Ron Howard as Steve Bolander in American Graffiti (1973)

Vitals

Ron Howard as Steve Bolander, conflicted high school graduate

Modesto, California, Summer 1962

Film: American Graffiti
Release Date: August 11, 1973
Director: George Lucas
Costume Designer: Aggie Guerard Rodgers

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“Where were you in ’62?” asked the promotional materials for American Graffiti, widely released 50 years ago today on August 11, 1973. George Lucas followed his directorial debut THX 1138 with a neon-lit nostalgic ode to his rock-scored youth cruising the streets of Modesto, California in the early 1960s.

The film centers around four recent high school graduates who meet in the parking lot of Mel’s Drive-In on the last night of summer vacation: even-keeled Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss), confident drag-racer John Milner (Paul Le Mat), the fittingly nicknamed Terry “the Toad” Fields (Charles Martin Smith), and the aloof Steve Bolander (Ron Howard), who lends his stunning white ’58 Impala to Terry while he’s away at college.

It’s a moody night for Steve, battling with his decision to leave both Modesto and his relationship with Laurie (Cindy Williams), summing up the movie’s thesis when he observes “you just can’t stay seventeen forever.”

American Graffiti broke cinematic ground, indicating how “smaller stories” could still be wildly marketable (grossing $140 million internationally against its modest $777,000 budget in addition to being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture), catapulting its young cast to stardom, and evolving the relationship between music and movies.

Indeed, the soundtrack was of vital importance to Lucas, who allocated more than a tenth of the film’s budget to licensing the 43 songs used in the movie from artists like The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and of course Bill Haley and the Comets, whose era-defining 1954 hit “Rock Around the Clock” opened the movie.

Stories persist of Universal Pictures having been hesitant to release a soundtrack album consisting of decades-old songs, but the studio quickly recognized the power that Lucas’ carefully curated tracks had on the film’s success and 41 Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti would eventually be certified triple platinum in the U.S.

What’d He Wear?

In her first screen credit, costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers effectively communicates the characters’ personas through their clothing, allowing us to instantly understand the characters before we embark on their respective adventures over the next two hours.

Both on the eve of departing for college, Steve and Curt dress in the mainstream Ivy formula with their plaid button-down short-sleeved shirts and J.C. Penney khakis, unlike the greaser Milner in his plain white T-shirt (with a pack of cigarettes rolled into the sleeve, of course) or the nebbish Toad in his appropriately awkward pink-and-black custom-made shirt and browline glasses.

Curt and Terry join Steve in the diner parking lot at the start of the movie. Though Curt and Terry are paired in the shot, Curt and Steve’s similar manner of dress informs us that these two are more alike with Terry the Toad the odd man out.

Steve’s short-sleeved shirt is patterned in a light blue-and-white gingham check cotton, a pattern intentionally chosen by Rodgers who explained in an interview with Kip Pullman’s comprehensive American Graffiti Blog that she gave a swatch of the fabric to a professional seamstress to craft the shirt.

The shirt follows the typical design of off-the-rack shirts from the era, with a button-down collar of restrained width (reinforced with an additional button through the back of the collar to maintain its clean presentation), a front placket, breast pocket, and box-pleated back. Steve wears the top button undone, showing the crew-neck of his white cotton short-sleeved undershirt.

The third button through the back of Steve’s collar continued the spirit of the rear studs used to fasten old-fashioned detachable collars while also serving the functional purpose of keeping the wearer’s tie from slipping under the back of the collar, according to Christian Chensvold at Ivy Style.

Steve and Curt both wear beige cotton flat-front trousers from J.C. Penney, as Rodgers confirmed to Kip’s American Graffiti Blog. Steve’s slacks have slightly slanted side pockets, jetted back pockets with a loop through the back-left pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms with a short break. He holds them up with a narrow dark brown leather belt that closes through a curved gold-toned single-prong buckle.

Steve and Laurie get in one last dance together at the freshman hop.

Steve wears brown leather moc-toe penny loafers, the Ivy staple slip-on shoes characterized by a strap across each instep. Each strap features a small slit just big enough to fit a penny, reportedly a practice of ’50s prep school students that led to the “penny loafer” moniker. The style had originated two decades prior when G.H. Bass launched “Weejuns” in 1936. Steve wears his with plain white socks that continue his clean-cut appearance.

Steve’s wristwatch is a simple gold-finished dress watch on a textured dark brown leather strap with a shining silver dial, detailed only with non-numeric hour indices.

A sea of short-sleeved button-down shirts.

Steve maintains a similar aesthetic the following day at the airport, wearing the same beige trousers and belt but with a light yellow cotton short-sleeved button-down shirt that follows the same design as his blue-and-white gingham shirt but with a trimmer fit.

The Car

Now, I’ve got some very simple instructions for you… first of all, only 30-weight Castrol R. Now I’ve written tire pressure and stuff on a pad in the glove- are you listening?

As the owner of a car like this should, Steve takes great pride in his customized white 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe, so it’s a big deal when he lends it to Terry the Toad to care for it while he’s away at college… at least through Christmas.

Steve retrieves his Impala from Terry, leaving him car-less in front of a discouraged Debbie.

1958 was the first Chevrolet model year to use the Impala, at the time a top-of-the-line trim for two-door Bel Air coupes and convertibles. Following American automotive design trends, the ’58 Chevy was already elegantly long, with the Impala styled with a longer wheelbase and rear deck to differentiate it. Chevrolet evolved the Impala into a separate model for 1959, and it has remained such through its production timeline off-and-on in the nearly 75 years since.

“Yeah, I got a 327 Chevy in it, it’s got six Strombergs,” Terry bluffs to impress Debbie (Candy Clark), though he probably should have looked under the hood before making such claims. The screen-used Chevy was actually powered by a 348 cubic-inch V8, the largest stock engine Chevy offered in ’58.

The promise of a powerful V8 under the hood is all Debbie needs to hear to join Terry in Steve’s Impala.

The 348 V8 came in two iterations, the “Turbo-Thrust” with a Rochester 4-barrel carburetor that generated up to 250 horsepower and the “Super Turbo-Thrust” with three Rochester 2-barrel carburetors that produced an impressive 280 horsepower. Steve’s Impala was powered by the latter, mated to a three-on-the-tree Saginaw manual transmission. (Other available engines were the 235 cubic-inch “Blue Flame” straight-six and 283 cubic-inch V8.)

The screen-used Impala was purchased by co-producer Gary Kurtz before production began. According to Kip Pullman’s American Graffiti blog, transportation manager Henry Travers then sent the Impala to Close and Orlandi’s body shop in San Rafael, where it was painted white with red-fogged accents around the chrome body-lines and outfitted with chrome-reversed wheels. When the screen-used Impala was up for auction in late 2015, Chris Demorro wrote for Chevy Hardcore that “the car was chosen because it already featured a tuck-n-roll interior like the script required.”

In addition to being decked and nosed, the screen-used Impala had also been customized with the Chevy badging removed and the tail-lights replaced with the distinctive bullet-shaped trios of tail-lights from a 1959 Cadillac.

1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe

Body Style: 2-door hardtop

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

Engine: 348 cubic inch (5.7 L) Chevrolet “Super Turbo-Thrust” V8 with three Rochester 2-barrel carburetors

Power: 280 hp (208.5 kW; 284 PS) @ 4800 rpm

Torque: 355 lb·ft (481 N·m) @ 2800 rpm

Transmission: 3-speed Saginaw manual

Wheelbase: 117.5 inches (2984 mm)

Length: 209.1 inches (5311 mm)

Width: 77.7 inches (1974 mm)

Height: 55.7 inches (1415 mm)

After American Graffiti production wrapped, Travers listed the cars for sale in a local newspaper. He sold the Impala for slightly less than his original $325 asking price to Vallejo high schooler Mike Famalette, who was looking to buy his first car. Unfortunately for Mike, the brakes failed and he lost one of the Caddy tail-lights during his drive home, where he also discovered the stock 348 V8 and transmission were also in bad shape. He and his brother worked on the car, replacing the three-on-a-tree transmission with a two-speed Powerglide automatic and swapping out the engine for a small-block 283 and ultimately a 350 LT-1 V8.

Mike joined the Marine Corps after high school and kept the Impala in his parents’ garage for storage, where it remained untouched for nearly 30 years until his daughter Ashley replaced the engine with a 348 Tri-Power mated to a three-speed automatic transmission for a senior project. With renewed interest in his piece of movie history, Mike showed his Impala at car shows and movie events until finally auctioning it in the fall of 2015, when it sold to American Graffiti fan Ray Evernham.

As the new owner of Steve’s Impala, Ray sought to restore the car to its screen-era glory, including the interior, exterior, and engine… finally blessing the car with a 327 V8 and six Strombergs, just as Toad had erroneously bragged to Debbie.

How to Get the Look

Ron Howard and Cindy Williams in American Graffiti (1973)

Consistent with his clean-cut character, Steve Bolander dresses in the typical prep style of the Eisenhower era: a non-threatening button-down shirt, khakis, and penny loafers with white socks.

• Light blue-and-white gingham check cotton short-sleeved shirt with button-down collar, front placket, and breast pocket
• Beige cotton flat-front trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, jetted back pockets (with button-through loop on left pocket), and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark brown leather narrow belt with curved gold-toned single-prong buckle
• Dark brown leather moc-toe penny loafers
• White cotton lisle socks
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeved undershirt
• Gold dress watch with silver dial (with non-numeric hour indices) on textured dark brown leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

Go kiss a duck, marblehead.

The post Ron Howard in American Graffiti appeared first on BAMF Style.

Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto on The Bear

Vitals

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, award-winning chef-turned-sandwich shop owner

Chicago, Spring 2022 and 2023

Series: The Bear, Seasons 1-2
Creator: Christopher Storer
Costume Design: Courtney Wheeler; Cristina Spiridakis (pilot episode only)

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“The Bear is not a cooking show, it’s a family drama set against a restaurant backdrop,” wrote Chef Daniel Patterson for Esquire. “It’s dark and disturbing. It asks questions, most compellingly about how we can break generational patterns and heal trauma through transformation. It wonders, as I do, if that is even possible in an environment as challenging as a restaurant. The show evades easy answers, even as the Internet rushes to supply them.”

After an excellent Emmy-nominated first season that debuted in 2022 and could have stood on its own as a complete story, the acclaimed Hulu series returned this summer with a superb second season. Like the best contemporary TV dramas (e.g., Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Sopranos, The Wire), The Bear balances its poignancy with extremely funny moments, deriving comedy from both chaos and quieter moments. Ultimately, it centers around the importance of belonging and—whether our protagonist has time to discuss it or not—of purpose.

The stress-inducing first season follows Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a celebrated chef de cuisine who returns to the Windy City to run his family’s scrappy sandwich shop, The Original Berf Beef of Chicagoland, after his brother’s suicide. “I’m trying to do something here,” Carmy insists to his sister Natalie (Abby Elliott), though the restaurant’s stubborn crew—including his streetwise “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who relies on either Xanax or his Glock to keep his cool—that worked for his more lax brother is initially unwilling to bend to his style, at least until he hires the ambitious sous-chef Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri).

In my opinion, the chain-smoking Carmy is one of the best characters on TV, though I could say the same of Richie, Syd, the good-nature Marcus (Lionel Boyce), or really any of The Bear‘s ensemble. “People took one look at his fitted T-shirts, motley tattoos, and greasy hair, and swiftly cast him as a textbook no-goodnik; the kind of emotionally unavailable jerk that your parents—and therapist—urged you not to try to ‘fix’,” Marley Marius writes for Vogue. For all his faults, Carmy indeed wants to be a good person, and much of The Bear‘s best moments derive from his sincere attempts to repair relationships in his life.

The series’ title derives from the first syllable of Carmy’s last name, as “Bear” is a shared nickname among the Berzatto siblings and the name he has long wanted for a restaurant of his own. After the first season unites the kitchen crew of The Beef into something resembling harmony, the second season throws this team into another “frying pan of adversity” (per Rotten Tomatoes) as they rush to open Carmy and Sydney’s shared vision for The Bear, including advanced trainings for all of its staff, flashbacks to traumatizing holidays, and long-overdue apologies and reassurances.

What’d He Wear?

Readers interested in finding where to buy clothes like Carmy’s can click here to skip ahead to a “Shop the Look” section at the bottom of this page, researched specifically to help you find the exact fits worn by The Bear’s executive chef.

“[Carmy’s] rarely seen not wearing a white shirt and black pants—a classic combo, sure, but also a meticulous one consisting of a perfect (yet niche) tee and just the right fit of pants for a character that is obsessive and habitual and appreciates craftsmanship and history,” writes Trishna Rikhy for Esquire at the start of her excellent interview with series costume designer Courtney Wheeler. (Cristina Spiridakis had been the costume designer for the pilot, when Wheeler was assistant costume designer. Beginning with the second episode, Wheeler was elevated to primary costume designer.)

The amount of Esquire and GQ articles I’m citing should be some indication of the degree to which The Bear is more of a style-driven show than its characters’ attire would suggest. While Carmy et al wear neither the slick mid-century menswear seen in Mad Men or the evocative knitwear and bold prints of The Sopranos, The Bear serves a slice of reality where clothes don’t need to be flashy to be effective—where a chef wears a $90 T-shirt not because he’s the lead character on a TV show, but because he knows it’s what’s suitably comfortable for him while sweating BOH in Carhartt work pants and Birkenstock clogs.

“Jeremy walked into the fitting and it’s literally just white T-shirts and black work pants and Birkenstocks,” Wheeler recalled in her interview with Rikhy. “He looks at us, like, ‘This is what I’m doing?’ We said, yeah, this is what you’re doing, and he said, ‘Okay, great.'”

The T-Shirts

Carmy’s deceptively simple white short-sleeved T-shirts were the subject of much web speculation after The Bear debuted as fans investigated everything from sleeve to seam to try to identify who made them. Costume designers Cristina Spiridakis and Courtney Wheeler have confirmed that—after testing a range of brands ahead of the pilot—the screen-worn T-shirts were primarily the Merz b. Schwanen 215, though the first season also features similarly styled short-sleeved white T-shirts from the Supreme x Hanes collab and the Japanese company Whitesville. (Radhika Menon reports for Vulture that Wheeler also purchased Hinoya “Sugar Cane” shirts as backup, though I don’t believe any of these made it to the screen.)

The “cousins” illustrate two different kinds of T-shirts: heritage loopwheeled organic cotton shirts from Germany vs. mass-produced cotton/poly blends with your company’s logo screen-printed on the breast and back.

Merz b. Schwanen is a historic German brand dating back to 1911, though the modern iteration relaunched in 2011, three years after the original company ended operations. The Berlin-based company specializes in loopwheeled garments informed by classic workwear and produced using almost exclusively 100% organic cotton from Greece. Although he cycles through the Supreme x Hanes and Whitesville shirts throughout the first season, the Merz is the canonical Carmy white tee.

“Wearing Merz b. Schwanen tees is the type of choice someone makes after cycling through dozens of other white tees in search of the absolute perfect one,” concludes Cam Wolf for GQ.

Note the loopwheeled cotton’s distinctive weave.

Carmy specifically wears the “Classic Fit” model 215, from Merz b. Schwanen’s “Good Originals” collection, made of 8.6-oz. loopwheeled cotton prone to showing a “calendar crease” due to the two-thread fabric process. The shirt can be differentiated on screen by its narrow ribbed crew-neck, triangular armpit inserts for comfort, and the rectangular outline of the Merz b. Schwanen label centered just below the back of the neck-line—manufactured on 19th century jacquard looms from hand-made punch cards, these woven labels are a brand signature.

Carmy keeps his hands free and clean of watches or rings (likely an asset when so involved in food prep), resulting in his sole piece of jewelry being a round gold curb-link chain necklace worn under his shirt.

The Apron

Especially if you’re the sort of chef who wears $90 white T-shirts, you’ll want to protect yourself with a high-quality kitchen apron. Not long after taking over The Beef in The Bear‘s first season, he issues the staff identical blue aprons—an established restaurant tradition said to originate at the Napa Valley restaurant French Laundry. The only holdout among The Beef’s BOH crew is the stubborn Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), who takes pride in her novelty “Mrs. Always Right” apron… though not enough pride to keep it clean. “Don’t wipe your hands on your apron, chef,” Carmy advises Tina in the pilot episode, to which she responds only in confusion to the honorary title: “…Jeff?”

In their quest for authenticity, Spiridakis and Wheeler purchased a batch of French Laundry aprons that the restaurant had considered to be the “wrong” shade of blue. “They sold us ones that they considered imperfect, but they were beautiful,” Spiridakis explained to Radhika Menon for Vulture.

The French blue aprons have a chest bib and lower portion that extends down to the knees, with dark-blue straps around the neck and waist that tie together to close. According to Culinary Agents, the French Laundry aprons are a blend of 50% linen and 50% cotton made by kitchen-supply company Bragard.

Work Pants

Carmy values his vintage denim enough to keep it away from the splashes and sweat working BOH at the Original Beef, instead dressing regularly in black work pants—rotating between Carhartt WIP and Dickies, both classic brands more rooted in workwear than fashion.

Courtney Wheeler shared with Trishna Rikhy for Esquire that “for the second season, Jeremy and I streamlined him a little bit more. He truly only really wears the Merz white T-shirt, and he has a bunch of the Carhartts. Sometimes he’ll wear his Dickies, but we wanted him to be focused more.”

Through the second season, his black Carhartts have reverse-facing pleats, suggesting the Carhartt “Abbott Pant”, made from a mid-weight 8.8-oz. Denison twill composed of 65% polyester and 35% cotton. These trousers have single reverse-facing pleats aligned with the forwardmost belt loop on each side, as well as large squared patch pockets in the back; Carmy’s have evidently had the Carhartt label removed from the back-right pocket. The trousers feature triple-stitching and a tapered cut down the legs to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

He holds up his trousers with heavy-duty black leather belts, cut with elongated notches and fastened through a silver-toned squared single-prong buckle.

The Shoes

Inspired by the footwear that Spiridakis and Wheeler observed in actual kitchens, Carmy and Syd each sport the functional Birkenstock Tokio Super Grip leather clogs—Carmy in black while Syd wears both white and black pairs.

“Designed as a workman clog, the Tokio sports the same cork footbed and leather upper as the Boston, but differs prominently and noticeably in a leather ankle backstrap that adorns the back of the shoe,” writes Paolo Sandoval for InsideHook. “There’s an additional rubber outsole—dubbed the super grip—that adds additional traction and durability for cranking out covers.”

The adjustable straps over the instep and around the heel each close through a black-finished metal single-prong buckle. Though the slip-on design and contoured cork/latex-blended footbed can allow for comfortable sockless wear, Carmy wisely wears black socks—both a hygienic and a functionally protective choice for his duties in the kitchen.

Ich bin ein rude boss.

As Carmy’s work shifts in the second season from food prep to construction and planning, he swaps out the Birkenstocks for white sneakers or black work boots, reserving the Birks only for when rehearsing his food prep movements for Richie’s timer in “Pop” (Episode 2.05).

Most clearly seen in “Beef” (Episode 2.01) and “Bolognese” (Episode 2.08), Carmy’s heavy-duty work boots have black leather uppers, derby-laced through four sets of eyelets and additional sets of brass-finished speed hooks.

The Jacket

Carmy layers some color and visual individuality over his white tees and black work pants with the NN.07 “Gael 8267” waist-length jacket in a brushed blend of 74% wool and 26% polyester. “Inspired by the fit and fabrication of an old school stadium jacket,” the coat follows a relatively simple design with a straight-zip front from hem to neck, large shirt-style collar, and large patch-style pockets that cover the lower half of each side of the jacket, with a set-in hand pocket behind each. The sleeves are gently roped at the sleeveheads and plain at the cuffs, lacking any snaps, straps, or zips.

As of 2023, NN.07 offered the Gael 8267 in two checkered colorways: one in five shades of khaki (#715), and the “brown checkered” colorway (#726) that appeared on The Bear. The latter pattern consists of colliding color blocks in olive-green, rust-brown, and dark-blue.

Although the “NN” in NN.07 stands for “No Nationality” (and the fact that it was founded in 2007), the brand is based in Copenhagen—where we know Carmy worked in The Bear‘s universe, and thus likely picked up the jacket during his time there. We also get to spend some quality time in the Danish capital as Marcus learns to perfect his pastry skills alongside Carmy’s one-time rival Luca (Will Poulter) in “Honeydew” (Episode 2.04), an episode as comforting, rich, and fulfilling as a cherry donut, right down to its “Tezeta (Nostalgia)” needle-drop from famed Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke… but I digress.

Like his T-shirt, this raggedly rugged coat is deceptively expensive, though its $650 price tag wouldn’t have dissuaded Carmy, who keeps his personal wardrobe relatively limited as he chooses to invest in hard-wearing pieces that last. After the jacket debuts in “Hands” (Episode 1.02)—though much more prominently in “Brigade” (Episode 1.03)—we never see Carmy wearing any other outerwear throughout the series run. As a colorful change of pace from his white tees and black work pants, the distinctively checkered Gael 8267 coat gives Carmy a more head-turning visual identity when he leaves work—the one place he really feels he has a sense of identity.

The Cap

Jeremy Allen White’s barely restrained locks are a signature characteristic of Carmy’s looks, though he briefly covers them when putting the “Anon” in Al-Anon for his first meeting in “Brigade” (Episode 1.03). Like the plain baseball caps in Succession (but certainly less expensive!), Carmy pulls on a fraying-and-faded teal-green twill six-panel baseball cap with a yellow adjustable back strap.

Out of Office

Outside of work, Carmy continues a subdued appearance—if somewhat more dressed up—with solid-colored sweaters that befit both seasons’ timeline of winter-to-spring in the Windy City. In the first season, this consisted only of a navy-blue wool crew-neck sweater worn to Al-Anon meetings in “Brigade” (Episode 1.03), “Review” (Episode 1.07), and “Braciole” (Episode 1.08)—it was in the latter episode when Jeremy Allen White delivered Carmy’s excellent opening monologue connecting the trauma of his brother’s suicide to the comfortingly creative routine of working in kitchens.

He eventually cycles through a trio of similarly colored dark-blue crew-neck sweaters: the aforementioned navy jumper in “Braciole” (Episode 1.08), another with cable-knit set-in sleeves in “Pasta” (Episode 2.02), and a plain-knit raglan-sleeved sweater in “Pop” (Episode 2.05).

As with his white tees, Carmy cycles through several similar dark blue crew-neck sweaters as seen in (from left to right) “Braciole” (Episode 1.08), “Pasta” (Episode 2.02), and “Pop” (Episode 2.05).

“Especially for this season, we’re kind of playing with the idea that he’s moving in now. So instead of the one blue sweater, you’ll see him in the gray one. Maybe he has another sweater. He’ll start playing with it more, just because he probably unpacked, but unless you see him in flashbacks, he’s pretty focused and established in what works for him,” costume designer Courtney Wheeler shared with Esquire, particularly in reference to interviewer Trishna Rikhy’s question about White’s much-Googled light-gray cable-knit cashmere J. Crew sweater seen in “Sundae” (Episode 2.03). To Wheeler’s point, he also wears a dark-green crew-neck sweater in “Bolognese” (Episode 2.08).

Originally, Carmy was planned to be a sneaker collector before this was changed to be denim for the pilot episode. Still, he finds occasion to wear all-white Nike Cortez Basic sneakers when not at work, as seen in “Brigade” (Episode 1.03), “Review” (Episode 1.07), and “Sundae” (Episode 2.03).

His gray cable-knit cashmere J. Crew sweater got plenty of attention across the Internet, but Carmy’s fellow Al-Anon attendee seems understandably interested in his clean white Nikes.

Despite his relatively limited day-to-day wardrobe, Carmy keeps an extensive collection of vintage denim—jackets and jeans—that come in handy when he needs to barter for meat in the pilot episode. “This is original, big E, red-line self-edge… from 1944. You can get $1,250 for that on eBay,” he explains to one vendor, sweetening the deal with “a 1955 blanket-lined Type III… pleated.”

In addition to the in-demand denim lining his closet, he stores the carefully folded overflow stock in his oven, as we see in “Pasta” (Episode 2.02) when he quickly runs to empty the oven when Sydney comes back to his apartment to brainstorm the chaos menu.

Carmy’s precariously stored stash of overflow vintage denim.

Carmy’s appreciation for classic denim occasionally sneaks out of his oven and into his actual wardrobe, particularly for the brief vignette of his preparing the titular dinner for his love interest Claire (Molly Gordon) in “Bolognese” (Episode 2.08). This scene also features the only instance of Carmy following Richie’s example of wearing a T-shirt from The Original Beef of Chicagoland—though not the misprinted “Original Berf of Chicagoland” collector’s item.

Courtney Wheeler explained to Rikhy that “I don’t think we see more than the waistband of them. Accounting will kill me—they know, they saw the receipt. It’s a pair of $2500 vintage 1950s Levi’s that were beautiful, they’re gorgeous, Jeremy was obsessed with them because they fit him perfectly. We didn’t have to do anything to alter them, they were just perfect.” In another interview with Mike DeStefano for Complex, Wheeler added that the jeans were sourced from Chicago vintage shop Knee Deep.

Earlier in that episode, we got the rare glimpse of the comfortable Carmy, spending a post-coital morning with Claire dressed down in a mid-blue cotton T-shirt with darker blue contrasting seams, white crew socks, and dark-blue microfiber polyester jogger pants.

Sydney’s aforementioned visit to Carmy’s apartment in “Pasta” (Episode 2.02) also brings her attention to the elegant white twill chef’s coat from his days as a celebrated chef de cuisine, monogrammed “CB” on the gauntlet-style cuffs.”I wanna hate it, like I don’t get me wrong—I do,” she states, “but… looks sick. I bet it felt really good wearing it.”

Her appreciation leads to Carmy purchasing Sydney her own custom-made Thom Browne chef’s coat to wear as The Bear’s chef de cuisine.

The coat ties together several Thom Browne-related strands of The Bear lore, beginning with Syd’s secondhand Thom Browne shirts at the start of the first season and continuing through Claire’s recollection of Carmy drawing “really short pants… like Dickies, but cuffed, and made with worsted wool” in their ninth-grade algebra class. Carmy completes the story by recalling that the pants had already existed at a “high level” thanks to a designer whom he eventually met when he started frequenting Carmy’s restaurant—that designer being Thom Browne.

You could argue that Carmy’s Palace x Polo Ralph Lauren rugby shirt and A.P.C. jeans during the Christmas flashback in “Fishes” (Episode 2.06) also qualify as an out-of-office look, but I’ll reserve that entire ensemble for a later post!

