Leo Woodall and Haley Lu Richardson on The White Lotus (Episode 2.05: “That’s Amore”)
Vitals
Leo Woodall as Jack, a brash young man from Essex who is close to his uncle
Sicily, Summer 2022
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “That’s Amore” (Episode 2.05)
Air Date: November 27, 2022
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The warmer weather may be inspiring you to plan for a late spring break or start prepping for summer vacations. With the recent announcement that the third season of The White Lotus, Mike White’s anthology of doomed vacationers, will be set in Thailand, I returned to the style from the series’ second season set in sunny Sicily… specifically a style that I was pleasantly surprised to see had long been in my own closet!
Rather than being a guest at the resort, the cocksure Jack (Leo Woodall) is connected to the coterie of Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his “high-end gays” who entertain the oblivious Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) and her Gen-Z assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) on their yacht Ethna en route Palermo. Quentin describes the outgoing yet shady young man from Essex as his “cheeky nephew”, who initially seems to be the answer to Portia’s wish for a simple, adventurous fling before she and her employer begin seeing the far more sinister reality underscoring their association.
What’d He Wear?
Jack and Portia’s respective style may have been among the most criticized of The White Lotus‘ second season—not due to any faults of costume designer Alex Bovaird; indeed, you could say that Ms. Bovaird perfectly understood the assignment, dressing both zoomers in exactly the sort of chaotic streetwear modeled regularly by the latest generation of young adults.
That said, one of my favorite wardrobe choices from this season was Jack’s attire on the yacht to Palermo, though I may be biased as I own the exact same terry-cloth set from Dandy Del Mar. (To learn more about this California-based leisurewear brand, check out my brief Q&A with them in a 2020 post highlighting Elliott Gould’s poolside style in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.)
Dandy Del Mar had been a pioneer in the ongoing terry-cloth renaissance, reviving the fashionability of toweling-cloth leisurewear that had enjoyed its greatest popularity during the ’60s and ’70s. The Western-flavored “Gaucho” set of matching shirt and shorts was among Dandy Del Mar’s first offerings, made of a terry-cloth blend of 80% cotton and 20% polyester, with white piping along the edges and yokes that matches the triple-floral embroidery on each side of the chest. Initially available only in navy blue (as owned by me and worn by Woodall on The White Lotus), the set has since been expanded to include white, pink, and black colorways.
The short-sleeved shirt has seven recessed brown plastic buttons up the front, its placket outlined in the same white piping that outlines the point collar and defines the straight yokes across the chest and back. The back also has a box pleat at the center, extending down from the yoke.
The matching thigh-length shorts have a short inseam of about six inches. The elasticized waist has a metal-tipped white drawstring, and white piping runs the length of each side seam. The shorts have side pockets and a set-in back-right pocket, which has white piping yoked across the top and closes through a button matching those on the shirt. The white “equatorial cowboy” Dandy Del Mar logo is also embroidered against this back pocket.
Just an uncle and nephew putting their mind at ease while sailing the seven seas, nothing to see here.
Jack’s favorite shoes are all-white Adidas Forum Mid sneakers, a mid-top update of the brand’s famous basketball shoes of the ’80s, characterized by a criss-cross strap system. When worn across the top, this branded velcro strap covers the top two sets of eyelets, separated by a notch from the remaining five lace eyelets on the vamps.
The Adidas Forum shot to popularity upon its 1984 debut when Michael Jordan wore them the same year for the Olympic basketball trials. They looked great on MJ, but something about a non-baller like Jack wearing velcro-strapped sneakers reminds me of the shoes I wore in kindergarten before I had mastered how to tie my shoelaces.
Jack wears the “triple white” colorway, describing the coated leather uppers, accents, and shock-absorbing rubber outsoles that are all Adidas’ signature “Cloud White” color.
Points for sporting all-white shoes at sea, though basketball sneakers look somewhat jarring on the decks of a luxurious yacht.
Perched on his head, Jack wears yellow translucent plastic-framed sunglasses with a round, retro-informed shape. He also wears a flat gold link-chain necklace and a gold band on his right ring finger.
What to Imbibe
“I fuckin’ love beer!” Jack drunkenly burps to Portia in the following episode, “Abductions” (Episode 2.06). At one point, he makes a regionally appropriate reference to grabbing some Peronis, though—rather than this Italian beer—we see him drinking Beck’s, Budweiser, and Leffe Blonde across the last three episodes of the season during his and Portia’s travels through Palermo.
Jack is exactly the sort of person who would drink Budweiser while in Sicily.
How to Get the Look
Leo Woodall as Jack on The White Lotus (Episode 2.05: “That’s Amore”)
As an unabashed advocate for both terry-cloth leisurewear and Dandy Del Mar’s role in bringing it back, I was delighted to see Leo Woodall’s Jack sporting the same comfortable “Gaucho” set that I’ve enjoyed over the last few summers. While I prefer to wear mine with espadrilles, Jack opts for Adidas’ revived Forum sneakers that have become a streetwear icon in their own right.
- Navy cotton/poly terry-cloth toweling Dandy Del Mar “Gaucho” shirt with white-piped point collar, placket, and yokes and triple white floral chest embroidery
- Navy cotton/poly terry-cloth toweling Dandy Del Mar “Gaucho” thigh-length shorts with white-piped side seams, drawstring waist, side pockets, button-through back-right pocket
- White leather Adidas Forum Mid basketball sneakers with 5-eyelet lacing system, removable velcro strap, and white rubber soles
- White socks
- Yellow translucent plastic-framed sunglasses
- Gold flat-chain necklace
- Gold ring
Dandy Del Mar Gaucho Terry Cloth Shorts in "vintage navy", $79
Adidas Forum Mid Shoes in triple "cloud white", 
Prices and availability current as of May 5, 2023.
Yours truly, clad in Dandy Del Mar Gaucho shirt and shorts, Persol PO9649-S sunglasses, Doxa SUB300T Sharkhunter watch, and H&M espadrilles.
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the series, streaming on HBO Max… or, uh, Max, as it’s evidently going to be called from now on.
The post The White Lotus: Jack’s Terrycloth Leisurewear from Dandy Del Mar appeared first on BAMF Style.