Vitals

Brad Pitt as Robert “Rusty” Ryan, hustler and casino heister

East Jersey State Prison, Summer 2001

Film: Ocean’s Eleven
Release Date: December 7, 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland

Background

“I hope you were the groom” is Rusty Ryan’s greeting as the tuxedo-clad Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is released from serving “three to six months” in prison.

Danny allows himself a second to smirk, processing his old pal’s remark before responding appropriately:

Ted Nugent called, he wants his shirt back.

What’d He Wear?

Rusty Ryan’s flashy fashion sensibilities have always been the yin to Danny Ocean’s more subdued yang, but never in Ocean’s Eleven had their sartorial differences been more apparent than in this final scene as the film’s dialogue (not in the original script, mind you) aligns Rusty’s shirt as yet another of the questionable choices made by reactionary rocker Ted Nugent.

In order to really deliver the moment, Rusty needed a shirt to outdo anything he’d worn before. Luckily, the Ocean’s Eleven team was working with the creative and experienced shirtmakers at Anto Beverly Hills.

To create what arguably the most distinctive shirt of Rusty’s unique wardrobe, the Anto team used 2″-wide strips of actual snakeskin, strung together to form a surprisingly flattering dress shirt consistent with the style and fit of Rusty’s other shirts with a wide collar, plain front, and extra-long sleeves with unfastened single cuffs.

“Blew it all on the suit,” is Rusty’s sarcastic response to Danny’s criticism of driving the same old Ford despite his recent $13 million payday. Despite Rusty’s flippancy, the suit likely was a post-heist gift to himself as this is its first and only appearance in the film. (I highly doubt that it would have cost anything close to $13 million, of course.)

The cream suit is tailored and styled similarly to the light gray cotton summer suit he wore before the heist when visiting Reuben, though this suit’s single-breasted jacket has notch lapels rather than peak lapels. The lapels roll to a single cream plastic button at the waist. The wide shoulders are strongly padded with roped sleeveheads, shaped with curved darts through the torso with a ventless back.

The jacket has a welted breast pocket and low, slanted flapped hip pockets. Pitt wears both of the jacket sleeves with the functional 4-button cuffs totally unbuttoned, rakishly showcasing his bespoke suit to the world.

The trouser waistband is fitted with no visible adjusters and certainly no belt loops. The flat front trousers have straight side pockets and a straight cut through the legs to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

My widescreen DVD of the film doesn’t show Rusty’s feet at all, but some promotional art features this suit with a pair of what appear to be snakeskin shoes that coordinate with his shirt, similar to these python-skin derbies.

It would be a shame if the filmmakers went to the trouble of outfitting Rusty with a pair of snakeskin shoes to wear without actually showing them, but it may perhaps be ultimately beneficial to the survival of the snake population to not have Brad Pitt popularizing their skin as footwear.

More visible on screen are Rusty’s accessories and jewelry. The unfastened shirt cuff reveals the white gold watch (possibly a Rolex) on his right wrist. He also wears his usual thick silver ring with a blue set-in stone on the third finger of his right hand and a simpler small silver ring on his left pinky.

Rusty wears a pair of rimless sunglasses with tinted gray gradient lenses and gold hardware (arms and nose bridge) that are decidedly not the same Oliver Peoples “Whistle” sunglasses that he wore in earlier scenes with his light gray summer suit or tan double-breasted suit.

How to Get the Look

Rusty certainly dresses to turn heads, but this outfit might capture PETA’s attention more than anyone else… or worse, you’ll be mistakenly accused of sharing a closet with Ted Nugent.

• Cream lightweight cotton two-piece suit:
  • Single-breasted 1-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, double vents, and functional 4-button cuffs
  • Flat front low-rise trousers with fitted waistband, straight on-seam side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Snakeskin custom Anto shirt with large point collar, plain front, and open squared single cuffs
• Snakeskin shoes
• Thick silver ring with blue stone on right ring finger
• Silver pinky ring on left hand
• White gold wristwatch with silver dial on link bracelet
• Rimless gray-lensed sunglasses with gold arms and nose bridge

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

There’s a women’s prison down the road…