Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby on the third episode of Peaky Blinders.

Vitals

Cillian Murphy as Thomas “Tommy” Shelby, cunning Peaky Blinders gang leader and jaded WWI veteran

Gloucestershire, England, Fall 1919

Series: Peaky Blinders
Episodes: Episodes 1.03 – 1.05
Air Dates: September 26, 2013 – October 10, 2013
Directors: Otto Bathurst (Episode 1.03) & Tom Harper (Episode 1.04 & 1.05)
Creator: Steven Knight
Costume Designer: Stephanie Collie
Tailor: Keith Watson

Background

While many will be celebrating their Irish heritage this week (whether it exists or not), fans of Peaky Blinders may be interested to know that tomorrow marks the beginning of the Cheltenham Festival, the prestigious annual four-day meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar that finds many of the best British and Irish-trained horses racing against the backdrop of the excited crowd’s “Cheltenham roar”.

The 1919 Cheltenham Festival was the setting of Tommy Shelby’s decidedly unromantic “first date” with Grace when he pimps her out to ruthless gangster Billy Kimber after a display of his own gang’s power. Luckily for Grace (or perhaps for Kimber, as Grace had just gotten her hand on her revolver), Tommy grows a conscience at the last second and bursts in with the charming words that every lady likes to hear on a date: “She may look good on the outside, but she’s a whore.”

During their ride back to Birmingham, a revolted Grace tosses the day’s events around while trying to make sense of it: “Start of the day, I was Lady Sarah of Connemara. By the end, I was a whore with the clap. You’re a fucking bastard offering me like that, but then you change your mind. Why did you change your mind, Thomas?”

What’d He Wear?

For his day at the races, Tommy Shelby wears a gray shadow-striped lightweight flannel three-piece suit. The shadow stripes appear to be a muted burgundy stripe and a thinner gray stripe a shade lighter than the rest of the suit. Also from venerable Savile Row tailor Keith Watson, this suit is tailored and styled exactly like his darker herringbone striped suit, right down to the cloth-covered buttons on the suit jacket and waistcoat.

Although he acts disinterested, Tommy wearing a new suit for his “date” with Grace should’ve signaled something.

This suit is clearly a big deal for Tommy, as we get a concentrated scene that focuses on each aspect of his outfit as we see him putting it on for the first time in the series. Interestingly, the two major times he wears it are for major business events superficially disguised as romantic occasions; he wears it for his Cheltenham “date” in the third episode that is actually just a power move against Billy Kimber, and he wears it in the next episode for John’s wedding that had been arranged specifically to bring peace between the Shelby and Lee clans.

Like the herringbone suit I mentioned earlier, this gray striped suit has a single-breasted jacket with notch lapels that roll over the top of the three cloth-covered buttons. Tommy pins his boutonnière for John’s wedding through the buttonhole stitched through his left lapel. Although the boutonnière is a rare bit of flash for that occasion, Tommy always keeps a white linen pocket square neatly folded into his jacket’s welted breast pocket. The jacket also has straight flapped hip pockets.

A promotional still of Cillian Murphy on Peaky Blinders.

Tommy’s suit jacket has straight and padded shoulders, a shallow chest, and a pulled-in waist. The back is ventless and the sleeves extend down from roped heads on the shoulders to the two widely spaced cuff buttons, also covered in the same gray shadow-striped flannel cloth. It is, indeed, styled exactly like the herringbone suit (to the point where I borrowed much of my description from that post!), indicating that Tommy still feels comfortable in some variant of a uniform even after his traumatic war service in France.

The aftermath of a Peaky Blinders wedding.

The suit has a matching waistcoat (which we Americans just call a “vest”) with six cloth-covered buttons down the single-breasted front, leaving the lowest button undone over the notched bottom. Like his other suit, it has shawl lapels and two lower welt pockets.

Closing time…

Tommy’s pocketwatch – at least during the first season – is a gold Waltham open-faced railroad watch with Arabic numerals and a sub-dial at 6:00. He wears it in the left pocket of his waistcoat, attached on a gold link chain through the third buttonhole to a gold fob.

Tommy checks the time while waiting in his Ford with Mrs. Kimber.

The suit trousers ditch the bell bottoms that the real Peaky Blinders were known to wear in real life, with costume designer Stephanie Collie instead opting for trousers with a straight leg and short break that almost certainly look better than the real gang’s trousers would have looked anyway. The flat front trousers rise high on the waist – another preference of Collie’s, but a historically accurate one! – with frogmouth front pockets and no back pockets. Although they can’t be seen in any of these scenes, Tommy almost definitely wears suspenders (braces) to hold up his trousers.

Tommy and Grace arrive at Cheltenham.

The trousers’ short break means getting a better look at Tommy’s black leather combat boots. The cap-toe half boots have nine eyelets for front lacing and resemble the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ “boondockers” issued during World War II. Tommy wears his boots with gray socks that rise high on his calf and continue the leg line of his gray striped trousers.

Tommy wears this suit in three different episodes, wearing a different shirt each time. All of the shirts are striped cotton dress shirts that are worn with attachable white club collars that come to a sharp point in the front; the collar is attached with a gold stud through the front and back of the shirt’s collar band.

Each of the three shirts have white plastic buttons down a front placket and single cuffs for links. Even though this is Tommy’s closest thing to a “dress suit”, he continues his first season habit of never wearing a necktie.

For the suit’s first appearance at the Cheltenham races in the third episode, Tommy wears a white and light gray striped shirt that he tends to wear through most of the first season. His cuff links are reddish discs with silver trim that connect the single cuffs on a silver chain-link.

Tommy helps Grace out of a jam by calling her a whore. It’s a long story.

In the next episode, at John’s wedding, Tommy wears a white shirt with thin purple pinstripes. The single cuffs are closed by a pair of shiny, all-silver oblong links. This was also the first shirt seen on the series when Tommy rides through Birmingham on his white horse in the first scene of the first episode.

For the suit’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in the fifth episode, Tommy wears a white shirt with thin red pinstripes. Like the others, he can also be seen wearing this shirt with his dark gray striped herringbone suit.

Tommy briefly watches Grace singing in the fifth episode.

On each sleeve of his shirt, Tommy wears a steel link-style garter.

Tommy’s watch, pocket square, sleeve garter, and collar are laid out before his big day at the races.

While some men of the era may have opted for more formal headgear for these occasions, it would be foolish for Tommy Shelby to go anywhere without his “peaky blinder” – a brown and gray mixed barleycorn tweed newsboy cap with a razor stitched just above the cap’s peak. When not wearing the hat or using its peak to blind an enemy (that’s where the moniker comes from, folks), Tommy stuffs the cap into the right hip pocket of his suit jacket.

The proud brother watches John get married… and thus end a feud between two of the most violent families in Birmingham.

John’s wedding is set a little later in the series as the weather is growing chillier, so Tommy wears his black herringbone wool single-breasted overcoat. This three-button topcoat has large low-gorge notch lapels, large flapped hip pockets, roped sleeveheads, and a long single vent. Since Tommy almost never buttons his coat, the black silk lining is often seen as his coat flaps around in the wind.

Tommy and Arthur arrive to deliver the big news to John.

Tommy appears to be wearing his same striped cotton henley undershirt, which has long sleeves and a four-button front bib with red stripes on the white ground.

On his left pinky, Tommy – as well as Arthur and John – wears a gold “belt” ring, as identified by a commentor on my first Peaky Blinders post. The belt is a choice motif for the Shelby brothers as it symbolizes “unbreakable strength of upholding loyalty” on its eternal loop, according to ArtOfMourning.com.

Perhaps not a coincidence that Tommy would press his belt ring against John’s neck when reminding him of his duties to the family.

Another reminder of the Shelby brothers’ strength can be found under Tommy’s left armpit in the form of a dark brown leather shoulder holster for his large Webley .455 revolver.

For those days when a razor blade in your hat won’t suffice…

For more about Peaky Blinders style at Clothes on Film, check out this page. As Collie told Clothes on Film: “These men probably only had maybe one or two suits, which is how we worked as well. Cillian has literally only got one or two suits throughout, but hopefully you don’t even notice that because you’re engrossed in the story. The clothes are there to be part of the story, but you don’t want anyone to go ‘oh, wow!’ when they see them. They can never be more important than what’s going on in the scene.”

Go Big or Go Home

With a major Irish celebration coming up this week, embrace Tommy Shelby’s drinking habits (and Cillian Murphy’s nationality) by getting yourself a bottle of Bushmills… known then as “Old Bushmills” as seen on the Shelby brothers’ frequently used bottles. As I noted in a previous post, Tommy also smokes Sweet Afton cigarettes, another Irish brand. Introduced in 1919 by P.J. Carroll & Co. (now a subsidiary of British American Tobacco), Sweet Aftons just made the cut of being correct for the show’s timeline.

Like so many other troubled white male protagonists on modern TV, Tommy often finds himself sitting alone at the bar with a cigarette and a glass of whiskey.

To know me is to know that I have a special affinity for music of the 1920s, so I was delighted to hear three different familiar songs played when Tommy and Grace are dancing at the Cheltenham races in the third episode. Interestingly, a few of the recordings were made during the 1950s using original ’20s-style arrangements. There was a brief trend in the mid-1950s that found many old Tin Pan Alley standards re-recorded for hi-fi players, and many old bandleaders from the era like Paul Whiteman and Jean Goldkette found themselves back in the recording studio to recreate the sounds that had made them famous three decades earlier.

Pro tip: Your date won’t like it if you ditch her in the middle of a song to deliver a sack of stolen money to a gangster.

The first song heard during the Cheltenham party is “Cataract Rag” as performed by Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (Link). Colyer was a British trumpeter devoted to New Orleans jazz who cut this track for his New Orleans to London and Back to the Delta album. The first lineup of the Jazzmen performing on his album were Chris Barber, Monty Sunshine, Ron Bowden, Lonnie Donegan, and Jim Bray; this lineup was only together in 1953 and 1954 before splitting up. “Cataract Rag” had been written four decades earlier, in 1914, by Robert Hampton.

“Either your left leg is stronger than your right or we’re making a getaway,” Grace notes when Tommy picks up his dancing pace during “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue”, here performed by Firehouse Five Plus Two (Link). While not published until 1925 and remembered as a standard of the “Roaring Twenties”, the song had actually been written more than a decade earlier, supposedly first penned by Percy Weinrich and Jack Mahoney in 1914. Firehouse Five Plus Two was a Dixieland workhorse throughout the 1950s, putting out album after album celebrating the first years of jazz and clearly having fun while they’re at it. I own several Firehouse Five Plus Two albums on vinyl, including The Firehouse Five Plus Two Story, Vol. 3, the 1955 album that contained this track. (Much to my neighbors’ chagrin, I actually use this recording as my alarm ringtone every morning before work.)

While Tommy’s beloved Grace does indeed have blue eyes, Annabelle Wallis’ statuesque height of 5’7″ prevents her from resembling the subject of the song.

Finally, the pace of the music slows as a recording of “Fascination” by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians underscores Tommy and Kimber’s negotiations (Link). Originally written as “Fascination Waltz” by Fermo Dante Marchetti in 1904 (with words added the following year), the song wasn’t published until 1932 and attained its greatest popularity the next year when it was used in the film The House on 56th Street starring Kay Francis. Guy Lombardo’s version featured on Peaky Blinders was included on his 1959 album Dancing Room Only.

How to Get the Look

Tommy’s lighter gray striped flannel suit is just a variation of his everyday suit, but it’s an example of how a man can determine his own “uniform” of similarly styled and tailored suits to be worn depending on the occasion.

• Gray shadow-striped lightweight flannel three-piece tailored suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted jacket with notch lapels, 3-roll-2 covered-button front, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 2 covered-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Single-breasted waistcoat with shawl lapels, 6 covered-button front, notched bottom, and welted hip pockets
  • Flat front high-rise trousers with frogmouth front pockets, straight leg, and plain-hemmed short break bottoms
• White-and-gray striped cotton collarless shirt with front placket, white collar band, and single cuffs
• White detachable stiff club collar
• Silver and red disc cuff links
• Silver chain-link arm garters
• Black herringbone wool single-breasted topcoat with large notch lapels, 3-button front, flapped hip pockets, and long single vent
• Black leather 9-eyelet front-laced cap-toe “boondocker” half boots
• Gray tall socks
• Suspenders
• White cotton long-sleeve henley undershirt with red-striped bib and 4-button front
• White cotton boxer shorts
• Gray & brown mixed barleycorn tweed newsboy cap
• Waltham gold railroad pocketwatch, worn on gold chain with fob
• Gold “belt” pinky ring

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the first season or catch the first two seasons on Netflix!

The Quote

Everyone’s a whore… we just sell different parts of ourselves.

Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone as the new Mr. and Mrs. Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).

Vitals

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate

Las Vegas, Spring 1974

Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: John A. Dunn & Rita Ryack

Background

Many Americans are rocking green today for St. Patrick’s Day, so BAMF Style is taking a look at an all-green outfit sported by Robert De Niro in Casino, one of his 70 costume changes and part of the movie’s staggering $1 million costume budget.

In the context of the film timeline, De Niro’s “Ace” Rothstein isn’t buying shots of Jameson in a cheaply decorated bar or vomiting in an alleyway while a parade of leprechauns walks by; he’s taking his new wife Ginger (Sharon Stone) to their first new home after their marriage.

What’d He Wear?

Rita Ryack, one of Casino‘s costume designers, stated that the costumes were meant to reflect the chaos in the story, with more chaotic colors appearing as the events on screen unfold. This scene contains one of Ace’s most tranquil moments, so his monochromatic color scheme – while loud – indicates his rare inner peace. De Niro has said elsewhere on screen that “geniuses pick green”; while Ace is indeed a gambling genius, green is also an earthy color that symbolizes balance, stability, and rebirth. The workaholic Ace has found a life balance with his new life partner, and his trust in this beautiful young woman leads to a short-lived period of renewed energy and happiness.

A tale of two Aces: De Niro nails the vanity of a guy like Sam Rothstein who would constantly be checking to see that he looked his best during important moments of his life.

Though constructed from a different suiting, Ace’s light green Western-styled suit shares much of its styling and tailoring points with the ivory polyester suit he would later wear when confronting Ginger and Lester in the diner. The material is shiny, indicating the possibility of mohair or a mohair blend.

The single-breasted jacket has pointed Western-style yokes over each shoulder down onto the chest. The presence of the yokes means no breast pocket; the two flapped hip pockets sit straight on the waist. Both the yokes and the pocket flaps shine as a slightly more vivid shade of green under certain light.

The two buttons on the front of the jacket and the two buttons on the end of each cuff are steel. Edge swelling is present on the notch lapels, yokes, and pocket flaps. The shoulders are padded, and the sleeveheads are roped. Although the suit doesn’t receive much screen time, it appears to have the same “pinch-back” jacket as the ivory suit with a single pleat, half-belt, and single vent in the back.

Ace proudly presents Ginger with millions of dollars of jewelry… then tells her she has to keep it locked in a bank vault out of their home.

Ace’s matching suit trousers are flat front with an extended waistband tab that closes on the right with a concealed hook. They have straight on-seam side pockets and flared, plain-hemmed bottoms.

The happy couple.

Ace flips to the other end of the green spectrum with his dark green silk shirt and matching tie. The very distinctive shirt has a large point collar, epaulettes (or “shoulder straps”) that button on the outside of the shoulder rather than against the collar, and two chest pockets that button closed through a mitred-edge flap. The left chest pocket flap is monogrammed with “S.R.” stitched in dark green on the pocket’s left edge.

Ginger tries to talk Ace into keeping at least one of her new jewelry pieces at home, but it would disrupt the nature of their business relationship marriage.

Ace’s shirt also incorporates the familiar “Lapidus cuff”, the unique cuff seen throughout the 1970s that close with a single button on a tab. In addition to many of Robert De Niro’s shirts in Casino, the Lapidus cuff made its way onto several of the Frank Foster shirts worn by Roger Moore during his tenure as James Bond.

The name’s Rothstein. Ace Rothstein.

Barely seen on screen, Ace wears a pair of olive alligator leather tassel loafers. Although the shoes follow Ace’s green theme for his outfit, he curiously breaks it up with his socks, a pair of thin brown silk dress socks with dark brown stripes.

Scorsese directs De Niro and Stone on set.

Ace opts for all silver jewelry and accessories, wearing a flat all-steel watch with a square silver dial on his right wrist and a silver ring on his right pinky. This is the very scene where Ginger is gifted with millions of dollars worth of Bvlgari jewelry from Ace, but there’s still no confirmation if they were behind any of Ace’s bling.

Worth mentioning in any sartorial post about Casino is artist Ibraheem Youssef’s impressive tribute to all of De Niro’s various suits in Casino, found here.

Go Big or Go Home

Dinah Washington’s “Unforgettable” played during their otherwise forgettable marriage proposal, and now – at the end of their engagement – the title track of Dinah’s 1959 album What a Diff’rence a Day Makes! plays as Ace pulls up to their new home in his (anachronistic!) orange 1977 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz coupe.

Although the song was originally published in 1934 as “What a Diff’rence a Day Made“, Dinah’s rendition brings the action to the present tense. Her voice is full of hope and, backed by the inspiring orchestra conducted by arranger Belford Hendricks, the song surely reflects Ace at his happiest.

Of course with an abode like that, Ace’s palpable excitement is understandable. The house, located off the edge of the Las Vegas National Golf Course, belonged to hip hop mogul Suge Knight at the time of filming. A terrific post by David Latta explores the house – located at 3515 Cochise Lane – and some of its history. The 4,862 square-foot house is also listed on Zillow, citing that it was built in 1964 and boasts four bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. The real Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and his wife dwelled in a slightly smaller but equally luxurious house only a few miles away, within the private Las Vegas Country Club.

The real Lefty’s home at 972 Vegas Valley Drive is currently for sale*, listed at $750,000 on Zillow. Lefty had the house built new for him and Geri (the real-life Ginger) in 1970, a year after they were married. The 3,266 square-foot home has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and swank throughout from the bathroom to the pool. The house was evidently re-listed in January 2015.

* as of March 2016

How to Get the Look

Rarely can you gift someone a chinchilla coat and still be the loudest-dressed person in the room, but Ace Rothstein pulls it off with considerable aplomb. If you want to wear all green for St. Patrick’s Day, be wary that this isn’t a suit you’ll want to try to wash vomit out of.

• Light green mohair Western-styled suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted pinch-back jacket with edge-stitched notch lapels, 2-button front (steel buttons), flapped hip pockets, 2-button cuffs (steel buttons), and pleated half-belt back with single rear vent
  • Flat front trousers with extended waistband tab, straight on-seam side pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark green silk dress shirt with large point collar, button-down epaulettes, and 1-button tab “Lapidus cuffs”
• Dark green silk necktie
• Olive alligator leather tassel loafers
• Brown thin silk dress socks with dark stripes
• Steel wristwatch with square silver dial and flat bracelet
• Silver pinky ring

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

All this stuff doesn’t mean anything… without trust. I have to be able to trust you with my life.

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in “Two Tonys”, episode 5.01 of The Sopranos.

Vitals

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, Jersey mob boss and conflicted family man

New Jersey, March 2004

Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “Two Tonys” (Episode 5.01)
Air Date: March 7, 2004
Director: Tim Van Patten
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa

Background

Easter is right around the corner, so BAMF Style is taking this Mafia Monday to look at a brightly-dressed family man.

Recently inspired by The Prince of Tides (by all things), Tony decided the time was right to escalate his therapy by actually dating his therapist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi. Following up on his gift of flowers – accompanied by a gallon of Tide detergent – he is persistent in his desire to see her socially, despite her outright refusal. When finally pushed to her limits by him, Dr. Melfi lists off the things about him as a person that don’t appeal to her – including, you know, being a criminal – and he doesn’t take it well.

What’d He Wear?

Although he always had a habit of dressing nicely for his therapy sessions, the newly-single Tony softens his look when returning to Dr. Melfi in “Two Tonys” with the aim of asking her out on a date.

Tony wears a pale blue single-breasted sportcoat with a subtle windowpane overcheck. It closes with a single button at the bottom of the notch lapels; the left lapel has a stitched buttonhole. Given Tony’s hat-in-hand approach (at least until he blows up), I’m half-surprised that he didn’t stick a carnation in his lapel to impress Dr. Melfi.

Tony in therapy. Sort of.

Despite no carnation, he does have a light blue printed silk handkerchief – which perfectly matches his tie – puffing out of the jacket’s welted breast pocket. Tony’s jacket also has jetted hip pockets, as many of his do.

Tony’s jacket is ventless with padded shoulders, roped sleeveheads, and 4-button cuffs. This type of jacket was a Tony Soprano favorite in the later seasons, with sportcoats in all shades of blue, gray, gold, and brown showing up with the same subtle overcheck grid, style points, and tailoring details.

Like most people, even Tony Soprano paces when he’s nervous.

Tony wears a pair of light brown wool trousers with a full but straight cut through the legs. As Tony, James Gandolfini tends to wear pleated pants that are more flattering considering his considerable size, and these double reverse-pleated slacks are no exception. They have straight pockets on each side, about an inch forward from the seams. The bottoms are cuffed with turn-ups and have a short break.

Tony fails to consider during his courtship of Dr. Melfi that she may not be attracted to men who wear pleated pants. (As I’ve known some women for whom pleats are a dealbreaker.)

Tony goes the extra step when matching his brown leather belt to his brown loafers; the belt has a gold half-oval buckle, and the loafers have a gold horsebit detail. His light brown ribbed dress socks continue the leg line from the trousers into his shoes.

Tony and that glass table have a bit of a tempestuous relationship…

In addition to all of the earth tones on Tony’s lower half, he wears a light ecru dress shirt with a spread collar and French cuffs fastened by gold “cluster” links. The shirt appears yellow in some of the promotional photos released with the episode, but its appearance on the show is more along the lines of ecru than the more vivid yellow.

Tony’s light blue printed silk tie both calls out the pale blue jacket while perfectly matching his display kerchief; the two were likely available as a set. The pattern alternates between a blue floral burst and a paler blue square that encapsulates a red diamond-like shape.

The same outfit is briefly seen again in “Where’s Johnny?” (Episode 5.03) during a meeting with Uncle Junior. As he wears it without a tie this time, he swaps out the light blue printed silk pocket square for a cream silk one with light blue dots.

“Where’s Johnny?” (Episode 5.03)

Now a single man, Tony has cut his accessories down from five to four with the removal of his wedding ring. Now, the gold pinky ring on his right hand is his own finger embellishment; the ring has a ruby and a diamond stone. Further up the right hand, Tony wears a wide gold chain bracelet around his wrist.

On the opposing wrist, Tony wears his luxurious Rolex-Preisdent Day-Date watch. The wristwatch has a yellow gold 18-karat 36mm case, a “champagne” gold dial, and a flat three-piece link bracelet with a concealed clasp. A commentor on my last Tony Soprano post clarified for me that this is the 18238 model (rather than the 118238), evident by its polished lugs and heavier bracelet that Rolex had introduced for this model.

Even Tony’s cuff links are gold. Now there’s a guy who knows his brand.

Tony’s final accessory remains unseen under his shirt, a gold open-link chain necklace from which a pendant of St. Jerome dangles over his white ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt.

How to Get the Look

When courting Dr. Melfi, Tony knows that she’s got more class than his usual goomahs. He dresses to impress and make himself look as affluently non-threatening as possible… a decision that he reverses by the end of the episode when he sits outside chomping on a cigar while wearing a leather jacket and cradling an AK-47* on his back patio.

