Jaws: Robert Shaw’s CPO Shirt and Sweater as Quint

Robert Shaw as Quint in Jaws (1975)

Vitals

Robert Shaw as Quint, grizzled and tough shark hunter and U.S. Navy veteran

Amity Island, July 1974

Film: Jaws
Release Date: June 20, 1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Design: Louise Clark, Robert Ellsworth, and Irwin Rose

Background

After early directorial efforts like Duel and The Sugarland Express, Steven Spielberg forever changed the cinematic landscape with Jaws, considered the first true blockbuster when it was released in the summer of 1975. Filming had commenced a year earlier, 50 years ago this week, on May 2, 1974.

Adapted from Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name, Jaws centered around a fictional shark terrorizing the swimmers off the idyllic New England community of Amity Island… though it had a very real impact on frightened beach-goers for years to follow.

Police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) and oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) team up with the hardened shark-hunter known only as Quint (Robert Shaw) to accompany them out into the water to bring an end to “Bruce” the shark’s reign of terror. Though local fishermen are eager to be the ones to stop the shark, Brody and Hooper are well aware of Quint’s qualifications that make him worth every cent of his requested $10,000 fee:

Y’all know me. Know how I earn a livin’. I’ll catch this bird for you, but it ain’t gonna be easy.

What’d He Wear?

Quint’s landside garb differs little from what he wears when taking Brody and Hooper to sea, the only difference being the Army-issue M-1951 field jacket and deck sneakers he wears aboard the Orca. At home on Amity Island, he maintains the same utilitarian wardrobe that blends military surplus with the hardy workwear expected of a rugged New England fisherman.

Click here to skip ahead to a “Shop the Look” section at the bottom of this page, researched specifically to help you find modern head-to-toe alternatives inspired by Amity Island’s resident shark hunter.

A staple of Quint’s style on land and at sea is the khaki waxed cotton canvas twill baseball cap detailed with two small pockets on the front of the crown. Likely worn every day by our hard-living hunter, Quint’s cap shows considerable abuse from the broken broad brim and soil worn into the fabric. Quint’s iconic hat has been painstakingly reproduced by Brian Blakely, J.J. Fecik, and David Shuck in a collaboration between Heddels and Knickerbocker NYC.

As his famous monologue about the USS Indianapolis demonstrates, Quint served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and would have become quite familiar with the benefits of military-issued workwear; field jackets remained the domain of the Army and Marine Corps, so Quint almost certainly picked up his M-51 privately after his service ended. When we first meet Quint, he wears two shirts associated with the Navy—the blue chambray work-shirt he would later wear at sea, layered under a heavy dark-blue woolen “CPO shirt”.

Made from a thick woolen flannel twill dyed a dark indigo-blue, the latter style was introduced in 1939 as part of an optional uniform for chief petty officers which eventually also caught on as a civilian favorite. These shirts initially featured a single flapped pocket over the left breast before this was balanced by a second pocket added to the right side in the mid-1940s. Quint wears this latter pattern with its pair of patch-style chest pockets, each covered by a single-button flap. Regardless of the number of pockets, all CPO shirts are characterized by a substantially sized collar, front placket, and button-fastened barrel cuffs. (You can read more about CPO shirts from Heddels.)

As intended by their roomy fit designed to comfortably layer over another shirt, Quint wears the CPO shirt open over one of his chambray work-shirts, woven in blue-and-white for a mottled denim-like light-blue presentation. The contributing author of my previous Quint post—a Navy vet nicknamed “W.T. Hatch”—suggested that Quint’s shirts were contemporary Navy issue, crafted from a blend of 65% polyester and 35% cotton and boasting the longer point collar specific to the era. The front placket, barrel cuffs, and pair of pocket flaps are all fastened with the dark-blue plastic buttons that had been a USN standard for decades.

Quint’s dark-brown cotton canvas work pants echo the same trousers he would alternate with his black faded jeans aboard the Orca. These flat-front trousers have side pockets, back pockets, and a straight cut through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms. The angles on Quint during these scenes don’t show his trouser waistband, but he likely wears the same plain black leather belt that closes through a brass-toned buckle.

Rather than the tan canvas deck sneakers he wears on the Orca, Quint wears brown leather penny loafers that are arguably the dressiest part of his wardrobe. His dark-brown cotton lisle socks continue the leg-line from his trousers into his shoes.

When Brody and Hooper call on Quint in his shop, he’s swapped out the CPO shirt for a marled gray ribbed-wool sweater layered over his chambray shirt. Like the busier cable-knit Aran sweaters that originated across the pond, these mock-neck jumpers have long been associated with fishermen for their rugged durability and comfort. Quint’s sweater has raglan sleeves that are finished with widely ribbed cuffs that match his wide-ribbed hem.

How to Get the Look

Robert Shaw as Quint in Jaws (1975)

Quint’s closet consists of hard-wearing work gear that transcends trends—just as fashionably functional today as it would have been when Jaws was being produced in the 1970s or when Quint was a young swabby being issued his WWII-era chambray shirt with his working uniform.

Dark indigo-blue woolen flannel twill “CPO shirt” with large collar, front placket, two chest pockets with single-button flaps, and 1-button cuffs
Marled-gray ribbed-wool mock-neck raglan-sleeve sweater
Blue chambray long-sleeve U.S. Navy surplus shirt with long point collar, front placket, two chest pockets with single-button flaps, and 2-button rounded cuffs
Dark-brown cotton canvas flat-front work trousers with belt loops, side pockets, back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
Black leather belt with brass buckle
Brown leather penny loafers
Dark-brown socks
Khaki waxed cotton fitted cap with two front pockets