I’m honored to have been contributed to an article posted today at Iconic Alternatives, featuring my top five favorite outfits from the James Bond 007 series. Iconic Alternatives did all the hard work of tracking down fashionable and affordable options of suits, formalwear, and casual wear worn by Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig in From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, The Man with the Golden Gun, Casino Royale, and Skyfall.

Check it out here if you want to find out my five favorite outfits from the Bond series and affordable alternatives as researched by the pros at Iconic Alternatives. The entire site is a great resource for tracking down individual items to help you dress like the world’s sharpest secret agent.

Image credit: Iconic Alternatives

Did I include any of your favorite James Bond outfits? Feel free to share your favorites or clothing that you’ve found on your own that reflects 007!

Sean Connery and Vanessa Redgrave on set as Colonel Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham in Murder on the Orient Express (1974).

Vitals

Sean Connery as Colonel John Arbuthnot, British Indian Army commanding officer

The Orient Express, December 1935

Film: Murder on the Orient Express
Release Date: November 24, 1974
Director: Sidney Lumet
Costume Designer: Tony Walton

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today is my grandma’s 95th birthday, which she will be celebrating by going to her 9-to-5 job (where she never misses a day!) and then joining our family for a dinner out on the town. One of my favorite memories with Grandma includes Saturday mornings in her kitchen, watching old mystery movies together. This tradition instilled in me a love for the genre as well as an appreciation for classic movies and stars.

Murder on the Orient Express was one of our favorite movies to watch together. Although helmed by the excellent Albert Finney as a charismatic and near-cartoonish Hercule Poirot, the film is also rightly a celebration of some of the most talented women from the silver screen including Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress from her work in this movie.

In addition to Bacall, Bergman, and my grandmother, I want to take a look at another admirable and hardworking woman – Agatha Christie herself – who published her first novel (and introduced Poirot) in 1920, the year before my grandma was born. Christie steadily grew her eccentric character throughout the decade, scribing her first masterpiece in 1928 with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, notable for also “breaking the rules” of detective fiction as outlined that year by S.S. Van Dine. Although she was finding Poirot’s character “insufferable,” Christie trudged on to write Murder on the Orient Express in an Istanbul hotel room in 1934, inspired both by her journey on the Orient Express as well as the recent tragedy of the Lindbergh baby’s kidnapping and murder.

Luckily for her readers, Agatha Christie didn’t find Poirot quite insufferable enough to stop writing about him, turning out excellent fiction until she died in 1976 with more than 30 novels and 55 short stories alone dedicated to the idiosyncratic Belgian with his fine mustaches. Although her work was frequently being adapted for film and stage, the only adaptation that truly had the Agatha Christie stamp of approval was the star-studded Murder on the Orient Express. More or less a straight re-telling of the novel, all characters remained relatively intact and deftly portrayed by a troupe of the most talented and best-known international actors of the era, beginning a trend throughout the next decade of lavish, Christie-penned mysteries filmed with glamorous casts in exotic locales.

It all started with the casting of Sean Connery with director Sidney Lumet’s mindset that signing the biggest star first would lead to a cast full of stars. Connery, fresh from his first revival as James Bond in Diamonds are Forever, eagerly accepted the role, perhaps confident due to his cinematic experience dealing with death on the famous train.

What’d He Wear?

Appropriate for the Scotland-born actor, Sean Connery wears a houndstooth check suit as Colonel Arbuthnot in Murder on the Orient Express. Houndstooth is a duotone check pattern for woven wool cloth made with alternating bands of four dark and four light threads that originated in the Scottish Lowlands under the names “shepherd’s check” or “dog’s tooth”. Colonel Arbuthnot’s three-piece suit is a brown and black houndstooth check with a muted red overcheck.

“Trial by twelve good men and true is a sound system.”

Arbuthnot’s single-breasted suit jacket has wide lapels with large notches. The three brown horns buttons down the front appear to be positioned farther from the edge of the jacket. The flapped hip pockets are straight on the same axis as the lowest button, and there is also a welted breast pocket. There is a long single vent in the back that splits the jacket up to the waist line. The shoulders are structured with heavy padding and roped sleeveheads. Each sleeve ends with 3-button cuffs.

An indignant Colonel Arbuthnot rises to challenge his interrogators.

Arbuthnot’s three-piece suit has a matching single-breasted vest (waistcoat) with six buttons down the front and the lowest button correctly left open over the notched bottom. There is a lower welt pocket on each side of the vest where he keeps his watch or, occasionally, his thumbs.

Arbuthnot stands pensively behind Mrs. Hubbard (Lauren Bacall) as she gets the scoop from Bianchi (Martin Balsam).

Arbuthnot wears his pocket watch on a tight gold Double Albert chain hooked through the fifth button on his vest with a dropped fob.

Arbuthnot’s watch itself is never seen, but the fob is.

Very little is seen of Arbuthnot’s trousers as the bulk of the scene finds him seated at a table in the Orient Express dining car (or behind Vanessa Redgrave), but they certainly have double forward pleats and side pockets. The waist line is concealed by his closed vest, and his feet remain out of the camera frame throughout his time on screen.

Colonel Arbuthnot wears a white dress shirt with a front placket and double cuffs fastened with plain gold disc links. His rounded collar is pinned with a classic gold collar pin that lifts the tie knot. A pinned collar is a good choice for Arbuthnot, a character who puts a lot of fuss into looking like a “correct” and dignified gentleman.

Arbuthnot smokes his peep-er, pipe.

Arbuthnot wears a unique tie with sets of triple thin dress stripes in navy, beige, and olive crossing from left-down-to-right in the classic British regimental direction and a scattered bird motif overlay. Each “bird” appears to have orange wings and a cream head, positioned intermittently with the beige stripe providing the bird’s “tail”.

Arbuthnot’s striped tie is lifted by the pinned collar of his dress shirt.

Flashbacks to the previous night on the train show Arbuthnot wearing his suit with a more old-fashioned white wing collar shirt and a plainer striped tie. The tie appears to have thin, widely spaced orange light blue stripes crossing from right-down-to-left on a dark navy ground.

APOLOGIES for any trauma caused by the excessive cyanic tones of this screenshot!

Arbuthnot’s footwear remains mostly unseen due to the nature of his time on screen, but a few glimpses from production photos of the final “revelation” scene seem to also reveal that he is wearing the same brown leather cap-toe oxford brogues that Connery wore earlier with his sporty Glen Urquhart check Norfolk jacket and plus-fours, an outfit that will be covered in a later post.

Go Big or Go Home

The peep pipe-smoking Colonel Arbuthnot seems to always want to be a gentleman, but the stodgy officer often takes it a patriarchal step too far. Arbuthnot’s hot temper gets the best of him when he perceives that his honor or that of someone close to him is assailed, betraying his acquaintanceship with the deceased Colonel Armstrong by expertly rattling off his military decorations (“He got a D.S.O. and an M.C. in France…”) and betraying his secret relationship with Mary Debenham (Vanessa Redgrave) by protectively offering to sit in on her interrogation.

Miss Debenham, on the other hand, keeps a much cooler head and proves to be very capable of defending herself against Poirot’s theatrical harangue, which – of course – was merely a ruse on Poirot’s part to further bait the “gallant” Colonel Arbuthnot into fighting his way into the room to end the questioning.

Mary Debenham offers Colonel Arbuthnot a covert wink as she follows Poirot into his makeshift interrogation room. Damn, Vanessa Redgrave is cool.

Christie herself is dismissive of the excessively stoic Colonel Arbuthnot in her original novel, disparagingly peppering his interactions with his inherent nationalism. Chapter 8 finds Arbuthnot subject to the first of two intereviews with Poirot:

Poirot proceeded:

“It is that you come home from India on what is called the leave – what we call en permission?”

Colonel Arbuthnot, uninterested in what a pack of foreigners called anything, replied with true British brevity, “Yes.”

How to Get the Look

Colonel Arbuthnot’s countrified houndstooth suit is very sensible for a dignified gentleman on holiday in the ’30s.

• Brown-and-black houndstooth check wool suit, with red overcheck, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with wide notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and long single vent
  • Single-breasted 6-button vest with lower welt pockets and notched bottom
  • Double forward-pleated trousers with side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White dress shirt with gold-pinned round collar, front placket, and double/French cuffs
• Navy-beige-olive diagonal-striped necktie with orange-and-cream bird motif overlay
• Gold cuff links
• Brown leather cap-toe oxford brogues
• Brown dress socks
• Gold pocket watch on gold Double Albert chain with dropped fob

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie and book.

Has anyone seen the latest BBC adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express with David Suchet’s Poirot? I still need to check it out!

I’ve also heard that there will also be an adaptation released in a year – currently slated for November 2017 – with Leslie Odom Jr. taking the role of Doctor (not Colonel) Arbuthnot and director Kenneth Branagh filling the fastidious shoes (and mustache) of Hercule Poirot.

The Quote

Thanks for clearing that up, Colonel.

Michael Douglas as Nick Curran in Basic Instinct (1992).

Vitals

Michael Douglas as Nick Curran, homicide detective with a troubled past

San Francisco, April 1991

Film: Basic Instinct
Release Date: March 20, 1992
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick

Background

There have been a few persistent requests to analyze Michael Douglas’ tailored Cerruti suits and sport jackets in the controversial thriller Basic Instinct, best known for what Sharon Stone wasn’t wearing on screen as opposed to what Michael Douglas was wearing.

Described in his book The Devil’s Guide to Hollywood as an exercise to create the lowest common denominator screenplay possible, writer Joe Eszterhas completed his script within two weeks all while reportedly listening to The Rolling Stones non-stop. Eszterhas sold the script three days later for the astronomical sum of $3 million, cynically reattaining his mantle as the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood.

Eszterhas himself is apologetic about the film’s logical shortcomings, including the on screen investigation’s total ignorance of DNA evidence from the blood-soaked opening murder scene that would have probably solved everything in a few minutes. Oversights like that can be forgiven when recognizing the movie for director Paul Verhoeven’s intent of developing a more explicitly erotic update of pulp detective fiction and Hitchcock thrillers, which often showcased interesting characters, witty dialogue, and noir-esque tone before realistic plot complexities.

Basic Instinct found Michael Douglas pinning on a San Francisco homicide detective’s badge for the first time in nearly two decades since his early role as Steve Keller in The Streets of San Francisco, a Quinn Martin police procedural that ran for three seasons. Douglas’ character was an energetic young investigator paired with an older and wiser police mentor portrayed by Karl Malden.

Instead of the wise guidance of Karl Malden, this Douglas-played detective spends most of his time trading barbs – and then some – with Sharon Stone. So much, in fact, that she would later use the intense choreography of their sex scenes to refer to herself and Douglas as “the horizontal Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of the ’90s.”

What’d He Wear?

Basic Instinct marked the fourth collaboration between Michael Douglas and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, who had designed Douglas’ costumes previously in Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, and Black Rain. For Basic Instinct, Douglas was dressed in sharp suits from Cerruti 1881, an upscale brand from the Paris fashion house founded by Italian designer Nino Cerruti in the late ’60s.

Douglas’ character, Nick Curran, is certainly the type of hotshot who would wear designer suits despite the implications that it may be above the pay grade of his detective salary. Most of Nick’s suits and sport jackets are various shades of brown, including the fully cut taupe suit that he wears for his first appearance on screen. The lightweight high-twist worsted wool suiting is taupe with a subtle blue-gray and brown stripe effect and a silky finish.

Nick leans in to show off his snazzy suiting during a meeting in his therapist/ex-lover’s office.

High-twist worsteds were quickly gaining popularity by this time for the cool-wearing properties of the open weave, as sartorialist G. Bruce Boyer reported for the New York Times in March 1989, replacing the wrinkle-prone linen or less-accepted synthetic blends that had been the hallmark of lightweight summer suits through most of the century. ”We believe there’s something to be said for casual suiting, and like the look of the sophisticated ‘washed’ fabrics – the wool-cotton and silk-wool combinations – that have a special finish that gives them a slightly weathered look,” Murray Pearlstein, then owner and president of Louis, Boston states in Boyer’s article. “But for a crisp business approach, we favor the high-twist suitings.”

Nick’s suit jacket has notch lapels that roll to the top of the two-button single-breasted front. The details of the jacket are very minimalist for a strong, clean look from the well-padded shoulders down to the ventless back. The breast pocket has a slim welt, and the hip pockets are straight and jetted with no flaps. The breast pocket has a slim welt, and the jetted hip pockets are straight on his waist. Each sleeve is roped at the shoulder with two buttons on the cuff.

Nick Curran is certainly the more fashionable of the two partners, but Gus’ look lives up to his “cowboy” nickname.

Nick’s suit trousers are double reverse-pleated with a medium-low rise that nicely meets the low stance of his jacket. He wears a slim black leather belt with a small steel single-prong buckle, likely wearing his black leather belt holster for his issued Glock pistol on the right side. The trouser bottoms are plain-hemmed.

It probably didn’t take Catherine Trammell very long to decide whether she was going to seduce Cowboy or Shooter.

Nick appears to be wearing a pair of brown leather oxfords with a high vamp and brown dress socks.

Shooter and Cowboy report for duty.

When we first see Nick, he is wearing a light blue-gray shirt custom-made for Douglas by Anto of Beverly Hills using end-on-end cotton. The shirt has a point collar, plain front, and button cuffs. His silk tie is complexly patterned with a brick red grid over a mustard gold ground with an ornate earth-toned design in each grid square.

Four days later, when he is suspended from duty, Nick wears a slightly different shirt and tie combination that had earlier been seen when he was dangerously tailing Catherine down to Mill Valley, wearing a brown flannel sport jacket and raincoat. This cornflower blue cotton shirt is styled similarly to his first, also made by Anto and featuring the same point collar. His silk tie consists of light brown patterns specked over a navy ground. He would later wear this same tie with his olive suede sport jacket.

Nick turns to Catherine and Beth when dealing with his recent suspension.

Nick accessorizes with giant black thin-framed aviator sunglasses with brown lenses, similar if not the same as the pair he wore three years earlier in Black Rain… where he played another detective named Nick C. with questionable morals.

Nick’s steel wristwatch isn’t seen much in these scenes, but there are always bizarre timepieces like this if you really want the world to know about your Basic Instinct fanship.

How to Get the Look

It’s no wonder that slick hothead cop Nick Curran made so many enemies on the police forces, dressing sharply in fashionable Italian suits while his cynical peers show up to work in old sport jackets and ratty raincoats.

• Taupe subtly-striped high-twist worsted wool tailored Cerruti 1881 suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 2-button suit jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 2-button cuffs, ventless back
  • Double reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Light blue-gray cotton dress shirt with point collar, plain front, and button cuffs
• Red-and-gold grid-patterned silk tie
• Black slim leather belt with small steel single-prong buckle
• Brown leather balmorals/oxford shoes
• Brown dress socks
• Steel wristwatch with round white dial on steel bracelet
• Black thin-framed oversized aviator sunglasses with brown lenses

Are you more of a “cowboy cop” type? Nick’s partner, Gus, lives up to his nickname with a unique brown herringbone tweed sport jacket detailed with “cran necker” fishmouth lapels and Western-styled front and back yokes.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie… if you’re into that sort of thing.

The Quote

Now, you tell I.A. I’m just your average, healthy, totally fucked-up cop… and let me outta here. Please.

Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder on Justified (Episode 6.07: “The Hunt”)

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Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder, scrappy Harlan County criminal chieftain

Harlan County, Kentucky, Fall 2014

Series: Justified
Episode: “The Hunt” (Episode 6.07)
Air Date: March 3, 2015
Director: John Dahl
Costume Designer: Patia Prouty

Background

Next week is the start of deer hunting season here in western Pennsylvania*, so BAMF Style is taking a look at the appropriately titled “The Hunt”, the seventh episode of Justified‘s sixth and final season. The episode title primarily refers to the hunt for fugitive killer Ty Walker (played brilliantly by Timothy Olyphant’s fellow Deadwood alum Garret Dillahunt) but it also alludes to Boyd and Ava’s venture into the woods.

Ava: What the hell, Boyd?
Boyd: We going hunting.
Ava: What?
Boyd: First day of razorback season, state of Kentucky. I already got the coffee going.
Ava: What time is it?
Boyd: It’s early. And we need to get to the stand while the sun is rising if we gonna bag us a shoat.

Boyd takes a nervous Ava (Joelle Carter) up to his long-departed father’s cabin up in Bulletville, an aptly named location that lent its name to the first season finale. After a night that finds Boyd breaking into a rare bottle of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve**, he leads Ava on an early morning razorback*** hunt, laced with innuendo about killing and betrayal made all the more menacing by the audience’s knowledge – and Boyd’s justified suspicion – that Ava is Raylan’s informant. It isn’t until after he goes off to kill a wild boar and leaves an alarmed Ava unarmed, that he confronts her with his knowledge.

Both Walton Goggins and Joelle Carter brilliantly seize this opportunity to further define their characters with only six episodes remaining in the show’s run. Goggins subtly but definitively throws the full weight of Boyd’s character into each line he delivers, including his seemingly sycophantic small talk that previous opponents like Devil and Johnny recognized as an exploitative weakness to their own peril. Goggins conveys that Boyd’s primary fear is that he has lost Ava’s love, hence his seemingly greater concern that she has returned to Raylan as a romantic interest in addition to being his informant. His fear strips away the sinister layers that he had adopted for their ominous morning as he desperately tries to connect with Ava. A more one-note villain may have seen her confession as the means to her fatal end, but the complexly conflicted, twistedly romantic Boyd convinces himself that his and Ava’s love can be salvaged, and she even acknowledges the possible toxic nature of their association before signing on to rationalize their mutual delusion.

* Western Pennsylvania doubled for Kentucky during Justified‘s pilot episode, which was filmed in the greater Pittsburgh area near me!

** This show loves good bourbon!

*** For those not in the know – like me when I first saw this episode – a “razorback” is an American and Australian colloquial term for a wild boar or hog or feral pig.

What’d He Wear?

Boyd Crowder first donned a pea coat in the third season of Justified when he sported a black wool model over a seemingly endless collection of plaid flannel shirts… always buttoned up to the collar, of course. He wore this coat through the bulk of the third season with sporadic appearances in the end of season 4 and beginning of season 5.

It wasn’t until “The Hunt” (Episode 6.07), the final season’s ostensible midway point, that Boyd again slipped into this classic outerwear staple, this time sporting a dark navy model in 100% wool, a slightly lighter weight than the traditional naval pea coat. (This scene was briefly addressed in the comments section of costume designer’s interview with True To Me Too, where she may have clarified that Boyd’s coat in this scene is from Douglas Fir in Los Angeles while Ava’s red-and-black plaid coat was sourced from RRL.)

Neither of them may be particularly good people, both Boyd and Ava both know how to rock the hell out of a stylish pea coat.

Boyd’s navy pea coat has four closely spaced rows of two dark navy plastic buttons, creating a tight 8-on-4 button layout that differentiates it from both his earlier pea coat and a classic naval pea coat. It has the usual broad “Ulster collar” lapels, short length, and slanted hand pockets characteristic of pea coats. The sleeves have roped shoulders and plain cuffs as opposed to his previous coat, which had single-button tabs at the cuffs.

Due to its lighter weight, the coat’s seams are not swelled like the previous coat. The seam in the back splits at the bottom where there is a short single vent.

With the pea coat, Boyd wears his increasingly common combo of a plaid shirt, vest, and dark jeans. His olive cotton shirt has a blue and black buffalo check. The black plastic buttons are fastened all the way up the front placket and closed under the spread collar; Boyd has an enduring habit for wearing his shirts buttoned up this way. The cuffs also fasten with a button, but Boyd rolls his sleeves up his forearms after removing his coat.

Boyd’s choice of waistcoat for this day in the woods is a dark navy fuzzy wool cardigan sweater vest with a high-ribbed hem across the bottom. It has six large light brown faux-wooden buttons with the bottom button left undone. The welted pockets toward the hip are best seen when Boyd reaches for the Beretta in the back of his waistband.

Boyd wears a pair of very dark indigo-washed denim jeans with the classic five-pocket layout and slim throughout the legs down to the bottoms that Boyd finishes himself with a single turned-up cuff.

Boyd’s belt is wide black plain leather with a large rectangular brass single-prong buckle, very similar to this belt from the appropriately named Moonshine Leather.

Note the small sliver of a white undershirt poking out above the right back belt line as Boyd grips his Beretta.

Boyd also sports his usual footwear, a pair of well-worn dark brown leather work boots with brown laces through four brass eyelets. The yellow oval logo on the soles, seen in other episodes, may help with identification.

Boyd sets aside his kill of the day, signaling to Ava that he may be preparing to make a second kill

Go Big or Go Home

Boyd Crowder prefers to settle his differences with bourbon rather than bullets. He, and many characters on Justified, justifiably turn to Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve whenever possible, but he cites the more accessible (and certainly excellent) Woodford Reserve as his preferred conflict resolution method.

How to Get the Look

Walton Goggins and Joelle Carter as Boyd and Ava on Justified (Episode 6.07: “The Hunt”)

Boyd Crowder dresses warmly, fashionably, and directly on brand for his sinister hunting trip with Ava.

• Dark navy medium-weight wool double-breasted pea coat with 8-on-4 tight button layout, slim-welted slanted hand pockets, plain cuffs, and short single back vent
• Olive green plaid cotton shirt with blue-and-black buffalo check, spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Dark navy wool cardigan sweater vest with six faux-wooden buttons and two lower welt pockets
• Dark indigo blue denim jeans with belt loops, five pocket layout, straight leg fit, cuffed bottoms
• Black plain leather belt with large rectangular brass single-prong buckle
• Brown leather front-laced work boots with brass eyelets and heavy soles
• White ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt

The Gun

Boyd: Are you sleeping with Raylan Givens?
Ava: What?
Boyd: Are you sleeping … with Raylan?
Ava: You’re gonna ask me that?
Boyd: ‘Cause if you are, take it. Take it! Take it! Put a bullet… in my head right now. Do it.

In Boyd Crowder’s bullet-riddled world, this level of drama might be the epitome of romance. He wants Ava to know just how devastating her betrayal was to him… but he’s also testing just who’s side she is on. What Ava doesn’t know – and what we don’t find out until after she refuses to buy into his drama – is that Boyd’s gun, his go-to Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol that spends most of every episode either in his hand or in his waistband, is unloaded.

Boyd checks his Beretta after testing Ava’s loyalty. Note the faux wooden buttons of his navy cardigan.