• Pale blue windowpane single-breasted 1-button sport coat with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Light ecru dress shirt with a spread collar, plain front, and double/French cuffs
• Gold “cluster” cuff links
• Light blue printed silk necktie
• Light brown double reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, straight side pockets, jetted rear pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Brown leather belt with gold half-oval single-claw buckle
• Brown leather horsebit loafers
• Light brown ribbed dress socks
• White ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt
• Rolex President Day-Date 18238 yellow gold wristwatch
• Gold open-link chain bracelet
• Gold pinky ring with ruby and diamond stones
• Gold open-link chain necklace with round St. Jerome pendant

The light blue printed silk display kerchief in Tony’s breast pocket perfectly matches his tie, a likely indication that the two were sold together.

* The “AK-47” is actually a Chinese-made Norinco Type 84S rifle, a 5.56×45 mm derivative of Norinco’s AK-47 clone.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the entire series.

The Quote

You know, forget about the way that Tony Soprano makes his way in the world, that’s just to feed his children. There’s two Tony Sopranos. You’ve never seen the other one.

Al Pacino as Carlito Brigante in Carlito’s Way (1993).

Vitals

Al Pacino as Carlito “Charlie” Brigante, paroled nightclub owner and former heroin dealer

New York City, September 1975

Film: Carlito’s Way
Release Date: November 3, 1993
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Aude Bronson-Howard

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Ten years after the wild success of Scarface, Al Pacino strapped on a gat and stepped in front of Brian De Palma’s camera as Carlito Brigante, the character developed in Judge Edwin Torres’ 1970s crime novels Carlito’s Way and After Hours. Despite its title, Carlito’s Way is primarily based on the latter novel, depicting Carlito’s desperate attempts to “go straight” after yet another release from prison.

Unfortunately, Carlito’s life is filled with colorful characters like his impulsive cousin Guajiro (John Ortiz), opportunistic friend Pachanga (Luis Guzmán), and the swaggeringly ambitious “Benny Blanco from the Bronx” (John Leguizamo)… not to mention the ultimate in sleazy lawyers, David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn), who even appears to have inspired the character of Ken Rosenberg in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and was likely inspired by real life attorneys such as-

-never mind, don’t want to get sued.

The only good thing in Carlito’s post-prison life appears to be his budding relationship with his former girlfriend, Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), who has channeled her aspiring dance career into one of the more naked professions. Learning that there could be a baby Carlito on the way, our tragic hero ties off his loose ends and prepares to raise his family in paradise.

What’d He Wear?

Although he’s no longer dealing, Carlito seals his badass cred in Spanish Harlem by strutting around in a the epitome of a Badass Longcoat. Carlito wears a long black leather coat that extends down past his knees without ever looking too big on Pacino’s 5’7″ frame. On the last day of the movie, Carlito dresses up his black leather coat with a vest, tie, and trousers.

Carlito and Gail receive some disquieting news, but he remains unflappable.

This classic ’70s coat is single-breasted with four buttons down the front, which Carlito always leaves open. The large lapels are embellished by detailed stitching about 3/4″ inward from the edges, which extends down the front of the jacket. The flapped hand pockets slant down toward the back. (The jacket has evidently been repaired since Carlito was shot in the shoulder while wearing it when Guajiro takes him to the crooked drug deal.)

Carlito confronts his former lawyer and former friend (aw…)

A very distinctive aspect of the coat is the ridging that appears on the front, back, and sleeves. Eleven ridges stitched diagonally on each chest panel create what looks like ten “tubes” between the jacket’s center and side stitching. The cuffs are plain with no buttons or straps, but there are six ribbed “tubes” that extend around the front half of the sleeves. Some of the coat’s replica sites describe this more simply as “a stripe design on the sleeves and across the chest” or “unique stitching detail pattern at front and back”.

The back of the coat is split beneath an inverted V-shaped yoke at the top. Each side is then split into two more panels, with seven more ribbed “tubes” stitched diagonally down to each outer side of the jacket. Stitching across the waist separates the top of the jacket from the bottom, with a single rear vent splitting the bottom back. (I might be doing a very bad job explaining these ridges and tubes. Luckily, there are screenshots to help explain!)

Carlito ties up his loose ends in various ways.

According to a 1994 article from Entertainment Weekly, the coat immediately sparked vintage leather jacket revival for both men and women:

The uberlapeled three-quarter-length leather coat recently worn by Al Pacino in Carlito’s Way has sent fans—including actresses Rosie Perez, Annabella Sciorra, and Rebecca De Mornay, and singer Terence Trent D’Arby—scurrying into thrift shops for used originals (which can be found for $60) and into high-end boutiques for pricey, more stylish ’90s versions of the jacket (a Donna Karan design goes for $1,350). While the coat screams Superfly, Shaft, and maybe even Starsky and Hutch, it defies simple description. ”It’s kind of like the jacket in Shaft, but modified,” says Aude Bronson-Howard, costume designer for the ’70s-set Carlito’s Way, who scoured New York City thrift shops until she unearthed the perfect two-decade-old specimen.

Carlito’s coat remains very popular with fans of the film, and plenty of replica sites – including South Beach Leather, Leathers Club, and Leather Madness – offer their own versions for typically under $200. The popularity of the coat even led to a replica showing up on Jay Hernandez when he played a younger Carlito in the 2005 prequel, Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power, a straight-to-video film that certainly exists.

Carlito’s metallic gray silk shirt is rare for 1975 in that its large spread collar has long points that would make it fashionable then without being too long to be fashionable today. It buttons down a front placket and has squared French cuffs that Carlito fastens with silver oval links.

The action… wait for it… escalates.

Carlito’s dark silver tie is a shade darker than his shirt, worn in a loose four-in-hand knot with his unbuttoned shirt collar. The pattern on the tie is a series of ornate gray and olive diamonds and broken squares.

Although the coat is large enough to be worn over a suit, Carlito opts only to wear a suit’s vest and trousers underneath his coat. Both appear to be part of a black wool suit with thin black tonal stripes.

Carlito prepares for trouble.

Carlito’s single-breasted vest has four welt pockets and five buttons down the front, although he typically leaves the top one or two undone. The bottom button is high enough over the notched bottom that he can comfortably and fashionably wear it buttoned.

Carlito looks appropriately smug for a man hearing some incriminating recordings.

The matching flat front trousers are straight through the legs down to the slightly flared (this was supposed to be 1975…) plain-hemmed bottoms. Carlito can clearly be seen delving into the trousers’ slanted side pockets, but the back is never seen. He often tucks his Beretta away behind his waist, although this may just be into the waistband of his trousers and not into a pocket.

No wonder so many people are afraid of escalators.

Carlito wears a thin dark russet textured leather belt, which fastens with a large half-oval brass single-claw buckle. The high placement of the vest’s bottom button and the low rise of the trousers mean that the belt is frequently poking out, especially during the action scenes.

Interestingly, Carlito mismatches his belt and shoes by sporting a pair of black leather ankle boots, similar to the “Cuban boots” that Pacino had worn in Scarface.

For a guy trying to stay under the radar, Carlito is no stranger to flashy jewelry. On his right pinky, he wears a large gold ring with a black square-set stone split by a single gold bar. He also wears a yellow gold chain-link identity bracelet on his right wrist.

Carlito gives Gail a reassuring pat on the belly like every woman loves.

Gold jewelry appears to be Carlito’s preference, as he wears a yellow gold wristwatch on his left wrist. This round-cased watch has a dark blue dial and is worn on a gold bracelet. I’ve seen it identified as an 18-karat Piaget, but that may just be from the book (which I, admittedly, have not yet read.) Hoping the experts might be able to weigh in here…

After Benny Blanco from the Bronx has made his impression on Charlie, we return to the opening sequence where Carlito is being carted off on a gurney. Part of his shirt sleeve is torn away, revealing the short sleeve of a white cotton crew neck undershirt.

Go Big or Go Home

To generalize from the two decades of Pacino’s career that preceded it, Carlito Brigante could be simplified as Tony Montana with Serpico’s scruples. He’s an outgoing and almost flamboyantly charismatic Hispanic drug dealer… but too many years in prison have led to him seeing the light and looking to honestly make *ahem* his way in the world.

Although everyone has spent much of the movie praising Carlito’s cunning, it’s during this final act that we see the greatest examples of his cunning. He outwits his sleazy, double-dealing lawyer and secures his demise in the most passive but definite way possible, and he’s able to affably distract a group of mobsters bent on killing him with just enough time to get away. This latter evasion is a stroke of genius, scored by (Patti) Labelle’s 1974 ode to intercourse “Lady Marmalade”, and leads to yet another great De Palma-directed gunfight set in a train station.

Unfortunately, his raison d’être also serves as his hamartia; though he is a master of spotting the long game, he fails to see the moves being set up in front of him that lead to his sadly aborted trip to paradise with Gail.

How to Get the Look

Carlito oozes ’70s cool, looking equally badass whether rushing through the streets, taking charge at his nightclub, or doing battle against a group of mobsters.

• Black long leather coat with large edge-stitched lapels, 4-button single-breasted front, slanted flapped side pockets, long single vent, and ribbed stripe-stitching on front/back/cuffs
• Metallic gray silk dress shirt with long-pointed spread collar, front placket, and squared double/French cuffs
• Dark silver silk tie with gray and olive square-and-diamond motif
• Black tonal-striped wool single-breasted 5-button vest with four welt pockets and notched bottom
• Black tonal-striped wool flat front trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark russet brown textured leather belt with brass half-oval single-claw buckle
• Black leather Cuban-style ankle boots
• Silver oval cuff links
• Gold chain-link ID bracelet
• Gold wristwatch with dark blue dial on gold bracelet
• Gold pinky ring with black square-set stone

The Gun

Although anachronistic for the film’s 1975 setting, Carlito Brigante’s main weapon is a Beretta 92F semi-automatic pistol, kept in the safe in his office or carried in the back of his waistband. He uses his Beretta to great effect, most famously while ducking and firing from what must be one of the longest escalators in existence.

“Say hello to my reasonably-sized friend!”

Though it’d been making semi-automatic pistols for the Italian Army since the beginning of the 20th century, the first in the Beretta 92 series wasn’t introduced until 1975, after three years of design that incorporated elements from many previous Beretta pistols. It’s very unlikely that a recent parolee in New York would have gotten his hands on a fresh-off-the-line Beretta in ’75, let alone the 92F variant that wouldn’t be developed until the mid-1980s when the U.S. military wanted a modified design for consideration. (Spoiler alert: America went with Beretta and the M9 pistol was born.)

The Beretta 92FS was rolled out quickly after the 92F with a slightly enlarged hammer pin developed in response to issues that arose during U.S. government testing.

Carlito jams his Beretta so hard into a thug’s chest that the slide actually slides back a bit.

According to the sharp-eyed users at IMFDb, you can “note the old style single white line painted on the rear sight as opposed to the twin dots that appear on modern models” when Carlito is drawing the Beretta from behind his back on the train.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

If you can’t see the angles no more, you’re in trouble.

Footnote

I’d always enjoyed Carlito’s Way but hadn’t even considered appreciating it sartorially until I received a Twitter suggestion. Thanks for the tip, Phil!

Roger Moore as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).

Vitals

Roger Moore as James Bond, debonair British secret agent

“San Monique” (actually Jamaica), Spring 1973

Film: Live and Let Die
Release Date: June 27, 1973
Director: Guy Hamilton
Costume Designer: Julie Harris

Background

Despite today being April 1st, this post isn’t timed to be an April Fool’s Day post; instead, BAMF Style is celebrating the return of Archer last night by analyzing the “tactileneck” that started it all – Roger Moore’s all-black assault attire in Live and Let Die.

After the love of his life his temporary lust object is kidnapped in keeping with the movie’s rampant polyester-flavored blend of racism and sexism, James Bond packs some heavy heat to return to Jamaica San Monique and retrieve her… mostly so he can have someone to have sex with during his return trip.

Bond manages to really bungle things up and, although he lands a henchman in a coffin of poisonous snakes, he gets captured right alongside of Solitaire.

The 1954 Fleming novel from which this took its title then saw Bond and Solitaire horrendously tied to the back of his yacht and dragged through coral reef into shark-infested waters, which is admitted a pretty badass way to be tortured. Unfortunately, this was shelved in favor of a more budget-friendly version that finds Bond and Solitaire tied up together to a slow… a very slow… device that would lower them into a shark tank. The lowering process gives Bond time to activate the buzz saw on his Rolex (although he probably would’ve had time to chew through it then read a few passages of Ulysses) and escape. This is the stereotypical unnecessarily slow-and-escapable torture that would give Austin Powers so much fodder to mock decades later, right down to Dr. Kananga’s smug insistence on laying out every detail of his evil plan, even saying “Let me show you exactly how it works.”

(Luckily, the reef-cutting sharkbait torture was revived for For Your Eyes Only, which I would argue to be my favorite of Roger Moore’s outings as Bond.)

What’d He Wear?

By the time Roger Moore took over the mantle as “00-’70s”, the turtleneck sweater had been trending for decades as a fresh alternative to ties. Beginning with its association with beatniks and “sweater girls” in the ’50s, the turtleneck gradually went mainstream until exploding in popularity when Steve McQueen sported one as Lt. Frank Bullitt in 1968.

Bond prepares for battle on San Monique.

Known as a “polo neck” or “roll-neck” among the Brits, the turtleneck eased its way into the Bond series in the form of shorter polo necks in the three preceding Bond outings – You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Diamonds are Forever – before the costumers decided to go all out and place their new 007, Roger Moore, in a black jumper with a full turtleneck collar that rolled over to totally cover his neck. (In that context, the “roll-neck” appellation probably makes the most sense for this type of collar.)

Bond’s black knit turtleneck jumper is comfortably lightweight for the jungle atmosphere, although it appears to be a warmer material like merino wool. (I still wouldn’t rule out cotton, though.) The cuffs have extended ribbing to allow them to be folded back over the wrist without having to sacrifice the sleeve’s integrity by rolling them up (which that asshole Kananga does anyway before drawing Bond’s blood!) His jumper is tucked into his trousers.

Roger Moore’s eyebrow carries yet another scene.

The series paid tribute to this look in Spectre by placing Daniel Craig in several mock and full polo neck jumpers throughout the film, including a luxurious charcoal mock polo neck that was paired with a brown shoulder holster for the teaser poster that directly evoked Moore’s look in Live and Let Die. The well-fitted turtleneck for assault purposes is also a favorite of Sterling Archer, who enjoys a closet full of at least ten “tactilenecks” in black… and “slightly darker black”.

“Solitaire. Solitaire… SOLITAIREEEEEEEE!”
“What?”
“Danger zone!”

Bond’s black trousers continue the clean, minimalist look with sewn-down darts that provide the comfortable fit of pleats while offering the cleaner look of flat front trousers. Like Moore’s other trousers tailored by Cyril Castle for Live and Let Die, these don’t have the typical front or side pockets; instead, there is a straight slit just below the belt line on each side that serves like a “large coin pocket” for small, essential items. There are two jetted hip pockets in the back that close through a button.

Bond may have been better served tactically if he had forgone the then-fashionable flared bottoms, but his rescue mission involved a very beautiful woman so 007 would want to look as stylish as possible. The corny flared bottoms are somewhat thankfully offset by the trousers’ high rise on Roger Moore’s already tall 6’1″ frame.

I apologize in retrospect for unintentionally making it look like Roger Moore is distracted by his own ass.

Moore’s “Bond for the ’70s” differentiates himself further by incorporating belts into his outfits, which was virtually unheard of during the Connery-Lazenby era as both men wore trousers with “Daks top” side adjusters exclusively. Moore bridges the transition by wearing some suits with button-tab side adjusters in Live and Let Die while sporting belts with his more casual looks, from his basketweave sport coat in New Orleans to this all-black “assault gear”. By The Man with the Golden Gun, Bond would become a full-time belt wearer with both suits and casualwear.

In this case, Bond’s wide black textured leather belt is both stylish and practical; heavy action means more stress on the trousers, and a large shoulder holster like the one he’s sporting for his .44 Magnum (more on that later) needs to be fastened to a belt to stabilize it and keep it from flopping around. Like his other belts – most notably the one worn with his beige trousers and black silk shirt when he lands in New Orleans – this one has a large squared brass single-claw buckle.

Bond judges Whispers and Kananga’s crew for wearing the strangest henchmen uniforms yet: red polos with tight jeans. Is this a villain’s cave or a Target?

Bond’s footwear for the occasion is a step (heyoo!) in the right direction for 007’s tactical wear. While Sean Connery had always sported black leather dress boots when prowling around in all black, Roger Moore’s Bond opts for more practical shoes with his dark gray sueded leather laced sneakers (or “trainers”, being as he’s British.) Only a brief look at Bond’s socks is given, and they appear to be very thin black dress socks, possibly even silk.

Kickin’ ass on San Monique.

The all black of Bond’s outfit is diversified by his brown leather shoulder rig. The large holster under his left arm is big enough for the Smith & Wesson N-framed revolver that he carries for this particular mission. The leather portion consists of the holster itself and a large leather loop around the left shoulder, which is harnessed to Bond’s chest by an olive-colored vinyl strap with a silver adjuster. There are four rows of tan lacing directly above the holster opening.

Bond takes charge with his .44 Magnum.

Although Q himself doesn’t appear in Live and Let Die (part of a thankfully brief attempt to distance the Moore era from the previous entries), the “bezel buzz saw” on Bond’s stainless Rolex helps he and Solitaire out of a jam. It’s the same Rolex Submariner 5513 that Kananga used in an earlier scene to try and gauge Solitaire’s powers, with its black dial, stainless steel link bracelet, and – of course – black ceramic bezel with its life-saving buzz saw. The watch also has magnetic powers, as Bond uses to disrobe the voluptuous Miss Caruso (Madeline Smith) in the opening scene; it may be this very scene that influenced Roger Moore to cite this watch as his favorite Bond gadget. (Interestingly, the 5513 Submariner was produced from 1962 until 1989, the entire duration (with a few breaks) of Bond’s on-screen Rolex preference before Pierce Brosnan showed up wearing an Omega in 1995’s GoldenEye.)

Shame on you if you don’t know what kind of watch this is.

Credit should be given to the real-life Q of the Bond series: Syd Cain. Cain was the production designer who modified many of the most famous gadgets, including wearables like this buzz saw Rolex and Rosa Klebb’s poison-tipped shoes in From Russia With Love. This Live and Let Die Rolex was included in an auction lot from Phillips Watches in November 2015, signed “Roger Moore 007” on the caseback. Additional images and info can be found at Watch Guru.

Ever find yourself tied with rope and facing off against a villain who can’t stand to be filled with gas to the point of exploding? The magnetic buzzsaw Rolex is perfect for you.

On his blog, The Suits of James Bond, Matt Spaiser includes a fine analysis of Bond’s outfit with nice screenshots that could clarify more details.

How to Get the Look

Although there are better choices than all black for furtive nighttime wear, Roger Moore looks very cool in this now-iconic outfit that has proven its influence on future generations of fictional spies.

• Black lightweight merino wool turtleneck jumper
• Black wool darted-front trousers with tall belt loops, waistline front pockets, jetted button-through back pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black textured leather belt with large squared brass single-claw buckle
• Dark gray sueded leather sneakers/trainers
• Thin black silk dress socks
• Brown leather shoulder holster (RHD), for S&W N-frame revolver, with olive-colored vinyl strap
• Rolex Submariner 5513 wristwatch with black dial and black bezel on stainless link bracelet

The Gun

Makes a jolly good can opener but not practical for Bond…

…was the conclusion of Geoffrey Boothroyd, the Scottish firearms expert consulted by Ian Fleming for the novels and later featured in the featurette “The Guns of James Bond”. That clip, from which the above quote was derived, was filmed in 1964 during the making of Goldfinger and found Boothroyd joining Sean Connery on the Fort Knox set to discuss Bond’s various handguns, notably comparing the Beretta to the Walther. In it, Boothroyd also gets a chance to fire his personal favorite, a single-action Ruger Blackhawk revolver in .44 Magnum, but determines that the large, “man-sized gun” would be “too big to hide under an agent’s coat”.

Nearly a decade later, a .44 Magnum finally made its way into James Bond’s shoulder holster in the form of a nickel Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver.

Bond makes an ass of himself by shooting up a sentient porcelain statue.

Though the .44 Magnum was first produced in 1955, it wasn’t until Clint Eastwood declared it “the most powerful handgun in the world” in Dirty Harry that the world actually began to take notice. The Bond franchise, which was paying more and more attention to pop culture trends, realized that the subtlety of Bond’s classic Walther PPK might alienate audiences who were preferring heroes that blew away opponents with oversized American hand cannons; indeed, Tee-Hee’s treatment of the PPK in an early scene may be symbolic of this. (Interestingly, rumor has it that Clint Eastwood was approached for the Bond role in Live and Let Die but respectfully refused and said that the role should go to a Brit.)

Four years after Smith & Wesson developed the .44 Magnum cartridge, it was eclipsed as the “most powerful” handgun round when the .454 Casull was developed (sorry, Clint.) Throughout the ’60s, the .44 Magnum found a special audience with hunters and gung-ho cops but never caught on with mainstream firearms enthusiasts.

After Dirty Harry was released in 1971, gun stores couldn’t keep the Smith & Wesson Model 29 on their shelves. Desperate to feel like Harry Callahan, customers began ordering other .44 Magnum revolvers like the Ruger Redhawk, and the cartridge took on a new life. Smith & Wesson continued to offer its Model 29 in a variety of barrel lengths ranging from 3″ up to a staggering 10⅝” as well as in a highly polished blue or nickel-plated finish. (Smith & Wesson also offered a stainless steel version, the Model 629.)

The Model 29 in Roger Moore’s holster as he marched into San Monique was nickel-plated with a 6″ barrel and checkered walnut grips. Due to being such a badass gun, it was often used for promotional artwork even in other scenes where Bond was armed with his PPK (or nothing at all).

Whether it was capitalizing on the trend started by Dirty Harry or a nod to Boothroyd’s preferred “man-sized gun”, Live and Let Die wisely armed 007 with this heavier duty weapon for combat against Kananga’s henchmen, although it’s a mystery why he didn’t take any speedloaders or reloads since six rounds of anything – .44 Magnum or not – won’t stop more than six targets.

Moore and Seymour pose with Bond’s big honkin’ .44 and a legion of surly looking “San Moniquans”.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie, and check out Archer on FX if you haven’t yet!

The Quote

Although the series was trying to distance itself from the Connery years, Live and Let Die still keeps the cringe-worthy one-liners intact. After Bond witnesses Kananga’s death-by-expanding-gas-pellet…

He always did have an inflated opinion of himself.

Footnotes

• The SPECTRE connection doesn’t end with the revival of the dark, tight-fitting turtleneck; this was also the first Bond film that Daniel Craig had ever seen. (SPECTRE was also the only Bond film after Live and Let Die that featured a scene in Bond’s apartment, but this is slightly less interesting trivia.)
• The Polish title translates to “Allow to Leave Alone to Die”. OK, Poland.
• I’ve mentioned it in a previous Live and Let Die post, and I’ll continue to mention it; I really like seeing Jane Seymour on screen in this one.

Next stop Poundtown.

Michael Caine as Alfie Elkins in Alfie (1966).

Vitals

Michael Caine as Alfie Elkins, caddish Cockney car service driver

London, Spring 1962

Film: Alfie
Release Date: March 24, 1966
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Wardrobe Supervisor: Jean Fairlie
Tailor: Douglas Hayward

Background

April showers in the spring are a fine reason to invest in a new raincoat, and – for all his faults – Alfie Elkins shows off a stylish example as he heads over to Emilio Scala Maternity Hospital to greet the product of his association with Gilda. Alfie is none too pleased with her choice of names:

Malcolm bleeding Alfred? He’ll never forgive you if you give him a name like that!

…but given his lack of involvement in either the child’s life or hers, I wouldn’t exactly believe that he deserves a say in the matter.

