Night Moves: Gene Hackman’s Blue Lacoste Shirt
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby in Night Moves (1975)
Vitals
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby, private detective and former professional football player
Florida Keys, Fall 1973
Film: Night Moves
Release Date: June 11, 1975
Director: Arthur Penn
Costumer: Arnie Lipin
Costume Supervisor: Rita Riggs
Background
I love sweaty ’70s movies during the summer, especially when our star is rocking a superb soup-strainer.
Released 50 years ago in June 1975, the dolorous detective thriller Night Moves features the marvelous mustached private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) dressed in array of casual attire, from super-trendy safari shirts and suede shirt-jacs to more timeless attire like a smart tweed sports coat and a classic Lacoste tennis shirt to beat the heat when his work takes him to the Florida Keys.
Harry typically works in Los Angeles, where he was hired by washed-up actress Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward) to locate her estranged 16-year-old daughter Delly Grastner (Melanie Griffith). Increasingly suspicious that Delly may be seducing her way through Arlene’s former partners, Harry finds Delly living in Florida with her stepfather, charter boat captain Tom (John Crawford), and his girlfriend Paula (Jennifer Warren).
Upon his arrival in the Sunshine State, Harry discovers his theory likely holds water, given how freely Delly strips naked in front of him within minutes of meeting him—including during a nighttime plunge that results in her discovery of the dead pilot inside his submerged seaplane. After vehemently refusing at first, Delly eventually agrees to allow Harry to return her to Arlene in Los Angeles.
What’d He Wear?
Harry Moseby pulls from his rotation of Lacoste tennis shirts during his brief stay in the Keys, sporting a light-blue cotton pique shirt with that small but recognizable green-embroidered crocodile logo over the left side of the chest—a longstanding feature in tribute to tennis champion and company founder René Lacoste’s reptilian nickname. Harry’s shirt demonstrates the characteristic features of Lacoste tennis shirts (also invariably known as “golf shirts” or “polo shirts”) with its soft ribbed turndown collar, two-button top placket, and ribbed ends of its short sleeves.
Like fellow private eye Thomas Magnum a decade later, Harry Moseby demonstrates that the simple effectiveness of a pique polo shirt and a powerful mustache.
Harry’s light-brown jeans borrow styling cues from classic denim, with curved front pockets and patch-style back pockets. The plain-hemmed bottoms are slightly flared in a subtle boot-cut, a practical choice for casual trousers like these that were rarely finished with cuffs.
On his feet, Harry sticks with his well-worn sneakers—a fixture in almost every outfit he wears. These casual shoes have light-brown leather uppers, oxford-style closed lacing with flat dark-brown laces through six sets of eyelets, and dirty white rubber outsoles with a siped tread for grip. Pale beige socks continue the line of his trousers into the shoes, maintaining an unbroken, dressed-down look.
Harry’s sole accessory is the gold wedding ring on his left hand, symbolizing his unfulfilling marriage.
What to Imbibe
Harry joins Ellen in drinking the simple yet refreshing highball of Dewar’s White Label blended Scotch whisky with plain water.
How to Get the Look
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby in Night Moves (1975)
Though René Lacoste had originally designed these breathable yet polished pullovers for the tennis court, Harry Moseby repurposes the look with simple tan jeans and sneakers while investigating sin in the sweaty south.
- Light-blue cotton pique Lacoste short-sleeved tennis shirt with two-button top placket
- Tan flat-front casual trousers with belt loops, slanted front pockets, patch back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Light-brown leather closed-lace 6-eyelet sneakers with siped white rubber outsoles
- Tan socks
- Gold wedding ring
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
What the hell, who’s in such a hurry anyway?
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One of my favourite films of the 70s, Moseby’s wife was hot too. I think The Wire borrowed a line about watching American football on the television ‘Who’s winning’, ‘Nobody, the other side just loses a little more slowly’.
Great movie, great outfit. Would like to see a post on the tan sport jacket he wears when he arrives in Florida and when he brings Delly back to L.A.
Just watched this on DVD again about two weeks ago. One of my favorite detective films. It’s been getting a lot of attention lately. And deservedly so!