Naturally, given the episode’s title and the presumption that he is hunting wild hogs, Boyd also brings along a hunting rifle that appears to be a bolt-action Winchester Model 70 with a walnut stock and fitted with a scope.

Boyd the hunter.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the entire series.

Also check out The Bourbon Babe’s entry from this episode, debunking several of Boyd’s claims about Kentucky, whiskey, and Kentucky whiskey. I’d include some here, but the post is so entertaining and well-written that – once you’ve watched “The Hunt” – you should read out for yourself!

The Quote

If they weren’t happy with their lot in my crew, why didn’t they just come to me? I’m a reasonable man. We could have hashed our differences out over a bottle of Woodford.

Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Vitals

Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin, proud, strong, and serious KGB operative

Berlin and Rome, Late Spring 1963

Film: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Release Date: August 2, 2015
Director: Guy Ritchie
Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston

Background

Plans to reboot The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had been in the works for more than two decades by the time Guy Ritchie’s adaptation hit the big screen in the summer of 2015. The original series was created by Ian Fleming, Norman Felton, and Sam Rolfe, debuting in September 1964 as the American response to the wildly successful James Bond franchise… also the brainchild of Ian Fleming.

The original concept of the show focused solely on Napoleon Solo, the suave American agent from the international U.N.C.L.E. spy organization played by Robert Vaughn. Rolfe developed the character of Illya Kuryakin as a laconic Soviet agent who began as a minor character but whose wild popularity quickly propelled McCallum to share the spotlight with Vaughn.

When Armie Hammer took the role for the 2015 film, he incorporated the taciturn and capable intensity trademarked by McCallum’s Illya. The character’s origins were never deeply explored on the show, but the movie explains Illya’s stubborn pride – and violent volatility – as a result of his father’s dishonesty, embezzling Soviet funds. Hammer’s Illya works hard to shed the shame of his father’s transgressions against Mother Russia, living up to his KGB career goal – as Solo describes it – to be “the youngest member to join and pass in three years.”

David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin vs. Armie Hammer in the same role, 50 years later.

What’d He Wear?

As opposed to his debonair partner Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) who prefers tailored three-piece suits, Illya Kuryakin sticks to a very utilitarian wardrobe of casual jacket, turtleneck jumper, and wool trousers that evokes both David McCallum’s original interpretation of the character as well as his contemporary style icon Steve McQueen.

Illya begins and ends the film in the same outfit – a brown suede blouson, dark blue jumper, and gray ranch pants – that has become very popular among fans of the film. Many sartorialists mobilized themselves to track down the elements of Hammer’s wardrobe.

The jacket is an off-the-shelf Ralph Lauren blouson in chestnut brown suede. Though many fans refer to it as a “bomber jacket” in their quest to identify it, Ralph Lauren preferred the more accurate description of “Brown Polo Wilstead Suede Newsboy Jacket”. (Fans may still be able to track one down at Lyst.com.)

Illya’s jacket has a large shirt-style collar with rounded points and a throat latch tab occasionally seen extending from under the left side of the collar. The front closes with a brass zipper. A straight yoke runs horizontally across the top of the back.

The waist hem and the cuffs at the end of each set-in sleeve are knit.

Illya’s jacket befits a man both of serious contemplation and serious action.

Illya’s brown suede “newsboy” blouson has three outer pockets. There is a slanted pocket on the left breast that zips up toward the left shoulder from the chest. Lower on the front, there is a large patch pocket on each side accessed by a straight vertical opening.

This is Illya Kuryakin’s version of a smile.

In both the 1960s TV series and the 2015 film, Kuryakin often wears a dark turtleneck sweater with his shoulder holster strapped over it; this outfit is no exception. Hammer’s Kuryakin wears a dark indigo blue John Smedley “Belvoir” rollneck jumper made from luxurious extra-fine merino wool and still available from John Smedley’s site for the oh-so-luxurious price of $265, where it is described: “expertly crafted from 100% merino wool this soft pullover is cut in slim fit.”

Illya Kuryakin isn’t the only classic cinematic spy to sport a John Smedley jumper; in Skyfall, Daniel Craig’s James Bond wore a Smedley “Bobby” v-neck pullover sweater in black with his Billy Reid pea coat.

Armie Hammer takes a smoke break on the set of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The shoulder rig that Illya Kuryakin wears over his jumper is dark brown leather with the holster for his Makarov pistol hooked under his left armpit for a right-handed draw. The all-leather rig is self-suspending without any hooks or fasteners to his belt or trousers.

The retro details of Illya Kuryakin’s gray wool trousers could certainly evoke Soviet-era work pants but are more indicative of Western-styled ranch pants. The front is flat with curved frogmouth-style pockets, similar to those found on jeans. Both of the jetted back pockets close through a button. The fit is straight through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

That’s one way of dealing with the Berlin Wall…

The belt loops on Kuryakin’s trousers are wide with a distinctive point – similar to keystone loops – through which he wears a dark brown leather belt. Trousers with pointed belt loops and curved frogmouth front pockets were very common during the Western-wear boom of the ’60s and ’70s with many vintage examples from manufacturers like H Bar C still available at various online outlets. Circle S manufactures a polyester pair that can be purchased new for less than $60.

Behind-the-scenes shots of Armie Hammer provide even more insight into his character’s costuming.

Perhaps a subtle hint that Illya is every bit the fashion plate he claims to be when later picking out Gaby’s wardrobe, all of the leather in his outfit – his boots, his belt, and even his holster – are all the same shade of dark brown leather. His cap-toe boots have raised heels and slanting zippers that fasten the inside with straps across the vamp that buckle on the outside, similar to this lighter-colored pair of Arider boots. The ankle height of the boots keep his socks from being evident on screen, but there are flashes of taupe seen between his trouser bottoms and boot tops as he attempts to zip line over the Berlin Wall, indicating the possibility of taupe socks.

Illya skids along a Berlin street in pursuit of Solo and Gaby.

Illya Kuryakin also has a fondness for flat “newsboy” caps – appropriate given the name that Ralph Lauren bestowed on his jacket. According to Bloomberg and TheTake, costume designer Joanna Johnston reportedly custom made both of his “ivy caps” for the film from W. Bill wool, one of the U.K. mills that also contributed fabric for Henry Cavill’s many sharp suits as Napoleon Solo.

Illya’s first cap, worn during the opening scene in Berlin, is a black-on-brown gun club check with a red overcheck. The next day, also in Berlin, he sports a gray mixed tweed flat cap.

Illya Kuryakin tops off (ha!) his look in Berlin with a few custom-made wool flat caps.

When we first meet Illya Kuryakin on a sunny day in Berlin, he is sporting a pair of classic tortoise-framed foldable Persol sunglasses with blue lenses. Think Steve McQueen. Kuryakin would later sport these with his tan Baracuta G9 Harrington jacket.

For the final sequence in Rome, Kuryakin is now wearing a pair of semi-rimmed gold Armani sunglasses with brown gradient lenses, as identified by Bloomberg Pursuits. Armani wasn’t founded until 1975, but these appear to be designed as a more fashion-forward example of Randolph Engineering’s timeless military-style aviators.

A fashion plate like Illya naturally has different designer sunglasses whether he’s in Berlin (sporting Persol) or Rome (wearing Armani).

The quintessential Soviet agent, Kuryakin proudly wears a vintage Pobeda wristwatch. Russian for “victory”, the brand name Pobeda (or Победа) was chosen by Stalin himself in April 1945 to celebrate the eminent Soviet victory. The first public model was produced by the Kirov Watch Factory in March 1946, following Stalin’s decree that the watches be ready in time for the one year anniversary of Russia’s victory in World War II. The Pobeda and other Soviet-era watches can often be found – used, of course – from online dealers like eBay or Etsy.

Though several companies produced watches under the “Pobeda” brand (which was not exclusive to a manufacturer during the Soviet era), the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in St. Petersburg has been producing Pobeda watches since 1946 and current owns the brand.

Every reliable Soviet agent needs a reliable Soviet watch.

Kuryakin’s particular watch, a Pobeda TTK-1 as identified by TheTake, becomes a contentious plot point in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. when he is reluctantly mugged in Rome. It has the trademark mechanically simple 15-jewel movement that requires regular manual winding, housed in a chromium-plated 30mm case with a snap-on stainless steel back lid and a black leather strap. The 26mm dial is off-white with a sub-dial at the 6:00 position.

How to Get the Look

Illya Kuryakin has a fashionably utilitarian approach to on-the-job dressing, opting for a stunt-friendly suede jacket, turtleneck, trousers, and boots that come in comfortably handy when his missions call for zip-lining over the Berlin Wall, hand-to-hand bathroom combat, or tearing apart a car with his bare hands.

• Chestnut brown suede leather Ralph Lauren “Brown Polo Wilstead” newsboy-style blouson jacket with large rounded-point shirt-style collar (with rounded throat tab), slanted zip left breast pocket, vertical-opening patch hip pockets, and ribbed knit cuffs and hem
• Dark indigo blue extra-fine merino wool John Smedley “Belvoir” turtleneck jumper with ribbed cuffs and hem
• Gray wool flat front straight-leg Western-style ranch trousers with pointed belt loops, curved frogmouth front pockets, button-through jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark brown leather belt with round dulled steel single-prong buckle
• Dark brown leather cap-toe ankle boots with buckle/zip sides
• Taupe socks
• Black-on-brown red overchecked wool flat cap
• Persol tortoise-framed foldable sunglasses with blue lenses
• Pobeda TTK-1 chromium-plated wristwatch with off-white dial (with 6:00 sub-dial) on black leather strap
• Dark brown leather self-suspending shoulder holster rig (RHD), for Makarov PM pistol

The Gun

Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin, armed with a suppressed Makarov PM on this promotional poster.

Illya Kuryakin naturally arms himself with the Soviet answer to the Walther PPK, a Makarov PM. The Makarov was designed in 1948 after a post-WWII call to arms as Russia looked for a semi-automatic service pistol to replace its venerable Nagant revolver and bulky Tokarev TT-33 pistol.

The blowback-action pistol first rolled off the line at the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant three years later, chambered in the newly designed 9x18mm Makarov cartridge. The “Pistolet Makarov” served as the standard Russian sidearm for the remaining 40 years of Soviet power and even well beyond in the hands and holsters of military and police.

In The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Illya Kuryakin as well as the East German Volkspolizei officers who stop him are all appropriately armed with Makarov pistols.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie, and check out the original series too!

Iconic Alternatives has developed five incredible prize packages of items to help you live more like James Bond! There are sartorial items like a pale blue Mason & Sons cocktail cuff shirt, Magnoli Clothiers James Bond tie, Goldfinger watch strap, Herring suede desert boots, and a midnight blue dinner suit ensemble as well as a whisky set with cut crystal glasses and a bottle of Macallan 12-year-old single malt Scotch. One prize option will even bring you a step closer to 007’s kitchen with a Chemex coffee maker (as featured in Ian Fleming’s From Russia With Love), the “Q” mug from Skyfall, and Matt Sherman’s book James Bond’s Cuisine.

All that it takes to enter is a short form for your name, email address, DOB, and location. Enter here by 12 midnight (GMT -6) on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in order to win! Good luck!

Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly in Reilly: Ace of Spies (Episode 2: “Prelude to War”)

Vitals

Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly, shrewd Russian-born British government triple agent

Port Arthur, China (then Manchuria), February 1904

Series: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Episode: “Prelude to War” (Episode 2)
Air Date: September 7, 1983
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller

Background

Today’s Throwback Tuesday installment throws us all the way back to February 1904 on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War. According to Reilly: Ace of Spies, the newly minted Sidney Reilly is stationed in Port Arthur, Manchuria, ostensibly under the cover of a shipping agent but secretly working with the Japanese military developing their plans for a sneak attack to take the port away from the Russians. Reilly is shown to be a cold pragmatist, working with Japan against his better judgement and dispassionate regarding his poor wife, Margaret (Jeananne Crowley), whom he had married three years earlier after the mysterious* death of her clergic husband.

* Reverend Hugh Thomas’s death was even more mysterious in real life, with many suspecting that Reilly posed as a doctor in order to poison the clergyman.

Margaret has begun an affair with Reilly’s business partner, Greenburg (Joris Stuyck). As Reilly helps the Japanese move their mechanizations into place and tries to get Margaret evacuated in advance of the attack, he comes across the humble but intrepid Chinese detective, Inspector Tsientsin (David Suchet), who is fiercely loyal to his Russian masters despite their racist abuse to the point that he risks his own life to return to Reilly’s prison cell to execute him for sabotaging the Russian fleet once the attack has begun… only to find that Reilly has escaped thanks to the suggested help of a very James Bond-like cigar.

[Sidney Reilly’s role] is one of the unsolved riddles about the Russo-Japanese War.” – Ian Hill Nish, The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War

Like many of Reilly: Ace of Spies‘ depiction of his adventures, there is some factual basis before being totally exaggerated by both Reilly’s claims and the later account of his friend and associate, R.H. Bruce Lockhart. Following his shady marriage to Margaret Thomas, Sigmund Rosenblum adapted Margaret’s family name of Reilly and traveled with a forged British passport to Imperial Russia, where he developed an oil prospectus for the British government and was paid as an informant, likely dealing with famed spymaster William Melville. By 1901, Reilly and Margaret were in the Far East, having traveled from Port Said, Egypt.

Reilly, c. 1905 as he would have looked around the time of his Manchurian spying, and Sam Neill as Reilly.

Characteristically opportunistic, Reilly’s role in Port Arthur was likely as a double agent for the Russians and Japanese as well as a war profiteer, purchasing raw materials, food, medicine, and coal with his business partner Moses Ginsburg as the prospect of a Japanese invasion grew more and more realistic in the Russian-controlled port. It’s suggested that Reilly even stole the Port Arthur harbor defense plans, as depicted in this episode, to help the Japanese Navy navigate the protective Russian minefield and launch their destructive sneak attack that began the war. Following the attack, Reilly is purported to have briefly traveled to Japan with his mistress to collect payment before reconvening with Melville in Paris that summer to once again discuss oil and trying to convince mogul William Knox D’Arcy to yield his Iranian oil concessions to the British rather than the French.

Though Reilly’s role in the D’Arcy affair is often disputed, it is often accepted that he did indeed play a shadowy role in the Russo-Japanese War and, in particular, the Japanese attack on Port Arthur.

What’d He Wear?

Now a fully fledged British agent, Sidney Reilly spends his last day in Port Arthur wearing corduroy, a traditionally British textile. Reilly’s light brown standard-wale corduroy suit keeps him warm while traversing the hills of Manchuria on horseback. (The episode makes February in what is now the Liaoning province look much warmer than its usual below-freezing temperatures during the month!)

Reilly’s corduroy suit jacket is single-breasted with wide, edge-swelled notch lapels that end high on the front, well above the two-button stance (as though cut for three buttons.) Both front buttons and the two smaller buttons on each cuff are brown woven leather. The swollen front yokes gently slant down from the armpit to the chest.

Reilly makes some final arrangements.

The jacket’s large bellows pockets on the hips more than make up for the lack of a breast pocket, and each one buttons closed through a pointed flap.

Reilly’s jacket has a double box-pleated back with a box pleat extending down from each double point of the back yoke to the belted waist. Just below the wide back belt is a single vent.

Reilly once again ignores his long-suffering wife Margaret to pay attention to his true mistress: financial opportunity.

Not much is seen of Reilly’s matching suit trousers as the bottoms are tucked into his boots and the waist is mostly covered by his vest. They have a flat front with tall belt loops around the waist line, but he appears to instead wear them with suspenders/braces, based on the way the baggy trousers are pulled up in addition to the glints of metal seen between the vest and trouser line in certain shots. There is a single back pocket on the right that closes through a button on a pointed flap.

Reilly and Greenburg conduct business.

Reilly’s tan waistcoat doesn’t contrast from the rest of the suit as much as an odd vest probably should, but the extra layer serves him well for both extra warmth and a slight notch up in formality to make him look more appropriate for his day in the office. The single-breasted vest has seven tan buttons down the front with the bottom button left open over the notched bottom. The satin back lining is also tan with an adjustable strap across the bottom. It appears to be the same vest he had worn previously with his cream suit while in Baku during the first episode.

Reilly: The Shipping Agent has a much less intriguing ring to it than Reilly: Ace of Spies.

The tan odd vest has four welted pockets – two on line with the third buttonhole and the lower two between the fifth and sixth buttonholes. Reilly wears his tarnished brass hunter-case pocket watch in the lower left pocket attached to a single Albert style chain through the fifth buttonhole. Under the cover, Reilly’s watch has Roman numerals on a white face and no sub-dial.

Reilly’s watch at 12:03 a.m., just about 25 minutes before four Japanese destroyers launched their torpedo attack on the Russian fleet.

At the opening of the episode, Reilly is dressed for a day of rigorous riding. He dresses down his already informal suit with a collarless shirt and neckerchief. The cotton shirt has white and blue stripes and 1-button rounded cuffs. There is no stud in the collar band, so it is worn open to reveal a dark brown silk kerchief with white polka dots tied around his neck.

Following his covert daytime meeting with the Japanese Navy, he returns home where he changes into a more professional white shirt and black knit tie for a his cover job as a shipping agent. His plain white dress shirt has a large semi-spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs that he unfastens and rolls up when working at his desk.

What’s that bottle behind Reilly’s head?

In both town and country, he wears a very dark brown felt fedora with matching grosgrain ribbon. This hat feels somewhat anachronistic as this wide-brimmed, high pinched crown style seems more 1934 than 1904 to me; the fedora had been a popular choice for women’s wear through the early 20th century until Edward VIII, notorious trend-setter that he was as the Prince of Wales, began wearing one in 1924.

Reilly’s corduroy suit and fedora contrast against the more working-class flat cap and pea coat sported by his business partner Greenburg.

Reilly doesn’t stray from the outfit’s base earth tones when supplementing it with functional accessories or outerwear. His boots, gloves, and holster are all dark brown leather, not to mention his brown hat and coat.

The Ace of Spies just doing what spies do…

Appropriate given horseback as his primary means of transportation, Reilly wears a pair of tall dark brown plain leather riding boots.

Reilly conspires with a conspirator.

Not much is seen of the worn dark brown leather shoulder belt that Reilly wears across his torso. It hooks over his left shoulder with a buckle in the center of his torso and, apparently, a holster that falls under his jacket at his right hip. He removes it when at the office.

Reilly shows up at the office well-armed.

For his nighttime adventures that find him awaiting execution in a cold, damp jail cell, Reilly wisely donned a heavy brown suede knee-length overcoat with a dark brown fur collar and padded, roped shoulders.

Reilly seemingly accepts his fate when called into the Russian official’s office.

The brown suede coat has a 6-on-3 double-breasted front with an additional button under each of the suede revers, bringing the total to eight large dark brown buttons. In addition to the buttons, the coat has a wide belt to tie around the waist. The back has an inverted center pleat and a long single vent.

How to Get the Look

Sidney Reilly maintains a warm, practical, countrified appearance in his corduroy suit and riding accoutrement.

• Light brown standard-waled corduroy suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 2-button suit jacket with wide notch lapels, large button-down flapped bellows pockets, slanted front yokes and double-pointed back yoke, double box-pleated belted back with single vent, and 2-button cuffs
  • Flat front trousers with tall belt loops and pointed-flap right back pocket
• White cotton dress shirt with large semi-spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Black knit tie
• Tan single-breasted 7-button vest with notched bottom, four welt pockets, and adjustable back strap
• Dark brown leather shoulder belt with holster
• Dark brown plain leather tall riding boots
• Dark brown soft leather gloves
• Dark brown felt wide-brimmed fedora with high pinched crown and dark brown grosgrain ribbon
• Brown suede knee-length overcoat with dark brown fur collar, 6-on-3 double-breasted front, belt, inverted box pleat back, and long single vent
• Brass hunter-case pocket watch with Roman numerals on white dial, worn on single Albert chain

Looking for a more casual look… maybe one more appropriate for a day spent riding? Reilly swaps in a striped collarless shirt and a brown polka-dot silk kerchief around his neck.

Reilly goes riding.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the series. This outfit is featured throughout the second episode, “Prelude to War”.

The Quote

It’s a bad situation, Colonel, but I don’t see why we shouldn’t make money out of it.

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).

Vitals

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

Las Vegas, Fall 1980

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

Background

It’s now December, a chilly month that means seeing plenty of red everywhere to celebrate the holiday season. For my office’s upcoming Christmas party, I’ll be choosing to channel the memorable red-and-black custom-made ensemble that Robert De Niro wore as idiosyncratic casino executive Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino.

The real Ace – Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal – was reportedly a loud dresser himself, known for sporting loud pastels and bold earth tones. Rosenthal’s shirtmaker, Anto Beverly Hills, was even contracted by the filmmakers to delve into its own archives to recreate Lefty’s distinctive shirts and ties for De Niro to wear on screen. (Now that would be a nice Christmas gift for someone, if you’re still looking for ideas…)

Costume designer Rita Ryack has stated that she wanted Casino‘s costume colors to reflect the surrounding level of chaos in the story. In this sequence, things have basically escalated to the same “powder keg” level as the Balkans in 1914. Ace’s mercurial ex-wife Ginger (Sharon Stone) has an expensive drug problem, an abusive pimp boyfriend (James Woods), and a terrible habit of tying up their youngest daughter so she can go out on the town with her new boyfriend… and, of course, that boyfriend is Ace’s frenemy Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), a violently volatile gangster who sees Las Vegas as his own murderous playground. Mix in some Mafia overlords and a shotgun-toting Don Rickles and you’ve got yourself one hell of a situation… certainly the sort of situation that calls for a red silk sport coat.

What’d He Wear?

Into this pastiche of tackiness walks De Niro, a sartorial vision in a bright red jacket made of raw silk over all-black undergirding.

…even Chris Willman of the Los Angeles Times felt there was something notable about De Niro’s red silk jacket ensemble when writing the paper’s February 22, 1995 cover story about Casino. It’s an outfit that could only be so brazenly pulled off by a man like Sam “Ace” Rothstein: a slightly overconfident man whose sense of self-awareness has become so clouded by the “pastiche of tackiness” of 1970s Las Vegas that, to him, there’s simply no question that it’s an acceptable outfit for a night on the town.

Poor Ace can’t even enjoy a stress-free night out. Of course, you’d be paranoid too if you had the sort of ex who would leave your daughter tied up while she went on a bender. (Interestingly, the woman to Ace’s right – Trudy – is played by Claudia Haro, who was previously married to Joe Pesci before they divorced in 1992.)