What’d He Wear?

Although it’s not raining when Alfie goes to visit his newborn son, it’s certainly a rainy day in the life of a previously unattached bachelor so he struts down Tite Street to the hospital in a distinctive khaki raincoat with brown leather accents.

Michael Caine walks down the street between a red phone booth and a Mini Cooper. Quite possibly one of the most British iamges ever.

Alfie wears the bottom two buttons of his waterproof cotton raincoat fastened, leaving the top button undone. The buttonhole through the left lapel indicates that there may possibly be a fourth button at the top under the collar. The coat has two patch pockets, each with a square-ended flap to close. Each pocket has a smaller square patch pocket overlaid with two brass grommets.

Alfie pays a visit to Gilda and the newly-dubbed Malcolm Alfred.

A pleat runs down the center of the back from the leather yoke down to the half-belted back, where the coat’s long single vent splits. Edge-stitching is present throughout the jacket with reinforced stitching around the bottom hem and on the pockets.

This is about as attentive as Alfie gets as a father.

The beaver-brown leather accents include a long rectangular yoke that runs across the back of both shoulders and round elbow patches on each sleeve.

Underneath, Alfie appears to be wearing the same navy blue mohair blend suit that he had previously bragged about (“a new Terylene and mohair”), tailored for Caine by Douglas Hayward. The single-breasted jacket has slim notch lapels that roll over the top button for a 3-roll-2 effect. The flat front trousers taper through the leg down to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

Alfie wears a pale pink poplin shirt and dark blue slim knit necktie. The long point collar buttons down on the shirt, and the squared cuffs close with a button. A product of the “swinging sixties”, Alfie wears black leather ankle boots that match his slim leather belt.

Fifty years before Frank Underwood was fighting for the Democratic nomination, Alfie Elkins was perfecting the art of breaking the fourth wall.

Alfie’s accessories include a gold pinky ring with a brown oval stone and a stainless watch on his left wrist with a black dial and steel rice-grain bracelet. (I previously guessed the watch to be an Omega Seamaster Automatic.)

How to Get the Look

Evidently, the coat belonged to Michael Caine in real life if this image from a photo shoot circa 1964-1965 is any indication.

Already got Alfie’s beloved blue mohair suit? Protect it from the elements with a leather-accented raincoat and you’ve got Michael Caine’s hip, swinging, Cockney style down!

• Khaki waterproof cotton single-breasted 3-button raincoat with brown leather shoulder/elbow accents, flapped patch pockets, half-belted back, and long single vent
• Navy blue mohair blend suit, tailored by Douglas Hayward, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted jacket with slim notch lapels, 3-roll-2 button front, welted breast pocket, rear-slanted flapped hip pockets, 4-button functioning cuffs, and single rear vent
  • Flat front tapered-leg trousers with slim belt loops, on-seam side pockets, jetted rear pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Pale pink cotton poplin shirt with long button-down collar, plain front, and squared button cuffs
• Dark blue slim knit necktie with flat bottom
• Black narrow leather belt with small gold metal single-claw buckle
• Black leather ankle boots
• Black dress socks
• Stainless wristwatch with a black dial on steel deployable-clasp bracelet
• Gold pinky ring with a brown oval setting

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

Mind you, she came over quite beautified for a time, especially in the early months. I told her, I says, “Blimey, girl, you ain’t as ugly as I thought.”

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in GoldenEye (1995).

Vitals

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, British government secret agent

Monte Carlo, April 1995

Film: GoldenEye
Release Date: November 13, 1995
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming

Background

BAMF Style is taking another look at James Bond for the 00-7th of April… well-established to be a “spring month” in GoldenEye.

Set nine years after GoldenEye‘s attention-grabbing intro in Russia, we catch up with 007 seemingly enjoying some leisure time while racing his vintage Aston Martin DB5 around Monaco’s winding mountain roads alongside a prim and nervous MI6 evaluator (whose name is Caroline, not that it matters.) While Bond is already a relatively unsafe driver while escorting the poor woman, he escalates their “pleasant drive in the country” when he catches the eye of a dangerous brunette in a sharp red Ferrari in what becomes a more light-hearted version of Bond meeting Tracy in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Of course, Caroline can’t stand Bond’s flirtatious hijinks while racing Xenia and demands that he stop the car “at once!” He does so…somehow turning her on and accelerating their romance by revealing a bottle of Bollinger champagne chilling in a built-in cooler installed in the DB5’s center console. So not only would Bond risk both his life and hers to impress a woman he’s never seen before, but he’s not above drinking while under the influence of either alcohol or product placement.

What’d He Wear?

Jeannie: See, to me, this is a waste… the shirt you got on under your sweater. It sits for three weeks in your drawer, waiting to come out, and when it finally does, it sticks up only half an inch out of your collar.
Jerry: (charmed) I’m Jerry Seinfeld.

– Seinfeld, “The Invitations” (Episode 7.24)

Bond looks especially debonair for his DB5 ride with a nicely-layered blue shirt and sweater and a printed silk day cravat to add an affectation of elegance, reinforcing that the ruggedly serious 007 of the short-lived Dalton era has been replaced by well-dressed gentleman with an emphasis on style. Matt Spaiser also provided an analysis of this outfit on his blog, The Suits of James Bond.

Bond’s French blue cotton shirt is the same one that he wears the next day with his blazer when sneaking aboard Xenia’s yacht. It has white buttons on the rounded cuffs and down the front placket, which is mostly concealed by the sweater.

Bond charms the analyst.

The spread collar of Bond’s shirt is worn unbuttoned to reveal a dark green patterned silk day cravat. (To draw the line of differentiation: an ascot is a more formal daytime cravat, which you’d think would be called a “day cravat”… but no, as a day cravat is a scarf loosely tied and worn against the neck, usually under a shirt. Check out this informative – and entertaining – page from Dress Like a Grownup for more help with that.)

The repeating small-scale block pattern on Bond’s dark green day cravat is referred to as “foulard”, although foulard also initially only referred to the lightweight silk cloth.

Bond’s outer layer is a dark navy cable knit wool sweater. The shirt collar is worn outside the jumper’s crew neck top, and his ribbed cuffs are rolled back to reveal his shirt cuffs and – on his left wrist – his new Omega Seamaster watch… but more on that later.

No movie featuring a car going fast is complete without a shot of the protagonist showing off his or her knowledge of a manual transmission.

The next morning, for his investigation aboard the yacht, he ditches the jumper and day cravat for an elegant dark navy double-breasted blazer and different slacks, while still wearing the same shirt and shoes.

Bond’s trousers go mostly unseen through the sequence, only briefly glimpsed during the obligatory gear-switching shot and the less-obligatory Bollinger-revealing shot. Still, publicity shots clearly show Pierce Brosnan wearing a pair of tan cotton trousers with at least one or two double reverse pleats and tapered, plain-hemmed bottoms. At first, I considered that he might be wearing the same sand-colored Brioni khakis that he wears with his blazer on the yacht, but those trousers were excessively (in my opinion) triple-pleated with cuffs.

A publicity shot of Pierce Brosnan with the GoldenEye DB5.

Based on his footwear and the context of the scene, Bond is likely wearing the same brown leather belt with a gold single-claw buckle. This belt would match the “walnut brown” Nevada leather Church’s Chetwynd full-brogue oxfords that Bond has been definitively identified as wearing both in this scene and the following day with his blazer. These 5-eyelet medallion-toe oxfords, also featured on James Bond Lifestyle, are perforated along each seam. In one of the publicity photos, a hint of darker brown can be seen in a gap between the trouser bottom and the shoe, suggesting that Bond is sporting brown socks.

Brosnan’s film-worn shoes were auctioned by Christie’s in their “Film and Entertainment Memorabilia” auction on December 19, 2007 in London, fetching £1,080 (approximately $2,174).

Omega must have been pleased to see their product placement deal paying off in this early scene as Bond wears the sleeves of his sweater rolled up enough to show off his fancy new stainless wristwatch while racing against Xenia’s Ferrari. The featured watch is an Omega Seamaster Professional 2541.80.00 with a blue bezel, blue dial, date window, and stainless steel bracelet.

“Don’t worry, I’m also rich,” Bond assures Xenia.

This would be the only appearance of a watch with Omega’s 1538 quartz movement; beginning with Tomorrow Never Dies, Bond sports automatic movement Omegas.

Go Big or Go Home

Brosnan establishes himself as one of the more cheeky Bonds as he unabashedly juggles the attentions of two very different women against each other… which is certainly not a way to treat people but does make for an entertaining car chase as classic elegance meets modern performance.

If Bond is running late for a date…

…his car brings the date to him.

Some may call it classy while others deride it as sleazy… but it’s worth noting that Bond’s DB5 has been tricked out in GoldenEye not with an ejector seat, twin machine guns, or an oil slick… but with a cooler built in to the center console where he can safely store a bottle of Bollinger La Grande Année 1988. If that doesn’t solidify Brosnan as one of the most romantic of the Bonds, I don’t know what would.

How to Get the Look

007 slips behind the wheel in style, understanding that you never know who you’ll meet when out on the road, especially in an exotic and wealthy locale like Momaco.

• French blue cotton semi-solid dress shirt with spread collar, front placket, and rounded 1-button cuffs
• Dark navy blue cable knit wool long-sleeve sweater/jumper with crew neck and ribbed cuffs
• Dark green set pattern foulard silk day cravat
• Sand-colored wool Brioni Snello triple reverse-pleated khaki trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, jetted button-through right rear pocket, and cuffed bottoms/turn-ups
• Brown leather belt with gold single-claw buckle
• Church’s Chetwynd walnut brown “Nevada leather” 5-eyelet full-brogue oxfords
• Dark brown dress socks
• Omega Seamaster Professional 2541.80.00 with stainless steel case, blue bezel, blue dial, and stainless steel bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

Footnotes

To read Matt Spaiser’s analysis of this outfit on The Suits of James Bond, check out his post here.

Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987).

Vitals

Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, unscrupulously successful Wall Street businessman

New York City, Spring 1985

Film: Wall Street
Release Date: December 11, 1987
Director: Oliver Stone
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick
Tailor: Alan Flusser

Background

BAMF Style is back to business on this Monday morning, taking a suggestion from commentors Jose, Andrey, and Ryan to heed the style – if not the business ethos – of Gordon Gekko, the corporate business raider of Wall Street who managed the task of making Charlie Sheen look like not such a bad guy.

“Greed…is good,” is how Wall Street is often best remembered, paraphrasing the famous speech given by Gekko while also summarizing his drive. Although frequently included in lists of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” (#57 by AFI and #70 by Premiere), it’s perhaps even more unnerving to know that it was inspired by the real words of stock trader Ivan Boesky. In 1986, the year before Wall Street was made, Boesky told the graduating class at the University of California:

Greed is all right, by the way. I want you to know that. I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.

Of course, Boesky became infamous for paying $100 million that year to the SEC to settle insider trading charges, but the damage was done and the dangerous “greed is good” mentality led to a generation redefining capitalism with unrestrained avarice. Two decades later, everyone from Australian PM Kevin Rudd to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone cited the “greed is good” ideology as a direct cause of the 2007 financial crisis. “It is perhaps time now to admit that we did not learn the full lessons of the greed-is-good ideology,” realized Rudd in a 2008 speech. “We are still cleaning up the mess of the 21st-century children of Gordon Gekko.”

What’d He Wear?

Gray suits have been a businesswear staple for men since the first office was ever built, so it makes sense that the quintessential American business icon, Gordon Gekko, would have several lined up in his stable. An ardent follower of fashion, Gekko would know the impact of his clothes, so he dresses for power when he needs to look it the most. For a meeting at the 21 Club and later during the infamous “greed…is good” speech, Gekko wears the darkest of his gray suits, an intimidating charcoal wool double-breasted suit.

Gekko controls the room during the Teldar Papers shareholder meeting.

With its short fit and 4-on-1 buttoning double-breasted front, Gekko’s ventless suit jacket incorporates elements from the ’80s “power suit” although the shoulders – while padded – aren’t quite as boxy as the most prototypical examples. There is a buttonhole stitched through each of the jacket’s sweeping, wide peak lapels.

During his lunch at 21, an ornately printed silk kerchief in red, blue, and yellow pops from his welted breast pocket.

Gekko always keeps his double-breasted jacket closed, hiding most of the trouser details other than the straight cut through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms. Based on most of his other trousers, it can be deduced that they likely have double forward pleats, and buckle-strap side adjusters either in lieu or in addition to suspenders.

Designed by Ellen Mirojnick for the film and tailored by the legendary Alan Flusser, the solemnity of Gekko’s charcoal suit allows him to explore more interesting shirt and tie patterns without looking too sartorially brash.

During the space-invading lunch with Bud at the 21 Club, Gekko wears one of his horizontally-striped shirts that received attention from the New York Times in this style section article from August 1988:

According to Alex Kabbaz, the vice president of Custom Shirts by Denhof, which made the horizontally striped shirts that Michael Douglas wore in ”Wall Street,” that film, plus the resurgence of double-breasted suits, has brought an increase in demand. But because they appeal to a small, sophisticated market and because they are difficult to construct, horizontally striped shirts are generally custom-made.

The article cites the history of the horizontally-striped shirt and its flattering pairing with double-breasted suits, indicating that Gekko would know more than the average man about fashion when putting his outfit together. (Although, once again, credit is due to Ellen Mirojnick!) The article further informs readers that Kabbaz made his first horizontally-striped dress shirt in 1983 for novelist Tom Wolfe, already known for his distinctive sartorial preferences.

Gekko gives Bud Fox some business lessons.

Gekko’s shirt is white with charcoal stripes in contrasting directions; the collar striping is vertical while the rest of the shirt is horizontally-striped. The shirt has a front placket, double cuffs, and a slim collar with a wide spread. His silk tie has a black ground with bold yellow dots, secured by a tie bar.

Gekko’s charcoal suit is next seen at the Teldar Papers shareholder meeting, where he eventually delivers his “greed…is good” message. Though confident as a businessman, Gekko knows that flash won’t impress the old money types in the room, so he dresses more conservatively with a plain white dress shirt and a dark navy silk tie with white pin dots, held in place with a rakishly-angled gold tie bar that matches his rectangular gold cuff links. Like all of his shirts, this shirt has a spread collar, front placket, and double cuffs.

Gordon Gekko breaks workplace decorum by actually cracking a smile during a meeting.

Gekko wears black leather oxfords and dark – probably black – socks, saving the flash for the parts of his outfit that more people see.

Gold is most associated with opulence, so it’s no surprise to see it all over Gekko’s hands… perhaps as a subliminal message to investors that everything he touches turns to gold.

Though not clearly seen in these scenes, Gekko’s luxury watch is an 18-karat yellow gold Cartier Santos de Cartier Galbée with a white square dial on a gold bracelet. On his right wrist, he often wears a thin gold chain-link bracelet. Also on his right hand, he wears a large gold signet ring on his pinky.

Go Big or Go Home

Gordon Gekko’s Machiavellian personality leaves little to be desired, but it was Michael Douglas’s preparation for his role as the ruthless capitalist outlaw that deserves the most attention and accolades. Impressed by the script – and particularly the length of his monologues – Douglas buried himself in research of corporate raiders like T. Boone Pickens and Carl Icahn. Icahn is supposedly one of many men who Oliver Stone used as a composite for the role, others including art collector Asher Edelman, agent Michael Ovitz, scandalized Wall Street hotshots David Brown, Ivan Boesky, Dennis Levine, and Owen Morrisey, and even Stone himself.

To encourage the greatest performance out of Douglas, Stone took personal measures to enhance the actor’s repressed anger, even to the point of asking Douglas if he was doing drugs because “you look like you haven’t acted before”. According to IMDB, “all of this hard work culminated with the ‘Greed is good’ speech.”

Not only did Douglas’ performance strike an immediate chord with audiences who were either tired or inspired(!) by the insider trading scandals marring Wall Street at the time, but he also won his first acting Academy Award for the role and established himself as a cultural icon in his own right.

How to Get the Look

If you want to look like a successful – if not particularly friendly – ’80s power broker, then Gekko’s got the look for you. Don’t forget to slick back that hair, too.

• Charcoal wool suit, tailored by Alan Flusser, consisting of:
  • Double-breasted 4-on-1 buttoned jacket with peak lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, and ventless back
  • Double forward-pleated trousers with straight leg fit and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White solid or dark-horizontally-striped dress shirt with slim spread collar, front placket, and double/French cuffs
• Dark silk polka-dotted tie
• Gold tie clip, angled down toward edge of tie
• Gold rectangular cuff links
• Black leather oxfords
• Black dress socks
• Large gold signet ring
• Cartier Santos de Cartier Galbée gold wristwatch
• Gold chain-link bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Ike Evans on Magic City.

Vitals

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Isaac “Ike” Evans, tough and shrewd hotel owner

Miami Beach, January 1959

Series: Magic City
Episodes: “The Year of the Fin” (Episode 1.01), “Castles Made of Sand” (Episode 1.03), & “Crossroads” (Episode 2.04)
Air Dates: March 30, 2012 (Episode 1.01), April 20, 2012 (Episode 1.03), & July 12, 2013 (Episode 2.04)
Directors: Carl Franklin (Episode 1.01) & Ed Bianchi (Episode 1.03 & 2.04)
Creator: Mitch Glazer
Costume Designer: Carol Ramsey

Background

For two seasons, Magic City presented the abundantly stylish saga of the Evans family and the Miramar Playa, telling a compelling story beneath the elegant late ’50s aesthetic of long-finned cars, sharp-suited men and tightly-dressed bombshells, and ubiquitous cocktails and cigarettes.

Superficially, Magic City has been lumped in with many other shows that followed in Mad Men‘s wake with darkness underlying Jet Age glamour. However, the show was a long-time passion project for Mitch Glazer, who tapped into his early life growing up in Miami and working as a cabana boy in one of its many resorts during the ’50s and ’60s. He heard stories from his father, a hotel engineer, about the secretive drama unfolding among the guests and staff, all bathed in the dichotomous sunlight for which Miami Beach is famous. After realizing that he had far more material than a single movie would serve justly, Glazer developed his concept into a series for Starz with astounding mob tales from his journalistic background adding to the story.

Drawing upon his own family’s connection to hotels of the era, Glazer wrote Magic City as a very family-centric story with the pragmatic patriarch Isaac “Ike” Evans at the helm of the swanky Miramar Playa hotel in Miami Beach. Widowed and remarried to the glamorous ex-dancer Vera (Olga Kurylenko), Ike must manage his three kids, his ex-wife’s sophisticated sister, and the volatile mobster that serves as his silent partner.

We first meet Ike Evans on New Year’s Eve 1958, a date well-known (especially to fans of The Godfather Part II) as the day that Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba and made things very difficult for the Mafia. Ike isn’t necessarily a gangster, but he’s got “friends” like Bel Jaffe and Ben Diamond who aren’t afraid to do any dirty work… providing that there’s money in it for them. Beset by union problems that threaten the future of the Miramar Playa (as well as the possibility of Sinatra performing at that evening’s New Year’s Eve party!), Ike is forced to request a favor of Faustian proportions.

What’d He Wear?

After Magic City ended its run in 2012, many costumes, props, and other items from the show were auctioned. One lucky fan, Eric Tidd, took over as Ike Evans’ spiritual successor in charge of the Miramar Playa and now proudly owns Ike’s cream dinner jacket ensemble – arguably the show’s most iconic outfit among its male characters – among many other cool costumes, accessories, and props. Eric was generous enough to share photos and details of the outfit with me for use on this site.

Ike looks over his town from his penthouse balcony at the Miramar Playa.

Ike Evans’ cream-colored single-breasted dinner jacket was custom tailored for the production by Dennis Kim from a design by costumer Carol Ramsey, who recalled in an interview with the Los Angeles Times her hard work of dressing more than 600 people for the production every nine days:

We would look at various aspects of each suit that we liked, such as the width of the shoulder from this one, the sleeve or lapel of that one.

Eric owns some of Ramsey’s copy of episode scripts; one page confirms that this formal jacket was one of the Dennis Kim-tailored pieces. Elements of the jacket include front darts, roped sleveeheads, and a welted breast pocket that Ike wears without a display kerchief. It closes with a single button in the front and has three buttons spaced apart on each cuff.

Ike preps for NYE ’58.

Although he runs one of the flashiest hotels in one of America’s flashiest city, Ike balances his businesslike mentality with the sharp cunning required to run such a swanky, gangster-laden establishment. His dinner jacket reflects that balance, with fashionable details like super slim shawl lapels (with a slanted buttonhole on the left lapel) and padded shoulders that emphasize his power. The jacket’s long fit also evokes the era’s trend of sweeping elegance.

Ike strolls to meet Vera and Cliff for their outing.

The jacket also incorporates features more commonly seen on business suits like hip pocket flaps and a single vent. Typically, these aspects would not be welcome on formalwear, but the automatically implied informality of an off white-dinner jacket combined with Ike’s practicality (as well as the incredible research that Ramsey and her team conducted on the era’s fashions!) provide reasonable explanations in this case.

Ike’s flapped pockets and single vent are nontraditional dinner jacket elements.

An additional dose of informality is injected into the outfit with the black wool flat front trousers that Ike wears with it. Made by Theory, the trousers have side pockets, jetted back pockets that close with a button, plain-hemmed bottoms, and… belt loops. Actual formal trousers – recognizable by the satin side stripe that also isn’t present on Ike’s trousers – are almost always made with a fitted or adjustable waist meant to be worn without a belt.

Ike’s non-formal trousers are best seen in this production photo with the rest of the Magic City fellas.

According to the eBay auction page from November 2013, the trousers have a 33-inch waist and 29-inch inseam, although this seems considerably short for the 6’2″ Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Theory still offers similar pants on its page, including the slim-straight fit “Italian Wool Suit Pant” for $225. However, if you’re looking for something to wear with a dinner jacket while still sporting an Ike Evans-approved brand, Theory sells a wool twill “Marlo P Tuxedo Pant in Hamburg” for $285 that includes the same pocket structure as Ike’s trousers with the more formal waistband and side striping.

Speaking of Ike-approved brands, the formal shirt is from the appropriately-named Ike Behar. The white cotton twill shirt has a spread collar, a pleated front with ¼” pleats on each side of the placket, and rear side darts. The shirt buttons at the collar and below the waist with white plastic buttons, but the placket is reserved for the gold-filled white pearl studs that Ike wears.

Although he often waits until the last minute to tie his bow tie, Ike usually has his formal shirt covered with his dinner jacket even when lounging around the penthouse.

Not immediately evident on screen, Eric noted to me that the shirt cuffs have barrel cuffs designed to take links, more reminiscent of a rental’s “convertible cuffs” than most bespoke formal shirts which feature French cuffs. In her Times interview, Carol Ramsey mentions the issue of “how to deal with French cuffs on the slim sleeved shirts of the time.” It’s possible that the production’s solution was single cuffs, which would combat the added fabric at the cuffs in Miami’s warm climate. Ike’s cuff links are flat white pearl discs with gold links, nicely matching the studs on the front of his shirt.

NB: The Cuban-American shirtmaker Isaac “Ike” Behar launched his brand in New York in 1960, and the company is still going strong more than 50 years later under the management of Behar’s three sons while Behar concerns current work with supporting Miami Jewish Health Systems, interestingly paralleling Magic City and the plight of its similarly-named protagonist. (Although Behar has been widely recognized for his humanitarian efforts… likely not a recognition that would go to someone who partners with Ben Diamond.) Ike Behar’s site currently offers a 100% cotton “Spread Pleated Tuxedo Shirt” for $245.

Eric identified Ike’s black satin adjustable pointed-end bow tie as a vintage Brooks Brothers item. Proving that true style is timeless, Brooks Brothers still offers a pointed-end self-tie bow tie, crafted from black English silk, for $60.

