Tagged: 2020s
The White Lotus: Walton Goggins’ Crane-Printed Aloha Shirt
Walton Goggins on The White Lotus, Episode 3.03: “The Meaning of Dreams”
Photo credit: Fabio Lovino
Vitals
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett, troubled tourist
Koh Samui, Thailand, Spring 2024
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “The Meaning of Dreams” (Episode 3.03)
Air Date: March 2, 2025
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Whether you’ve been a fan of Walton Goggins since his intensity on The Shield and Justified or his comic turns on Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, it’s great to see the 53-year-old emerging as an unlikely heartthrob thanks to his back-to-back TV performances as the noseless Ghoul on Fallout and the moody Rick Hatchett on this season of The White Lotus. Continue reading
Severance: Milchick’s White Winter Gear at Woe’s Hollow
Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick on Severance (Episode 2.04: “Woe’s Hollow”)
Vitals
Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick, devoted Lumon Industries floor manager
“Dieter Eagan National Forest”, Winter 2024
Series: Severance
Episode: “Woe’s Hollow” (Episode 2.04)
Air Date: February 7, 2025
Director: Ben Stiller
Creator: Dan Erickson
Costume Designer: Sarah Edwards
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Now more than midway through its second season, Severance fans know shit’s about to get real when Milchick pulls up in a turtleneck. Whether it’s spinning defiant jazz for our first on-screen music dance experience (MDE) or asserting his power after a promotion, Milcheck’s roll-necks are his defining sartorial signature to distinguish him from the everyday short-sleeved white shirts and ties he wore in his lower supervisory position.
“I really wanted to tap into this ten-toes-down, more locked-in character, this energy that he has,” Tramell Tillman explained of his character to Killian Faith-Kelly for GQ UK ahead of the second season premiere. “His hair is more quaffed. He’s no longer in the short-sleeve shirts and the tie anymore. Now he’s wearing turtlenecks. His clothes are a bit darker. His approach is darker. I think he’s enjoying this new place of leadership that he’s in.”
One of the most chilling episodes—if you’ll forgive the pun—illustrates Milchick’s leadership style as he hosts the first-ever Outdoor Retreat and Team Building Occurence (ORTBO) for the four troublesome macrodata refiners: Mark S. (Adam Scott), Helly R. (Britt Lower), Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), and Irv B. (John Turturro). Continue reading
The White Lotus: Ethan’s Cream Jacket and Navy Cap in Sicily
Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller on The White Lotus (Episode 2.01: “Ciao”)
Vitals
Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller, prosperous tech entrepreneur
Sicily, Summer 2022
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “Ciao” (Episode 2.01)
Air Date: October 30, 2022
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The White Lotus returns tonight with the premiere of its third season, set in Thailand. Each season of Mike White’s darkly comic anthological series is loosely connected, following different casts of characters across exotically located resorts under the fictional White Lotus hospitality chain. The first season was set in Hawaii, chosen as its seclusion provided ideal conditions for filming under safety protocols informed by the then-new COVID-19 restrictions. Following the success of the premiere season, the sophomore season took the action to Sicily, retaining the themes of illicit drugs, romantic intrigue, and unexpected violence.
The appropriately named second-season premiere “Ciao” welcomed the guests arriving at the White Lotus resort in Taormina for the week, including the newly wealthy but emotionally unfulfilled Ethan Spiller (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza), a haughty lawyer initially repulsed by his gauche college pal Cameron Sullivan (Theo James). A gregarious finance-bro to Ethan’s sullen tech-bro, Cam and his trophy wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) approach life with more outward enthusiasm, though Harper initially pushes through to discover the imperfect cracks of the Sullivans’ surprisingly complex union. Continue reading
Succession: Tom’s Cashmere Puffer Vest and White Sneakers in Norway
Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans on Succession, Episode 4.05 (“Kill List”)
Vitals
Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans, obsequious corporate media executive
Møre og Romsdal, Norway, Fall 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “Kill List” (Episode 4.05)
Air Date: April 23, 2023
Director: Andrij Parekh
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Working my way through the winter blues, I’m returning to some of the luxuriously simple cool-weather looks from the final season of Succession—specifically the fifth episode trip to Norway, where the Roy siblings hope to land a deal with tech giant GoJo.
