Dustin Hoffman and Justin Henry in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Vitals
Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer, ad man and divorced dad
New York City, January 1979
Film: Kramer vs. Kramer
Release Date: December 19, 1979
Director: Robert Benton
Costume Designer: Ruth Morley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of my more recent posts focused on a movie where Dustin Hoffman played a conniving con artist, so let’s allow him to redeem himself as a workaholic learning how to be a more present dad in Kramer vs. Kramer, Robert Benton’s 1979 divorce-centric drama that won Hoffman his first Academy Award for Best Actor—in addition to Oscars for his co-star Meryl Streep, Benton’s screenplay and directing, and the Best Picture trophy.
Hoffman and Streep play the titular Kramer couple, who split after eight years of marriage when an overwhelmed Joanna leaves Ted and their seven-year-old son Billy (Justin Henry) in the New York apartment they once shared. Ted initially struggles with the demands of parenting, but he grows from an aloof workaholic to an engaged dad over the year and a half that he raises Billy exclusively before Joanna re-enters their lives and requests custody.
What’d He Wear?
Field jackets were standardized as American military gear during World War II. After spending a generation in this domain, this ruggedly utilitarian outerwear was embraced by 1960s counterculture until it eventually became so mainstream by the late ’70s that it was no longer strictly associated with macho outdoorsmen nor militant protestors but everymen played by Woody Allen, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Dustin Hoffman.
For Hoffman, this applies specifically to the latter scenes in Kramer vs. Kramer when Hoffman’s Ted is ordered by the court to arrange reunions between Billy and Joanna. His M-65 field jacket diverts from Ted’s usual wardrobe of suits, sports coats, and the occasional hoodie. Indeed, it may be his subconscious choice to sport a military-associated garment to signal his readiness to fight when facing the enemy—in this case, his ex-wife.
The U.S. Army authorized the M-65 field jacket in 1965 to replace the Korean War-era M-1951, which itself was an evolution of the WWII-era M-43. Most widely associated for its service during the Vietnam War, the classic all-green M-65 began to be phased out in the early 1980s as the military shifted to standardized camouflage Battle Dress Uniforms (BDU) but the M-65 pattern coat remained in limited usage until at least 2005.
Also known as the “M-1965” (for obvious reasons) and designated the “Coat, Cold Weather, Man’s Field”, the M-65 maintained the windproof and water-resistant olive-green (OG-107) cotton shell of its predecessors as well as the overall hip-length cut and four flapped pockets—two bellows pockets over the chest and two set-in hip pockets. The M-65 also continued the M-51’s double fastening system of a straight-zip front covered by a snap-up storm flap, as well as the internal drawcord to cinch the waist.
Perhaps the most obvious visual differentiator between the M-65 and its predecessors is its rounded collar with a built-in protective hood enclosed by a zipper. The shoulders are detailed with epaulets that button closed at the neck, and the set-in sleeves are finished with velcro-adjustable cuffs.
Ted’s dark-brown woolen scarf tends to cover most of the space left open where the jacket is unzipped down to mid-chest, though he appears to wear a mauve button-up shirt with a brick-red overcheck when he debuts his M-65 during Billy’s Central Park reunion with Joanna.
He often pairs the field jacket with the tan needlecord trousers that he wears frequently through Kramer vs. Kramer. The tufted corduroy texture of these flat-front trousers harmonizes with the rugged jacket, as well as the military-informed pockets that echo OG-107 fatigue pants. These consist of patch front pockets with slanted entry and rectangular flaps over the inverted box-pleated back pockets. Rigged with belt loops in alternating widths around the waistband, these trousers have a straight cut down to plain-hemmed bottoms.
Aside from a few occasions that call for sneakers, Ted almost exclusively wears horsebit loafers with his daily wardrobe that ranges from suits and ties to sport jackets and jeans. This distinctive slip-on shoe was pioneered by Italian fashion house Gucci in 1953 when they began adorning vamps with metal straps shaped like a horse’s snaffle bit. More than 70 years later, the Gucci Horsebit 1953 Loafer remains a brand signature.
A field jacket and corduroys are informal enough to have worked with sneakers in this context, but Ted maintains some panache with his black leather moc-toe loafers and their gleaming gold bits, worn with plain black socks.
From the father’s field jacket and horsebit loafers to his young son’s duffle coat, the Kramer boys demonstrate that style may indeed be an inherited trait.
Ted wears a blackened chronograph which resembles contemporary Heuer and LeJour models, though some visual details have me convinced that the watch is most likely a LeJour. The 42mm steel case, pushers, crown, and three-piece link bracelet are PVD-coated for an all-black finish. The black dial features the requisite tachymeter scale around the outer edge, with luminous non-numeric hour indices and a white-wheeled date window at the 6 o’clock position.
The twin sub-registers at 3 and 9 o’clock are consistent with nearly identical Heuer and LeJour chronographs during the 1970s, both powered by the 17-jewel Valjoux 7734 movement that was developed in 1969 in the Vallée de Joux region of Switzerland.
Earlier in the movie, we get an eyeful of Ted’s chronograph as he attempts to make Billy’s French toast.
While awaiting the verdict, Ted and his neighbor Margaret (Jane Alexander)—a fellow single parent who has become more his friend than Joanna’s—walk through the snow, where she confides in him that the custody trial has had her considering rekindling her own relationship with her ex-husband.
The snowy weather understandably has Ted pulling on a heavier-duty mauve wool scarf and black ski gloves. His brown trousers are also corduroy, though he curiously wears the same black horsebit loafers—hardly a practical choice when navigating icy sidewalks!
Carl Bernstein and Judy Hoback seem to developed quite a friendship in the years following their respective roles in uncovering the Watergate scandal.
Hoffman’s screen-worn M-65 may have belonged to the actor in real life, as he was photographed wearing an identical field jacket for months following the film’s release.
How to Get the Look
Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Ted Kramer models how an average joe can wear a classic Army field jacket without looking like cosplaying G.I. Joe, pairing it with comfortable fall staples like a loose scarf, corduroy trousers, and perhaps unexpected—but not unwelcome—horsebit loafers.
- Olive-green (OD-107) cotton sateen M-1965 U.S. Army-issue field jacket with rounded collar (with integrated zip-in hood), zip/snap front closure, four flapped pockets (with covered snaps), epaulets/shoulder straps, back shoulder pleats, and drawstring-cinched waist
- Mauve (with brick-red overcheck) long-sleeved button-up shirt
- Dark-brown woolen scarf
- Tan needlecord flat-front trousers with wide belt loops, slanted-entry patch front pockets, flapped inverted box-pleated back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Black leather moc-toe Gucci-style horsebit loafers
- Black socks
- Black PVD-coated steel chronograph watch with 42mm case and black dial (with two black sub-registers, luminous non-numeric hour indices, and 6:00 date window) on black three-piece link bracelet
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie. Criterion Channel subscribers can also stream it before it leaves the channel at the end of November!
The Quote
We’re gonna be okay.
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