Vitals

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate

Las Vegas, Fall 1980

Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn

Background

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, a feast day that finds many people celebrating with Jameson and green clothing whether they have any Irish heritage or not.

Robert De Niro’s father was half Irish, so that’s all the excuse BAMF Style needs to explore one of his loud green outfits as the impressively attired Las Vegas executive Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino.

What’d He Wear?

The 1980s sequences mark a shift in Ace’s wardrobe. Prior to his gaming license hearing, Ace’s tailored attire consisted primarily of two-piece suits, supported by the occasional odd jacket in more casual situations such as a poolside meeting, opening a bank account, and dressing down an inept casino employee.

For his gaming license hearing and most scenes to follow, Ace begins a pattern of wearing primarily odd jackets with the only actual suit being the blue-and-green plaid suit that he wears when reconnecting with Ginger in the scene following this one.

Ace thus wears a variety of bold jackets with an added sense of chaos deriving from the mismatched (albeit well-coordinated) jackets and trousers. That boldness means a grand total of three green odd jackets: a bright kelly green sport coat with peak lapels, a mint green jacket worn for a meeting with his divorce lawyer (in the scene preceding this one), and – finally – this mint green flecked silk blazer that he evidently intends to wear for an airing of Aces High! until the news of his daughter’s kidnapping pulls him away.

Since a jacket like this would be rarely found out in the wild, there seems to be no clear standard on its preferred nomenclature. It’s certainly an odd jacket (in both a sartorial sense and a more literal reference to its eccentricity) and certainly not a traditional blazer, but I would argue that it’s bold color, ornamental metal buttons, and more formal structure would place it closer to the blazer camp than that of a sports jacket.

Ace’s jacket is so unique that I think any aspiring Sam Rothstein sartorialists would be hard pressed to get something similar without a lucky find or a cheap alternative like this poly/cotton blend from ASOS that may have the green fleck detail and peak lapels, but you’ll be getting what you pay for with the $34 price tag and doubtless concession to the “skinny” slim fit fad that’s bastardized menswear the last years.

Like his other jackets, the shoulders are wide and well-padded with roped sleeveheads and tailored to perfectly fit De Niro’s frame. In addition to its flattering cut and fit, the details of Ace’s jacket set it apart from imitators as one of the most distinctive garments in a film that’s full of them.

Both the two buttons on the front and the single decorative button on each cuff are silver-toned shank buttons. It is single-breasted with sharp peak lapels, a throwback to a popular style in the 1920s and 1930s that was briefly revived – and frequently exaggerated – during the late 1970s.

Ace’s blazer has slanted flapped hip pockets and a welted breast pocket where he wears a black silk display kerchief, one of the few times his pocket square doesn’t match his tie. The black display kerchief in Ace’s jacket breast pocket grounds the outfit while also coordinating with his black trousers and footwear. The jacket has long double vents, likely 12″.

Ace keeps his top half monochromatic, wearing all mint green above the waist line. His shirt, custom made for the production by Anto Beverly Hills, is made from the dull side as the same charmeuse silk as his tie. Every detail of the shirt is authentic to the 1970s and the actual shirts worn by Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal during the era, himself an Anto customer in real life.

The shirt has the long “1977 point collar” found on most of De Niro’s shirts throughout Casino with edge-stitched epaulettes – or shoulder straps – that extend out fully out to the end of the shoulder and are buttoned at the neck on the pointed end of the strap. The shirt has a plain front, a monogrammed breast pocket with a pointed yoke over the left chest, and the very distinctive “Lapidus” single-button tab cuffs.

While Anto used the duller side of the silk to create Ace’s shirt, the mint green tie was crafted from the shinier satin side. He only wears the tie while being prepped for his TV show in the dressing room, sporting the elusive triple threat of mint green-on-mint green-on-mint green.

Ace likely wears the same black high-rise trousers that feature in many of his odd jacket ensembles during the latter portion of Casino. They are designed with minimalism in mind so as not to distract from the boldness of his colorful top half, with a flat front shaped by darts and a fitted waistband with no belt loops or adjusters. Set in 1980, Ace’s trousers have the frogmouth front pockets and slightly flared plain hem bottoms that would have been fashionable.

His shoes are also the same black leather apron-toe loafers worn with black dress socks.

This would’ve been a nice outfit to showcase some emerald jewelry, but Ace opts for a pinky ring in 14-carat white gold with a blue synthetic stone set in a geometric polished shank.

He also forgoes his usual habit of matching his ring and watch, wearing a vintage steel wristwatch with a red square face. Perhaps this incongruity is a reflection of Ace’s distracted mental state during the chaotic trauma of his unstable ex-wife and her former pimp kidnapping his daughter.

Check out the bottom row of Ibraheem Youssef’s impressive poster illustrating all of De Niro’s tailored clothing in Casino and you’ll see all three of his green odd jackets.

How to Get the Look

Mint green is a sadly under-utilized color in men’s wear, but “Ace” Rothstein does his best to compensate for that with his silk fleck jacket and matching shirt and tie combination.

• Mint green fleck silk single-breasted 2-button blazer with peak lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets, double vents, 1-button cuffs
• Mint green dull silk dress shirt with long point collar, epaulettes, breast pocket, and 1-button “Lapidus” tab cuffs
• Mint green satin silk tie
• Black darted-front trousers with fitted waistband, frogmouth front pockets, and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather apron-toe slip-on loafers with high vamps and raised heels
• Black dress socks
• Steel vintage wristwatch with red square dial on expanding bracelet
• White gold 14-carat pinky ring with synthetic blue emerald-cut stone set in geometric polished shank
• Black silk display kercheif

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.