What to Imbibe

Water from a plastic takeout container. But keep some Fernet-Branca and Pepto-Bismol around. Indeed, the episode “Bolognese” (Episode 2.08) along seems to be quasi-sponsored by Walmart’s Pepto-inspired Equate Stomach Relief.

Need to pass a fire suppression exam in order for your restaurant to open in less than two weeks? You got this, chef.

If you have the time and ingredients (cut-up fruit and Xanax), you can also take a stab at Carmy’s homemade Ecto Cooler recipe.

How to Get the Look

Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto on The Bear

“The chefs I’ve come across and met are some of the most stylish people in a way that’s so effortless,” The Bear costume designer Courtney Wheeler explained to Eileen Cartter for GQ. Indeed, Carmy’s plain white tee, black work pants, ragtag-looking jacket, and clogs all seem effortless… but are all time-tested, quality pieces that serve Carmy well whether he’s sweating over a hot beef sandwich BOH or ambling to an Al-Anon meeting in his color-blocked wool jacket.

• Olive, rust, and slate abstract-checked brushed wool-blend waist-lenght zip-up jacket with shirt-style collar, large patch pockets, and set-in hand pockets
  • NN.07 Gael 8267
• White loopwheeled 8.6-oz. organic cotton crew-neck short-sleeved T-shirt
  • Merz b. Schwanen model 215
• Black poly/cotton twill single reverse-pleated work pants with belt loops, slanted side pockets, patch-style back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
  • Carhartt WIP Abbott Pant
• Black heavy-duty leather belt with silver-toned squared single-prong buckle
• Black leather clogs with cork-latex footbed and buckled straps over the instep and heel
  • Birkenstock Tokio Super Grip
• Black socks
• Gold curb-link chain necklace with lobster-claw closure
• French blue linen/cotton bib apron with dark-blue neck and waist ties
  • Bragand

Shop the jacket:

NN.07 Gael 8267 Checkered Jacket in brown check ($650)

Sold out (and has been for a while) as of August 13, 2023.

Shop the T-shirt:

Merz b. Schwanen 215

• Franklin & Poe ($85) currently sold out
• Merz b. Schwanen (79.90 €)
• Redcast Heritage ($67) currently sold out
• Son of a Stag ($71)

Prices and availability current as of August 13, 2023.

Shop the pants:

Carhartt WIP Abbott Pant

• Carhartt ($115)
• END. Clothing ($135)

Dickies Original 874 Work Pants

• Amazon ($29.99)
• Dickies ($29.99)
• Zappos ($29.99)

Prices and availability current as of August 13, 2023.

Shop the shoes:

Birkenstock Tokio Super Grip

• Amazon ($99.90)
• Birkenstock ($155)
• Nordstrom ($155)
• Todd Snyder ($155)
• Zappos ($155)

Prices and availability current as of August 13, 2023.

Shop the sweater:

J. Crew Cashmere Cable-Knit Sweater in heather gray ($228)

Prices and availability current as of August 13, 2023.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series, currently streaming on Hulu.

Corner! You can also read more about The Bear‘s costume design from these articles used to source this post:

• Complex — “Meet the Woman Making ‘The Bear’ One of the Most Stylish Shows on Television” by Mike DeStefano
• Esquire — “How The Bear Became High-Key Fashion Television” by Trishna Rikhy
• Esquire — “The Story Behind Carmy’s Fantasy Pants on The Bear Season 2″ by Ben Boskovitch
• GQ — “Actually, The Bear Is a Menswear Show” by Cam Wolf
• GQ — “The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White Loves Good Denim Just as Much as Carmy” by Eileen Cartter
• InsideHook — “Carmy’s Wool Jacket On FX’s “The Bear” Is the Real Star of the Show” by Paolo Sandoval
• InsideHook — “What Shoes Are the Chefs of “The Bear” Wearing? We Found Out.” by Paolo Sandoval
• The Strategist (New York) — “We (With Some Help From Menswear Reddit) Found Jeremy Allen White’s T-shirts From The Bear” by Liza Corsill
• Vulture — “How The Bear Injected Personality Into the Standard Kitchen Uniform” by Radhika Menon

Also, if The Bear has taught me anything, it’s to be very patient with restaurant staff!

The Quote

I felt like I could speak through the food, like I could communicate through creativity. And that kind of confidence, you know, like I was finally… I was good at something, that was so new, and that was so exciting and I just wanted him to know that and, fuck, I just wanted him to be like, “Good job!” And the more he wouldn’t respond, and the more our relationship kinda strained, the deeper into this I went and the better I got. And the more people I cut out, the quieter my life got. And the routine of the kitchen was so consistent and exacting and busy and hard and alive, and I lost track of time and he died. And he left me his restaurant. And over the last couple months I-I’ve been trying to fix it cause it was in rough shape, and I think it’s very clear that me trying to fix the restaurant was me trying to fix whatever was happening with my brother. And I don’t know, maybe fix the whole family because that restaurant, it has and it does mean a lot to people. It means a lot to me. I just don’t know if it ever meant anything to him.

The post The Bear: Carmy’s White T-Shirts and Checkered Jacket appeared first on BAMF Style.

Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II (1974)

Vitals

Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone, née Andolini, Sicilian-born immigrant-turned-gangster

New York City, Summer 1917 to Spring 1920

Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

On screen legend Robert De Niro’s 80th birthday, today’s post revisits his star-making, Oscar-winning role as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II.

Born August 17, 1943, De Niro’s birthday falls the day after the traditional August 16th observance of the Feast of San Rocco—the backdrop of the young Vito’s 1917 assassination of Black Hand extortionist Don Fanucci (Gastone Moschin) that propels his gangland ascension.

De Niro had lingered in Francis Ford Coppola’s mind ever since his dynamic audition for a role in The Godfather. In the two years between the release of The Godfather and its sequel, De Niro had appeared in the baseball drama Bang the Drum Slowly and the crime film Mean Streets, the latter beginning his long collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.

Though Coppola reportedly toyed with the idea of recasting Marlon Brando to play his younger self in the role he originated, it was ultimately the 30-year-old Robert De Niro who was cast and made cinematic history with his excellent portrayal. The New York-born De Niro spent four months learning how to properly speak the Sicilian dialect that would be required for his character’s dialogue—save for just seventeen words in English.

Generally departing from Mario Puzo’s source novel that was adapted into the first film, Coppola used The Godfather, Part II to realize his vision about making a movie that followed a father and son at roughly the same points in their life, by paralleling the saga of mob kingpin Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in the late 1950s with his father’s rise to power in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Though the adult Michael and young Vito never appear on screen together at the same time (for obvious reasons), photographer Steve Schapiro captured Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in costume together during the production of The Godfather, Part II. Note that Vito’s waistcoat, single-button shirt cuffs, and trousers inform that this is the costume from the 1920 scenes, though he is clean-shaven like he was for the 1917 sequence.

(There have been conflicting theories about the timeline of Vito’s sequences in The Godfather, Part II, but I tend to believe that the New York scenes are split between 1917 and 1920, with his trip to Sicily likely around 1925.)

What’d He Wear?

Theadora Van Runkle’s Academy Award-nominated costume design for Robert De Niro as the young Vito Corleone evolves with his status, from threadbare coats and neckband shirts in his immigrant days to sharp three-piece suits and spats as he rises through the ranks of La Cosa Nostra during the roaring ’20s. The one surprising constant of his wardrobe through this transition is a distinctive two-toned blue shirt, which he adapts to both respective eras of his life.

The body of the shirt is a light-blue woven flannel, contrasted with a darker blue long-pointed collar, six-button placket, and squared button cuffs. (At least more than one shirt was used, as the 1917 shirt has two-button cuffs while the 1920 shirt cuffs close with just a single button.) The shirt has chest yokes that curve up toward the center from each armhole. The set-in chest pockets on each side slant toward the center, with darker blue welted openings.

You can see more photos of one of the screen-worn shirts, complete with its Western Costume tags, at The Prop Gallery.

1917

By 1917, Vito Corleone is struggling to make ends meet for his young family. A “favor” for the sinister Don Fanucci (Gastone Moschin) results in his being unable to keep his job at the Abbandando Grosseria, but Vito finds other opportunities selling stolen merchandise with the smooth Sicilian crook Peter Clemenza (Bruno Kirby). Unfortunately—or perhaps fortuitously—this attracts Fanucci’s attention… and gives Vito an opportunity to both advance his reputation and remove a violent threat looming over his paisans.

At this point, Vito’s clothes are humble yet hardy workwear, with a small rotation of shirts—including the blue two-toned shirt—layered under a warm-brown wool double-breasted coat. The heavy woolen construction, ulster collar, short length, and double-breasted button configuration recall classic naval pea coats (and the Heritage Auctions listing describes it as such),  though I’d hesitate to specifically call it a pea jacket. Two closely spaced columns of five buttons each close up the front, with buttonholes on the ulster collar suggesting an additional top row of buttons. The hip-length coat has a ventless back, set-in sleeves with plain banded cuffs, and rounded patch-style pockets over the left breast and both hips.

Vito’s charcoal-and-brown striped tweed newsboy cap is also consistent with his youth and lower economic status. He also wears a woolen six-button sweater in a cooler shade of brown than his coat. I can’t tell if this is a sleeveless sweater or a full-sleeved cardigan—as is more likely—but we do see that it has patch-style hip pockets and a straight-cut bottom.

Vito’s regular trousers through this period of his life are made of taupe-brown pinwale corduroy, also known as “needlecord”. The trousers have an era-correct long rise to Robert De Niro’s natural waist, where—despite the presence of belt loops that remain unused—he holds them up with a set of tan striped cloth suspenders that have dark-brown leather hooks connecting to buttons along the inside of his trouser waistband.

The trousers have long, slightly slanted side pockets and a straight cut through the legs to the plain-hemmed bottoms, which break high over his brown leather derby-laced boots.

1920

Having spent the last three years growing his respect in the neighborhood (as well as his little mustache), Vito ascended into a much more benevolent—if hardly more legitimate—leader in the neighborhood than Fanucci. He and his friend Genco Abbandando (Frank Sivero) establish the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company, a front for the illegal operations that he runs with Clemenza and Sal Tessio (John Aprea), both of which would reappear in The Godfather‘s timeline, two decades later.

Vito elevates his appearance to match his position, with more carefully styled hair and intentional clothing. He’s not quite wearing suits yet, but he dresses up his familiar two-toned blue shirt to create a suit-like effect with overcoats, ties, and a pinstriped waistcoat—even thought this heavy flannel shirt isn’t the type typically worn with ties.

The charcoal waistcoat (vest) is patterned with a closely spaced white pinstripe, constructed from a tufted material like corduroy or velvet. The single-breasted waistcoat has five black buttons up the front and four welted pockets. Vito wears his gold pocket watchchain “single Albert”-style, with the actual watch tucked into the waistcoat’s lower left pocket.

Note that Vito’s shirt now has single-button cuffs, while the rest of this very distinctive shirt is identical to what we had scene in the 1917 scenes. This suggests either multiples of the shirt were used (which would make sense, given its prominence) or that the cuffs of one of the shirts were damaged and replaced with ones that featured a different buttoning system. But who am I to poke holes (so to speak) in a masterpiece like The Godfather Part II?

Although he still regularly wears the same shirt and waistcoat, Vito keeps his appearance fresh on the streets with a rotation of coats and ties. When we first catch up with the now-mustached Cosa Nostra kingpin, he’s wearing a brown soft woolen knee-length overcoat and a dark brown leafy-printed silk tie.

Vito wears the single-breasted coat with all three buttons fastened. The lapels are triple-stitched around the edges and boast especially wide notches. The shoulders are soft, with long, set-in sleeves that are left plain at the cuffs. There are straight set-in pockets at hand level, aligned with the lowest button—if these pockets are flapped, the flaps may be tucked into the pockets themselves.

Oranges! Is death around the corner… or merely the intimidation of a dog-hating landlord?

As part of his duties of asking “favors” on behalf of the neighborhood denizens, Vito meets with stubborn landlord Signor Roberto (Leopoldo Trieste) and smoothly implores him to allow a local woman to keep her apartment—and her dog. Unfortunately for Roberto’s nerves, Vito’s reputation hasn’t quite preceded him… but it makes quite an impression once it catches up to him.

Vito wears the same blue two-toned shirt and pinstriped waistcoat, but with a different coat and tie. The light silver silk tie is patterned in an alternating series of burgundy rectangles and pairs of black-dotted vertical rectangles. His single-breasted overcoat is tonally multi-striped over a charcoal-brown woolen ground and—aside from single-stitched, rather than triple-stitched, edges—is styled almost identically to the earlier brown topcoat.

“Of course, the dog stays. Right?”
Don Vito bargains with Signor Roberto, who is about to get an alarming lesson from the neighborhood about the genial man whose Sicilian ass he just threatened to kick out into the street.

Vito’s taupe-brown pinstripe wool flat-front trousers look like they may have been orphaned from a suit. Unlike his earlier corduroys, we can see little of these trousers—the waistcoat covers the waistband (as a waistcoat is intended to do), but we can see slanted side pockets and back pockets that close with scalloped single-button flaps. The bottoms are finished with turn-ups (cuffs), and he completes the look with dark brown boots.

How to Get the Look

I had received several requests to cover this shirt from Robert De Niro’s New York flashback scenes in The Godfather Part II, so this long-overdue post breaks down how the young Vito Corleone adapted a favorite shirt to his respective styles as a struggling immigrant in 1917 to a rising neighborhood crime boss just three years later.

Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II (1974)

Vito in 1917:

• Brown wool 10×5-button double-breasted hip-length coat with ulster collar, rounded patch-style breast pocket and hip pockets, plain cuffs, and ventless back
• Light-blue woven flannel shirt with dark-blue contrasting long point collar, 6-button placket, two inward-slanted set-in chest pockets, and button cuffs
• Brown wool 6-button cardigan sweater with patch-style hip pockets and straight-cut bottom
• Taupe-brown corduroy flat-front trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Brown leather derby-laced boots
• Tan striped cloth suspenders with dark-brown leather hooks
• Charcoal-and-brown striped tweed newsboy cap

Vito in 1920 (pictured here):

• Brown solid or charcoal-brown multi-striped wool single-breasted 3-button overcoat with wide-notched lapels, straight hip pockets, and plain cuffs
• Light-blue woven flannel shirt with dark-blue contrasting long point collar, 6-button placket, two inward-slanted set-in chest pockets, and button cuffs
• Silk printed tie
• Charcoal pinstripe tufted 5-button waistcoat/vest with four welted pockets
• Taupe-brown pinstripe wool flat-front trousers with slanted side pockets, back pockets (with scalloped single-button flaps), and turn-ups/cuffs
• Dark-brown leather boots
• Gold pocketwatch on gold “single Albert”-style chain

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series.

The Quote

Do me this favor. I won’t forget it. Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They’ll tell you I know how to return a favor.

The post The Godfather, Part II: De Niro’s Blue Two-Toned Shirt as Young Vito appeared first on BAMF Style.

Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly in Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Vitals

Tom Cruise as CAPT Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, experienced U.S. Navy test pilot-turned-instructor

NAS North Island near San Diego, Fall 2019

Film: Top Gun: Maverick
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Costume Designer: Marlene Stewart

Background

It’s been a minute, huh Mav?

To commemorate August 19 being National Aviation Day, today’s post celebrates one of the most famous fictional naval aviators in movie history.

Thirty-six years to the month after its predecessor flew into theaters, Top Gun: Maverick returned Tom Cruise to the flight deck as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a virtuoso Naval Aviator who still lives up to his nickname more than three decades since he was a swaggering but skilled lieutenant in the U.S. Navy’s prestigious “Top Gun” training program.

“Captain? Still?” he’s asked, prompting Maverick to clarify that he’s “a highly decorated Captain.” His insubordination repeatedly preventing promotion to flag officer like his pal and one-time rival Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), CAPT Pete Mitchell is still “the fastest man alive”, now a Navy test pilot living in a hangar in the Mojave Desert, fighting the good fight for practical flight vs. the unmanned preferences of bureaucrats like RADM Chester Cain (Ed Harris), aka “The Drone Ranger”.

Despite Maverick falling out of favor among Navy brass, Iceman still looks out for his pal and—when Maverick is in danger of being grounded—has the distinguished aviator recalled to Top Gun at NAS North Island, where the stern, by-the-book commander VADM Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (Jon Hamm) briefs him on a dangerous mission, tasked to destroy an unsanctioned underground uranium enrichment plant… clarifying “we don’t want you to fly it, we want you to teach it.”

While at “Fightertown U.S.A.”, Maverick reconnects with former fling Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), who now runs The Hard Deck, a local bar frequented by fliers like the recent graduates that Maverick will be training for the mission. Among these aviators—played by a cast of rising stars like Monica Barbaro, Manny Jacinto, and Glen Powell—is Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), son of Maverick’s late friend and RIO Goose, who resents Mav for having blocked his Naval Academy application. Over the course of the accelerated training, a mutual respect grows between the confident young lieutenants and the experienced veteran.

The production paralleled the plot as Cruise, whose dedicated enthusiasm for his roles often manifests in learning the stunts and skills of his characters, personally designed a three-month aviation training course to familiarize the new actors with riding in the famous F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets featured on screen.

Fast-paced and furiously entertaining, Top Gun: Maverick was exactly the shot of adrenaline that the movie industry needed after declining ticket sales during COVID-19. The movie recouped its budget nearly nine times over, grossing nearly $1.5 billion in the worldwide box office to date, and won a much-deserved Academy Award for Best Sound from among its six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

What’d He Wear?

Since even the flight jackets like Maverick wears are available to the public, you can steal his style without stealing valor: click here to skip ahead to a “Shop the Look” section at the bottom of this page, researched specifically to help you find a jacket and civvies like those worn by “the fastest man alive”.

Return of the G-1 Jacket

Tom Cruise bookends Top Gun: Maverick by wearing the prolifically patched leather G-1 jacket that he had famously worn for much of the original Top Gun.  Costume designer Marlene Stewart and her team painstakingly built a new jacket, naturally styled to look like the original but cut to flatter Cruise and look consistent with contemporary fashion trends. “It had to look amazing but not noticeably different from the first one,” she explained to Gold Derby.

Cruise still owns a screen-worn jacket from the 1986 movie, but Stewart explained in conversation with From Tailors With Love that decades of wear-and-tear resulted in the jacket “more or less falling apart.” Observing what she described as “’80s interpretation” of the jacket with its padded shoulders and blousy fit, Stewart knew she would have to go back to the drawing board… and back to the late 1940s, when the G-1 was originally issued, having evolved from the earlier M-442A jacket. Having studied the original design and the Top Gun-worn jacket (which came with its own bodyguard), Stewart’s team worked through a selection of approximately 40 jackets to build what she calls the “Franken-jacket” to be consistent with G-1 design and flattering to Cruise’s physique.

Once the jacket was complete, Stewart explained that an additional challenge remained in crafting its 16 individual patches, which would need to be hand-loomed to differentiate the quality from modern machine-embroidered alternatives.

The instantly recognizable G-1 jackets as introduced in 1947 were originally made of a dark seal-brown goatskin leather, with a mouton fur collar and ribbed-knit cuffs and hem. These waist-length flight jackets have a straight front zip, “bi-swing” back pleated behind the shoulders, and a half-belt across the back of the waist—a few inches above the hem. The two patch-style pockets positioned low on the front of the jacket each close with a button-down flap. Essentially replaced in service by nylon and Nomex jackets, the G-1 had been originally discontinued in 1979. The massive success of Top Gun in 1986 boosted sales of the G-1 among civilians and resulted in the U.S. military officially readopting the jacket two years later for qualified air crews.

The CWU Flight Jacket

After Maverick is called back to instruct at Top Gun, he begins wearing the Navy’s current official sage-green Nomex® bomber jacket. Nomex is a flame-resistant compound developed by DuPont in the 1960s, authorized for American military aviators after it was discovered that the nylon shells of then-issued MA-1 bomber jackets were prone to burning.

Made from this innovative material that proved resistant to flames, chemicals, and certain degrees of radiation, the new design provided the foundation for two Cold Weather Uniform (CWU) jackets: the lighter-weight CWU-36/P and the more insulated CWU-45/P. The design would be colloquialized as the “MA-2” by the late 1980s when the Cobles Clothing Company reportedly introduced it to market their civilian streetwear variations of these jackets. Nearly a half-century after their introduction, the Nomex-shell CWU-36/P and CWU-45/P remain the primary active duty flight jackets for both USAF pilots and U.S. Navy aviators.

Maverick feels the need… the need for Nomex.

The design evolved from the earlier MA-1 blouson, retaining the ribbed-knit cuffs and hem but replacing the collar with a rounded, shirt-style collar. The zip-entry utility pocket and pen lots on the left sleeve also remained from the MA-1, but the two front pockets were designed as larger cargo pockets with angled seams over the edges of each patch, covered by a substantial flap. The lighter-weight construction and lack of a storm flap behind the straight-zip front indicate that Mav wears the summer-weight CWU-36/P.

“We custom made those as well because they were general issue,” Marlene Stewart explained of Maverick’s new CWU-style jacket, tailored to flatter the actor without some of the “puffiness” that some can experience with these synthetic mil-spec bomber jackets.

Chapter 6, section 8, article 6803.2b(1) of the U.S. Navy uniform regulations code specifies that these jackets “may be worn with flight suits, but are not authorized for wear off base…” and that “the jacket will be worn with the zipper zipped at least 3/4 of the way.” Combined with chapter 7, section 2, article 7203 that states “military personnel may wear military uniform articles with civilian clothing when the item cannot be identified as a navy uniform component,” Maverick seems to be frequently violating Navy regulations by often wearing his badged CWU/36-P unzipped with civvies, but that’s why he’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and not Pete “Loves to Follow Rules” Mitchell.

Maverick’s CWU jacket was personalized for the production with an array of patches, though he only wears four (1/4 as many as on the G-1), more consistent with Navy standards than his heavily patched personal G-1. At the top of his right sleeve, he wears the USN Fighter Weapons School patch, a VX-31 patch over his right breast, and a yellow-bordered American flag patch on his left shoulder. Presumably velcro-mounted over his left breast, he wears his leather identification badge with gold-embossed aviation wings, “TOPGUN” in scripted font, and “CAPT PETE MITCHELL”.

Complete with Maverick’s array of patches, Cockpit USA currently offers a nylon-shell “Movie Hero” CWU-36/P in addition to a standard CWU-36/P in 4.5-oz. Nomex and devoid of patches.

Mav’s T-shirts

Under his flight jackets, Maverick continues wearing plain white T-shirts, which were also custom-made by costume designer Marlene Stewart’s team to perfectly flatter Tom Cruise’s physique and are consistent with Navy regs that authorize white cotton or cotton/poly undershirts for officers. His white tees in the 1986 Top Gun had breast pockets, but the updated shirts in 2022 lack this detail for a cleaner, more streamlined cut. The high-quality white cotton construction and smart cuts elevate Maverick’s fitted T-shirts beyond off-the-rack undershirts, even if they follow the same crew-neck, short-sleeved design.

Maverick and Rooster wear white T-shirts while fixing up Mav’s plane, though Rooster takes a sartorial page from his late dad’s closet by layering on an open aloha shirt.

Unlike the first Top Gun movie, Mav varies his T-shirts to include a dark navy tee that he wears when decidedly off-duty, specifically for a day of beach volleyball that becomes a night at Penny’s.

Mav gets caught by Penny’s daughter while wearing a non-reg undershirt.

The Jeans

Marlene Stewart worked with California-based outfitter Vince to craft Maverick’s jeans, taking into account that he’d often be wearing them while riding his Kawasaki motorcycle. A flexible cotton-and-elastane Italian denim blend provided just enough stretch for comfortable riding, dyed a vintage-inspired medium-blue wash and in a relaxed, straight cut.

“We had many, many multiples,” Stewart explained to From Tailors With Love of the jeans. “There were pairs for the bootcut pants that were a little wider because he wears cowboy boots. Also jeans where the rise in the back was higher for the motorcycle, and the fact that there were some stretch in them.”

The jeans follow the traditional five-pocket design with belt loops, though—unlike with his Levi’s in the original Top Gun, Mav doesn’t wear a belt in Top Gun: Maverick. Vince began marketing jeans inspired by those designed for Maverick with the exclusive DM 01 “The Straight” model in a 98% cotton-and-2% elastane blend.

“Now you’re in the Navy,” Penny confirms to Maverick as he finally learns how to sail.

The Boots

Aside from his different jacket, the most notable element of Maverick’s wardrobe update are his cowboy boots. After wearing a pair of brashly colorful red, yellow, and green boots that Tom Cruise wore in the original Top Gun, the matured Maverick looks appropriately more subdued now in brown leather cowboy boots with rounded toes and decoratively stitched shafts. Like the rest of Cruise’s wardrobe, costume designer Marlene Stewart’s team custom-built Cruise’s boots rather than sourcing pre-made stock.

In addition to characterizing Maverick’s eponymous nature, the laceless and long-shafted design of cowboy boots serve to protect his feet when his primary mode of transport is on a motorcycle.

These boots appear to be Maverick’s everyday footwear when not in uniform, aside from black lace-up sneakers that he smartly wears instead while sailing on Penny’s yacht.

Aviators for an Aviator

There was never any question that Maverick would continue wearing the Ray-Ban RB3025 Aviator Classic sunglasses that he had popularized in the original Top Gun, though it wasn’t as simple as picking out a pair of glasses and calling it a day. The costume design and props departments collaborated through multiple fittings with Tom Cruise to make sure that his eyewear would be just right, ultimately retaining the same 1980s-era design—which lacks the scripted Ray-Ban logo printed in the upper right corner of the right lens—in the “D-1” teardrop style with gold frames and green lenses.

The Watch

Unlike the young Top Gun graduates in their matching IWC watches, Maverick continues wearing the blacked-out Porsche Design Chronograph 1 by Orfina that dressed his wrist in Top Gun. Not only is it the same model… but the same watch, as Cruise confirmed to BBC Radio 1, though he had to request the original screen-worn watch back from Jerry Bruckheimer.

As the first-ever black-cased wristwatch, the Porsche Design Chronograph revolutionized the horological scene when it was introduced by Porsche 911 designer Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche in 1972. The 40mm steel case and three-piece link bracelet were coated in a black PVD, the effect heightened by a black dial with the usual trio of sub-registers at the 12, 6, and 9 o’clock positions while the blacked-out 3 o’clock date window was flanked by the brand logo above and the words “Porsche Design” below.

Powered by Lemania’s 17-jewel Swiss automatic movement, this sporty, racing-oriented chronograph perfectly suits a maverick pilot with an insatiable need for speed.

Porsche Design celebrated the 50th anniversary of the blacked-out chronograph by reissuing it—now produced in black titanium, rather than PVD-coated steel—in 2022, the same year that Top Gun: Maverick was released.

