The Loveless: Willem Dafoe as Leather-clad Biker Vance

Willem Dafoe in The Loveless (1981)

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Willem Dafoe as Vance, lone biker and ex-convict

Rural Georgia, Summer 1959

Film: The Loveless
Release Date: August 7, 1981
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow & Monty Montgomery

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 70th birthday to Willem Dafoe, the versatile actor born July 22, 1955, in Appleton, Wisconsin—not far from Sheboygan, where I just spent the weekend!

After an uncredited part cut from Michael Cimino’s ambitious 1980 Western epic Heaven’s Gate, Dafoe made his credited screen debut as the lead in The Loveless, which also marked the directorial debut of Kathryn Bigelow and Monty Montgomery, who co-wrote the screenplay.

Dafoe stars as Vance, a brooding biker who describes himself as “what you’d call… ragged,” joining up with his small gang at a truck stop off U.S. Highway 17 in Georgia, en route to Daytona to catch the NASCAR races. The year’s never stated, but context clues—like the cars, music, and 10¢ Cokes—suggest the summer of 1959, the same year Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500.

As in the film’s spiritual predecessor The Wild One (1953), the gang sparks mixed reactions from the townspeople: suspicion and fear from the older generation, curiosity and desire from the younger. As the sun sets and the tension rises, both visitors and locals grow increasingly drunk… and increasingly armed. Continue reading →

Scarface: Paul Shenar’s Subdued Style as Sosa

Paul Shenar as Alejandro Sosa in Scarface (1983)

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Paul Shenar as Alejandro Sosa, Bolivian cartel kingpin

Cochabamba, Bolivia, Fall 1981

Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

In response to a paid request from a BAMF Style reader (thanks for the tip, Alexander!), today’s post follows Tony Montana (Al Pacino) and Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham) deep into the Andes for their meeting with the urbane Bolivian cartel kingpin Alejandro Sosa (Paul Shenar), who welcomes them to work out a cocaine distribution deal—though Omar receives a less warm welcome than he may have anticipated. Continue reading →

Walton Goggins on The White Lotus: Storytelling Through Pattern Play

The White Lotus just earned 23 Emmy nominations for its third season, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Contemporary Costumes, and seven acting nods—among them Walton Goggins, recognized for his turn as Rick Hatchett.

While I’m on vacation this week, it feels like the perfect time to share this guest article focused on the style of a man on vacation—Goggins’ very own Rick—written by Katherine Manweiler, founder of Montage, the storefront for media and culture that turns on-screen style into personalized fashion discovery.

The White Lotus: Storytelling Through Pattern Play

What memory do floral patterned shirts conjure? Tom Selleck on Magnum P.I.? Your dad at a Sandals all-inclusive? How about the breakout style icon of summer 2025?

Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett on The White Lotus (Episode 3.04: "Hide or Seek")

Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett on The White Lotus (Episode 3.04: “Hide or Seek”)

At Montage, we’re curating a shoppable collection of styles from beloved television shows and films. From activity on our Instagram page to a global user base on our shopping app, we had a front row seat to the commentary, crazes, and clicks driven by costume designer Alex Bovaird’s eclectic wardrobing of The White Lotus‘ third season. Continue reading →

La Collectionneuse: Patrick Bauchau’s Slate Sweater and Swimwear

Patrick Bauchau and Haydée Politoff in La Collectionneuse (1967)

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Patrick Bauchau as Adrien, art gallery owner

French Riviera, Summer 1966

Film: The Collector
(French title: La Collectionneuse)
Release Date: March 2, 1967
Director: Éric Rohmer

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Bastille Day feels like a fitting occasion to celebrate French director Éric Rohmer’s first color film, the 1967 drama La Collectionneuse, which has recently resurfaced across summer mood boards. No surprise, given its sun-drenched palette courtesy of cinematographer Néstor Almendros, a frequent Rohmer collaborator who also shot aesthetically satisfying masterpieces like Days of Heaven.

Considered the fourth entry in Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales”, La Collectionneuse was made with extreme efficiency while the director waited for Jean-Louis Trintignant’s availability to shoot My Night at Maud’s. Rohmer and Almendros worked with a minimal crew, relying on natural light and long takes to ground the characters in their idyllic—and quietly volatile—setting.

