Casino – De Niro’s Red Silk Jacket

Robert De Niro as Sam "Ace" Rothstein in Casino (1995).

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).

Vitals

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate

Las Vegas, Fall 1980

Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn

Background

It’s now December, a chilly month that means seeing plenty of red everywhere to celebrate the holiday season. For my office’s upcoming Christmas party, I’ll be choosing to channel the memorable red-and-black custom-made ensemble that Robert De Niro wore as idiosyncratic casino executive Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino.

The real Ace—Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal—was a loud dresser himself, known for sporting loud pastels and bold earth tones. Rosenthal’s shirtmaker, Anto Beverly Hills, was even contracted by the filmmakers to delve into its own archives to recreate Lefty’s distinctive shirts and ties for De Niro to wear on screen. Continue reading →

Sidney Reilly’s Corduroy Suit in Manchuria

Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly in Reilly: Ace of Spies (Episode 2: "Prelude to War")

Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly in Reilly: Ace of Spies (Episode 2: “Prelude to War”)

Vitals

Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly, shrewd Russian-born British government triple agent

Port Arthur, China (then Manchuria), February 1904

Series: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Episode: “Prelude to War” (Episode 2)
Air Date: September 7, 1983
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller

Background

Today’s Throwback Tuesday installment throws us all the way back to February 1904 on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War. According to Reilly: Ace of Spies, the newly minted Sidney Reilly is stationed in Port Arthur, Manchuria, ostensibly under the cover of a shipping agent but secretly working with the Japanese military developing their plans for a sneak attack to take the port away from the Russians. Reilly is shown to be a cold pragmatist, working with Japan against his better judgement and dispassionate regarding his poor wife, Margaret (Jeananne Crowley), whom he had married three years earlier after the mysterious* death of her clergic husband.

* Reverend Hugh Thomas’s death was even more mysterious in real life, with many suspecting that Reilly posed as a doctor in order to poison the clergyman.

Continue reading →

Iconic Alternatives – Reader Appreciation Contest

Iconic Alternatives has developed five incredible prize packages of items to help you live more like James Bond! There are sartorial items like a pale blue Mason & Sons cocktail cuff shirt, Magnoli Clothiers James Bond tie, Goldfinger watch strap, Herring suede desert boots, and a midnight blue dinner suit ensemble as well as a whisky set with cut crystal glasses and a bottle of Macallan 12-year-old single malt Scotch. One prize option will even bring you a step closer to 007’s kitchen with a Chemex coffee maker (as featured in Ian Fleming’s From Russia With Love), the “Q” mug from Skyfall, and Matt Sherman’s book James Bond’s Cuisine.

All that it takes to enter is a short form for your name, email address, DOB, and location. Enter here by 12 midnight (GMT -6) on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in order to win! Good luck!

15167735_1799262297028380_8475921596971226039_o

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) – Illya’s Brown Suede Blouson

Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Vitals

Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin, proud, strong, and serious KGB operative

Berlin and Rome, Late Spring 1963

Film: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Release Date: August 2, 2015
Director: Guy Ritchie
Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston

Background

Plans to reboot The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had been in the works for more than two decades by the time Guy Ritchie’s adaptation hit the big screen in the summer of 2015. The original series was created by Ian Fleming, Norman Felton, and Sam Rolfe, debuting in September 1964 as the American response to the wildly successful James Bond franchise… also the brainchild of Ian Fleming.

Continue reading →

Justified – Boyd Crowder’s Hunting Pea Coat

Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder on Justified (Episode 6.07: "The Hunt")

Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder on Justified (Episode 6.07: “The Hunt”)

Vitals

Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder, scrappy Harlan County criminal chieftain

Harlan County, Kentucky, Fall 2014

Series: Justified
Episode: “The Hunt” (Episode 6.07)
Air Date: March 3, 2015
Director: John Dahl
Costume Designer: Patia Prouty

Background

Next week is the start of deer hunting season here in western Pennsylvania*, so BAMF Style is taking a look at the appropriately titled “The Hunt”, the seventh episode of Justified‘s sixth and final season. The episode title primarily refers to the hunt for fugitive killer Ty Walker (played brilliantly by Timothy Olyphant’s fellow Deadwood alum Garret Dillahunt) but it also alludes to Boyd and Ava’s venture into the woods.

Ava: What the hell, Boyd?
Boyd: We going hunting.
Ava: What?
Boyd: First day of razorback season, state of Kentucky. I already got the coffee going.
Ava: What time is it?
Boyd: It’s early. And we need to get to the stand while the sun is rising if we gonna bag us a shoat.

