Vitals

Clint Eastwood as Insp. Harry Callahan, renegade San Francisco inspector

San Francisco, Summer 1971

Film: Dirty Harry
Release Date: December 23, 1971
Director: Don Siegel
Wardrobe Department: Glenn Wright

Background

As mentioned in the previous Dirty Harry post, many travelers are fooled into thinking that San Francisco’s climate is reflective of California as immortalized by the Beach Boys. Instead, the city enjoys cooler Mediterranean-style weather with dry summers and mild winters.

Travelers unaware of the fact that they’ll be enjoying a summer with evenings that can dip into the 40s (Fahrenheit) are easily spotted by their brightly-colored hoodies emblazened with the name “SAN FRANCISCO” on the front, newly purchased from an enterprising street vendor rightly taking advantage of ill-informed tourists.

Harry Callahan defines his distinctive look in the early scenes of Dirty Harry, putting a patterned sportcoat over a sweater vest and tie, matching it all with a pair of comfortable and casual slacks. While the look may suggest “I failed as a writer and settled as a science teacher”, Eastwood’s gritty gaze and the .44 Magnum in his holster say different.

What’d He Wear?

Harry struts into the office on the second day of his investigation in a well-matched sportcoat, sweater vest, tie, and slacks.

The dark brown sportcoat has a triple overcheck in a lighter shade of brown. The jacket avoids ’70s excess by keeping the notch lapels to a standard width without swelled edges. The blazer has a 2-button front and 2-button cuffs, both sets in dark brown. The sportcoat also has double rear vents and slanted flapped hip pockets.

Underneath, Eastwood wears a soft lighter brown sweater vest with a V-shaped opening, placed high on his chest. The vest is paired with a standard white shirt with long point collars and buttoned barrel cuffs. The necktie is a dark chocolate brown ground with a large pink-and-white dot pattern. The large collars and wide necktie are Eastwood’s only concessions to ’70s excess. Likely aware of the fad and unwilling to battle with the costumers, Eastwood wisely wears a sweater vest to cover the “Hello, it’s 1971!” style of shirt and tie.

Eastwood’s flat front pants are mink-colored, appearing to gain an olive shade under the heavy police lights of a night scene. They have belt loops, a sharp crease down the front center of each leg, and cuffed bottoms. The belt is medium brown leather with a brass rounded clasp. This belt attaches to Harry’s large light brown shoulder holster, suspending his .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver just under his left armpit.

On his feet, Harry wears a pair of brown leather oxford shoes and very thin black dress socks.

Harry’s single accessory is his stainless Timex wristwatch with a thin expanding bracelet and round white face.

After a long day and night of unintentionally spying on large topless women and mocking a potential suicide jumper before punching him in the face, Harry switches out his shirt for another full day at the office. This shirt is the same style as the previous with long wide-spread collars and buttoned barrel cuffs, but is sky blue in color and worn without the sweater vest.

Go Big or Go Home, Hammerhead

To read about Harry’s American values and standards, check out the last Dirty Harry article. Right now, it’s essential to focus on the quintessential Eastwood road rage scene:

(Not the best quality, evidently some guy just filmed it from his TV…)

There’s just something great about Eastwood responding to some guy (MAN #2, according to the subtitles) as “Hammerhead” when you’ve heard so much worse from your dad.

How to Get the Look

Harry dresses practically, leaving room for being diverse. If he gets a shirt dirty, he wants to be able to change it without thinking, “Oh, no, how will this ever match the tie I picked out?” Just picture Clint Eastwood standing in front of his closet, hand on hip, two seconds away from a tantrum because he just can’t find the right jacket for this outfit.

• Dark brown (w/ lighter brown triple overcheck) single-breasted 2-button sportcoat with notch lapels, 2-button cuffs, slanted flapped hip pockets, and double rear vents
• White button-down shirt with long point collars and buttoned barrel cuffs, or sky blue if the white one gets dirty
• Mink-colored flat front slacks with side pockets, belt loops, and cuffed bottoms
• Light brown V-neck sweater vest
• Dark brown necktie with large pink-and-white dot pattern throughout
• Brown leather belt with a brass squared clasp
• Brown leather balmorals/oxford shoes
• Thin black dress socks
• Timex wristwatch with an expanding stainless bracelet and a round white face
• Lawman Leather Goods light brown shoulder holster (RHD) for a Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver

The Gun

We’ve been over this.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the Dirty Harry collection and stay out of Clint Eastwood’s way.

The Quote

Now you know why they call me Dirty Harry. Every dirty job that comes along…