What to Imbibe

Just as he still wears Ray-Bans and still wears his Porsche Design chronograph, Budweiser is still Maverick’s beer of choice, as Penny pours him draft after draft of this classic American lager at her bar, The Hard Deck.

In addition to being the beer he needed for liquid courage when singing to Charlie that she lost her lovin’ feeling in the 1986 Top Gun, Budweiser also has a unique naval connection—the hard-earned U.S. Navy SEALs Trident pin is also nicknamed the “Budweiser” for the Trident’s semblance to the familiar Budweiser logo.

While Mav may not share the same taste in watches with the recent Top Gun graduates, they all seem to enjoy the same brew, as they all invariably drink bottles of Bud whether playing pool or playing piano.

Goodness gracious, great bottles of Bud!

How to Get the Look

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

As in the original Top Gun, Maverick’s daily wear continues to be a bomber jacket, white T-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots—accessorizing with gold aviator sunglasses and his blacked-out Porsche Design Chronograph—though the overall styled has matured with Mav, with his leather G-1 mostly retired into the closet as he carries out his duties in the practical and contemporary CWU-36/P jacket.

• Sage-green Nomex CWU-36/P zip-up flight jacket with shirt-style collar, slanted-flap patch pockets, zip-up left-sleeve pocket, and ribbed-knit cuffs and hem
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeve T-shirt
• Medium-blue stretch denim straight-cut designer jeans
• Brown leather cowboy boots
• Ray-Ban RB3025 Aviator Large (001/62) gold-framed sunglasses with green lenses
• Orfina Porsche Design Chronograph 1 watch with gunmetal PVD-coated stainless steel case, black dial (with three sub-dials and day/date windows), and gunmetal PVD-coated stainless steel link bracelet

Shop the jacket:

Nomex CWU Modified 36P Lightweight Jacket Z26P005 from Cockpit USA ($630)

“Movie Hero” CWU-36/P Flight Jacket Z24A103 from Cockpit USA ($470)

Prices and availability current as of August 18, 2023.

Shop the jeans:

Vince Exclusive DM 01 The Straight Jeans

Price and availability current as of August 18, 2023.

Shop the boots:

Steve Madden Reyy Cowboy Boots ($89.99)

• Lucchese Men's Burnished Ranch Hand Calf Cowboy Boots ($895 at Pinto Ranch)
• Steve Martin Reyy Brown Leather Cowboy Boots ($89.99 at Steve Madden) (pictured above)
• Tecovas The Cartwright ($275 at Tecovas)

Prices and availability current as of August 18, 2023.

Shop the sunglasses:

Ray-Ban RB3025 Aviator Classic

• Amazon ($102.09)
• Ray-Ban ($171)

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If you liked the unbranded look of Mav's screen-worn Ray-Bans—or the idea of sunglasses that cost around the same as a decent lunch—there are a variety of tested-and-true low-budget aviators out there like this:

SOJOS Aviator

• Amazon ($14.99)

Prices and availability current as of August 18, 2023.

Shop the watch:

Porsche Design Chronograph 1

• New 2022 reissue: Porsche Design, $9,650
• Secondhand models found on eBay (like this one!) may be the best option for many, both for affordability and getting a classic iteration not unlike Mav himself is implied to be wearing in Top Gun: Maverick

Price and availability current as of August 18, 2023.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

You can also check out these great articles and interviews that were used to source some of the information:

• The Daily Beast — “Will ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Revive Our Lust for Aviator Shades?” by Helen Holmes
• From Tailors With Love — “Marlene Stewart talks Top Gun Maverick | #159”
• Gold Derby — “Tom Cruise is ‘very demanding’ but is ‘100 percent present’” by Ray Richmond and Rob Licuria
• GQ UK — “Tom Cruise wore his original Top Gun watch in Top Gun: Maverick” by Jack King
• Men’s Health — “Here’s How to Buy Tom Cruise’s Iconic Shades From “Top Gun: Maverick”” by John Thompson
• Rolling Stone — “Flying by the Seat of Tom Cruise’s Pants: Where to Get Maverick’s Jeans from ‘Top Gun’” by Oscar Hartzog

The Quote

I’m not a teacher, I’m a fighter pilot. A Naval Aviator.

The post Top Gun: Maverick — CWU Flight Jacket and Jeans appeared first on BAMF Style.

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV (1985)

Vitals

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, two-time heavyweight world champion boxer

Las Vegas, Fall 1985

Film: Rocky IV
Release Date: November 27, 1985
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Costume Designer: Tom Bronson

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

If he dies, he dies.

Cold-hearted Russian boxing champion and Soviet Army captain Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) has little remorse for the brutal clobbering he delivers to Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) during their exhibition fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. As Apollo indeed dies in the arms of his respected rival-turned-friend Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), Rocky takes it upon himself to avenge his fallen friend… and essentially defend the very concept of American freedom and all things red, white, and blue.

After the groundbreaking global success of Rocky (1976) propelled Stallone to stardom, the actor-and-writer added directing to his plate, making his debut with the 1940s-set Paradise Alley (1978) which—like Rocky—he also wrote and starred in. He continued feeding the franchise that made him, writing, directing, and starring in three Rocky sequels throughout the 1980s. (Stallone would not direct the 1990 sequel, Rocky V, though he did direct the 2006 continuation Rocky Balboa.)

The third highest-grossing movie of 1985, Rocky IV has remained a pop culture touchstone of the decade’s patriotic excess, as illustrated during the Creed vs. Drago match, where the flag-bedecked Apollo made his entrance surrounded by showgirls and James Brown singing “Living in America” while his three trainers—Rocky, Duke (Tony Burton), and Paulie (Burt Young) observe in their red, white, and blue Hugo Boss sweatshirts.

What’d He Wear?

Did Rocky, Duke, and Paulie all go to Hugo Boss together and decide to get matching sweatshirts? Who decided who would wear which color? I know Stallone released an improved director’s cut of Rocky IV in 2021, but I understand it still failed to answer these burning questions. (Luckily, Rocky wearing the white sweatshirt makes it all the more dramatic when it gets stained with Apollo’s blood while cradling his dying friend. I doubt this would have had the same effect had he been wearing the red or blue!)

Paulie, Duke, and Rocky present a unified patriotism in their red, white, and blue—or, in this order, blue, red, and white.

These Hugo Boss Sports pullover sweatshirts are made of 100% cotton, structured with a zip-up funnel neck that could be turned up against the neck and tightened with a drawstring, though Rocky, Duke, and Paulie wear theirs all unzipped and folded down like a shirt collar. (Though these are often described as a “quarter-zip”, the body of the shirt itself is more of a full crew-neck, with the zip-up portion relegated only to the neck.) The zippers and drawstrings are all white, regardless of the sweatshirt color.

The sweatshirt structure isn’t necessarily raglan-sleeved, though the shoulder pieces extend down onto the bicep, where they are perpendicular to a banded piece around each arm. The sleeve-ends and hem are narrowly ribbed, and straight-entry hand pockets are positioned low along each side seam. “BOSS” is printed in an arc across the chest, above the smaller and more spaced out “HUGO BOSS”, leaving no doubt as to who made the garment. Rocky’s sweatshirt features the text in navy-blue, with the large “BOSS” logo letters bordered in red.

One of Stallone’s screen-worn Boss sweatshirts was listed on eBay earlier in 2023, selling for a whopping $75,000! Fans of the shirt may be able to find less expensive versions (that didn’t appear on screen!) on sites like eBay and Grailed.

Rocky continues wearing the short gold necklace with the boxing glove pendant that first appeared in Rocky III (1982), though it went unexplained until Rocky V (1990), depicted as a gift from Rocky’s trainer Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), who explained that it had one of real-life boxer Rocky Marciano’s cufflinks.

According to a story Stallone shared in a Heritage Auctions listing for the screen-worn necklace, it actually did once belong to Marciano, who had given the pendant to Rat Pack comedian Joey Bishop, who—in turn—gifted it to Stallone in the late 1970s after being impressed by the first Rocky.

When not actively exercising or dressing in a suit and tie, Rocky typically spends Rocky IV wearing black gabardine double reverse-pleated trousers with on-seam side pockets, no back pockets, and straight-cut legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

Rocky’s flat-soled athletic sneakers are all black, save for a light-gray stripe that extends around the back of the heel from behind each lace panel. The plain-toe uppers are black leather, with black laces tied through five black-finished eyelets.

How to Get the Look

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky and the rest of Apollo’s training squad keep their outside-the-ring style appropriately athletic and simple, anchored by Boss-branded sweatshirts and black trousers.

• White cotton Hugo Boss pullover sweatshirt with zip-up funnel neck (with drawstring), banded biceps, on-seam side pockets, and narrowly ribbed cuffs and hem
• Black gabardine double reverse-pleated straight-leg trousers with straight/on-seam side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather sneakers with light-gray rear stripe
• Gold necklace with boxing glove pendant

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The post The Rocky IV Hugo Boss Sweatshirt appeared first on BAMF Style.

Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Vitals

Al Pacino as Sonny Wortzik, desperate Army veteran-turned-bank robber

Brooklyn, Summer 1972

Film: Dog Day Afternoon
Release Date: September 21, 1975
Director: Sidney Lumet
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

51 years ago yesterday on August 22, 1972, Brooklyn was abuzz with activity as John “Sonny” Wojtowicz and Salvatore “Sal” Naturile attempted to rob a Gravesend branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank. Having expected up to $200,000 to be delivered that morning, the two hapless heisters had their information wrong—the money had actually been removed from the branch that morning.

After their accomplice Robert “Bobby” Westenberg successfully got away, Sonny and Sal remained inside the bank with a fraction of the money they expected to steal and a handful of bank employees that they took hostage once they learned that the police had surrounded the bank… and what started as a dog day afternoon descended into 14 hours of chaos.

The real John “Sonny” Wojtowicz, shouting at police from outside the Brooklyn branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank he attempted to rob on August 22, 1972. Photo by Dan Cronin/New York Daily News.

Exactly one month later, Life magazine published P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore’s feature story “The Boys in the Bank” that detailed the incident. The story was then adapted by screenwriter Frank Pierson and director Sidney Lumet into Dog Day Afternoon, one of the best movies of the ’70s—if not of all time. Echoing Kluge and Moore comparing Wojtowicz’s “broken-faced good looks” to Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman, Pacino was reunited with The Godfather cast-mate John Cazale to play Sonny and Sal, respectively. (Interestingly, Vibeke Venema reported for BBC News that the robbers had actually watched The Godfather for inspiration earlier that day, passing a note to the cashier that read “This is an offer you can’t refuse.” This wasn’t the only Mafia connection to the robbery, as columnist Arthur Bell claimed in The Village Voice that the robbery was actually masterminded by the Gambino crime family.)

After Dog Day Afternoon was released in 1975, the real Sonny—then in the midst of serving five years of his 20-year sentence at USP Lewisberg—wrote a letter to the New York Times, clarifying that the story as presented on screen was only about 30% accurate (“a good comedy, but I did not think it was funny because it was about me and my loved ones”), though he had nothing but praise for the performances of Al Pacino as his fictionalized counterpart and Chris Sarandon as Leon. Leon was based on Elizabeth Eden, Wojtowicz’s romantic partner whose sex-reassignment operation he hoped to fund with his share of the proceeds.

Following a series of vignettes establishing a late summer day in New York set to Elton John’s roots rock track “Amoreena”, Dog Day Afternoon presents Sonny’s plan going awry almost immediately, as their young accomplice Stevie (Gary Springer) senses “really bad vibes” and ditches the job. Once the two remaining robbers actually make their way into the vault, there’s only $1,100 to steal as, as in real life, the expected fortune had already been picked up by armored truck. To make up for this, Sonny settles for stealing travelers’ checks and burns the bank register to disguise the source… but the subsequent smoke only serves to signal those outside the bank that something is wrong inside.

“Who do you think you’re dealin’ with, a fuckin’ idiot here?” Sonny repeatedly asks during his phone negotiations with cops like NYPD Detective-Sergeant Eugene Moretti (a terrific Charles Durning), but, uh, he doesn’t really give a convincing case otherwise. Still, the former bank employee Sonny knows just enough to be sure of himself, recognizing the bankers’ sly attempts to foil the robbery, like recognizing the “spark key” to open the vault, marked decoy money, and the alarms triggered at each till. One wonders if he may have found more success if he had selected partners on the same level, unlike Stevie who abandons the job immediately or the dangerously skittish Sal, whose sense of geography is even worse than his nerves.

Sonny: Is there any special country you wanna go to?
Sal: Wyoming.
Sonny: No, Wyoming is not a country.

What’d He Wear?

Dog Day Afternoon was a professional reunion for Anna Hill Johnstone, who had previously dressed Al Pacino and John Cazale in The Godfather and had collaborated with Pacino and director Sidney Lumet on Serpico. The previous year, she had also designed costumes for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, also about a widely publicized (though fictional) hostage situation in contemporary New York City.

As the primary robbers in the bank, Sonny and Sal wear suits and ties—a uniform of sorts, perhaps a callback to the “golden age” of bank robbery (if there ever was one) during the early 1930s when outlaws like John Dillinger and “Pretty Boy” Floyd were considered by some to be Depression-era folk heroes while they held up banks across the midwest in suits and straw hats. (Their presumed lookout Stevie is dressed much less formally in a ribbed-knit T-shirt and sage-green Levi’s corduroys.)

In a fit that suggests something purchased off-the-rack, Sonny’s suit presents an overall brown appearance, woven in a brown-and-black herringbone separated by tonal stripes created by a russet-colored horseshoe-shaped repeating motif.

Sonny and Sal may not be mannered enough to not commit an armed robbery, but at least they strive for sartorial decorum while doing so.

The characteristics of Sonny’s suit are consistent with 1970s trends, including the jacket’s long double vents and wide notch lapels, finished with sporty swelled edges. The two-button jacket otherwise follows the traditional single-breasted jacket pattern, with a welted breast pocket and straight flapped hip pockets—the rectangular flaps also finished with swelled edges.

The suit’s matching trousers have an appropriately long rise to Pacino’s natural waist, where they’re held up by a wide black leather belt that closes through a curved gold-toned single-prong buckle. They also have a zip-fly, slanted front pockets, and jetted back pockets with a button to close through the left. The then-fashionably flared bottoms are plain-hemmed.

“ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA!”

Sonny’s ecru poplin shirt coordinates with the warm, brown tones of his suit. Possibly made from either 100% cotton or a cotton/polyester blend (as was increasingly popular for off-the-rack shirts of this era), the shirt follows 1970s trends with its long point collar as well as a front placket, breast pocket, and single-button cuffs that Sonny keeps unbuttoned to effectively show Moretti that he’s literally “got nothin’ up my sleeves” as they negotiate.

As the stress compounds, Sonny typically greets his police negotiators—and the enthusiastic crowd—outside the bank in his shirt-sleeves.

Sonny’s red tie is “downhill”-striped in woven ochre and white stripes that alternate between a broken stripe consisting of small boxes and a much wider stripe consisting of medallion-woven squares.

As he desperately attempts to control the situation, Sonny slides across the bank floor in his black leather square-toed boots. These mid-calf boots have zippers along the inside and hard rubber outsoles with slightly raised heels.

A continuity error shows Pacino’s stunt double wearing black leather lace-up low shoes and black socks instead during the brief scene when Maria’s boyfriend tackles Sonny outside the bank. Though lace-up shoes are more conventional with suits and ties, boots like Sonny wears became increasingly popular through the late 1960s and ’70s as an edgier alternative.

Sal and Sonny slump to the floor as they realize their situation.

Sonny wears a pair of rings and a watch. The rounded yellow-gold ring on his left ring finger appears to be a traditional wedding band, likely symbolizing his first wedding to Angie (Susan Peretz). On his right index finger—perhaps significantly, his trigger finger—he wears a silver ring with squared edges, perhaps representing his marriage with Leon, and thus his motive for the robbery.

Secured by a smooth black leather strap to his left wrist, Sonny wears a simple stainless steel dress watch, similar to many produced at the time by watchmakers of all price points from Timex to Omega. The round silver dial has non-numeric hour indices comprised of one or two straight lines (depending on the hour) and no date window.

Poor Sonny never realized how stressful bank robbery could be!

After the bank’s air conditioning is shut off, Sonny spends much of the final act with his shirt untucked and unbuttoned, showing the white cotton V-neck short-sleeved undershirt that resembles what John Wojtowicz was photographed wearing during the real-life incident, albeit without a shirt over it.

As the situation extends past midnight, a suspicious and sweaty Sonny emerges from the bank to check out the stretch bus hired to take him to the airport.

The Guns

I’m a Catholic, and I don’t wanna hurt anybody, you understand?

Sonny may not want to hurt anybody, but a bank robber is a bank robber, and firearms have been an expected tool of their trade since Jesse James’ gang stormed the Clay County Savings Association in 1866. As he did in real life, Sonny enters the bank with a long gift box… which he clumsily breaks away with dramatic speed to reveal an M1 Carbine.

“Freeze! Nobody move!”

The gas-operated, semi-automatic M1 Carbine was designed in response to the U.S. Army Ordinance Department’s request for a lighter-weight alternative to the M1 Garand that could be fielded by support troops. Though the weapon had been in development for several years before the United States entered World War II, it wasn’t until July 1942 that the first M1 Carbines were completed and delivered, thanks to the combined efforts of a team of Winchester engineers that included Edwin Puglsey, William C. Roemer, Cliff Warner, and David Marshall Williams—the latter a colorful ex-moonshiner and convicted murderer whose participation in the weapon’s design was included in the 1952 biopic Carbine Williams starring James Stewart.

The Complete World Encyclopedia of Guns quotes a veteran who described the M1 Carbine as “one of the most appealing of weapons, light, handy, easy to shoot, and totally useless over 200 yards since it fired a pistol bullet.”

Winchester introduced the proprietary .30 Carbine cartridge in tandem with the M1 Carbine, essentially a rimless redesign of the aging .32 Winchester Self-Loading cartridge that had been used in a series of turn-of-the-century rifles. Winchester took advantage in the mechanical advances in the decades since the .32 WSL was introduced, transforming the .30 Carbine into a much faster and more powerful round—though still only about one-third as powerful as the .30-06 Springfield ammunition in the contemporary M1 Garand battle rifle it was supplementing.

More than six million M1 Carbines were built during the war by a bevy of military contractors, including Winchester, IBM, the Underwood Typewriter Company, and the Inland Division of General Motors, which manufactured nearly three million. All followed the same specifications, with a walnut stock and a total length of 35.6 inches, including a barrel just under 18 inches long. The carbines fed from either 15-round box magazines or the curved “banana clip” 30-round magazines that entered service in October 1944 for the select-fire M2 Carbine variant. These extended 30-round magazines soon became standard for both M1 and M2 Carbines, as seen in use by some NYPD officers surrounding the bank in Dog Day Afternoon, though Sonny uses the straight 15-round magazine.

As a Vietnam War veteran, Sonny’s M1 Carbine may have been a relic from his Army service, though these had been generally phased out by the M16 by the time most American troops were sent to Vietnam. He only uses it to fire one shot throughout the movie, otherwise handing it off to Sal or even showing spunky teller Miriam (Marcia Jean Kurtz) how to drill with it.

When “really bad vibes” scare Stevie away from participating, he hands Sonny the keys to their ’69 Dodge sedan as well as the Colt Official Police revolver he’d been tasked to point at the guard. At the time, the Official Police and the Smith & Wesson Model 10 were the venerable .38 Special service revolvers authorized for NYPD officers, as depicted by the many of both seen in Dog Day Afternoon.

Colt introduced the carbon steel-framed Official Police in 1927 as an improvement upon their earlier Colt Army Special, rebranded to appeal to the law enforcement market. With its traditional double-action operation, barrel lengths of 4, 5, and 6 inches, and six-round cylinder loaded with .38 Special ammunition, it and the Smith & Wesson Model 10 were the reigning police revolvers across the United States for most of the 20th century until many law enforcement departments adopted higher-capacity semi-automatic pistols instead of revolvers.

Still holding his M1 Carbine, Sonny tucks Stevie’s Colt revolver into his waistband.

I’ve read that Dog Day Afternoon was halfway accurate with depicting the bandits’ weaponry, as the trio of weapons—all purchased by John Wojtowicz—included a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver, a .303 British sporterized Lee-Enfield rifle, and a 12-gauge Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun.

How to Get the Look

Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

In his trendy suit and tie, Sonny dresses for business for his trip to the bank, though he’s eventually down to just an unbuttoned, untucked shirt with his undershirt and trousers as the figurative and literal heat turns up through the day. (Al Pacino would wear another brown patterned suit when he gets revenge 20 years later by turning up the heat against another set of bank robbers.)

• Brown-and-black herringbone (with russet horseshoe-woven stripes) suit:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with wide notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 2-button cuffs, and long double vents
  • Flat-front trousers with belt loops, zip-fly, slanted front pockets, jetted back pockets (with button-through left), and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Ecru poplin shirt with long point collar, front placket, breast pocket, and single-button cuffs
• Red tie with ochre-and-white woven medallion box stripes
• Black wide leather belt with gold-toned curved single-prong buckle
• Black leather mid-calf boots with inside zips
• Silver squared-edge index-finger ring
• Yellow-gold wedding band
• Stainless steel dress watch with silver dial (with non-numeric hour indices) on black leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

The guy who kills me… I hope he does it because he hates my guts, not because it’s his job.

The post Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon appeared first on BAMF Style.

Edward Fox in The Day of the Jackal (1973)

Vitals

Edward Fox as “The Jackal”, mysterious professional assassin

Europe, Summer 1963

Film: The Day of the Jackal
Release Date: May 16, 1973
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Costume Design: Joan Bridge, Rosine Delamare, and Elizabeth Haffenden

Background

The Day of the Jackal culminated 60 years ago today on August 25, 1963 in Paris, commemorating the liberation of Paris from Nazi Germany during World War II. Frederick Forsyth’s excellent 1971 novel The Day of the Jackal was hardly two years old before it was adapted for the screen by screenwriter Kenneth Ross and director Fred Zinnemann, who reportedly wanted to make the film after reading Forsyth’s yet-unpublished manuscript all in one night.

Zinnemann didn’t want a recognizable major star to distract from the intrigue on screen, and—despite Universal Studios pushing for Jack Nicholson—cast Edward Fox as the eponymous “Jackal”, whose codename is determined in the book after he was “speaking of hunting” with his handlers. In addition to the film benefiting from faithfully following Forysth’s narrative and structure, a highlight is Fox’s performance as the enigmatic and oft-elegantly dressed assassin, whose demeanor can shift from affable to icily dangerous as needed.

The Jackal’s reputation precedes him, as the French far-right terrorist organization O.A.S. is seeking an unaffiliated assassin to kill Charles de Gaulle, then the President of France whose war hero reputation had been tarnished in the eyes of some—including the O.A.S.—for the way he ended the Algerian War of Independence. The early 1960s had seen a wave of real-life political assassinations, including Patrice Lumumba and Rafael Trujillo, with The Day of the Jackal alluding to its titular hitman’s participation in these notorious killings.

“One Englishman did all these jobs?” asks the O.A.S. treasurer André Casson (Denis Carey), as we cut to the fair-haired Fox deplaning in Vienna on June 15, 1963. By his manner, his dress, and his deprecating smile, he could be any regular businessman or well-dressed tourist.

While the O.A.S. leadership doesn’t ask the Jackal his strengths or weaknesses, they do follow the typical job interview format by inquiring about his salary expectations… then balking at the figure he quotes.

Colonel Marc Rodin (Eric Porter) and his two lieutenants begin the Jackal’s unconventional interview by making their “patriotic” case against de Gaulle, but the Englishman sitting before them doesn’t care about Algeria, the pieds-noirs, or any idealistic cause—all he cares about is being paid. While I wouldn’t necessarily laud his tactics on LinkedIn, the Jackal turns the conversation into one of the most effective job interviews of all time, convincing the O.A.S. that their organization is “so riddled with informants” that they need an outsider for such a high-profile assassination. And the outsider needs to be him. And he needs to be paid half a million dollars:

Considering you expect to France in returned, I’d have thought it a reasonable price. If you can’t manage it, then there’s nothing more to be said.

Once the payment terms are agreed upon, the assassin lays out his conditions—including that the trio of O.A.S. leaders remain in hiding until the job is completed, not share any details of the assignment with anyone else (at all!), and that they can rob their own banks to raise the funds to hire him.

Colonel Rodin: One last thing… what code name will you use?
The Jackal: Why not “The Jackal”?
Colonel Rodin: Why not.

After the streak of bank robberies that enrage the French government, the O.A.S. finally has enough to fund the Jackal’s mission, so he beings researching de Gaulle’s movements and personality while also collecting the tools and cover identities he needs for the job. For the latter, he swipes a passport from bespectacled Danish tourist Per Lundquist at London Airport, and he stakes out a cemetery to steal the identity of Paul Oliver Duggan, who died in 1931 at the age of two and would be approximately the Jackal’s age in 1963.

The Jackal spends the following month traveling through Europe to prepare his cover identity documentation, custom-made weapon, and the car which he’ll use to ingeniously transport it across the well-guarded borders. In Genoa, he works with the prolific underground gunsmith Gozzi (Cyril Cusack) on the design for a one-of-a-kind bolt-action single-shot sniper rifle. Across the city, he also meets with a shady forger (Ronald Pickup) who makes the ill-advised decision to attempt extorting additional fees from his mysterious client.

Although the attempts on his life have understandably spooked de Gaulle into hiding, the Jackal knows enough from his research to know that the general’s pride would forbid him from missing the August 25th celebration of Liberation Day—providing the perfect, if only, opportunity for the Jackal to take his “once-in-a-lifetime” shot.

What’d He Wear?

When we meet the Jackal in Vienna, he’s dressed in an elegant tan herringbone suit, with an iridescent sheen that suggests Solaro cloth. According to Henry A. Davidsen, this worsted wool fabric was invented in 1907 by Louis Westenra Sambonn of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who hoped it could be used for British military uniforms to protect its wearers from UV rays. “As it’s simply wool, it obviously does nothing to protect against UV rays,” the Davidsen site concludes. “Regardless, Solaro made its way into civilian closets. Smith Woolens has been the exclusive manufacturer of Solaro since 1931, though there are other cloth mills that produce a nearly identical product of comparable quality.”

“Considering the particular chromatic characteristics, it is a garment to show off only during the during the months from May to September: therefore spring and summer are the ideal time to wear it to the fullest,” determines the Laniera Italia website. “The seasonal features of the suit are also reflected in the choice of fabrics used for making it: cotton and light wool.”

Solaro cloth is typically a light shade of brown, consistent with the khaki uniforms it had been originally intended for. The Jackal’s suit is no exception.

