The Bear: Carmy’s Rugby Shirt on Christmas Eve

Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto on The Bear (Episode 2.06: “Fishes”)

Vitals

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, celebrated international chef

Chicago, Christmas Eve 2018

Series: The Bear
Episode: “Fishes” (Episode 2.06)
Air Date: June 22, 2023
Director: Christopher Storer
Creator: Christopher Storer
Costume Designer: Courtney Wheeler

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Merry Christmas to all BAMF Style readers who celebrate!

Among its Yoshimi-sharp depictions of service industry stress, The Bear brought its anxiety in-house for the second season’s brilliant, bonkers, and relentless sixth episode “Fishes”, flashing back several years from the show’s narrative to a chaotic Christmas Eve with the Berzatto family.

Our protagonist Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) takes a supporting role in the proceedings as we spend an increasingly stressful hour with his family and those “related through friendship” in his childhood home, decorated like an Olive Garden for the holidays. There are a few familiar faces—like his late brother Mikey (Jon Berthal), his sister Natalie (Abby Elliott) whose “Sugar” nickname is finally explained, his unrelated-cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and their “uncle” Jimmy (Oliver Platt)—as well as several all-new cast members, many of whom appear only in this episode.

“I wanted it to be distracting,” series creator Christopher Storer told Yvonne Villarreal for the Los Angeles Times. “I wanted the viewer to be like, ‘What the fuck is Bob Odenkirk doing here?’ I wanted it to really feel like when you walk into your family’s house and you are just overwhelmed by a cousin who you don’t want to talk to, an uncle you don’t want to see. You don’t even know who’s related to who, which I always feel like is the truest thing—everyone’s calling each other cousin and you don’t know what the fuck is really going on, but you do know that even through all their weirdness and how dark it gets, they do kind of love each other.”

A highlight of the holiday-infused hour is Jamie Lee Curtis’ tour-de-force performance as Carmy’s mother Donna, the Berzatto family matriarch—or martyr-arch—who busies herself with preparing the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes that gives the episode’s title its name. With her painted inch-long nails and bottomless red wine, Donna rules the increasingly sauce-stained kitchen where she simultaneously refuses the help she’s frequently offered while bemoaning the lack of assistance. “I make things beautiful for them, and no one makes things beautiful for me,” she ultimately weeps to Carmy—about whom so much is contextualized with his mother’s every utterance.

While The Bear is arguably centered around Carmy (and Ayo Edebiri’s Syd, who understandably doesn’t appear in this flashback to before she entered his life), the beauty of “Fishes” is how nearly anyone from its ensemble could be argued as a “main character” in this episode, whether that’s a recognized side character like Richie, Mikey, or Natalie or even one of the first-timers like Richie’s pregnant wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), laidback Berzatto cousin Michelle (Sarah Paulson), or her decidedly heterosexual boyfriend Steven (John Mulaney). Indeed, my goal this Christmas is to channel Michelle and Steven—unbothered and drama-free, endlessly entertained, and offering lifelines to family members in need whether that’s $500 for an ROI on an RBI or a place to stay when things get too crazy.

In addition to the seven fish entrees—eight, if you count Pete’s short-lived tuna casserole—The Bear‘s holiday hour digs deep into the minutiae of Christmas memories familiar to many: stealing time for cigarettes with siblings, small dining rooms made even more cramped by sliding in a kids’ table, old stories and passive-aggressive digs about them, and long-simmering family tensions rising to the surface and crashing through the wall at the worst possible time.

Naomi Waxman described the episode for Eater as “a gruesome autopsy of a clan bound by genetics, mental illness, substance abuse, and intergenerational trauma.” Happy holidays!

What’d He Wear?

Courtney Wheeler’s costume design for “Fishes” contributes to the verisimilitude of Christmas Eve in the Berzatto household as everyone dresses in their version of a half-assed holiday best: Richie in an uncharacteristic sweater that his wife likely got him to prepare for his new life as a dad, Stevie in a knitted button-up that the Faks are obsessed with (“is that a bowling shirt?”), the Faks themselves in matching green and red, and Mikey—who probably didn’t think twice about what day it was before grabbing the blue Under Armour long-sleeved performance tee that was probably at the top of a pile of clean clothes.

After spending a season and a half with Carmy in his rotation of white T-shirts and chef gear, we see a different side of our protagonist as he dresses with intention—but not to show that he cares too much—for Christmas Eve with his family.