In a three hour movie with dozens of costume changes, few cinematic attention is paid to this outfit. It doesn’t get the grand pan-up shot that introduced the adult Henry Hill to Goodfellas audiences by the way of his alligator loafers and gray silk suit; Scorsese matter-of-factly presents Sam Rothstein’s red silk jacket as merely another loud set of clothing that we would expect from a man who has at least three different mint green sport coats.

Ace’s bright red raw silk jacket is single-breasted with characteristic styling of the 1980s like the low two-button stance, extra wide lapel notches, and heavily padded shoulders that hangs the jacket loosely on De Niro’s frame to create an even more powerful, imposing presence as he looms over Nicky.

Ace’s imposing presence in Nicky’s restaurant is probably helped by the fact that Robert De Niro is 5’9″ compared to Joe Pesci’s 5’4″ height.

The three spaced buttons on each cuff are the same dark red plastic as the two on the front and are purely decorative and non-functional. Although ventless jackets would become fashionable during the ’80s, Ace’s red sport coat has a single vent in the back. There is a straight flapped pocket on each hip and a welted breast pocket, where Ace wears a multi-folded red-trimmed black silk display kerchief.

Ace can’t help but to keep the nasty words coming!

As that red jacket is certainly enough on its own, Ace simplifies the rest of his outfit with a total monochromatic color scheme. His black shirt, tie, and trousers – or “undergirdling” as Willman called it in his L.A. Times piece – takes on a blue shine in certain light, but both the shirtmaker Anto and behind-the-scenes raw footage confirmed that it is, indeed, black.

The shirt and tie were made by Anto from the same black silk with the satin side used to create the tie and the dull side used for the shirting. In addition to the long “1977 point collar” used by Anto on most – if not all – of De Niro’s Casino shirts, the black dress shirt features the distinctive “Lapidus” single-button tab cuffs seen on many of Ace’s shirts.

De Niro was feeling much more jovial behind the scenes (left) than his frantic, paranoid character (right).

The black trousers appear to be the same ones that he wore earlier with his cream fleck jacket when confronting an angry Nicky in the desert. They have a darted front with frogmouth pockets and a fitted waistband devoid of adjusters or belt loops. The flared bottoms are plain-hemmed with a full break.

Contrast footwear would disrupt the flow of Ace’s loud outfit, so he continues the black theme with his black leather apron-toe loafers with smooth back counters, raised heels, and a high vamp that nicely works with his black socks to cleanly continue the black trouser leg line into his shoes.

The angles used on screen and the longer break of the trousers makes the details of Ace’s shoes difficult to accurately ascertain, but buyers seeking Ace-appropriate shoes can look to some of the shoemakers that supplied De Niro’s footwear in Casino: Bally, Bruno Magli, Di Fabrizio, Florsheim, and Johnston & Murphy. On the high end of that spectrum, Bruno Magli offers the Raging slip-on moc-toe loafer for $415, while Florsheim offers the Forum or the Midtown for $110 (or the Rally for $10 less), and Johnston & Murphy offers the Goodwin Moc-Toe Venetian for $150.

Ace’s footwear is best seen in times of great duress. Also, check out Don Rickles as Billy Sherbert getting out of Ace’s torn-up ’81 Caddy.

A red-faced watch like the one he wore with his ivory suit and red-on-red silk shirt and tie might have been the obvious choice for this outfit, but a close look at some promotional photos reveal that Ace’s flat silver-toned wristwatch actually has a blue square dial. It is likely one of the several 14-carat white gold vintage watches by Bueche Girod that were obtained for production.

This is backed up by the blue synthetic emerald-cut stone on his 14-carat white gold pinky ring, as Ace almost always matches his rings and watches. Don’t you?

Quintessential De Niro.

Since Casino is set in the usually toasty climate of Las Vegas, very few overcoats are seen. However, this scene is set during the colder fall or winter months (in reality, this incident was early September 1980), so Ace dons a black wool overcoat when he and Billy Sherbert follow a police-accompanied Ginger to the bank as she retrieves her cash and jewels. The single-breasted overcoat has notch lapels that roll down to a three-button front. It is structured similarly to the red jacket beneath it with wide, padded shoulders and a center back vent.

Ace stands, powerless as his life is systematically destroyed.

This fan favorite outfit is the last newly seen* of De Niro’s in the film and is featured second-to-last on the bottom of Ibraheem Youssef’s distinctive poster that illustrates all of Ace’s suits and odd jackets.

* Excluding the gray polka-dot silk robe he briefly wears when federal agents present him with photos of Nicky and Ginger, and excluding the salmon-colored jacket that was previously seen during the flash-forward prologue.

Expecting trouble overnight but not about to lounge around in plebian attire, Ace wears a navy silk dressing gown over his shirt and trousers. The robe has tan piping on the belt, the gauntlet cuff edges, the pockets, and the wide shawl collar. The entire garment is also covered in a printed tan pattern that looks like a series of panthers or some other four-legged animal.

Ace’s gestures are just not enough to convince the friendly cops that Ginger should be stopped.

This robe had been previously featured in earlier scenes when Ginger was desperately asking for money for Lester leading up to Ace’s ivory-suited confrontation with him in the diner, when Ace and Nicky use their wives to coordinate their ultimately final desert meeting, and when Ace kicks Ginger out of the house. Something about wearing this robe tends to mean a confrontation in Ace’s future…

How to Get the Look

A behind-the-scenes shot of Robert De Niro in the Jubilation nightclub set of Casino.

Ace Rothstein’s red-on-black silk outfit is one of the most memorable from Casino, signifying the dramatic shift that the storyline has taken toward frantic paranoia as opposed to the more serene earth tones of the early establishing scenes… not to mention that it allows Robert De Niro to fit in perfectly while puffing away on Dunhill cigarettes in an animal-print decorated Vegas nightclub to the sounds of Devo’s “Satisfaction”.

• Red raw silk single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and single back vent
• Black dull silk dress shirt with long point collar and 1-button “Lapidus” tab cuffs
• Black satin silk tie
• Black darted-front trousers with fitted waistband, frogmouth front pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather apron-toe slip-on loafers with high vamps and raised heels
• Black dress socks
• Black wool single-breasted 3-button overcoat with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, hip pockets, single back vent
• White gold vintage wristwatch with blue square dial on link bracelet
• White gold 14-carat pinky ring with synthetic blue emerald-cut stone set in geometric polished shank

A plain black pocket square would simply be too plain for a bold outfit like this, so Ace wears a red-trimmed display kerchief poking out of his jacket’s breast pocket, custom made by Anto to perfectly match the black shirt and tie while also calling out the surrounding redness of the silk sport coat.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

Listen to me – listen carefully. You ever touch her again, you ever do anything like that again, I’ll fucking kill ya, pure and simple. You hear me? Pure and fuckin’ simple.

Footnotes

I mentioned Devo’s “Satisfaction” as the soundtrack to this scene. Perhaps a nod to just how far things have come from Ace and Nicky’s more “idyllic” friendship in the ’60s, Scorsese uses Devo’s cover of The Rolling Stones’ 1965 hit single “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” as the backdrop, building up to Ace’s phone call to Billy Sherbert that ends with him asking: “You got a gun at home?”

Devo released their cover of “Satisfaction” as a single in 1977; it also appeared the following year on their debut album Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!

Apparently, even celebrity impersonators have picked up on the importance of this Casino outfit. Robert Nash (“DeNiro Guy”) advertises his services with a header image that is undoubtedly inspired by this scene.

I’ll be honest: I’ve been looking forward to writing about this outfit!

Robert De Niro as “Noodles” Aaronson in Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

Vitals

Robert De Niro as David “Noodles” Aaronson, mob bootlegger and violent ex-convict

New York City, December 1933

Film: Once Upon a Time in America
Release Date: May 23, 1984
Director: Sergio Leone
Costume Designer: Gabriella Pescucci

Background

83 years ago today, the 21st amendment was ratified to officially repeal Prohibition, delighting a thirsty American public but leaving many criminals who had made their fortunes from bootlegging effectively “unemployed”. This Mafia Monday post checks in with Robert De Niro as a mobster coming to terms with what that means for his career and personal life in 1984’s Once Upon a Time in America.

Before becoming Martin Scorsese’s poster boy for headlining mob movies in films like Goodfellas and Casino (see last Thursday’s post), Robert De Niro starred in not one but two crime-centric epics that used the better part of three hours using America’s criminal past as a microcosm for its own history. His role as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II in 1974 shot him to the top of Hollywood’s most-demanded actors. Ten years later, he took on the complex role of “Noodles” Aaronson in Sergio Leone’s even more complex cinematic tome Once Upon a Time in America.

Based on Harry Grey’s novel The Hoods, Once Upon a Time in America follows the lives of four young Jewish criminals from their teen years in the early 1920s through the height of their criminal career at the end of Prohibition, effectively exploring relationships and friendships, greed and lust, masculinity and insecurity, and the role of crime in America’s foundation. The non-chronological narrative leaps around from 1921 to 1933 with cuts to 1968 that may or may not be the elaborate dreams of an opiated Noodles.

Having served nearly a dozen years for killing a ruthless racketeer that murdered the youngest member of their teenage criminal enterprise, Noodles is released from prison during the waning months of Prohibition. Max (James Woods), the group’s ambitious de factor leader, has grown quite successful in the underworld with the rest of Noodles’ criminal comrades, and his grandiose dreams for further success draw an almost immediate contemptuous divide with the simpler and newly paroled Noodles.

When the two hear the news that Prohibition is coming to an end, Max immediately begins putting plans into place for an even more lucrative and dangerous criminal enterprise… leaving Noodles at a conflicted crossroads on the eve of repeal.

What’d He Wear?

Noodles wears a charcoal gray flannel suit with thin red chalk stripes that – perhaps coincidentally – evoke the image of his friends’ blood spilling out that evening against the dark pavement streets. Notably, he is the only one of his friends (and, in fact, one of the few men at the party) who is not wearing a tuxedo or any sort of black tie ensemble.

Noodles makes a fatal call.

The three-piece suit exudes a comfortably loose fit yet attractive look that was desired in the early 1930s. In its feature “The Evolution of Men’s Style: 1933-Now” published in August 2008, Esquire established that the ideal men’s look in the autumn of 1933 followed the concept of “bigger was better, with double-breasted suits, full-cut trousers,” seen perfectly exemplified by the full cut of Noodles’ double-breasted suit.

Noodles’ suit jacket has wide, full-bellied peak lapels that sweep across his torso with their sharp points aiming toward the jacket’s padded, roped shoulders. The double-breasted front has six buttons with two to close. The hip pockets are jetted and Noodles wears a white linen pocket square that just barely emerges over the top of the welted breast pocket. Each sleeve ends with three buttons on the cuff. As one would expect on a double-breasted suit jacket – especially in the ’30s – the back is ventless.

Max interrupts Noodles mid-treachery.

The suit’s matching waistcoat closes fashionably high on his chest with six buttons down to the notched bottom. Best seen when he removes his jacket in the opium den, Noodles’ vest has four welted pockets and a solid charcoal gray shiny back lining.

Noodles settles in for another session on the receiving end of Max’s manipulative verbal abuse.

Noodles’ fully cut trousers are styled as one would expect in the 1930s with double reverse pleats, cuffed bottoms, and a long rise that is high enough to be well-concealed under his vest. The trousers have belt loops which go unused as Noodles appropriately prefers to sport a set of black suspenders (braces) that fasten with brown leather hooks to buttons sewn into the inner waistband of his trousers.

Noodles settles into his far more comfortable pastime on the receiving end of an opium pipe.

Noodles wears a pale blue dress shirt with white stripes shadowed on each side by a thinner blue stripe. The front placket closes with white buttons. The double cuffs are squared with teardrop-shaped green jadeite cabochon links on yellow gold back plates, similar to some vintage cuff links that can be found online.

Noodles is going to town on that opium pipe.

Noodles’ shirt has a very long point collar with minimal spread. When wearing his suit jacket and vest buttoned, the large collar is the only part of the shirt visible other than the cuffs. Shirts with these details are very difficult to find, especially in the current day that seems to so widely embrace slim cutaway spread collars. I did some online digging and found Matt Deckard Apparel’s “Paramount Collar” shirt which, coincidentally, features an almost identical stripe pattern as Noodles’ shirting in Once Upon a Time in America. The shirt was aptly named to reflect the great style of stars during the ’30s and ’40s studio era in Hollywood. (Browsing through the Matt Deckard Apparel photo page on Facebook yields many impressive shirts and outfits that certainly evoke the days of Cary Grant and Clark Gable.)

Gangsters certainly have a thing for dramatic point collars…

Noodles’ silk tie is a series of swirling pattern of cream, gray, and black Deco-style delights on a bold red ground that nicely calls out the red stripes of the suiting. Though moderately wide below the knot, the tie quickly swells out to an extreme width at the blade, which ends well above the waistline in a style that would later be exaggerated by the “kipper tie”. Vintage ties like this can often be found on eBay.

FYI… in the film itself, this shot was flipped 180° as it was from Fat Moe’s POV on the ground.

Noodles wears a pair of black leather cap-toe oxfords with black dress socks. His socks get more screen time than usual due to his opium den’s opulent insistence on shoe removal for premium comfort.

Noodles attempts to relieve the stress of the last 24 hours at Fat Moe’s by kicking off his shoes at the opium den.

Noodles’s dark gray felt hat is the typical business headgear of the era, a wide-brimmed fedora. There is a wide black grosgrain ribbon around the base of the high, pinched crown.

Left with nothing but the natty duds on his back, Noodles lams out.

To combat the chilly air of a December night in New York, Noodles wears a heavy black and white herringbone wool double-breasted overcoat that extends long below his knees. The coat has short but full-bellied peak lapels with a black velvet collar, swelled edges, and a buttonhole through the left lapel. The lapels end high above the six-button (three-to-close) front. There appears to be a welted breast pocket, and Noodles stuffs his newspaper in the left hip pocket. Both set-in sleeves have functional 3-button cuffs at the end. It is structured for an athletic silhouette with a high belted back and – like the suit jacket below it – wide, padded shoulders with roped sleeveheads. The single vent in the back does not extend all the way up to the belt, which is likely just above his natural waist line.

Noodles wears a simple but classic gold oversized tank watch on his left wrist, a very popular style in the 1930s and 1940s. The rectangular face is white or off-white with no sub-dial. The strap is dark leather, likely black.

On the third finger of his left hand, Noodles wears a large round yellow gold ring with a green set oval stone, matching his green-and-gold cuff links. I was able to find a gold-plated costume version online for less than $6.

Since her impressive period work in Once Upon a Time in America, costume designer Gabriella Pescucci has contributed to elaborate productions like The Age of Innocence and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and television series like The Borgias and Penny Dreadful.

Go Big or Go Home

Noodles and Max had been sparring since they first met, proudly arguing over pickpocketing proceeds. After a dozen years apart, Noodles’ prison time has humbled him while also arresting his emotional development; on the other hand, Max’s seemingly unstoppable success instilled a dangerous and ruthless hubris that values financial success and political power above all.

Thus, that climactic night in early December 1933. Prohibition is coming to an end, sent off by a bacchanal at Fat Moe’s speakeasy. The booze is flowing and the band is blasting a boisterous tune that began as a dirge-like take on “St. James’ Infirmary” before exploding into celebration.

“So long, Prohibition!”

Patsy (James Hayden) and Cockeye (William Forsythe) are cheeky and jovial as ever while Max is razor-focused on his goal of squeezing every last dime out of Prohibition before it ends. Under Max’s aggressive leadership, this means a final liquor run… the proverbial “one last job” that has doomed so many cinematic anti-heroes. The simple Patsy and Cockeye couldn’t care less, but this show of hypermasculinity is taking its toll on Max and Noodles. Only the comparatively level-headed women in their lives, Carol (Tuesday Weld) and Eve (Darlanne Fluegel), see the futility in their mission. Ever sensible, Eve asks Noodles: “Why are you going out tonight? Why bother now that Prohibition is almost over?”

Aw, Eve. You deserved so much better.

Noodles and Max both know that the night isn’t going to end in bringing back a truck full of booze to unload to clients. Noodles rattles off a non-response about interested buyers, but his continued response indicates an understanding that he doesn’t know what the night is going to bring: “I’m not gonna be home tonight. I’m not gonna be home tomorrow either.” The end of the night will either find him dead or in jail, and he’s ready for either outcome in order to try to save his friends.

Always thinking he’s a few steps ahead, Max finds Noodles in their office after the latter has called to tip off the cops. Max’s subtle move of adjusting the phone’s misplaced handset nods to his knowledge of what Noodles has done, but that he forces himself to play the game:

You know, I’ve been watching you all night, and you’ve been drinking like a fish. Trying to get your courage up? We’re only bringing in a shipment of booze, it’s got so you’re even scared to do that.

Max then goes a step further:

Maybe you just better stay home tonight. With Eve.

In Max’s mind, the worst thing for a man to do is display the feminine trait of fear. (Max has evidently forgotten that Eve is the most reasonable character!) Noodles doesn’t take the bait, of course. The major difference between he and Max is Noodles’ frequency of putting friendship over his own personal desires, so he merely sighs and assures Max that “everywhere you go, I go too. Remember that.”

Had the conversation really been about merely going out on a liquor run, it would have ended there with Noodles’ assurance. But Max has a longer game. He continues by implying that maybe he ought to “dump” Noodles – a serious threat in this world, as that would undoubtedly involve Noodles’ death. Seeing the forest for the trees, Noodles can’t help but to shake it off: “You’re really crazy.”

For Max, that’s the last straw. Not only is he deeply insulted when his intelligence and stability is threatened, but Max can’t fathom a man not standing up for these perceived insults and threats. Since Noodles won’t start the fight, Max is forced to knock him out on the spot while insanely shouting to defend his sanity: “Never say that!”

What to Imbibe

Most of Once Upon a Time in America‘s celebrations are fueled by G.H. Mumm champagne, and the Prohibition “funeral” is no exception. The guys pass around Jeroboam bottles of G.H. Mumm Cordon Rouge 1933… despite the fact that the 1933 vintage wouldn’t be available until several years later.

Max also offers Noodles a celebratory cigar during their office confrontation, but I can’t confirm the maker from the label seen on screen.

Poor Noodles barely gets a puff in before Max attacks him…

How to Get the Look

As Noodles Aaronson, Robert De Niro looks every bit the part of a stylish, well-to-do “businessman” in the early 1930s, avoiding flashiness and dressing appropriately for the weather and situation.

…and there he is, enjoying that single puff.

• Charcoal gray flannel suit with thin red chalk stripes:
  • Double-breasted 6-on-2 button jacket with wide peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, ventless back
  • Single-breasted high-fastening 6-button vest with four welt pockets and notched bottom
  • Double reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, straight/on-seam side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Pale blue white-shadow-striped cotton dress shirt with long point collar, front placket, and squared double/French cuffs
• Red vintage silk wide-bladed tie with cream, gray, and black swirling Deco design
• Green jadeite cabochon teardrop-shaped cuff links on yellow gold back plates
• Black fabric suspenders with brown leather hooks
• Black leather cap-toe oxfords/balmorals
• Black dress socks
• Dark gray felt wide-brimmed fedora with black grosgrain ribbon and high, pinched crown
• Black-and-white herringbone wool double-breasted 6-on-3 button overcoat with peak lapels, black velvet collar, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, functional 3-button cuffs, half-belted back and short single vent
• Vintage gold tank watch with plain white rectangular face on black leather strap
• Yellow gold ring with green jadeite cabochon setting

The Gun

Once Upon a Time in America is lighter on gun violence than some of its mob-themed contemporaries, choosing to retain its usage of firearms for dramatic purposes. Whether it’s Beefy and his mobsters using their gun barrels to intimidate women like Eve and a topless patron of the opium den or a shocking turn of events like Max carrying out a double-cross with a tommy gun, Leone is not meaningless with the appearance of guns in his film.

Having escaped the massacre of his friends during their “one last job” liquor run, Noodles returns to Fat Moe’s to find its corpulent owner victimized by Beefy’s gangsters. We don’t know who Noodles is, but we know this isn’t what he wanted to see. A gunshot rings out and Beefy’s henchman who was guarding Fat Moe falls dead, revealing Noodles holding a smoking FN Model 1910/22 pistol.

“Take that, anonymous gangster!”

The FN Model 1910 was a natural progression in John Browning’s designs. Browning essentially dominated semi-automatic pistol design in its infancy during the first decade of the 20th century, designing the FN Model 1900, the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless, and the .25-caliber subcompact “vest pocket” pistols that would be produced by both Colt in the United States and Fabrique Nationale in Belgium. The blowback M1910 incorporated the standard Browning striker-firing mechanism and “triple safety” (grip, magazine, external lever) in a compact package with a then-novel barrel-surrounding operating spring that would eventually become standard on similar compact pistols like the Walther PPK and Makarov PM. Like the Walther PP series and Browning’s earlier-designed Colt “Pocket Hammerless” models, it was available in both .32 ACP and .380 ACP and enjoyed a long production timeline; the Model 1910 was produced continuously by FN Herstal for 73 years until 1983.

A larger variant – the Model 1910/22 as seen in Once Upon a Time in America – was developed in 1922 and increased the capacity to eight rounds of .380 ACP (from six in the standard M1910) or nine rounds of .32 ACP (from seven in the M1910).

This photo was posted in an RPF forum, taken at a 2006 exhibition where it is stated to have been used in Once Upon a Time in America. The pistol is the FN Model 1910/22, visibly differentiated from the earlier Model 1910 by its longer barrel. As Noodles is the only character to use a pistol of this type on screen, it can be determined that this photo is of his weapon.

Originally available only in Europe (a departure for John Browning’s designs), the FN Model 1910 found its way into the hands of many European assassins and anarchists of the early 20th century. Most famously, FN Model 1910 pistols chambered in .380 ACP were used by the “Black Hand” members who conspired to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, with Gavrilo Princip’s pistol with serial number 19074 carrying out the fatal deed on June 28. FN Model 1910 pistols were also used by Paul Gorguloff during his assassination of French President Paul Doumer in 1932 and three years later when Carl Weiss allegedly shot and killed Louisiana Governor Huey Long in Baton Rouge, in a rarer example of the FN Model 1910 finding its way into the U.S.

Has anyone ever read The Hoods? Does it live up to the lurid content promised by this pulp cover?

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie, and try to track down Leone’s original director’s cut.