Although when Ike actually does tie his bow tie, he looks sharp.

Ike covers his waist with a black polyester cummerbund that clasps in the back with an adjustable black strap through a silver-toned metal clips that Eric describes as “worn”, possibly indicating yet another true vintage item in Ike’s wardrobe. Apropos the garment’s general reputation as a “crumb catcher”, Ike correctly wears his cummerbund with the pleats opening toward the top.

All of the above items were included in the auction that Eric won. The fact that the shoes and socks – which aren’t seen very clearly in these scenes – weren’t included in the bundle tells me that:

a) The shoes are likely the same black patent leather horsebit loafers that Ike wears with all of his suits throughout the first season.
b) There is likely no major demand for screen-worn socks, and that’s probably a good thing.

Ike and his family (although that could be the whole room based on who he considers to be “family”) enjoy Vera’s show in “Crossroads” (Episode 2.04).

Ike appears to be wearing his 18-karat white gold Longines diamond-studded wristwatch which was appraised at $2,800 and auctioned in February 2014. The silver index dial rests under sapphire crystal and is surrounded by a bezel of 44 round single-cut diamonds. The black leather strap is described in the auction as “I.W. SUISSE black genuine lizard”.

Thanks to Eric, who confirmed that the preferred cigars of Ike and all of Magic City‘s smokers are Partagás from Havana.

Ike’s only accessory is the silver wedding band he wears on the third finger of his left hand, a refreshing symbol of one of the few faithfully-married male protagonists seen in recent period drama TV.

Go Big or Go Home

Compared to the most recent string of male anti-hero protagonists, Ike Evans is the best example of a focused family man. He remains faithful to his wife despite the certainty that a weaker-willed character (looking at you, Don Draper) would indulge himself in the vivacious temptations that surround him, excused by the era’s norms. Devoted to his wife, his two sons, and his young daughter, Ike’s vast ambition and business savvy are a means to an end; for him, this end is a secure life for his family. Ike’s compassion extends beyond his nuclear family to admiration for his deceased wife’s sister, Meg, and many of the staff at the Miramar Playa.

Unfortunately, Ike is forced to make a string of risky decisions to ensure that dream and his association with the brutal gangster Ben “the Butcher” Diamond signifies the Faustian consequences that even a shrewd businessman like Ike can’t foresee. Ike’s impulsively protective nature often places him and other things he values in harm’s way for the short-term protection of another; to protect Judi Silver, a loyal Miramar Playa call girl, he confronts and kills* a devious mob hitman. Judi’s life is saved for now, but Ike’s world – and thus the world of his hotel and his family – will be turned upside down.

* or, at least, “creates the perfect circumstances for the death of”

Despite his more altruistic nature, Ike would still superficially fit in well with the chain-smoking, hard-drinking boys’ club of shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. A product of his times, Ike is never seen without a smoke in his hand – whether it’s one of his filtered Kool Menthol cigarettes or a fat cigar – lit by his trusty silver Zippo lighter.

The impetus for Ike’s definitive actions in the pilot episode is Frank Sinatra’s pending performance at New Year’s Eve party that could make or break the future of the Miramar Playa. Frank would’ve been at the top of his game at the time, nearly at the end of his seven-year recording contract with Capitol that is defined by its unprecedented streak of artistic revival as Sinatra crooned hit after hit on his then-innovative notion of concept albums. New Year’s 1959 would fall right between the release of Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely and Come Dance with Me!, two of his most popular albums that included Sinatra standards like “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)” and “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads”, respectively.

Indeed, Sinatra had the world on a string by 1959, making Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler’s “I’ve Got the World on a String” an apt selection for Sinatra to croon to Ike and his guests while ringing in the new year.

Unfortunately, Ike’s world is on a string too, and the string is about to get snipped.

What to Imbibe

Ike’s preferred drink of choice is Scotch on the rocks, although he brings New Year’s Eve to a crescendo by tipping back some Grand Marnier in the Atlantis Lounge with his son Stevie.

Grand Marnier – and its iconic bottle – is well-known to imbibers as a delicious and versatile digestif that can be sipped neat, used to enhance a mixed drink, or even used as part of a dessert recipe. The French are most fond of this latter practice with popular flambé dishes like Crêpes Suzette making good use of this cordial.

Created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, Grand Marnier is an orange-flavored liqueur made from a blend of Cognac brandy and sugar with its distinctive flavor coming from the distilled essence of bitter orange. Although several variants have been developed since then, the most commonly seen is the original Cordon Rouge (“Red Ribbon”).

How to Get the Look

Ike Evans doesn’t stand on ceremony, and when he gets dressed up for a Sinatra concert, he does so on his terms… just as Ol’ Blue Eyes would appreciate it. He breaks a few rules of formalwear with the details of the jacket, the standard trousers, and his more casual loafers, but he remains comfortable and confident – two attributes far more important than being arbitrarily fashionable.

• Cream single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with slim shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, flapped hip pockets, single rear vent, and 3-button cuffs
• Black wool flat front Theory trousers with belt loops, side pockets, jetted button-through back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton twill Ike Behar formal shirt with spread collar, slim-pleated front, rear side darts, and single cuffs
• Black satin silk Brooks Brothers pointed-end bow tie
• Black polyester pleated cummerbund with adjustable back strap and silver metal adjuster clips
• Black patent leather horsebit loafers with silver horsebit detail
• Black dress socks
• Longines white gold wristwatch with round silver dial and diamond-studded bezel on black leather strap
• Silver wedding band

For an added touch of cool, Ike wears a pair of black acetate-framed wayfarer-style sunglasses.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the series.

Ike wears this cream dinner jacket in two first season episodes: “The Year of the Fin” (Episode 1.01) during the New Year’s Eve party and in “Castles Made of Sand” (Episode 1.03) when he interrupts his night out with Vera and Cliff to show Meg around the hotel.

Ike’s cream dinner jacket shows up again during the second season, notably during Vera’s dance performance in “Crossroads” (Episode 2.04).

The Quote

I’m a lucky man.

Jeff Bridges as “The Dude” in The Big Lebowski (1998).

Vitals

Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, laidback stoner and bowler

Los Angeles, Fall 1991

Film: The Big Lebowski
Release Date: March 6, 1998
Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres

Background

For 4/20, BAMF Style is taking a closer look at one of the most iconic and endearing cinematic stoners.

You gotta love The Dude. All he wants to do is light a joint, sip a White Russian, and bowl while listening to the easy rock of Bob Dylan and CCR. Unfortunately, two misinformed pornographer’s thugs have to break into his home, pee on his rug, and ruin his check post-dating existence. (Supposedly, an early draft of the screenplay revealed that The Dude was able to bankroll his 69-cent trips to Ralph’s as the heir to the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube, but Joel Coen dropped the idea.)

The Dude: Did you ever hear of The Seattle Seven?
Maude: Mmm.
The Dude: That was me… and six other guys.

The Dude was partially based on the easygoing Jeff “The Dude” Dowd, an independent film promoter who helped the Coen Brothers secure distribution for Blood Simple in 1984 and was, indeed, one of the “other guys” among the Seattle Seven. Bridges himself had a role in the conception of the character; the Coens had developed The Dude with Bridges in mind and, once he accepted, he readily supplied mannerisms and even clothing to the role of Jeffrey Lebowski.

The Big Lebowski is a perfectly Coen-esque tribute to the interwar noir works of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett; even its title recalls The Big Sleep although The Big Lebowski is far more fitting than the vague title of Chandler’s novel. Like the fictional private eyes of so much pulp fiction, the action only moves with The Dude; even the one brief scene where he doesn’t directly appear – as the nihilists order pancakes – features the van where he and his John Milius-inspired blowhard buddy Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) are currently riding.

The audience follows this easygoing hero – or I won’t say a hero, because what’s a hero? – as he weaves in and out of the increasingly overly complicated plot created by those around him that take themselves far too seriously. As Joel Coen himself said, “We wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically, and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that’s ultimately unimportant.” The Big Lebowski achieves his goal with aplomb, solidifying itself among the greatest and most iconic comedies ever made.

What’d He Wear?

For someone who spends much of his time in torn hoodies, baggy plaid shorts, or a faded bathrobe, The Dude’s tan cowichan knit sweater is one of the most “socially acceptable” outfits that he wears in The Big Lebowski. Due to its uniqueness and appearance in some of the movie’s most popular scenes, The Dude’s sweater is now recognized nearly 20 years later as one of the most recognizable film costumes with replicas and knit patterns abundant on the internet.

Abiding.

The Dude’s sweater is primarily tan lambswool with a distinctive geometric knit known as “Cowichan” in two darker tones of brown. The knit’s origins can be traced back to the 1850s when European settlers began populating Vancouver Island, then inhabited primarily by the Cowichan First Nation tribe. The introduction of sheep to the area at the same time meant more available wool. The European influence was incorporated into traditional Cowichan knitting and the modern Cowichan sweater was born. Cowichan sweaters can be differentiated from traditional Scottish garments like Fair Isle due to their tradition of being hand-knit using thick, one-ply natural-colored yarn for heavier outerwear than the lightweight, two-ply dyed yarn Scottish pieces. Originally known mostly to the Coast Salish community on Vancouver Island, the pattern became popular and quickly appropriated throughout the 20th century, most famously by Mary Maxim.

Pendleton Woolen Mills in Oregon created their own variation of a Cowichan knit sweater in 1972, and it was this sweater – in tan and brown – that The Dude famously wore on screen. The long-sleeve wool cardigan is worked in a 1×1 rib with a short row shawl collar and a 1.5″ ring pull zipper.

The Dude is about to see a lot more than he bargained for.

According to Mary Zophres, one vintage sweater and three modern replicas were available for the production, but Bridges only wore the vintage model on screen as it was of the best quality and kept him in character. The exact sweater worn on screen was auctioned in May 2011.

After The Big Lebowski became a cult favorite and fans began clamoring for a cool sweater like his, Pendleton realized their duty to their fans (or perhaps just saw the insane profitability!) and reintroduced The Dude’s sweater as “The Original Westerley”, available on the company site for $239. Wisely not shying away from its most famous wearer, Pendleton proudly announces this sweater as “back by popular demand, down to every last color and detail”, offering the sweater only in tan and brown as El Duderino* himself wore.

*if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.

While cheaper replicas of various quality abound on Amazon and other sites, those should be considered only for costume purposes as a high-quality Pendleton garment made from 100% wool would serve its wearer comfortably and reliably throughout a lifetime rather than the 85% acrylic/15% wool imitation that would serve its greatest purpose on Halloween.

Of course, an industrious Lebowski fan could always take to the needle themselves and find one of the many knitting patterns available, including this one available from Ravelry, which suggests the use of bulky 12-ply yarn “vanilla” ground with contrast colors “latte” and “ebony”, presumably the stripes and the ornate stitching, respectively. This cross stitch pattern can also be found on Etsy sites like this one, available for purchase for only $4.99.

The Cowichan knit pattern is best seen while The Dude is aimlessly wandering the streets of Malibu, a beach community where he will soon be unwelcome.

(For a bit of trivia, a Reddit user found that this exact sweater’s place in cinematic history isn’t limited to The Dude; it had been worn in the 2006 film The Lives of Others in a scene set in 1984 East Germany.)

The first time we see The Dude sporting his Cowichan sweater, he is retrieving his busted ’73 Ford Gran Torino from the impound lot. He meets up with bowling buddies Walter and Donny for some drinks and has his first encounter with The Stranger (Sam Elliott) before moseying on over to Maude’s, where he learns about Bunny Lebowski and Karl Hungus. Having successfully passed his exam with Maude’s doctor, he hits a joint and pounds the roof of his freshly-recovered car while jamming to CCR, dropping the joint and discovering Larry Sellers’ discarded homework in the process… although he also crashes the poor Gran Torino into a dumpster while trying to extinguish the still-burning roach on his car seats with a beer.

For these scenes, The Dude wears a dirty white v-neck t-shirt, a pair of pale green casual pants, and jelly sandals.

Knox Harrington should be a gracious enough host to know that when a guest has assumed this position, he’s not going to want to get back up to make his own damn drink.

The Dude’s well-worn white cotton t-shirt has short sleeves and a deeper v-neck than I tend to prefer in life, but… The Dude makes it work. I guess the deep v really ties the outfit together.

When someone shows up to your home looking like this, I think you already know exactly what condition his condition is in.

His baggy pale green pants are stylistically similar to scrubs worn by doctors and nurses – likely made from a cotton/polyester blend – with a drawstring waistband and patch side pockets with a slanted hand opening.

Meichtry is not a real beer; for obvious reasons, no actual brewery would want to be associate with a scene like this. More on that later.

The Dude’s unique footwear in these scenes is a pair of transparent PVC jelly sandals – or “jellies” – supposedly so-named due to their resemblance to jellyfish. Like a few other costume pieces used in the production, the jellies were actually owned by Jeff Bridges who showed up on set with them one day. Any interested wearer can pick up an inexpensive pair at LaMeduse.com.

A clear contrast is drawn between Maude’s acquaintances here.

The Dude’s sunglasses are probably worth as much as the rest of his entire wardrobe combined; he wears a pair of Vuarnet VL1307 polarized sunglasses which originally went for $350 but can now be picked up new on Amazon for the low(?) price of $91.99 as of April 2016. The Dude’s Vuarnet sunglasses have a matte black plastic square frame with molded plastic nose pads under the 16mm “saddle nose bridge” and 135mm arms. The light green polarized glass lenses are lightweight and 58mm wide.

He got his Creedence back after all!

We next come across The Dude after Walter tracks down the mysterious Larry Sellers who left his homework in The Dude’s stolen car. Despite his admiration for the apathetic Larry’s iron-lunged father, Walter is forced to teach the boy a harsh lesson in “what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps,” and their investigation comes to a dead end as The Dude’s beleaguered Ford takes on even more damage. The Dude attempts to build a home security system, but it somehow fails and he is taken to the John Lautner-designed abode of slick pornographer Jackie Treehorn. The evening leads to spiked White Russians, wet bowling dreams, well-endowed sketchwork, and three forcible ejections for The Dude (from Treehorn’s estate, the “beach community” of Malibu, and an Eagles-loving cabbie’s taxi.)

For this noirish escapade, The Dude is much more colorfully dressed under his Cowichan sweater, now sporting a purple v-neck shirt, a pair of “crazy-striped” weightlifter pants, and white sneakers.

As IMDB succinctly stated: “Someone lost in the Alps would likely be glad to be found, rather than want to attack his savior’s car with a golf club.”

The Dude’s deep v-necked cotton t-shirt is similar to his previously-seen white shirt, except that this one is colored a very vibrant purple that somehow nicely matches his chaotic pants. The best example I’ve been able to find online is this cotton/poly “heather purple” t-shirt from Anvil for the Dude-friendly price of $6.50.

The Dude > ADT

The Dude’s blue, purple, and salmon crazy-striped pants are evocative of the casual pants favored by weightlifters and surfers – particularly around The Dude’s home of Venice Beach – in the 1980s. They have on-seam side pockets with no back pockets and, like the other pants, a drawstring waistband.

Draw me like one of your French dudes.

The pattern of The Dude’s pants consist of a solid light blue stripe, a purple block stripe, a solid salmon stripe, and a blue stripe with a light blue motif of “stick figure” people alternating with a more abstract pattern connecting them. This pattern is far too unique to make finding them organically at your neighborhood thrift store a likely possibility, but Colores del Pueblo offers a pair of trousers they describe as “hand-woven Guatemalan pants modeled after The Dude” for $55, a fair price given the company’s admirable mission of promoting social justice and cultural preservation through economic fair trade.

While building his home security system, The Dude has his sweater off and leans over to reveal his underwear of choice – a pair of white “tighty-whitey” cotton briefs.

Between The Dude and Walter White, tighty whiteys must indicate some sort of heavy drug behavior.

The Dude forgoes his jellies in favor of a pair of white Otomix martial arts training shoes with black side trim. Although they resemble everyday sneakers at first, the Otomix trainers are actually slip-ons with a single white lace at the top near the tongue.

Waste of a good drink…

Otomix first produced these shoes more than 25 years ago, and recently reintroduced The Original “Lite” as an even more lightweight option with flexible indoor/outdoor Stingray® rubber soles that wrap the foot “for balance and kicking power”. You can pick up a pair on Amazon for less than $50.

Go Big or Go Home

While our rugged Western narrator hesitates to call The Dude a hero, I think it’s fair to say that’s exactly what he is. The Dude means no one any harm – in fact, his self-confessed involvement in the original Port Huron Statement would indicate that he wants just the opposite – and he’s the perfect example of a relatively altruistic and individualist human living life on his own terms. He manages to stay laidback and smiling while dealing with each new circumstance enfolding around him… although that may have something to do with his reliable pot stash.

Jeff Bridges was very familiar with his character and even had the foresight to ask the Coens questions like “Did The Dude burn one on the way over?” before filming a scene. If they confirmed that he had, Bridges would rub his knuckles in his eyes before each take to make his eyes look bloodshot.

On that note, The Big Lebowski is also one of the best representations I’ve seen of the true characterization of a lifelong pot smoker. He takes on a human-focused, zen-like approach to life, caring more about the things that would make him happy (a rug that really ties the room together) or others happy (poor Smoky’s bowling points) and ignoring the more basic human urges like money (rejecting a $20,000 check that would put him in a higher income tax bracket.)

The Dude knows it’s futile to try and be anything that you’re not. Although he’s thrust into the traditional “private eye” role occupied by a Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade, he is far more interested in his rug and his bowling score than solving any mysteries. When he does get the urge to employ a P.I. trick, scratching a pencil on the first blank page of Jackie Treehorn’s freshly-used notepad, he comes away only with a sketch of an extremely well-endowed man; this scene sums up a main lesson of The Big Lebowski: try to be anything other than you are and you’ll be proverbially – if not literally – fucked.

Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski: Never afraid to be himself.

The Dude’s taste in music – established by the Coens with the help of the legendary T Bone Burnett – is also not surprising given his pacifist-rocker persona. (It was also Burnett who determined that The Dude would share his sentiment of “[hating] the fuckin’ Eagles, man!”

He lights a spliff for a celebratory 420 session in his dilapidated 1973 Ford Gran Torino sedan while jamming out to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s hit “Looking Out My Back Door” from the brilliant 1970 Cosmo’s Factory album.

When The Dude gets to Jackie Treehorn’s house, he is treated to a much different kind of mellow music in the form of Henry Mancini’s “Lujon”, a lush 1961 instrumental that never fails to evoke an exotic Jet Age cocktail lounge.

The intriguing “Lujon”, from Mancini’s Mr. Lucky Goes Latin album, was adapted for the first season titles of Magic City before a lawsuit forced the showrunners to develop a new, original song for the second season. While Mancini’s music might have the ability to transport its listener to a land of vaguely Latin sophistication, his own background was anything but exotic. Born in Cleveland and raised in West Aliquippa – a smoky suburb of Pittsburgh that I could personally tell you is not a tropical paradise – Mancini later became one of the most venerated of film composers, known for such scores as his work in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Pink Panther. His “Lujon”, also known as “Slow Hot Wind”, was released at the height of his early ’60s success and was the perfect track to underline the mystery and ironic sophistication of Treehorn’s lifestyle as well as the enigmatic haze that envelops The Dude as he drinks down the spiked White Russian that Treehorn just served to him…

What to Imbibe

Jackie Treehorn: Refill?
The Dude: Does the Pope shit in the woods?

…and if you know The Dude, you know to refill his glass with a White Russian cocktail. The Dude prefers Smirnoff red label 80 proof vodka, Kahlúa coffee liqueur, and half-and-half from Ralph’s supermarket. He drinks nine “Caucasians” over the course of The Big Lebowski, and those nine were enough to permanently associate the film with the decades-old cocktail.

Cheers!

As mixed drinks and vodka both became popular in the U.S. during the early years of the Cold War, a concoction mixing vodka and coffee liqueur over ice in a rocks glass was first named a Black Russian in 1949. Sometime over the next sixteen years, someone thought to add cream and the Oakland Tribune inserted the first mention of the White Russian in its November 21, 1965 issue as “White Russian. 1 oz. each Southern, vodka, cream”, essentially an unchanged recipe fifty years later except for the greater popularity today of Kahlúa rather than Coffee Southern.

Like The Dude himself, the drink shone brightly in the ’60s then quickly faded away as more fashionable drinks like the Long Island Iced Tea or Cosmopolitan took over on cocktail menus. The White Russian owes any popularity it has to this day to its revival in The Big Lebowski; the only other appearance I can think of in popular media is when Adriana La Cerva drinks them as a “safe cocktail” for her upset stomach in two fifth season episodes of The Sopranos.

Knox Harrington: So you’re Lebowski. Maudie’s told me all about you. She’ll be back in a moment, sit down. Would you like a drink?
The Dude: (sitting down) Uh, yeah. White Russian?
Knox Harrington: The bar’s over there.

Choosing the White Russian, best known as a soothingly sweet post-prandial dessert cocktail, as The Dude’s drink of choice was an inspired decision by the Coens. While a more direct noir parody would have its protagonist slurping slug after slug of cheap bourbon or rye from an office bottle, The Big Lebowski‘s protagonist is the only real character with the self-awareness to realize he doesn’t have to look like anyone he isn’t. Proud to loaf around in cheap, comfortable casualwear between his home and the bowling alley in a hotboxed car, The Dude also knows what he likes to drink and sees no need to deviate.

The Dude chugs.

(In the rare event that he does deviate from his beloved Caucasians, The Dude drinks a beer. Due to the context of the scene where he’s got a spliff going and is forced to put it out with his beer to avoid an unavoidable car accident, he is armed with a bottle of the fictional “Meichtry Draft” beer with a label provided by Earl Hays Press.)

I have a personal connection and fondness for the White Russian due to its formative role in my history of inebriation. When I was 15, I was attending the wedding of a cousin from the Southern California contingent of my family. I hadn’t yet seen The Big Lebowski, but I knew that all of my cousins in that area were major fans. Having enjoyed my first social drinks earlier that year when a friend snuck water bottles full of gin into a party, I felt prepared to imbibe and was looking for something accessible for my young, untested liver. Aware of my fondness for dairy, some gracious cousins suggested White Russians as my gateway into the booze world. This turned out to be a good decision.

How to Get the Look

The Dude’s unique sense of style speaks volumes about the man who dresses solely for comfort. In fact, his sole form of self-expression is comfort… although his Cowichan knit sweater is a relatively stylish way of conveying this to the world.

• Tan and brown ribbed lambswool Cowichan geometric knit zip-front Pendleton sweater with short row shawl collar
• Purple cotton deep v-neck short-sleeve t-shirt
• Blue/purple/salmon vibrantly crazy-striped “weightlifter” pants with drawstring waist and on-seam side pockets
• White synthetic Otomix slip-on martial arts training shoes with black side trim and rubber indoor/outdoor soles

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie, which is one of my all-time favorites. Sit back in your comfiest robe (or Cowichan knit sweater), smoke ’em if you got ’em, and enjoy a White Russian.

The Quote

Yeah, well… The Dude abides.

Footnotes

While “The Dude abides” could just be regarded as a cool line, it’s actually been traced to Ecclesiastes 1:4: “One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the earth abides forever,” referencing The Dude’s ability to withstand the changing chaos around him while remaining the same.

Just abide.

Although… how could The Dude afford so much weed? Let’s not forget that this is a guy who is post-dating checks for 69 cents.

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).

