Category: Summer Relaxation

Glass Onion: Benoit Blanc’s Striped Seersucker Swimwear

Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022). Photo by John Wilson.

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Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, famous Southern detective

Spetses, Greece, May 2020

Film: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Release Date: November 23, 2022
Director: Rian Johnson
Costume Designer: Jenny Eagan

Background

Three years ago this month, eccentric billionaire tech developer Miles Bron (Edward Norton) pulled together a half-dozen of his closest friends frenemies for a weekend at his private Greek island. It’s May 2020, and—as in real life—the height of the COVID-19 lock-downs, though there appear to be no restrictions for Miles’ upper-class coterie.

While Miles welcomes some from outside his college clique, such as the laidback loafer Derol (Noah Segan), he’s unpleasantly surprised to greet the woman he had known as his former business partner Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe) and the famed detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Continue reading

The White Lotus: Jack’s Terrycloth Leisurewear from Dandy Del Mar

Leo Woodall and Haley Lu Richardson on The White Lotus (Episode 2.05: “That’s Amore”)

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Leo Woodall as Jack, a brash young man from Essex who is close to his uncle

Sicily, Summer 2022

Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “That’s Amore” (Episode 2.05)
Air Date: November 27, 2022
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The warmer weather may be inspiring you to plan for a late spring break or start prepping for summer vacations. With the recent announcement that the third season of The White Lotus, Mike White’s anthology of doomed vacationers, will be set in Thailand, I returned to the style from the series’ second season set in sunny Sicily… specifically a style that I was pleasantly surprised to see had long been in my own closet!

Rather than being a guest at the resort, the cocksure Jack (Leo Woodall) is connected to the coterie of Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his “high-end gays” who entertain the oblivious Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) and her Gen-Z assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) on their yacht Ethna en route Palermo. Quentin describes the outgoing yet shady young man from Essex as his “cheeky nephew”, who initially seems to be the answer to Portia’s wish for a simple, adventurous fling before she and her employer begin seeing the far more sinister reality underscoring their association. Continue reading

After the Sunset: Pierce Brosnan’s White Linen Beach Shirt

Pierce Brosnan as Max Burdett in After the Sunset (2004)

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Pierce Brosnan as Max Burdett, retired(?) jewel thief

The Bahamas, Summer 2004

Film: After the Sunset
Release Date: November 12, 2004
Director: Brett Ratner
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
Pierce Brosnan’s Costumer: Edward T. Hanley

Background

Happy 70th birthday to Pierce Brosnan!

Perhaps in response to playing well-tailored protagonists like Remington Steele, Thomas Crown, and—of course—James Bond, Brosnan seemed to delight in defining his post-007 screen persona as an opportunistic and oft-oversexed beach bum, as seen in varying degrees in the excellent The Tailor of Panama, the entertaining The Matador, and the escapist heist flick After the Sunset. Continue reading

The White Lotus: Shane’s Pink Seersucker Shirt and Swimwear

Jake Lacy as Shane Patton on The White Lotus (Episode 1.02: “New Day”)

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Jake Lacy as Shane Patton, smug and spoiled newlywed

Maui, Hawaii, Summer 2020

Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “New Day” (Episode 1.02)
Air Date: July 18, 2021
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

While it’s the second season of The White Lotus that’s currently dominating memes and award show headlines, my honeymoon this week had me—for better or worse—recalling the frat-tastic style of the newlywed realtor Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) from the first season, set in Hawaii.

Lacy himself has described Shane as “the most entitled victim possible,” unable to enjoy his Hawaiian honeymoon with his new wife Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) after being assigned to a different luxury suite than expected, beginning a private battle against the beleaguered hotelier Armond (Murray Bartlett) that escalates through a series of drugs, defecation, and daggers. But before that… breakfast! Continue reading

Cocktail: Tom Cruise’s Violet Four-Petaled Tropical Shirt

Tom Cruise and Elisabeth Shue in Cocktail (1988)

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Tom Cruise as Brian Flanagan, ambitious tropical bartender

Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Spring 1988

Film: Cocktail
Release Date: July 29, 1988
Director: Roger Donaldson
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick

Background

As I’ve already stated in a few recent posts, I’m spending this week enjoying my honeymoon in Jamaica, the setting for a handful of James Bond movies as well as the critical flop but mega box-office hit Cocktail, released 35 years ago this summer.

Adapted from Heywood Gould’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, Cocktail stars Tom Cruise as Brian Flanagan, an ambitious and arrogant Army veteran with Wall Street dreams… and a TGI Fridays reality, as he begins working as a bartender to make money while attending business school.

