The Four Seasons: Alan Alda’s Après-ski Sweater in Winter
Alan Alda in The Four Seasons (1981)
Vitals
Alan Alda as Jack Burroughs, married lawyer
Stowe, Vermont, Winter 1980
Film: The Four Seasons
Release Date: May 22, 1981
Director: Alan Alda
Costume Designer: Jane Greenwood
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 90th birthday to Alan Alda, the movie and TV icon born January 28, 1936. Alda rose to prominence through the 1970s playing Army surgeon “Hawkeye” Pierce in the TV adaptation of M*A*S*H—an early style inspiration for yours truly, as I was particularly obsessed with Hawkeye’s rakish pairing of aloha shirts with his G.I.-issue OG-107 fatigue trousers.
In addition to being the only cast member to appear in all 256 episodes, Alda also ignited his talents behind the camera, ultimately writing 17 and directing 32 episodes during the series’ eleven-season run. Even before M*A*S*H ended, Alda penned his screenwriting debut, The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), starring as the eponymous fictional senator. As Alda’s own grandson Jake would summarize in his Letterboxd review: “My grandpa has an affair with a young Meryl Streep… what more can I ask for?”
Two years later, Alda released his directorial debut, The Four Seasons (1981), which he also wrote and—of course—starred in. Alda portrays New York lawyer Jack Burroughs who, along with his wife Kate (Carol Burnett), join two other middle-aged couples for quarterly getaways: one for each of the titular four seasons, and thus framed by Vivaldi’s violin concerti of the same name.
The film begins in the spring, where the group is already starting to fracture as the bored insurance salesman Nick Callan (Len Cariou) confides that he wants to leave his kind-hearted wife Anne (Sandy Dennis) for the younger Ginny (Bess Armstrong). The group is rounded out by the neurotic “Muhammad Ali of mental illness” dentist Danny Zimmer (Jack Weston) and his wife Claudia (Rita Moreno), who takes any opportunity to remind us all that she’s Italian.
Grossing more than $50 million worldwide against its $6.5 million budget, The Four Seasons became the ninth highest-grossing movie of 1981 and received, appropriately enough, four Golden Globe nominations. It was adapted into a Netflix series in 2025 by Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wingfield, featuring Alan Alda in a guest role to honor his original treatment.
What’d He Wear?
Given the historic snowstorm affecting us across the U.S., it feels most appropriate to focus on Jack Burroughs’ winter style during The Four Seasons‘ fourth and final act, set at a ski resort in Stowe, Vermont, “the Ski Capital of the East”. None of the group seems particularly adept at skiing, which doesn’t serve Jack’s increased sense of competition against Nick, as both men hurt their ankles while attempting to upstage each other on the slopes.
The Alda in winter.
Perhaps subconsciously reinforcing his self-imposed image as the group’s grounded voice of reason, Jack dresses through the tumultuous fall and winter in muted neutrals. This extends to the ski trip, where Jack hits the slopes wearing a classic Scandinavian-style yoke sweater in a warm shade of gray wool, patterned with circular charcoal-and-white stranded-knit bands around the shoulders and upper chest, which are echoed around the mid-section and lower sleeves. He layers the sweater over a drab mustard-gold lightweight turtleneck, with the roll-neck showing over the top of the ski sweater’s hefty round crew-neck. He tucks the bottoms of his heavy slate-gray woolen flannel flat-front ski trousers into stone-colored wool calf-high socks that he wears with his black-and-white lace-up ski boots.
One of my favorite parts of Jack’s ski outfit is that very ’70s two-tone vest he wears over his sweater, peeling it off when he ups the ante against Nick. The body is tan microfiber polyester, tufted to resemble the texture of wide-waled corduroy, trimmed with a stone-colored matte polyester along the shirt-style collar, continuing along the front placket with its six nickel-finished snaps, and around the waist hem. The vest has four pockets: a set-in hip pocket on each side, covered with a two-snap flap, a patch pocket with a single-snap flap on the right upper chest that’s entirely faced in the same matte stone polyester as the trim, and a horizontal straight-zip pocket on the upper left side, jetted in the the matte polyester fabric. He completes the look with a cream-colored cable-knit wool beanie.
Jack dressed smartly for an active day on the slopes, but it was a little too active for a guy pushing 50 who isn’t the champion skier he wants to look like.