The Jackal may be on his way to be interviewed by the O.A.S., but this shot frames him perfectly to take over Waystar Royco if the whole international assassin thing doesn’t work out.

The Jackal’s single-breasted suit jacket has notch lapels that roll to a single-button closure, neatly balancing Edward Fox’s 5’8″ stature by not adding rows of buttons that could make him look shorter. The concave-shaped pagoda shoulders curve out to heavily roped sleeveheads, and the sleeves are finished with three-button cuffs.

The jacket fashionably applies aspects of hacking jackets—specifically the long single vent and hip pockets that slant dramatically rearward, though these pockets are jetted rather than flapped as seen on traditional equestrian jackets (as this suit is clearly not meant for horseback riding). The jacket also has a welted breast pocket, which the Jackal wears sans kerchief.

In a rakish touch that recalls the sartorial philosophy of “studied carelessness” known as sprezzatura, the Jackal typically wears his tie with the rear tail slightly longer than the front blade.

Like all of the Jackal’s trousers, the suit’s matching trousers are tailored perfectly to fit Edward Fox, with button-tab side adjusters in lieu of a belt or other suspension system. These flat-front trousers have slightly slanted side pockets, no back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms.

The Jackal’s brown leather shoes appear to be derby-laced. He wears them with tan cotton lisle socks that continue the leg-line of his trousers into his shoes.

The Jackal’s cool tan high-twist cotton shirt coordinates with his suit, a shade lighter than the overall color presented by the two-color herringbone suiting. The Jackal’s choice to wear a button-down shirt with a suit and tie was typically accepted in the United States than his native England, further complicating the matter of his national identity that stymies Scotland Yard by film’s end. The shirt has a button-down collar, front placket, and button cuffs.

Both times that the Jackal prominently wears this full suit—in Vienna on June 15th then back in Genoa on August 14th—he also wears this shirt and a maroon tie, detailed with small woven beige pin-dots that echo the shade of his suit and shirt. It may be perhaps intentional that the Jackal’s neutral clothing is broken up only by this streak of blood-red fabric, suggesting the image of the blood he spills via his dangerous profession.

Note how the tie’s pin-dots pick up the tan shades present in his suit and shirt.

Throughout The Day of the Jackal, the Jackal wears a classically oriented yellow-gold dress watch secured to a brown leather strap. The round white or off-white dial features an outer ring and gilt Arabic numeral hour indices.

While staking out London Airport and eventually choosing to follow Per Lundquist to purloin his passport, the Jackal orphans this herringbone suit jacket with a silky cream-colored shirt with a covered front fly, double (French) cuffs, and a point collar he wears open at the neck to show a mustard leaf-printed silk day cravat knotted around his neck.

Following this airport scene, wearing neutral-toned shirts and trousers with colorful day cravats would become the Jackal’s most frequent dress code, though he swaps out this herringbone suit jacket with a slightly heavier camel sports coat.

The movie’s costume design departs significantly from how Frederick Forsyth describes the Jackal’s clothing in his novel; for instance, Forsyth describes no more than one of the Jackal’s “elegant suede boot” after his interview with Colonel Rodin and the fact that he wears a “check suit and dark glasses” on the night he kills the opportunistic forger.

The Gun

At the beginning of August, the Jackal had met with Genoan gunsmith Gozzi to construct the custom rifle he would need for the de Gaulle assassination, with specifcations that would make it easy to smuggle but accurate and powerful enough to make his single shot count.

The Jackal: You think you can do it?
Gozzi: Certainly! I can take an existing gun, make the modifications.
The Jackal: Must be very light in weight, and it must have a short barrel.
Gozzi: A short barrel… yes, that’s a pity.
The Jackal: And lastly, there must be a silencer and, of course, a telescopic sight.
Gozzi: Over what range will you fire?
The Jackal: I’m not sure yet, but probably not more than 400 feet.
Gozzi: Will the gentleman be moving?
The Jackal: Stationary.
Gozzi: Will you go for a head shot or a chest shot?
The Jackal: Probably head.
Gozzi: And what about the chance of a second shot?
The Jackal: I might get the chance, but I doubt it. In any event, I’ll need a silencer to escape.
Gozzi: In that case, you better have explosive bullets. Yes, I can prepare a handful for you along with the gun.
The Jackal: Glycerin or mercury?
Gozzi: Oh, mercury, I think. Much cleaner.

The Jackal then mitigates Gozzi’s design duties by presenting his own blueprints, which would allow it to be concealed in a series of hollow aluminum tubes to evade customs. When the Jackal returns in two weeks to collect the weapon, Gozzi explains that he used stronger stainless steel tubes than the requested aluminum. IMFDB users have identified the bullets it fires as .22 Magnum.

The Jackal inspects the unique single-shot rifle that Gozzi constructed for him, built to his desired specifications.

While the scene of him executing Gozzi was scripted but cut, we do follow the Jackal as he takes the gunsmith’s suggestion to test his new product in the Montemurro Forest.

How to Get the Look

Edward Fox in The Day of the Jackal (1973)

The Jackal establishes his warm, neutral palette from the start when he greets his new employers in an elegant yet uniquely detailed suit with its shiny cloth, slanted pockets, and blend of English, American, and Italian tailoring influences.

• Tan herringbone-woven solaro worsted wool suit:
  • Single-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and long single vent
  • Flat-front trousers with button-tab side adjusters, slanted side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Ecru cotton shirt with button-down collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Maroon polka-dotted tie
• Brown leather derby shoes
• Tan cotton lisle socks
• Yellow-gold wristwatch with round champagne dial on brown leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and read Frederick Forsyth’s thrilling 1971 novel.

The post The Day of the Jackal: Edward Fox’s Tan Herringbone Suit appeared first on BAMF Style.

Richard Attenborough in The Great Escape (1963)

Vitals

Richard Attenborough as Roger Bartlett, aka “Big X”, RAF Squadron Leader and escape artist

Sagan-Silesia (now Żagań, Poland), Spring 1944

Film: The Great Escape
Release Date: July 4, 1963
Director: John Sturges
Wardrobe Credit: Bert Henrikson

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today would have been the 100th birthday of English actor and director Richard Attenborough, born August 29, 1923 in Cambridge. One of this prolific stage and screen actor’s best-known roles was leading the ensemble cast of The Great Escape (1963) as Roger Bartlett, aka “Big X”, the Royal Air Force officer who organized the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III.

Bartlett was based on real-life RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, whose birthday was only one day after (and 13 years before) the actor who portrayed him—born August 30, 1910 in Springs, Transvaal, South Africa. Bushell pursued his secondary education in England, first at Wellington College before studying law at Cambridge, where the athletic scholar distinguished himself as a champion skier. A skiing accident scarred Bushell’s left eye for the rest of his life, represented in The Great Escape by a scar painted over Richard Attenborough’s opposite eye as the fictionalized Roger Bartlett.

“He was a big, tempestuous man with broad shoulders and the most chilling, pale-blue eyes I ever saw,” Paul Brickhill described Bushell in his excellent 1950 chronicle The Great Escape, which formed the basis for the film of the same name. “After it had been sewn up, the corner of his eye drooped permanently, and the effect on his look was strangely sinister and brooding.”

The adventurous Bushell yearned to fly and was commissioned as a Royal Air Force officer in 1932. He continued practicing law, defending fellow RAF fliers including Paddy Byrne, with whom he would eventually be imprisoned at Stalag Luft III. After England entered World War II, Bushell was given command of No. 92 Squadron and promoted to Squadron Leader (OF-3). In May 1940, Bushell was leading his squadron against their first enemy engagement and damaged two German planes before he himself was shot down, crash-landing his Supermarine Spitfire fighter in occupied France. The downed Bushell was quickly captured by the Germans and transferred into a prisoner-of-war camp for Allied airmen. “If the Germans had realized what a troublesome man they had caught, they would possibly have shot him then,” Brickhill editoralized.

After his participation in two escapes, Bushell was transferred to Stalag Luft III in Lower Silesia (now Poland), where he led escape operations, including the construction of three tunnels—nicknamed Tom, Dick, and Harry. On the evening of March 24, 1944, Bushell was one of the 76 airmen who escaped from the camp. Though all but three successful escapees were recaptured within days, the escape served to effectively rattle Nazi German leadership, who retaliated by murdering fifty of the recaptured airmen, including Squadron Leader Bushell. His gravestone is inscribed:

A LEADER OF MEN. HE ACHIEVED MUCH, LOVED ENGLAND AND SERVED HER TO THE END

The real Roger Bushell (1910-1944), Squadron Leader, No. 92 Squadron RAF.

In addition to Richard Attenborough’s birthday being only a day apart from Bushell’s, the actor was born at Cambridge, where Bushell studied law in the early 1930s. Both men served in the RAF during World War II, when Sergeant Attenborough the future filmmaker was seconded to the newly formed Royal Air Force Film Production Unit, filming from the rear gunner’s position to record footage for propaganda films.

As the war was ending, Attenborough began his career on stage and screen, considered the sixth most popular British actor (by box office standards) by the end of the 1940s. A new chapter of his career began in 1952 when he originated the role of Detective-Sergeant Trotter in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. He expanded to directing with Oh! What a Lovely War in 1969 and received the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director for his 1982 epic Gandhi. Younger audiences may best recognize Attenborough as the dinosaur park-building visionary John Hammond in Jurassic Park (1993) or as Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street (1994). Attenborough died five days before his 91st birthday on August 24, 2014.

What’d He Wear?

Paul Brickhill wrote that the real Squadron Leader Bushell arrived in camp wearing “tattered old battle dress.” Indeed, while Attenborough’s costume for most of The Great Escape is the same Commonwealth-issued battle dress as worn by many of his fellow officers, Roger Bartlett’s elevated position is visually communicated to audiences by his authoritative trench coat—a garment with a historical provenance deeply rooted in British military history.

While acclimating to their first day at Stalag Luft III, the Allied airmen are energized by the later arrival of Roger Bartlett, clad in a trench coat over his RAF war service dress uniform as the manacled officer is escorted into the commandant’s office.

Through the latter half of the 19th century, British outfitters Aquascutum and Burberry each independently arrived at similar designs for what would become known as the trench coat, popularized in the water-resistant gabardine fabric invented by Thomas Burberry in 1879. It was Burberry who submitted a British Army officer’s raincoat design to the War Office in 1901, resulting in its subsequent adoption as optional outerwear. During World War I, the coat was standardized with shoulder epaulets for rank insignia and D-rings around the belt for attaching equipment. The weatherproof garment’s full coverage and protection during trench warfare resulted in becoming commonly known as a “trench coat”.

Though modern marketers seem to apply the nomenclature to any khaki-shaded raincoat, a true trench coat is defined by a double-breasted front with broad lapels, a fully belted waist, and system of storm flaps that redirect rainwater from soaking the wearer. The sleeves are typically of the raglan style, detailed with double-layered epaulets over the shoulders.

Bartlett’s beige gabardine trench coat follows this traditional design, with straight storm flaps across the front and back its ten-button front arranged in two straight columns of five buttons. The sleeves are finished with belted cuffs to be tightened over the wrists, and the large pockets positioned below the belt have button-through closures—all designed to keep the elements out. Bartlett’s knee-length coat has the conventional belted waist, though he wears it rakishly tied like a sash rather than fastened through the buckle.

Upon his arrival at Stalag Luft III, the trench-coated Roger Bartlett is greeted by Lieutenant-Commander Eric Ashley-Pitt (David McCallum) of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.

Bartlett’s peaked officer’s cap has the requisite soft blue-gray barathea wool cover and brim to match RAF service dress. Against the black mohair band, the cap boasts a black patent leather chinstrap and is distinguished by the gilt-wire RAF officers’ badge consisting of crown, eagle, and oak leaf embroidery.

Bartlett distinguishes himself in proper war service dress, the RAF’s equivalent of the “battledress” combat fatigues that the British Army had developed prior to World War II, dyed shades of dark blue to echo the air arm’s service uniforms rather than the khaki uniforms worn by ground forces.

The standard RAF war service dress was made of blue-gray wool serge, with the waist-length blouse fastened with a five-button fly front that officers often wore with the top few undone to show their shirt and tie. The waist hem features an extended self-belt that closes through a gunmetal-toned single-prong buckle on the right side. The two large box-pleated pockets are covered with scalloped flaps that each close through a single concealed button. The set-in sleeves have a single-button closure.

Looped around the blouse’s shoulder straps (epaulets), Bartlett wears his Squadron Leader (OF-3) rank insignia—two sky-blue stripes flanking a narrower sky-blue stripe, each against a black ground. He wears additional insignia over his left breast: the RAF’s padded “wings” patch designated for fliers and the purple-and-white “downhill” diagonal-striped ribbon representing the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), awarded for “an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy”.

As described by the The Angels Star Collection of Film & TV Costumes in a 2007 Bonhams auction listing, Attenborough’s screen-worn war service dress jacket was made by M. Berman Ltd. of 18 Irvine Street, Leicester Square, formerly a military tailor that eventually took over legendary costume house Nathans to become Bermans & Nathans, which would itself be acquired by Angels Costumes in 1992.

Unlike Ashley-Pitt and even hisown  second-in-command Flt Lt Alexander “Mac” MacDonald (Gordon Jackson) in their occasional battledress blouses over undershirts, Squadron Leader Bartlett regularly wears his RAF war service dress partially buttoned over his shirt and tie.

Many of Bartlett’s fellow airmen wear their uniforms in various states of dress, but Bartlett—aside from when he’s caught by surprise during the 4th of July celebration—always wears his RAF war service dress with its proper shirt and tie, a swath of black silk fastened in a proper four-in-hand and tightened to the neck. The light slate-gray cotton poplin shirt has a semi-spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs.

Bartlett wears flat-front trousers made of blue-gray serge to match his RAF war service dress blouse. While British Army and Royal Marines battle dress trousers were typically configured with map pockets or dressing pockets over the thighs, several patterns of RAF war service dress trousers were designed more aligned with the formality of No. 1 service uniform trousers, featuring only straight pockets along the side seams and sets of buttons along the waistband to be fastened to tabs concealed under the jacket hem to keep both pieces harmoniously in place when worn correctly.

The trousers have a straight military cut through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms. Bartlett wears his RAF-issued black leather mid-calf flying boots, though they appear neither to be the 1936 pattern characterized by a front buckle-strap over the top, nor the 1939 pattern with khaki vulcanized canvas shafts, nor are they the lace-up 1943 “Escape” pattern boots with black suede shafts.

Roger devises a test for a fellow airmen to determine if his eyesight is strong enough to avoid jeopardizing their escape.

Bartlett wears a plain stainless steel wristwatch with a round white dial, secured to his left wrist on what appears to be an olive-green leather strap. The simple design aligns with the 6B/159 specifications for RAF air crew watches as made at the time by Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, and Omega. He also wears a silver-toned signet ring with an engraved monogram on his left pinky.

While assisting with the tunnel work, Roger covers his shirt and tie by donning a navy-blue ribbed wool “woolly-pully” commando sweater. This long-sleeved jumper with its drawstring-corded boat-neck should be familiar to 007 fans as this style was famously recreated by N.Peal for Daniel Craig to wear during his final on-screen act as James Bond in No Time to Die (2021). The style originated among the British military during World War II, when they were first worn by the British Army, SAS, and RAF Bomber Command, so it makes sense that Bartlett would have access to one during his tenure at Stalag Luft III midway through the war.

Bartlett’s Escape Suit

For the escape, Bartlett continues wearing the pale-gray shirt and plain black tie from his uniform, as these are nondescript enough to be convincingly worn with civilian attire.

The most curious aspect of Bartlett’s wardrobe that he maintains are his black leather flying boots. Given the fliers’ impressive resources and abilities, a valuable escapee like Bartlett could have surely been outfitted with more convincing civilian footwear like derbies, oxfords, or even lace-up boots that would be fare less likely to arouse suspicion.

Mac and Bartlett help the sight-impaired Colin (Donald Pleasence) make his escape.

Bartlett dresses to escape in a navy chalk-striped wool two-piece business suit, comprised of a double-breasted jacket and trousers finished with turn-ups (cuffs). His charcoal knee-length overcoat would have been a pretty sophisticated garment for the camp’s clandestine tailors, styled with low-gorge notch lapels (with sporty swelled edges), a single-breasted covered-fly front, straight flapped hip pockets, single vent, and three-button cuffs.

Bartlett completes the look with a black felt short-brimmed trilby that has a narrow black grosgrain band.

Production photo of Richard Attenborough in The Great Escape, dressed in Bartlett’s civilian-minded escape gear.

In the book The Great Escape, Paul Brickhill recalled that the real Squadron Leader Bushell managed to smuggle in a gray civilian suit from a previous escape. A year and a half after his arrival, he wore it to attempt another breakout:

…Bushell, vivacious and bright-eyed, was talking gaily. A little too gaily. He looked very smart in the gray lounge suit that he’d saved from Prague, a black overcoat (an RAF coat dyed with boot polish), and a dark felt hat he had somehow scrounged through a contact. His papers described him as a French businessman, and, carrying a little attaché case filled with his kit, he really looked the part.

Go Big or Go Home

The Great Escape portrays Bartlett as a complex leader whose skill is often derived from his decisiveness. When Captain Hilts (Steve McQueen) informs Bartlett and his second-in-command MacDonald (Gordon Jackson) that the exit point of their tunnel is twenty feet short of what they anticipated, Mac begins questioning how it could have happened, but Bartlett—knowing that the escape is time-sensitive—quickly cuts him off with “What the hell difference does it make? It’s happened.”

Bartlett cutting off Mac’s less productive arguments gives the trio a few valuable seconds to think, during which time Hilts brainstorms the plan to use tugging on their rope to signal when escapees are free to emerge from the hole.

While most of us are lucky to face problems with much lesser stakes than the life-and-death nature of Bartlett’s great escape, I strive to follow his example of not overly questioning or complaining about circumstances beyond my control and merely dealing with the facts as they are.

Squadron Leader Bartlett’s Battledress

• Richard Attenborough in The Great Escape (1963)

  Blue-gray wool serge RAF war service dress jacket with 5-button fly front, gunmetal-toned waistband buckle-tab (right side), two box-pleated chest pockets (with concealed-button scallop-flaps), epaulettes/shoulder straps, and single-button cuffs

  • RAF Squadron Leader shoulder insignia
  • Royal Air Force (RAF) padded “wings” patch
  • Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) award ribbon
• Light slate-gray cotton poplin shirt with attached semi-spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Black silk tie
• Blue-gray wool serge flat front trousers with straight/on-seam side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather flying boots
• RAF peaked officer’s cap with blue-gray barathea wool cover and peak with gold-embroidered badge and black patent leather strap
• Tan gabardine knee-length trench coat with epaulettes/shoulder straps, hand pockets, waist sash, and belted cuffs
• Steel wristwatch with round white dial on drab leather strap
• Silver monogrammed signet pinky ring

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and read Paul Brickhill’s 1950 book that formed the basis for the movie.

The Quote

What my personal feelings are is of no importance. You appointed me Big X, and it’s my duty to harass, confound, and confuse the enemy to the best of my ability.

The post Richard Attenborough in The Great Escape appeared first on BAMF Style.

James Coburn in The Last of Sheila (1973)

Vitals

James Coburn as Clinton Greene, eccentric Hollywood producer

French Riviera, Late summer 1972

Film: The Last of Sheila
Release Date: June 14, 1973
Director: Herbert Ross
Costume Designer: Joel Schumacher

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

If you’re the sort of person who follows such sartorial conventions, Labor Day on Monday makes this the last weekend where it’s “acceptable” to wear white. Of course, there are many who take umbrage to being told what’s acceptable to wear and when—such as Clinton Greene, the flamboyant film producer at the center of The Last of Sheila‘s sun-bleached mystery. Clinton was played by James Coburn, the versatile Nebraska-born actor born 95 years ago today on August 31, 1928.

Recently widowed after his wife Sheila was killed during a mysterious hit-and-run accident near their Hollywood home, Clinton commemorates the one-year anniversary of Sheila’s death by inviting his six closest frenemies—most of whom had been present during the party at their home the night Sheila was killed—to spend a week playing high-stakes puzzles on his luxury yacht off the coast of southern France. “Who did this room, Parker Brothers?” Clinton is asked of the yacht’s game-laden parlor, but his plans involve more than sitting around playing Clue and crossword puzzles.

Clinton assigns each friend a secret piece of gossip (which, unbeknownst to them, actually applies to someone else in the group) and shares that each night will be spent trying to figure out who holds which clue. Of course, a dedicated trickster like Clinton informs the assembled guests that, if they’re smart enough, they can solve the mystery without even leaving their seats.

Released 50 years ago this summer, The Last of Sheila was co-written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, partially inspired by the parlor games and scavenger hunts that the duo would organize for their famous friends. Among these friends were actors Phyllis Newman, Lee Remick, and George Segal, talent agent Sue Mengers, and director Herb Ross—who would eventually helm The Last of Sheila.

The witty mystery had all but fallen off the cinematic radar until Rian Johnson declared it among his inspiration for Glass Onion, the 2022 sequel to his blockbuster mystery Knives Out. Both films balance comedy and suspense in a Mediterranean Sea full of red herrings and famous friends invited by their eccentric and enigmatic host to solve a mystery… which becomes an actual murder.

What’d He Wear?

Nearly every male cast member in The Last of Sheila gets his moment dressed in almost all-white summer style from head to toe, beginning with Clinton as he greets the guests aboard Sheila in his white sweatshirt, slacks, and sneakers.

Leaning into the nautical setting, Clinton’s white long-sleeved sweatshirt has an anchor stitched in white at mid-chest, though the shape is barely discernible due to the lack of contrast—making it considerably more subdued than how the mayor of Amity Island chose to emblazon himself with anchors in Jaws. The soft cotton sweatshirt has a ribbed crew-neck, ribbed hem, and ribbed cuffs at the end of each set-in sleeve.

Clinton breaks up the monochromatically bleached outfit with a navy paisley cotton neckerchief knotted at his throat, adding a rakishly nautical dash that may also serve its purpose to protect his sweatshirt’s bright white neckline from being compromised by sweat.

A sunny day calls for sunglasses, and Clinton projects his successful—if somewhat aloof—image in a pair of silver-framed aviator sunglasses, with a trapezoidal bridge and mirrored lenses.

When you’re wearing that much white, it’s smart to sport a pair of full-coverage sunglasses that protect your eyes.

White trousers are a seagoing staple for Clinton Greene’s friends, and the host sets an example on the first day. Clinton’s white cotton flat-front trousers have patch-style front pockets, similar to early 20th century U.S. Navy dungarees, and no back pockets. They’re held up by a wide black leather belt that closes through a hefty curved silver-toned single-prong buckle. The plain-hemmed bottoms are slightly flared, consistent with 1970s trends.

Most of the men also rotate through several pairs of Adidas sneakers. In this sequence, Clinton appears to wear the all-white Adidas Superstar model, characterized by its rubber “shell toe” cap. When introduced in 1969, the Superstar was the first low-top basketball shoe built with a leather upper. Though the siped rubber non-marking soles were intended for use on the basketball court, they would also provide excellent traction on the potentially wet decks of a yacht like Sheila.

Clinton jokes that the garish double room he’s assigned to Anthony (Ian McShane) and Alice (Raquel Welch) is decorated in the non-existent “Louis the 34th” style.

Under his shirt, Clinton wears a heavy yellow-gold chain-link necklace with a pendant that hangs low on his chest. His other piece of jewelry is a gold signet ring on his left pinky.

Strapped to a black leather band on his left wrist, Clinton wears a stainless steel Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark II chronograph, ref. ST 145.014. Just months after the Speedmaster became famous as the “Moonwatch” worn by NASA astronauts during the Apollo 11 lunar landing in July 1969, Omega introduced the Mark II as the first substantive Speedmaster redesign. The Mark II would only remain in production for three years, ending in 1972.

Powered by Omega’s calibre 861 movement that had been introduced the year prior, the 17-jewel Mark II can be visually differentiated by its barrel-shaped 41mm case as opposed to the slimmer, round case of the classic Speedmaster. The dial is otherwise identical to the conventional Speedmaster, with white luminous baton hands navigating a black dial featuring 30-minute, 12-hour, and second-counting sub-registers at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions, respectively, and the Speedmaster’s requisite tachymeter ring displayed beneath the flat mineral glass.

We all have that friend who’s an absolute tyrant when it comes to getting the group pic just right. (It me, I’m that friend.)

After the guests have gotten situated and changed clothes, Clinton greets them on deck with champagne and their game assignments. He too has changed his top, now wearing a white uniform-style shirt with long sleeves rolled up his forearms.

With its structured cut, two box-pleated chest pockets (with button-down flaps), and shoulder epaulets, the shirt resembles a uniform, though this safari-influenced style was also popular through the ’70s. Buttoned down to the body of the shirt at the neck, these pointed, ribbon-style epaulets are uniquely striped in navy, red, yellow, and navy. The shirt also boasts a long point collar and front placket.

His white uniform-looking shirt with its martial-inspired epaulets suggests that Clinton is in command—at least party captain, if not at Sheila‘s actual helm.

What to Imbibe

Clinton happily pours from a bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne while explaining the game to his friends. Created in 1869, the iconic Moët Impérial is one of the most recognizable, best-selling, and prestigious champagnes in the world—perfectly suiting Clinton and his status-obsessed Hollywood pals.

How to Get the Look

James Coburn in The Last of Sheila (1973)

Clinton Greene’s all-white nautical garb may not work for everyone, but it takes a colorful man to wear such a lack of color so boldly—complete with the ’70s panache of rakish neckerchief, flared trousers, and a retro-styled alternative to a classic sports watch.

• White cotton crew-neck sweatshirt with white-embroidered anchor over mid-chest
• White cotton flat-front trousers with belt loops, patch-style front pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather belt with curved silver-toned single-prong buckle
• White leather Adidas Superstar low-top basketball sneakers with siped rubber outsoles
• White socks
• Navy paisley cotton neckerchief
• Silver-framed aviator sunglasses with mirrored lenses
• Gold pinky ring
• Omega Speedmaster Professsional Mark II (ST 145.014) stainless steel chronograph with barrel-shaped 41mm case, black dial (with 3 sub-registers), and black leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

Alright, everybody! Down to the latrines for a shave, shower, or douche—depending on your hangup.

The post The Last of Sheila: James Coburn’s White Yachting Gear appeared first on BAMF Style.