Sergio Leone’s original cut ran 269 minutes long but was unfortunately cut down for a wider release (without Leone’s involvement) to the more conventional length of just over two hours, losing much of the context and importance and creating a mishmash of violence and leading to heavy criticism. Eventually, the original 229-minute version that had been released in Italy was discovered for the film to receive the appreciation it’s due, and Scorsese is currently working with the Leone estate to restore the full version and deliver Leone’s vision to modern audiences. (The original script, however, was 317 pages. At a page per minute, that’s… a long movie.)

Also, Harry Grey’s 1952 novel The Hoods was the source novel for the story. As the real-life basis for Noodles, Grey’s work may be of particular interest for Once Upon a Time in America fans or readers of American criminal history.

The Quote

Everywhere you go, I go too. Remember that.

George Lazenby and Diana Rigg as James Bond and Tracy di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).

Vitals

George Lazenby as James Bond, British secret agent posing as heraldry expert Sir Hilary Bray

Swiss Alps, Christmas Eve 1969

Film: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Release Date: December 18, 1969
Director: Peter R. Hunt
Tailor: Dimi Major
Costume Designer: Marjory Cornelius

Background

For the 00-7th of December, I’m reflecting on James Bond’s first Christmas season on-screen, which he spends in the Swiss Alps under the guise of Sir Hilary Bray (a different Hilary than the Hillary that has been so frequently in the news… although one could technically call his outfit here a “pantsuit” as well.)

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service sends James Bond in search of his long-time rival, megalomaniac Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas). In his inaugural and ultimately lone outing as 007, George Lazenby’s Bond spends a major portion of the film disguised as Sir Hilary Bray, a brilliant but banal “sable basilisk” from the College of Arms in London.

Bond adopts Sir Hilary Bray’s professorial manner of dressing and non-threatening demeanor in an attempt to downplay his true identity as a debonair womanizer that would surely give him away as 007. As Blofeld himself notes after he discovers Bond’s deception: “Respectable baronets from the College of Heralds do not seduce female patients in clinics.”

Indeed, Bond spent far too much effort investing in his props – his outfit, his glasses, and his battered brown suitcase to replace the Gucci one seen earlier in his office – and not enough in adapting his behavior.

Sir Hilary Bray’s (George Baker) delight about “getting lost in the churches of Brittany” considerably contrasts from Bond’s idea of fun.

What’d He Wear?

To effectively pose as Sir Hilary Bray, James Bond evidently borrowed or copied every stitch of the man’s clothing as seen in the scene where the two first meet. The centerpiece is a brown tweed wool three-piece suit patterned with cream mini checks and a brick red windowpane overcheck. Since the focus of the Bond films is always to ensure that 007 is looking his best (Octopussy notwithstanding), it was tailored to fit and flatter Lazenby by his tailor Dimi Major.

Lazenby on the Piz Gloria set.

The single-breasted 2-button suit jacket incorporates many elements of country styling with only its short length preventing it from being a true hacking jacket. Many hacking jacket details like the rear-slanting flapped hip pockets and the long single back vent blend with other details noticeable on the suits that Major tailored for Lazenby such as softly padded shoulders with natural sleeveheads. The notch lapels are slightly wider than those on Bond’s suit jackets earlier in the decade. There is also a welted breast pocket and 3-button cuffs.

As Sir Hilary Bray, 007 checks out his new Piz Gloria digs.

An extra layer of tweedy warmth comes from the suit’s matching waistcoat. The vest has four welted pockets and six buttons to close, with the lowest button left open over the notched bottom.

A documentary filmed during the production shows Lazenby, in shirt sleeves with a loosened tie, fooling around with a SIG SG 510 battle rifle prop.

Sneaking around to his various sexual assignations on Christmas Eve (now there’s a phrase), Bond ditches the jacket, vest, and tie and slips on a light brown cardigan with the suit trousers for a more relaxed look.

Despite their many publicity photos together, Lazenby never actually wore this outfit while sharing screen time with Diana Rigg.

The double forward-pleated trousers maintain many of the same styling details as those worn by Sean Connery earlier in the series, although Lazenby’s trousers have a lower rise. The waistband has an extended tab in the front to close with two-button “Daks top” adjusters on the right and left sides. The only pockets are the short-lived slanted pockets on each side. The fit through the leg is slim and tapered down to the cuffed bottoms with a short break.

Bond effectively pairs a check shirt with his check suit by wearing a shirt with a larger scaled tattersall check than the tick-checking of his suiting. The tattersall pattern consists of an intersecting gold, navy, and green grid over an ecru ground. The shirt itself is brushed cotton twill and styled similarly to his other shirts in the movie with a spread collar, plain front, and 1-button cuffs. An attractive shirt, for sure, but decidedly less luxurious or flashy than Bond’s usual attire and thus very fitting for his assumed identity as Sir Hilary Bray.

Doubling down on his disguise, Bond’s slim dark navy repp tie features a large gold embroidered coat of arms emblazoned directly below the narrow Windsor knot. This crest, embroidered in gold with red detailing, appears to consist of two lions (or dragons) supporting a coronet and shield with a motto scroll along the bottom.

Bond regards Irma Bunt with an appropriately blank expression.

Bond’s brown leather wingtip derby brogues are very appropriate for the outfit with their perforated medallion toes and rubber soles. He wears them with black socks, although brown socks would be a better choice to continue the leg line (especially given the high trouser break.)

Not exactly snow shoes, 007…

007 leaves no detail unaddressed; even the coat and hat were borrowed from those seen hanging in Sir Hilary’s office during his brief visit. He lands at Piz Gloria sporting an old-fashioned brown tweed Ulster coat with a cape attached to the tall collar and swelled edges throughout. The knee-length Ulster coat’s single-breasted front has five brown horn buttons, although Lazenby leaves the top two – including the one at the collar – open.

The cape drapes down the front and back, ending just above the line of the fifth (and lowest) button in the front and enveloping the top of the single vent in the back. Unlike a Sherlock Holmes-style Inverness cape, the Ulster coat has sleeves; in Bond’s case, these are set-in sleeves that each end with a single button on the cuff. The hip pockets slant slight toward the back and are closed with a flap.

Bond re-dons his Ulster coat for a morning of curling activities with the girls of Piz Gloria.

Sean Connery’s Bond had always worn trilbies for business, suavely tossing them onto Moneypenny’s rack – er, hat rack – upon entering M’s office. Lazenby’s Bond performs the same ritual, but the only trilby he actually wears is the brown tweed short-brimmed hat that forms part of his disguise as Sir Hilary Bray. A faint red windowpane contributes to the subtle plaid texture of the trilby, which has a pinched crown and a narrow self-band.

As Sir Hilary Bray isn’t much of a sportsman, Bond is forced to take a dive while curling… not a thing many people can say about themselves.

Bond does his best to fight the bitter cold atop Piz Gloria (as well as to look like a man very sensitive to the cold) by donning a scarf and gloves, all following the same brown-centric earth tones of his suit, shoes, outerwear, and shirt. His light brown scarf is soft and woolen, possibly cashmere.

Bond’s leather gloves are less luxurious in a dull take on “old gold” that lands somewhere in the “brown mustard” color camp. Despite their color, his gloves certainly serve him better than the makeshift gloves that later come from ripping out the lining of his trouser pockets.

Irma Bunt “greets” Bond as he arrives in Switzerland.

“It takes more than a few props to turn 007 into a Herald,” observes Blofeld as he breaks the pair of eyeglasses that Bond wore in his Bray disguise. The glasses, which offer a scholarly appearance reminiscent of Aldous Huxley, are round with thin tortoiseshell frames.

The more subtle of Bond’s “props” is a gold ring, worn on his left pinky, with a large black stone setting.

Bond’s “props” are on display as he takes a puff from Sir Hilary’s pipe.

The most 007-ish of his “props” is a stainless steel Rolex Chronograph, also known as as a “Pre-Daytona”, ref. 6238. The watch has a silver dial with three sub-dials and is worn on a steel link bracelet.

Bond flashes his Rolex while opening one of his battered brown leather suitcases.

This watch could be considered part of Bond’s disguise since 007 wears a black dial Rolex Submariner throughout the rest of the film. However, Sir Hilary wears a flat gold dress watch on his wrist in addition to a pocket watch on a gold chain during their meeting… with nary a Rolex in sight.

According to James Bond Lifestyle, this Rolex – serial number 1206613 – was purchased by EON Productions at Bucherer Interlaken on October 23, 1968, for Lazenby to wear on screen as 007. It was supposedly redesigned as a compass with the red seconds hand doubling as the compass hand. After production wrapped, the wardrobe department sold the watch among many other costumes and accessories. It has been sold and auctioned several times over the last few decades, most recently by Artcurial in July 2016.

To read more about this outfit, Matt Spaiser analyzed the suit and coat on his blog, The Suits of James Bond.

How to Get the Look

James Bond dresses more like Sir Hilary Bray than 007, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Evidently, Sir Hilary knows a thing or two about putting together a timeless tweedy outfit to keep any gentleman warm during a chilly winter day.

• Brown checked tweed suit with a brick red windowpane:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and long single vent
  • Single-breasted 6-button vest with notched bottom and four welted pockets
  • Double forward-pleated trousers with 2-button side-tab “Daks top” waist adjusters, extended front closure tab, slanted side pockets, no rear pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Ecru tattersall check cotton twill shirt with spread collar, plain front, and 1-button cuffs
• Slim dark navy repp tie with gold embroidered coat of arms
• Brown leather perforated medallion-toe wingtip derby brogues
• Black dress socks
• Brown tweed knee-length Ulster coat with cape attached to tall collar, single-breasted 5-button front, slanted flapped hip pockets, 1-button cuffs, and single back vent
• Light brown soft woolen scarf
• Mustard brown leather gloves
• Rolex Chronograph 6238 stainless watch with a silver dial and steel link bracelet
• Gold pinky ring with large black stone setting
• Round tortoise-framed eyeglasses

Iconic Alternatives has a great rundown of affordable options to channel elements of this, such as his Rolex watch, and many other 007 outfits.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

Yes… we live in a world of avarice and deceit.

Samuel L. Jackson as Mitch Henessey in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).

Vitals

Samuel L. Jackson as Mitch Henessey, wisecracking private detective and ex-con

New Jersey, Christmas 1996

Film: The Long Kiss Goodnight
Release Date: October 11, 1996
Director: Renny Harlin
Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston

Background

As Christmas is only two weeks away, BAMF Style is taking a look at the Die Hard-meets-The Bourne Identity holiday action flick, The Long Kiss Goodnight.

The Long Kiss Goodnight has received a generally positive reception in the 20 years since it’s release, but there’s one review that stands out of particular importance for this blog. In 2001, an IMDB reviewer gave the movie the top rating of 10 stars with the added note:

Saw this film on TV just now for the first time in ages and realised what makes it so good… SAMUEL L. JACKSON’S WARDROBE.

Indeed, there is something appealing about seeing the cynical private eye subverting genre expectations by not only playing sidekick but also doing so while wearing a mishmash of loud clothing that just wouldn’t work for anyone but Samuel L. Jackson.

The Long Kiss Goodnight focuses on amnesiac schoolteacher Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) who discovers her shadowy past as a CIA assassin. Since she woke up pregnant eight years earlier with no recollection of who she was, Samantha had spent a small fortune in private investigators tasked with helping her find clues about her background. It isn’t until she’s enlisted the help of skid row private eye Mitch Henessey (Jackson) that the pieces begin to fall into place.

Given director Renny Harlin’s previous direction on Die Hard 2 and writer Shane Black’s scripts for the first two Lethal Weapon installments, it makes sense that Christmas provides the backdrop to the film’s violent and often blackly comic action. After the release of The Nice Guys earlier this year, Black explained to Entertainment Weekly why the holidays feature so frequently in his screenplays:

Christmas represents a little stutter in the march of days, a hush in which we have a chance to assess and retrospect our lives. I tend to think also that it just informs as a backdrop. The first time I noticed it was Three Days of the Condor, the Sydney Pollack film, where Christmas in the background adds this really odd, chilling counterpoint to the espionage plot. I also think that Christmas is just a thing of beauty, especially as it applies to places like Los Angeles, where it’s not so obvious, and you have to dig for it, like little nuggets. One night, on Christmas Eve, I walked past a Mexican lunch wagon serving tacos, and I saw this little string, and on it was a little broken plastic figurine, with a light bulb inside it, of the Virgin Mary. And I thought, that’s just a little hidden piece of magic. You know, all around the city are little slices, little icons of Christmas, that are as effective and beautiful in and of themselves as any 40-foot Christmas tree on the lawn of the White House.

What’d He Wear?

Having drenched his own clothing after falling through the ice, Mitch Henessey is given some sharp duds from Nathan Waldman (Brian Cox), Samantha’s former CIA handler. Each individual garment makes sense in the collection of an older man like Waldman, but only a confident cat like Samuel L. Jackson could pull off wearing all of them together.

The base layer of Mitch’s borrowed outfit is a bulky knit turtleneck sweater in electric yellow with dark brown heathering. It is the same sweater that Waldman had been wearing when we first met him on screen the evening before while lecturing his senile sister Alice about her dog’s asshole.

Mitch keeps chillin’ in his Atlantic City hotel room with Charly.

Over his heathered jumper, Mitch wears a light gray cashmere cardigan sweater from Lacoste, easily identified by the familiar green crocodile logo on the left breast. The cardigan is oversized for Jackson’s frame, clearly meant to fit the more corpulent Waldman, with the set-in sleeves falling below Jackson’s shoulders. It has five light gray plastic buttons down the front, and Mitch leaves the bottom hem button undone. The cuffs are ribbed.

An increasingly suspicious Mitch dons Waldman’s clothing without a second thought about matching.

When he first dons the outfit, Mitch’s outer layer is a green polyester crested blazer that evidently signifies Waldman’s membership in a local country club. A loud kelly green in color and likely constructed from polyester or at least a synthetic blend, the blazer is single-breasted with two crested gold shank buttons on the front and three smaller gold shank buttons on each cuff. Edge swelling is present on the notch lapels, the welted breast pocket, and the straight flaps of the hip patch pockets. There is a single vent in the back.

Samantha and Mitch confront Daedalus. Mitch is naturally still suspicious… rightly so, in this case.

The round patch on the blazer’s breast pocket is a darker shade of green than the blazer with red trim on the edge. Two crossed golf clubs are embroidered in gold above a white ball on a gold tee, creating four quadrants. The top quadrant features a gold embroidered “W” with a red “C” stitched in the left and right sides, likely an abbreviation for a “WCC” country club to which Waldman belonged.

I suppose that would be a good golf outfit…

Surprisingly, none of the items listed above are the loudest part of Mitch’s outfit, an honor that clearly belongs to his large-scaled multi-plaid twill trousers. The bold check consists of brown, red, and blue tartan plaid on a tan ground… an odd choice as none of these colors match the rest of his outfit.

Only Samuel L. Jackson could make telemarketing look cool.

The flat front trousers have frogmouth pockets on the front, jetted pockets in the back, and plain-hemmed bottoms. The left back pocket closes with a button, but the right pocket is open. The waistband has an extended tab in the front with a hidden hook closure.

The combined low rise and high break indicate that the trousers were meant to appear intended for a shorter man (Brian Cox is 5’9″ compared to Jackson at 6’2″), a wise detail on the part of the costume team.

Mitch and Samantha/Charly make the most of their A.C. hotel room’s amenities.

Mitch wears a dark burgundy brown leather belt with a distinctive polished gold half-oval buckle that may be unique to its manufacturer.

Count the colors in those pants!

Although the rest of the outfit might have sartorial purists cringing, Mitch follows the basic menswear rule of matching the color of his belt to his shoes… in this case, a pair of very dark burgundy patent leather horsebit loafers with a gold horsebit detail and raised black heels, worn with pale gray cotton dress socks.

Mitch completes his outfit with a furry green ivy cap, likely a Kangol Furgora 504 in an angora-acrylic blend. The furry texture comes from angora, a soft, silky wool produced by the Angora rabbit. The Kangol brand has long been known to be a favorite of Samuel L. Jackson, who wears them in real life and in movies like Jackie Brown. Although evidently no longer available in green, you can still pick up a furry Furgora 504 from KangolStore.com.

Watch the hat, Waldman!

Mitch wears a gold class ring on the third finger of his right hand with a red ruby stone.

Prime Samuel L. Jackson mode.

As plenty of The Long Kiss Goodnight‘s action is set in the snow, Mitch is wise to pick up Waldman’s discarded gloves from the dashboard of his Lincoln and wear them through most of the movie. The woolen gloves are a sandy shade of brown and ribbed over the wrists.

Mitch’s discovery of a phone bill inspires Samantha…

When the weather really starts to cool down, Mitch wears the herringbone wool topcoat that Waldman had initially given to Samantha. Once she transitioned from the amnesiac schoolteacher back to “Charly the spy” in Atlantic City, she was no longer in need of a tweedy topcoat and gave it to her partner-in-sorta-crime to wear.

The coat is black and white herringbone tweed with gray fur peak lapels. The single-breasted front has three black woven leather buttons. The hip pockets are flapped, and there is a flapped ticket pocket on the right side. Each set-in sleeve ends with two small buttons that match those on the front. There is a single vent in the back and a mustard plaid silk lining that ties in some of the color and patterns in the rest of the outfit.

I bet very few phone companies expect Dillinger-style armed takeovers like this.

Like the rest of Waldman’s clothing, the coat falls shorter than intended on Jackson, falling well above his knees.

The Long Kiss Goodnight‘s costume designer Joanna Johnston has a prolific career spanning nearly 40 years on screen, beginning with her uncredited work for Death on the Nile (1978). Most recently, she worked on period films like Lincoln (2012), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015), and Allied (2016).

Go Big or Go Home

Samantha: What, are you a Mormon?
Mitch: Yes, I’m a Mormon. That’s why I just smoked a pack of Newports and drank three vodka tonics.

Mitch may take pride in his hedonistic habits of smoking and drinking, but Samantha’s transition to Charly Baltimore puts his substance abuse to shame. She has a particularly cool trick with a shot glass full of Finlandia vodka (which The Long Kiss Goodnight is very careful to emphasize as their brand of choice!) that I’ve never been able to replicate… at the expense of several souvenir shot glasses.

Despite all the gunfights, car chases, and one-liners, this is probably the coolest part of the whole movie.

Appropriate for his down-and-out worldview, Mitch loves the blues and often sings his tasks to a classic stop-time blues riff in order to relieve stress. Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy”, recorded in 1955 as a response to Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man” and also briefly featured in Goodfellas, played in the movie as Mitch nervously surveyed his own situation on Daedaelus’ farm.

Another great music cue comes a few scenes later after Samantha and Mitch (or at least just Samantha) have effectively disabled some CIA heavies who cornered them in an Atlantic City alleyway. The brash Charly has taken over Sam, and Mitch makes the mistake of vocally wondering if she even needs him anymore.

“Good point,” she nonchalantly responds before even more nonchalantly pushing him out the passenger door of their “borrowed” Ford Bronco. Once again discarded, all Mitch can do is cynically lay in the street and light up a Newport while Marvin Gaye’s “Stubborn Kind of Fellow” plays on the soundtrack… a song so exciting that Phil Spector nearly crashed his car on Sunset Boulevard when he first heard it on the radio after its 1962 release.

Mitch is always ready with a quick, sarcastic retort, although his nothing-to-lose cynicism often comes at odds with his natural sense of self-preservation. Having just been tossed out of the car and left in the street, he can’t help but to remind Samantha of his apparent uselessness that got him kicked out in the first place…

Samantha: I’m leaving the country, Mitch. I need a fake passport and I need money, lots of it.
Mitch: Well why didn’t you say so? Hold on a minute while I pull that outta my ass.

How to Get the Look

Although it isn’t Mitch’s clothing, Samuel L. Jackson looks perfectly at home – and better than anyone should! – wearing Nathan Waldman’s bold and bright cold-weather attire.

Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) and Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson) in The Long Kiss Goodnight. Mitch will wear Samantha’s herringbone topcoat in later scenes.

• Kelly green polyester single-breasted blazer with notch lapels, 2 gold crested shank button front, welted breast pocket with “WCC” crest, flapped patch pockets on hips, 3-button cuffs, and single back vent
• Electric yellow and brown heathered cotton knit turtleneck sweater
• Light gray cashmere Lacoste cardigan sweater with 5-button front and ribbed cuffs
• Tan multi-colored tartan plaid twill flat front trousers with low rise, belt loops, frogmouth front pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Burgundy brown leather belt with rounded gold buckle
• Dark burgundy patent leather apron-toe horsebit loafers with gold horsebit detail and raised black heels
• Pale gray cotton dress socks
• Green angora-blend Kangol “Furgora” ivy cap
• Black-and-white herringbone tweed single-breasted 3-button topcoat with gray fur-faced peak lapels, flapped hip pockets, ticket pocket, 2-button cuffs, and single back vent
• Brown woolen gloves
• Gold class ring with ruby stone

The Gun

Alley Agent: Hey, honey, this is a real big fucking gun.
Mitch: This ain’t no ham on rye, pal.
Samantha: What the hell are you doing?
Mitch: Saving your life. I would have been here sooner, but I was thinkin’ up that “ham on rye” line.

Mitch’s “ham on rye” Colt King Cobra is decidedly more intimidating than the Alley Agent’s Beretta 92FS.

The non-“ham on rye” in which Mitch takes so much pride is a stainless steel Colt King Cobra revolver, a medium-size “V”-framed double-action revolver produced in short bursts by Colt throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. It is chambered for the powerful .357 Magnum cartridge, ostensibly serving as a replacement for Colt’s earlier Trooper line of medium-framed revolvers and supplementing the larger-framed Python series that was still in production at the time.

The Colt King Cobra was offered in several different finish and barrel length configurations. Colt’s signature bright and highly polished blued finish was available through the weapon’s first production run from 1986 to 1992 with stainless offerings with a matte finish (1987-1992 and 1994-1998) and polished finish (1988-1992) also available. It was also available in a variety of barrel lengths throughout its run: 2″, 2.5″, 4″, 6″, and 8″. Mitch appears to carry a 6″-barreled model with a polished stainless finish.

The gun – and its identifiers as a Colt King Cobra – is most clearly seen when Mitch holds it on a thug credited only as “Alley Agent”.

The Colt King Cobra is one of many weapons handled by Mitch Henessey and was likely taken from the cache of weapons recovered from Daedalus’ compound. Mitch had earlier carried his own piece, a nickel Smith & Wesson Model 36, but he lost it during the train station gunfight.

