George Clooney as Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven (2001).
Vitals
George Clooney as Danny Ocean, recently paroled casino heister and con man
Las Vegas, Summer 2001
Film: Ocean’s Eleven
Release Date: December 7, 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Background
The first stop that Danny Ocean and his criminal compadre “Rusty” Ryan make when planning their unprecedented multi-casino heist is to see Reuben Tishkoff, their old-time Vegas money man. They show up at his desert spread each sporting a snazzy gray summer suit, open-neck shirt, and sunglasses, reflecting the image of old-school Vegas cool while talking to the tacky reality of old school Vegas in the form of a gold-bedazzled and brazenly-robed Elliott Gould.
What’d He Wear?
I previously wrote about the distinctive light gray cotton suit that Brad Pitt wears in this scene, and now – by request from Ryan Hall – I’ll be checking out the more traditional gray suit worn by George Clooney.
Danny’s outfit follows his general “uniform” throughout the series of solid, conservative suits with a white or dark open-neck dress shirt. The shine of this timeless gray suit indicates silk or a silk blend with a very subtle, wide-scaled windowpane grid throughout. Looking at the details, it appears to be similarly styled and tailored to the black suit he wears through much of Ocean’s Eleven.
The subtle grid pattern of Danny’s suit is best seen in this production photo of Clooney and Pitt on set.
The single-breasted suit jacket has wide, padded shoulders with roped sleeveheads. The breast and hip pockets are patches, dialing down the formality and better contextualizing the suit as a sporty item perfect for the context of a summer afternoon (or morning, as the orange juice may suggest.) The two buttons on the front and the three buttons on each cuff are all light gray plastic.
Possibly also the same dress shirt he wears with his black suit, Danny’s white shirt has a front placket and mitred button cuffs. He wears the top button at the point collar open. Unlike his louder-dressed partner-in-crime, Danny typically only unbuttons the top button and wears his shirt collar inside the jacket; Rusty, on the other hand, often sports his shirt collar disco-style by flattening it over the jacket lapels.
Rusty and Danny provide very contrasting looks, exemplifying the diversity of a gray single-breasted summer suit. Between them, Reuben sits unrivaled in style.
More of Danny’s outfit is seen when he and Rusty get up from the table to leave after veiled comments about previous shared experiences in Belize. The medium-rise trousers appear to have a flat front, side pockets, and cuffed bottoms. His black leather belt has a squared steel single-claw buckle.
Danny matches his belt leather to his shoes, wearing a pair of black leather bluchers that are likely the same pair of 4-eyelet cap-toe derbies that he wore with his tuxedo. His dark socks are probably (and should be) gray, but there is also the possibility that they’re black.
Having baited their money man, Rusty and Danny wait for him to bite.
Danny’s accessories are all functional and subtly fashionable. His gray-lensed, square-framed sunglasses have been theorized online to be Dita Lancier Ps.004 shades, which are framed in lightweight titanium. On his left wrist, he wears his stainless Hamilton Linwood Viewmatch with a polished, round 38 mm case, textured silver dial with 3:00 date window and gold and black hour markers, and 16 mm black crocodile strap that fastens through a steel tang buckle. The only other piece of jewelry is his plain silver wedding band on the third finger of his left hand.
The jacket and shirt both make a brief appearance a few scenes later when the gang is plotting in their Bellagio suite, although Danny appears to be wearing them with a pair of darker gray trousers.
How to Get the Look
Danny Ocean proves that a monochromatic gray color scheme can be more exciting than it sounds in the form of a refreshing and stylish summer suit.
- Gray tonal-windowpane silk-blend summer suit, consisting of:
- Single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, patch breast pocket, patch hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
- Flat front medium-rise trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
- White cotton dress shirt with point collar, front placket, and mitred button cuffs
- Black leather belt with squared steel single-claw buckle
- Black calf leather 4-eyelet cap-toe bluchers
- Dark gray dress socks
- Titanium-framed square aviator sunglasses with dark gray lenses
- Hamilton Linwood Viewmatch wristwatch with a polished stainless steel 36mm case and textured silver dial on a 16mm black crocodile leather strap
- Silver wedding band
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Buy the movie
The Quote
It’s never been tried.