Warren Beatty as Jack Reed in Reds (1981)

Vitals

Warren Beatty as John Silas “Jack” Reed, radical journalist and activist

Provincetown, Massachusetts, Summer 1916

Film: Reds
Release Date: December 4, 1981
Director: Warren Beatty
Costume Designer: Shirley Ann Russell

Background

Whether it’s because Labor Day is considered by some sartorial purists to be the last acceptable day for wearing summer whites or because the holiday originated to recognize the American labor movement, it feels appropriate for today’s post to explore Warren Beatty’s off-white summer suit as labor activist Jack Reed in his 1981 historical epic Reds.

Reds won three of the 12 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including Beatty for Best Director, Maureen Stapleton for Best Supporting Actress, and Vittorio Storaro for Best Cinematography, though it had also been nominated for Best Picture and—of significant interest for this blog’s focus—Best Costume Design.

Over three hours in length, Reds‘ unique structure follows the action-packed last five years of John Silas Reed’s life, interspersed with snippets from interviews with 32 “witnesses”—real-life contemporaries of Reed who provide much insight and context into his life as it’s being presented on screen.

The narrative begins in 1915, when Reed meets the married suffragist Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) following a lecture in Portland, Oregon. After an all-night interview discussing international politics that’s likely more intimate for these two intellectuals than any sort of sexual encounter, Bryant leaves her husband to join Reed and his radical Greenwich Village coterie of activists and artists, including playwright Eugene O’Neill (Jack Nicholson) and anarchist Emma Goldman (Maureen Stapleton).

Reed and Bryant move to Cape Cod (actually filmed in Surrey), where they settle in a beachside cottage near the then-“very conservative” fishing village of Provincetown and spend idyllic days writing and getting involved in local theater. However, Reed soon finds art to be too much of a distraction to his global-minded work and departs to defend Woodrow Wilson’s anti-war stance at the 1916 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis, leaving Bryant in Provincetown… and among O’Neill’s romantic advances.

What’d He Wear?

More than a century after these Cape Cod scenes are set through the summer of 1916, Jack Reed’s white linen summer suit, tan oxfords, and open-necked shirt have a timeless relevance, with nary a detail needing to be changed to look contemporary in 2023. This theme echoes through Shirley Ann Russell’s Oscar-nominated costume design for Beatty’s characterization—rooted in post-Edwardian fashion but with a modern-informed sensibility of open-necked shirts, sport jackets, and sweaters that could have been realistically compiled at the time and was certainly on trend by the time Reds was being made, circa 1980.

True, Reed wears stiff detachable club collars and neckties when he needs to make his case to a public who only accept a man dressed with decorum, but Russell’s costume design shows a man more interested in dressing for function than form—portending how menswear would indeed de-formalize over the course of the 20th century. Thus, Reed often wears shirts with attached collars (open at the neck, no less!) and trousers held up by belts, all of which existed at the time but wouldn’t be mainstream for at least another decade until technological advances and the Great Depression hastened the standardization of men’s clothing closer to what most men wear today.

The real Jack Reed and Louise Bryant, circa 1917. Note his open-necked white shirt and light-colored trousers held up by a belt, all similar to how Shirley Ann Russell dressed Beatty’s Reed around this same time in Reds.

Reed dresses comfortably—but not unstylishly—for his Provincetown summer, typically clad in an ivory off-white linen suit. Consistent with the summer-weight fabric, the suit is loosely structured to keep it light and breathable. The single-breasted jacket has a three-button front, an arrangement flatteringly balanced by Warren Beatty’s 6’2″ frame.

The lapels are designed with wide, sharp notches—combined with the unstructured fit, the jacket could look like a waiter’s or steward’s uniform coat when orphaned, but Reed always smartly wears it with matching trousers. The jacket also has long double vents and patch-style hip pockets with large rectangular flaps (but no breast pocket.) The sleeves are vented at the cuff but without the conventional buttons.

Production photo of Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in Reds.

The flat front trousers have a medium rise, lower than they would have been conventionally worn during the 1910s, but this again could be argued as consistency with a forward-thinking dresser who cares more about function than form. Rather than suspenders or self-suspending side tabs, Reed holds his trousers up with a dark leather belt that fits through belt loops around the waistband as found on most modern off-the-rack trousers produced in the last 80-odd years. Reed’s suit trousers have side pockets (but no back pockets) and a comfortably full fit through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

The full break of Reed’s trousers over his shoes suggests that he may have been wearing them higher, but they gradually fell lower on his waist over the course of the day—held up only by a belt and worn by a man with more on his mind than his pants.

Reed wears tan leather cap-toe oxfords that nicely harmonize with the light, warm shade of his suit without the harsher contrast of a darker leather shoe. His dark brown cotton lisle socks may be darker than some men would choose with such a light-colored suit, but the color is still tonally compatible with the rest of his outfit.

On the beach and for Reed’s departure, he wears a white cotton shirt with a point collar, front placket, and button cuffs. At the time these scenes were set around 1916, most men’s dress shirts were configured with a collarless neckband, onto which men would attach a stiff separate collar to be worn with a necktie. Before modern laundry, this allowed shirts to be more vigorously laundered without damaging the collars (often the only part of the shirt that prominently showed) and also allowed a gentleman to refresh his appearance mid-day by merely changing his collar.

Two years after Van Heusen patented its “self-folding” shirt collar in 1919, mass-produced men’s shirts with attached collars were introduced to the public and eagerly accepted by young men through the roaring ’20s who preferred the comfort of softer collars and the ease of less garments to launder. By the end of the decade as the Great Depression informed a more practical sense of dressing without fussy detachable collars, attached-collar shirts were the new standard.

Reed also cycles through an ivory-and-brown striped shirt styled like the other shirt with an attached soft point collar, front placket, and button cuffs. The stripe pattern is actually sets of three mid-brown stripes—one thin center stripe flanked on each side by an even narrower hairline stripe of the same color, against an off-white puckered cotton ground.

Reed’s cotton tie for his departure and arrival from the Cape Cod cottage is taupe-brown with a mini beige birdseye design.

At the 1916 DNC, Reed wears this same brown-on-ivory striped shirt but with a dark forest-green knitted silk tie and a stiff sennit straw boater, detailed with a wide black grosgrain band. Also known as a “skimmer” (as Paul Newman refers to it while being chased by Joe LeFors in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), these flat-crowned, flat-brimmed hats were ubiquitous through the warmer months of the early 20th century, earning its nomenclature through an association with water sports and seaside leisure.

Considered old-fashioned by the 1930s, Reed’s boater may be the most outmoded aspect of his wardrobe, though he clearly wears it to fit it amongst his politically minded colleagues during the hot summer convention in St. Louis. Indeed, political rallies are among the few places were boaters are still regularly worn, though they’re typically of an expensive faux-straw or styrofoam variety—a nod to the early 20th century tradition of political parties adorning these hats with slogans around the bands and given out to supporters to wear at these conventions, which were often held during muggy summers when these hats would have been in fashion.

How to Get the Look

Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty in Reds (1981)

Jack Reed dresses simply for his idyllic beachside sojourn in an off-white linen suit, open-necked shirt, and tan oxfords—a timeless combination that was ahead of its era in 1916 but would still be appropriate for nearly any summertime occasion today.

• Ivory linen suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with wide notch lapels, flapped patch-style hip pockets, and long double vents
  • Flat-front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton shirt with point collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Dark brown leather belt
• Tan leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Dark brown cotton lisle socks

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The post Warren Beatty’s White Suit in Reds appeared first on BAMF Style.

Russell Crowe as Ben Wade in 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Vitals

Russell Crowe as Ben Wade, cunning bandit leader

Arizona Territory, Fall 1884

Film: 3:10 to Yuma
Release Date: September 7, 2007
Director: James Mangold
Costume Designer: Arianne Phillips

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The remake of the classic 1957 Western 3:10 to Yuma, based on Elmore Leonard’s short story of the same name, was released 15 years ago this week during a renaissance year for Western-themed movies, including the respective masterpieces No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. I have fond memories of seeing each one in theaters with my dad including this one, which we saw one weekend early in my first semester of college and particularly resonated with its themes of fatherhood.

Russell Crowe was James Mangold’s first choice for the role of Ben Wade, the introspective and thoughtful yet still ultimately ruthless outlaw leader who had been originated on screen by Glenn Ford fifty years earlier. With a fear-and-awe-inspiring reputation akin to the real-life Jesse James (who was born today in 1847, 160 years to the day before this version of 3:10 to Yuma was released), Wade defies bandit stereotypes by seemingly preferring quietly sketching to shootouts… but that doesn’t mean he’ll hesitate to shoot fast, straight, and with wicked accuracy when he feels compelled. “I wouldn’t last five minutes leadin’ an outfit like that if I wasn’t as rotten a hell,” Wade reassures us.

We begin with an ambush as Wade’s gang of ruffians fire upon a fortified stagecoach on its way to Bisbee. (This wouldn’t be the last time a movie found Russell Crowe on his way to Bisbee, as fans of L.A. Confidential will recall.) Wade oversees the initial assault from afar, leaving it to his dangerous gunmen like the trigger-happy Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) to carry out the dirty work, until Wade goads a herd of cattle in the coach’s path, overturning it and giving his murderous gang the upper hand to execute any survivors and abscond with the loot. Looking over the wreckage, Wade quips to the wounded Pinkerton bounty hunter Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda): “Y’all spared no expense this time, Byron. Gotta say though… probably cheaper just to let me rob the damn thing.”

Wade wasn’t the only man watching from the desert hills, as down-on-his-luck rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) was out with his two sons seeking his misplaced cattle—the very cattle that Wade had released into the road—when the coach’s rattling Gatling gun and the stomps of the bandits’ horses draw them to the carnage in the canyon. Wade’s quick and deadly shooting horrifies the Civil War-hardened Dan but intrigues his teenage son William (Logan Lerman). When the men cross paths, Wade trades Evans back his own cattle in exchange for their horses, so they “don’t go doin’ nothin’… foolish,” as Prince explains.

Fate reunites Dan Evans and Ben Wade in Bisbee, where Evans helps engineer Wade’s capture and gets reluctantly recruited into the slapdash posse assigned to escort Wade to the mining boomtown of Contention, where the outlaw is to be loaded onto the 3:10 train to Yuma Territorial Prison, where he’ll be hanged to account for his 22 robberies and over $400,000 stolen from the Southern Pacific Railroad… not to mention the many lives he ended. Along the way, a unique relationship forms between the intelligent outlaw and the principled if weary father desperate only to do right by his family.

It’s a half-mile from here to the station, Dan… guess we’re walkin’.

What’d He Wear?

Russell Crowe’s costume as a Ben Wade is a significant departure from the ’50s adaptation of 3:10 to Yuma, which was excellent in its own right but faltered in dressing Glenn Ford’s Wade accurately to the time frame, instead favoring the contemporary convention of a trucker jacket and then-modern jeans with a belt and a cowboy hat… when only the latter would have truly even existed during the 1880s.

Crowe’s Ben Wade is introduced to viewers under the curled brim of his black felt telescope-crowned hat. This hat’s distinctive shape with its low, flat crown and relatively narrow brim differs from the stereotypical wide-brimmed cowboy hat, which has been said to be over-represented in Western cinema as many of those who trekked through the old west were often sporting bowler hats, gambler’s hats, or conglomerations of both as Wade wears. (IMDB states that the California-based Baron Hats made most of the principal cast’s hats in 3:10 to Yuma, though I haven’t seen this substantiated elsewhere.)

Wade’s black felt hat has a dark brown leather band, covered across the front half by a decoratively embroidered strip in a black-and-tan geometric design. Around the back of the hat, the exposed dark brown leather band has turquoise stones mounted on each side (three on the right, four on the left) and dozens of small black ringed beads sewn along the edges. The edges of the band are sewn together where they intersect at the bottom center back of the crown, with each triple-fringed end of the band extending flat along the back of the brim. The edge of the brim is finished in black grosgrain.

Wade typically wears a dark velvet coat, an elegant piece that sets him apart from the rest of his gang’s scrappier wardrobe. This thigh-length jacket falls somewhere between the shorter lounge jacket and knee-length frock coat, though it features many details typically found on the latter such as silk-faced revers and tails. Frock coats had been traditionally made without any pockets until late in the Victorian era, when tailors began adding welted breast pockets as seen on Wade’s jacket. (Also similar to Wade’s jacket, it was not typical of frock coats to have any other external pockets, such as hip pockets.)

Auction listings describe the jacket as “black velveteen”, though it appears more like a dark shade of brown velvet on screen—perhaps lighter in some areas to represent where it could have faded after long hours riding under the Arizona sun. The notch lapels are faced in black grosgrain silk, matching the cloth that covers the three closely spaced buttons on the front and the two decorative buttons on the back of the waist, above the tails—these decorative buttons are positioned along the seam that rings around the entire body of the coat, aligned with the third and lowest front button. The shoulders are straight, slightly roped at the sleeveheads, and the ends of each sleeve are banded with no decorative buttons or ornamentation.

Wade wears a light purple-gray broadcloth cotton shirt made by Anto Beverly Hills, distinguished by a unique repeating pattern of three purple chevrons that adds character to the purple-and-white weave. True to the era, the shirt lacks a collar and instead has a neckband with buttonholes through both the right and left sides, should Wade choose to dress it up with a detachable collar that would be held in place with a stud through both buttonholes… which he does not do.

Like most shirts at the time, this is a “popover shirt” (like a modern henley or polo, albeit with a longer placket) instead of a full button-front shirt. Wade’s three-button placket extends down to mid-torso, detailed with double pleats along the left side. The long sleeves are finished with narrow cuffs that close with a single button.

Wade’s intermediate layer between shirt and jacket is a black striped cotton twill waistcoat (vest). The stone-colored pinstripes divide the body of the vest into columns, with every other column detailed with a repeating diamond-shaped pattern of four squares, embroidered from the same stone-colored thread as the stripes.

Piped along the edges in black, the single-breasted vest fastens up the front with six silver-toned nailhead-textured shank buttons. The two set-in pockets have black grosgrain silk welting, with a smaller third jetted pocket above the left pocket—similar in execution to a ticket pocket, albeit on the opposing side.

Wade wears a handsome dark brown tooled leather gun belt, specifically designed for Russell Crowe to wear on screen by cowboy leather craftsman Will Ghormley, who describes the process on his website:

It had to look like it was from the 1800s but handle like a modern fast-draw holster. The black coloration was specially applied to look used as soon as it was made. The rig was colored using a special process so the color wouldn’t come off on the actor’s wardrobe. The holster was engineered with hidden features to facilitate rapid removal and re-holstering of the revolver.

The border tooling around the hand-carved floral design on the holster, was repeated along the length of the cartridge belt. The rig was hand sewn with 7-strand linen thread, coated with beeswax.

The era-correct rig positions the holster for Wade’s “Hand of God” Single Action Army revolver directly along Crowe’s waist, rather than the lower-slung “buscadero”-style gun belts made famous by the movies that didn’t prominently appear until the early 20th century. The belt closes through a large brass single-prong buckle.

Even Wade’s black moleskin felt riding trousers are fashionably elevated, with decorative black embroidery flanking the right-side seam from the waist down to the plain-hemmed bottoms. The inside of each thigh is reinforced with large black leather panels to protect Wade during hours on horseback. These flat-front trousers have slanted front pockets with black piping along the edges and a set-in back left pocket with a scalloped flap.

Wade wears plain black leather riding boots with calf-high shafts, which he initially tucks his trouser bottoms into until the last act when he wears the trousers over his boot shafts. He also regularly wears black leather gloves, protecting his hands during the vigors of an outlaw’s life.

Wade holds up his trousers with wide black cloth suspenders (braces), only prominently seen when he’s stripped down to his undershirt while sketching the nude Emma Nelson (Vinessa Shaw) after their brief assignation above her saloon in Bisbee. These suspenders have silver-toned adjusters on the front.

Wade’s undershirt is a creamy white cotton flannel long-sleeved henley-style shirt, with a wide boat-neck and long two-button placket that extends down to mid-chest with horizontal buttonholes.

As the posse realizes they’re under the watchful eye of Wade’s fiercely loyal lieutenant Charlie Prince, they launch a gambit that entails intentionally crashing the stagecoach he’s being transported in. While it’s being “repaired”, a deputy named Crawley (Chris Browning) drapes his duster over Wade’s shoulders and swaps their hats, taking Wade’s place in the stage coach to serve as a decoy for Prince’s purposes.

The light-brown duster recalls the traditional gunfighter image, with its full fit and covered-fly front, though Wade doesn’t wear it for long, seemingly permitted to abandon it after a night at the Evans homestead.

The light-gray felt hat was made by Akubra, the Australian hatmaker that produces a range of headgear but is best known for its iconic bush hats. The wide-brimmed hat Crawley lends to Wade follows a classic pinched-front design, detailed with a brown braided-hair band.

Many screen-worn costume pieces worn by Russell Crowe and his stunt double have since been auctioned, with the various auction listings available below:

• iCollector (“3:10 TO YUMA (2007) – Ben Wade’s (Russell Crowe) Bloody Costume”), Sept. 26, 2017
  • Wade’s grey felt hat is made by Akubra and has a braided hair-and-leather band stitched to the exterior. The black overcoat is made of velvet, with one breast pocket and a three-button placket. The black vest has a grey diamond pattern stitched throughout and includes a label at the neck which reads ‘RC Stunt’. The grey long-sleeved shirt is made by Anto, shows stage-blood stains at the arms, and includes a custom label at the neck which reads ‘RC Oct 2006’. The white cotton undershirt shows minor stains from stage blood. Wade’s black felt trousers feature embroidery along one leg, and a reinforced leather crotch for horseback riding. Also included is a hand-written production wardrobe tag. The costume is distressed by the production with stage blood, but remains in otherwise good condition.
• Propstore Auction (“Lot #2: 3:10 TO YUMA (2007) – Ben Wade’s (Russell Crowe) Screen-Matched Costume”), June 28, 2023
  • Ben Wade’s (Russell Crowe) screen-matched costume from James Mangold’s Western adventure 3:10 to Yuma. This hat screen-matches to scenes throughout the film, and the overcoat matches to Wade’s introduction scene. Originating from Russell Crowe’s personal collection, this costume consists of a black felt hat with an embroidered band inset with turquoise stones; a black velveteen overcoat; a diamond-patterned black cotton vest; a gray cotton long-sleeve shirt labeled “RC Oct 2006” at the neck; a beige cotton long-sleeve thermal; and black felted polyester pants featuring braided accents, a button placket, and a reinforced leather cup for horseback riding,. Also included are a brown leather replica belt with brass-color hardware and a gun holster added to complete the costume; a black velveteen pouch with earplugs; and a Letter of Authenticity from Crowe. The belt was made by Will Ghormley, who made the original for the film. This costume exhibits discoloration, fading, snagged fibers and threads, and loose components.
• Sotheby’s Australia (“‘BEN WADE’S’ COSTUME, AS WORN BY RUSSELL CROWE IN THE FILM, 3:10 TO YUMA (2007)”), Russell Crowe: The Art of Divorce, Apr. 7, 2018
  • including a black velvet jacket, black moleskin trousers with a pattern sewn to the side of one leg, a black vest sewn with a diamond and pinstripe pattern, a grey collarless shirt, a cream wool undershirt and a black felt hat with a turquoise mounted leather band, together with a costume department mock-up comprising a drawing of Russell Crowe dressed as ‘Ben Wade’, a selection of fabric swatches used in the costume and an October 2007 issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine featuring a front cover image of Russell Crowe dressed as ‘Ben Wade’, signed by Russell Crowe
• Your Props (“3:10 to Yuma, Ben Wade Costume”)
  • An original western costume designed for Ben Wade, played by Russell Crowe, worn during the production of the film 3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate, 2007). The ensemble includes a black velvet jacket, a black vest with a pinstripe and diamond pattern, a gray Anto Beverly Hills shirt, a cream wool undershirt, black moleskin trousers with a pattern sewn to the right leg, and a black felt hat with a mounted leather and and turquoise accents. Included are a pair of earplugs used by Crowe during filming and a letter from Russell Crowe stating his ownership.

The Gun

“Did you see the Hand of God? His pistol?” a deputy comments when Charlie Prince “reports” the stagecoach robbery in Bisbee, referring to Ben Wade’s color case-hardened Single Action Army revolver with its distinctive grips adorned with gold-inlaid crosses. “Be careful with that thing… that gun’s got a curse on it,” Wade reports when the sardonic Tucker (Kevin Durand) takes Wade’s Colt upon his capture and begins twirling it in his hand after admiring the grips.

Tucker looks over Wade’s cursed “Hand of God”, characterized by the gold crucifix inlaid on each grip panel.

Colt introduced its iconic Single Action Army in 1873, quickly gaining its perhaps ironic nickname as “The Peacemaker” and nearly ubiquitous in the hands of everyone from law-enforcers to law-breakers. Over the decades to follow, this six-shooter was made available in a variety of calibers and barrel configurations, though it’s most associated with the .45 Long Colt round that was developed in tandem with the Single Action Army. The three most frequent barrel configurations are the 7½”-barreled Cavalry model, the 5½”-barreled Artillery model, and the 4 3/4″-barreled Quickdraw (or “Gunfighter”) model.

Wade carries the latter, a 4 3/4″-barreled Single Action Army produced by the now-defunct U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co. (USFA), best-known for producing classic Colt designs like the Single Action Army, M1911, and Lightning Carbine out of the East Armory building of the former Colt Armory complex in Hartford, Connecticut.

USFA built two Single Action Army revolvers for Crowe to use on screen, each etched with “COLT’S PT. F. A. MFG. Co. / HARTFORD. CT. U.S.A.” to resemble era-correct Colt Peacemakers and with “.45 COLT” ahead of the cylinder on the left side of the barrel. As documented by Gun Auction, the principal screen-used revolver featured serial number #16100. Though the barrel, cylinder, trigger, and grip frame are blued, the frame, loading gate, and hammer were color case-hardened by Turnbull, a process to harden a firearm’s steel frame that results in a unique colored carbon finish. The smooth ebony grips were inlaid with solid-gold crucifixes to account for the “Hand of God” nickname.

After going most of the movie without it, Wade finally gets his Peacemaker tossed back to him just in time for the finale, when he uses it with memorable—and perhaps unexpected—results.

After his capture, Wade also briefly handles Byron McElroy’s sawed-down double-barreled shotgun, which the IMFDB experts have identified as a reproduction of the classic Colt Model 1878 Hammer Shotgun, so named for its distinctive pair of exposed hammers.

Colt produced more than 20,000 of these well-regarded side-by-side shotguns between 1878 and 1889, chambered in either 10- or 12-gauge. The Damascus-browned barrels ranged between 28″, 30″, and 32″, though users could have the barrels dramatically cut down for “riding shotgun”, as McElroy clearly would have done.

Though Crowe was no stranger to handling firearms on screen, he was trained by the film’s armorer Thell Reed, a renowned quick-draw shooter whom Colt dubbed the “Fastest Gun Alive” and has worked as a weapons trainer and armorer on many productions. Weapons expert Mike Tristano also worked on 3:10 to Yuma and briefly appears on screen as the dark-bearded man whom Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk) hits in the face with a shovel.

What to Imbibe

“Ma’am… some whiskey for my friends,” Wade requests when he brings the half-dozen survivors from his gang into the Bisbee saloon run by Emma Nelson, with whom it’s revealed he’s romantically involved. Emma pours each man a shot from a bottle with a vintage-looking label proclaiming the contents to be Robertson’s Genuine Bourbon Cordial, dated 1847 with a provenance of Harrison County, Kentucky.

Emma pours shots of bourbon for Wade’s crew.

While the Internet is rife with reproductions of this “old-timey” label, I can’t confirm if that’s because it had been an actual 19th century whiskey brand or of it’s just a popular prop label.

How to Get the Look

Russell Crowe as Ben Wade in 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Ben Wade is functionally dressed for horseback riding but fashionably dressed to command respect at the head of his gang, thanks to elevated details like his frock-informed velveteen jacket, pleated shirt, fancy-striped waistcoat, embroidered trousers, and the distinctive hatband.

• Dark brown velveteen thigh-length frock coat with black grosgrain-faced notch lapels, single-breasted 3-button front, welted breast pocket, banded cuffs, and rear tails with two decorative waist buttons
• Light purple-gray broadcloth cotton (with purple chevron repeating motif) long-sleeved neckband shirt with double-pleated front placket and narrow single-button cuffs
• Black fancy-striped cotton twill single-breasted 6-button waistcoat with two black grosgrain-welted pockets and jetted left-side ticket pocket
• Black moleskin felt flat-front riding trousers with slanted front pockets, scallop-flapped back-left pocket, black embroidery flanking right side seam, black leather-reinforced crotch, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black cloth suspenders with silver-toned adjusters
• Black leather calf-high riding boots
• Dark brown floral-tooled leather gun belt with waist-positioned right-side holster for Single Action Army revolver
• Black felt telescope-crowned hat with curled brim and dark brown leather band (with black-and-tan geometric-embroidered front, turquoise mounted side stones, and triple-fringed back)
• Cream-white cotton flannel long-sleeved henley-style undershirt with 2-button placket

Fans interested in Wade’s waistcoat can purchase a similarly designed replica “Wade Vest” from Magnoli Clothiers.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie. I also recommend the original 1957 version and the eponymous Elmore Leonard collection that includes his original short story.

Footnote

The year is never explicitly stated on screen, though a deleted scene suggests it has been one month since the death of Allan Pinkerton, which occurred July 1, 1884. Wade jokes to McElroy: “I heard that your boss, Al Pinkerton—president of the most feared protection agency in all over the world, the eye that never sleeps—I hear he got an infection from bitin’ his own tongue, and he died last month… is that true?”

This dialogue would suggest a setting of August or even September 1884, though the occasional presence of snow (for a movie set in Arizona, no less!) suggests perhaps later in the year, autumn if not winter. Since the snow actually appears in the final cut and the Pinkerton’s tongue quip doesn’t, I’m inclined to believe it’s meant to be set sometime during the fall.

The Quote

That’s why I don’t mess around with doin’ anything good, Dan. You do one good deed for somebody, I imagine it’s habit-forming.

The post Russell Crowe in 3:10 to Yuma appeared first on BAMF Style.

Peter Lawford as Christopher Pepper in Salt and Pepper (1968)

Vitals

Peter Lawford as Christopher Pepper, nightclub owner

London, Spring 1968

Film: Salt and Pepper
Release Date: June 21, 1968
Director: Richard Donner
Costume Designer: Cynthia Tingey
Tailor: Douglas Hayward

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today would have been the 100th birthday of Peter Lawford, born September 7, 1923. Though primarily an actor, the London-born Lawford may be best remembered for his affiliations with the Rat Pack and the Kennedy family, the latter by way of his 12-year marriage to Patricia Kennedy.