As well as borrowing Nathan Waldman’s clothing, Mitch also temporarily relieves him on his sidearm, a black SIG Sauer P225 semi-automatic pistol. The P225 is one of three handguns that Waldman packs  in addition to a snubnose Smith & Wesson Model 19 and a Walther PPK/S proudly carried near his privates. The SIG P225 was the first compact variant that SIG Sauer had produced of its new P220 model in the mid-1970s, and it quickly entered West German police service as the P6 pistol. The P225’s compact size and single-stack magazine for eight rounds of 9×19 mm Parabellum ammunition made it a popular handgun for American concealed carriers faced with magazine capacity limits.

I feel like David Morse is probably a nice guy in real life, but damn if he didn’t expertly corner the market on playing smug assholes in ’90s action movies.

Armed with his P225, Mitch disarms Daedalus of his Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle, which makes him feel every bit the badass as he sings his reassuring blues to himself… until Waldman shoves a revolver into his neck a few minutes later. Daedalus’ choice of a Winchester rifle aptly serves his cover as a “Mr. Outdoors” rural type rather than the international spy he is proven to be. Often credited as the “ultimate lever-action design,” the Winchester Model 1894 was designed by John Browning as the first rifle to chamber the smokeless powder .30-30 Winchester (.30 WCF) round and enjoyed more than 100 years of production until U.S. Repeating Arms discontinued it in 2006.

♪ Got me a handgun ♪ Got a rifle, too ♪ Anybody fucks with Mitch, he knows just what to do ♪ ‘Cause I’m a bad motherfucker… ♪

The Winchester isn’t the only rifle Mitch carries, as Samantha/Charly later hands off her Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle to cover her while she infiltrates the Niagara Falls compound to rescue her daughter Caitlin. This stainless rifle has a synthetic black stock and a side-mounted stainless scope.

The final act in Niagara Falls also finds Mitch taking control of a dead henchman’s Beretta 92FS.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

Samantha: Easy, sport. I got myself outta Beirut once, I think I can get outta New Jersey.
Mitch: Yeah? Well, don’t be so sure. Others have tried and failed. The entire population, in fact.

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, standing next to a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS in Jack Reacher (2012).

Vitals

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, badass drifter and former U.S. Army Military Police Corps officer

Pittsburgh, October 2012

Film: Jack Reacher
Release Date: December 21, 2012
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Costume Designer: Susan Matheson
Tom Cruise’s Costumer: Nancy Thompson

Background

BAMF Style’s semi-annual Car Week is returning this winter with more looks at cool outfits and cool cars. Today’s post examines Jack Reacher, the 2012 adaptation of Lee Child’s 2005 novel One Shot. Although it was the ninth of Child’s novels to feature the character of Jack Reacher, the 2012 movie became the first time that the character was represented on screen.

Many fans rebelled against the casting of 5’7″ Tom Cruise to play the 6’5″ Jack Reacher. I have yet to read any of Lee Child’s series (although I would like to!), but I felt that Cruise’s Jack Reacher was a taciturn, clever, and unstoppable force who delivered believability into the action scenarios. Lee Child even defended the decision, saying that “Reacher’s size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way… With another actor you might get 100% of the height but only 90% of Reacher. With Tom, you’ll get 100% of Reacher with 90% of the height.”

I was also impressed to learn that Cruise did most of the stunt driving when behind the wheel of Reacher’s comandeered 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454, barreling across Pittsburgh’s famous bridges, tunnels, and hills with unglamorous force.

And, speaking of that, I was delighted to see my hometown of Pittsburgh so present on screen. Thanks to Pennsylvania’s tax credit program, Pittsburgh has become a more frequent presence on screen (think Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises and the first episode of Justified) but Jack Reacher went an extra step by not only filming in the region but also proudly using the city as the backdrop for the action.

What’d He Wear?

In response to the frequent criticism of the choice to cast Tom Cruise in such an imposing role, Vanity Fair ran a calculation of Jack Reacher’s “badass quotient” in October 2012, based on the film’s trailer. It included snippets like this:

Layers clothing for varying weather conditions (see: leather jacket, flannel shirt, button-up undershirt) rather than eschewing climate considerations to wear, at most, one layer (see: any Sylvester Stallone movie). -2

When it begins to rain, Cruise boldly does not remove his leather jacket or even appear to consider the potential for water-stain damage. +2

Unlike some action heroes (looking at you, Mr. Bond), we get a sense that Jack Reacher couldn’t care less about his clothing, merely wearing exactly what he needs for each situation without caring where it came from or where it’s going after he’s done with it. We first meet Reacher in sunny Florida, certainly a setting that calls for his lightweight Aloha shirt and khakis. Once he knows he’s off to Pittsburgh where October is certainly not considered a warm month, he heads off to the local Goodwill to pick out a comfortable and functional fall wardrobe.

Reacher’s brown leather jacket on a rack of several great Goodwill finds.

The centerpiece of Reacher’s lucky Goodwill finds is a distressed brown full-grain leather jacket with a short standing collar. The jacket is hip-length with swelling around the straight bottom hem. It zips up the front with a brass YKK zipper and a short fly tab that extends the full length of the zip-front, ending about an inch down from the top.

Jack Reacher and Detective Emerson.

A strip extends from the base of the collar at the neck, over the shoulders, and halfway down each arm, ending at a seam that “rings” around each elbow. The jacket’s raglan sleeves end with plain cuffs that are slightly flared with triangle stitching on the back of each cuff.

Reacher’s cool, calm demeanor would soon be tested during a bloody and rainy quarry gunfight.

With most of the seams and swelling present on the sleeves and back, the front of the jacket is relatively clean-looking with just a slanted jetted hand pocket on each side.

Reacher takes momentary cover in a bathtub.

The back of the jacket incorporates several elements perfect for an action-oriented badass who needs to make some rapid motions. Behind each armpit is a curved pleat with swelled edges. On each side at the bottom hem is a short vent that closes with a zipper. The rest of the back is plain aside from a seam that crosses from vent to vent along the back, a few inches from the bottom.

The pleats and zip-side vents on the back of Reacher’s jacket allow him a greater range of movement.

As soon as photos of Cruise as Reacher hit the internet, replicas in varying degrees of accuracy and quality started popping up like this one and this one on Amazon. The Reacher jacket also inspired the USW Vintage Steerhide Urban Adventurer Jacket, available for $195 from U.S. Wings (as of December 2016.) With similar details such as the collar, inside fly, and zip side vents, the USW replica appears to be the closest approximation to Cruise’s screen jacket save for the actual jacket that was sold at auction.

Reacher’s trip to Goodwill also yields a cotton flannel shirt in navy blue and hunter green plaid. The minimal contrast between the two dark colors delivers an understatedly rugged and muted appearance with additional structure coming from the trim fit and the tall button-down collar.

Reacher’s new shirt has a collar that buttons down in both the front and back, keeping it from getting in the way when fighting villains.

The shirt’s spread collar buttons down on the front points and in the back center. It has seven black plastic buttons down the front placket with the top few undone to expose the henley underneath. The button cuffs are also worn undone and gently half-rolled up to reveal the henley’s cuffs. There is a horizontal yoke straight across the back of the shirt, and the gently curved hem is slightly longer in the front and back, but he typically wears the shirt tucked in.

Reacher stands victorious after a brawl set on the South Side (but filmed in the Strip District!)

Reacher’s off-white henley undershirt falls somewhere on the ivory and bone color spectrum. It is a “waffle” knit thermal cotton long-sleeve shirt with three well-spaced white plastic buttons on the reinforced placket, including one on the shirt’s short crew neck collar. The long sleeves end in plain cuffs with no ribbing. The bottom hem is straight.

Reacher shows off his muscles by wearing only his base henley layer when hanging out with Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike).

The experts at Iconic Alternatives researched an exhaustive list of affordable and fashionable options for folks hoping to channel Jack Reacher with their own white or off-white henley shirts, found here.

Reacher wears a pair of dark indigo blue denim jeans with a straight leg, zip fly, and brass rivets detailing the standard five-pocket layout. Best seen during the final fight scene at the quarry, the jeans appear to have a double set of belt loops on the right side.

Reacher in action!

TheTake identified Levi’s 505™ Regular Fit jeans in “rinse” wash as a close match to the jeans worn in Jack Reacher. Described as “the original zip fly, first created in 1967,” Levi’s 505™  jeans are available from the Levi’s site (for $59.50) and Amazon (for as low as $24, depending on the size.)

Although the exact brand of Reacher’s jeans is still uncertain, his boots have been positively identified as Frye Dakota Mid Suede boots in “fatigue” brown. As the name implies, these top-stitched work boots are made from 100% waxed suede leather with heavy black rubber soles and 1″ heels. The open, derby style lacing consists of five brass eyelets and two lace hooks on the shaft.

Reacher picks out his boots… and makes good use of them during the climactic car chase.

The actual boots are available on Amazon but sold out in the exact “fatigue” brown color; the next best option is the same Frye boot in “dark brown pebble”. His socks are not clearly seen, but he seems like the type to wear military surplus wool socks in a neutral color like taupe, khaki, or gray.

After being framed for murder, Reacher evades his police pursuers on Ninth Street and Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh and slips into a crowd waiting for a Port Authority bus in front of Pizza Parma. In the spirit of the salt-of-the-earth yinzers that define western Pennsylvania, Reacher is wordlessly lent a charcoal gray Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap with a curved bill.

Go Bucs!

This charcoal cotton fitted cap has the familiar raised “P” logo embroidered in black with a cream border. This particular cap doesn’t appear to be available any longer, but the MLB shop offers several ’47 brand hats that all reflect the same spirit and coloring – with a few different details – as the one seen in Jack Reacher:

• Men’s Pittsburgh Pirates 47 Charcoal Cream Goosage Closer Flex Hat
• Men’s Pittsburgh Pirates 47 Black Humboldt Franchise Fitted Hat
• Men’s Pittsburgh Pirates 47 Charcoal Sachem Franchise Fitted Hat

Jack Reacher’s Guide to Pittsburgh

Jack Reacher was filmed entirely on location in Pittsburgh with Tom Cruise and writer-director Christopher McQuarrie both reporting how much they enjoyed working in the city.

What to See

Reacher enjoys a particularly scenic murder investigation, taking in views of PNC Park from across the Allegheny River at the 625 Stanwix Tower garage. PNC Park opened during the 2001 MLB season to replace the aging Three Rivers Stadium, which had been home to both the Pirates and the Steelers for decades.

Reacher thought he found a great venue for watching the Pirates game for free… unfortunately, there’s no game that day.

The film also includes nice views of Pittsburgh’s famous downtown Point State Park (“The Point”) at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. I was also delighted to see my office building, EQT Plaza at 625 Liberty Avenue, featured on screen. (My actual office on the 24th floor was used in the 2015 boxing drama Southpaw where one of our agency’s conference rooms doubled as 50 Cent’s office.)

The Point!

Where to Eat

Pittsburgh’s status as an amazing food city is a relatively new development with talented chefs opening up hot new restaurants at a startlingly frequent rate, especially given that the city’s culinary mainstay for decades was putting fries on sandwiches. Despite this foodie renaissance in the ‘Burgh, Jack Reacher keeps his dining options traditional.

Reacher meets Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike) for breakfast at DeLuca’s Diner, located in the historic Strip District. DeLuca’s serves breakfast and lunch all day and prides itself on having “the best breakfast in town” since 1950. Other contenders for the title are the traditional local chains like Eat’n Park and Pamela’s or newer spots like Harris Grill in Shadyside and Meat & Potatoes downtown.

Reacher and Helen enjoy breakfast at DeLuca’s.

Interestingly, Reacher heads to Mario’s South Side Saloon for dinner and a fight. Located on the 1500 block of East Carson Street in the heart of the South Side, Mario’s is better known to most Pittsburghers as a place to see Bud Lights, Rum & Coke, and the occasional Pittsburgh Penguin hanging out rather than a guy enjoying coffee and fries in a corner booth. The most realistic part of Reacher’s meal at Mario’s is his post-prandial brawl with five douchebags, an all-too-increasingly real aspect of the South Side. (Of course, the actual fight was filmed a few miles away on Smallman Street in the Strip District.)

Reacher shows up for dinner at Mario’s, which indeed uses the same logo seen on his server’s shirt.

NB: While the guys who confront Reacher at Mario’s are certainly assholes, at least one of them has cool taste and the admirable trait of supporting local brands. One guy wears a “412” hat by the brand taking its name from the city’s most prominent zip code. In addition to hats, FourOneTwo makes great t-shirts, hoodies, and accessories that deserve a prime spot in any Pittsburgher’s closet.

Don’t let this guy fool you; 412 hats and clothing are pretty cool and typically worn by non-assholes!

Where would I have suggested that Reacher go for dinner? My favorite downtown spots to grab a bite are Bakersfield, The Commoner in Hotel Monaco, and the aforementioned Meat & Potatoes. I live relatively close to downtown in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, so a local night out for me might mean Korean dinner at Green Pepper, followed by tiki drinks at Hidden Harbor (ask for Juls!), and finishing the night in the smoky Squirrel Hill Cafe (affectionately called “The Cage”).

Where to Stay

Jack Reacher eschews the boutique hotels that have been flocking to Pittsburgh, instead shacking up at the “Three Rivers Motel”… actually the closed Sewickley Country Inn on Ohio River Boulevard.

Not the best place to stay when you’re in town…

Better options, though likely more appropriate for a James Bond or Don Draper type, would be classic downtown mainstays like the Omni William Penn or the Renaissance. Newer hotels with hip, funky flavor include downtown options like Fairmont (with Andy’s wine bar and Habitat restaurant) and Hotel Monaco (with The Commoner and its rooftop Biergarten) or the new Ace Hotel in East Liberty, built in a former YMCA facility and home to the delicious Whitfield restaurant.

A behind the scenes shot of Tom Cruise on location in Pittsburgh for Jack Reacher.

How to Get the Look

Jack Reacher’s outfit is timeless, durable, and practical… the perfect combination for an action-packed fall investigation in Pittsburgh.

• Brown distressed full-grain leather zip-front jacket with short standing collar, raglan sleeves, slanted jetted hand pockets, curved “action”-pleated back, and zip-up side vents
• Navy blue and hunter green plaid cotton flannel shirt with button-down collar, front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs
• Off-white waffle-knit cotton thermal long-sleeve henley shirt with 3-button placket and plain cuffs
• Dark indigo blue wash denim jeans
• Frye Dakota Mid Suede “fatigue” brown top-stitched work boots with five brass lace eyelets, 2 lace hooks, and heavy black rubber soles

Show off your Pittsburgh pride with a subtle Pirates baseball cap as well. Reacher went with black-on-charcoal but the most classic look is gold-on-black.

The Car

Jack Reacher: Am I stealing your car?
Punk: Use it as long as you like.
Jack Reacher: You’re very kind.

In need of a set of wheels, Jack Reacher takes the opportunity while beating up some aggressive thugs to get his hands on a stunning red 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 with a bold black double “SS” stripe package. While the actual car on screen may not have been a legit SS 454 (and knowing that a total of six were destroyed during production, I should hope not!), it’s certainly a car worth writing about.

Reacher’s Chevelle takes a beating but keeps on rolling.

GM first introduced the Chevelle for the 1964 model year as a mid-sized competitor to the Ford Fairlane and Plymouth Belvedere, but Chevrolet was quick to deliver a Super Sport (SS) model that would directly take on the emerging muscle car segment currently populated by the Chrysler 300, Dodge Dart, and the new Ford Mustang. For 1968, the second generation of Chevelles received a sportier sculpted body with a 112-inch wheelbase for coupes and convertibles that was three inches shorter than that of sedans and wagons. With its 396 cubic-inch big-block V8 option, the Chevelle was clearly lining itself up as a muscle contender as Mopar continued to up the ante with offerings like the Dodge Charger and Plymouth Road Runner.

In 1970, the Chevelle rolled out its now-legendary SS 454 model with two engine offerings: the base LS5, rated at 360 horsepower, and the dangerous LS6, under-rated at 450 horsepower. The 1970 Chevelle LS6, of which only 4,475 were produced, is considered by some to be the apex of American muscle cars.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454

Body Style: 2-door hardtop sport coupe

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

Engine: 454 cubic inch (7.4 L) Chevrolet LS6 V8 with four-barrel Holley carburetor

Power: 450 hp (335.6 kW; 456 PS) @ 5600 rpm

Torque: 500 lb·ft (678 N·m) @ 3600 rpm

Transmission: 4-speed manual

Wheelbase: 112 inches (2845 mm)

Length: 197.2 inches (5009 mm)

Width: 75.4 inches (1915 mm)

Height: 52.6 inches (1336 mm)

It’s been reported that nine Chevelles were used during the filming with six destroyed. A Jack Reacher Chevelle would be fitted with SS badging, Radial T/A tires, and a four-speed manual transmission shifted by a white “cue ball” knob on the stick.

Tom Cruise whips the Chevelle around Pittsburgh’s construction-laden streets.

Though not an original LS6 SS454, the Chevelle featured in Jack Reacher is pretty damn cool… as is the fact that Tom Cruise evidently did all of his own driving on screen. In one scene during the nighttime police chase, Reacher’s Chevelle stalls after crashing into some barrels; Cruise was able to quickly restart the car before driving off again, and McQuarrie determined that the suspense of the moment made it worthy of keeping in the finished film.

The Gun

Given his military experience and reputation for badassery, it’s no surprise that Jack Reacher knows his way around every weapon he gets his hands on. In the final gunfight, he handles both Detective Emerson’s Glock 19 pistol and the heavily modified SIG P556 SWAT/SG 550 carbine rifle with equal aplomb… but it’s his abilities with gun range operator Martin Cash’s Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle that truly tests Reacher’s ability when Cash asks him to shoot three rounds into a target 700 yards away.

Reacher rolls with Cash’s rifle.

The Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle has been offered in a variety of stock, barrel and caliber configurations since its introduction in 1962. Calibers can range from the small .17 Remington varmint-hunting round to the massive .458 Winchester Magnum for dangerous game as well as common civilian rounds like the .223 Remington and .308 Winchester. Depending on the caliber, this can mean an internal magazine of three, four, or five rounds or a detachable box magazine. The rifle operates with a manually-operated, three-piece rotating bolt.

Cash’s pride and joy, a Remington Model 700 rifle.

In addition to the many civilian models, there have been several Model 700 variants for the police and military markets. As Martin Cash is an ex-Marine, it makes sense that he would respect the Remington Model 700, from which the USMC’s M40 sniper rifle was developed in 1966. Jack Reacher’s past in the U.S. Army may mean he was more familiar with the M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) variant of the same rifle.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie… and save up about $38,000 to pick up your own ’70 Chevelle SS454.

The Quote

Imagine you’ve spent your whole life in other parts of the world being told every day you’re defending freedom, and finally you decide you’ve had enough. Time to see what you’ve given up your whole life for. Maybe get some of that freedom for yourself. Look at the people. Now tell me which ones are free. Free from debt. Anxiety. Stress. Fear. Failure. Indignity. Betrayal. How many wish that they were born knowing what they know now? Ask yourself how many would do things the same way over again? And how many would live their lives like me?

Footnote

The commercial success of Jack Reacher meant that it would be quickly greenlit for a sequel; indeed, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was filmed in New Orleans and was released in October 2016. The sequel, however, is not the only film inspired by Jack Reacher…

Tom Getty was walking back from his classes at the University of Pittsburgh one evening in 2012 when he encountered Tom Cruise among the cast and crew filming Jack Reacher. Inspired by the incident, Getty set out to create his own Pittsburgh-set blockbuster, filming Rising Fear on a $20 budget in western Pennsylvania. Rising Fear is currently available on Amazon.

Ryan Gosling in Drive (2011).

Vitals

Ryan Gosling as an unnamed getaway driver and part-time stunt double

Los Angeles, Fall 2010

Film: Drive
Release Date: September 16, 2011
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Costume Designer: Erin Benach

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Drive is an excellent neo-noir throwback to the days of Point Blank, Bullitt, Taxi Driver, and The Driver, delivering a moody and stylish character study of a taciturn anti-hero navigating the violent L.A. underworld and his own emotions with existential angst.

Thankfully defying the marketing that offered viewers a standard, action-packed car movie, Drive is based on James Sallis’ 2005 novel about an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver – here played by Ryan Gosling – who moonlights as a criminal getaway driver. He hones his skills working as a mechanic for Shannon (Bryan Cranston, who nails mild-mannered criminal affability); Shannon, in turn, offers his favors to ruthless crime boss Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks, who is always welcome.)

The Driver’s life changes when he meets Irene (Carey Mulligan), a Denny’s waitress raising her young son Benicio (Kaden Leos) while her husband Standard Gabriel (Oscar Isaac) serves a prison stretch for robbery. Standard’s release threatens the budding romance between Irene and The Driver, but it also threatens the family’s security when Standard’s outstanding prison debt brings Albanian gangster Cook (James Biberi) calling at their home. Cook demands that Standard rob a pawnshop to pay off his $40,000 debt to him. Standard is desperate… but luckily (at first), he just made the acquaintance of a highly skilled getaway driver.

Gosling wears his custom scorpion satin jacket on the Drive set.

What’d He Wear?

Ryan Gosling’s outfit in Drive – specifically his satin scorpion-embroidered bomber jacket – has received plenty of attention and requests for coverage on this blog. Luckily, plenty of fans have worked tirelessly to pin down the exact brands and makers that delivered The Driver’s style to the screen.

The Scorpion Jacket

The centerpiece of The Driver’s outfit is his white quilted satin jacket, custom made by Richard Lim, founder of High Society Tailors in Los Angeles. Lim’s site includes a photo of the jacket with a caption explaining that 27 jackets were made for the film.

Costume designer Erin Benach explained to British GQ:

Ryan was really inspired by these Korean souvenir jackets from the ’50s. We got to this idea of a white quilted satin jacket with a scorpion on the back. The scorpion came a little later – that was inspired by this Kenneth Anger video “Scorpio [Rising]”. We built the jacket from scratch. We used a tailor in Los Angeles: Richard Lim of High Society. He was really wonderful – he was able to work with the satin, and used real wool for the cuffs and the collar. We had maybe ten different styles tested: we had a baseball cut for the shoulders, then we had a regular sleeve cut. We tried so many styles to nail the one that fitted and looked the best. Then there was the whole issue of the color. A white satin jacket set the alarm bells off for the director of photography. It’s a really hard thing to light, because it can blow out every scene. So we went through many iterations of the tone to get the actual color we used, which is almost more like silver. At one point we just thought, “Let’s go back and make it olive green or red,” but in the end we all fought for saving the white jacket because we loved so much.

