Ian McShane as Anthony Wood in The Last of Sheila (1973)
Vitals
Ian McShane as Anthony Wood, controlling Hollywood husband and ex-convict
French Riviera, Late summer 1972
Film: The Last of Sheila
Release Date: June 14, 1973
Director: Herbert Ross
Costume Designer: Joel Schumacher
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of my favorite “summer vibes” movies is The Last of Sheila, which I first watched last summer after learning that it was among Rian Johnson’s inspiration for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. As the third Knives Out movie has commenced filming and we’re approaching another summer solstice, let’s revisit the Riviera style on parade in The Last of Sheila, released 51 years ago this month on Flag Day 1973.
Written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, The Last of Sheila boasts a fine ensemble cast portraying “six hungry failures” summoned by Hollywood producer Clinton Greene (James Coburn) to spend a week in the Ligurian Sea aboard his yacht, Sheila, named for his late wife who died exactly a year earlier in a mysterious hit-and-run.
After Clinton is murdered during his festivities, the six frenemies begin looking amongst each other for who would have had the means and opportunity to kill Clinton, though all had a motive—presumably to silence the gossip he knew about each of their pasts, revealed by the cards he had assigned to each on their first day at sea.
Perhaps the least connected of the six is the charismatic but shady Anthony Wood (Ian McShane), who fiercely promotes—and controls—the career of his glamorous actress wife Alice (Raquel Welch). When the “I am an EX-CONVICT” card held by the anxious Lee Parkman (Joan Hackett) is revealed to apply to Anthony’s dual convictions for assault, Lee’s writer husband Tom (Richard Benjamin) briefly focuses his interrogation on Anthony as the group tries to solve the mystery.
What’d He Wear?
With a few exceptions, Anthony shows a clear preference for wearing lots of white clothing, certainly appropriate for a summer at sea but perhaps an attempt by costume designer Joel Schumacher to telegraph that Anthony wants to present himself as purer than his past.
Anthony’s tipped-collar white tennis shirt and tight white turtleneck are only a few of the white Lacoste items he wears during the sojourn at sea on Clinton’s yacht.
Much of his white clothing is made by Lacoste, including the cardigan he wears over his bare chest as the group suspects each other in the immediate aftermath of Clinton’s death. The light cream-colored cardigan is likely made from a blend of wool or cotton with acrylic fiber, wide-ribbed through the body and the set-in sleeves to neatly fit and flatter Ian McShane’s frame. The simple sweater has five pearl-like plastic sew-through buttons evenly spaced up the front, with only the green Lacoste crocodile logo embroidered over the left breast breaking up the body of ribbed white cloth.
The company originated with French tennis champion René Lacoste, who pioneered modern tennis shirts in the late 1920s and launched the brand La Chemise Lacoste in 1933, centered around the recognizable green crocodile logo embroidered over the left breast. Beginning in the early 1950s, the company exclusively sold in the United States as Izod Lacoste until the partnership with Izod dissolved in 1993 and Lacoste regained its own U.S. distribution rights.
You can still find vintage examples of similar Lacoste cardigans from resale sites like Poshmark, including this example made from a wool/acrylic blend (described as “Laine and Chlorofiber”) and listed it as a woman’s cardigan, though the button placement suggests it was likely intended for men. Given that McShane comfortably wears his over bare skin without an undershirt in the warm French Riviera, I would be surprised if his cardigan contained wool.
Note the unmistakable green crocodile over Anthony’s left breast that identifies his cardigan as a Lacoste product.
Anthony’s flat-front trousers are a stark white, providing a crisp contrast against the slightly warmer cream shade of his cardigan. The trousers have side pockets and dramatically flared plain-hemmed bottoms that would have been fashionable during the mid-to-early ’70s when bell-bottoms were still a mainstream fashion.
His all-white sneakers are clearly not the colorfully striped Adidas trainers that both he and Tom wear at different times, though these derby-laced athletic shoes with their cream gum rubber soles share a silhouette with several contemporary Adidas models.
Anthony wears an array of gold jewelry, including a very large pendant on a thin gold necklace and his clustered gold wedding ring on his left hand. The gold bangle-style bracelet on his right wrist differs from the “ID bracelet” that the shoplifter Alice sarcastically threatens to steal for him to assuage his concerns about her past. He also wears a plain gold wristwatch with a round white dial on a black leather strap.
How to Get the Look
Ian McShane as Anthony Wood in The Last of Sheila (1973)
Anthony Wood models an unorthodox (but not unheard of) way to wear his white Lacoste cardigan, buttoned up over his bare chest with white trousers, white shoes, and his usual gold jewelry.
- Cream ribbed acrylic-blend five-button Lacoste cardigan sweater
- White flat-front trousers with side pockets and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
- White leather derby-laced sneakers with cream gum rubber soles
- Gold carved pendant on thin gold necklace
- Gold bangle-style bracelet
- Gold clustered wedding ring
- Gold dress watch with round white dial on black leather strap
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
You wanna choose from what’s left? We’ve got dented fenders or, how about a little petting in the playground?
The post The Last of Sheila: Ian McShane’s White Lacoste Cardigan appeared first on BAMF Style.