Category: Features
Jason Bourne’s Style Across Four Movies
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity (2002)
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of when The Bourne Identity was widely released, check out this comprehensive breakdown of how Matt Damon’s style as the amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne, née David Webb, evolved over the course of the original Bourne trilogy and was updated a decade later in Jason Bourne.
Unlike his fellow J.B.-named super-spy, Bourne never dressed to impress, instead favoring a more subdued and utilitarian wardrobe consistent with the “gray man” philosophy of blending in, specifically in urban environments like the European capitals where he evades his one-time CIA overlords.
BAMF Style’s Guide to Halloween
9 Days to Halloween!
Do you wear a costume on Halloween? If so, do you go for something scary, witty, or low-key (I’m thinking three-hole-punch Jim…), or do you prefer something recognizable from pop culture?
I tend to aim for the latter, if for no other reason than I can usually dig into my own closet to find something comfortable. Usually one or two additional pieces need to be thrifted or bought online, but channeling my favorite movie or TV characters has always made Halloween costume hunting a relatively stress-free process.
With Halloween parties kicking into high gear this upcoming weekend, I want to provide a helpful guide for BAMF Style readers in search of costumes based on some of my own experience. For example, I’ve learned to avoid the esoteric (like my 7th grade Halloween costume when I was Robert Redford in The Sting) and embrace costumes with character-defining props, be it Don Draper’s pack of Lucky Strikes or Thomas Magnum’s Detroit Tigers cap.
My goal was to set you up with the elements you need for an easy, comfortable, and – most importantly – stress-free Halloween costume! (Plus… many elements from these costumes can be worn independently and thus expand your wardrobe! Win win.)
BAMF Style: My 5 Formative Movie Suits
For my birthday today (July 21, same as Ernest Hemingway and Robin Williams), I hope you’ll excuse an indulgent post as I explore the suits that grabbed my attention from a young age and stirred my early interest in men’s style. Though, given the dapper white jacket that Sean Connery wore on the cover of GQ the month I was born, I should have known what direction my life would eventually take!
While not necessarily the greatest suits to every appear in the movies, these five each contributed to my interest in menswear that led to the eventual creation of BAMF Style a decade later. Interestingly, all of the featured outfits are from period films, highlighting fashion of an earlier era (the 1930s, in more cases than not) and accentuated by a musical soundtrack designed to emphasize the character and the moment.
Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Jack Nicholson in Chinatown (1974), Nicholas Clay in Evil Under the Sun (1982), Ray Liotta in Goodfellas (1990), and Robert Redford in The Sting (1973)
Inauguration Suits of Every U.S. President
Happy Independence Day, USA!
To celebrate America’s 240th birthday, BAMF Style is showing off a great, well-researched infographic from the folks at SunglassWarehouse.com that breaks down the suit worn at the first inauguration of every American president from George Washington’s brown broadcloth suit in 1789 right up to Barack Obama’s dark, bullet-resistant suit in 2009.
I was especially interested to see what was worn by William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States and the deliverer of the longest inaugural speech at 8,495 words… far longer than George Washington’s shortest address which came in at only 135 words. Harrison’s speech was the longest thing about his presidency, which lasted hardly a month before he succumbed to the fatal pneumonia that he had likely contracted by delivering such lengthy remarks without any outerwear on that cold wet morning in March. In fact, the greatest product of William Henry Harrison’s presidency may be the Parks and Recreation episode that lampooned it.
For a BAMF Style breakdown of suits worn by presidents both real and fictional, check out these posts:
- Harrison Ford as President James Marshall in Air Force One
- Frank Underwood’s Cream Linen Suit (House of Cards, Chapter 33)
- Frank Underwood’s Blue Linen Suit (House of Cards, Chapter 34)
- John F. Kennedy’s Ivy League Style
Follower Appreciation Day 2015!
A few weeks ago, I called for the esteemed readers of this blog to Show Us Your BAMF! I received many excellent submissions from around the world, and I’m honored to present each gentleman’s look – along with a short bit written by them – in person. The submissions received prove that BAMF Style has some of the snazziest fans out there.
So, in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I’d like to thank all of my wonderful readers, followers, and commenters. It’s hard to believe I’ve been at this for more than three years, but you’ve all kept me going! Continue reading
BAMF Style’s Guide to Holiday Parties
Like it or not, the holiday season is upon us. For many folks, that means parties, gifts, and the unfortunately inevitable fruitcake. Whether you’re Buddy the Elf or Ebenezer Scrooge, BAMF Style has got you covered to make each celebration a merry one.
(Obviously, there are many more examples than the ones I highlight below… these are just the most BAMF Style-specific scenarios as well as the most common. If you’re honestly trapped in a supervillain’s Swiss Alps lair on Christmas Eve with a bevy of brainwashed beauties, you might be in more trouble than my below guide can mitigate.) Continue reading
The Literary James Bond
Sean Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger (1964), wearing the closest cinematic approximation of the suit imagined by Ian Fleming for his character. Inset is a drawing created by Fleming and commissioned for the Daily Express comic strip.
Vitals
James Bond, British government agent
1950s-1960s
Background
106 years ago, on May 28, 1908, Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in Mayfair to an eventual member of parliament and his wife. Throughout his life, Fleming would be a journalist, a Naval Intelligence officer, and – the role in which he is most remembered – the author who introduced the world to James Bond.
After World War II, Fleming was demobilized from his position at British Naval Intelligence and began working as a newspaper manager, a job allowing him three months vacation. Fleming, whose ambition had long been to write a spy novel, used those winter months to retreat to Jamaica.
Uneasy about his upcoming wedding to Ann Charteris, who divorced the second Viscount Rothermere after her long-time affair with Fleming was uncovered, Fleming began writing the novel which would become Casino Royale.
The novel’s hero, the dryly named James Bond, was a thinly veiled version of the man Fleming wanted himself to be – and soon became recognized as the man every man wanted to be. Bond was originally supposed to be, in Fleming’s words, “an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened.” Thus, Fleming chose the most boring name that he could find – James Bond, the American ornithologist who wrote the Birds of the West Indies field guide.
However, this idea for a Hitchcock-style hero was soon discarded in favor of the world-trotting, womanizing super spy who spend his time eating fine French dinners and drinking champagne and cocktails when not masterfully quelling whatever dastardly plans the novel’s villain has in store. Continue reading