It was shortly after Lawford’s divorce from Pat that he was reunited with fellow Rat Pack entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr., in Salt and Pepper, one of the many spy comedies released in the late 1960s as filmmakers spoofed Bond-mania with films like Our Man Flint (1966), the satirized 007 adaptation Casino Royale (1967), and the quartet of Matt Helm movies starring Dean Martin—also of Rat Pack fame.

Salt and Pepper was the second feature directed by Richard Donner, who would later—and arguably more successfully—revisit the concept of high-stakes buddy comedies with the Lethal Weapon series. When Salt and Pepper was bafflingly greenlit for the sequel suggested by Davis’ vocals over the end credits, it wasn’t Donner but Jerry Lewis who directed the two Rat Packers in One More Time (1970).

Davis and Lawford brought their time-tested chemistry to their respective roles as Charlie Salt and Christopher Pepper, a pair of swingin’ London nightclub owners who find themselves at the center of a deadly mystery involving a revolution brewing among the top ranks of the British government. “I’m Pepper, he’s Salt,” Lawford’s character informs a bemused police inspector during the opening scene.

As was often the case in these style-before-substance spy flicks, the plot was often secondary though the fictional coup d’état against the British Prime Minister depicted in Salt and Pepper would be eerily paralleled by real-life schemes that were being hatched against then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson, as chronicled in the BBC2 program The Plot Against Harold Wilson. Luckily for Sir Harold, none of these proposed coups ever advanced as far as the opposition taking over the airwaves from a military training academy, only to be quelled by two shady nightclub operators repurposing a decades-old cannon.

What’d He Wear?

Salt and Pepper presents a unique blend of style among its two leads, with both actors’ respective tailors prominently represented in the opening credits—Sammy Davis, Jr.’s groovy duds were designed by Charles Glenn of Paris while Peter Lawford’s tasteful suits and sport jackets were cut by the legendary Douglas Hayward. Hayward’s impressive talents resulted in an equally impressive celebrity roster that included Tony Bennett, Richard Burton, Michael Caine, Ralph Lauren, Steve McQueen, Roger Moore, and Laurence Olivier.

Lawford began Salt and Pepper appropriately dressed for the evening in a smart tuxedo, tailored by Hayward. As the film progresses, Pepper’s wardrobe becomes increasingly informal: a smart gray striped flannel suit, followed by a navy odd jacket with gray flannels and tie, then a stone-colored sports coat and day cravat, and finally a checked sport jacket and red mock-neck for the climactic final act as Salt and Pepper team up to take down a conspiracy.

Pepper’s checked jacket and coordinated mockneck looks especially timeless next to Salt’s especially trendy clothes that date his wardrobe to the late ’60s.

Pepper’s wool sport jacket consists of a brown, tan, and cream mini-check in a large plaid arrangement, framed by rust vertical lines and red horizontal lines that create a colorful windowpane overcheck. The single-breasted jacket has moderately slender notch lapels that roll to a 3/2.5-button front. In the breast pocket, Pepper dresses the jacket with a cream silk pocket square with a burgundy and forest-green floral print—puffed, rather than folded. The jacket also has three-button cuffs and flapped hip pockets that follow a sporty rearward slant.

Some have argued that the word “timeless” is overused when it comes to discussing certain aspects of men’s clothing, but most would agree that it is an adjective well-applied to Douglas Hayward’s craft. Hayward followed the traditional English silhouette while incorporating his own tailoring signature, typically distinguished by soft shoulders, a clean and full chest, and long double vents that flare over the seat.

These Hayward hallmarks are all present on Pepper’s “action-back” jacket, so named for its bi-swing pleats behind each shoulder that allow the wearer a greater range of motion, traditionally intended for gentlemen to wear for outdoor sports like hunting and shooting. Pepper’s pleats follow an elegant line that curves slightly inward from each shoulder then down the back, so that each vent appears to be a continuation of its respective shoulder pleat.

Pepper wears a scarlet-red merino wool long-sleeved mock-neck jumper that nicely harmonizes with the red in his sport jacket’s overcheck. He wears this sweater untucked, with the hem over the top of his charcoal-gray wool trousers. Like the rest of his Hayward-tailored trousers that Lawford wears on screen, these flat-front trousers have button-tab side adjusters (rather than belt loops), slanted front pockets but no back pockets, and subtly flared plain-hemmed bottoms.

When not dressed for the evening in his tuxedo, Pepper always wears chocolate-brown suede plain-toe shoes with a single strap across each instep. While the design recalls monk shoes, the straps appear to be fixed (rather than fastened) through each respective silver-toned buckle, positioned over the elastic side gussets that ease the wearer’s foot slipping in and out. Pepper continues the leg-line from the trousers with a set of Sterling Archer-approved dark-gray silk socks.

Pepper and Salt take stock of their situation after being captured by the revolutionaries.

Salt rotates through his wristwatches almost as frequently as he changes his turtlenecks, but—consistent with his more subdued style—Pepper spends the entirety of Salt and Pepper wearing the same yellow-gold dress watch on a brown leather strap, its round white case detailed with black-printed Roman numeral hour indices.

Peter Lawford again wore this distinctive plaid action-back sports jacket when he reprised his role as Christopher Pepper in the Jerry Lewis-directed 1970 sequel One More Time, though he wore it there with an open-necked checked shirt and gold paisley neckerchief.

The Gun

Attempting to infiltrate the Williamsport Military Training College, Salt and Pepper are almost immediately stymied by an armed British Army sergeant that doesn’t fall for the duo’s weak excuses for not having the requisite pass to enter. The two manage to overpower the sentry, with Salt pulling the revolver from his lanyard while Pepper arms himself with the sergeant’s L1A1 SLR and uses it to surprising effect during the subsequent battle sequences.

It’s impressive—if not downright surprising—that a London nightclub owner would have so much instant skill with a semi-automatic military rifle, but perhaps there’s some unspoken lore that Pepper had served in the British Army prior to co-establishing the Salt & Pepper club.

In the early 1950s, the British Army underwent a pivotal shift in its small arms inventory with the adoption of the Belgian-made FN FAL battle rifle, designated the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR). Emerging from the Allied Rifle Commission, this historic decision marked a significant departure from traditional bolt-action rifles, propelling the British military into the era of semi-automatic firepower.

The FN FAL’s selection was driven by several factors, primarily the recognition that modern warfare required more rapid and accurate firepower. Bolt-action rifles, exemplified by the Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I, were becoming obsolete in the face of post-World War II combat dynamics, which favored the semi-automatic capabilities of the FN FAL.

Chambered in the potent 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge, the FN FAL brought superior ballistics to the battlefield and aligned the British Army with NATO ammunition standards, facilitating logistics and interoperability with allied forces. With its sturdy construction, gas-operated action, and adaptability through adjustable features, the FN FAL was well-suited for various combat environments and needed minimal alterations to align with Commonwealth battle standards. The L1A1 SLR’s official adoption in 1954 initiated its widespread deployment across British military branches, ushering in an era of enhanced firepower and effectiveness that would continue after the UK replaced it in the 1980s with the 5.56mm L85A1.

How to Get the Look

Peter Lawford as Christopher Pepper in Salt and Pepper (1968)

Sports coats with polo-necked sweaters may be most rooted in late ’60s fashion (think Steve McQueen in Bullitt), but like the King of Cool’s enduring style, Peter Lawford’s action-back jacket was immaculately tailored by Douglas Hayward with a timeless relevance, smartly worn here with a red mock-neck that calls out the jacket’s stately check.

• Brown, tan, and cream mini-checked (with rust and red windowpane overcheck) wool single-breasted 3-button sport jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, “bi-swing” action-back shoulder pleats, and long double vents
• Scarlet-red merino wool long-sleeved mock-neck sweater
• Charcoal wool flat-front trousers with button-tab side adjusters, front pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Brown suede plain-toe buckle-strap shoes
• Dark-gray silk socks
• Gold dress watch with round white dial on brown leather strap
• Cream with scarlet-and-green floral-and-paisley print silk pocket square

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

Charlie… this may be difficult for you to understand, but yes, I’m funny, corny, but once in a while I get awfully British.

The post Salt and Pepper: Peter Lawford’s Plaid Sports Coat appeared first on BAMF Style.

Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems (2019)

Vitals

Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, gambling-addicted jeweler

New York City, Spring 2012

Film: Uncut Gems
Release Date: December 13, 2019
Director: Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie
Costume Design: Miyako Bellizzi & Nawaal Hendricks
Costume Consultant: Mordechai Rubinstein

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 57th birthday to Adam Sandler, born September 9, 1966. The Sandman turned in an arguably career best performance in Uncut Gems, the Safdie brothers’ excellent and stress-inducing callback to gritty ’70s crime cinema, set during the 2012 NBA finals. The uncut gem at the center of the story is a rare black opal that we follow from the mines of Ethiopia to New York City’s Diamond District—specifically KMH, a store run by the frenetic Howard Ratner.

Howard Ratner has a pain in his ass. More than one, in fact, though our introduction to Howard is literally crawling through his bowels in the middle of a colonoscopy (“I know, I know. Jews and colon cancer. What is that? I thought we were the chosen people!”)  In addition to the cancerous results of that already invasive exam, Howard has a girlfriend (Julia Fox) who “works” at his shop whenever she feels like it, an understandably frustrated wife (Idina Menzel) counting the minutes until their post-Passover divorce, and at least $100,000 in gambling debts to his brother-in-law Arno (Eric Bogosian). He doesn’t make his life any easier, constantly pawning jewelry (whether it’s his or not) for the quick cash he needs to compound his bets and ignore his debts. Writing for Vogue, Liana Satenstein wrote that watching Howard’s compounding schemes are “like having an IV full of Red Bull nailed into your aorta.”

As with all gamblers, Howard considers his salvation just one big win around the corner—in this case, the aforementioned opal that he plans to auction for at least $1 million. Of course, Howard can’t keep out of his own way and his desire to impress leads to his immediately flashing the valuable rock to Boston Celtics superstar Kevin Garnett, playing himself in one of the most effective instances of an athlete playing himself on screen. Howard’s loudmouthed tendencies sell KG on the power of the opal… even though it was never for sale in the first place, and the Big Ticket insists on “borrowing” the rock for luck during that night’s playoff game in Philadelphia, offering his own championship ring as collateral and with Howie’s shifty colleague Demany (LaKeith Stanfield) in tow.

Though reluctant to part with the prized opal, Howard grows optimistic about Garnett’s chances in the game and pawns the ring, using the proceeds to place a six-way parlay on KG’s performance against the Sixers. When his successful bet promises a massive payday, Howard believes his troubles are all over… when they’re actually about to get considerably worse.

What’d He Wear?

To craft an authentic look for Howard Ratner, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi collaborated with style consultant Mordechai Rubinstein (aka “Mister Mort”) with whom she had previously worked on the Safdies’ 2017 thriller Good Time. Bellizzi spent two months researching in the Diamond District, observing the extensive frequency of rimless Cartier glasses, Ferragamo belts, and everything in between as they interviewed jewelers and even were welcomed into their closets to clock the subtleties of their oft-unsubtle wardrobes.

Bellizzi explained to Sam Schube for GQ that she envisioned that Howard’s “style hasn’t really changed in the last ten years… he’s in his mid-40s or early 50s, but he is wearing the same clothes that he was wearing, like, in his 30s. So even though this movie takes place in 2012, his style probably hasn’t changed since the early 2000s.”

Liana Satenstein described the result for Vogue as “endearing schmuck style at its finest: It’s gaudy. It’s flashy. It’s even kind of nasty… a car-wreck wardrobe made up of clueless sleaze and cash bands, and I couldn’t look away… Howie wants to fit in and get a piece of the pie, but all while wearing a big ole Hugo Boss jacket and a mustard-hued shirt. He’s a man set in his ways. You hate to love it.”

Based on the way he talks to bookies, loan sharks, and their no-nonsense enforcers, it’s clear that Howard sees himself as a tough guy, illustrated by the well-worn black leather jacket that is a staple of his wardrobe through the first act of Uncut Gems.

Leather blazers may be long out of vogue, but this is just a testament to the authenticity of Uncut Gems‘ costume design, as “Forty-seventh Street’s stuck 20 years ago,” Mordechai Rubinstein explained to Sam Schube for GQ. Schube reports that the decision for Howie’s leather blazer came from co-director Josh Safdie spotting a guy wearing one to a Midtown lunch, “probably with a divorce lawyer.”

“It says business, it says grit, and it says chic. But it also says, ‘If you come near me, I will slap the shit out of you,'” Safdie elaborated, consistent with the leather blazer’s prominence in gangland pop culture from Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) wearing a brown one while delivering a memorable beatdown in Goodfellas through Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) projecting power in his black leather sports coat across the later seasons of The Sopranos.

Bellizzi intentionally sourced a secondhand jacket from eBay, explaining to Liana Satenstein for Vogue that “it had to be worn-in, it had to be oversized, we wanted it to be that he had [it] for 10 or 20 years: he’s gained weight, he’s lost weight—it is his favorite sport coat.”

Howard’s black lambskin leather Hugo Boss single-breasted sport jacket has notch lapels and a three-button front consistent with menswear trends around the time it was likely produced in the late 1990s or early 2000s. The breast pocket and hip pockets are all patch pockets, with the hip pocket openings and lowest button aligned with a seam that rings around the waist of the jacket. The ventless jacket also has three buttons at the end of each sleeve.

Howard has an interesting approach to introducing color to his wardrobe. He typically favors wearing as much black as possible, making it all the more noticeable when he dons an oversized pink shirt to a nightclub or a pink sports coat and coordinated trousers and striped polo for Passover.

At the start of Uncut Gems, he breaks up his all-black look with a mustard-colored shirt, tying in to gold being his secondary color as represented by his jewelry and Ferragamo buckles. Made by New York-based fashion label Theory, the short-sleeved polo shirt was purchased by Bellizzi from the discount department store Century 21 (“for added authenticity,” offers A24’s auction listing for the screen-worn shirt.)

The thin shirting is 60% silk and 40% cotton, with a body in a mustard-hued shade of yellow that Theory calls “Gobi” with a slim black collar that continues around the two-button covered-fly placket that Howie wears undone.

Shop the shirt:

As of September 2023, the Gobi-colored silk/cotton Theory polo is still available in limited sizes from Amazon:

Theory Covered Placket Polo (Amazon, $130.91)

Howard wears black double reverse-pleated slacks that Schube reports were “from a never-picked-up made-to-measure order at Zegna.” These trousers have side pockets and a full fit through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

He holds them up with a smooth black calfskin Salvatore Ferragamo belt with a gold-toned double “Gancini” buckle that was one of the staple pieces Bellizzi observed worn by many real-life jewelers during her Diamond District research. “Gancini” literally means “literal hooks” in Italian and, shaped like a backwards horseshoe, has been a signature of the Ferragamo brand since 1972. This hardware allows many double Gancini belts to be reversible, with brown leather on one side and black leather on the other. Sandler’s screen-worn Ferragamo belt was also among the items auctioned by A24 in May 2020.

Photo credit: Mordechai Rubinstein

Shop the belt:

Adam Sandler's screen-worn Ferragamo belt. Source: A24 Auctions

• Ferragamo ($550)
• Neiman Marcus ($550)
• Nordstrom ($550)
• Saks Fifth Avenue ($550)

Prices and availability current as of Sept. 8, 2023.

Howard takes the convention of matching belt and shoes to a new level by regularly wearing black calfskin Salvatore Ferragamo loafers, naturally ornamented with the same gold-toned double Gancini as his belts. These slip-ons emerged in the 1970s as Ferragamo’s answer to the iconic horsebit-detailed Gucci loafers that had been introduced by its rival two decades earlier. The latest “Rolo” model moccasin features tubular hand-sewn uppers and, while the leather is (obviously) not reversible as on the belts, the metal bit can be reversed to show either the gold- or silver-toned palladio side.

Howie wears them with black socks that neatly continue the trouser leg-line into his shoes without any dramatic contrast.

Shop the shoes:

Salvatore Ferragamo Rolo Bit Loafer

• Ferragamo ($995)
• Nordstrom ($995)

Prices and availability current as of Sept. 8, 2023.

The next day, Howard swaps out his yellow polo for a black cotton crew-neck T-shirt that maintains a monochromatic look with his leather jacket, Zegna slacks, and Ferragamo leatherware. He may be glad he was dressed the part of a tough “man in black” when accompanying Demany to Philly in the hopes of recovering his overdue opal from Kevin Garnett, but he undoes any potential intimidation factor by enthusiastically taking over basketball practice. The all-black looks even more out of place that night when he attends his kids’ choral concert… where he loses the entirety of his wardrobe to Arno’s henchman, right down to his black boxer shorts.

An essential piece of Howard’s look are his Cartier C Décor 140b (CT00520 002) rimless glasses. “The Cartier glasses, that’s a jeweler staple,” Josh Safdie was quoted saying by Sam Schube for GQ. “That’s the same thing as a basketball player wearing Jordans.” “When he wore them, we wanted him to transform,” Bellizzi shared with Liana Satenstein for Vogue.

The rimless rectangular 52mm-wide lenses are connected by a simple gold bridge, with gold hinged temples connected to distinctive 140mm rosewood arms. Sandler’s screen-worn glasses were auctioned by A24 for $2,500 in 2020.

Howard begins Uncut Gems wearing a stainless steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph that he has taken from him within the first few minutes by Arno’s enforcers, prompting him to scream into Arno’s voicemail that “they watch they took from me is worth $20,000!” and demanding it be deducted from his $100,000 debt.

We get only a fleeting glimpse at the watch before Phil (Keith William Richards) pulls it from Howie’s wrist, with Danny Milton theorizing for Hodinkee that it’s likely the ref. 25860ST. This watch was again the result of exhaustive attention to detail, as prop master Catherine Miller sent back the brand-new Royal Oak chrono she had been supplied with, instead requesting a more period-correct model for the 2012 setting.

Howie’s chrono follows the distinctive Royal Oak design with its satin-brushed steel octagonal bezel with eight screws—one at each corner—against the steel 39mm case. The black grid-textured dial has luminous non-numeric hour indices and hands and a chrono’s requisite trio of sub-registers. The watch is worn on the classic integrated no. 344 bracelet that Audemars Piguet innovated in 1972 with the introduction of the Royal Oak, comprised of large steel links (connected by pairs of small rectangular studs) that taper from 25.9mm wide down to 15.9mm at the center.

“According to Miller, the watches were written into the script and were an important component for the Safdies,” writes Milton. “Ratner was originally supposed to wear two watches, but the directors thought it would be funnier (this film is in no way a comedy) if he had two watches stolen from him throughout the film, so he ends up wearing three.”

After his Audemars Piguet is taken, Howie doubles down on the opulence by strapping on a diamond-studded Rolex Day-Date with a bright red dial. The 18-karat yellow gold 36mm case may be the only visible part of the watch left unscathed by the gaudy aftermarket icing—the fixed bezel has been encrusted by a ring of 31 densely packed diamonds, the gold Roman numeral hour indices against the red dial have been accented with small diamonds, and even the three-piece “President”-style link bracelet has been dusted with gemstones.

Catherine Miller explained to Danny Milton for Hodinkee that she, the Safdies, and Sandler unanimously selected this ostentatious red-dialed Day-Date from among a selection of 15 iced-out Rolexes lent to her by a Diamond District jeweler. “I walked up to this little jewelry store with my little backpack,” she recalled. “I threw the watches in my bag and walked down the streets of New York. I think I had about $250,000 worth of watches in there.”

Miller was a better guardian of this variety of borrowed watches than the fictional Howie was of his own Day-Date, which—like the Audemars Piguet before it—was stripped from his wrist alongside the rest of his clothes when Phil and Nico stuffed him into the trunk of his own Mercedes on Arno’s orders. (After this, Howie changes into his third and final watch, a stainless Breitling Chronomat with gilt bezel and details—of Howie’s trio of timepieces, this Breitling is my favorite.)

All of Howie’s jewelry is yellow gold, including the gold Torah pendant he wears on a flat gold necklace under his shirt… which is sadly not the gem-laden Furby he proudly shows Kevin Garnett.

This extends to his right wrist, where he wears a chunky curb-chain link bracelet, and the trio of rings he wears across both hands. On his left hand, he wears a thick but unadorned wedding band on his ring finger as well as a hefty pinky ring with the surface cut in the shape of the Star of David—a large raised diamond mounted the center, surrounded by ten smaller stones filling each of the six star points.

Adam Sandler models Howie’s extensive jewelry on set. Photo credit: Mordechai Rubinstein.

It may be difficult to ascertain how much of Howie’s ostentatious wardrobe he actually cares about, but you can tell he actually treasures Tom Riker’s championship ring from when the New York Knicks won the 1973 NBA finals, making it all the more painful when he needs to pawn it to get KG’s 2008 Celtics championship ring back.

This massive 14-karat gold player’s ring has a large round face with “NBA WORLD CHAMPIONS” in relief against black enamel, encircling a raised diamond at the center of a silver basketball.  The right panel has “T. RIKER” etched in a gold bar above the gold Knicks logo, flanked by “NY-4” and “LA-1”, all against a black enamel ground. The left side of the ring has a gold relief of the NBA logo bisecting “1973”, all against a black enamel ground.

The replica championship ring used on screen sold for $3,750 when A24 auctioned costumes and props from Uncut Gems in 2020.

You can see more of the screen-used costumes and props from the A24 Auction here.

How to Get the Look

Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems (2019)

I can’t promise that dressing like Howie from Uncut Gems will be how you win, but if you can manage to keep your clothes on without getting them stolen (and getting stuffed into your own car trunk in the process), that could be considered a win.

• Black leather single-breasted 3-button sport jacket with notch lapels, patch-style breast pocket, patch-style hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Hugo Boss
• Mustard-yellow silk/cotton short-sleeved polo shirt with narrow black collar and covered two-button placket
  • Theory
• Black wool double reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
  • Zegna
• Black calfskin leather belt with gold double-Gancini buckle
  • Salvatore Ferragamo
• Black leather moc-toe loafers with gold double-Gancini bit
  • Salvatore Ferragamo
• Black socks
• Rimless rectangular-lensed glasses with gold bridge, gold hinges, and rosewood arms
  • Cartier C Décor 140b
• Gold flat necklace with gold Torah pendant
• Gold New York Knicks 1973 NBA championship ring with center diamond
• Gold wedding band
• Gold pinky ring with diamond-studded Star of David
• Audemars Piguet Royal Oak satin-brushed stainless steel chronograph with 39mm case and octagonal bezel, black grid-textured dial (with 3 sub-registers), and integrated tapered link bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

You can also read more about the costume design and jewelry in Uncut Gems at these sources:

• The Cut — “I Want to Wear Tinted Glasses in the Club Like Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems” by Emilia Petrarca
• GQ — “The Most Stylish Character of the Year: Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems” by Sam Schube
• GQ UK — “Inside Adam Sandler’s wardrobe on Uncut Gems” by Sam Schube
• Hodinkee — “Adam Sandler’s Three Watches In ‘Uncut Gems’” by Danny Milton
• InsideHook — “How to Dress Like Adam Sandler in “Uncut Gems”” by Lee Cutlip
• Time + Tide — “3 badass watches from Netflix’s Uncut Gems” by James Robinson
• Vogue — “How Uncut Gems Finds the Beauty in Schmuck Style” by Liana Satenstein
• Vogue — “You Can Now Buy the Costumes From Uncut Gems and Midsommar” by Liana Satenstein

The Quote

That’s a million-dollar opal you’re holding. Straight from the Ethiopian Jewish tribe. I mean this is old-school, Middle-earth shit.

The post Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems: Black Leather Jacket and Yellow Polo appeared first on BAMF Style.

Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo in Never Say Never Again (1983)

Vitals

Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo, billionaire businessman and SPECTRE terrorist

Monte Carlo, Spring 1983

Film: Never Say Never Again
Release Date: October 7, 1983
Director: Irvin Kershner
Costume Designer: Charles Knode

Background

1983 was the year of the dueling James Bonds. Roger Moore continued as the canonical 007 in Eon Productions’ Octopussy, while Bond emeritus Sean Connery surprised audiences by starring in Never Say Never Again, an “unofficial” reimagining of Thunderball released 40 years ago next month by Jack Schwartzman’s Taliafilm.

Never Say Never Again resulted from a two-decade effort by producer Kevin McClory, who had collaborated with Ian Fleming and screenwriter Jack Whittingham on an original Bond screenplay in the late 1950s. When Fleming published a novelization of their unproduced screenplay as Thunderball in 1961, McClory and Whittingham sued and settled out of court, albeit with a string of conditions that ultimately maintained Eon’s rights to the story for up to ten years after the release of their own cinematic adaptation of Thunderball, released in 1965.

By the mid-1970s when McClory announced his plans to produce his own version of the story, both Whittingham and Fleming had died, and Connery had hung up 007’s shoulder holster—presumably for good—after reluctantly returning to the iconic role in Diamonds are Forever. After more legal and production hurdles, the end result released in October 1983 was Never Say Never Again, titled in reference to Connery reprising his role after twice saying he would never play Bond again. (While Moore turned 55 during the production of Octopussy, it’s Never Say Never Again that focuses more on Bond’s advancing age… despite Connery actually being three years younger than Moore and looking considerably more fit than the last time Connery starred as the “official” Bond in Diamonds are Forever a dozen years earlier.)

Not being produced by Eon meant many signature elements were missing, like the James Bond theme, the opening gunbarrel, and a familiar cast portraying 007’s allies at MI6. However, Bond still received his briefing from M (Edward Fox), flirted with Miss Moneypenny (Pamela Salem), and received his equipment from an uncharacteristically jolly Q (Alec McCowen) before jetting off to the Bahamas to investigate a missing nuclear warhead… just as he had in Thunderball.

Never Say Never Again globe-hops with more ferocity than Thunderball, and it’s not long before Bond arrives in southern France, tracking the enigmatic billionaire Maximilian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and his girlfriend Domino Petachi (Kim Basinger). Bond literally gets his hands on Domino at a Villefranche-sur-Mer massage parlor, where he learns that Largo is hosting a charity ball that night across the border in Monte Carlo. Good thing Bond packed his tuxedo!

Largo: Do you enjoy games, Mr. Bond?
Bond: Depends with whom I’m playing.

If, like me, you spent much of your childhood going over to friends’ house just to watch them play video games, this scene offers the same thrills and more.

An oft-criticized scene from Never Say Never Again pits Bond against Largo during a duel for world domination… in the form of a pixilated video game that Largo invented. Titled “Domination”, the Atari-style game was clearly an attempt to make the story seem fashionable for the 1980s—though it likely seemed dated by the time its first audiences were already out of the theater. A beaming Largo explains that “unlike armchair generals, we will share the pain of our soldiers in the form of electric shocks.” Even after almost passing out from the pain, Bond keeps the game going—is it because he wants to prove a point to Largo, or does he just not want to give $58,000 to a children’s charity?