As Benach explained, the color is more of an off-white/silver satin twill, which Lim assembled with diamond stitching to create a quilted effect. On the back, the costume team embroidered a large two-tone yellow scorpion with darker gold thread creating the shadow and lighter yellow used on most of the body.

Irene gets a good look at the scorpion on The Driver’s jacket, but she’s probably too distracted by the fact that he just killed someone to notice the detailed two-tone embroidery.

Since a getaway driver would certainly need as much range of movement for his arms as possible, the jacket has action sleeves with dark brown wool side gussets exposed, particularly around the armpits and back.

Like so many great noir anti-heroes before him, The Driver takes in a lonely dinner at a greasy L.A. diner.

The same dark brown wool knit is present on the ribbed cuffs, bottom hem, and the distinctive round collar with its pointed throat latch tab.

The inside is lined with a smooth brown satin in the same shade as the dark brown on the wool collar, cuffs, and hem. The Driver often zips the brass zipper halfway up his jacket but never fully to the top. There is a vertical hand pocket on each side of his jacket.

Director of photographer Newton Thomas Sigel nicely evoked film noir imagery in Drive.

Before Drive was even released in theaters, fans began eagerly trying to track down as much information as they could to get a jacket of their own at forums like The RPF and FilmJackets.com. Replicas in varying degrees of price, accuracy, and quality are still available on Amazon (including this one for a super-low $41, as of December 2016), but the experts at Magnoli Clothiers worked very hard with both fans and the Drive costume team to deliver the definitive Drive jacket replica for only $350… also customizable by color and back embroidery.

Denim-Focused Layers

Under his scorpion jacket, The Driver layers with a denim jacket rather than a shirt, although the jacket’s slim fit keeps the look from bulking. Evident by the trademark red tag on the left breast pocket, The Driver is wearing a Levi’s Trucker Jacket in dark blue denim. The jacket has straight yokes across the front and back with pointed flaps over the chest patch pockets; there are no hand pockets. There are six distressed brass shank buttons down the front and a short two-button tab on each side to adjust the fit on his waist.

Gosling on set (left), and The Driver pondering his situation (right).

The Undershirt Guy did plenty of research to find out more about the henley shirts that Gosling wears on screen and discovered that all of his henleys were purchased from Mister Freedom on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles; in turn, the store owner Christophe Loiron explained to The Undershirt Guy that all of the shirts worn by Gosling were combed cotton vintage henleys made in the 1940s by Williams. Magnoli Clothiers, in their infinite wisdom, also recreated the look of Gosling’s vintage henleys with their own ivory and blue offerings for only $45 each.

The Driver’s main henley is an off-white cream lightweight cotton shirt with three widely-spaced white plastic buttons and short set-in sleeves with a wide hem.

The Driver gets dirty while working on cars in Shannon’s shop (left), and Gosling figures out a Rubik’s cube (right).

In several scenes, mostly set around his apartment building, The Driver also wears an identical Williams vintage henley dyed a light gray shade of blue.

Remember that noir imagery I was talking about? Get used to it!

Finally, when watching TV with Irene’s son Benicio, he wears an ivory white lightweight cotton sweatshirt with a crew neck and long raglan sleeves.

“There’s no good sharks?” The Driver pointedly asks while watching cartoons with Benicio.

The Driver’s jeans are even darker than his denim jacket. They have been identified as Acne Studios “Max Soft” raw denim jeans with a low-rise waist and a slim fit through the legs.

Gosling shows a little skin during his elevator ass-kicking.

The Driver wears a smooth black Torino “Aniline” leather belt with a reversible brown underside. The belt closes through a square polished steel single-prong buckle.

Uh… probably some form of a spoiler

Some would argue that the most important part of a driver’s wardrobe are his or her shoes. In Drive, Gosling’s character wears a pair of tan smooth kidskin leather Stacy Adams “Madison Cap-Toe Boots” with derby-style lacing, a perforated cap toe design, and brown hard leather soles. They have six eyelets and four hooks up the shaft for the boot laces.

The boots look much nicer when there isn’t blood splashed all over them.

The taupe color worn by Gosling on screen is still available but has gotten very hard to find (thanks to Drive fans!), but the boots are still available in a variety of other colors on Amazon.

Three costume tags posted by The Undershirt Guy provide additional details about Gosling’s costumel; in the scene described, he was working in Shannon’s shop and wearing a pair of black Dockers “K-1” trousers with distressed black leather boots.

Accessories

Drive‘s propmaster Will Blount understood the importance of a professional driver having a sharp, accurate timepiece and wanted Gosling to wear something memorable and distinctive. The Rolex Daytona and Omega Speedmaster come to mind, but Blount had a more unique solution; he created a fake Patek Philippe chronograph that would be one-of-a-kind in itself and unlike anything actually offered in the Patek line. It has a round stainless steel case, plain silver dial with a 6:00 sub-dial, and a smooth dark brown leather strap.

The Driver establishes his precision as he works his wristwatch in the opening scene.

Although the real watch doesn’t exist, the Dappered team researched wristwatches for their “Steal the Style” focus on Drive and discovered the Skagen 958XLSL, a fine lookalike and certainly an affordable alternative to any real Patek Philippe.

Also important for a professional driver are a fine set of gloves, and Gosling’s character wears a pair of kid leather Gaspar Gloves “2204 Driving Gloves” in a dark shade of brown that Gaspar calls “London tan” (but is darker than I typically equate with that color.) Like many driving gloves, Gosling’s Gaspars have knuckle holes and silver-snapped wrists. More about these gloves and affordable alternatives to them can be found at IT Online News’ 2014 analysis.

Not sure why a two-door Mustang would be the best option for a three-person robbery, but…

Finally, when not driving around at night (as he is when we meet him!), The Driver shades his eyes with a cool pair of Selima Optique Money 2 sport aviator sunglasses with auburn tortoise frames and brown gradient lenses.

You know The Driver is a badass when he wears his sunglasses inside.

Like the BAMF featured in Monday’s post, this getaway driver also ends a car chase and eludes his pursuers by donning a baseball cap celebrating a local sports team. In this case, Ryan Gosling wears a unique light blue Los Angeles Clippers fitted with a bright red embroidered “L.A.” logo on the front.

Go Clippers!

TheTake includes comprehensive breakdowns of the costumes and accessories worn by Ryan Gosling and other Drive cast members.

Ryan Gosling and Christina Hendricks (<3) on set.

How to Get the Look

The Driver’s wardrobe is a mix of vintage finds and designer items with his signature scorpion jacket a custom-made touch just for him.

• White-silver diamond-stitched quilted satin bomber jacket with dark brown knit collar, cuffs, and hem with brass-zip front and two-tone gold embroidered scorpion on back
• Dark blue denim Levi’s vintage trucker jacket with pointed-flap chest pockets, six brass buttons, and 2-button side-tab waist adjusters
• Cream/off-white lightweight cotton short-sleeve vintage henley shirt with wide 3-button placket
• Dark indigo blue wash Acne Studios “Max Soft” raw denim jeans
• Black aniline leather reversible belt with polished steel square single-prong buckle
• Tan kidskin leather Stacy Adams “Madison” perforated cap-toe 6-eyelet/4-hook derby boots
• Steel wristwatch with round stainless case and silver dial (with 6:00 sub-dial) on dark brown smooth leather strap
• Gaspar Gloves 2204 brown kid leather driving gloves with knuckle holes and snap wrist
• Selima Optique Money 2 auburn tortoise-framed aviator-style sport sunglasses

The Car

Bullitt is often cited as one of Drive‘s influences, so it’s not unexpected to see our taciturn hero speeding around in a new Mustang – specifically a black 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 – and leading the villains to a fatal end in their black Chrysler sedan.

The Driver’s Mustang speeds across the California desert.

Much like the groundbreaking 1964 Mustang, the new generation of Mustangs introduced 40 years later indicated a new trend for American car makers embracing the height of 1960s muscle. Dodge would revive the Challenger for the 2008 model year followed by the 2009 re-introduction of the Chevrolet Camaro, but it was the fifth generation Ford Mustang developed for 2005 that signified the new age of American muscle.

Sid Ramnarace’s design of the fifth generation Mustang received a facelift for the 2010 model year under design chief Doug Gaffka, using George Saridikas’ exterior proposal and Robert Gelardi’s interior proposal. The new Mustang was even sleeker than the previous models, with redesigned lights, a prominent “powerdome” hood, and revisions that would increase the car’s aerodynamic performance.

The Mustang GT received an upgraded engine for the 2011 model year, upsizing the aging 4.6L Modular V8 with the “Coyote” 5.0L DOHC V8, recalling the displacement of the popular “5.0” third generation GT models. This new and improved engine added 430 pounds to the Mustang GT’s curb weight but also increased power by nearly 100 horsepower from 315 to 412 with premium grade, 91-octane gasoline.

2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0

Body Style: 2-door sport coupe

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

Engine: 302 cubic inch (5.0 L) Ford 5.0 L “Coyote” DOHC V8

Power: 412 hp (307 kW; 418 PS) @ 6500 rpm

Torque: 390 lb·ft (529 N·m) @ 4250 rpm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Wheelbase: 107.1 inches (2720 mm)

Length: 188.1 inches (4780 mm)

Width: 73.9 inches (1880 mm)

Height: 55.6 inches (1410 mm)

Jerry Garrett’s blog includes an interesting post appropriately titled “The Cars of DRIVE” featuring an interview with Drive‘s stunt coordinator Darrin Prescott. Prescott recalls that all of the Mustang GTs provided by Ford had automatic transmissions: “You really couldn’t get them to do anything. The minute you started doing anything tricky with them – spins, slides, drifting – the traction control would start shutting everything down.” Forced to improvise, Prescott and his team discovered that holding the traction control button down for six seconds disengaged it, allowing them to perform stunts like 180-degree “bootlegger” turns. Not provided by Ford, one Mustang with a manual transmission was found for the production and re-painted black to match the others. Each Mustang GT featured in the chase scene was fitted with prop California license plate 4DOQ78.

The quiet before the storm…

The Mustang was merely a work car to be used for the heist’s getaway (although the choice of a two-door car for a three-person robbery is plagued with logical missteps…)

The Driver’s personal car is a light blue 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu two-door pillared coupe, owned in real life by Ryan Gosling, who also rebuilt it himself. 1973 was the first model year for the third generation Chevelle, the most extensive redesign since the model was first produced in 1964. The only two-door model of the new Chevelle generation was the pillared “Colonnade Hardtop” that was designed to respond to federal rollover standards. Supposedly, the script called for the more iconic 1970 Chevelle (also featured in Monday’s Jack Reacher post), but Gosling spoke up to feature his own ’73 model on screen… a wise choice for an understated character like The Driver.

The Gun

I don’t carry a gun. I drive.

The Driver does his most effective violent work with a simple hammer, but he does – at one point – relieve an assassin of his shotgun, a High Standard FLITE KING K-1200 Riot Standard shotgun, as identified by IMFDB.

The Driver gets the upper hand.

The 12-gauge pump-action shotgun has a sawed-off stock and barrel, which make it easier for the close-quarters combat in the confines of a motel room. As High Standard shotguns stopped production in the 1970s, this model likely dates back to the Bullitt era as well. A High Standard FLITE KING pump shotgun was also the long gun of choice for Steve McQueen’s “Doc” McCoy in The Getaway (1972).

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

You know the story about the scorpion and the frog?

Mickey Rourke as “Boogie” in Diner (1982).

Vitals

Mickey Rourke as Robert “Boogie” Sheftell, part-time law student, hair stylist, and degenerate gambler

Baltimore, Christmas 1959

Film: Diner
Release Date: March 5, 1982
Director: Barry Levinson
Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham

Background

This Car Week segment ends with a holiday-focused look at the ’57 Chevy driven by Mickey Rourke in Diner.

Praised by an astute IMDB reviewer as “a thinking man’s version of American Graffiti,” Diner follows a group of high school buddies reconnecting in their Baltimore hometown during the last week of 1959. The Christmas backdrop contributes heavily to the nostalgia of the final days of the decade preceding the tumultuous ’60s as each friend realizes the different directions that his life is taking.

Diner is a very entertaining exploration of the significance of immaturity and growth, propelled by witty dialogue and dynamic characters played by then-rising stars Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, TIm Daly, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, Mickey Rourke, and Daniel Stern.

The diner itself that the gang frequents was the Fell’s Point Diner, originally located at West Rogers Avenue and Reisterstown Road in Woodmere, a neighborhood northwest of both Baltimore and the historic Fell’s Point waterfront neighborhood from which the diner takes its name.

What’d He Wear?

Boogie has arguably the most unique wardrobe of his group of friends with era-defining threads like a dark leather bomber jacket, brown tanker jacket, and gray atomic fleck sport coat that establish him as the group’s de facto “bad boy”. As Barry Levinson’s original screenplay noted:

Boogie is something of a "Dandy," flashier in dress than others in his crowd.

Boogie’s first on-screen outfit, worn for a Christmas dance and the following hours spent at the diner, is centered around a maroon birdseye wool single-breasted sport jacket. The distinctive pattern is a large-scaled birdseye weave created by dark maroon yarns woven over the lighter tan yarn. Smaller-scaled birdseye weaves often appear solid from a distance, but the large scale weave of Boogie’s jacket adds an interesting texture.

Yes, Mickey Rourke once looked like this. It was a long time ago.

The maroon birdseye jacket has moderately slim notch lapels that roll down to the two-button front. The styling is typical for a late ’50s jacket with padded shoulders, single back vent, and two buttons spaced out on each cuff. The straight jetted hip pockets may have flaps that often just tuck into the jacket (and a devil-may-care type like Boogie wouldn’t give a damn either way), but he makes the most of his breast pocket by puffing out a red printed silk display kerchief with tan stripes.

Boogie’s conspiratorial attitude may be a natural byproduct of his frequent conspiring. Just a theory.

With his frequent gambling and consorting with shifty loan sharks with names like Tank (whoa!) and Bagel (oh…), Boogie is the closest to being a gangster within his group of friends, and he certainly dresses the part with his dark monochrome jacket and shirt, contrasted by a lighter-colored tie. His button-down dress shirt is solid maroon with white mother-of-pearl buttons up the front placket, buttoning down the slim collar points, and on each cuff.

Boogie’s tan silk tie has a pink-ish hue (or a rosy glow, as some would say). It nicely calls out the jacket and shirt with stripes of maroon diamonds that alternate with beige and black diamonds.

Fenwick may be fading after a night of drinking and diner-ing, but Boogie is still going strong the next morning.

Boogie wears very dark brown flat front trousers, supported by a small gold square buckle. The bottoms are slightly flared and finished with turn-ups.

Boogie’s shoes call back the complexity of his jacket and tie. Seen most clearly in a dark nighttime scene, they appear to be tan basket weave spectator oxfords with a contrasting burgundy brown leather apron/moc-toe and closed, balmoral-style facing with four eyelets for burgundy laces. His dark socks are likely a dark shade of brown to continue the leg line from trouser into shoe.

Boogie admires the realistic effects from Fenwick’s bottle of Heinz. (I think he actually uses Campbell’s brand of ketchup, but Pittsburghers like me can’t abide anything but Heinz.)

As Diner is set during a long, chilly December evening in Baltimore, Boogie supplements his outfit with an overcoat, scarf, and – occasionally – brown leather lined gloves. His single-breasted topcoat is dark brown wool and falls to above his knees. The slim notch lapels roll to the top of a three-button front, which he typically leaves open, with a long single vent in the back. The hip pockets are flapped and there appear to be two buttons on each cuff.

Possibly the yield from a lucky gambling streak or an investment designed to attract female attention, Boogie drapes a luxurious ivory scarf around his neck. The scarf is possibly cashmere or pashmina and has short fraying on the edges.

If Fenwick was actually hurt, is Boogie the type of friend that would sacrifice his luxurious scarf to help his bloody pal?

Throughout Diner, Boogie consistently wears a thin gold necklace chain with a gold ring pendant. It is clearly part of his outfit, even worn underneath the buttoned-down collar of his shirt. No mention of this jewelry was made in the original screenplay, and the closest thing I could find online was a reference to Rourke wearing a custom-made pendant to commemorate the life of his recently deceased 17-year-old chihuahua, Roki, in 2009.

Any idea what’s up with that ring?

Boogie wears his pinky ring more conventionally by actually sporting it on his finger. It is a thick gold ring with a small round red stone, worn on his left pinky. Also on his left hand, he wears a gold identity bracelet around his wrist.

Or this ring, for that matter.

Go Big or Go Home

Eddie: When you’re making out, which do you prefer, Sinatra or Mathis?
Boogie: Presley.

Given his taste in music and the time of year, the perfect album to bring out your inner Boogie is the aptly titled Elvis’ Christmas Album, released in October 1957 and just in time for a musically brilliant Christmas season that also saw the release of A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (which would be Eddie’s clear favorite). America agrees with Boogie, however, as Elvis’ Christmas Album remains the best-selling holiday album in the U.S. even sixty years after its release with more than 10 million copies sold.

Elvis’ Christmas Album leads with the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller-penned blues number “Santa Claus Is Back in Town,” also memorably used to introduce Geena Davis’ character in The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Other Christmas tunes that feature in Diner are a double dose of Chuck Berry’s 1958 holiday favorites: the energetic rock hit “Run Rudolph Run” and the bluesier “Merry Christmas Baby”. When driving Modell (Paul Reiser) after the Christmas dance, Boogie keeps the rockabilly flowing in his car with Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”

How to Get the Look

Boogie dresses to impress and finds a way to incorporate the traditional reddish tones of the holidays into a distinctive outfit that says so much about him and his place in the ’50s.

• Maroon birdseye wool single-breasted 2-button sport coat with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, spaced 2-button cuffs, and single vent
• Maroon shirt with slim button-down collar, front placket, and 1-button cuffs
• Tan silk tie with printed maroon, beige, and black diamond-patterned stripes
• Dark brown wool flat front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Dark brown leather belt with small square gold buckle
• Burgundy brown leather & tan basket weave 4-eyelet moc-toe spectator oxfords
• Dark brown dress socks
• Dark brown wool single-breasted 3-button topcoat with flapped hip pockets, 2-button cuffs, and single vent
• Ivory cashmere (or pashmina) wool scarf with frayed edges
• Gold chain-link ID bracelet, worn on left wrist
• Gold cluster pinky ring with small round red stone, worn on left pinky
• Gold ring, worn on a very thin gold necklace

An extra dose of holiday red comes from the bright red silk display kerchief poking out of Boogie’s breast pocket.

The Car

The script called for a “cherry and white DeSoto,” but when Diner made it to the big screen, Boogie’s ride was a classic black 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air four-door sedan. One of the most instantly recognizable in a decade full of iconic automobiles, the Bel Air was considered one of Chevy’s iconic pack of “Tri-Fives” produced from 1955-1957. A ’57 Bel Air was previously featured on BAMF Style when taking a look at the black two-door convertible that James Bond commandeered from an ineffective assassin in Dr. No.

Boogie’s Bel Air during one of his many late nights.

Chevrolet had first introduced the Bel Air model in 1949, but four-door sedans didn’t appear with the moniker until 1953, two years before the iconic second generation redesign that GM knowingly marketed as the “Hot One,” well aware of the external appeal of the Italian-styled grille and the internal draw of its innovative V8 engines.

Prior to the 1955 redesign, the last Chevrolet to be fitted with a V8 engine was the 1917 Series D, although the 36 horsepower produced by that car’s engine could hardly be considered competition for even a V8-powered car in the 1930s. Two-door models like the sport coupes and convertibles are the most sought after of the “Tri-Five” Bel Airs, but four-door options included a station wagon, the pillarless sport sedan, and the hardtop sedan (model #2403) that Boogie drove in Diner.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

Body Style: 4-door pillared hardtop sedan

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

Engine: 283 cubic inch (4.6 L) “Turbo Fire” V8 with Rochester twin-barrel carburetor

Power: 185 hp (138 kW; 188 PS) @ 4600 rpm

Torque: 275 lb·ft (373 N·m) @ 2400 rpm

Transmission: 2-speed Powerglide automatic

Wheelbase: 115 inches (2921 mm)

Length: 200 inches (5080 mm)

Width: 73.9 inches (1877 mm)

Height: 59.9 inches (1521 mm)

Boogie’s car, fitted with vintage Maryland license plates FX-41-89, is recognizable as an automatic transmission car when the column shifter is seen stuck in Park during several scenes where the car is supposedly “driving”. It’s likely the two-speed Powerglide transmission, but the three-speed Turboglide constant torque transmission was also a popular automatic option, introduced in 1957.

Fenwick and Boogie pull up beside Jane Chisholm. (Like the trail.)

According to a commenter, “VinnyDaQ”, at CarsForSell.org, the car was originally meant to be a yellow taxi in the film but the producers were so impressed by the condition of the ’57 Bel Air that they used it as Boogie’s car, swapping out the scripted DeSoto.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie… and offer to give Paul Reiser a ride home even if he doesn’t come out and ask for it.

The Quote

If you don’t have good dreams, you got nightmares.

One week left! Is there more Christmas shopping to be done, or are you looking to treat yourself? (Or are you just looking to treat yourself anyway?) Either way, back for 2016 is BAMF Style’s unsolicited list of gift ideas for you and yours.

Rule #1: Make sure your gift isn’t meowing.

BAMF Style Recommends…

I’m not being paid to push any of these companies, products, or brands; I just happen to really like them and was lucky enough to experience or discover them over the last year!

If you’re looking to make a stylish investment for yourself or a deserving friend or family member, this could be the year of exploring a custom made suit for them from a quality suitmaker that cares about tradition and details. Pittsburghers are lucky to have a suit maker like Samuel Baron Clothiers that uses the finest fabrics and unparalleled precision.

Of course, what’s the use of a custom made suit without an amazing custom shirt and tie to go with it? Anto Beverly Hills has been a prolific cultural presence for more than 60 years, creating bespoke shirts and made-to-measure ties for major movies and personalities from U.S. presidents to movie stars. Most recently, Anto shirts and ties appeared in major productions like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Nice Guys, and Westworld and much of their work has been captured on BAMF Style through classic films like Casino and The Sting.