Vitals

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, Mafia son and World War II hero

New York City, January 1946

Film: The Godfather
Release Date: March 15, 1972
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone

Background

Happy birthday to Al Pacino, born this day in 1940. It was The Godfather that arguably catapulted Pacino into public consciousness as one of the greatest actors of his generation, an impressive feat for an actor with only two preceding film credits. Although Paramount production chief Robert Evans had more box office-oriented names in mind for its central role ranging from Jack Nicholson to Robert Redford, Francis Ford Coppola insisted on Pacino who delivered in spades and received both an Academy Award nomination as well as a massive salary increase (from $35,000 to $600,000) to return as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II only two years later.

Although all of The Godfather is an acting tour de force for Pacino, there is one monumental scene often cited as the moment that truly established him as one of the most talented stars in the industry. An outsider to his family’s illegitimate business, Michael Corleone surprised everyone by offering to retaliate for the attempt on his father’s life by personally gunning down both the drug-peddling gangster and the corrupt police captain. Armed with the family’s blessing, an escape route, and a .38 taped behind an old toilet, Michael finds himself sitting across from these two criminals for – ostensibly – a peace meeting.

Michael, the decorated war hero and dedicated family man, finds himself wrestling with his conscience in the final moments before deciding to take two lives which – though not innocent lives – are still unlawful and immoral to end. The growing sound of an elevated train mimics Michael’s heart as it continues to pound, driving home the effects of what he’s about to do. As the train reaches a stop, so does his turmoil. He rises, gun in hand, and kills the two men.

What’d He Wear?

Bada-bing! – you blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.

Sonny mocks Michael’s plan for gunning down the parties responsible for the attack on Vito, even citing Michael’s outfit as a factor making him unfit to be a Mafia killer. Granted, Michael is wearing a slightly preppier corduroy jacket when having this conversation but the eventual suit he dons for the occasion – while dark – is still a far cry from the flashy silks and patterns associated with gangsters.

Michael’s charcoal gray flannel three-piece suit and striped button-down shirt still reflects the more conservative and understated “Ivy League look” of the era rather than drawing forth any gangland associations. The look more describes the crossroads of rough fabrics and casual clothes – appropriate for both town and country – than any specific tailoring points, although there was undoubtedly a Brooks Brothers influence on what came to be known as the Ivy League look by mid-century.

This scene could also play out as a revenge fantasy for anyone who’s ever had to eat with people that chew with their mouths open.

The single-breasted jacket has large notch lapels that roll to the top of a two-button front. The shoulders are padded with roped sleeveheads and the back is split with a single rear vent, a conservative concession to the fashionably ventless mid-’40s. There is a welted breast pocket and straight, flapped hip pockets.

The suit has a high-fastening vest or waistcoat, a simple single-breasted garment with six buttons up the front; the lowest button is left undone over the notched bottom.

Production photo from Michael’s life-altering moment.

Little is seen of the matching suit trousers, but they appear to have reverse pleats and plain-hemmed bottoms. Michael also appears to be wearing black leather oxfords and black dress socks, although his feet are never clearly seen on screen.

Michael’s button-down shirt continues to mark his look as more Ivy League than gangster. In addition to the large button-down collar, the shirt has a front placket and rounded cuffs that close with a single button. The shirt’s thin dress stripes alternate between white and dark navy. (Some angles in the restaurant make the shirt stripes appear red, but I believe this is just a reflection of the red neon sign in the window.)

A tense car ride…

Michael wears the same maroon silk striped tie that he wore for his Christmas shopping expedition and movie outing with Kay, bridging one of the happiest times in his life with one of the most seriously life-changing. The thin white diagonal stripes on the maroon red ground cross down from the right shoulder toward the left hip, originally designed by Brooks Brothers to be a distinctively American differentiation from the British regimental tie.

After a monumental internal struggle, Michael follows in his family’s footsteps.

The maroon shades of red in the tie stand out from the conservative charcoal suit, evoking the blood spelled that evening as well as the men’s dining options ranging from the burgundy “Italian Table Wine” being served to the red sauce on the “best in the city” veal.

Now that he’s officially joining the family business, Michael wears a hat on screen for the first time as a civilian. His dark brown felt fedora has a wide brim and a dark brown grosgrain ribbon.

Michael dutifully waits for his ride outside of Jack Dempsey’s place on Broadway.

He also wears the same brown wool single-breasted overcoat that he wore when out with Kay. It’s significant that he leaves these brown, earthy reminders of his law-abiding past behind when he is forced to escape his crime.

Michael’s sole accessory is his wristwatch, a simple steel watch with a round black dial on a black leather strap. This watch shares more similarities with the military watch that Michael wore with his USMC uniform than with the gold watch sported when he takes over as the family don.

Michael lights a Camel to ease his tension (and his T-zone!)

Luckily for Michael, Sonny’s prophecy is not fulfilled and Michael’s suit remains relatively devoid of brains.

Go Big or Go Home

This iconic scene is fondly recalled by audiences and critics as one of the greatest in the movie, if not in all of cinema. The scene, which Shortlist accurately describes as “literally mindblowing”, was even mentioned on The Sopranos as Tony Soprano’s favorite moment (although Vito returning to Italy to kill Don Francesco is often cited as his favorite in the overall series.)

When Tessio says “it’s perfect,” he may as well be talking about the restaurant as a setting for Michael Corleone’s dramatic transformation in addition to the mob hit. Before and after The Godfather, Mafia drama always seemed to happen in those little family restaurants, the type that Tessio lauds as “a small family place, good food… everyone minds his business.”

The killing is reminiscent of Joe Masseria’s 1931 demise in a small Italian-American-owned bistro in Coney Island, engineered by “Lucky” Luciano to both end the bloody Castellamarese War and to ensure Luciano’s own quick rise to power. Dutch Schultz and his cronies were gunned down in a Newark chophouse four years later.

Interestingly, the shot of Sollozzo and McCluskey dead at the table brings to mind both the now-famous image of Schultz collapsed on his table, mortally wounded, as well as almost eerily foreshadowing the real-life slaying of mob boss Carmine Galante seven years later… also at an Italian restaurant.

Sollozzo still sitting at the table recalls Dutch Schultz, while McCluskey – collapsed at the foot of it – would strangely be reflected by the killing of Carmine Galante in 1979.

The restaurant in the film is the fictional “Louis’ Italian-American Restaurant”, which Sollozzo likes for its veal but Tessio likes for its old-fashioned toilet’s ability to hide a gun. Sollozzo might have a better point from a Yelp reviewer’s perspective, but at least Tessio is thinking like a gangster?

Originally, Coppola wanted to film at Mario’s Restaurant on Arthur Avenue which had been mentioned in Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel. Mario Migliucci refused, not wanting to stigmatize the now nearly 100-year-old restaurant as the site of a fictional mob hit and instead focusing on the food. Thus, Coppola moved the scene at “Louis’ Italian-American Restaurant” to the Old Luna Restaurant in The Bronx, which closed down shortly after The Godfather was released.

Michael is picked up in front of Jack Dempsey’s Broadway Restaurant on Broadway between 49th and 50th in Manhattan. Considering that Jack Dempsey’s also closed down shortly after the movie’s release, perhaps it was a wise move on Mr. Migliucci’s part to distance himself from the scene… albeit such an iconic one.

Joe Lombardi works with Al Lettieri (Sollozzo) and Al Pacino to guarantee that the scene – and the gun – goes off without a hitch.

The shooting itself is a tension-breaking moment that had to be filmed perfectly to have the desired effect. Special effects team members, including Joe Lombardi and makeup artist Dick Smith, worked together to ensure that the timing worked perfectly. Both Sterling Hayden and Al Lettieri (McCluskey and Sollozzo) were fitted with explosive squib contraptions on their heads, synchronized to detonate as Al Pacino fired a specially-rigged revolver at them. As Smith described to Cinefex magazine in the early 1990s:

There was a metal plate on [Sterling Hayden’s] forehead and the squib on top of that — and [we] covered the whole forehead with foam latex skin, but left an area around the squib unglued so that I could take a hypodermic needle, prick it sideways through the skin, and squirt in a certain amount of blood to fill that shallow cavity — not so much that it would bulge. Then when the squib blew, it would blow a hole in the skin so the blood would pour out. The great trouble with that is it takes a lot of time to put it on, and when you finish, you have to take it all off, clean him up, and prepare him for another shot. It’s very time-consuming and of course you could not only have something go wrong in the filming of the scene, you could have a squib be a dud or something.

A nice dab of realism comes from the crescendo of the scene, as Michael completes his task and tosses the gun, flubbing the directive from Clemenza to “just let your hand drop to your side, and let the gun slip out… everybody’ll still think you got it.”

Michael’s vengeful initiation into his family’s dark side is nicely introduced by the somber and moody “This Loneliness” piano solo performed by Coppola’s own father Carmine.

The hauntingly beautiful piece wasn’t included on the official soundtrack release, but a version did appear as the fifth track on the rare The Godfather’s Family Wedding Album, also released in 1972.

How to Get the Look

For his last moments as a civilian, Michael’s take on the Ivy League look signifies his acceptance of darkness overwhelming his previously law-abiding life.

• Charcoal flannel three-piece suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with large notch lapels, welted breast pocket, flapped hip pockets, and single rear vent
  • Single-breasted 6-button vest with notched bottom
  • Reverse-pleated trousers with plain-hemmed bottoms
• Thin white & navy dress-striped shirt with button-down collar and rounded 1-button cuffs
• Maroon red silk necktie with thin white R-down-L stripes
• Black leather oxfords
• Black dress socks
• Brown wool single-breasted 3-button overcoat with notch lapels, flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, belted rear with single vent
• Dark brown felt wide-brimmed fedora with dark brown grosgrain ribbon
• Steel wristwatch with black dial on black leather strap

The Gun

It’s as cold as they come, impossible to trace.

Clemenza knows that absolutely nothing is allowed to go wrong as soon as Michael draws a gun on a vicious mobster and a New York City police captain, so plenty of consideration is put into the firearm that Michael will use for the shooting. The gun in question is a Smith & Wesson Model 36 “Chiefs Special” revolver with a 2″ “snubnose” barrel.

Clemenza hands Michael his killing tool.

“I left it noisy. That way it scares any pain-in-the-ass innocent bystanders away,” explains Clemenza after Michael’s ears continue ringing after test-firing the .38 Special round in Clemenza’s basement. “So you don’t have to worry about prints, Mike, I put a special tape on the trigger and the butt.” The family has a brief, contentious argument about how the gun will end up in Michael’s hands as he would surely be frisked on the way to the meeting. Once the restaurant’s location is revealed, Tessio gleefully recalls the “old-fashioned” toilet at Louie’s that would be perfect for hiding the weapon, ensuring that Michael wouldn’t walk out with anything more, um, compromising in his hands. (In the awesome The Godfather video game released in 2005, your character gets to be the one who plants the gun!)

While the Chiefs Special looks like any standard snubnose revolver favored by gangsters of the era, it is actually slightly anachronistic for Michael’s 1946 shooting of Sollozzo and McCluskey as it hadn’t been developed until four years later. Smith & Wesson was hoping to fill the gap between the large-framed six-shot .38 Special revolvers like the Model 10 and the smaller-framed and less powerful weapons like the I-framed .32 Hand Ejector revolvers. In 1950, Smith & Wesson rolled out this J-frame five-shot revolver – named the Model 36 when S&W introduced its numbering system a few years later – to offer the powerful .38 Special in a smaller, more concealable package.

Michael lets ‘er rip in the basement.

It quickly became popular on both sides of the law, with the moniker “Chiefs Special” winning a vote after the design was well-received at the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in 1950. It also gained a lasting reputation for reliability and durability which was even reflected by the shady gun dealer in Taxi Driver who told Travis Bickle: “That .38… you go out and hammer nails with it all day, come back and it will cut dead center on target every time. It’s got a really nice action to it and a heck of a wallop.”

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the series.

The Quote

What I want… what’s most important to me is that I have a guarantee: no more attempts on my father’s life.

Footnotes

(Interestingly, Pacino shares his birthday with co-star and cinematic sister Talia Shire, born six years later and thus celebrating her 70th birthday this year.)

As Michael makes his escape from Louie’s Restaurant and leaps onto the running board of his getaway car… or so he tried. Supposedly, Pacino misjudged the leap timing and twisted his ankle, requiring the use of a cane for the next two weeks.

Jack Nicholson as private eye J.J. Gittes in Chinatown (1974).

Vitals

Jack Nicholson as J.J. Gittes, private investigator and ex-policeman

Los Angeles, September 1937

Film: Chinatown
Release Date: June 20, 1974
Director: Roman Polanski
Costume Designer: Anthea Sylbert

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Chinatown begins in the spirit of the best of film noir, with a private eye getting a case promised to be filled with sex and violence and fueled with countless cigarettes and potent whiskey. Gittes, resplendent in a creamy white three-piece suit, accepts the case from Mrs. Mulwray to follow her husband Hollis to determine if he is having an affair.

Hollis Mulwray is the head of L.A.’s Department of Water and Power, so Gittes first tracks him down to a public hearing where Mulwray is at the center of the controversial construction of a dam that would supposedly bring more water to L.A. Gittes is able to learn next to nothing about the man’s sexual proclivities from the meeting, but he does seem surprised that his subject is a mousy, conservative public servant and not a swaggering lothario.

After the meeting, Gittes tracks Mulwray to a dry riverbed and observes him talking to a boy on a horse. The boy is clearly not having an affair with Mulwray, so – again – this is of no professional use to our cynical private eye. Following Mulwray to a beach at Point Fermin Park yields no pertinent results either, other than giving Gittes an interesting case of swamp ass due to a strangely-placed stream of water that may or may not be important later. (Spoiler: it will.) Through some P.I. trickery, Gittes learns that Mulwray did indeed spend all night there… but with the water, not a secret girlfriend. The investigation continues.

Days later, Mulwray is dead and Gittes meets his actual wife Evelyn who – being Faye Dunaway – is certainly not the woman he remembers coming into his office at the start of the film. Gittes goes to meet the new head of the department, Russ Yelburton, who took over after Mulwray’s death. Yelburton is cagey, as Gittes expected, but our protagonist learned more about the increasingly complex connection that Evelyn, her father Noah Cross, and Hollis Mulwray all shared with the water controversy that will lead to Gittes getting shot at, sliced open, and beaten with a crutch before the case is solved.

What’d He Wear?

J.J. Gittes’ gabardine Glen plaid three-piece suit – the second of his suits seen in Chinatown – is one of the closest things he has to a business suit, wearing it for more run-of-the-mill aspects of his investigation like attending a town council meeting or checking in with a public official. He has no need to be his usual flashy self; in fact, blending in would serve him better for outings like that.

The suiting is a black and white Glen check with a subtle red windowpane overcheck.

The single-breasted suit jacket’s luxurious long and wide cut reflects the sweeping fashions of the late ’30s. The peak lapels extend across the chest to sharply pointed ends that seem to point up to the heavy sleevehead roping on the shoulders.

“Only when I breathe,” Gittes quips in Yelburton’s office about the new inconvenience of a nasal restriction.

Gittes keeps his two-button front open, as he tends to do with his single-breasted suit jackets. The buttons match the smaller four buttons on each cuff. The jacket also has jetted breast pockets and a welted breast pocket, where Gittes wears a white linen display kerchief. The back is ventless.

Gittes follows his mark.

The suit’s matching vest is single-breasted with six buttons down the high-fastening front to the notched bottom, although the lowest button is high enough that all buttons are worn fastened rather than leaving one undone over the bottom.

The pleats of Gittes’ trousers are also seen below his vest as he follows Mulwray down to the beach.

Not much is seen of Gittes’ trousers due to the long cut of the jacket and the vest over the waistband, but they appear to have reverse pleats and are fully cut down through the cuffed bottoms, which are finished with slim turn-ups.

Gittes wears black leather 4-eyelet oxfords and black ribbed dress socks.

Inset photo is a behind-the-scenes shot of Jack Nicholson while filming these scenes at Point Fermin Park.

When Mulwray begins his surveillance of Mulwray by attending a council meeting, Robert Towne’s screenplay called for him to be “impeccably dressed”. The finished film has him outfitted in this suit, paired with a white tonal-striped dress shirt and dark red patterned silk tie.

The white-on-white striped shirt has a large collar with long points and French cuffs that are fastened by brass oblong links. His dark maroon silk necktie has a multi-square pattern consisting of white squares intersected into nine boxes by a red grid.

Gittes affects a reasonably smug smirk while overseeing government inaction in action during a local council meeting.

A few days later, Gittes shows up at Russ Yelburton’s office looking for answers after Mulwray’s death. Again he wears this suit, offsetting its uncharacteristic professionalism with a pale pink dress shirt and another red patterned silk necktie.

Gittes’ pink shirt has a front placket and contrast collar and double cuffs. The white collar, like the other shirt, is large with long points. The white French cuffs appear to be fastened with the same brass links as the previously seen shirt. The silk tie has a red ground and an ornate motif of multi-colored ovals; each oval has an outer tan-colored ring stripe, followed by navy and mint green stripes of equal widths with a brown center core.

Gittes is no less smug (or nosy) after having his nostril sliced open.

As a 1930s private detective, Gittes’ practice would likely be closed down if he wasn’t constantly wearing a fedora. In this case, his hat is dark gray felt with a wide black grosgrain ribbon, tied in a bow on the left side.

A good private eye never goes anywhere without his binoculars or fedora.

Gittes’ watch is most prominently seen in these scenes when he uses it to synchronize for a P.I. trick (which I’ll get into shortly!) The gold watch has a rectangular case and expanding bracelet with a light Deco-style dial.

The script called for 9:37, but this looks a little more like 8:26 to me!

So You Wanna Be a Private Eye?

As a professional snoop, Gittes is always prepared to do whatever necessary to find out what he needs to know. He relies on his wits and, whenever possible, a few extra watches to investigate the Mulwray case as the complexities continue to unfold.

The Watch Trick

Having followed his mark, Hollis Mulwray, to the beach at Point Fermin Park, Gittes observes Mulwray standing by the edge of the water for an interminable amount of time. But Gittes is a busy man, and even a dedicated P.I. can’t spend all night watching a mark who won’t stop staring into the waves.

Gittes returns to his car after dusk and opens his glove compartment, revealing – as the screenplay describes – ” a small mountain of Ingersoll pocket watches”. He pulls one out, winds it, and checks the time against his own watch before wedging it behind the wheel of Mulwray’s Cadillac.

The script even called for each watch to still have its price tag attached, as seen here.

When Gittes’ associates return (after several attempts) to retrieve the watch, it was broken at the exact time that Mulwray left the park, giving Gittes the information he needed without forcing him to wait for another few hours. According to the screenplay, Gittes set the watch at 9:37; when his associate Walsh returned it, it said 2:47. That’s a lot of waiting.

Annoying the Secretary

After Mulwray’s murder, Gittes goes to find Russ Yelburton, the new head of the water department. Yelburton’s secretary, who remembers Gittes from his last pestering visit, is quick to dismiss any attempt to allow the nosy P.I. in to see her boss. Gittes exudes easy patience, explaining that he’s on his lunch hour when the secretary explains that Yelburton is busy.

“He’s liable to be tied up indefinitely,” she desperately attempts. Gittes charms it off as he settles in opposite her: “I take a long lunch. All day sometimes.” The secretary determines to burrow her head into her work, and the game begins. Who will hold out longer?

Look how peeved she is already! Gittes hasn’t even gotten started…

Gittes offers her a cigarette. She dismissively waves it off, as he taps-taps-taps his Lucky Strike against the gold case before lighting up. Gittes uses the silence of the office in his favor as he saunters around, looking at the numerous photos and humming “The Way You Look Tonight”. He spots Noah Cross, Mulwray’s father-in-law and – apparently – former employer? Gittes could get to the bottom of it, but bothering the secretary will serve a secondary purpose.

Gittes: Noah Cross worked for the water department?
Secretary: Yes. No.
Gittes: (knows he’s getting to her already) He did or he didn’t?
Secretary: He owned it.

Gittes, surprised by this new information, keeps pressing the testy secretary who becomes annoyed with her own contradictory answers and finally after admitting “Yes. Yes! They were partners…”, she gets up and struts into Yelburton’s office. Gittes allows himself a self-satisfied smile as he imagines the conversation on the other side of the door. See what a little persistence will do?

The secretary returns a few moments later, doubtlessly both irritated that her attempts have failed but also relieved to have the inquisitive P.I. out of her hair. She admits Gittes into Yelburton’s office.

How to Get the Look

Although Gittes is never one to shy away from vibrant, flashy colors, his Glen plaid suit is about as conservative as he gets while still retaining his signature flamboyance.

• Black & white Glen Plaid (with red windowpane overcheck) gabardine suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with wide peak lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Single-breasted 6-button vest with notched bottom
  • Single reverse-pleated high rise full-cut trousers with turn-ups/cuffs
• White tonal-striped or pale pink dress shirt with large collar, front placket, and double/French cuffs
• Dark red silk patterned tie
• Brass oblong cuff links
• Dark gray felt fedora with wide black grosgrain ribbon
• Black leather 4-eyelet oxfords
• Black ribbed dress socks

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

Yelburton: My goodness, what happened to your nose?
Gittes: I cut myself shaving.
Yelburton: You ought to be more careful. That must really smart.
Gittes: Only when I breathe.

Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens on Justified (Episode 5.08: “Whistle Past the Graveyard”).

Vitals

Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, old-fashioned Deputy U.S. Marshal

Harlan County, Kentucky, Spring 2014

Series: Justified
Episodes:
– “The Kids Aren’t All Right” (Episode 5.02, Director: Bill Johnson, Air Date: January 14, 2014)
– “Good Intentions” (Episode 5.03, Director: Dean Parisot, Air Date: January 21, 2014)
– “Whistle Past the Graveyard” (Episode 5.08, Director: Peter Werner, Air Date: March 4, 2014)
– “The Toll” (Episode 5.11, Director: Jon Avnet, Air Date: March 25, 2014)
Creator: Graham Yost
Costume Designer: Patia Prouty

Background

With the Kentucky Derby upon us this weekend, BAMF Style is returning to Harlan County to check in with one of our favorite residents of the state, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens.

Justified‘s penultimate season finds Raylan Givens primarily facing off against the gator farmers of Dewey Crowe’s criminal family, led by his oldest brother Darryl Jr. (Michael Rapaport) who proves to be a much more menacing nemesis than the tragically dimwitted Dewey (Damon Herriman). Fans who first met the hapless Dewey in the pilot episode, irresponsibly brandishing a shotgun retrieved from the trunk of his Cadillac while a gator-tooth necklace clings to his “Heil Hitler”-tattooed neck must have been surprised to see that the scrappy little hoodlum was developed to the point of having such a fascinatingly imposing family, but that’s just the magic of the potential that Elmore Leonard gives to all of his characters.

What’d He Wear?

One of Raylan’s favorite off-duty looks over the entire run of Justified is a plaid shirt layered over a dark T-shirt, naturally worn with jeans as well as his usual lineup of cowboy boots, Stetson hat, and holstered Glock. Throughout the fifth season, Raylan offers a fresh take on a dark upper half by incorporating a gray-on-black plaid shirt over a black T-shirt.

Raylan abides.

Raylan’s outer layer is a black flannel shirt with an all gray tartan plaid overcheck. While a “flannel shirt” is colloquially – and ultimately wrongly – used to describe a plaid shirt, it’s worth noting that flannel actually refers to the softly woven fabric from which the shirt is made. Traditionally, flannel was made from wool, but the growing popularity of cotton, silk, and synthetic fibers in clothing now means that the flannel process can be applied to various materials.

The gray-on-black plaid flannel shirt has a slim collar and black plastic buttons down the front placket. Similar buttons are found to fasten the cuffs and to close the mitred-corner flaps on each of the two chest patch pockets.

Raylan chats up the least repulsive member of the Crowe clan.