After his torn ligament knocks him out of commission, Jack joins the rest for a now characteristically tense après-ski relaxation. He wears another patterned wool sweater in a similar color scheme, though this cozily oversized better suits kicking his feet up in a ski lodge than attempting a bunny slope. The loft, fuzzy finish, and visible yarn halo suggest a traditional sheep’s wool construction, open-stitched in textured horizontal bands of cream, olive, black, and gray. The high crew-neck collar, waist hem, and cuffs (which Jack rolls back once over each wrist) are widely ribbed with solid cream-colored yarn.
Jack layers this sweater over a stone-colored sports shirt, of which we see very little except for the collar and the top of the button-up placket. Based on its sheen, the shirt is likely a trendy silky synthetic like Qiana nylon. Rather than a mere affectation, the shirt would serve as an extra layer to both keep Jack insulated and warm while also protecting his skin from the potential itch of his fuzzy wool sweater.
Slipping into Judgmental Jack mode, just in time for poor Danny to reveal that he is traumatized by his own underwear.
Jack continues his textural warmth with chocolate-brown medium-wale corduroy flat-front trousers, styled with side pockets and jetted back pockets. As with his ski gear, he tucks the bottoms into his tall snow boots.
TFW you finally let out your rage by kicking an expensive moose head into a ski lodge fireplace.
Designed solely for warmth, grip, and weather protection rather than refinement, Jack’s bulky calf-high snow boots contrast with the subdued, earthy tones through the rest of his outfit. The insulated nylon or rubberized textile uppers have a bold red-dominated front with black and white strips above the instep, which triangulate into three chevrons over the backs. Thick black rubber lower shells rise high over the feet, protecting against snowmelt and slush, with thick lugged soles for added traction.
Venturing out into the winter air, Jack makes another surprisingly contrasting costume call with his bright emergency-orange ribbed-knit beanie, a bolder contrast against the rest of his outfit than his previously seen cream knit cap would have been. His oatmeal-colored mixed wool knitted gloves are a more tonal match with his outfit.
Jack also pulls on a stone-colored polyester parka, insulated with horizontal down-filled air pockets, and styled with a large fur-trimmed hood. The black zipper extends up from the waist over an extended tab, covered by a storm fly with six large brass-finished snaps. A squared patch pocket over the left chest has a slightly pointed flap that closes with a single snap, matching the two larger patch pockets over the hips, which also have slanted-entry handwarmer pockets inset over the front of each pocket. The sleeves are finished with belted cuffs that fasten through brass-finished D-ring slider buckles.
Jack is the only man in the trio that doesn’t wear a sporty Seiko dive watch, as Nick wears a classic Prospex diver and Danny (to my surprise) wears an orange-dialed 7S26-0020. Strapped to a smooth black leather band, Jack’s dress watch has a small yellow-gold 34mm case and mirrored gold minimalist dial, recalling 1950s/1960s-era dress watches like the Girard-Perregaux Gyromatic.
Jack really should have invested in a dive watch, given how many of their seasonal trips result in him submerged in water.
What to Imbibe
The group drinks Bertolli Bardolino 1976 when Jack attempts to lead yet another discussion in what has negatively affected the group’s dynamic over the last few months. Typically composed of Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes, this red wine is from the Veneto region in northern Italy.
When Ginny suggests the group travel to a local road house to relieve some of the tension (and cabin fever), they order a round of beers—likely Michelob, given the logos printed on the glasses they’re served plus the fact that the gents clearly drank bottles of Michelob during the spring and summer sequences.
How to Get the Look
Alan Alda in The Four Seasons (1981)
Jack Burroughs blends fashion and function for his wintry looks during the group’s winter getaway to a Vermont ski resort, maintaining a neutral-driven palette anchored by interesting knitwear and heavy-duty outerwear from a parka with a fur-trimmed hood to the uncharacteristically colorful knitted cap and snow boots.
- Stone-colored Qiana nylon long-sleeved button-up sports shirt
- Cream, olive, black, and gray horizontal-banded open-stitched sheep’s wool sweater with solid cream ribbed crew-neck, cuffs, and hem
- Dark-brown medium-wale corduroy flat-front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Stone polyester parka with fur-trimmed hood, straight-zip/snap-up front, patch chest pocket with single-snap flap, patch hip pockets with single-snap flaps and inset hand pockets, and belted cuffs
- Black, red, and white-patterned rubberized nylon calf-high slip-on snow boots with thick black rubber lugged soles
- Orange ribbed-knit beanie cap
- Oatmeal knitted wool gloves
- Gold dress watch with mirrored gold minimalist dial on smooth black leather strap
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
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