Included among the Waystar RoyCo contingent is the spineless yet calculating Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), whose machinations and devotion to the company’s late CEO Logan Roy (Brian Cox) placed him in a better position for advancement than Logan’s own children… including his daughter Siobhan (Sarah Snook), whom Tom had married before betraying to advance his good graces with Logan. Continue reading
Succession: Kendall’s Brown Leather Tom Ford Jacket
Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy on Succession (Episode 4.07: “Tailgate Party”). Photo credit: David Russell.
Vitals
Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy, ousted media conglomerate exec and self-described defender of democracy
New York City, Fall 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “Tailgate Party” (Episode 4.07)
Air Date: May 7, 2023
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
It’s Election Day in America—a tense, centuries-old national tradition determining the fate of all those in the country not privileged enough to see politics as a mere game… which is exactly how the billionare Roy family experiences it on Succession, hosting their usual pre-election “tailgate party” fueled by money, gossip, and flag-waving finger foods.
Hosted at the apartment shared by Siobhan “Shiv” Roy (Sarah Snook) and her sleepy husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), the party provides an opportunity for the Roys to rub elbows with political insiders and industry bigwigs to position themselves for success over the next four years.
“They’re not all crypto-fascist and right-wing nutjobs, we also have some venture capital Dems and centrist ghouls,” Kendall (Jeremy Strong) observes of their late father’s guest list. “Dad’s ideological range was… wide.” Continue reading
George Clooney and Brad Pitt as Wolfs in Leather and Cashmere
I’m pleased to again present a guest post contributed by my friend Ken Stauffer, who has written several pieces for BAMF Style previously and chronicles the style of the Ocean’s film series (and beyond!) on his excellent Instagram account, @oceansographer. Ken visited the set of Wolfs for three weeks of filming in early 2023 and attended its premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Wolfs (2024)
Photo credit: Scott Garfield
Vitals
George Clooney as Jack, a.k.a. Margaret’s Man, professional underworld fixer
Brad Pitt as Nick a.k.a. Pam’s Man, professional underworld fixer
New York, December 2024
Film: Wolfs
Release Date: September 20, 2024
Director: Jon Watts
Costume Designer: Amy Westcott
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
It’s been 16 years since the dynamic duo of George Clooney and Brad Pitt made a film together, but the wait is finally over! The pair star in Wolfs, written and directed by Jon Watts (Cop Car, Spider-Man: No Way Home), which is now streaming on Apple TV+ worldwide.
For over a year, the only description of the film was that it concerned “two lone wolf fixers who are unexpectedly assigned to the same job.” Unlike their Ocean’s characters who had years of history together, the aging duo of criminal cleaners played by Clooney and Pitt here have never met before the events of the movie. As Watts wrote in his Director’s Statement for the Venice Film Festival, “Le Samouraï, Blast of Silence, Ghost Dog, Collateral—I love films about solitary professionals dedicated to their craft and always wanted to see what would happen if two of those guys were forced to work together.”
Set entirely in New York City over the course of one long winter night, the film feels like a true throwback to crime films of the ’70s. The plot cleverly plays with well-trodden crime film tropes, while the dialogue recalls the buddy comedy rhythm of Midnight Run, 48 Hours, and Lethal Weapon. The difference here is that rather than being opposites who must find common ground, these characters are so alike that they can’t help but resent and insult one another. To quote Watts again, “It can be hard to make new friends as an adult, even if you have a lot in common.” Continue reading
Succession: Connor’s Sailboat Shirt in Tuscany
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy on Succession (Episode 3.09: “All the Bells Say”)
Vitals
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy, delusional millionaire and long-shot presidential hopeful
Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy, Summer 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “All the Bells Say” (Episode 3.09)
Air Date: December 12, 2021
Director: Mark Mylod
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
Background
When I think about which Succession character most shares my sense of style (as one does), I’m realizing that the answer—for better or worse—is probably the doomed presidential hopeful Connor Roy (Alan Ruck).
