Vitals

John Heard as Charles Richardson, obsessive state analyst

Salt Lake City, Winter 1979/80

Film: Chilly Scenes of Winter
Release Date: October 19, 1979
Director: Joan Micklin Silver
Costume Designer: Rosanna Norton

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The wintry weather this first full week of the year feels appropriate to slip into John Heard’s deceptively cozy wardrobe in Joan Micklin Silver’s 1979 comedy Chilly Scenes of Winter. Originally marketed by United Artists as a zany, lighthearted rom-com that the studio re-titled Head Over Heels (much to its cast and crew’s dismay), Chilly Scenes of Winter is actually an all-too-real exploration of the depths to which a seemingly sane person can fall when tortured by their concept of love.

Heard plays Charles Richardson, a seemingly normal Utah State Department of Development report analyst who begins dating his colleague Laura (Mary Beth Hurt), only to grow increasingly and desperately obsessed with winning back her affection after she ends their relationship. The cast also includes Peter Riegert as his roommate Sam, who proves to be more emotionally stable than you’d expect of an unemployed guy who falls asleep with a pizza in his bed, and Gloria Grahame, in one of her final roles, as Charles’s histrionic mother—an inheritance of temperament that helps explain his increasingly unhinged behavior with women.

This nuanced and often dark comedy benefits from the vision of writer/director Silver, even if her biting commentary—adapted from Ann Beattie’s 1976 novel—was blunted by studio interference upon its initial release. Disappointed by the box office and urged by the film’s crew, United Artists finally relented after three damn years—releasing Chilly Scenes of Winter with its original title and downbeat ending intact, giving Silver’s full vision the room to breathe and gain the momentum to become a cult classic.

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What’d He Wear?

Charles Richardson isn’t stylish in the traditionally aspirational sense, but I respect how solidly his winter rotation revolves around a sweater so lived-in that the moths have joined the comfort. (Anyone else who has ever had a “depression wardrobe” gets it.)

The maroon sweater is made from a mid-weight wool that’s been chewed by moths over the chest and left sleeve, plus a tear notched into the hem on the right side. Surveying the damage, his sister suggests he use his $15-20 to purchase a new sweater, but Charles and Sam insist there’s nothing wrong with it as it is. He often pushes the set-in sleeves up to his elbows, even when he layers the sweater over a white waffle-knit thermal long-sleeved T-shirt with a crew-neck that shows over the top of the sweater’s V-shaped neckline.

Charles always wears the sweater with jeans, including when he first wears it on its own with dark indigo denim Levi’s 501 Original Fit button-fly jeans, identified as such by the brand’s familiar red tab sewn along the back-right patch pocket.

Despite its holes, Charles still manages to dress it up for occasions like his long-awaited (but short-lived) parking lot reunion with Laura. As it would look shabby with dressier shirts and slacks, he smartly pairs it with coarsely textured workwear like his usual jeans and a mid-blue chambray cotton long-sleeved work-shirt—styled with a point collar, front placket, and button cuffs, which all fasten through white plastic two-hole buttons. (The shirt likely also has a pair of chest pockets, like most chambray work-shirts.)

He sports lighter-wash jeans when layering the sweater over his chambray shirt, cut from a mid-blue denim in a trendier cut for the ’70s—with boot-cut bottoms and possibly even a polyester-blend denim with a little more stretch than 100% cotton. The arcuate stitch over both back pockets suggest Levi’s again, though more fashion-forward styles of this era were typically marked with an orange tab rather than red.

Charles maintains a casual consistency with his hiking shoes, styled in the workwear-to-weekend vein between work boots and sneakers. The tobacco-brown roughout leather uppers are visibly darkened by the moisture and wear they’re built to withstand, secured with oxford-style lacing through parallel rows of eyelets that draw neatly together when tightened. Thick rubber or crepe-style soles provide traction and forgiveness under winter conditions.

Charles ensures that his feet stay warmer than his broken heart in thick, widely ribbed socks made from a mixed light-gray wool.

Charles’ go-to winter outerwear over everything from sport jackets and ties to sweats and T-shirts is a tweed knee-length coat woven in a black and pale stone-gray herringbone, presenting an overall mid-gray finish. The comfortably loose-fitting coat has an ulster-style collar above a four-button single-breasted front, side pockets, and a single vent. The set-in sleeves distinguish it from the similar but raglan-sleeved balmacaan (or “bal”), and his sleeves are finished with vestigial two-button cuffs like a tailored jacket.

Charles layers against the cold in a light dove-gray scarf made from a soft, fine wool (which may be cashmere) with fringed ends, loosely tucked ascot-style under his neck.

When he’s behind the wheel, Charles peers from behind a set of rimless eyeglasses. The lenses are arced across the top where they’re reinforced by thin gold-toned frames that continue over the saddle-style bridges and fold out into arms, though the bottoms of the lenses are softly angled into mitred corners.

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What to Imbibe

Charles ain’t doing so hot. While cooking Laura’s chili recipe for Sam, his sister Susan, and his sister’s roommate Elise, he takes pulls from a pint of Smirnoff vodka. At least it’s just the 80-proof Red Label variety.

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Go Big or Go Home…

…and go to your home, not the A-frame your ex shares with her strapping husband!

To expand on my earlier statement that Charles isn’t an aspirational dresser in the traditional sense, there’s actually very little that’s aspirational about his life beyond surface aesthetics. For instance, I can’t help but to dig the moment where he’s pushing his beater Plymouth coupe along snowy Utah roads while listening to “Get It While You Can” from Janis Joplin’s final solo album, Pearl, which he’d earlier recommended to his boss to help his son overcome his sexual anxiety. (Long story.)

And maybe it’s because my first car was a used red mid-sized Plymouth, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Charles driving a 1966 Plymouth Valiant. Designed by Virgil Exner and introduced for the 1960 model year on Chrysler’s compact A-body platform, the Valiant began life with slant-six power before evolving through a series of refinements, including a shorter wheelbase and cleaner lines for its second generation. Midway through 1964, Plymouth introduced the new 273 cubic-inch V8, engineered specifically to fit the A-body’s compact engine bay, also giving the Valiant the distinction of being the world’s lowest-priced V8-powered automobile.

Charles drives a ’66 Valiant, the final year of the second generation, identifiable by its split grille. Finished in “signet royal red”, the car’s exterior echoes his maroon sweater: both a little worn, both outpaced by the world around them, yet still persisting.

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How to Get the Look

If you need some inspo for a cozy, laidback weekend spent indoors (and not stalking your ex), Charles Richardson makes the case for not trashing—or necessarily even mending—that favorite old sweater, once it’s been broken in to the point of comfort but beyond the point of regular presentability.

• Maroon mid-weight wool V-neck sweater with set-in sleeves
• Mid-blue chambray cotton long-sleeved work-shirt with point collar and button cuffs
• White waffle-knit thermal crew-neck long-sleeved T-shirt
• Mid-to-dark blue denim Levi’s five-pocket jeans
• Tobacco-brown roughout leather oxford-laced hiking shoes
• Light-gray ribbed wool socks
• Rimless eyeglasses with thin gold
• Black-and-stone herringbone tweed knee-length coat with ulster collar, single-breasted 4-button front, side pockets, set-in sleeves with vestigial 2-button cuffs, and long vent
• Light dove-gray soft wool scarf with fringed ends

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

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The Quote

What’s “happy”?