La Collectionneuse was also the first starring role for Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau, who had appeared uncredited in Rohmer’s La Carrière de Suzanne four years earlier and would later be known to 007 fans as the henchman Scarpine in Roger Moore’s final James Bond film, A View to a Kill. Here, he plays the narcissistic gallery owner Adrien, who intends to take advantage of the monastic conditions at his rich friend Rodolphe’s rented villa near Saint-Tropez to enjoy “a real vacation” in peace and solitude:

I even tried not to think. I was face-to-face alone with the sea, far from cruises and beaches, fulfilling a childhood dream put off year after year. I lost myself completely in the play of shadow and light, sinking into a lethargy heightened by the water. That state of passivity, of complete availability, promised to last much longer than the euphoria of one’s first summer dip into the ocean. I could easily see myself spending a whole month this summer this way.

However, this peace and solitude are threatened by the feisty young Haydée (Haydée Politoff), unexpectedly staying at the villa. Adrien and his friend Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) are initially distrustful of the girl who brings a different lover to the villa every night, but he gradually comes to appreciate her company when she joins him on his early morning swims. Continue reading →

Point Break: Keanu Reeves’ Purple Skydiving Shirt and Jeans

Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah in Point Break (1991)

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Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, ambitious FBI agent

Los Angeles, Summer 1991

Film: Point Break
Release Date: July 12, 1991
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Costume Supervisors: Colby P. Bart & Louis Infante

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Not only was Point Break widely released 34 years ago today on July 12, 1991, but the second Saturday in July is also World Skydiving Day, so of course we’ll be following OSU quarterback-turned-FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as this one radical son-of-a-bitch jumps from a plane with the gang of bank-robbing surfers led by the enigmatic Bodhi (Patrick Swayze)… twice! Continue reading →

Shaft in Africa: Richard Roundtree’s Blazer and Turtleneck

Richard Roundtree as John Shaft in Shaft in Africa (1973)

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Richard Roundtree as John Shaft, tough private detective

New York City to Ethiopia via Paris, Winter 1972

Film: Shaft in Africa
Release Date: June 20, 1973
Director: John Guillermin
Wardrobe Credit: Frank Balchus

Background

Released just shy of two years after the first Shaft movie, Shaft in Africa was the third of the original Shaft trilogy that launched the late Richard Roundtree—born 83 years ago today on July 9, 1942—to stardom.

Shaft in Africa begins with Shaft in… uh, New York, where he’s kidnapped by representatives of Emir Ramila (Cy Grant), an East African tribal leader who wishes the famed private detective to infiltrate an European smuggling ring that’s exploiting African immigrants for cheap labor. When threatening him at gunpoint, offering him $25,000, and appealing to his emotions don’t seem to work, the emir and Colonel Gonder (Marne Maitland) finally appeal to Shaft’s circumcised Achilles heel by introducing him to the emir’s attractive daughter, Aleme (Vonetta McGee), who is assigned to teach this “uptown dude” the Manta dialect and tribal traditions.

Though the first act was indeed set and filmed in New York, the rest of Shaft in Africa was filmed on location in Ethiopia—reportedly only the third major production to be shot in the country. From its globe-trotting locations to the gadgetry issued to Shaft, Shaft in Africa clearly aligns John Shaft with James Bond… even though Shaft himself responds to the technology by telling Gonder:

Now, I’m not James Bond, simply Sam Spade.

Continue reading →

Duster: Josh Holloway’s Black Zip Polo and 1970 Plymouth

Josh Holloway as Jim Ellis in the pilot episode of Duster. Photo credit: James Van Evers.

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Josh Holloway as Jim Ellis, getaway driver and Army veteran

American Southwest, Summer 1972

Series: Duster
Episode: “Baltimore Changes Everything” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: May 15, 2025
Director: Steph Green
Created by: J.J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan
Costume Designer: Dayna Pink

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

One of the most fun new shows of 2025 is Duster, a breezy-yet-badass crime thriller that screeched onto HBO Max this spring and just wrapped its first season last week. Despite my current enthusiasm for the series, its initial announcement prompted what can only be described as deeply conflicted car-guy feelings—equal parts excited (a ’70s-set crime series starring my dream car? yes, please) and irrationally anxious (what if this makes Dusters too popular for me to afford one?)

Once I decided that this was a ridiculous basis for resentment, I locked into Duster—and I’m glad I did! Duster delivers plenty of stylish retro fun, complete with a swaggering soundtrack, Dayna Pink’s period-perfect costume design, and a rubber-burning parade of car stunts performed by both veteran stuntman Corey Eubanks and series star Josh Holloway.