And if you find the concept of reading about men’s clothing appealing and want to find something beyond BAMF Style (don’t worry, I understand!), I received a very entertaining and excellently illustrated book from a colleague (thanks, Jeff!) last Christmas: Dressing in the Dark: Lessons in Men’s Style from the Movies by Marion Maneker. The book focuses on the timeless style from icons like Cary Grant and Steve McQueen to Marlon Brando and Jean-Paul Belmondo. (Amazon)

Like many people, I believe in the virtue of keeping my pants from falling down. Thankfully, my sister and her husband stepped in for my birthday this year with the gift of a brown leather Mission belt. (I have a feeling they first saw these belts on Shark Tank – they’re big fans!) Mission belts are functionally differentiated from the rest of the pack by marketing themselves as “no holes” belts, fitting around the waist by sliding the buckle through a series of teeth that adjust fit by 1/4-inch. The company should also be praised for living up to its name by micro-lending a dollar from the sale of each belt to fight hunger and poverty worldwide. (If you’re looking for the exact belt that my sister and brother-in-law got me, check out the mocha brown leather belt with a 40mm bronze buckle… only $39.95!

What’s the point of looking great if you’re not gonna smell great too? I recently discovered Every Man Jack, a great line of natural hygiene products that keep you smelling fresh and clean in all the places that matter without chemicals. I’d never considered myself to be someone who cared about whether a product is more natural than others, but every since my girlfriend first introduced me to Every Man Jack, I’ve incorporated it into my hygiene routine with tea tree thickening shampoo/conditioner and Cedarwood shower gel and Cedarwood deodorant.

Become a New You!

My girlfriend had the terrific idea of developing gift packages to ease someone closer to the style of #BAMFapproved movie and TV icons. Thanks to this brilliant suggestion from a brilliant woman, I did some brainstorming to research six “character bundles” from some of this blog’s most popular and trend-setting icons… so grab about 150 of your favorite dollars and get ready to shop!

(N.B. All prices as of December 16, 2016 and, naturally, subject to change.)

007: Sean Connery Edition

The Shirt: Iconic Alternatives has done the research and found the Mr. Fish X Sinclair Cocktail Cuff Shirt in Blue to be the perfect modern replication of Sean Connery’s standard pale blue dress shirts with their ever-so-distinctive turnback cuffs. ($130 from Mason & Sons)

The Booze: A bottle of Smirnoff 100-proof vodka – look for the blue label! – was shown since the beginning to be the perfect ingredient for a 007-approved vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred. ($18 at my local liquor store)

The Book: From Russia With Love was the definitive original Bond franchise adaptation of Ian Fleming’s work. A copy of Ian Fleming’s 1957 novel is the perfect stocking stuffer. ($8 on Amazon)

Total Package: $156

1) Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No (post)
2) Mr. Fish X Sinclair Cocktail Cuff in Blue
3) Smirnoff 100-proof
4) The original cover of From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming

007: Daniel Craig Edition

The Shirt: Sunspel kept Daniel Craig looking cool and casual throughout Casino Royale, whether he was investigating a death in the Bahamas or causing mayhem in Venice. Iconic Alternatives again saves the day by finding options for both the short-sleeve and long-sleeve blue polos that he wore, but purists can still purchase the exact Sunspel “Riviera” polo in navy blue that Craig sported at The One&Only Ocean Club. ($125 from Sunspel)

The Booze: “Three measures of Gordon’s; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it over ice, and add a thin slice of lemon peel.” Bond either didn’t realize or didn’t care that Kina Lillet had been off the market for two decades when he requested it for his signature Vesper martini in Casino Royale, but Lillet itself has thankfully not gone away. ($18 at my local liquor store)

The Book: Casino Royale set a gold standard for faithful modern adaptations of a more-than-half-a-century-old spy novel and Ian Fleming’s original 1953 book is still a thrilling read today. ($8.50 on Amazon)

Total Package: $151.50

1) Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (post)
2) Sunspel “Riviera” polo in navy blue
3) Lillet Blanc
4) An early cover for Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

Don Draper

The Shirt: Mad Men‘s mysterious protagonist always has a backup selection of crisp white dress shirts in his office drawer. All with French cuffs to sport gifts from mistresses and breast pockets for his faithful Lucky Strike cigarettes… less necessary if you don’t smoke, of course. ($92 from Brooks Brothers)

Plus: You’re Don Draper. Would you really not wear a tie? Stripes in solid, manly colors are always welcome. ($49.50 from Brooks Brothers)

The Booze: On her first day, Peggy is mocked by Joan for not knowing whether or not Don’s preferred Canadian Club whiskey is considered to be rye. (Hint: It’s not.) Don preferred his CC neat, on the rocks, or as the foundation for his go-to Old Fashioneds. ($16 from Canadian Club)

The Book: Don’s read it all, from Leon Uris’ Exodus to Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. However, the book that summed up a season (in addition to a state of mind) is Frank O’Hara’s 1957 poetry collection Meditations in an Emergency. ($13 on Amazon)

Total Package: $170.50 ($121 sans tie)

1) Jon Hamm as Don Draper in the pilot episode of Mad Men (post)
2) Brooks Brothers white shirt
3) Canadian Club
4) Meditations in an Emergency by Frank O’Hara, as seen in Mad Men‘s second season

Raylan Givens

The Top: Raylan’s trademark office look may have been a black suit, plaid shirt, and skinny tie, but few things made him feel quite as comfortable as his tried-and-true Levi’s denim trucker jacket with a flannel shirt and jeans. ($89.50 from Levi’s)

The Booze: Justified made the most of its setting by featuring a range of fantastic Kentucky bourbon whiskey from reliable everyday Jim Beam to the fabled Pappy Van Winkle. At the end of the workday, Raylan could often be found drowning his sorrows with a glass of Blanton’s single barrel bourbon. ($58 from my local liquor store)

The Book: Crime author extraordinaire Elmore Leonard first introduced readers to Raylan Givens (and his cowboy hat) in his 1993 novel Pronto. ($12 on Amazon)

Total Package: $159.50

1) Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens on Justified
2) Levi’s medium stonewash denim trucker jacket
3) Blanton’s single-barrel bourbon
4) Pronto, the 1993 novel written by Elmore Leonard that introduced the character of Raylan Givens

Hank Moody

The Shirt: Black t-shirt. Easy enough, right? On Californication, David Duchovny made Moody look so stylish in such a simple shirt by wearing soft cotton jersey tees from designer James Perse. ($95 from James Perse)

Plus: Hank always let his rock side shine with a studded black leather bracelet. ($16 from Urban Wrist)

The Booze: Okay, so maybe you decided to save by going with a less expensive t-shirt brand; you’ll make up the cost when springing for the Scotch. Moody liked single malt, namely The Glenlivet 12-year-old whisky as seen in the first episode. ($40 at my local liquor store)

The Book: Charles Bukowski’s Women. If you don’t already know why, you will when you read it. ($10 on Amazon)

Total Package: $161 ($145 sans bracelet)

1) David Duchovny as Hank Moody on Californication
2) Black cotton James Perse t-shirt
3) The Glenlivet 12 Year Old single malt Scotch whisky
4) Women by Charles Bukowski

The Dude

The Shirt: You too can abide with The Dude’s signature tan and brown Cowichan sweater. The original will set you back a cool $239, so a more budget-friendly version is the 15% wool/85% acrylic replica. ($80 on Amazon)

The Booze: The Dude is rarely seen without a White Russian in his hand. Once you’ve scribbled off a 69-cent check to Ralph’s for the half-and-half, you can help complete the kit with a bottle of Kahlúa coffee liqueur. ($18 at my local liquor store)

Plus: Skip the books and grab some vinyl. Assuming you’re not in the mood for any Creedence tapes, celebrate Bob Dylan’s triumphant post-Self Portrait album, New Morning, which contributing “The Man in Me” to The Big Lebowski‘s eclectic soundtrack. ($29 on Amazon)

Total Package: $127

1) Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski in The Big Lebowski (post)
2) Kahlúa, an ingredient in…
3) …a White Russian cocktail
4) New Morning by Bob Dylan

Community Recommendations

I last made a Christmas List in 2014, and I heard some terrific feedback from guys who know what they’re talking about, so I’ve incorporated their input into this year’s list. Thanks, fellas!

• The River War by Winston Churchill, recommended by M. Oleman: “A minor politician in Britain was arrested a few months ago for quoting it in public while giving a speech. Any tome that can get you arrested for reading it to a crowd is a must have.” (Amazon)
• Will by G. Gordon Liddy, recommended by Craig Richards: “I have read it several times since high school and have never lost interest in it.” (Amazon)
• Fossil Defender watch, also recommended by Craig Richards: “A watch I just purchased to replace my Hamilton Field Khaki was the Fossil Defender. I’m not about to say Fossil is better than Hamilton, but for the money it’s a decent beater watch for @ 120 bucks.” (Amazon)
• Fisher AG-7 space pen, recommended by Teeritz: “As for Christmas gifts, I’d go with a pen. The Fisher AG-7 Space Pen can be picked up for reasonable money off Amazon. I bought four of the cheaper Cap-O-Matic models a couple of years ago to give to my kid’s teachers at the end of the year. Beats a bottle of wine, in my book.” (Amazon)
• Kershaw Emerson knife, also recommended by Craig Richards: “Over the summer I purchased a Kershaw Emerson, which compares well with the S&W folders in price point and quality.” (Amazon)

Feel free to share some of your favorite holiday purchases – and gifts – in the comments section!

Mahershala Ali as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes on Luke Cage (Episode 1.06: “Suckas Need Bodyguards”)

Vitals

Mahershala Ali as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, mob boss and nightclub owner

Harlem, November 2015

Series: Luke Cage
Episodes:  “Suckas Need Bodyguards” (Episode 1.06) & “Manifest” (Episode 1.07)
Streaming Date: September 30, 2016
Directors: Sam Miller (Episode 1.06) & Andy Goddard (Episode 1.07)
Costume Designer: Stephanie Maslansky
Key Tailor: Cherie Cunningham

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The chilly weather here in the Northern Hemisphere as we look toward the official start of winter this week is a fine time to explore options for layering against the cold. 

Crime boss Cottonmouth Stokes’ “last stand” on Luke Cage finds him bundling up for a cold Harlem morning in the sixth episode, “Suckas Need Bodyguards”, when confronting the corrupt Detective Scarfe by the water. From then, he’s thrust into a spiral that ultimately results in him getting his deserved comeuppance… not for Scarfe’s murder but for the more-relevant-than-ever issue of victim blaming.

Part of Cottonmouth’s watchability comes from Mahershala Ali’s impressive gift for humanizing the character, as he explained in an October 2016 interview with Vulture. Cottonmouth may be ruthless, greedy, and vicious, but there’s no doubting his sharp style mixed with the charismatic sense of evil affability that the excellent Mahershala Ali brings to the role. I had always liked Ali on House of Cards (in fact, my first House of Cards post featured him rather than the main character… which I guess I have a habit of doing when it comes to Ali), and I’m glad to see that Luke Cage and Moonlight have both contributed to getting him on the map during 2016.

What’d He Wear?

As Cottonmouth finds himself looking at more dangerous times ahead, he leaves his bold checks and shiny silks in the closet and dresses in a more understated navy three-piece tailored suit, likely lightweight wool.

Single-breasted jackets with peak lapels have enjoyed a resurgence every 40 years or so, from their initial popularity in the 1930s to their brief return in the ’70s to their more slimmed down revival in this decade. Luke Cage takes many cues from the 1970s so it’s fitting that the gangland antagonist’s suits would evoke that era (without directly replicating it.)

Westworld wasn’t the only show this year to make significant use of a symbolic piano…

Cottonmouth’s two-button suit jacket has padded shoulders that add additional strength to his silhouette. The jacket also has long double vents, 4-button cuffs, and straight flapped hip pockets. In both episodes, Cottonmouth wears a patterned navy display kerchief, folded into a neat pocket square in his jacket’s breast pocket for a subtle touch of luxury.

Like the jacket, Cottonmouth’s matching suit vest is shaped by darts down the front. Each dart stops at the lower welted pocket on each side. The waistcoat is single-breasted with five buttons well-spaced down the front with the lowest button left open over the notched bottom.

Cottonmouth masters the art of projecting carefree success even when his world is closing in around him.

The matching flat front trousers likely have buckle side-tab adjusters like his other suit trousers, fitting comfortably around Mahershala Ali’s waist without the need for suspenders or a bulging belt. Only the slanted side pockets are seen on screen, but they likely have jetted back pockets that close through a button like his other trousers as well. These have a straight fit down to each trouser leg’s plain-hemmed bottom.

I really hope you took my earlier spoiler alert seriously if you haven’t seen the show yet!

In both episodes, Cottonmouth wears a pale blue broadcloth cotton dress shirt with a cutaway spread collar to accommodate the large Windsor knots of his silk foulard neckties. The shirt also has semi-rounded cuffs that each close with a single white button.

Both episodes also find Cottonmouth wearing a silk tie with a dark ground and lighter foulard pattern, always with the tie fastened in place with a silver crest-shaped tie pin at his chest. In an interview with Forbes, costume designer Stephanie Maslansky said that “[Cottonmouth] always has a subtle piece of green, somewhere, little things that reference that snake-like aspect to his character.” Both of these episodes incorporate that green into his tie.

The first tie, in “Suckas Need Bodyguards” and the beginning of “Manifest” has a dark navy ground with repeating boxes in purple and green, each with a small tan dot in the center.

The green and purple in Cottonmouth’s tie are just enough to shake up the monochromatism of his all-blue outfit.

After he is released from the police station in “Manifest”, Cottonmouth returns to Harlem’s Paradise wearing the same suit and shirt but with a changed tie and pocket square. In this tie, his snake-like green has evolved from the subtle boxes of his last tie to being the entire ground color of the tie, broken only by a series of small blue-inside-gray dots. It may look to be the same tie at the outset, but the venom has spread and he’s in full snake mode by the time Mariah confronts him in his office…

Cottonmouth chugs some single malt Scotch after his release from police custody. (More about this below!)

Cottonmouth appears to be wearing dark brown shoes during his fight with Detective Scarfe in “Suckas Need Bodyguards”, but “Manifest” shows him lounging in his office at Harlem’s Paradise and clearly wearing a pair of black calf 3-eyelet bluchers with a cap toe. His socks are a dark shade of blue to nicely carry the leg line of his navy suit into his shoes.

That cockiness is definitely gonna come back to haunt you, Cottonmouth…

Both episodes find Cottonmouth adding an extra layer against the cold late fall weather with a stylish charcoal-on-navy plaid Ulster coat in heavy woolen tweed. Though it falls short of his knees, the overcoat looks long and luxurious on Mahershala Ali’s lean 6’2″ frame.

Cottonmouth and Detective Scarfe exchange words… and fists.

Cottonmouth’s overcoat has all of the elements of a true Ulster coat, including the large and distinctive “Ulster collar” and a double-breasted front with a 6×2 configuration of dark brown horn sew-through buttons. There is a welted breast pocket and flapped patch pockets on the hips. The back has an inverted box pleat in the center and an adjustable half-belt with a button on each side. Each set-in sleeve ends with a wide turnback gauntlet cuff.

It’s amazing how much Cottonmouth’s confidence shifts after he realizes he may be exposed.

Cottonmouth wears a very stylish wristwatch in polished stainless steel, secured to his left wrist on a black leather strap. The white-bordered blue “tuxedo dial” reminded me of the Omega DeVille Hour Vision, but I’m still not sure. (If Mahershala Ali was on Twitter, I would ask him; it’s where Frank Whaley confirmed that Detective Scarfe wore a Rolex Daytona!)

One of Cottonmouth’s many moments of reflection.

On his right pinky, Cottonmouth wears a silver ring with a set-in round blue stone.

Cottonmouth mournfully plays his Fender Rhodes electric piano, reflecting on his talents as a youth.

After wearing plain silver studs in his ears in “Suckas Need Bodyguards”, Cottonmouth swaps in his emerald-set earrings for the final acts of “Manifest” that find him at his snakiest. In the Forbes interview, Maslansky explained that “the beautiful earrings he wears, they have emeralds in the center. He always has a subtle piece of green, somewhere, little things that reference that snake-like aspect to his character.

What to Imbibe

If it wasn’t such a damn good and memorable episode in its own right, “Manifest” (episode 1.07) could also be referred to as “the Scotch episode” of Luke Cage for the ubiquitous significance of drams in key scenes.

Following his release from custody, Cottonmouth returns to his office where he pours himself a dram of The Glenlivet 18-Year-Old single malt Scotch, drinking it neat. Mariah Dillard also “enjoys” a glass of Glenlivet 18 after a rough day of fielding reporters, and the character-defining flashback to Cottonmouth and Mariah’s youth finds “Pistol Pete” frequently imbibing Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Although his office bar features at least five or six different vodkas, it’s trusty Glenlivet that Cottonmouth turns to in his time of need.

How to Get the Look

Cottonmouth defines his image as a successful gangster by never allowing himself to be seen in anything less than a tailored three-piece suit and silk tie, always with a touch of green and occasionally layering against the cold with a classic Ulster coat.

• Navy blue lightweight wool tailored suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with slim peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and long double vents
  • Single-breasted 5-button vest with lower welted pockets and notched bottom
  • Flat front straight-leg trousers with buckle side-tab adjusters, slanted side pockets, jetted button-through back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Pale blue broadcloth cotton dress shirt with cutaway spread collar and 1-button semi-rounded cuffs
• Dark silk foulard tie (…Cottonmouth would incorporate green here!)
• Silver crest-shaped tie pin
• Black calf leather cap-toe 3-eyelet derby shoes/bluchers
• Navy blue dress socks
• Charcoal-on-navy plaid flannel wool Ulster overcoat
• Polished stainless steel wristwatch with round blue-and-white dial on black leather strap
• Silver pinky ring with round blue set-in stone
• Emerald-set silver earrings

The Gun

Cottonmouth keeps the weapon he used during his first murder, a Smith & Wesson Model 64 with white pearl grips, in a small box in his office. The Model 64 is the stainless variant of Smith & Wesson’s venerable Model 10 “Military & Police” revolver in .38 Special. The Model 64 was introduced in 1981,  so it certainly would’ve been available by the time Mama Mabel first placed it in his hands sometime in the ’80s. Cottonmouth’s Model 64 has a 3″ barrel, evident by the ejector rod matches the length of the barrel.

Cottonmouth ignores the rules of both gun safety and good luck when he aims his Smith & Wesson Model 64 at the mirror in “Manifest”.

Cottonmouth’s Smith & Wesson Model 64 makes a reappearance in the final episode during Mariah’s takeover.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out Luke Cage on Netflix!

The Quote

There is honor amongst thieves, but you ain’t no thief.

Ray Liotta as Henry Hill in Goodfellas (1990)

Vitals

Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, New York mob associate and ex-con

Queens, NY, December 1978

Film: Goodfellas
Release Date: September 19, 1990
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno

Background

Following the record-breaking Lufthansa heist on December 11, 1978, Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) hosted a few of his nearest, dearest, and soon-to-be-deadest Mafia pals over to Robert’s Lounge for some Christmas cheer.

Robert’s Lounge was a real-life mob hangout in South Ozone Park, Queens, only a few miles away from the Lufthansa terminal at JFK International Airport (formerly Idlewild) from which Jimmy’s crew had just stolen more than $5.8 million in cash and jewels. Robert’s Lounge hosted both the planning and the celebration of the crime.

Jimmy may have appreciated taunting law enforcement by celebrating the heist’s success in a location so close to its execution, but he certainly does not appreciate the guys bringing around their new Cadillacs and fur coats to give probable cause… unfortunately for these gangsters, Jimmy also used the basement of Robert’s Lounge to dispose of several of their corpses.

Although likely meant to be set at Robert’s Lounge, the Christmas sequence among others was filmed at Neir’s. Originally opened as “The Blue Pump Room” in Queens in 1829, Neir’s Tavern is the oldest operating bar in New York City, beating out McSorley’s by 25 years as documented by the Daily Mail.

What’d He Wear?

Christmas Party

Henry and Karen’s arrival at Jimmy’s Christmas party isn’t ostentatious enough to earn Jimmy’s ire, unlike Johnny Roastbeef and Frankie Carbone. After greeting a temporarily jubilant Jimmy, Henry takes off his winter outwear, a tan gabardine overcoat and a white silk scarf with long fringe. The double-breasted coat has sweeping peak lapels with six brown urea buttons on the front (with two to button) and three on each cuff.

Things certainly look jolly from the outset…

Never one to shy away from loud colors, Henry wears a rust red velvet blazer in a color befitting the season. The jacket is single-breasted with large notch lapels and swelled edges. The hip pockets slant slightly toward the back with wide flaps, and there is a welted breast pocket. The sleeveheads are slightly roped, and there is a single back vent.

Why wouldn’t Henry be grinning ear-to-ear after getting a gift like that?

For an added touch of festivity, the two buttons on the front and the two smaller buttons on each cuff are red plastic sew-through buttons with gold edges.

You know it’s a good Christmas party when no one can stop hugging each other.

Henry’s dress shirt is light ecru silk with an extra-long point collar that works with his lapel width, flared trouser bottoms, and hairs to make him quite the fashionable man in 1978. The shirt has a front placket, single-button cuffs, and “HH” monogrammed on the left breast.

Henry seems to be enjoying himself, but Jimmy’s expression would stop me dead in my tracks.

The texture of Henry’s wide black tie looks duller than silk, suggesting cotton twill.

Jimmy and Henry look understandably disappointed. To be honest, is there really any other expression when looking at a man named Johnny Roastbeef?

Best seen when the Hills are celebrating their Christmas at home, Henry wears dark brown flat front trousers with a long rise and a self-belt like many of his other pants in Goodfellas. They appear to have side pockets and jetted back pockets. The plain-hemmed bottoms flare out slightly, though not to the extent that some trendy trousers in the ’70s did…

Henry also sports a pair of dark brown leather tassel loafers with brown silk dress socks that contribute to the domination of earth tones in the outfit. Henry seemed to prefer loafers – whether with horsebits, tassels, or penny slots – to the degree that I don’t believe we ever see him wear any laced dress shoes as an adult.

The Hills enjoy a quiet Christmas at home.

Henry wears his usual jewelry with a ring on each hand – a gold pinky ring on his right hand and his thin plain gold wedding band on his left. He doubles up on his right wrist for the party, wearing both a flat all-gold wristwatch and a yellow gold ID bracelet.