Continue reading →

Michael Douglas’s Taupe Suit in Basic Instinct

Michael Douglas as Nick Curran in Basic Instinct (1992).

Michael Douglas as Nick Curran in Basic Instinct (1992).

Vitals

Michael Douglas as Nick Curran, homicide detective with a troubled past

San Francisco, April 1991

Film: Basic Instinct
Release Date: March 20, 1992
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick

Background

There have been a few persistent requests to analyze Michael Douglas’ tailored suits and sport jackets in the controversial thriller Basic Instinct, best known for what Sharon Stone wasn’t wearing on screen as opposed to what Michael Douglas was wearing.

Described in his book The Devil’s Guide to Hollywood as an exercise to create the lowest common denominator screenplay possible, writer Joe Eszterhas completed his script within two weeks all while reportedly listening to The Rolling Stones non-stop. Eszterhas sold the script three days later for the astronomical sum of $3 million, cynically reattaining his mantle as the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood.

Continue reading →

Murder on the Orient Express: Connery’s Houndstooth Suit

Sean Connery and Vanessa Redgrave as Colonel Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham in Murder on the Orient Express (1974).

Sean Connery and Vanessa Redgrave on set as Colonel Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham in Murder on the Orient Express (1974).

Vitals

Sean Connery as Colonel John Arbuthnot, British Indian Army commanding officer

The Orient Express, December 1935

Film: Murder on the Orient Express
Release Date: November 21, 1974
Director: Sidney Lumet
Costume Designer: Tony Walton

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today is my grandma’s 95th birthday, which she will be celebrating by going to her 9-to-5 job (where she never misses a day!) and then joining our family for a dinner out on the town. One of my favorite memories with Grandma includes Saturday mornings in her kitchen, watching old mystery movies together. This tradition instilled in me a love for the genre as well as an appreciation for classic movies and stars.

Murder on the Orient Express was one of our favorite movies to watch together. With a cast led by the excellent Albert Finney as a charismatic and near-cartoonish Hercule Poirot, the film is also rightly a celebration of some of the most talented women from the silver screen including Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress from her work in this movie. Continue reading →

Iconic Alternatives – 5 Favorite Bond Looks

I’m honored to have been contributed to an article posted today at Iconic Alternatives, featuring my top five favorite outfits from the James Bond 007 series. Iconic Alternatives did all the hard work of tracking down fashionable and affordable options of suits, formalwear, and casual wear worn by Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig in From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, The Man with the Golden Gun, Casino Royale, and Skyfall.

Check it out here if you want to find out my five favorite outfits from the Bond series and affordable alternatives as researched by the pros at Iconic Alternatives. The entire site is a great resource for tracking down individual items to help you dress like the world’s sharpest secret agent.

Image credit: Iconic Alternatives

Image credit: Iconic Alternatives

Did I include any of your favorite James Bond outfits? Feel free to share your favorites or clothing that you’ve found on your own that reflects 007!

The American: Jack’s Charcoal Wool Zegna Suit

George Clooney as Jack/Edward in The American (2010).

George Clooney as Jack/Edward in The American (2010).

Vitals

George Clooney as Jack (aka “Edward”), weary hitman and gunsmith

Castel del Monte, Abruzzo, Italy, May 2010

Film: The American
Release Date: September 1, 2010
Director: Anton Corbijn
Costume Designer: Suttirat Anne Larlarb

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Many eyes around the world are on America right now, so I’m responding to a recent request to see George Clooney’s sharp suit from the ending of The American, the quiet 2010 drama that featured Clooney as a semi-retired assassin and gunsmith in a small Italian town for the proverbial “one last job”. Continue reading →

The Cincinnati Kid’s Black Waxed Jacket

Steve McQueen as Eric "The Kid" Stoner in The Cincinnati Kid (1965).

Steve McQueen as Eric “The Kid” Stoner in The Cincinnati Kid (1965).

Vitals

Steve McQueen as Eric “the Kid” Stoner, hotshot poker player

New Orleans, Fall 1936

Film: The Cincinnati Kid
Release Date: October 15, 1965
Director: Norman Jewison
Costume Designer: Donfeld (Donald Lee Feld)

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

BAMF Style has received a few requests recently to explore the black jacket worn by Steve McQueen as Eric “The Kid” Stoner, a young up-and-coming poker player looking to establish his reputation in Depression-era New Orleans.

When he first meet The Kid, he is holding a hair in the sort of back-alley poker parlor where every guy’s nickname is Buck and there’s enough rusty razor blades in the bathroom that one won’t be missed if there’s trouble. Continue reading →