Set against the dusty backdrop of the American southwest in 1972, Duster stars Holloway as a talented getaway driver who gets recruited by the FBI’s first Black woman agent Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson) to turn against his employer, Phoenix crime boss Ezra “Sax” Saxton (Keith David)—described by one of Nina’s new colleagues as “the Southwest Al Capone.” (The FBI didn’t actually hire its first Black woman agent until four years later, when 27-year-old Sylvia Mathis graduated from the FBI Academy in June 1976.)

As one of the few who had never seen Lost, I was unfamiliar with Holloway before the series, but he’s terrific as the ruggedly charming Jim Ellis, sharing an easy chemistry with the excellent Rachel Hilson as the two work against a characteristically cool-as-hell Keith David. And of course, we’re treated to plenty of Mopar muscle action, scratching my Vanishing Point-sized itch.

Following the first-season finale last week, let’s wrap up this summer’s Car Week with our introduction to Jim as he tears through Arizona’s desert highways with his precocious niece Luna (Adriana Aluna Martinez) in that sharp red-and-black V8-powered ’70 Duster. Continue reading →

Reservoir Dogs — Michael Madsen’s Black Suit and Cadillac as Mr. Blonde

Michael Madsen as Vic Vega (“Mr. Blonde”) in Reservoir Dogs (1992)

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Michael Madsen as Vic Vega, cold-blooded professional thief

Los Angeles, Summer 1992

Film: Reservoir Dogs
Release Date: October 9, 1992
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Many have been sharing tributes to the late Michael Madsen (1957-2025), who died just days ago on Thursday, July 3, of cardiac arrest at age 67.

Following the start of his career in the early 1980s with films like WarGames (1983) and The Natural (1984), Madsen performed his arguably most iconic role as the psychopathic Vic Vega—aka “Mr. Blonde”—in Quentin Tarantino’s breakthrough 1992 directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs. Continue reading →

Back to the Future: Marty McFly’s Denim and DeLorean from 1985 to 1955

Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985)

Vitals

Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, time-traveling high schooler and guitarist

Hill Valley, California, Fall 1985—then 1955

Film: Back to the Future
Release Date: July 3, 1985
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

If my calculations are correct… anyone with a functioning DeLorean time machine who punches in July 3, 1985 and floors it to 88 mph would indeed see some serious shit—the release of Back to the Future, which premiered 40 years ago today.

One of the most celebrated movies of all time (and featuring the now-iconic DeLorean very appropriate for Car Week), Back to the Future became an instant cultural phenomenon upon release. It earned an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing, grossed over $380 million worldwide to become the top-earning movie of 1985, and propelled the careers of director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis (then riding high off Romancing the Stone) and star Michael J. Fox (best known at the time for playing Reaganite teen Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties), who replaced Eric Stoltz in the now-iconic role of Marty McFly. Continue reading →

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: Dick Shawn’s Red Dodge Dart and Beach Duds

Dick Shawn as Sylvester Marcus in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Vitals

Dick Shawn as Sylvester Marcus, impulsive lifeguard

Southern California, Summer 1962

Film: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Release Date: November 7, 1963
Director: Stanley Kramer
Costume Designer: Bill Thomas

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

I like to spend a week every summer exploring the intersection of costumes and cars as they define characters on screen. For this year’s first Car Week post, I’m revisiting a sentimental favorite: the 1963 slapstick comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World with its sprawling cast of the era’s most recognizable comic actors from Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, and Buddy Hackett to Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Shawn.

The latter is introduced later in the daylong pursuit of $350,000 stashed under a “big W” by the late Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante), portraying beach lifeguard Sylvester Marcus, described by his brother-in-law J. Russell Finch (Berle) as “an irresponsible, unreliable, big loudmouth, no-good bum who, if he isn’t a crook, it’s only because he hasn’t got the brains or ambition to even become a crook.”

Finch and his wife Emeline (Dorothy Provine) are traveling with her overbearing mother, Mrs. Marcus (Ethel Merman), whose relentless nagging during their search for the buried loot finally pushes Finch over the edge. The resulting blow-up leaves Emeline and her mother to fend for themselves, but—knowing she can count on her hopelessly devoted son—Mrs. Marcus calls Sylvester to send him ahead of them to Santa Rosita to find the loot.

Unfortunately for her quick payday, Sylvester’s sole brain cell is distracted somewhere between a beer and a bikini-clad brunette. Distracted by his mother’s description of Finch’s “assault”, Sylvester leaps into action and into the brunette’s shining red Dodge Dart convertible, tearfully determined to rescue his mother and sister without actually having listened to why they called him in the first place. Continue reading →