apron-toe boots are derby-laced with seven eyelets.

If you’re going to fall to Earth, you’ll want a pair of substantial boots to keep your footing!

Perhaps not the most climate-friendly layer for a summer in New Mexico, Newton arrives wearing an olive brown coarse woolen coat. This hooded coat shares many characteristics of the classic British military duffel coat (also spelled “duffle”), though it lacks the duffel’s characteristic toggle fastenings, instead closing with dark brown woven leather buttons.

Original Montgomery, the oldest surviving company chosen by the British Admiralty in the 1890s to make the first duffel coats for the Royal Navy, currently offers the “London” coat with a flat collar and removable hood, similar to Bowie’s screen-worn coat, though the London coat still has the traditional toggle-front, which was designed to be more easily opened and closed by glove-wearing seamen.

I have read suggestions that Bowie’s screen-worn coat was made by Gloverall, the UK brand that took the duffel coat from military to mainstream in the 1950s. Even Gloverall’s site includes mention of The Man Who Fell to Earth though without specifically citing the coat as one of their own, commenting that “Newton’s choice to use such a popular, uniform coat marks him as both anonymous within the crowd (helping him to blend in) while also part of ‘in crowd’ at the time that happily rebelled against conventionality and stereotype.”

The collar and buttons are a significant detail differentiating Newton’s arrival coat from the classic British military duffel.

Newton’s knee-length, double-breasted coat has four parallel rows of two buttons each, each row connected via a short strap with a button on each pointed end. It buttons up just shy of the neck, where the presence of a short loop suggests an additional button rigged on the right closes at the top. The set-in sleeves are finished at each cuff with a squared tab with two stacked buttons to close.

Production photo of David Bowie filming The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Around the coat’s Prussian collar, a hood buttons in place with two 4-hole plastic buttons on the back and one on each side of the front and a drawstring to adjust the hood’s fit.

While traditional duffel coats are indeed hooded, the fact that Newton’s hood can be unbuttoned and detached indicates yet another difference.

When Newton arrives at the Haneyville pawn shop, he removes his coat to use as a makeshift pillow, revealing charcoal waxed canvas coveralls that zip up from crotch to neck.

These coveralls have two low-slung open-top chest pockets above the elasticized waist and slanted hand pockets positioned just below it. The raglan sleeves close with squared single-button cuffs. Underneath, he wears a plain white cotton crew-neck short-sleeve undershirt.

Newton wears a pair of silver-framed sunglasses with squared lenses throughout The Man Who Fell to Earth.

The design is relatively simple, though they have become so enduringly linked to David Bowie’s image that they inspired the “Thin White Duke” frame in Etnia Barcelona‘s limited edition Bowie collection that celebrates the stylish rock star’s legacy. Given its exclusivity, the Bowie collection sold out quickly, though you can still echo the style with frames like the Ray-Ban RB3857 Frank (via Amazon or Ray-Ban) or the budget-friendly SOJOS alternative (also via Amazon).

Years later, after finding success and revealing his true nature to Mary Lou (Candy Clark), he layers the coat over one of his many white long-sleeved shirts—buttoned to the neck—as he walks out to the pier he built extending from his luxury home built on Fenton Lake.

Costume designer May Routh’s concept for Newton’s arrival was carried out almost exactly on screen, right down to the modified duffel coat and combat boots. (Source: Dazed)

“David wanted a look that was very simple; as a man coming from another planet, he thought he should wear things that wouldn’t stand out or attract attention to him,” recalled costume designer May Routh in a retrospective interview with Dazed. “So he had to look really quite ordinary—until you realize he has orange hair, at least!”

In addition to The Man Who Fell to Earth being Bowie’s major screen debut, it was also the first movie credit for now-prolific costume designer May Routh, whose credits now also include Being There, My Favorite Year, Ronin, and Reindeer Games. Routh recalled working with Bowie to be an uncommonly pleasant and collaborative experience:

He was so helpful, especially in designing the special effects costumes. At the time I didn’t realize it was anything special, I thought all actors were going to be like him – big mistake!

The outfit Routh designed for Newton’s arrival translated from sketch to screen with almost perfect alignment, executing her vision of a “dark olive green duffel coat, dark grey jumpsuit, [and] black lace-up combat boots.”

During an interview with SciFiNow, Routh recalled that the coat was director Nicolas Roeg’s idea, which she initially found to be “weird, because funnily enough in America they don’t really wear them and when I found one it was actually olive green, which was for us quite strange because we thought they would be beige. But they were all things like that, that just threw you off slightly.”

How to Get the Look

David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

On the surface, there is very little about how Thomas Jerome Newton is dressed that suggests he’s an alien… until you catch a glimpse of the orange hair or that weightlessly wiry frame under the layers of his warm duffel-style hooded coat and coveralls.

Newton’s appearance for his arrival transcends time (like the rest of The Man Who Fell to Earth—and, indeed, David Bowie himself) as a functional and surprisingly fashionable hard-wearing outfit that has become a lasting look in Bowie’s legacy of offbeat style.

• Olive brown coarse wool modified duffel coat with button-in hood, 8×2-button double-breasted front, straight flapped hip pockets, and 2-button tab cuffs
• Charcoal waxed canvas coveralls with two chest pockets, two hand pockets, zip-up front, elasticized waistband, and squared 1-button cuffs
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeve T-shirt
• Black oiled leather 7-eyelet derby-laced apron-toe work boots
• Silver square-framed sunglasses

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and Walter Tevis’ novel.

A side profile of David Bowie wearing Newton’s hooded coat would be used on the cover of his 1977 album Low.

The Quote

I don’t hate anyone. I can’t.

The post The Man Who Fell to Earth: David Bowie’s Hooded Coat and Coveralls appeared first on BAMF Style.