Brian finds he has a knack for bartendering, specifically the flashy brand of flairtending taught to him by more experienced barman Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown), with whom he partners at a trendy club and leaves his business ambitions behind. As with all friendships where both parties end up sleeping with Gina Gershon, the tension between Brian and Doug culminates in a very public blowout that results in Brian’s self-imposed exile to a beachside tourist bar in Jamaica. Continue reading

Thunderball: Quist’s Cabana Style

Bill Cummings as Quist in Thunderball (1965)

Bill Cummings as Quist in Thunderball (1965)

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Bill Cummings as Quist, silent yet easily subdued SPECTRE henchman

Nassau, Summer 1965

Film: Thunderball
Release Date: December 29, 1965
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Designer: Anthony Mendleson

Background

As summer winds to an unofficial end, I want to continue celebrating some of my favorite warm-weather fashions. During a recent rewatch of Thunderball, I was again struck by how contemporary the men’s summer style remains almost sixty years later, with tropical prints and terry cloth still best-sellers for many modern-day outfitters.

Naturally, Sean Connery’s wardrobe as 007 remains a highlight, but I also delighted in the aloha shirts worn by his allies Q (Desmond Llewelyn) and Felix Leiter (Rik Van Nutter) as well as the beach-wear sported by a character so minor that he’s routinely dismissed not just by the characters, but even the movie itself as Bill Cummings’ performance goes uncredited in the official end credits cast roll. Continue reading

The Swimmer: Donald’s Suburban Poolside Style

Tony Bickley as Donald Westerhazy in The Swimmer

Tony Bickley as Donald Westerhazy in The Swimmer (1968)

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Tony Bickley as Donald Westerhazy, affable and affluent advertising executive

Suburban Connecticut, Summer 1966

Film: The Swimmer
Release Date: May 15, 1968
Director: Frank Perry
Wardrobe Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone

Background

It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, “I drank too much last night.”

… begins John Cheever’s 1964 short story “The Swimmer”, which was adapted by the husband-and-wife team of director Frank Perry and screenwriter Eleanor Perry into a hallucinatory drama starring Burt Lancaster as the eponymous Ned Merrill, a well-tanned embodiment of the failed American dream.

The focus of today’s post is a little more esoteric than usual, not necessarily because of the movie—which is relatively well-known, if offbeat—but more the relatively minor character and his little-known portrayer, Tony Bickley. The Swimmer was Bickley’s fifth and final screen credit and his only significant movie role, more than a decade after his four sporadic appearances in TV anthologies during the early 1950s.

Bickley co-starred in The Swimmer as Donald Westerhazy, a gregarious suburbanite whose palatial home is Ned’s first stop on what becomes his route to “swim home” through the backyard pools of his neighbors. Donald and his wife Helen (Diana Van der Vlis) are nursing hangovers from the previous evening’s party… with the help of martinis, of course. Continue reading

The Talented Mr. Ripley: Dickie’s Black and White at Sea

Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley

Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

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Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf, narcissistic profligate playboy

Italy, Summer 1958

Film: The Talented Mr. Ripley
Release Date: December 25, 1999
Director: Anthony Minghella
Costume Design: Ann Roth & Gary Jones

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Last year around this time, I finally read Patricia Highsmith’s thriller novel The Talented Mr. Ripley that provided the source material for two stylish adaptations: the lush French production Purple Noon (Plein soleil) released in 1960 and Anthony Minghella’s more faithful The Talented Mr. Ripley released on Christmas 1999.

The central drama follows a trio of American jet-setters cavorting on Italy’s scenic Amalfi Coast: spendthrift playboy Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), his charming on-and-off girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), and their mysterious companion Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), who seems to have taken an obsessive interest in Dickie. Continue reading

The White Lotus: Shane’s Leafy Toweling Shirt

Jake Lacy as Shane Patton on The White Lotus

Jake Lacy as Shane Patton on The White Lotus (Episode 1.05: “The Lotus-Eaters”)

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Jake Lacy as Shane Patton, smug and spoiled newlywed

Maui, Hawaii, Summer 2020

Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “The Lotus-Eaters” (Episode 1.05)
Air Date: July 11, 2021
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

While I’m on vacation this week, it feels appropriate to continue covering the Emmy-nominated resort style of The White Lotus, this time turning a sartorial eye onto the hotel’s arguably most troublesome guest: the frat-tastic newlywed Shane Patton. Continue reading

Fun in Acapulco: Elvis’ Lido-collar Shirts and Swimwear

Elvis Presley in Fun in Acapulco

Elvis Presley in Fun in Acapulco (1963)

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Elvis Presley as Mike Windgren, expat singer, part-time lifeguard, and former circus performer

Acapulco, Summer 1963

Film: Fun in Acapulco
Release Date: November 27, 1963
Director: Richard Thorpe
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Tailor: Sy Devore

Background

This weekend, I saw Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis chronicling the life of the King of Rock and Roll with Baz’s characteristic splendor. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, most likely due to Austin Butler’s revelatory performance. (I’d need some more dedicated Elvis experts to confirm for me whether or not Colonel Tom Parker actually sounded as much like Goldmember as Tom Hanks’ performance portrayed.)

Elvis addressed the King’s cinematic ambitions, hoping to follow in James Dean’s footsteps but arguably ill-treated by his frequently banal material, as illustrated by the 1963 vehicle Fun in Acapulco. Continue reading