As September 12 is National Video Games Day (not to be confused with plain old “Video Games Day” observed on July 8), BAMF Style’s inaugural Never Say Never Again post will explore Largo’s creative black tie for the event.

What’d He Wear?

In contrast to the old-school villain that an eye-patched Adolfo Celi portrayed in Thunderball, Brandauer’s yuppified Largo represents the materialism of ’80s excess, whether he’s mashing the buttons of his digital Risk copycat or prancing around the decks of his luxury yacht with a sweater knotted around his neck.

Unlike 007’s classic black tie ensemble, Largo subverts evening-wear conventions at nearly every opportunity when building his wardrobe for the charity ball. “Creative black tie” generously describes Largo’s attire, and its lack of elegance further serves to position him as the villain against the more refined and respectably dressed James Bond.

The ’60s Largo had also dressed in a white double-breasted dinner jacket, but the similarities end there. As opposed to the classic, Casablanca-style evening-wear that Adolfo Celi wore, Brandauer’s dinner jacket is pencil-striped in black against the white ground. The narrow shawl collar is piped with black edges that coordinate with the stripes and the black two-hole buttons—arranged in a 6×2-button double-breasted configuration, as well as two vestigial buttons on each cuff. Typically reserved for suit jackets and sports coats, the single vent also defies evening-wear tradition. Unlike most striped tailoring where the stripes follow the direction of the lapels, Largo’s stripes are angled to “collide” with the edge of his shawl collar.

The tailoring is consistent with early ’80s trends, from the wide shoulders to the shorter length. The jacket has straight flapped hip pockets and a welted breast pocket, in which Largo wears a white silk pocket square with a black “Y”-shaped geometric print on one side.

Largo’s just smiling because he’s playing a game he invented. If he was facing off against me in Cruisin’ USA, he wouldn’t have a chance.

Regardless of the dinner jacket’s color or cut, black tie tradition calls for a white formal shirt and the black bow-tie that informs the dress code’s nomenclature… leave it to Largo to buck both conventions.

Largo’s had it up to here with my criticism of his wardrobe!

Largo’s black formal shirt has the requisite pleated front for evening shirts but an attached wing collar and button-fastened squared barrel cuffs. You could argue that Largo at least follows the “black tie” part, but his white pin-dotted necktie is a straight tie, which he knots with a half-Windsor and initially tucks into his cummerbund.

Largo balances the offbeat upper half of his outfit with a traditional bottom half, even finished with a black pleated silk cummerbund covering his waist and the top of his black trousers. These flat-front trousers have side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms with then-fashionable flare, but I can’t tell if they’re detailed with the black silk side braid that characterizes formal trousers.

Largo’s shoes are also surprisingly understated, as he wears the black calf leather cap-toe oxfords and black socks that are considered acceptable with all codes of men’s evening dress. With that jacket and his sense of showmanship, I would have surprised something like black-and-white spectator shoes, but the all-black oxfords are refreshingly traditional.

“That last round… nearly killed me.”

Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo in Never Say Never Again (1983)

How to Get the Look

True, there are many worse looks at today’s red carpet events or proms than Largo’s flamboyant fit for casino night in the early ’80s, but 007 himself still clearly wins the sartorial gold prize for most tasteful evening-wear. Still, if you’re feeling brave and want to inject some Bond heritage into your creative black tie, be my guest…

• White (with black pencil stripe) double-breasted 6×2-button dinner jacket with black-trimmed shawl collar, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, vestigial 2-button cuffs, and single vent
• Black formal evening shirt with attached wing collar, pleated front, and button-fastened barrel cuffs
• Black (with white pin-dots) tie
• Black pleated silk cummerbund
• Black flat-front trousers with side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Black dress socks

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

As the stakes increase, so does the level of pain… rather like life.

The post Never Say Never Again: Largo’s White Striped Dinner Jacket appeared first on BAMF Style.

Henry Silva in The Italian Connection (1973)

Vitals

Henry Silva as Dave Catania, swaggering Mafia hitman

New York to Milan, Spring 1972

Film: The Italian Connection
(Italian title: La mala ordina)
Release Date: September 2, 1972
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Costume Designer: Francesco Cuppini

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Henry Silva, a screen stalwart whose credits included the Rat Pack-led Ocean’s Eleven (1960) and political thriller The Manchurian Candidate (1962) before his first leading role in the jazzy noir Johnny Cool (1963). The latter set a precedent that would characterize the next decade of Silva’s career as he would star in many “poliziottesco” films like Fernando Di Leo’s The Italian Connection, released 51 years ago this month.

Also released as Manhunt in the City and Manhunt in Milan (giving some indication to its plot), The Italian Connection is typical of the poliziottesco subgenre, produced during “Years of Lead”—a period of oft-violent social and political unrest in Italy that lasted two decades from the autonomist student movement that began in the late 1960s through series of bombings and assassinations during the ’70s and ’80s. Contemporary cinematic output reflected the national mood, with cynical stories heavy on the action, corruption, and violence. As depicted by the fictional Rick Dalton’s career in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, poliziotteschi often followed the “spaghetti western” casting formula that starred American actors—typically a few years past their most significant fame—among a bevy of Europeans.

The Italian Connection centered around two New York hitmen, Dave Catania (Henry Silva) and Frank Webster (Woody Strode), sent by their boss Corso (Cyril Cusack) to murder pimp Luca Canali (Mario Adorf) in such a brutal and public manner that all of Milan will be talking about it, an intended retaliation for Luca’s supposed theft of a heroin shipment from a local don. “The Italians have a strange idea of gangsters—they imagine they’re exactly like you two,” Corso informs them. “You’ll have to dress and act like gangsters. Drink a lot, leave big tips, put your feet up on the tables. They can’t stand that in Italy.”

Dave and Frank—who would directly inspire Quentin Tarantino to craft the characters Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction—arrive in Milan, where they make contact with Eva Lalli (Luciana Paluzzi) and begin to establish themselves while looking for Luca. Paluzzi isn’t the only veteran of the James Bond series to appear in The Italian Connection, as her Thunderball co-star Adolfo Celi appears as Vito Tressoldi, the treacherous don who stole his own heroin and framed Luca. After Luca’s path of revenge results in his killing Don Vito, he calls Dave and Frank to arrange their climactic meeting in a junkyard.

What’d He Wear?

Following Corso’s orders and his own statement that “there’s life in Milan, and wherever I go, I live it up,” Dave spends much of his and Frank’s mission in Milan dressed in checked suits and ties to look the expected part of the brash American gangster. The rest of the time, he’s dressed casually but ready for action in a brown leather jacket, khaki slacks, and boldly printed sports shirts.

Dave’s dark brown leather jacket follows the asymmetrical front-zip and waist-length design of a Perfecto-style motorcycle jacket, but the overall appearance is more streamlined, lacking the straps, snaps, and pockets that characterize classic moto jackets. The broad, rounded lapels are wider than typically seen on moto jackets, a fashion-forward concession to the ’70s, closing over the chest the higher he pulls the brass-finished zipper (with a rounded pull) that extends diagonally from the center of the waistband to the upper right side of his chest. The waistband has a brown-finished snap that closes over the bottom of the zipper, and the sleeves have moto-style zip-back cuffs at the end of the set-in sleeves.

Note the dramatic angle of the jacket’s asymmetrical front zip and the lack of pockets.

When Dave and Frank receive their assignment and fly from New York to Milan, Dave wears a pale-blue polyester voile shirt printed with a repeating large-scaled blue medallion motif. The material, print, and long point collar are characteristic of ’70s fashions, though the collar ends are rounded. The shirt also has a front placket and button cuffs.

Dave and Frank get their orders from Corso.

For the finale set in a Milan scrapyard, Dave wears another boldly printed polyester sport shirt, this one covered in a large-scale brown, orange, black, and white check with an orange-and-white floral overlay. This long-sleeved shirt also has button cuffs and a long point collar, though the collar has more conventional “sharp” points and not the rounded ends of his earlier shirt.

Dave’s tan flat-front trousers have full-top “frogmouth”-style front pockets but no back pockets—instead, the seat is yoked like cavalry or riding pants. Held up by a wide brown leather belt that closes through a gold-toned single-prong buckle, these mid-rise trousers have a narrow silhouette that fits close through the thighs and legs, then flares out at the plain-hemmed bottoms, albeit not to the dramatic extent of bell-bottoms.

Men’s boot varieties increased manifold through the late 1960s into the ’70s as formality standards dropped for both business and casual attire. Even with his suits, Dave appears to wear the same set of burnished dark-brown leather boots extending up to mid-calf with raised heels, consistent with his swaggering attitude.

This rather unfortunate situation for the doomed Dave gives us the rare glimpse of his dark brown socks, which extend higher than the mid-calf shafts of his boots.

Dave’s all-gold watch appears to be a Rolex Day-Date on the three-piece “President” or “Presidential” bracelet, recognizable for its semi-circular links. The bracelet was introduced in 1956 in tandem with the Day-Date model, which was the first mass-produced wristwatch to display both the date (in a window at 3:00) and day of the week (arced across the top of the dial). Rolex initially forged its luxurious Day-Date watches in waterproof 36mm “Oyster” cases made exclusively of either 18-karat gold or platinum, the round dials framed by a fluted bezel. The bracelet earned its executive nickname nearly a decade after it was introduced, thanks to then-President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sported one through his administration.

The updated ref. 1803 appeared in 1958 and was the reigning Day-Date until it was discontinued in the late 1970s—assuming that Henry Silva was indeed wearing a Day-Date in The Italian Connection, it was most likely a yellow-gold ref. 1803 with a champagne-colored dial. Though there’s little to visually differentiate the ref. 1803 from later models, Paul Altieri wrote for Bob’s Watches of the ref. 1803’s “inverted pie pan” dial, encased under acrylic crystal.

Clad in his golden bathrobe and tonally coordinated Rolex, Dave checks the Luger he brought to Milan. Speaking of…

The Gun

Dave’s weapon of choice is the iconic Luger P08, the German-designed semi-automatic pistol developed around the turn of the century. The pistol was developed by Georg Luger (go figure) as the “Modell 1900 Parabellum” as an improvement upon the earlier Borchardt C-93 pistol. When it was adopted for German military service in 1908, the now-outmoded 7.65x21mm Parabellum cartridge was replaced by the larger 9x19mm Parabellum, which remains a universal standard more than a century later.

Dave’s Luger-powered last stand.

The Luger’s unique toggle-locked action—demonstrated by Dave when he pulls the pistol from his suitcase—adds to the Luger’s distinctive look, making it recognizable to many who aren’t otherwise well-versed in firearms. Several European militaries had adopted the Luger through the first half of the 20th century, and it may be best-known for its use by the Germans in World Wars I and II.

The Car

Dave and Frank cruise through Milan in their rented white 1967 Pontiac LeMans Spirit convertible. The LeMans was introduced as a top trim package for the Pontiac Tempest in 1961 but became its own model within two years. The LeMans was redesigned on GM’s A-body platform for ’64, which would carry through until the model was first discontinued in the early ’80s.

By 1967, the LeMans was offered in four body styles ranging from two-door convertibles and hardtop coupes to four-door sedans and station wagons. The base engine was a 230 cubic-inch I6 with two variations of a 326 cubic-inch V8 (the two-barrel 250-hp standard and the four-barrel 285-hp “High Output”) available for more performance-oriented drivers.

Available on all LeMans models but the wagons was the “Sprint” package, characterized by a four-barrel version of the 230 cubic-inch I6 engine rated between 207 and 215 horsepower as opposed to the standard 165-hp single-barrel engine. LeMans Sprint models could be mated to the “all-syncro” three-on-the-floor transmission with a Hurst shifter, though four-speed manual and two-speed automatic transmissions were also available.

The LeMans was again redesigned for 1968 and would be continuously produced through the 1981 model year, though the Sprint package wouldn’t last beyond ’69, as it was being regularly outsold by Pontiac’s more powerful GTO model—now a serious contender in the increasingly competitive muscle car class.

What to Imbibe

While Dave and Frank get acclimated in their Milan hotel room, Eva pours each of them a Carpano Punt e Mes red vermouth, neat—though Dave is the only one who is drinking, toasting:

To our health—and to mine!

Put that away, Dave.

Punt e Mes is a longstanding Carpano offering, supposedly inspired by an 1870 order by an Italian stockbroker who ordered a half-measure of bitter—”punt e mes”—to his usual order of Carpano. Regulars to the shop soon followed the stockbroker’s order, resulting in the gesture of a raised thumb and a straight line traced upward to signal the order to the bartender.

How to Get the Look

Henry Silva in The Italian Connection (1973)

Dave Catania looks every bit the man about town in 1970s Milan, with a fashionable leather jacket and trousers just tight enough to allow him to conceal his Luger.

• Dark brown leather moto-style jacket with broad lapels, asymmetrical zip-up front, and set-in sleeves with zip-back cuffs
• Bold printed polyester sport shirt with long point collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Tan flat-front trousers with tall belt loops, frogmouth-style front pockets, yoked back with no pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark brown leather mid-calf boots
• Dark brown socks
• Rolex Day-Date ref. 1803 with 18-karat yellow-gold 36mm case and champagne dial (with top day window and 3:00 date window) on gold “Presidential” three-piece semi-circular link bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, part of the Fernando Di Leo Crime Collection Blu-ray package.

The Quote

If he can’t look after his own, we’ll teach him how.

The post The Italian Connection: Henry Silva’s Leather Jacket appeared first on BAMF Style.

Peter Falk as Charlie Adamo in Machine Gun McCain (1969)

Vitals

Peter Falk as Charlie Adamo, ambitious gangster

San Francisco and Las Vegas, Summer 1968

Film: Machine Gun McCain
(Italian title: Gli intoccabili)
Release Date: April 1, 1969
Director: Giuliano Montaldo
Costume Designer: Enrico Sabbatini

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Born 96 years ago today on September 16, 1927, Peter Falk may be best remembered as the rumpled but indefatigable Lieutenant Columbo (to the extent that his September 16th is also observed as “Wrinkled Raincoat Day”), but Falk spending most of his screen time wearing a handsomely tailored tuxedo in the 1969 Italian crime film Machine Gun McCain illustrates how the Bronx-born actor could clean up well. (And yes, I do plan on writing about Falk’s iconic wardrobe in Columbo someday!)

Released in Italy as Gli intoccabili (translated to “The Untouchables”) and based on the Ovid Demaris novel Candyleg, Machine Gun McCain joins the subject of my prior post as a prime example of poliziottesco, an Italian crime subgenre that emerged during the nation’s violent “Years of Lead” era and typified by corruption, violence, cynicism… and American lead actors. In this case, Falk was joined by his pal and frequent collaborator John Cassavetes, who portrays the eponymous ex-bank robber opposite Falk as gangster Charlie Adamo.

Apropos Falk’s birthday today, we first see Charlie wearing his fine dinner suit during a birthday celebration in his honor, where he meets McCain’s son Jack (Pierluigi Aprà). Charlie brings it back out of his closet while awaiting a visit from Don Francesco DeMarco (Gabriele Ferzetti), who plans on investigating claims that Charlie has been abusing his power as the Mafia’s chief of West Coast operations by expanding into the still-untouchable territory of Las Vegas.

What’d He Wear?

“How lovely to see you! What an elegant tuxedo,” Charlie’s wife Joni (Florinda Bolkan) comments to Don Francesco upon his arrival in San Francisco. “What do you call this, a pair of pajamas?” Charlie grumbles in response, indicating his own dinner suit.

Charlie’s frustration is understandable, as the mafioso looks sharp in his midnight-blue wool-and-mohair tuxedo—again, a far cry from the enduring pop culture image of Peter Falk in Columbo’s wrinkled raincoat, loose tie, and scuffed shoes.

The single-button dinner jacket features a narrow silk-faced shawl collar and soft shoulders, just wide enough to emphasize a masculine silhouette. The sleeves are roped at the sleeveheads and finished with three flat navy-blue cuff-buttons that match the single front button, perfectly positioned at Falk’s natural waist. The ventless back and straight jetted hip pockets are consistent with traditional black-tie tailoring. Charlie dresses the welted breast pocket with a white linen or cotton pocket square, folded to show just a single point.

Charlie wears two formal shirts with his dinner suit. The first is a traditional white cotton evening shirt, distinguished from the other by its narrow-pleated front and a front placket with white mother-of-pearl buttons closing up the front. The shirt has a semi-spread collar and squared double (French) cuffs that he wears with his usual silver-toned links.

Charlie’s black silk bow-tie neatly echoes the color and width of his dinner jacket’s silk-faced shawl collar. This self-tying bow-tie follows the diamond-pointed “butterfly” shape, a somewhat lesser-seen (but always welcome) alternative to the classic butterfly or batwing shapes.

For the last time Charlie wears his dinner suit, he wears yet another plain white cotton evening shirt with a semi-spread collar and squared double cuffs, but this shirt has a plain-woven body (sans pleats) and a dressy covered fly front.

With his untied bow-tie, cigarette, and distressed expression, Peter Falk’s last act as Charlie Adamo looks a little more like we’re used to seeing him between Columbo, Wings of Desire, and his collabs with Cassavetes.

Charlie’s flat-front formal trousers are made from a midnight-blue mohair-blend cloth that matches his jacket, detailed with the requisite silk side-braiding—here two narrow parallel stripes that flank the trousers’ side seam from waist to the plain-hemmed bottoms. He covers the waistband with a black pleated silk cummerbund, a classic element of black tie that defines the break between shirt and trousers under the dinner jacket.

The cummerbund and his oft-buttoned jacket prevent us from seeing more of the trouser waistband—illustrating that he wears these pieces correctly—but the brief we look at Charlie without his jacket on shows that he isn’t wearing suspenders, and thus the trousers are likely either perfectly tailored to fit Falk’s waistband or they’re styled with side-tab adjusters.

Consistent with his understated and classic dinner suit, Charlie doesn’t wear an abundance of garish jewelry, only adding the sole affectation of a silver ring on his left pinky, which appears to be a trio of small diamonds arranged in an eye-shaped setting. On his left wrist, he wears a stainless steel watch on a tan leather strap.

In case you missed the spoiler alert at the top of this post… things don’t go so well for Charlie. At least he goes out in style though—check out the sheen on that tux!

Charlie’s black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes and black dress socks are classic footwear with black tie.

The Gun

After the McCains carry out their plan to rob the Royal, a distressed Charlie realizes he’ll be a target and arms himself with a blued Colt Python “snub-nose” revolver. Characterized by a ventilated rib along the top of the barrel, the Python was introduced in 1955 as Colt’s entry into the .357 Magnum premium revolver segment, at the time dominated by Smith & Wesson. The Python soon gained a reputation for reliability that followed through its initial fifty-year production timeline.

The first Python revolvers had six-inch barrel lengths and Colt’s newly developed “Royal Blue” finish, though the Python would soon be available in a nickel finish as well as four-inch, three-inch, and 2.5-inch barrels—the latter as featured in Peter Falk’s hands in Machine Gun McCain.

What to Imbibe

Charlie keeps some Courvoisier in his office, which he pours out for himself and Don Francesco, who describes it as “delicious.”

Hey wait, I thought that guy’s favorite drink was Corsican brandy!

The youngest of the “big four” cognac houses, Courvoisier was founded in 1835 in the Parisian suburb of Bercy, where Napoleon Bonaparte had supposedly been inspired to arm his artillery companies with rations of cognac after an 1811 visit. Though Napoleon I was dead for more than a decade by the time Emmanuel Courvoisier began production, his nephew Napoleon III personally requested Courvoisier as “Official Supplier to the Imperial Court” toward the end of his reign as Emperor. In 1951, Courvoisier introduced its now-familiar wide-based bottle with a narrow neck, known as the “Josephine” bottle in tribute to Napoleon’s first wife.

How to Get the Look

Peter Falk as Charlie Adamo in Machine Gun McCain (1969)

• Midnight-blue wool-and-mohair tuxedo:
  • Single-button dinner jacket with narrow silk-faced shawl collar, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Flat-front trousers with side pockets, double silk-braided side stripe, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton evening shirt with semi-spread collar, narrow-pleated front, front placket, and squared double/French cuffs
• Black silk diamond-pointed butterfly-shaped bow-tie
• Black pleated silk cummerbund
• Black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Black dress socks
• Silver pinky ring
• Stainless steel watch on tan leather strap
• White linen pocket square

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The post Peter Falk’s Tuxedo in Machine Gun McCain appeared first on BAMF Style.

Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner in Boogie Nights (1997)

Vitals

Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner, avuncular adult film director

San Fernando Valley, California, Summer 1984

Film: Boogie Nights
Release Date: October 10, 1997
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Although the film contains very little that I can personally relate to (other than, perhaps, margarita-fueled arguments about Star Wars), the end of Boogie Nights has always reminded me of the end of summer.

Set just before dusk on a June night in the San Fernando Valley, the finale is comprised of just two long shots: one following pornographer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) through the hallowed halls of his MCM dream house, and the movie’s iconic final shot that finally reveals Dirk Diggler’s much-discussed money maker to the audience.

After putting most of its cast through the proverbial ringer, from gun violence to sidewalk beatings, all’s well that ends well for Jack’s “family” after they return to the relative safety of his compound in the valley. Compared to what we had just seen, everyone gets a happy—if mellow—ending, consistent with Jack’s taste in stereo systems:

I don’t want loud. I want… mellow. That’s what I want.

Scored by a reprise of the Chico Hamilton Quintet’s soft and jazzy 1955 instrumental “The Sage”, Jack works his way through the house, giving us one last moment with the cast of misfits we’ve come to care for, from the awkward Scotty (Philip Seymour Hoffman) helping to unload the cases of film outside, gregarious club owner Maurice (Luis Guzman) stinking up the kitchen, Rollergirl (Heather Graham) avoiding the mess in her bedroom, gym-rat porn star Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) showing Buck and Jessie’s newborn how to swim while Jessie (Melora Walters) paints the scene and Buck (Don Cheadle) tries to sell Jack on some stereo equipment.

Passing Jessie’s questionable but well-intended portrait of the late “Little Bill” (William H. Macy) in the spot where he killed himself—and arguably redefined the vibe from the free-loving ’70s to cynical ’80s—Jack takes a moment with his leading lady Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), offering “the foxiest bitch in the world” some reassurance before she films a scene with the newly returned but hardly humbled Dirk (Mark Wahlberg).

What’d He Wear?

With just a few exceptions, Jack Horner regularly wears matching shirts and trousers throughout Boogie Nights—a master of the style that has been recently revived as the “matching set” or “walking suit”. Though the styles differ, Jack typically sports his sets in all-American shades of red, white, and blue, cycling through three different red-shaded sets that appear during pivotal moments of Dirk Diggler’s career: first, a white-embroidered red guayabera while recruiting a young Eddie Adams at Maurice’s club, then a rust-shaded shirt and pants while directing the newly re-christened Dirk’s first scene, and finally this plain red safari suit during the finale.

Safari suits are a recurring style in Jack’s wardrobe, appropriately fashionable from his late 1970s heyday while also boasting enough military-inspired detail consistent with Jack’s position of authority on his sets and among his “family”. Safari shirts and jackets had emerged as function-informed sporting clothes in the early 20th century, often in shades of khaki or green appropriate for the wilderness. By the ’70s, safari clothes had been appropriated as leisure-wear, resulting in garments like Jack’s short-sleeved safari shirt-jacket and matching trousers in a bloody shade of red—impractical for the bush but befitting bold ’70s casual-wear.

Safari shirts are ideal for navigating the bush (so to speak) of a pornographer’s estate in the San Fernando Valley.

Jack’s red safari shirt-jacket has a large point collar, which retains its stiff standing shape, likely due to hidden buttons that fasten each collar leaf to the body of his shirt. Consistent with the military influence on safari clothes, the shoulders are detailed with epaulets (shoulder straps), sewn to the top of each set-in short sleeve and with the pointed end buttoned down to the shoulder. A horizontal shoulder yoke extends across the back between both elbow-length sleeves, which are banded at the ends.

The front placket has seven red recessed plastic sew-through buttons, with the top two left undone. The shirt-jacket has four patch-style pockets pockets—two inverted box-pleated pockets on the chest, and two larger plain pockets on the hips—with scalloped flaps that each close through a single button that matches the red buttons on the placket and epaulets. Designed to be worn untucked as Jack does, the shirt-jacket has side vents aligned with the seams extending down from each armpit.

The matching flat-front trousers have side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms, cut with a surprisingly restrained degree of flair for such a ’70s-trending look.

Jack’s snuff-brown suede loafers have moc-toe stitching and tan rubber outsoles.

Jack checks in on the youngest member of his extended family… and confirms that he isn’t peeing in his pool.

Jack’s regular assortment of jewelry is all yellow-gold, including his flat necklace and a chunkier anchor chain-link bracelet he wears on his right wrist.

On his left wrist, Jack wears a yellow-gold Rolex Datejust that Jake’s Rolex World suggests to be Burt Reynolds’ own watch, likely made sometime in the late 1950s or early ’60s due to unique details like its sword/leaf hands. The watch has a deep blue dial with diamonds at each hour index, echoing the diamonds encrusted along the bezel, and a unique gold five-piece (non-Jubilee) bracelet.

“I don’t want loud,” proclaims the guy wearing a diamond-studded vintage gold Rolex.

How to Get the Look

Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner in Boogie Nights (1997)

• Red safari-style short-sleeved shirt-jacket with large point collar, epaulets/shoulder straps, four patch pockets (with single-button scalloped flaps), and side vents
• Red flat-front trousers with side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Snuff-brown suede moc-toe loafers
• Yellow-gold anchor-chain link bracelet
• Yellow-gold Rolex Datejust with deep blue dial (with diamond hour indices), diamond-encrusted bezel, and gold five-piece bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

We have got all the time we want.

The post Boogie Nights: Burt Reynolds’ Red Finale Safari Suit appeared first on BAMF Style.

Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O (Episode 1.01: “Cocoon”)

Vitals

Jack Lord and Steve McGarrett, Hawaii state police “Five-O” task force commander

Honolulu, Fall 1967

Series: Hawaii Five-O
Episode: “Cocoon” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: September 20, 1968
Director: Paul Wendkos
Creator: Leonard Freeman
Costume Designer: Richard Egan

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Book ’em, Danno! Today is the 55th anniversary of when the original Hawaii Five-O series premiered with the TV movie “Cocoon” on Friday, September 20, 1968. Conceptualized by creator Leonard Freeman, Hawaii Five-O set new records for TV longevity by lasting twelve seasons, all of which were almost entirely set and filmed in the Hawaiian islands.