It makes sense, as each of us are positioned relatively far from the corporate world and thus can afford to dress more for ourselves than any greater ambition… at least until Connor, who was interested in politics at a young age, starts pinning that American flag to his lapel as he hits the campaign trail.
This thought reoccurred to me as I was packing for my weeklong vacation to the beach this week, and I realized that the only Roy who may canonically share my affinity for printed summer shirts is the [actual] eldest son, who briefly sports a sailboat-printed shirt while the family debriefs in Tuscany over a game of Monopoly at the start of Succession’s third season finale, “All the Bells Say”. Continue reading
Glen Powell in Hit Man: Gary’s Western-Inspired Wardrobe as “Ron”
Glen Powell as Gary Johnson in Hit Man (2023)
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Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, mild-mannered psychology professor moonlighting as an undercover police contractor
New Orleans, Fall 2022
Film: Hit Man
Release Date: May 24, 2024
Director: Richard Linklater
Costume Designer: Juliana Hoffpauir
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
After a limited two-week run in theaters, Hit Man debuted on Netflix at the beginning of this month and quickly became the service’s #1 most-watched movie in the U.S. The screenplay by director Richard Linklater and star Glen Powell fictionalizes the life of Gary Johnson, a college professor and successful “fake hitman” whose undercover police work led to more than 70 arrests of people seeking the services of a contract killer.
Hit Man is Linklater’s second cinematic depiction of stranger-than-fiction true crime based on a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth (the first was Bernie in 2011), though the production and setting were moved from Houston to New Orleans to take advantage of Louisiana tax credits.
Described in the epilogue as the “chillest dude imaginable,” the real Gary Johnson—whom the same epilogue is sure to insist was never actually involved in any murders—died in 2022 at the age of 75 before getting to see this dark comedy that riffed on his life story.
Though sensationalizing his life for dramatic purposes, Hit Man includes many details from Johnson’s life, like his cats Id and Ego, his unassuming politeness, and the random opportunity that elevated him to the city’s most in-demand assassin who signals his identity to prospective clients with a single response phrase:
All pie is good pie.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Bullet Train
Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Bullet Train (2022). Photo credit: Scott Garfield.
Vitals
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as “Tangerine”, snarky contract killer
Tokyo to Kyoto, Japan, Spring 2021
Film: Bullet Train
Release Date: August 5, 2022
Director: David Leitch
Costume Designer: Sarah Evelyn
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Rumors continue swirling around who will be cast to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. Henry Cavill, Richard Madden, Regé-Jean Page, and Aidan Turner have all been named as serious contenders, though English actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson often emerges as a current favorite for the likely choice. Thus, today’s 00-7th of the month post will focus not on a previous Mr. Bond but a possible future characterization of the sophisticated agent…by playing an contractor taking his codename from a “sophisticated” fruit. Continue reading
Succession: Connor Roy’s Velvet Wedding Jacket
Alan Ruck and Justine Lupe on Succession, Episode 4.03 (“Connor’s Wedding”). Sourced from Justine Lupe’s Instagram: @mejustinelupe.
Vitals
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy, prospective groom and less-prospective presidential candidate
Jersey City, New Jersey, Fall 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “Connor’s Wedding” (Episode 4.03)
Air Date: April 9, 2023
Director: Mark Mylod
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Conheads made a strong showing to share how much they appreciated my first post featuring Alan Ruck’s style on Succession, so—in the spirit of Valentine’s Day tomorrow—”let’s just enjoy the sham marriage and the death of romance” as toasted by Connor’s younger half-sibling Roman (Kieran Culkin).
Despite the episode’s matter-of-fact title, the eldest son’s nuptials was hardly the most dramatic event in “Connor’s Wedding”, the third episode of Succession‘s fourth and final season. Continue reading
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