This isn’t an Easter egg, but me and Jeremy just got a kick out of it. His jeans for “Fishes” are the A.P.C. classic jeans. We were like, of course Carmy, in his hunt to hone his style years ago, landed on the gateway to liking denim. Of course he’d be wearing that jean. I would say his whole look from that episode—he’s wearing a Palace x Polo Ralph Lauren collaboration rugby shirt, it’s just so specific to that time. He would definitely be like, “Yeah, this is what I’m wearing now,” coming back from his travels.

— Costume designer Courtney Wheeler to Trishna Rikhy for Esquire, “How The Bear Became High-Key Fashion Television”

Carmy would be discomforted to see how he echoes his mother’s mannerisms while stressed in the kitchen.

The Palace x Polo Ralph Lauren “Classic Fit” long-sleeved rugby shirt consists of a dark-navy 100% cotton body, paneled in an inconsistently patchy manner that echoes Carmy’s signature wool NN.07 jacket. The long-sleeved shirt has a white collar and white covered-fly placket, with the requisite three white rubber buttons—traditionally made of rubber to ease being able to unfasten when the shirt is tugged during a rugby match.

The yellow-embroidered logo over the left breast features Polo Ralph Lauren’s traditional horseback polo player, positioned over “PALACE” to indicate their collaboration with the skate-and-streetwear brand. As reported by Hypebeast, the shirt was launched with the Palace x Polo collection on November 9, 2018, perfectly timed to have dropped into Carmy’s closet in time for Christmas Eve a month and a half later.

The panel detail of Carmy’s Palace x Polo Ralph Lauren shirt can be more clearly seen in this production photo as he confers with Cicero at the dinner table.
Photo credit: Chuck Hodes/FX.

Wheeler confirmed that Carmy wears jeans made by the French brand A.P.C., likely the “Original” variety designed with a long rise, button-fly, and loose straight-leg cut. These dark indigo jeans are made of 100% raw Japanese selvedge denim, featuring caramel-colored topstitching and engraved nickel-toned rivets. The style follows the general five-pocket configuration with two patch-style back pockets, two curved front pockets, and an inset coin/watch pocket on the right side, though the latter is lower-positioned than on traditional jeans from the classic “big three” American denim outfitters.

Carmy’s work boots with their brown leather uppers and thick beige rubber outsoles aren’t prominently featured on screen nor has Wheeler publicly identified them, but the character seems like he would appreciate the workwear heritage (and fashionability) of a brand like Red Wing.

Carmy successfully recruits Mikey to return inside and “be you” around their family and friends.

What to Imbibe

If you’re not the type to enjoy multiple bottles of red wine from your sauce-stained stemware, you could try Carmy’s homemade Sprite this festive season. “You know how he knows how to make Sprite? Because he’s a big-time chef, that’s how,” Donna explains, with her own signature recipe of half-pride, half-passive aggression.

“Yeah, I’m a fuckin’ pop machine.”

The Bear doesn’t diverge Carmy’s secrets by revealing the exact combination, but it seems to involve charged water—in this case San Pellegrino—and a lemon, eventually served with both a lemon and lime slice. This is consistent with the AllRecipes formula that calls for mixing three tablespoons of white sugar in a glass with two tablespoons of lemon juice, then slowly pouring in 16 ounces of lime-flavored seltzer water and stirring to combine it.

What to Listen To

“Fishes” is scored both by familiar and updated renditions of holiday classics as well as pop-rock hits from Donna’s mid-1980s heyday. Enjoy!

How to Get the Look

Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto on The Bear (Episode 2.06: “Fishes”)

Already the subject of family teasing as a “big-time chef… too fancy for us,” Carmy keeps his holiday outfit uncomplicated but quietly fashionable in a dark rugby shirt and jeans both made by designer labels.

• Navy paneled cotton long-sleeved rugby shirt with white collar/placket and yellow-embroidered chest logo
  • Palace x Polo
• Dark-indigo raw selvedge denim straight-leg jeans with belt loops and five-pocket layout
  • A.P.C. Original
• Dark-brown leather lace-up work boots with beige rubber outsoles
• Gold curb-link chain necklace with lobster-claw closure

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series, currently streaming on Hulu, and do not keep asking your mother if she’s okay. And may God bless us and keep us safe in the new year, and please give Michael the strength not to throw that fork. Amen.

The Quote

It’s seven fishes, Pete. This would make eight fishes. That would make us assholes, right?

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