It seems like a fun party and all, but Henry and Karen are wise to pull an Irish goodbye once Jimmy and Morrie start their “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” karaoke duet.

Christmas at Home

For Christmas at home with the wife and kids, Henry takes a more casual approach by ditching the jacket and tie but wearing a similarly styled shirt in pale pink poplin with a white contrast collar and cuffs… and yes, it’s the same extra-long point collar as on his other shirts. He wears the top few buttons worn open to reveal his usual white ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt beneath it… as well as his gold necklace with both the Catholic cross and Star of David to represent his religious affiliations.

To truly get into the spirit of the holidays, you should always try to match your shirt to your Christmas tree. Way to go, Hendry!

Although more casual in his dress, he ups his watch game by sporting a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date wristwatch with a champagne dial and gold “President” link bracelet.

Go Big or Go Home

Henry Hill knows the perfect gift for both Christmas and and Hanukkah when he hands Karen (Lorraine Bracco) a fat stack of cash… now that’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.

A gold Rolex would also make for a fine Christmas gift… *cough cough*

Naturally, Scorsese digs out the perfect Christmas music for the background of Goodfellas‘ holiday scenes, subtly decreasing in energy from frantic and fun when everyone is riding on the high of the Lufthansa heist to slow and somber just before the wave of murders.

His arms outstretched for the biggest of hugs (awh!), Jimmy greets Henry at Robert’s Lounge while The Ronettes’ rendition of “Frosty the Snowman” plays, from the masterful 1963 holiday album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.

Once Jimmy has sufficiently berated enough mobsters, another terrific track kicks in – Darlene Love singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, an energetic ballad of loneliness from the same great album. Originally, this song was also supposed to be a Ronettes contribution to the album but Love was brought in when Ronnie Spector was unable to deliver the “emotion and sheer vocal power” that Rolling Stone noted when ranking the song highest on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs.

Finally, the Christmas sequence ends with Henry handing off his very thoughtful gifts to Karen to the tune of The Drifters’ “The Bells of St. Mary’s”. Originally appearing in the 1945 film of the same name (which Michael Corleone took Kay to see in The Godfather!) during a Christmas pageant, “The Bells of St. Mary’s” is actually not directly a Christmas song with more explicit lyrical suggestions of fall than winter or the holidays.

Nonetheless, the song has become a tradition on holiday albums with The Drifters recording it as the B-side to their doo wop “White Christmas” single in 1954, a track that itself appeared in both Home Alone and The Santa Clause.

What to Imbibe

This drink here is better than sex, babe.

Stacks Edwards (Samuel L. Jackson) is briefly shown pouring shots of green liqueur into glasses full of white wine to impress his date. This is almost definitely a reference to the drink that Nicholas Pileggi mentions Henry’s crew enjoying before Henry was sent off to prison six years earlier: “At eleven o’clock, Henry and his pals were at the bar at Maxwell’s drinking Screaming Eagles – shot glasses of white Chartreuse dropped into large goblets of chilled champagne.”

I have yet to take Stacks up on his dubiously bold claim about this drink, but I’d say it’s at least worth a try.

Other than the context, the only major difference from page-to-screen is Stacks’ choice of using the stronger (110 proof) and more colorful green Chartreuse rather than yellow, which is milder and sweeter at 80 proof. (Pileggi refers to “white” Chartreuse when he likely means the yellow version; production of White Chartreuse ended in 1900, more than seven decades before any of these scenes are set.)

How to Get the Look

Henry injects some late ’70s festivity into his holiday party attire, sporting some subtle earth tones with his decidedly-less-subtle rust-colored velvet blazer.

Not exactly the life of the party…

• Rust red velvet single-breasted 2-button blazer with welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets, 2-button cuffs, single vent, and gold-trimmed red plastic sew-through buttons
• Ecru silk dress shirt with long point collar, front placket, monogrammed chest, and single-button cuffs
• Black cotton twill tie
• Dark brown flat front trousers with self-belt, side pockets, jetted back pockets, and slightly flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Dark brown leather tassel loafers
• Dark brown silk dress socks
• White ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt
• Tan gabardine double-breasted overcoat with wide peak lapels, 6×2-button front, 3-button cuffs, long single vent
• White silk scarf with frayed edges
• Rolex Day-Date yellow gold wristwatch with champagne dial and gold link “President” bracelet
• Yellow gold ID chain-link bracelet
• Pinky ring, worn on right pinky
• Plain gold wedding band, worn on left ring finger
• Yellow gold necklace with Catholic cross and Star of David

For an extra pop of color, swap out the ecru shirt for a pale pink shirt with a large white contrast collar and cuffs!

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie. And, if you’re throwing your own Goodfellas style holiday bash, grab a copy of A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector to play in the background.

The Quote

Morrie, relax, okay? It’s Christmas.

James Stewart (as George Bailey) with Donna Reed (as Mary Bailey) and Karolyn Grimes (as Zuzu) in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Vitals

James Stewart as George Bailey, banker and depressed family man

Bedford Falls, NY, Christmas Eve 1945

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

Background

Jimmy Stewart and director Frank Capra have both called It’s a Wonderful Life the favorite film of each of their prolific careers. Stewart cites George Bailey as his favorite character that he’s played, and Capra would annually screen the film for his own family each Christmas.

First released 60 years ago this week, the film earned mixed reviews and was ultimately considered a financial disappointment, earning only $3.3 million during its initial box office run against its considerably expensive $3.7 million budget. (It also earned the ire of the FBI for its “Communist tricks” of “represented rather obvious attempts to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a ‘scrooge-type’ so that he would be the most hated man in the picture,” but that’s a whole different story.)

The rights to It’s a Wonderful Life swapped hands several time during the following decades, but a clerical error prevented the renewal of the copyright in 1974 and led to the film becoming a perennial television mainstay. Just like George Bailey himself, It’s a Wonderful Life received a second chance at life and has grown to become a holiday favorite and ranked by AFI in 2006 as the #1 Most Inspirational Movie of All Time.

I’ve made it a personal tradition to go with family to see It’s a Wonderful Life each December as the Regent Square Theater in Pittsburgh, just a few minutes from my apartment, hosts an annual public screening where the only cost of admission is a non-perishable food item to be donated to someone in need. This is the best way to take in the movie, laughing, crying, or just feeling with the rest of the audience. As someone who suffers from depression, I always leave the theater feeling refreshed, fulfilled, and appreciative… plus my ears perk up more than usual at the sound of bells ringing!

What’d He Wear?

After following George Bailey through his life, It’s a Wonderful Life catches up with him on Christmas Eve 1945. He has placed aside his wanderlust and big dreams to take over his family business and raise a family in the small town of Bedford Falls. He has reasons to be disgruntled, but he’s in high spirits as he waltzes into the office of the Bailey Bros. Building & Loan that morning, mouth clamped on a pipe, Christmas wreath over his arm, and proudly proclaiming the news of the homecoming of his war hero brother, Harry.

Set on a snowy holiday morning in upstate New York (though filmed during a toasty June and July in Encino!), George bundles up with a heavy tweed tan single-breasted overcoat and brown fedora. His heavy three-button coat has swelled edges on the notch lapels, single-button pointed cuff tabs, and flapped patch pockets. He will eventually leaves his coat and wide-brimmed felt hat at the office… a regrettable decision given how much he ends up digging in the snow but probably one that Jimmy Stewart greatly appreciated when filming during the hot California summer.

All smiles at the office! If only one of these Baileys had been trusted with that $8,000 instead…

George’s scarf is a dark woven herringbone wool with long fringe. It was colorized to navy blue, just a shade darker than the thicker stripes of his repp tie. George is still wearing the scarf when he gets word of the missing $8,000, so he wears it when he goes off to find it but ends up leaving his coat and hat in the office.

I think that there’s some significance to the fact that George’s jacket is only buttoned early in this scene, but I’ll talk about that later!

Underneath his wintry outer layers, George is still warmly dressed for a winter day in a nice countrified suit for a humble small-town banker. The heavy wool suit is constructed from a large-scaled birdseye tweed, likely brown and tan yarn. Tweed suits are a favorite for George Bailey and strengthen the perception of his character as a homespun “everyman”; he wore a three-piece tweed suit for Harry’s first homecoming after his surprise wedding and another sportier tweed suit for both his own wedding and tempestuous “job interview” with Mr. Potter.

Fully cut in the popular style of the early 1940s, the birdseye tweed suit looks good on Stewart’s tall, lean 6’3″ frame and a closer look at the material explains where the “birdseye” appellation is derived.

The heavy single-breasted jacket has a three-button front that George wears open for most of his onscreen trials and tribulations, exposing his ragged tie and contributing to the appearance of a man who is falling apart.

George’s suit jacket has thick notch lapels with a buttonhole through the left lapel. The shoulders are well-padded, there are three buttons on the end of each cuff, and the back is ventless. Sporty details like the patch pockets on the left chest and hips would not be found on a business suit and hint that, like his beloved father, George is no businessman (which certainly makes him very popular to his lendees!)

The depressed family man

The trousers appropriately match the full cut of the jacket, rising high on Stewart’s waist with double reverse pleats and cut straight through the legs down to the cuffed bottoms.

George Bailey’s bad day just keeps getting worse…

George’s suit trousers have a straight pocket on each side seam and two jetted pockets in the back. Just below the belt line is a small coin pocket for “Zuzu’s petals!” The belt itself appears to be a medium brown leather with tan edge stitching and a plain, polished steel, single-prong squared buckle.

Don’t lose those, George!

George wears a light cotton dress shirt, colorized to a pale blue-gray, with widely-spaced thin white stripes. The shirt has a semi-spread collar, plain front, and the same distinctive two-button cuffs – with the lowest button very close to the edge of the rounded cuff – that James Stewart had on many of his shirts in the 1940s.

I know the feeling!

George’s striped repp tie is revealed to be fraying on the bottom, a nice detail of his situation that goes unnoticed when covered by his buttoned jacket; significantly, the fraying tie is most concealed earlier in the day, when he appears happy.

The tie has been colorized to a navy blue ground with thick red stripes, each bordered by a thin white stripe on the top and bottom, crossing down from the left shoulder to the right hip. Navy and red is a classic color configuration for this type of striped tie, but it also may be a modern wink to Jimmy Stewart’s all-American reputation (despite the British direction of the stripes!)

George Bailey is still a long way off from feeling like “the richest man in town.”

If George had known he’d have been running through so much snow, he probably would’ve chosen more substantial footwear than the dark leather cap-toe oxfords and thin black dress socks that he wears for the day. The shoes are almost definitely brown to match his belt and the outfit’s earth tones.

Jimmy Stewart playing with the “chemical snow” behind-the-scenes of It’s a Wonderful Life, captured by Life photographer Martha Holmes who visited the Encino set in the summer 1946.

Although his footwear was a miss, George wisely layered for the bitter cold Bedford Falls winter with a set of tan heathered cotton flannel long johns, consisting of a long-sleeve three-button henley shirt and long underpants with three widely spaced buttons on the fly.

George may have been embarrassed to be seen in his underwear, but luckily Clarence again saved the day by rocking a much more embarrassing ensemble that he gleefully recalls that “passed away in!”

George wears a simple tank watch, colorized to look brass or gold and secured to his left wrist on a plain brown leather strap.

What to Imbibe

I was just thinking of a flaming rum punch… no, it’s not cold enough for that, not nearly cold enough. Wait a minute, wait a minute! Mulled wine, heavy on the cinnamon and light on the cloves. Off with you, me lad, and be lively!

An order like Clarence’s would probably yield funny looks anywhere… at least anywhere that isn’t Brooklyn. As appetizing as Clarence’s libations of choice may sound, George ends up roping him into ordering a double bourbon – neat. In this case, Nick (Sheldon Leonard!) serves the guys a shot of King Black Label, an old Brown-Forman brand of blended Kentucky whiskey manufactured through the mid-20th century.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

King is no longer available, but Brown-Forman currently owns Early Times, Jack Daniel’s, Old Forester, and Woodford Reserve in addition to a host of Canadian and Scotch whiskies. Several old King labels, including the 86 proof “Black Label” seen in It’s a Wonderful Life, can be found at this site.

How to Get the Look

Jimmy Stewart’s heavy tweed country suit in It’s a Wonderful Life is the perfect outfit for a modest family man dressing for a cold Christmas Eve.

• Brown-and-tan birdseye tweed wool two-piece suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 3-button suit jacket with notch lapels, patch breast pocket, patch hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Double reverse-pleated high-rise trousers with belt loops, straight side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Pale blue-gray cotton dress shirt with thin white stripes, semi-spread collar, plain front, and 2-button rounded cuffs
• Navy-and-red striped repp tie with thin white stripes
• Brown leather belt with polished steel square single-prong buckle
• Dark brown cap-toe balmorals/oxfords
• Black dress socks
• Tan heathered cotton flannel 3-button long-sleeve henley undershirt
• Tan heathered cotton flannel long underpants with 3-button fly
• Tan heavy tweed single-breasted 3-button overcoat with notch lapels, flapped patch hip pockets, pointed 1-button tab cuffs, and long single vent
• Dark navy woven herringbone wool scarf with long fringe
• Brown felt wide-brimmed fedora with brown grosgrain ribbon
• Gold tank wristwatch on brown leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

… and, if you can, find the great Saturday Night Live sketch from 1986 that added a “lost ending” finding George Bailey (played here by Dana Carvey) leading the rest of Bedford Falls on a revenge mission to beat the hell out of Mr. Potter.

The Quote

Merry Christmas, you wonderful old building and loan!

Footnote

And remember Clarence’s parting message…

No one is a failure who has friends!

Happy holidays to all BAMF Style readers!

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men. (Episode 6.12: “The Quality of Mercy”)

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Madison Avenue ad man and movie buff

New York City, October 1968

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Quality of Mercy” (Episode 6.12)
Air Date: June 16, 2013
Director: Phil Abraham
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Don Draper has always turned to the escapism of the movies in times of crisis or loneliness, most notably (and humorously) in “The Good News” (Episode 4.03) when drunkenly accompanying Lane Pryce to a screening of Gamera: The Giant Monster in during the men’s lonely week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Two seasons later, Don is slightly less lonely with his new wife Megan (and his new upstairs mistress, Sylvia) but still frequents the movies whenever he can. “The Quality of Mercy” finds Don and Megan seeing Rosemary’s Baby when they run into Ted and Peggy, claiming to be on a client research mission.

What’d He Wear?

This outfit was called out by AGENT as one of the 10 Outfits Encapsulating the Appeal of Don Draper Style, described as “a black cashmere turtleneck that complements his dark green plaid sports coat perfectly.”

Don’s single-breasted sport jacket is dark olive wool with a large-scaled blue, taupe, and black Glen Urquhart check. The lapels are slim with small fishmouth notches and some degree of edge swelling, rolling to the top of the two-button front. The short double vents complement the shorter fit of the jacket, a trend from the late ’60s that has cycled back into fashion fifty years later.

“Oh, hello.”

Amanda Marcotte noted the eerie similarities between Don’s outfit and something similar sported by John Cassavetes in Rosemary’s Baby, the very movie that he and Megan went to see. Tom and Lorenzo took it a step further on their excellent, style-focused Mad Men blog, spotting the possibility that Don’s outfit has been influenced by Ted’s modern style: “Don was mimicking Ted so clearly, right down to the turtleneck and plaid jacket. That’s a signature Ted Chaough look and Don is standing there, wearing it in dark grey and black, like a figure of judgment against him.”

Perhaps subconsciously ashamed for being seen by Ted while mimicking his look, Don sadly doesn’t wear this cool plaid sport jacket again.

Dehydrated after an afternoon of salty popcorn, Draper turns to his trusty old Canadian Club upon returning home.

Don has a habit of wearing checked sport coats to the movies. In “The Flood” (Episode 6.05), Don wears a houndsooth jacket with a yellow button-down summer shirt when he takes his son Bobby to see Planet of the Apes.

Seven episodes later, during this cool late October afternoon that finds Don with Megan at the movies, he layers more warmly with a black cashmere turtleneck sweater under his plaid jacket.

Even with the then-fashionable short fit of the jacket, not much is seen of Don’s sandy brown flat front trousers beyond the straight leg and plain-hemmed bottoms. These may be the same trousers he wore when lounging around his apartment in a wrinkled white dress shirt in “A Tale of Two Cities” (Episode 6.10).

Less is seen of his dark belt, shoes, and socks, but they are all likely black. His leather shoes appear to have closed lacing on the front and are probably black oxfords.

Especially with his raincoat on, Don’s look also evokes Steve McQueen in Bullitt, also released in 1968 and thus very contemporary to this particular episode. Like McQueen, Don wears a knee-length khaki balmacaan-style raincoat with a long single vent. It has raglan sleeves and a fly front. Assuming it’s the same raincoat he wears earlier in the season (and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be), it has five tan buttons, slanted hand pockets, and plain cuffs.

Megan makes it clear to Don that she would never want to live in a creepy old apartment building as they stroll into their modern, million-dollar penthouse apartment.

Don spends much of the scene with his raincoat draped over his left arm, concealing his wrist and thus making it unclear if he’s wearing his classic stainless Omega Seamaster Deville wristwatch.

How to Get the Look

Don Draper makes the most of his afternoon date to the movies by channeling both an on-screen character and a co-worker he runs into at the theater.

• Dark olive Glen Urquhart check wool single-breasted 2-button sportcoat with slim fishmouth-notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight hip pockets, and short double vents
• Black cashmere turtleneck sweater
• Brown flat front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather belt
• Black leather oxfords
• Black dress socks
• Khaki balmacaan-style raincoat with 5-button concealed front fly, raglan sleeves with plain cuffs, slanted hand pockets, and single back vent

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the sixth season… and definitely check out Rosemary’s Baby!

The Quote

Honestly, I’m more troubled by the idea of using Rosemary’s Baby for a children’s aspirin ad.

Footnote

And while we’re on the subject of Rosemary’s Baby, Mia Farrow tweeted this image in February to announce the upcoming birth of her granddaughter

My brilliant daughter made this to announce she is expecting their first baby. I’m so excited!! pic.twitter.com/9gWVwSOM9t

— mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) February 20, 2016

Robert Redford as Nathan Muir in Spy Game (2001)

Vitals

Robert Redford as Nathan Muir, experienced CIA case officer

Berlin, Winter 1977

Film: Spy Game
Release Date: November 21, 2001
Director: Tony Scott
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
Redford’s Costumer: David Page

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

When Nathan Muir is being questioned by the CIA about his history with Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt), one particular incident that receives attention is Operation Rodeo, best remembered by Muir as “the Cathcart affair” for the involvement of embassy mole Anne Cathcart (Charlotte Rampling).

Vivaldi’s “Spring” concerto from The Four Seasons, performed by Nigel Kennedy and the English Chamber Orchestra, cuts in as the film flashes back again to Berlin in 1977. Muir is in black tie with a glass of single malt in his hand, accompanying his “cousin” (Andrea Osvárt) to a party where the two encounter the enigmatic Ms. Cathcart.

Cathcart: That Scotch is older than she is…
Muir: Am I supposed to feel bad about that?

What’d He Wear?

While Tom Bishop is out with an East German informant speeding through the back streets of Berlin in his beaten-up Škoda, Muir is hobnobbing with the elite of the spying community at a black tie gathering that would’ve surely made 007 salivate. His black wool dinner jacket has satin-faced peak lapels that are fashionably wide for the late ’70s and roll to the single-button closure. Both the single front button and the three buttons on each cuff are covered in black silk.

Muir, his “cousin”, and Anne Cathcart.

Muir completes his tuxedo with a pair of black wool formal trousers with a satin stripe on the side of each leg and plain-hemmed bottoms. A pleated black silk cummerbund covers his waist.

An urgent call!

Robert Redford is a frequent customer of Anto Beverly Hills, so it was Anto that provided his tuxedo shirt in Spy Game. The white formal shirt is Swiss cotton with a long point collar and five 3/4″ pleats on each side of the front placket. The small, gold-trimmed black shirt studs match the larger rounded square cuff links in each of the shirt’s double (French) cuffs.

Underneath, Muir wears a white cotton crew-neck short-sleeved t-shirt as an undershirt.

Muir also wears a black satin bow tie, self-tied with a butterfly shape.

Muir ventures out onto a Berlin rooftop early that morning for a covert meeting with Bishop following the failed extraction of Schmidt and the successful unveiling of Cathcart the mole. To combat the morning chill, Muir dons a black wool car coat with styling details borrowed from a traditional pea coat like the wide Ulster collar, hand pockets, and double-breasted front (consisting of six widely-spaced buttons, with three to button). The coat has roped sleeveheads and a short fit that ends at his hips.

The rooftop scenes also reveal Muir’s footwear with his black tie ensemble. He wears black patent leather oxfords, the most formal shoe option after the opera pump, and black dress socks.

Redford on a roof.

Muir wears the same accessories on his right hand as he does throughout Spy Game. His stainless steel wristwatch is a Victorinox Swiss Army Officer’s 1884 watch with a white dial on a stainless link bracelet. The ring on his third finger is the silver ring that Robert Redford received as a gift from Hopi Indians in 1966 and wears in most of his films. He also appears to have a gold wedding ring on his left hand.

Muir isn’t used to orders not being obeyed.

The gold-framed aviator-style eyeglasses that Muir wears are consistent with his specs seen in most of the film’s 1970s-set scenes; after that, he switches to a pair of Oliver Peoples glasses.

How to Get the Look

Nathan Muir fashionably incorporates 1970s trends into an ultimately timeless tuxedo for a night of espionage and intrigue.

Andrea Osvárt and Robert Redford.

• Black wool single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with wide satin-faced peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, and silk-covered 3-button cuffs
• Black wool formal trousers with black satin side stripes and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White Swiss cotton formal shirt with long point collar, 3/4″-pleated front, gold-trimmed black studs down front placket, and double/French cuffs
• Black satin butterfly-shaped bow tie
• Black patent leather oxfords/balmorals
• Black dress socks
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeve t-shirt
• Black wool double-breasted 6×3-button car coat with Ulster collar and hand pockets
• Victorinox Swiss Army Officer’s 1884 wristwatch with stainless 41mm case, white dial, and stainless link bracelet, worn on right wrist
• Silver Hopi Indian ring with black imprint, worn on right ring finger
• Gold wedding band, worn on left ring finger
• Gold square-framed “aviator” eyeglasses

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

It’s no kid’s game, either, but a whole other game… and it’s serious, and it’s dangerous, and it’s not one you want to lose.