Underneath, Raylan wears a plain black cotton short-sleeve T-shirt with a crew neck and a small patch pocket on the left chest. While Raylan seems like the type of guy who would just buy a three-pack of undershirts from Hanes or Fruit of the Loom and call it a day, this shirt more resembles the comfortable and affordable minimalism from a brand like H&M, which offers a similar black cotton pocket tee for $9.99.

Hank Moody would be proud of Raylan Givens.

Raylan wears his tried-and-true blue medium wash Levi’s denim jeans. These (appropriately) bootcut jeans have the usual five-pocket layout of two front pockets, right coin pocket, and two patch pockets in the back.

Yep… Hank Moody would be very proud of Raylan Givens.

Raylan wears his ostrich leg cowboy boots from Lucchese, which the company describes as made from a “cigar” shade of dark brown leather. These distinctive boots can still be found at sites like Sam’s Boot Ranch.

Raylan’s boots are most clearly seen when sporting a similar look – wearing a navy blue and forest green plaid flannel shirt rather than gray-on-black – in “Starvation” (Episode 5.12).

Although most of his clothing is black (suits) or blue (denim), Raylan always wears brown leather accessories. In the fifth season, he wears a well-worn dark brown tooled leather belt with a large steel single-claw buckle. The belt has white stitching along the top and bottom with vertical double-stitching on the belt’s thick front loop.

Fixed to the right side of his belt for a right-hand draw is Raylan’s Bianchi Model 59 Special Agent® thumb break paddle holster in tan-finished full grain leather. Raylan’s holster, model #19128, is fitted for a right-hand shooter carrying a 4.49″-barreled full size pistol like our protagonist’s trusty Glock 17.

Raylan’s Glock remains holstered by his side at all times.

At the end of “Whistle Past the Graveyard” (Episode 5.08), Raylan briefly wears his blue denim Levi’s trucker jacket as an extra layer, recalling the “denim sandwich” look that he manages to pull off unlike so many other men. The stonewashed denim jacket has two patch pockets on the chest that close with a steel button through a pointed flap as well as the handwarmer side pockets that were added to Levi’s denim jackets in 1980. There are six aluminum stud buttons down the front as well as a button to close each cuff and a button-fastened adjustable strap on each side of the waistband.

I forgot just how much swagger Raylan had during the fifth season.

Although known for his distinctive cowboy hat, Raylan tends to go hatless with this outfit, leaving his ranch tan 4X wool Stetson cattleman’s hat at home.

Raylan’s wristwatch is his usual TAG Heuer Series 6000 with a white dial and brushed steel case. The watch is secured to his left wrist on a plain black leather strap.

Finally, Raylan sports his silver horseshoe ring on the third finger of his right hand, a subtle call-out of his cowboy reputation and tendencies.

How to Get the Look

Raylan’s off-duty casual wear is exactly what you’d expect: ruggedly masculine and comfortably utilitarian… while still just fashionable enough for him to catch the eye of an interested woman.

• Gray-on-black plaid flannel long-sleeve shirt with slim collar, front placket, and mitred-corner flapped chest pockets
• Black cotton short-sleeve crew-neck T-shirt with small patch pocket
• Blue denim Levi’s bootcut jeans
• Lucchese “cigar”-colored brown ostrich leg Western-style boots with decorative stitched calf leather shafts
• Dark brown tooled leather belt with a dulled steel single-claw buckle
• Tan full grain leather Bianchi Model 59 Special Agent® paddle holster for a full-size Glock pistol
• TAG Heuer Series 6000 wristwatch with brushed steel case, white dial, and black leather strap
• Silver horseshoe ring

On a chilly evening, Raylan isn’t opposed to the “Canadian tuxedo” of a blue Levi’s trucker jacket worn with his blue jeans… he would probably refer if you called it a Kentucky tuxedo, though.

The Gun

Both on- and off-duty, Raylan carries his blued Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol, chambered in 9×19 mm Parabellum. The U.S. Marshal Service has issued the Glock 22 since 2000 – famously called out as a plot point by Tommy Lee Jones in U.S. Marshals – but that model’s .40 S&W ammunition is more expensive than the 9mm of the Glock 17.

Given the amount of gunplay on Justified and the cosmetic similarities between the on-screen Glock 17 and the actual issued Glock 22, the economical decision of the showrunners to utilize less expensive blank ammunition should be applauded.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the entire series. This look was primarily seen throughout the fifth season, making its primary appearances in “Good Intentions” (Episode 5.03) and “Whistle Past the Graveyard” (Episode 5.08) with only brief or varied appearances in the other mentioned episodes.

And, if you’re a “rolly coaster” fan like Uncle Jack in “Whistle Past the Graveyard”, do yourself the favor of checking out the mentioned “face-melter” Millennium Force at Cedar Point. It’s a hell of a ride. (One of the first times I rode the Millennium Force shortly after it opened, a pen flew out of my pocket while going down a hill. It briefly lingered near my face before the velocity of the coaster overtook gravity and the hotel pen was relegated to my wake.)

The Quote

Get me out here again, you best remember to ditch.

Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars (1977).

Vitals

Harrison Ford as Han Solo, swaggering space pirate and smuggler

A Long Time Ago in Galaxy Far Far Away

Film: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Release Date: May 25, 1977
Director: George Lucas
Costume Designer: John Mollo

Film: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
Release Date: May 21, 1980
Director: Irvin Kershner
Costume Designer: John Mollo

Film: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Release Date: May 25, 1983
Director: Richard Marquand
Costume Design: Aggie Guerard Rodgers & Nilo Rodis-Jamero

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

May 4th is often celebrated by Star Wars fans so BAMF Style is taking today to honor its favorite fictional space traveler (and no, it’s not James Bond in Moonraker.)

This month marks the 39th anniversary of Star Wars‘ original release in 1977 and laid the foundation for one of the most acclaimed and popular film franchises of all time.

My sister and I have been self-described – and proud! – Star Wars nerds ever since we were introduced to the series at the time of the re-release in 1997. I was only in second grade, but the family connection was deeper than I realized at the time. Twenty years earlier, my mother and her brother went to a showing of the original Star Wars at a local Pittsburgh theater. During a battle scene on the Death Star as Luke and Leia were fighting it out with Imperial Stormtroopers, my uncle stood up and shouted “I’ll protect you, sis!” while firing a toy gun at the screen. (While certainly a sign of the times as this behavior may have had a tragically different outcome in 2016, it is an interesting parallel to the on-screen activity as George Lucas didn’t even realize yet that Luke and Leia were siblings.)

On December 17 last year, my family excitedly went to see The Force Awakens and all of our moderate expectations were totally surpassed as the series was perfectly reinvigorated with an excellent entry that served old and new fans alike. Of course, no discussion of The Force Awakens is complete without acknowledging the tragedy that kicks off the final act.

…a rangy, languid young man who is probably intelligent and amusing…

…is how the venerated Alec Guinness described Harrison Ford to a friend while deep in production of the first film, although this description could have also applied to Han Solo himself. Nearly 40 years later, it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone else in the role, though George Lucas was initially against the idea of bringing back an “old face” as Ford had starred in Lucas’ American Graffiti. However, Ford was tapped to read Han’s lines while other actors auditioned for other roles, and Lucas realized that Ford was the perfect choice to play the galactic scoundrel.

Although Lucas may have eventually settled on Luke Skywalker as his protagonist, it was always the sarcastic loner Han Solo who struck me as the series’ hero and certainly the coolest of the humans… at least until Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian showed up and an entire generation of Star Wars fans developed a craving for Colt 45.

Each of the leads in the Star Wars franchise experiences incredible growth, but it is Han Solo’s that resonates the most with me. A wittily cynical but ultimately honorable maverick who certainly would’ve been played by Humphrey Bogart had George Lucas made his flick 30 years earlier, Han’s reluctant involvement in the Rebel Alliance is motivated by his desire for wealth, spurred on by his sense of adventure, and eventually cemented by his principles that he allows to emerge as he grows throughout the series.

What’d He Wear?

Han Solo has the most consistently utilitarian and practical attire of his companions due to both the character’s sense of practicality as well as the requirements for a smuggler constantly on the run who has no need for the ceremonial robes of a Jedi knight. While details varied slightly from film to film, the essence of Han’s look remained the same.

Costume designer John Mollo deserves plenty of credit for establishing the character of Han Solo through his outfit in A New Hope, which was also Mollo’s inaugural film as lead costume designer. Mollo’s interest in costume design began at a young age as he fervently researched military uniforms of Europe and the United States, a background that he delved into while creating the martial-inspired look of fighters in the Star Wars universe. Lucas gave Mollo the duty of creating simple uniforms without buttons or embellishments with the directive of all characters that costuming shouldn’t be noticed above plot.

While the plot was enough to hold the attention of even the relatively uninterested Alec Guinness, Han Solo’s clothing has endured through the decades as some of the most popular film costuming of all time, reinvigorated for cosplayers and Halloweeners. There is plenty of information out there about Han’s attire, from a through-the-films breakdown at The Wookiee Gunner to DIY guides at StarWars.com and Kay-Dee.net. Some retailers have even started marketing their own well-researched takes on the Han Solo look. Rebel Legion offers an accurate breakdown for recreating each of Han’s respective looks.

Episode VI – A New Hope

Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars (1977), later given the subtitle A New Hope after the sequels were released.

According to Brandon Alinger in Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy, Lucas’ directive for Han Solo eventually settled on “a pocketed vest, a gun belt, tuxedo-striped trousers, and high boots” rather than his original vision of “a Flash Gordon-style hat and a chest pack” that Harrison Ford surely would have rebelled against.

Han’s beige v-neck pullover shirt is unique to A New Hope as he switches to a chest-flapped tunic for the adventures that follow. The shirt, which appears to be constructed from a woven cotton or cotton flannel, has a deep v-neck with a standing collar that resembles a button-less henley more than a T-shirt. It has long, set-in sleeves and plain cuffs.

Han broods.

Although some replicas are available in leather (like this FilmJackets version for $159), Han’s black vest in A New Hope appears to be a medium weight cotton twill. The vest is meant to be worn open with no zipper, buttons, or closure of any kind. Unlike a suit’s waistcoat, it extends straight down from the collar to the bottom.

Appropriately for a smuggler, Han’s vest has plenty of pockets with five patch pockets on the front alone. Each front panel has a large lower patch pocket with a squared flap. The left chest has a slightly smaller flapped patch pocket while the right chest panel has a full patch pocket with a slanted cutaway on the right side. A smaller, rectangular pocket is inset over the right chest pocket, much like a modern “pen pocket”.

Han’s got plenty of pockets on his vest.

The back of the vest has four separate vertical loops across the upper back on a yoked panel. On the panel below the loops is a large patch “poacher’s pocket” with a flap, extending all the way across the back.

What kind of self-respecting smuggler would wear something with less than five pockets?

Publicity photo of Han and Chewie.

Han wears tight navy blue brushed denim cavalry-style trousers with a plain front, tall belt loops, and – reportedly – a zip fly. The leg tapers down to a likely strap under the foot to keep the pants in line under his boots. There are no pockets, and a top-stitched riding seam curves around the seat in the back. These pants appear to have a similar texture as a lightweight twill, not quite as loose-fitting as dress trousers while not as rigidly structured as most jeans.

The most distinctive aspect of Han’s trousers is the presence of a red “Corellian bloodstripe” down the outside of each leg, consisting of a series of short horizontal lines hand-embroidered onto a strip of matching fabric that lines up behind the trouser seam on each side. While this has been described practically as tuxedo striping or colored piping, the Star Wars expanded universe explains in canon that this is an award for “conspicuous gallantry” by the Corellian military forces. The red striping seen on Han’s trousers in A New Hope is the “first class” Corellian bloodstripe; he would wear his yellow “second class” blood stripes in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi on his brown trousers.

Han’s black leather knee-high boots are worn over the lower leg of his trousers, exposing the boots’ smooth, equestrian-style uppers.

When slipping into the pilot seat of the Millennium Falcon, Han dons a pair of simple two-tone brown driving gloves, serving here as flight gloves.

Han turns on the charm after assuming Leia would be impressed by his marksmanship.

A New Hope is the only appearance of Han’s dark brown belt as he switches to black for the rest of the adventures following. The wide leather belt has three rows of holes with only the top and bottom rows utilized for the dual-pronged steel roller buckle.

The details of Han’s leather rig are best seen when he’s talking to Jabba before leaving Tattooine.

Han also sports a brown leather holster rig that consists of a utility belt, a steel modular buckle, and a holster that straps around his right thigh. A silver tube-like device secured to the left side of Han’s holster belt is a “droid caller”, an in-universe gadget that would ostensibly work as a remote control, signalling a droid’s restraining bolt for the droid to return to its owner.

Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

Harrison Ford as Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

For The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo’s primary outfit was updated to what has become one of the most popular costumes of the series to the point of Anovos creating its official “Bespin costume” using meticulous original research from the original production. Anovos offers its staggeringly accurate recreation for $480 (plus an extra $50 if you want the belt).

Alinger’s Star Wars Costumes states that John Mollo’s original concept for Han’s costume would bring back his black vest from A New Hope over an “under flying overall” jumpsuit, but director Irvin Kershner wanted to keep the established character look intact with some adjustments.

The most significant adjustment to Han’s costume is the pocketed wool jacket, which Anovos digitally dye-matched its poly-cotton replica to the original heathered dark blue color with a gray satin-lined interior. The jacket has a banded collar, padded shoulders, and – like his earlier vest – is worn open with no methods of front closure. There are four gusseted billows pockets on the front – two chest and two hip – as well as a large flapped “poacher’s pocket” across his lower back.

Luke appears pretty jealous that Han gets all the best costumes (and definitely some of the better dialogue).

The left sleeve also has a single pocket on the upper bicep with a flap resembling a long trapezoid; Luke’s jacket (which he wears on Dagobah and Cloud City) has the same pocket, implying that Han’s jacket may possibly be issued to him by the Rebel Alliance.

I don’t know what ostensible purpose that pocket would serve, but there it is.

He ostensibly loses his jacket on Cloud City as it is taken from him before he is frozen in carbonite. (Interestingly, Han’s profile when frozen in carbonite also seems to use the A New Hope shirt as a model rather than the correct double-breasted flap version.)

The shirt from A New Hope appears on the carbonite model of Han used in The Empire Strikes Back (here) and later in Return of the Jedi.

Han’s lightweight flannel shirt in The Empire Strikes Back is the closest to a pure white shirt that he wears in the original trilogy, and it has more military-inspired details than his previous shirt – perhaps due to Han’s increased role with the Rebel Alliance. While it still has a standing collar, there is a “double-breasted” flap across the chest – which Anovos calls an “offset lapel” – that can be secured to his right shoulder. In Anovos’ case, the fastening would be a clear snap.

The condemned man enjoys one last kiss.

A behind-the-scenes shot from the filming of Return of the Jedi sheds a little more light on this shirt. Although the front bib appears to extend to the bottom of the shirt, it is sewn shut above the waist with three cinched closures going up the right side of the chest, allowing the top of the flap to hang freely.

Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford run through a rehearsal for a scene on Jabba’s skiff in Return of the Jedi.

Han’s brown flat front cavalry-style trousers have similar features seen on his navy pants in A New Hope, including the belt loops, zip fly, and sharp front crease down each leg. The texture implies a different material, however, possibly a wool and polyester gabardine as I’ve seen suggested. On these brown pants, Han wears his yellow “second class” Corellian bloodstripe. Anovos confirms that their replica uses elastic stirrups under each foot, covered by the same black riding-style leather boots.

The sewn-on strip of Han’s Corellian bloodstripe is especially visible after he is tossed into the brig.

Han wears a black version of his leather belt from A New Hope, perhaps to provide a better contrast against his brown pants… while simultaneously following the accepted sartorial practice of matching belts and footwear. Again, the silver-toned roller buckle is dual-pronged, clawing through the top and bottom of the belt’s three notch rows. Anovos sells its belt replica separately for $60.

I have a bad feeling about this…

To complete the look, Anovos also researched and recreated the holster rig that Han wore in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi with screen-used assets provided by Skywalker Archives, available for $500.

Anovos crafted its belt and holster from genuine saddle leather that was dyed and weathered to match the well-worn brown leather of Han’s on-screen rig. The modular heavy-gauge stainless steel buckles “can be arranged to allow for any configuration seen in the original trilogy”, although Han typically wore his holster strapped around his right thigh. Four utility pockets have been sewn onto the belt to match the one seen on screen. Accessories include a spring steel-machined droid caller clipped to the left side and an aluminum-machined “anti-security disc”.

Episode VI – Return of the Jedi

Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Return of the Jedi (1983).

Return of the Jedi combines Han’s outfits from the previous two films, incorporating most of the elements of The Empire Strikes Back‘s costume with a black vest that recalls his initial garb in A New Hope.

Han’s black vest in Return of the Jedi is cut the same but appears to be a lighter weight cotton than his vest in A New Hope. It retains the same four loops across the back as his first vest and the tops of each loop line up with a horizontal yoke across the top of the back, although the poacher’s patch pocket present on both of his previous outer garments has been discarded for a plain lower back.

The Harrison Ford smirk was perfected by 1983.

The four-pocket front of Han’s Return of the Jedi vest shares more in common with his jacket in The Empire Strikes Back than his previous vest. There are two gusseted bellows pockets on each side; like the back, a horizontal yoke stretches across the top seam of the chest pockets.

Han’s white flap-chested shirt returns from The Empire Strikes Back, which makes sense given that the narrative picks up after he is unfrozen from carbonite while wearing the same clothing he was frozen in.

The sadistic Jabba even makes Han enter a wet t-shirt contest.

For the assault on Endor, Han changes into a slightly heavier tan flannel shirt with the same double-breasted flap chest as his previous shirt. This shirt also has a wider cuff with stitching a few inches from the end of the sleeve.

Leia and Han, now “General Solo”, team up on Endor.

Due to the carbonite circumstances, Han also wears the same brown cavalry twill trousers as seen in The Empire Strikes Back with their yellow Corellian bloodstripe. According to The Wookiee Gunner, Ford’s zip fly loosened while filming, and the new costume design team was tasked with sewing it back together while on set.

This would be a bad time to need to zip up your fly.

Han wears the same black leather belt and black equestrian-style knee-high leather boots as he had before. His familiar brown leather holster rig with its steel modular buckle also returned, securely fastening his DL-44 blaster to his right thigh.

Han’s easily-accessible holster comes in handy when battling it out against the Empire on Endor.

The author of the earlier-cited Kay-Dee.net DIY guide took some excellent photos from the “Dressing a Galaxy” event, which can be found at this link and provide a great detailed look at Han’s costume from Return of the Jedi as well as several other famous costumes from the franchise.

The Wookiee Gunner also cites early wardrobe department notes that dictated a fresh costume for Han consisting of a simple-collared dark green military shirt and black trousers with second class Corellian bloodstripe, all described as “combat outfit, leather camouflage”. While the narrative and Han’s individuality meant instead retaining most of the costume from The Empire Strikes Back, he was outfitted in a bit of camouflage upon landing on Endor in the form of a brown camouflaged ankle-length duster with long notch lapels and a single rear vent. Like most of the other costumes of the series, there is no front closure and the two hip pockets are flapped bellows pockets.

Supposedly, Han’s “duster” was actually a white doctor’s lab coat that was dyed various shades of brown and green to provide camouflage, although the extreme length of the coat is more indicative of a butcher’s coat like this one with its tie removed. In either sense, coats like these are typically made from cotton, polyester, or a blend of both.

Go Big or Go Home

…and try to go home in the Millennium Falcon. It may often be dismissed as a “bucket of bolts”, but it’s our bucket of bolts.

It was the ILM special effects crew whose in-house names for the X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters later became canon in the series. Their nickname of “Porkburger” for the Millennium Falcon didn’t have the same effect.

I’m not alone in my admiration as Han Solo constantly appears on lists of the greatest characters in movies, with AFI and Entertainment Weekly each listing him as the 14th and 7th, respectively, greatest heroes of pop culture, and Empire magazine even naming him the 4th greatest movie character of all-time. George Lucas created the character, but it was Harrison Ford who truly made the character his own. It is Ford who was credited with one of Han’s most character-defining moments. Just before Han was frozen in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back, Leia finally comes to terms with her feelings about the reckless smuggler and emotionally declares “I love you!” to which our hero responds:

I know.

It certainly wasn’t the first time that Ford modified the dialogue to mold his character’s persona. “You can type this shit, but you can’t say it,” Ford reportedly said of Lucas’ original script for A New Hope, and he joined co-stars Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in standing up to Lucas, who graciously listened to the actors’ frustrations and allowed them to improvise their own wording. (For an auteur who had spent years perfecting his magnum opus, George Lucas certainly deserves some credit for listening to the feedback of his young stars and allowing them the clearance to drive his project to even greater heights.)

Harrison Ford in costume tests for A New Hope.

How to Get the Look

Han’s outfit from A New Hope has become one of the most iconic movie costumes of all time.

• Beige cotton flannel v-neck pullover long-sleeve shirt
• Black cotton twill open-front vest with four front patch pockets (three bellows pockets and a slanted upper right pocket), four upper back loops, and lower back “poacher’s” patch pocket
• Navy blue cavalry twill front-creased trousers with red Corellian bloodstripe down each side, tall belt loops, zip fly, rear riding seam, and elastic stirrup bottoms
• Dark brown leather triple-eyelet belt with steel dual-prong buckle
• Brown leather utility rig with modular buckle and right-thigh holster
• Black leather knee-high equestrian boots

There are many replicas and costumes out there with varying degrees of accuracy. For best results, follow one of the cited DIY guides or check out a pro like Anovos who researched the heck out of the costuming before marketing their replica.

The Gun

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

For Han Solo, that “good blaster” is the “BlasTech DL-44” heavy blaster pistol, an in-universe weapon developed cosmetically from the Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol developed for the German military around the turn of the 20th century.

An honest representation of Harrison Ford’s feelings about the character.

A definitive source of information about the transformation of the iconic “Broomhandle” Mauser into Han’s distinctive DL-44 is David Higginbotham’s September 2012 article on Guns.com, where he tracks the origins of the weapon as well as the three made by by Elstree Props and/or Bapty & Co. for the three original movies, including the first live-fire model that had originally been modified for the 1968 Frank Sinatra film The Naked Runner.

Han draws his first DL-44, a modified C96, in A New Hope.

Higginbotham describes the changes made to Han’s blaster after the success of A New Hope meant a greater budget for Lucas’ artistic vision in The Empire Strikes Back, where both Han and Luke would be armed with the same blaster:

…the DL-44 was redesigned. The conical muzzle was turned from aluminum. The scope was shortened and brought closer to the blaster’s frame. The detail work on the gun’s side (the additional dials and buttons) were refined.

Han may believe in having a good blaster at his side, but Darth Vader proves that it’s of no use to him against the Force in The Empire Strikes Back.

The Mauser C96 from which the DL-44 was designed was one of the first modern semi-automatic pistols, originally produced in 1896. It quickly gained popularity among world militaries and users as varied as Winston Churchill, Lawrence of Arabia, Chinese warlords, and Irish revolutionaries. The proprietary 7.63x25mm cartridge had a reputation for its penetration abilities, as the “BlasTech DL-44” would in the Star Wars expanded universe. In fact, for nearly 40 years, the 7.63mm Mauser round was the highest velocity pistol cartridge commercially manufactured. With its unique “broomhandle”-shaped wooden grip, integral box magazine, and long barrel, the distinctive Mauser C96 became a common fixture in movies as an exotic alternative for a handgun, notably wielded to great effect by Clint Eastwood in Joe Kidd before it was modified into the DL-44 for Han Solo.

Han and the Ewoks kick some Imperial ass on Endor in Return of the Jedi.

And, yes, Han shot first.