The series centers around the Five-O Task Force, a fictional state police agency commanded by Detective Captain Steve McGarrett, who reports directly to the governor. Despite the pivotal role, McGarrett wasn’t cast until less than a week before filming began when Freeman called on Jack Lord.

From the start, Lord was interested in controlling the series as much as he could, a degree that only grew after Freeman’s death in 1974. While this control meant an overall focus on his performance as McGarrett, Lord’s perfectionism also presented as extreme attention to detail and an insistence on casting Hawaiian locals (rather than “mainland” actors), both adding verisimilitude and boosting the Hawaiian production industry. (You can read more about Lord and Hawaii Five-O in this excellent tribute from Vintage Leisure by SoulRide.)

As with most pilot episodes, “Cocoon” features a few unfamiliar elements and cast members as Hawaii Five-O workshopped what would becoming its winning formula, but an essential piece that was there from the start is the iconic Morton Stevens-composed surf rock theme.

Five-O, go ahead!

We meet McGarrett as he responds to an urgent call from dispatch that directs him to Hanauma Bay, where he discovers the corpse of a dead intelligence agent named Hennessy, whom McGarrett would later describe to Det. Kono Kalakaua (Zulu) as “one of those redheads who got sunburned walking to the grocery store… it’s why he never learned to swim.” McGarrett searches for clues in the dead man’s apartment, where he’s attacked by an assassin (Bill Saito) wielding a trench knife but ducks out of the way, simultaneously shooting his would-be killer.

McGarrett is dismayed when intelligence agents (Andrew Duggan and Leslie Nielsen) take over, telling him that “everyone knows that Steve McGarrett only takes orders from the governor… and God. Occasionally, even they have trouble.”

What’d He Wear?

The credited costume designer on Hawaii Five-O was Richard Egan (not the contemporary actor of the same name), though—given Jack Lord’s controlling involvement with the series’ creative decisions, it’s hardly likely that he would have allowed anyone else to inform how he dressed as Steve McGarrett. Through the entire series, McGarrett maintained a consistent pattern of dressing: single-breasted suits (typically in shades of blue and tropical tan), white and light-blue shirts, and coordinated solid ties—it wasn’t until later in the series run that McGarrett began regularly incorporating odd jackets and patterned ties.

“Cocoon” introduces McGarrett in a well-tailored two-piece suit made from a soft slate-blue gabardine. This suit may have appeared in subsequent episodes, but the most frequently seen suit from McGarrett’s wardrobe in the early seasons was more of a marine blue-colored fabric, lacking the gray cast present in this suit’s fabric. (I don’t know who made this specific suit, but a BAMF Style follower commented on Instagram that Lord mentioned Brioni as his regular tailor around this time.)

The cut is typical of Lord’s screen-worn suits, with a single-breasted, three-button jacket that he often wears in “Cocoon” with the top two buttons done. The narrow lapels have shallow notches, consistent with fashions of the mid-’60s and considerably smaller than the more dramatic notch lapels he would wear later in the 1970s. The ventless jacket also has wide, soft shoulders, a straight welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, and three-button cuffs.

The suit’s matching darted-front trousers also follow the typical Lord cut, with a long rise to the 6-foot-tall actor’s natural waist. Rather than belt loops, the waistband has three-button “Daks top” adjuster tabs on each side and an extended squared tab over the front that closes through a hidden hook-and-eye closure. The trousers have full-top “frogmouth”-style front pockets and no back pockets. The trousers are tapered through the leg down to the plain-hemmed bottoms that break above his insteps.

McGarrett often removes his jacket and tie and unbuttons the top of his shirt while commanding his detectives from his office. The removed jacket in turn reveals McGarrett’s shoulder rig, comprised of a light-brown leather holster under his left armpit, connected to a tan leather strap over his left shoulder and a longer cream vinyl that loops around his right shoulder to keep the rig in place.

His shirts are always conventional colors, typically white, cream, or light-blue, like this pale-blue cotton shirt he wears with his slate suit in “Cocoon”. The shirt has a semi-spread collar, plain front (no placket), two breast pockets, and rounded button cuffs.

McGarrett wears a dark navy satin silk tie, knotted in a four-in-hand and tucked into his trouser waistband, secured just a few inches above it by a straight gold tie bar.

McGarrett wears black leather ankle boots, styled with an apron-toe and a unique long-vamped V-shaped opening with only a single set of lace eyelets. He wears dark navy dress socks.

Likely Jack Lord’s own timepiece, McGarrett’s yellow-gold dress watch has a round off-white dial, detailed with gold hands and gold numeric hour indices at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. The watch is secured to Lord’s left wrist on a dark brown leather strap.

The Gun

McGarrett and his team of Five-O detectives regularly carry the blued Smith & Wesson Model 36 double-action police revolver. Although some were produced with three-inch barrels, the classic Model 36 configuration featured a two-inch “snub-nose” barrel.

McGarrett draws his Smith & Wesson Model 36 on an assassin who attacks him in Hennessy’s apartment.

Built on Smith & Wesson’s small J-frame, this .38 Special revolver was dubbed the “Chiefs Special” upon its introduction at the 1950 convention for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) but was redesignated the Model 36 when S&W moved to a numerical naming system later that decade. The Model 36’s five-round capacity allowed it to be somewhat lighter and more concealable than six-shot contemporaries like the Colt Detective Special or Smith & Wesson’s own Model 10.

The Car

It was evidently at Jack Lord’s insistence that Ford vehicles be featured on Hawaii Five-O, including the trio of black Mercury hardtops that Steve McGarrett drives over the course of the series. In the two-part pilot “Cocoon”, McGarrett drives a black 1967 Mercury Marquis two-door with a black vinyl roof and red interior.

1967 was the first model year for the Marquis, introduced by Mercury as a two-door-only hardtop trim positioned above the Park Lane, equivalent to the Ford LTD. The standard ’67 Marquis was powered by a 410 cubic-inch Marauder V8 that generated 330 horsepower, mated to either a standard four-speed manual transmission or the three-speed “Merc-O-Matic” automatic as featured in McGarrett’s Merc.

Beginning with the first episode after the pilot, McGarrett updates to a 1968 Mercury Park Lane Brougham four-door hardtop. Midway through the seventh season, he again updated his ride to a 1974 Mercury Marquis Brougham four-door hardtop that he would drive through the end of the series. You can read more about McGarrett’s Mercurys at the Hawaii Five-O homepage.

The Marquis model name would outlive Hawaii Five-O, with the last Mercury Marquis produced for the 1986 model year, though it had by this time shifted from the full-size body to the mid-size Ford Fox platform.

How to Get the Look

Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O (Episode 1.01: “Cocoon”)

The lapel widths and pockets may change with the decade, but Steve McGarrett typically restrained his office-wear to an infallibly classic template: smartly tailored single-breasted suits, white or light-blue cotton shirts, and coordinated solid-colored ties—rotating between warm tropical tones with his tan suits or cooler-hued business-wear in shades of blue and gray. When we first meet McGarrett, he’s sporting the latter.

• Slate-blue gabardine suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with narrow notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Darted-front trousers with three-button “Daks top” side adjuster tabs, frogmouth-style front pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Pale-blue cotton shirt with semi-spread collar, plain front, two breast pockets, and button cuffs
• Navy satin silk tie
• Black leather apron-toe 1-eyelet derby-laced ankle boots
• Dark-navy dress socks
• Gold dress watch with round off-white dial on dark brown leather strap
• Light-brown leather shoulder holster on tan leather-and-cream vinyl loop system

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series. Fans of the show should also check out the extensively researched and detailed Hawaii Five-O homepage maintained by Mike Quigley.

The Quote

Nobody backs me off a homicide on my beat.

The post Hawaii Five-O, Episode 1: Jack Lord’s Slate Suit appeared first on BAMF Style.

Jason Schwartzman as Augie Steenbeck in Asteroid City (2023)

Vitals

Jason Schwartzman as Augie Steenbeck, widowed war photojournalist (portrayed in-universe by Jones Hall)

The Mojave Desert, Fall 1955

Film: Asteroid City
Release Date: June 16, 2023
Director: Wes Anderson
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“Each year, we celebrate Asteroid Day, commemorating September 23, 3007 B.C., when the Arid Plains Meteorite made Earth impact,” General Grif Gibson (Jeffrey Wright) explains to the gathered crowd of Junior Stargazers and Space Cadets and their parents in Asteroid City, the latest from Wes Anderson—a colorful reflection of grief and loneliness in a delightfully surreal “cosmic wilderness”.

Vividly photographed in Anderson’s signature style, Asteroid City centers around a fictional play staged for live television in the 1950s, scored by a great early ’50s guitar soundtrack featuring contemporary hits by Les Paul & Mary Ford and cowboy singers like Slim Whitman and Tennessee Ernie Ford as well as Alexandre Desplat’s evocative original score. The play is set in a fictional town of 87, located approximately “halfway between Parched Gulf and Arid Plains” near a nuclear testing site in the California/Arizona/Nevada region, according to the opening lines of playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton).

The ostensible protagonist among our ensemble cast is the Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), a jaded war photojournalist and—initially unbeknownst to his “brainiac” son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) and three younger daughters that he’s traveling with—a recent widow. “Let’s say she’s in Heaven… which doesn’t exist for me, of course, but you’re Episcopalian,” Augie reassures his children while grasping their mother’s ashes in a teal Tupperware bowl.

“Come here, give me a hug.”

Asteroid City was merely meant to be a stop on the way to drop his daughters off with his father-in-law Stanley Zak (Tom Hanks), but their station wagon gives out and strands the Steenbeck family in this unique desert hamlet during Woodrow’s Junior Stargazers convention… an event that proves to be both world-changing and strangely prescient, given the recent headlines that seem to give credence to theories of extraterrestrial life.

“Act 1, Friday morning, 7 a.m.,” begins on September 23, 1955, when the Junior Stargazers and Space Cadets gather in Asteroid City to be recognized for their scientific achievements, only to be unexpectedly joined by an alien (Jeff Goldblum) who cautiously lowers himself into the crater, collects the famed fragment of the meteorite that created it, and poses for Augie to take a single photograph before ascending back into the skies.

“The, uh, alien stole the asteroid,” Augie drolly comments after the dozens of attendees are left speechless by the extraterrestrial intervention.

Led by General Gibson, the government is quick to attempt containing the situation by placing the town under military quarantine and subjecting the visitors to a series of examinations. “One week later, our cast of characters’ already tenuous grasp of reality has further slipped in quarantine,” our playwright informs us… perhaps also recalling a mental state shared by many by the end of March 2020!

Amidst the chaos, the glum Augie strikes up a friendship-turned-romance with the equally cynical film actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johanssen), which begins when he snaps her photo in the town diner:

Midge: You took a picture of me.
Augie: Uh huh.
Midge: Why?
Augie: I’m a photographer.

What’d He Wear?

Thoughtfully designed by the prolific Milena Canonero, Augie’s costume follows his adventurous background as a combat photographer, anchored by his military-inspired safari jacket. The character recalls a fellow bearded creative-type who immersed himself in war zones: Ernest Hemingway, who designed his own bush jacket for Willis & Geiger Outfitters in 1936, a year after the term “safari suit” first appeared in an American newspaper, according to The Oxford English Dictionary.

The style originated in the early 20th century to serve its name-informed purpose as a practical garment to wear on African safari, taking style queues from the light-colored, lightweight uniforms worn by European troops serving in warm climates. Over the decades to follow, safari clothing was embraced by sportsmen and adventurers who appreciated its primary purpose, until it went mainstream during the 1970s thanks to designers like Yves Saint Laurent. However, at the time of Asteroid City‘s 1955 setting, safari jackets were still more than a decade away from their fashionable ubiquity during the disco era; Augie’s decision to regularly wear one would be more informed by his profession and experience than fashion trends.

In addition to its war-proven record for durability and mobility, the quartet of secure pockets on safari jackets would be an asset for a photographer like Augie who would need fast and frequent access to film and other equipment.

Augie’s safari jacket follows the example of most contemporary examples, made in a khaki twill cloth that resembles warm-weather military uniforms—likely either cotton, a lightweight worsted wool, or an equivalent weather-appropriate blend. The jacket has short notch lapels that roll to the top of a high-fastening front with four mixed tan horn buttons, all of which Augie wears buttoned.

Less structured than the typical tailored single-breasted jacket, this jacket’s design follows the typical hallmarks of safari style, including the military-style epaulets (shoulder straps), four pockets, belted waist, and pleated “action back”. The full self-belt fastens just below the third button through a brown leather-covered double-prong buckle, and he tucks the rest of the tail behind the belt to keep it out of his way—the belt itself passes through two self-loops on each side and a single self-loop in the center of his back.

There are two box-pleated chest pockets and two larger patch hip pockets, all which close through a respective rectangular flap with a single button. The shoulders are detailed with epaulets, sewn to the top of each set-in sleeve-head and with the pointed end buttoned to the body of the coat closer to the neck. The sleeves end with squared shirt-style barrel cuffs that each close through a single button matching those on the front, pockets, and epaulets. A horizontal yoke spans the width of Augie’s back from armhole to armhole, and an inverted box pleat down the center of his back (aligned with the vent below his belt) adds a greater degree of arm movement.

Even Augie doesn’t know why he’s about to do what he’s about to do.

Augie’s tendency to wear his jacket fully buttoned (even in his motel room) means we see little of his white sport shirt. The little we can discern is that it’s likely short-sleeved and has some fraying around the edges of the camp collar, suggesting that it’s seen plenty of action in his photojournalistic adventures. The collar is of the “loop collar” style, so named for the small loop that extends out from the left side to hook around a button positioned under the right collar leaf. When unbuttoned, this typically wears flat like a traditional camp collar (think of aloha or bowling shirts), but Augie always keeps his shirt buttoned to the neck.

Augie tonally coordinates his outfit with a pair of beige flat-front trousers that are just a shade lighter (and a shade warmer) than his khaki safari jacket, though we can see little of these other than the straight-leg cut down to the short-break bottoms, finished with turn-ups (cuffs).

Though now an ubiquitous menswear staple, khaki slacks were only recently popular in the mid-’50s, having gained traction thanks to returning servicemen wearing their tan G.I.-issued slacks as workwear at home. Having worked alongside khaki-wearing troops in World War II, Augie was likely an early adopter.

Worn with light tan ribbed socks that continue the leg-line of his trousers, Augie’s footwear are almost certainly the Alden 405 boots made famous by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, an adventurous association that resulted in their enduring moniker of “Indy Boots”.

These iconic ankle-high work boots are characterized by the contrasting apron-toe stitching against the brown calfskin uppers and derby-laced arrangement of five sets of eyelets and four sets of speed hooks—all finished in black. The boots feature Goodyear welting and neoprene cork outsoles with Thomas heels.

Strapped to a worn-in khaki NATO-style strap with a wide keeper, Augie’s stainless steel wristwatch resembles an elevated alternative to the field watches he would have seen while embedded in combat zones. The black dial features silver-toned hour indices, including Arabic numerals for 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock.

I’ve seen similar contemporary watches by major watchmakers like Longines, Omega, Rolex, Tudor, and Universal, but I don’t believe it’s any of those… though something like the Omega Constellation (CK 2852) would be a similar vibe and, like Augie’s car, have a name appropriate for the themes of Asteroid City.

Photophiles are likely already aware, but there has sadly never been such a camera as Augie’s combat-lensed “Müller Schmid Swiss Mountain Camera”, which Stephen Dowling determined for Kosmo Foto is likely a Kiev-4, a Ukranian copy of the classic Contax rangefinder.

Augie the recent widow still wears his gold wedding band on the ring finger of his left hand.

The Car

1952 was the first year for the Mercury Monterey, though the “woodie” estate wagon wasn’t offered until the 1953 model year, at odds with the mechanic (Matt Dillon) commenting on the “’52 estate model” that Augie drives into Asteroid City with his family. Regardless of this reasonable in-universe slip-up (which makes even more sense when considering that the “mechanic” is merely a creation by Conrad Earp, who wouldn’t have had access to modern resources to pinpoint his mechanic’s dialogue), Mercury is an appropriate marque for a character to be driving given its planetary associations and the overall cosmic vibe of Asteroid City.

I suspect Augie’s vehicle is the 1953 Mercury Monterey estate wagon, one of 7,719 built for that model year. The exterior paint is “Tahiti tan”, aside from the two-toned wood paneling across the doors, rear quarter panels, and tailgate.

Under—or, rather, over—the watchful eyes of Woodrow and Augie, the mechanic attempts to diagnose the issues plaguing the Steenbeck family wagon.

The only available engine for the Monterey in 1952 and ’53 would have been the 255 cubic-inch Ford flathead V8, generating 125 horsepower and mated to either the standard three-speed manual transmission or three-speed “Ford-O-Matic” automatic, though we never get a sense of Augie’s transmission since we never actually see the wagon operating under its own power.

How to Get the Look

Jason Schwartzman on set during production of Asteroid City (2023). Photo credit: Roger Do Minh/Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features

Decades before safari style would enter the fashion mainstream, Augie Steenbeck wears his adventurous belted jacket with the authenticity-informed purpose expected of a world-weary combat photographer—effectively complemented by his subdued fraying sport shirt, G.I.-style khakis, and Indy boots.

• Khaki worsted twill single-breasted 4-button safari jacket with notch lapels, full-belted waist (with leather-covered two-prong buckle), epaulets, two box-pleated chest pockets (with button-down flaps), two patch-style hip pockets (with button-down flaps), and set-in sleeves with single-button squared barrel cuffs, and inverted box-pleated “action back” with single vent
• White cotton short-sleeved camp shirt with loop collar
• Beige flat-front trousers with straight-leg and turn-ups/cuffs
• Brown calfskin leather Alden 405 derby-laced apron-toe work boots
• Tan ribbed socks
• Gold wedding band
• Stainless steel watch with round black dial on worn khaki NATO strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie. The colorful cinematography, surreal Margot Robbie cameo, existential themes, and small atomic-adjacent town in the desert have resulted in some calling it the halfway point between Barbie and Oppenheimer.

You can also read more about the men’s costumes in Asteroid City at A Little Bit of Rest.

The Quote

The other thing she said, which is incorrect, is that time heals all wounds. No. Maybe it can be a Band-aid.

The post Asteroid City: Jason Schwartzman’s Safari Jacket appeared first on BAMF Style.

Chazz Palminteri in A Bronx Tale (1993)

Vitals

Chazz Palminteri as Sonny LoSpecchio, local mob capo

The Bronx, New York, Fall 1960

Film: A Bronx Tale
Release Date: September 29, 1993
Director: Robert De Niro
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Thirty years ago this week, A Bronx Tale was released in theaters across the United States, two weeks after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. This mobbed-up coming-of-age story was adapted from Chazz Palminteri’s autobiographical one-man show of the same name, recalling Palminteri’s own childhood experiences growing up in the Bronx during the 1960s.

Palminteri had been staging his play for a year when Robert De Niro attended a performance in 1990. Impressed by the play, De Niro met Palminteri after the show and the two entered a gentlemen’s agreement to bring the play to the big screen, with Palminteri adapting his own work into the screenplay and De Niro making his directorial debut—dedicated to his father, who died the same year A Bronx Tale would be released.

Having turned 40 in May 1992, three months before filming started in Queens (which retained more of the period than the Bronx had by then), Palminteri was far too old to play the teenage version of himself and instead portrayed “Sonny”, the feared but fair-minded local mob capo. Palminteri’s nomen à clef, Calogero Anello was portrayed at age 9 by the young actor Francis Capra and as a 17-year-old by Lillo Brancato, who would later appear throughout the second season of The Sopranos. De Niro himself would also star as Calogero’s father, based on Palminteri’s own father who—like his screen counterpart—was an honest bus driver named Lorenzo.

Unfortunately for Lorenzo, young Calogero is more awed by the shrewd Sonny who rules their neighborhood. “Nobody’s cooler than you, Sonny,” the nine-year-old Calogero whispers to himself one warm afternoon in October 1960. That same day, Calogero’s relationship to the charismatic and cunning capo changes forever when he witnesses Sonny fatally shooting the driver of a two-toned Mercury who was attacking the driver of a black Cadillac with a baseball bat.

“It wasn’t over a parking space, they just met at the wrong time in their lives,” Lorenzo assures Calogero before the police show up to question the youngster about what he saw. Despite Sonny and Calogero both knowing the other knows exactly what happens, Calogero impresses the neighborhood by refusing to identify Sonny as the triggerman—earning Sonny’s admiration in return.

Eight years later, the teenage Calogero—or “C”, as dubbed by Sonny—is teetering on the precipice of determining which path his life will take: the easy life of crime illustrated by Sonny’s crew and his own violently bigoted friends or the honest route encouraged by his father, who repeatedly reminds his son that “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent.”

What’d He Wear?

The action is set during the 1960 World Series, when Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski made baseball history with his series-winning home run against the Yankees in Game 7  (go Bucs!) Though this dates the scene to October, it’s evidently a warm fall day in the Bronx as most of the men are still dressed for summer in short-sleeved sport shirts.

Sonny stands out as an exception in his fashionable gray silk jacket, which serves both form and function: presenting the dignity of his elevated position while also practically concealing the snub-nosed revolver we soon learn he keeps concealed in his waistband.

Sonny’s three-fingered gestures are famous among Calogero and his friends.

Sonny’s single-breasted sports coat is made from a gray silk, uniquely woven in a series of twill stripes that are intermittently broken up by four-by-two-threaded series woven in black, a darker contrast that presents a check-like effect.

Tailored to flatter Sonny’s frame, the jacket has wide, padded shoulders that emphasize an imposing, masculine silhouette. The fashionably narrow notch lapels roll to two buttons, positioned to meet the top of the trouser waistband at Chazz Palminteri’s natural waist. The three dark-gray vestigial buttons on each cuff match the two on the front. The jacket also has a welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, and—consistent with trends of the early ’60s—narrow side vents.

Note the unique weave of Sonny’s gray silk jacket.

Sonny maintains a cooler-toned palette with his ice-blue voile shirt, patterned with tonal sets of double satin stripes. We see the shirt has a long point collar and front placket, and the lack of cuffs visible from the ends of his jacket’s long sleeves suggest that he’s likely wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

The shirt design likely follows the white voile short-sleeved shirts Sonny would wear in subsequent scenes set in 1960, also featuring point collars and front plackets. Since he removes his jacket with this shirt, we see the elbow-length short sleeves with reinforced side vents. The box-pleated breast pocket closes with a single button through the pointed flap.

The sheer qualities of his plain-woven voile shirts reveal the outline of Sonny’s white cotton sleeveless undershirts.

Sonny pulls on his jacket after a round of stickball in the street. The more defined overcheck on his sports coat suggests a different jacket than the one he wore when he shot Carmine’s attacker, but this may also be an illusion from the angle (as this defined check also appeared during a shot of Sonny standing in the police lineup).

Sonny balances the visually interesting jacket with plain black trousers, which rise to Palminteri’s waist where they’re held up with side adjusters. Unlike sliding-buckle or “Daks top”-style button-tab side adjusters, these straps resemble mini-belts with silver-toned single-prong buckles that close through metal-finished notches. These darted-front trousers have full-top “frogmouth”-style front pockets, a button-through back right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms.

Sonny’s black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes and black socks are appropriately understated and formal footwear for a man in his position, appropriate both with a smart sport jacket and slacks as well as the full silk suits and ties he often wears after the sun goes down.

Sonny keeps his jewelry minimal but intentional. His wristwatch is clearly a Movado Museum, distinctive for the minimalist black dial detailed only with two silver hands and a silver-finished “dot” marking the 12:00 position. The 40mm stainless steel case is fastened to a smooth black calfskin leather strap that closes through a silver-toned single-prong buckle.

The teenage Calogero narrates that “Sonny had five fingers, but he only used three.” One of this three is his left pinky, which he dresses with a silver ring that flares out to a round, diamond-encrusted faced filled in black.

Sonny’s silver-encircled, black-filled ring mirrors the appearance of his Movado wristwatch.

After Sonny ascends to greater gangland power by 1968, he’s rarely seen without a matching silk suit and tie, unlike the 1960 sequences where he’s more frequently dressed down in sport jackets and open-necked shirts.

The Gun

Sonny uses a “snub-nosed” Smith & Wesson Model 36 to commit the pivotal killing that changes his relationship to the young Calogero.

Developed a decade earlier, Smith & Wesson had introduced this five-shot .38 Special revolver during the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convention in 1950, where the attendees voted on its initial moniker as the “Chiefs Special”. Built on Smith & Wesson’s small J-frame with a five-round cylinder that narrowed the width from its six-shot competition like the Colt Detective Special, this double-action revolver with cops, crooks, and civilians as an easily concealed “belly gun” that packed plenty of power with its .38 Special ammunition.

When Smith & Wesson transitioned to a numeric nomenclature system later in the ’50s, the Chiefs Special was redesignated the Model 36, as it would have been known in 1960 when Sonny fatefully shot the driver of the two-toned Mercury. Smith & Wesson produced the Model 36 with both two- and three-inch barrels, with the snub-nosed two-inch configuration as wielded by Sonny being the most popular.

Street vengeance, Sonny-style.

Perhaps having learned his lesson from the heat that the killing brought down on the block, or just having grown older and wiser with his elevated position in the Mafia, Sonny enforces a no-gun policy for Calogero and his reckless pals when they attempt to buy from a local thief in the 1968 scenes.

How to Get the Look

Chazz Palminteri in A Bronx Tale (1993)

Constantly walking the balance of being loved and feared, Sonny dresses consistent with his position as a respected neighborhood gangster: the silk jacket, pinky ring, and luxurious watch are all indicative of his mobbed-up lifestyle, with an open-neck shirt that both keeps him cool and doesn’t look overdressed for an afternoon on the block with his cronies. His subdued shades of gray, black, and blue avoid flash that would advertise his illicit associations to law enforcement.

• Gray patterned silk twill single-breasted 2-button sport jacket with narrow notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and short side vents
• Ice-blue tonal track-striped voile short-sleeved shirt with point collar, front placket, and breast pocket
• Black darted-front trousers with buckle-tab side adjusters, full-top “frogmouth”-style front pockets, button-through back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Black dress socks
• White cotton sleeveless undershirt
• Silver pinky ring with round diamond-encrusted, black-filled face
• Stainless steel 40mm Movado Museum dress watch with black dial (with silver-toned 12:oo dot) on black calfskin leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

I had the pleasure of seeing Chazz Palminteri perform his play live when he came to Pittsburgh last fall, and it was a delight to witness the now-70-year-old actor tell his story with all the energy, emotion, and humor at the heart of A Bronx Tale. I recommend checking out Palminteri’s one-man show if you get the opportunity!

The post A Bronx Tale: Sonny’s Gray Silk Jacket appeared first on BAMF Style.