James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 1.01)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob chief
North Caldwell, New Jersey, Summer 1998
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “The Sopranos” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: January 10, 1999
Director: David Chase
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Sopranos premiered 25 years ago tonight, introducing HBO audiences to New Jersey Mafia chief Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), driven to therapy following stress-induced panic attacks as he attempts to balance family and The Family.
“Written and directed by [David] Chase, the pilot is a hybrid slapstick comedy, domestic sitcom, and crime thriller, with dabs of ’70s American New Wave grit,” conclude Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall in The Sopranos Sessions. “The device of putting the hero in therapy lets Chase deliver reams of information about Tony, his crew, his bosses, his family, and their overlaps, along with the points where Tony’s personal and professional distress are inseparable, all without the usual pilot-episode busy work.”
A flashback from Tony’s inaugural therapy session with Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) sets up much of his troubles through a “day int he life” of Tony Soprano, beginning with a domestic morning at home followed by his “work” that ranges from shakedowns to slacking around with his crew in front of the neighborhood deli (the real-life Centanni’s Meat Market in the pilot; replaced with the fictional Satriale’s Pork Store in all subsequent episodes.)
Tony’s workday establishes the dynamics within his crew, specifically his hotheaded young nephew Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) and his proud uncle Corrado “Junior” Soprano (Dominic Chianese). While his problems with Christopher are mostly administrative complaints, it’s the imperious Junior who poses a greater threat as Tony learns of his plans to stage a mob hit in the restaurant run by Tony’s boyhood pal Artie Bucco (John Ventimiglia). Junior resents Tony’s intercession (“you may run North Jersey, but you don’t run your Uncle Junior!”), and Tony has no greater luck appealing to his mother Livia (Nancy Marchand), a grouchy widow whom we learn to be the most impactful and toxic influence in his life.
Tony: Listen, just speak to Uncle Junior about Artie, okay? He respects you, he’ll listen to you.
Livia: If your uncle has business with Arthur, he knows what he’s doing.
Tony: And I don’t?
Livia: Well, all I know is… daughters are better at taking care of their mothers than sons.
Tony: Yeah, and I bought CDs for a broken record.
What’d He Wear?
As we slowly get to know Tony through his expositionary session with Dr. Melfi, his costume helps establish who he is and how he sees himself. His gray pinstripe suit is a classic choice for a businessman, though balanced by a “gangster knit” polo (as termed by Caroline Reilly in a 2020 InsideHook article) that nods to the less-than-legitimate nature of said business. The color may be costume designer Juliet Polcsa’s indication that we’re still lensing Tony through a moral “gray area” as we—and Dr. Melfi—have yet to make up our minds about him.
Tony’s mid-gray suit with its subdued, widely spaced pinstripe follows late ’90s cut and style trends, consistent with the episode’s production timeline in the second half of 1997. The single-breasted, ventless jacket has wide, padded shoulders and low-gorge notch lapels that roll down to the two low-positioned buttons on the front. The jacket also has a welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, and three-button cuffs—black to match the front buttons.
Tony and Chris share “coffee” with a colleague.
The suit’s matching trousers have double reverse-facing pleats, again consistent with ’90s fashions while also being Tony’s preferred trousers style through the series run. The trouser have quarter-top side pockets, button-through back pockets, and turn-ups (cuffs) on the bottoms, which have a full break that echoes the suit’s overall bagginess.
Tony holds the trousers up with a black leather belt that coordinates to his black calf leather cap-toe derbies, which appear to be the same shoes he wears with his black polo for the opening session with Dr. Melfi. He also wears black socks.
Tony’s knitted polo shirt is a slightly lighter shade of gray than his suit. Like his suit, the shirt is also arguably oversized; the collar pulls inches away from his neck, the set-in sleeve seams fall off his shoulders, and the short sleeves envelop his elbows. He buttons the bottom two of the three smoke-colored plastic two-hole buttons at the top. The body of the shirt is mostly plain-woven, broken up by four vertical cables knit across the front and back.
Tony can’t understand why his mother refuses to answer the phone when it’s dark out.
Filmed two years before the rest of the first season, The Sopranos had yet to establish Tony’s regular array of jewelry, though the pilot establishes his template of a gold bracelet, gold pinky ring, wedding band, and gold watch.
The thin yellow-gold chain-link bracelet with its lobster-claw closure around Tony’s right wrist doesn’t appear to be the same one he would wear later, but it’s close. On his right pinky, he wears a large gold ring that swells out to fit three diamonds gleaming across the front—in subsequent episodes, this would be replaced by the usual ruby-and-diamond bypass ring inherited from his father.
Before he would graduate to the 18-karat gold Rolex “Presidential” Day-Date for the second episode onward, Tony dressed his left wrist in the pilot episode with the more modestly priced TAG Heuer Professional 200M (S94.006) quartz watch, as identified by my friend @tonysopranostyle. This stainless steel TAG Heuer is plated in 18-karat yellow gold, including the 37mm case, the unidirectional rotating bezel, and the “rice-grain”-style bracelet with its deployable clasp. The dial is also a light shade of gold, with luminous, non-numeric hour markers and a date window at 3:00.
How to Get the Look
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 1.01)
The first time we see him “at work”, Tony Soprano affects a smart business casual look in a business suit dressed down by a knitted polo—all in shades of gray—though I’d update the outfit with more tailored clothes than his baggier attire that was trendy in the late 1990s.
- Gray widely spaced pinstripe suit:
- Single-breasted 2-button jacket with low-gorge notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
- Double reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, “quarter top” side pockets, button-through back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
- Gray (with cable-knit striping) knitted short-sleeved polo shirt with 3-button top
- Black calf leather cap-toe derby shoes
- Black socks
- White ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt
- Diamond-studded gold pinky ring
- Gold wedding ring
- TAG Heuer Professional 200M gold-plated steel quartz watch with rotating bezel, round dial with luminous non-numeral hour markers and date window, and rice-grain bracelet
- Gold necklace with St. Anthony pendant
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the entire series!
The Quote
It’s not a nursing home… it’s a retirement community!
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