Suck it, Greedo. My particular DVD may try to say otherwise but mark my words: Han shot first.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the original trilogy. And check out The Force Awakens; this long-time Star Wars fan can totally endorse it.

If you’re specifically interested in costuming from the films, there are several well-researched books on the subject like Brandon Alinger’s Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy and Trisha Biggar’s Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars.

The Quote

What good is a reward if you ain’t around to use it?

Albert Finney as Leo O’Bannon in Miller’s Crossing (1990).

Vitals

Albert Finney as Liam “Leo” O’Bannon, Irish Mob-connected political boss

Upstate New York, Fall 1929

Film: Miller’s Crossing
Release Date: September 21, 1990
Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Costume Designer: Aude Bronson-Howard

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today is the 80th birthday of Albert Finney so BAMF Style is taking a look at his portrayal of Liam “Leo” O’Bannon, the “cheap political boss with more hair tonic than brains” in Miller’s Crossing, the Coen brothers’ 1990 nod to Dashiell Hammett. The movie particularly draws out plot points and characterizations from Hammett’s The Glass Key and Red Harvest, both centered around a shrewd tough guy during a Prohibition-era mob war. The Glass Key has been specifically cited as an influence on Miller’s Crossing with Leo and his pragmatic protégé Tom Reagan clearly modeled after the book’s Paul Madvig and Ned Beaumont, respectively. Madvig, a crooked big shot, relies on Ned to do his thinking for him without realizing that the two men are also sharing a mutual love interest.

The Coen brothers originally imagined Trey Wilson for the Madvig-esque role of Leo O’Bannon, but Wilson’s death just before production brought Albert Finney into the role, his first major film in three years. Who else but Finney could have delivered “Jesus, Tom” with so much earnest conviction each time?

As the boss of two warring mobs in the film’s unnamed setting, Leo becomes targeted for an assassination attempt. The sequence proves that while brains might not be his strong suit, Leo’s got plenty of chutzpah to match his excessive hair tonic. Toss in a stirring tenor rendition of “Danny Boy”, a tommy gun with a seemingly bottomless ammunition capacity, and a well-deserved cigar and a classic scene was made.

What’d He Wear?

The screenplay describes the scene: “Leo – stretched out an his bed, wearing a robe over his pyjamas, smoking a cigar, listening–but only to the phonograph. Its sound covers any other noise in the house.”

Hedonism, 1920s gangster style.

Leo’s status as a big man in town is evident by elegant loungewear. His red printed silk dressing gown has black satin trim, including the black shawl lapels. The robe has three pockets, including two slanted hand pockets with black satin jetting.

Leo wasn’t preparing for a gun battle when he went to bed that night, but – if anything – he reinforces the Boy Scouts’ maxim to “Be Prepared”.

Before the battle begins, Leo places his now-extinguished cigar in the patch pocket over his left breast, which has a thin strip of black silk about an inch down from the opening.

Although it appears solid red in wider shots, the robe’s silk is actually two printed tones of red in a swirly Deco-style design.

Even when settling in for a night of slumber, Leo keeps his hair immaculate.

The robe ties around the waist with a matching red printed silk belt with black satin-trimmed edges and black tips.

Underneath, Leo wears pale blue cotton pajamas with thin white piping on the edges. The untucked pajama shirt has four clear plastic buttons, including a slightly smaller button that closes at the top under the narrow, rounded collar. There are two white-piped patch pockets on the lower portion – one over each hip. The pajamas’ simple trousers have plain bottoms with no cuffs.

Expecting trouble, Leo casually slips into his black Prince Albert house shoes (hey – “Albert!”) Like classic Albert slippers, they have velvet uppers, leather soles, and quilted inner lining – black in this case, although red is also common. The vamp is decorated with a gold embroidered crown and a brown leather strip across the top. The dark brown hard leather soles come in handy when Leo finds himself tumbling outside.

Albert puts on his Albert slippers.

Leo wears a large gold ring on the third finger of his right hand, flashing the big black stone setting when he firing a revolver at the hitmen from under his bed.

Leo relaxes comfortably at the intersection of leisure and luxury.

Since he was reading his newspaper, Leo also sports a pair of reading glasses with clear half-moon lenses and thin gold frames and arms.

Go Big or Go Home

From the beautifully atmospheric scores contributed by frequent collaborator Carter Burwell to O Brother Where Art Thou‘s Soggy Bottom Boys cutting their recording of “Man of Constant Sorrow” and The Dude’s character-defining music taste in The Big Lebowski, the Coen brothers have always been masters of using music to heighten the scene.

The juxtaposition of Irish tenor Frank Patterson’s deep and soulful “Danny Boy” playing under the artistry of a silk-robed Albert Finney wielding a Thompson submachine gun created one of the most memorable and iconic moments in both the Coens’ canon and the genre as a whole. The narrative even acknowledges the dissonance as we see Leo settling in for a comfortable night at home, drifting in and out of sleep with his cigar, his newspaper, and a beautiful ballad. It was clearly part of the Coens’ vision from the get-go, as the screenplay tells us that “Faintly, from another room in the house, we can hear a phonograph playing John McCormack singing ‘Danny Boy’.”

John McCormack was one of the most celebrated Irish tenors of his time and hearing his remarkable renditions of songs like “Danny Boy” and “When You and I Were Young, Maggie” leave no question as to why. To elevate the scene depicting Leo’s assassination attempt from badass to cinematic perfection, the Coens recruited Frank Patterson, known as “Ireland’s Golden Tenor” and described by Taoiseach John Bruton as having “the purest voice of his generation”, to deliver a stirring performance of that most Irish of ballads for the sequence. The Coens directed Patterson’s performance to be precisely timed with the events on screen, following Leo as his night rapidly shifts from relaxation, tension, action, and – finally – sweet victory.

As the screenplay reads: “A faint smile curls around the cigar. He drops the muzzle of the gun.”

Miller’s Crossing delivers one of the few cases in the post-political correctness world where smoking is actually seen to save someone’s life. If Dana Cudahy hadn’t been smoking his Fatima cigarettes downstairs when he was killed, the cigarette would’ve never lit up the newspaper; the newspaper smoke rising through the floorboards is what alerted Leo to potential danger. And, of course, if Leo hadn’t been awake smoking his pre-bed cigar, he wouldn’t have even seen the newspaper’s smoke in the first place.

How to Get the Look

Although typically a practical dresser for his everyday outfits, Leo allows his attire to reflect the hedonistic excesses of gangsterdom when relaxing around his home… and why shouldn’t he?

• Red deco-printed silk robe/dressing gown with black satin-faced shawl lapels, patch breast pocket, slanted jetted hip pockets, and matching tie/belt
• Pale blue cotton 4-button pajama top with white-edged collar and hip patch pockets
• Pale blue cotton pajama pants with plain bottoms
• Black velvet Prince Albert slippers with gold embroidered crown and brown leather strip on vamp
• Gold-framed half-moon reading glasses
• Gold ring with large black stone

The Gun(s)

The old man’s still an artist with a Thompson.

…as Terry McGill proudly tells Tom in the aftermath of the attempted hit. And while Leo does display a fine – if excessive – shooting technique when mowing down the mob hitmen with one of their own Thompson M1928 submachine guns, he must also be something of a magician to keep it firing that long without reloading.

Leo ain’t done yet…

An IMDb contributor did the math: “In the scene where Leo uses the Thompson sub-machine gun he should have had to reload at least 6 times. Assuming the gun is a 1928 model the rate of fire is 700 rounds per minute and has a 100 round can of ammunition. The gangster walks into the bedroom and fires for 5 seconds for a total of 58 shots fired, Leo takes his gun and fires at the window for 20 seconds for 233 shots fired, then Leo fires at the car for about 20 more seconds for another 233 shots fired. That is a total of 524 shots fired from one Thompson with no reload.”

Leo takes out two hitmen and a car full of backup assassins all with a single drum of ammunition.

While Miller’s Crossing certainly aims to explot the genre’s propensity for exaggeration (after all, do that many people ask “What’s the rumpus?” in real life?), it’s worth noting that even a 100-round drum of ammunition would have needed to be reloaded five more times after the first magazine was emptied. However, entertainment ought to trump realism for this scene, especially for the brief bit where Leo guns down a hitman from behind, causing the dead killer’s finger to pull the trigger on his own Chicago typewriter and fire wildly, even into his own feet.

Leo only gave himself a fighting chance by keeping his own firearm, a Colt New Service revolver, easily accessible on his nightstand. After the gunmen burst into his room, Leo grabs the New Service from his nightstand and dashes under the bed.

Leo eyes his Colt New Service moments before needing to grab it.

In a questionable maneuver that seals their fate, the gunmen synchronize firing up the sides of the bed, allowing Leo just enough time to fire a .45 round from his New Service into a hitman’s foot. When the hitman drops, Leo finishes him off with a second round to the head. Leo then picks up the dead man’s tommy gun and is better armed for the next stage of battle.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

Footnotes

Miller’s Crossing never explicitly identifies the time or place of its setting, barely even implying that we’re seeing an eastern U.S. city sometime in the late 1920s. It was filmed in New Orleans mostly to take advantage of the city’s old-fashioned and unchanged architecture from the era; Ethan Coen even stated that “New Orleans is sort of a depressed city,” inspiring its use to set the tone of Miller’s Crossing… a “depression” that was used two decades later to convert the city into 2008 Boston for Killing Them Softly.

Context clues, however, tell us that it was likely meant to be upstate New York sometime in the fall of 1929. Although the town certainly evokes thoughts of Al Capone’s war-torn Cicero, a suburb of Chicago, Tom’s mentions of the Palisades and Niagara Falls as relatively nearby spots to quickly lam out imply a setting in New York state.

The experts at IMDb have tried to use Johnny Casper’s office calendar – which indicates a January where the 1st fell on a Saturday – to determine that the year is likely 1927. However, Johnny Casper doesn’t strike me as the type to update his calendar often, and the “Lars Thorvald” fight poster promotes a date in the fall of 1929. Casper even appears to date his check to Tom for December 2, 1929. The recording of “Decatur Street Tutti” by Jabbo Smith’s Rhythm Aces – which we hear in Verna’s apartment – was recorded on April 4, 1929… a recording that would’ve been released shortly after and thus, also available by the fall of 1929.

Finally, visible car model years range from a 1926 Oakland up to several 1930 Ford Model A sedans, further strengthening the 1929 theory as those are all cars that would’ve been available by that fall. (Despite this, the Coen brothers have been known to not dedicate too much detail into avoiding anachronisms.)

And – HREY! 🤔 – someone made a cool Pin that reflects this scene. If I had a Pinterest, I would re-pin it myself.

Several requests for a breakdown of Tyler Durden’s style have thus led to this post which Tyler himself would certainly tell himself that he hates – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1999).

Vitals

Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden, soapmaker, fight club leader, and urban terrorist

Wilmington, Delaware, Spring 1999

Film: Fight Club
Release Date: October 15, 1999
Director: David Fincher
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“We are a nation of physical animals who have forgotten how much we enjoy being that. We are cushioned by this kind of make-believe, unreal world, and we have no idea what we can survive because we are never challenged or tested,” is how Chuck Palahniuk summed up his intent for writing Fight Club, the 1995 novel that inspired the David Fincher-directed cult film. Fincher’s darker-than-black comedic adaptation of the novel staggered audiences upon its first release, reviled for its graphic violence and messaging that was misinterpreted as criticisms against both feminism and hyper-masculinity.

“It offers people the idea that they can create their own lives outside the existing blueprint for happiness offered by society,” Palahniuk included on the booklet that accompanied some DVD copies, further complicating the waters that surround interpretation of Fight Club. Fans and foes alike have mistakenly clouded Tyler’s beliefs as the film’s ultimate messaging, not considering the point that Edward Norton made in an interview with Yale that “it’s a critique of how Nietzsche becomes Hitler.”

This messaging was lost on the many men who superficially saw Fight Club as an empowering call to regain the flawed and often violent “values” that permeate traditional masculinity in the hunter/gatherer sense, validating their mistaken interpretation with the film’s “purer” stance against materialism. In the end, “Tyler Durden” becomes the dehumanizing autocrat that he spent the first half of his appearance waxing poetic against.

And who is Tyler Durden?

Edward Norton’s narrator is a passively frustrated office drone with incurable insomnia, a dark answer to the TPS-reporting minions in Office Space released earlier in the year; evidently, 1999 was the year that Americans got fed up with their cubicles. Likely suffering from dissociative identity disorder, the narrator subconsciously delves into his untapped id and creates… Tyler Durden, the very man that hates everything our narrator had been living for, who takes over as the controlling personality with his own distinctive name, identity, and – most importantly – self-image. Unrestrained by the IKEA/Martha Stewart lifestyle that the narrator doesn’t feel empowered to live without, Tyler is able to embrace to total freedom of living for oneself without societal-defined rules (and/or roles) although the freedom granted to this nihilistic idealism further drives Tyler – and thus, our narrator – away from reality.

What’d He Wear?

As our narrator’s ideal Übermensch, it’s interesting to note that Tyler Durden’s distinctive fashion sense is a direct reflection of what a pathetic “everyman” like the narrator thinks “the ideal man” would be wearing… which might make the narrator even more pathetic, especially keeping in mind that Tyler will always be dressed as a reflection of the narrator’s psyche. An excellent analysis at The Toast includes a terrific and convincing argument as Tyler’s clothing shifts more from the narrator’s vision of rugged masculinity to a reflection of Marla Singer: “…if this theory is correct, and was done as a deliberate insight into the narrator’s psyche, it is an amazing use of wardrobe as first a joke and secondly as a narrative device.”

During two of the narrator’s first “visions of Tyler”, he is wearing this red leather jacket.

Red is often used to symbolize power, passion, and urgency, three elements missing in the narrator’s life that are filled by his vision of Tyler Durden. It can’t be a coincidence that Tyler is sporting red the first time the narrator interacts with him on the plane, and he continues to prominently wear red throughout much of the narrative, from his printed shirt and sunglasses to his vintage-looking leather jacket.

The Jacket

Tyler Durden’s reddish leather jacket has become one of the most demanded replicas, and – ironically enough – many companies now market their own replicas in varying degrees of quality, including an accurate-looking version at MaxCady.com.

In two of the narrator’s first flash hallucinations of Tyler (at his office and behind his doctor), Tyler is wearing this jacket. He is wearing a different red jacket on the plane, but he is again sporting the jacket when he meets the narrator at Lou’s for their first post-plane interaction that leads to a parking lot fight.

The cavalier Tyler listens to the narrator go on about his bad day.

The rust red leather jacket has white double stitching on all edges, including the large shirt-style collar and the front and back yokes. The front yoke runs horizontally straight across the upper chest while the back yoke is double-pointed with stitching running down from each yoke point to the bottom, where there is a long vent.

The single-breasted jacket has four plastic red buttons down the front and a patch pocket on each hip that closes with a flap, although no buttons or closure method is visible on these pocket flaps. The cuffs are plain with no buttons or tabs, and there is more white double-stitching that runs up each sleeve.

Tyler makes some strange requests of his new acquaintance.

The Shirts

All of Fight Club – not just scenes featuring this jacket – find Tyler in some amazingly unique shirts, almost all definitely vintage or “found” items ranging from loudly-printed button-ups to obscurely logoed t-shirts. The shirts reflect Tyler’s contemptuous sense of irony that often finds him sporting loud, flamboyant prints and patterns that are distinctly at odds with the all black aesthetic that Project Mayhem would so pointedly adopt.

One of the most popular shirts is the vintage-looking polyester button-up covered by black and white printed toucans (with yellow beaks, of course) on a white ground with a blue broken spiral motif. This shirt has a large disco-style collar with long points and seven buttons down the front, although Tyler only clearly buttons two or three over his chest, letting it flap widely open over his neck and abs, a disdain that our bored narrator clearly wishes he could emulate.

Maybe Tyler Durden just really likes Froot Loops?

A replica of this first shirt, which Tyler wears when he meets the narrator at Lou’s before engaging him in their first fight, is also available from MaxCady.com.

A few brief scenes outside Lou’s show Tyler wearing this red leather jacket while overseeing some fights. He wears a couple of other disco-collared button-ups, including one in bright red and another in yellow with a light blue windowpane grid.

Tyler’s role gradually grows within Fight Club.

While presiding over an official Fight Club session in Lou’s basement, Tyler strips off his red leather coat to reveal a tight black leather short-sleeve shirt with another big disco collar and a zip front.

Things are starting to get official.

Another of the most memorable and in-demand shirts from Fight Club is the light blue motocross graphic t-shirt that he wears when stepping onto the bus and hearing the narrator’s (warranted) desire to fight William Shatner. This tight short-sleeve cotton t-shirt was cut off just above the waist to flash a few inches of midriff and featured in plenty of promotional material for Fight Club.

Who would you rather fight? Hemingway or Shatner?

The shirt is covered in a series of at least a dozen cyanic-tinted images from motocross, a form of off-road motorcycle racing. The U.K.’s KiSS Clothing developed the “Motocross KiSS All Over” t-shirt, based on the one worn by Brad Pitt in the film. Though not an exact replica – which would probably be impossible – it excellently channels the chaotically corny shirt that the ironic Übermensch wears while recruiting new fighters.

Tyler opts for another ’70s-style printed shirt when he “rescues” Marla Singer from her suicide attempt (or “cry for help,” as she dismisses it). This silk button-up shirt is abstractly printed in shades of purple, pink, and gray. It has a breast pocket and is cut straight around the bottom at the waist line.

Tyler oozes reckless swagger as he drops in on a suicidal Marla Singer. (Note how much redder the jacket looks in behind-the-scenes shots.)

When taking the narrator on their human sacrifice mission to visit “Hessel, Raymond K.” at the convenience store, Tyler wears a yellow crew neck t-shirt with a lightly cyanic graphic logo in the center which appears to have a gray skeleton on a light blue wave with the pink letters “U.S.F.” above it.

Any ideas?

The jacket’s final appearance is Tyler’s climatic car crash with the narrator and a few of their space monkeys in the back seat. This is the simplest of his shirts, a black short-sleeve shirt with a single red striped band around the crew-neck collar. The wardrobe choice is surely a reflection of the direction of the film’s narrative; as the events continue to spiral (seemingly) out of the narrator’s control, Tyler appears less chaotic than before, adopting – in his own way – the black uniform of his urban fighters.

Tyler the commander.

Everything Else

Tyler’s trousers also evolve as he shifts from a devil-may-care basement fighter to a neo-fascist guerilla commander. Initially, he is satisfied to strut around in a pair of casual, dark navy track pants with three yellow stripes down the legs; the thick center stripe is flanked by a thinner stripe on each side. (MaxCady.com also offers a replica of the Durden track pants, if you don’t still have that Adidas pair from high school.)

And Tyler Durden said: “Let there be light.”

By the time Tyler is sporting his motocross t-shirt, having sex with Marla, and finding subjects for his “human sacrifice”, he is donning a more structured pair of gray flat front chinos with a dark navy stripe down each side seam, similar to West Point cadet trousers. These trousers have slightly slanted side pockets, plain-hemmed bottoms, and belt loops that go unused as Tyler lets the low rise of the chinos hang impetuously on his hips.

They’re looking more and more like the orphaned pants from some uniform…

A common pair of shoes for Tyler to wear with his red leather jacket are his brown throwback Hodgman Lakestream Wading Boots with yellow soles and toe caps. The brown laces cross over the front of the boot through a series of five brass hooks. These waterproof boots are distinctive for their felt bottoms and soft shell around the top of the back, colored gold on Tyler’s pair. The boot’s association with Fight Club has led to its popularity on eBay and similar sites.

Tyler lays on the pedal in his Lincoln.

For his jaunt to Marla Singer’s apartment, Tyler is once again delving into irony with a pair of bright brown alligator leather Gucci loafers with gold horsebit detail.

Tyler Durden is seen wearing three different pairs of sunglasses, all from Brad Pitt’s preferred Oliver Peoples brand. The model worn with this jacket is the Oliver Peoples OP523, a pair of larger silver-framed sunglasses with “blood red” gradient lenses.

At least he kinda matches?

Tyler Durden also wears two rings at all times. On his left middle finger, he wears a plain silver ring. Given Tyler’s attitudes about marriage, wearing a ring that resembles a wedding band on the middle finger of his left hand – rather than the third finger – could be his way of saying “fuck you” to the institution itself.

On the third finger of his right hand, Tyler always wears a big ring set with the image of an eye. He appears to have a multitude of these rings, although the majority look to be silver with a single eye staring back from the large setting.

Danielle Jennings provided a helpful breakdown at Love to Know that not only includes a brief guide to Tyler’s basic look but also links to where interested shoppers can find or design their own Durden-esque style.

Go Big or Go Home

Although Tyler Durden makes a point of eschewing brands, he makes no secret of his preference for Budweiser beer, a logical choice for someone meant to represent the oppressed “everyman” fighting back against the growing trends of microbrews and craft beers.

Two new buds bond over Buds.

Whether it was a conscious choice by the filmmakers or forced upon them by the studio, the brand of Tyler’s cigarettes are concealed by tape on the package. However, a closer look reveals that Tyler smokes Doral cigarettes, a budget brand from R.J. Reynolds.

The narrator turns down one of Tyler’s Dorals.

How to Get the Look

Which Tyler Durden are you? (Hopefully, neither of them.)

The charismatic, devil-may-care soapmaker who gleefully inserts porn into kids’ movies…?

• Rust red leather single-breasted 4-button jacket with shirt-style collar, pointed-flap hip patch pockets, double-pointed back yoke, and large vent
• Loudly-printed polyester “disco” button-up shirt with large pointed collar and breast pocket
• Dark navy track pants with triple yellow side stripe
• Brown waterproof Hodgman Lakestream Wading Boots with yellow soles, toe-cap, and upper back soft shell
• Oliver PeoplesOP 523 large silver-framed sunglasses with red lenses
• Large silver ring with eye motif setting on right 3rd finger
• Silver plain ring on left middle finger

…or the dangerous basement fighter using his reckless charisma to recruit an army of anti-corporate guerillas?

• Rust red leather single-breasted 4-button jacket with shirt-style collar, pointed-flap hip patch pockets, double-pointed back yoke, and large vent
• Tight short-sleeve crew-neck t-shirt with an obscure logo or pattern like blue motocross racers
• Gray flat front chino trousers with navy seam stripe, belt loops, slanted side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Brown alligator leather Gucci loafers with gold horsebit detail
• Oliver Peoples OP 523 large silver-framed sunglasses with red lenses
• Large silver ring with eye motif setting on right 3rd finger
• Silver plain ring on left middle finger

The Gun

When Tyler Durden approaches Raymond K. Hessel in the convenience store, he takes a blued Colt Python revolver from the narrator’s bag, which – to the narrator’s great relief – turns out to be unloaded.

Tyler offers Raymond K. Hessel a “near-life experience”.

The Colt Python is one of the most sought-after revolvers of the 20th century. Chambered for the powerful .357 Magnum cartridge (when it is loaded), the Python has been described as the finest production revolver ever made. It was first introduced in 1955, twenty years after the development of the .357 Magnum by Smith & Wesson. That same year, S&W rolled out its .44 Magnum Model 29 but it was the top-of-the-line Python that grabbed the attention of handgun enthusiasts.

Renowned for its accuracy and relatively smooth trigger pull, the Python was a popular mainstay on Colt’s production lineup for fifty years until it was discontinued in 2005. The double-action revolver has the capacity for six rounds in its cylinder and barrel lengths range from a 2.5″ “snub nose” model up to an imposing 8″ hunting model. Naturally, the narrator would arm his imaginary Übermensch with a powerful, popular handgun that would replace the character’s own inadequacies.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?

Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction (1994).

Vitals

Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolf, problem solver

Los Angeles, Summer 1994

Film: Pulp Fiction
Release Date: October 14, 1994
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann

Background

I’m Winston Wolf. I solve problems.

Last Friday, Harvey Keitel turned 77 years old, a birthday that was almost certainly celebrated by Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino has stated that “Harvey had been my favorite actor since I was 16 years old,” so he penned the character of criminal fixer Winston Wolf – and according to the screenplay, it is Wolf and not Wolfe – specifically for Keitel. Two years earlier, the actor’s involvement in Reservoir Dogs as the pragmatic career criminal “Mr. White” helped shoot Q.T. onto the map of filmmakers to watch. The Wolf may have also been a nod to Keitel’s role as Victor, the ruthlessly efficient “cleaner” in 1993’s Point of No Return.

Keitel’s brief appearance as the enigmatic Winston Wolf has remained part of pop culture to this day. Twenty years after Pulp Fiction first appeared in theaters, Keitel again donned a dark double-breasted tux to reprise his role as Winston Wolf in a series of commercials for the British insurance company Direct Line.

What’d He Wear?

The introduction of Winston Wolf is a perfect example of using clothing to tell an audience all they need to know about a character they just met. When we meet the Wolf for the first time, he is in a fashionable hotel suite with fellow well-dressed gamblers and wearing a dinner suit at 8:30 in the morning. We don’t need to know why; all we need to know is that this is the kind of man who not only finds himself in that situation, but to whom that situation isn’t unusual.

After the Wolf takes Marsellus Wallace’s phone call, he gives himself ten minutes to make the half hour drive to Jimmie Dimmick’s abode in suburban Toluca Lake. He shows up at the door in a black double-breasted wool dinner jacket with detailing contemporary to the ’90s.

Hands down, Mr. Wolf is the sharpest-dressed guy in that junkyard.

The Wolf’s dinner jacket has a 6-on-2 button double-breasted front, which he keeps fastened throughout most of his “consultation” unless he is sitting. The wide black satin-faced peak lapels sweep across his chest and curve up toward the shoulders at the points.

The shoulders themselves are softly padded with roped sleeveheads. The sleeves have three buttons at the cuffs. The back of Mr. Wolf’s dinner jacket is ventless, and the front has a welted breast pocket and jetted hip pockets.

Inspecting a bloody ’74 Nova…

Mr. Wolf’s black pleated formal trousers have the expected black satin striping along the side seams. The pant legs slightly taper down to the cuffed bottoms.

Winston Wolf wears a white formal shirt with his tuxedo. The front bib has slim, 1/8″ pleats with round, gold-trimmed black studs down the front placket. The double cuffs are fastened by a set of gold oblong links.

Mr. Wolf takes pride in his work.

The Wolf’s butterfly-shaped bow tie is black silk.

Mr. Wolf appropriately wears formal black leather cap-toe balmorals with black dress socks.

Our fixer makes arrangements from a cozy bedroom windowseat with a cup of joe.

It’s unlike QT to include distinct product placement for luxury brands, but we get a clear shot of The Wolf’s yellow gold Gucci wristwatch. The quartz watch is a Gucci 3000.2.M in a yellow gold-plated case with a black baton dial and black Roman numerals engraved on the gold bezel. Interested buyers can always peruse eBay for a model, although they appear to usually be found with leather straps rather than the gold link bracelet on Mr. Wolf’s wrist.

“I’ll be there in ten.”

Finally, in a bit of an affectation that winks at the Wolf’s connections with gangsterdom, he wears a gold ring on his right pinky with a flush-set square diamond.

Don’t get in the way of Winston Wolf and a cup of coffee.

Go Big or Go Home

INT. HOTEL SUITE – MORNING

The CAMERA looks through the bedroom doorway of a hotel suite
into the main area. We SEE a crap game being played on a
fancy crap table by GAMBLERS in tuxedos and LUCKY LADIES in
fancy evening gowns. The CAMERA PANS to the right revealing:
Sitting on a bed, phone in hand with his back to us, the
tuxedo-clad WINSTON WOLF aka "THE WOLF". We also see The
Wolf has a small notepad that he jots details in.

Mr. Wolf is one of the most memorable of QT’s “single serving” characters. He could be a caricature in almost every way as a walking deus ex machina, but Tarantino’s writing and Keitel’s portrayal keeps him warmly human, impressed by everyday things like a good cup of coffee even in the face of non-everyday tasks like cleaning blood and brains out of a ’74 Nova. He knows what he likes and they’re important to him:

• He values his time… (“If I’m curt with you it’s because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast and I need you guys to act fast if you wanna get out of this. So, pretty please… with sugar on top. Clean the fucking car.”)
• …his car… (“If I get my car back any different than I gave it, Monster Joe’s gonna be disposing of two bodies,” he warns when handing over the keys to his gray’92 Acura NSX. Interestingly, the car as scripted was a silver Porsche.)
• …and his coffee. (“Lots of cream, lots of sugar,” while most stereotypical movie badasses feel the need to drink their coffee incredibly black.)

The Wolf offers his compliments to Jimmie Dimmick for his excellent coffee.

One of the Wolf’s greatest attributes is his confident decisiveness. He can ingest a crisis and figure out his solution within seconds; based on his reputation and ability to live through a Tarantino flick, we can assume that he’s got a hell of a track record for solving problems. He prioritizes at first, improvises as needed, and delivers effortlessly. When he earns Jules’ hard-fought praise (“Mr. Wolf… I just wanna say it was a real pleasure watching you work”), he responds in kind with a smile and the warm assurance that Jules has earned the right to engage him in a first-name basis.

Producer and director Justin Szlasa even wrote an essay for Indiewire on the importance of a manager like “Winston Wolfe – someone who’s a top-notch manager, able to respond to any crisis with focus and grace… a model of efficiency under pressure — a no-nonsense performer who got the job done with style.”

How to Get the Look

Let’s say you find yourself invited to play cards all night at a respectable hotel in a situation that may last until the morning. This is your time to shine. This is your time to channel Winston Wolf.

• Black wool double-breasted 6-on-2 button dinner jacket with wide satin-faced peak lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Black wool pleated formal trousers with black satin side stripe, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffed bottoms
• White formal shirt with spread collar, slim-pleated front bib with round gold-trimmed black studs, and double/French cuffs
• Black silk butterfly-shaped bow tie
• Gold oblong cuff links
• Black leather cap-toe balmorals/oxfords
• Black dress socks
• Gucci 3000.2.M quartz wristwatch with yellow gold-plated case, black baton dial, and gold bezel on gold link bracelet
• Gold flush-set diamond pinky ring

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

I’m not here to say “please”, I’m here to tell you what to do, and – if self-preservation is an instinct you possess – you’d better fucking do it and do it quick.

Donna Reed and James Stewart dance the Charleston as Mary Hatch and George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

Vitals

James Stewart as George Bailey, bank officer and “nice guy”

Bedford Falls, NY, May 1928

Film: It’s a Wonderful Life
Release Date: December 20, 1946
Director: Frank Capra
Costume Designer: Edward Stevenson

Background

Today would’ve been the 108th birthday of James Stewart, and BAMF Style is honoring this screen legend by looking at Stewart’s own favorite character from his filmography: George Bailey.

Rated #9 on AFI’s 100 Heroes list and #8 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Performances of All Time, Stewart’s portrayal of the Capra-esque “every man” still resonates with audiences 70 years later, especially around Christmas time (due to an NTA clerical error in 1974). In fact, the local Regent Square Theater near my house in Pittsburgh hosts a free screening of It’s a Wonderful Life every Christmastime, which I’ve been sure to never miss in the last four years.

One of my favorite scenes – not only in It’s a Wonderful Life but from movie history – is the Charleston contest where George and Mary reconnect and then find themselves drenched when a jealous rival for her affections (played by The Little Rascals‘ Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer) opens the dance floor to send the two flap-happy dancers into the school swimming pool. In fact, this scene was filmed at the Beverly Hills High School in Los Angeles which indeed had a gym floor that could be converted into a pool with the press of a button.

The scene sums up the message of It’s a Wonderful Life and much of Capra’s work in total: love and decency can and will triumph over any obstacles.

What’d He Wear?

Being that it was filmed in black & white, there’s no definitive way to know the colors of George Bailey’s clothing unless it’s been documented anywhere. The film has been colorized several times, controversially in 1986 before an authorized colorization was released on DVD in 2007, but that tends to be more of an artistic interpretation.

However, an original poster from the film’s release in 1946 shows George in a navy blue double-breasted suit, holding Mary in the air. This scene never appeared in the film, but it has a dance-like quality that recalls this scene; given that this is the only double-breasted suit that George wears in the film, it’s likely meant to be this one.

If the cyanic tones of the 2007 DVD are correct, then George is wearing a navy blue gabardine three-piece suit, very stylish to the 1920s with its double-breasted jacket worn fastened to cover most of the waistcoat beneath it.

George and Mary really put their backs into the contest.

The double-breasted suit jacket has a 6-on-2 button front although George only keeps the top button done, which lends him greater flexibility criss-crosses his arms and legs to create the “illusion knees” effect when Charleston dancing.

George’s suit jacket has wide peak lapels – with a stitched buttonhole through each – that sweep out toward the padded shoulders. The jacket also has a welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and a ventless back.

The matching single-breasted vest remains covered throughout the scene, but – assuming it is styled like the rest of George’s waistcoats from his suits – it likely has six buttons down the front to the notched bottom and four pockets.

The top of George’s suit vest can be spotted just above the lapels of his jacket.

The closed jacket also covers the top of George’s suit trousers, but they’re likely pleated due to both the style of the era and the double forward pleats on the rest of his pants in It’s a Wonderful Life. The trousers are fully cut down to the bottoms, finished with turn-ups.

George executes the dance’s illusion knees.

George wears a plain white cotton dress shirt with a moderate spread collar and front placket. The shirt’s distinctive two-button cuffs were evidently a favorite of Jimmy Stewart’s, who also wore them in films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The shirt cuff has one button near to the edge and then another placed about 1.5″ further up by the wrist.

George’s silk tie is woven in two colors, colorized to be black and brown, in a Macclesfield-style pattern.

Luckily, George has his tie tucked back in by the time of his “romantic” first dance with Mary.

Both the formality of the suit and the intensity of a heel-kicking Charleston call for a laced shoe, and George appropriately sports a pair of black leather cap-toe oxfords with dark dress socks, likely in dark blue to match the leg line of his trousers.

Wouldn’t they have smelled the chlorine?

Go Big or Go Home

George: I’m not very good at this.
Mary: Neither am I.
George: Okay, what can we lose?

Both George and Mary end up proving themselves wrong; not only do they display relatively good form when dancing but they do end up winning the contest and that coveted “genuine loving cup” that Harry was touting. (The definitive proof is here.)

Donna and Jimmy master their steps while rehearsing in early ’46.

So what does one have to do to win a Charleston contest? There are plenty of online tutorials and videos, but the general consensus seems to be that – like the Black Bottom and the Lindy Hop – there is plenty of heel-kicking, arm-swinging, and knee-crossing whether solo or with a partner. Improvisation is encouraged, but there are basic steps that make a Charleston a Charleston and not just some flailing fool. The Guardian laid out this step-by-step guide:

• Put your arms out to the side, palms facing the floor. Bring your left heel up to touch your left palm.
• Repeat on the other side. Put a bounce into it so your flapper dress waggles. [This would obviously not be applicable for George Bailey.]
• Kick your left leg out with your right arm stretched out in front and your left arm at 90° to the side.
• Swing your arms to the right as you bring your leg down, then back to the left as you swing your right leg behind you.
• Squat forward with your hands on your knees. Waggle your knees in and out, crossing your hands in the middle.

On Wikipedia, the very specific “’20s Partner Charleston” style that George and Mary would have needed to heed is carefully laid out:

In the 20s, Partner Charleston couples stand facing each other in a traditional European partner dancing pose, often referred to as closed position which aids leading and following. The leader’s right hand is placed on the follower’s back between their shoulder blades. The follower’s left hand rests on the leader’s shoulder or biceps. The leader’s left hand and the follower’s right hand are clasped palm to palm, held either at shoulder height or higher. Partners may maintain space between their bodies or dance with their torsos touching.

The basic step is for the leader to touch their left foot behind them, but not to shift their weight, on counts 1 and 2, while the follower mirrors the motion by touching their right foot in front of them without shifting weight. On counts 3 and 4, both partners bring their feet back to a standing position, but shift their weight onto the foot they have just moved. On counts 5 and 6, the leader touches their right foot in front of themselves while the follower touches their left foot back. On 7 and 8, both feet are brought back to the standing position where the necessary weight shift occurs to allow the basic step to repeat.

Of course, the best way to learn is through visual aid. In 1927, dance instructors Santos Casani and Josie Lennard performed The Flat Charleston Made Easy for Pathé News. Given that risky stunts were a major fad of the decade, one sequence finds Casani and Lennard executing the dance steps on top of a moving London taxi.

The accompanying song by James P. Johnson is one of the catchiest standards of the ’20s and one of my favorite rhythms, with at least 70 recordings from different artists and eras on my iTunes. (Cecil Mack added lyrics which pay tribute to city in South Carolina, but I personally hate the lyrics. Sorry, Cecil.) Johnson, a pioneer of stride piano, composed his version for the Broadway show Runnin’ Wild in 1923, and a fad was immediately born as the dance reached its greatest heights through the middle of the decade. Contests were common as were dance-to-exhaustion marathons that could last up to five months… sometimes with fatal consequences.

My personal favorite original ’20s recording of Johnson’s “Charleston” is from Debroy Somers & his Savoy Orpheans, although the versions from Paul Whiteman and Ben Selvin’s dance orchestras are also pretty great.

In the late 1950s, Enoch Light put together his Charleston City All Stars band and issued several albums covering hits of the ’20s to cash in on the brief Roaring Twenties revival at the end of that decade. The leading track on the group’s 1957 album, The Roaring ’20s, is an incredible arrangement of “Charleston” that maintains the 1920s spirit without the overly contemporary update that Light would later add for “Charleston Cha Cha” or Ernie Fields would interpret with his surf-style saxophones in 1961. Woody Allen would later use the Charleston City All Stars’ recording for a brief dance scene in his fun 2011 flick Midnight in Paris.

Other more modern versions of “Charleston” that I tend to enjoy are Fausto Papatti’s trumpet-driven recording on Baby Blue, Vol. 2, the triumphant piano and brass cover from Frank Pourcel’s Flash Back to 1930, and the bouncy sax version that Ian Whitcomb & his Bungalow Boys cut for The Cat’s Meow in 2002. The director of It’s a Wonderful Life‘s musical score was Dimitri Tiomkin, the Ukranian-born composer who is best-known for his terrific Western scores in works like High Noon. I’m not sure if Tiomkin directed the version of “Charleston” used in It’s a Wonderful Life, but it’s a great arrangement of Johnson’s music and I’d love to find an isolated instrumental of it. (Attempts to make my own have not gone so well.)

West One Music, the production music agency, created its own similarly catchy number for the Quirky Vintage series which has found use in productions ranging from Mad Men to the “Oh Hello” sketches of Kroll Show.

Boys and girls and music. Why do they need gin?

You said it, Annie.

How to Get the Look

George shows up to the party as an afterthought, not expecting himself to have fun and dance with “the kids” so his conservative suit differentiates him from the many dinner jackets in the room.

• Navy blue gabardine three-piece suit, consisting of:
  • Double-breasted 6-on-2 button jacket with wide peak lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Single-breasted 6-button vest with notched bottom
  • Pleated trousers with cuffed bottoms
• White cotton dress shirt with moderate spread collar, front placket, and 2-button cuffs
• Black & brown Macclesfield-patterned woven silk tie
• Black leather cap-toe oxfords
• Dark blue dress socks

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary… Well, then you can swallow it, and it’ll all dissolve, see… and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair… am I talking too much?

Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger wielding a BAR and a Tommy gun as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde (2013).

Vitals

Emile Hirsch as Clyde Barrow, bank robber with “second sight”

Northeast Texas, Spring 1932

Series Title: Bonnie and Clyde
Air Date: December 8, 2013
Director: Bruce Beresford
Costume Designer: Marilyn Vance

Background

As an amateur criminal historian with a special interest in Depression-era desperadoes, I’d be remiss to let a year go by without commemorating the end of Bonnie and Clyde’s crime streak on May 23, 1934 when the now-famous duo was gunned down by a squad of expert lawmen on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Generations later years later, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker have been romanticized to a level of fame that they never deserved in life. These Texan small-timers who have more confirmed kills than bank robberies made headlines due to the novelty of a woman’s involvement in the crimes, stimulating the boredom of a Depression-tarnished populace. Unlike John Dillinger or “Pretty Boy” Floyd, the two didn’t use their wit and wiles to get out of sticky situations, they relied on Clyde’s quick trigger finger and heavy leadfoot.

When Clyde and Bonnie drove their stolen Ford V-8 down that dusty Louisiana road 82 years ago today, they had no idea that they were driving into a police trap that would immortalize them forever, cementing their names as international symbols of illicit romance – Romeo and Juliet in a getaway car as Chicago crime writer Joseph Geringer dubbed them. Just when their story was finally losing momentum more than 30 years after their deaths, David Newman and Robert Benton were intrigued by their tale in John Toland’s encyclopedic The Dillinger Days and penned the screenplay that would become Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty as the outlaw couple. The film’s style – of which I’ve written plenty (1 2 3 4) – and the glamour of its stars revived and revised the tale to even further romanticize the sociopathic lovers as a beautiful, happy-go-lucky couple unfairly hounded by aggressive, fun-hating authoritarians.

In 2013, the legend was given a somewhat fact-based refresh with the two-part miniseries also named Bonnie and Clyde with Holliday Grainger and Emile Hirsch in the titular roles. More attention was paid to aesthetic detail with incidental names and details that had previously been ignored finally incorporated into the story and actual traits – like Clyde’s impulsiveness and Bonnie’s vulnerability – were reflected in the characterizations.

This sequence is set in the spring of 1932, early in Clyde Barrow’s criminal career after he was released from the Texas state prison. He returns to Bonnie, whom he’d met very shortly before his arrest two years earlier and assisted him during his first failed escape, and they kick off their two-year criminal streak. Clyde and Bonnie bring on the scrappy Ralph Fults for a nighttime jewelry store robbery, a reflection of an actual crime that involved Clyde and two other associates in late April 1932. The jeweler, John N. Bucher, obliged with the thieves and was withdrawing the contents from his safe when he was shot. Although Clyde likely wasn’t the triggerman, this was his first involvement in a killing outside of prison and one that he would continue to regret. In reality, Bonnie was not present during this crime.

What’d He Wear?

During both the aborted Hillsboro jewelry heist and a daytime bank robbery in Ponder, Texas, Clyde leads his gang while sporting this oversized navy blue three-piece suit with subtle light blue and tan hairline windowpane grid.

The suit has an almost comically large fit, reducing Clyde’s image to that of a little boy in his dad’s clothes. While also a slight reflection of the era’s style, this helps to make Clyde look smaller – both physically and metaphorically. At this point in his career, he was still a pipsqueak fresh out of jail and looking to get back at the world. He thought of himself as far bigger than he actually was and dressed the part.

Clyde lets his .45 do his talking for him during the Ponder State Bank robbery.

Clyde’s single-breasted 3-button suit coat has large notch lapels with a buttonhole stitched through the left lapel. The shoulders are padded with roped sleeveheads and two buttons at the end of each sleeve cuff. The ventless jacket has a welted breast pocket and jetted hip pockets. The light brown lining can be seen as he raises his .45 when escaping the Ponder bank robbery.

Clyde wears a matching single-breasted 6-button vest. The lowest button is left open over the notched bottom. Like his other vests, it likely has four welt pockets.

Clyde’s vest is best seen a few frames earlier as he leaves the bank with a sack of ill-gotten cash over his shoulder.

The flat front trousers have a low rise, held at the waist with a thick dark brown leather belt with a solid steel rectangular single-claw buckle that looks more modern than a genuine early ’30s belt.

Due to their size, the trousers have a very full, loose fit on Clyde’s lower half and the cuffed bottoms nearly drag on the ground; it’s surprising that Clyde doesn’t trip over them during his getaway! The real Clyde certainly wore fully-cut trousers as photos from the era show, but these look more like they’re a few sizes too large rather than merely being full cut.

Such voluminous trousers would be dangerous for hopping onto a running board for a quick getaway.

On his feet, Clyde wears a pair of black leather 4-eyelet cap-toe oxfords that are nearly engulfed by the trouser cuffs. Due to the full break of the pants, his socks remain unseen throughout this sequence.

During the crimes, Clyde’s dress shirt has thin, alternating stripes in navy and light blue. It has a spread collar and button cuffs. He wears two similar silk ties with a “brushstroke” motif on a dark navy ground. For the nighttime Bucher burglary in Hillsboro, Clyde’s tie has large gray strokes; for the daytime bank robbery, it has shorter, more staccato tan strokes.

Clyde wears one of his “brushstroke” ties during the Hillsboro burglary.

For one of the couple’s famous photo sessions, he wears the earlier-seen light blue and white striped shirt with a white detachable club collar and a bright red silk patterned necktie.

This publicity photo also shows off Clyde’s trousers and shoes.

Clyde’s wide-brimmed fedora is gray felt with a wide black grosgrain ribbon.

This post from the L.A. Daily Mirror uses the production’s released photo of Holliday Grainger holding a shotgun on Emile Hirsch to recreate the famous Bonnie vs. Clyde photo from 1933, comparing the detailed differences between the clothing on screen and the outlaws’ actual attire.

How to Get the Look

Clyde dresses for danger in a large blue suit that nearly engulfs him, signifying that his budding criminal is getting into a lifestyle way over his head (and shoulders!)

• Navy blue blue-and-tan hairline-windowpane suit, including:
  • Single-breasted 2-button suit jacket with wide notch lapels, padded shoulders, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 2-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Single-breasted vest with 6-button front, notched bottom, and 4 weltpockets
  • Flat front baggy-fit trousers with low rise, belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Navy and light blue dress-striped shirt with spread collar and button cuffs
• Dark navy silk necktie with light “brushstroke” motif
• Dark brown thick leather belt with a steel rectangular single-claw buckle
• Black leather 4-eyelet cap-toe oxfords
• Dark dress socks
• Light blue cotton undershorts with a 2-button waistband closure
• Gray felt wide-brimmed fedora with wide black grosgrain ribbon

The Guns

Clyde’s preferred sidearm is accurately shown to be a .45-caliber M1911A1 semi-automatic pistol, just as he carried in real life; the miniseries uses the anachronistic and more modern Colt Mk IV Series 70. A number of other popular Barrow Gang firearms are also seen during the photo session.

The famous photo of Bonnie playfully holding a shotgun on Clyde as she reaches for a stag-gripped revolver in his trouser waistband is recreated with surprising detail. (The recreation appears to be a behind-the-scenes one, as the on-screen version shows Clyde wearing his charcoal chalkstripe suit.)

Bonnie Parker turns the tables on her criminal companion.

In real life, the shotgun was one of Bonnie’s “whipit” guns – a Remington Model 11 semi-automatic shotgun in the relatively low 20-gauge. The miniseries uses a sawed-off Stevens Model 620 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun, which Fults is seen using in an earlier scene to kill John Bucher. The revolver doesn’t receive much – if any – screentime in the miniseries, but it’s meant to be the Smith & Wesson .44 Special “Triple Lock” revolver that had been taken in January 1933 from Springfield, Missouri motorcycle policeman Tom Persell.

Of course, Clyde is also photographed holding a Browning Automatic Rifle as the formidable .30-06 BAR was arguably Clyde’s favorite weapon.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the series and visit Frank Ballinger’s Bonnie & Clyde’s Hideout site.