Seinfeld: 40 Significant Style Moments

Michael Richards, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Jerry Seinfeld in a promotional photo for Seinfeld

Vitals

Series: Seinfeld
Air Dates: July 5, 1989 — May 14, 1998
Created by: Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Costume Designers:
* Charmaine Nash Simmons (seasons 4-9)
* Ruth E. Carter (episode 1 only)
* Jane Ruhm (rest of season 1)
* Llandys Williams (season 2)
* Marie H. Burk (season 3)
Costume Supervisor/Key Costumer: Stephanie Kennedy (seasons 5-9)

Background

This Sunday will be the 25th anniversary of the finale of Seinfeld, the NBC sitcom that remains a pop culture touchstone more than a quarter-century later with phrases like “double-dipping”, “re-gifting”, “shrinkage”, and “yada yada yada” an enduring part of our lexicon… even if those saying them don’t know they originated from Seinfeld.

Centered around the neuroses and misadventures of four everyday New Yorkers, Seinfeld was hardly a fashion-oriented show, yet its focus on the minutiae of life means plenty of focus on the kind of comedy that can be derived from clothing, whether it’s as broad as a ridiculous jacket or as nitpicky as two buttons placed too closely together. Continue reading →

Ryan O’Neal in Paper Moon

Ryan O’Neal with Tatum O’Neal in Paper Moon (1973)

Vitals

Ryan O’Neal as Moses “Moze” Pray, charismatic con artist

Kansas to Missouri, Spring 1936

Film: Paper Moon
Release Date: May 9, 1973
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Costume Designer: Polly Platt (uncredited)

Background

Today is the 50th anniversary of Paper Moon, Peter Bogdanovich’s artfully nostalgic road comedy that was released May 9, 1973, exactly a month after its Hollywood premiere. Filmed in black-and-white and set during the Great Depression, Paper Moon stars Ryan O’Neal and his real-life daughter Tatum O’Neal in her big-screen debut who turned nine during the film’s production. When 10-year-old Tatum won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Paper Moon, she set a record as the youngest-ever performer to win a competitive Oscar. Continue reading →

George Clooney’s Gray Mohair Suit in Ocean’s Thirteen

I’m again pleased to present a guest post contributed by my friend Ken Stauffer, who has written several pieces for BAMF Style previously and chronicles the style of the Ocean’s film series on his excellent Instagram account, @oceansographer.

George Clooney as Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). Excerpted from a photo by Timothy White.

Vitals

George Clooney as Danny Ocean, veteran casino heister

Las Vegas, Summer 2007

Film: Ocean’s Thirteen
Release Date: June 8, 2007
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley

Background

Happy birthday to George Clooney, who turns 62 today! To honor the two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker and tequila company founder, we’re taking a look back at a standout outfit he wore in his last turn as Danny Ocean (so far) in Ocean’s Thirteen.

After the mixed reception that Ocean’s Twelve received, it was decided that the gang would return to Las Vegas for the duration of the next film. As such, the 2007 threequel finds Ocean & Co. reuniting to get revenge on ruthless hotel tycoon Willy Bank (Al Pacino, in one of his best late career roles) after he swindles their brother-in-arms Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), sending him into a coma by way of a heart attack. The bulk of the action takes place as the crew prepares for the grand opening of Bank’s opulent new Vegas Strip casino on July 3rd.

Mid-way through the film, we watch as Danny and his right hand man, Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), navigate a series of debilitating setbacks while running around Las Vegas on one very long June day. Sure, they’re out of time and money, and their plan is falling apart, but you’d never know it to look at them. Through a combination of movie star charm and expert tailoring, the pair manage to exude an effortlessly cool air even in 100°F+ desert temps. Continue reading →

Operation Mincemeat: Major Martin’s Royal Marines Battledress

Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Cholmondeley in Operation Mincemeat (2022)

Vitals

Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Cholmondeley, Flight Lieutenant (temporary), RAF Intelligence and Security Department, seconded to MI5

London, Spring 1943

Film: Operation Mincemeat
Release Date: April 15, 2022
Director: John Madden
Costume Designer: Andrea Flesch

Background

It was 80 years ago this week when a corpse identified as Major William Martin of the Royal Marines was discovered by Spanish fishermen off the Andalusian coast on the morning of Friday, April 30, 1943. Of course, sardine spotter José Antonio Rey María had no idea that the putrefying body in uniform that he brought to shore and delivered to the nearby regiment of Spanish shoulders was not a decorated British officer but instead a pawn in one of the most famous acts of wartime deception, known internally as Operation Mincemeat.

Though formally set in motion about four months earlier, the tactic originated in a memo circulated by Admiral John Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence, in September 1939, just weeks after Germany declared war on England. “It was issued under Godfrey’s name, but it more all the hallmarks of his personal assistant, Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming, who would go on to write the James Bond novels,” alluded author Ben Macintyre in his volume Operation Mincemeat, which was recently adapted into a Netflix film of the same name.

Known as the “Trout Memo” for its metaphor comparing counterespionage to trout fishing, the memorandum offered a total of 51 proposed plans for “introducing ideas into the heads of the Germans.” Listed as number 28 was “A Suggestion (not a very nice one)” which Godfrey and Fleming freely admit was borrowed from colorful author Basil Thomson’s novel The Milliner’s Hat Mystery, consisting of “a corpse dressed as an airman,” with his pockets and belongings detailing falsified plans for an invasion.

While the literary-influenced idea sounds nothing short of fantastic, it found a foothold in “the corkscrew mind” of Charles Cholmondeley, a young, shy, and somewhat eccentric Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve officer who served as secretary for the top-secret XX Committee, so named as the Roman numerals for twenty also form a “double cross”… which should provide some hint into both the type of work conducted by the group as well as the minds that directed it. Continue reading →

Tony Soprano’s Depressed Dad Duds in “Isabella”

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 1.12: “Isabella”)

Vitals

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, depressed New Jersey mob chief

Montclair, New Jersey, Fall 1998

Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “Isabella” (Episode 1.12)
Air Date: March 28, 1999
Director: Allen Coulter
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Since 1949, May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month. The first day of May aligning with the informal BAMF Style observance of “Mafia Monday” feels fortuitous as it was The Sopranos that helped me get more in touch with my own anxiety and depression.

I was starting college when I first watched The Sopranos, just months after the final episode stymied audiences when it cut to black. I had long loved movies like Goodfellas, Casino, and The Godfather, so I was excited when my roommate introduced me to this acclaimed HBO series centered around the mob… and I was instantly intrigued when it pulled me into a deeper exploration of identity, masculinity, and mental health. Tony’s psychiatric treatment with Dr. Melfi helped me recognize symptoms that I thought were just “normal” sadness as brought me to a point where—with the added help of real-life professionals (of course!)—I was more comfortable with healthy expression than repression.

The twelfth episode, “Isabella”, arguably presents Tony Soprano at his lowest point—heavily medicated to the point of hallucination, barely dressing himself, and hardly enough wits to fight back during an attempted assassination as two gunmen corner him on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. Continue reading →

Willie Nelson’s Fringe Jacket in The Electric Horseman

Willie Nelson as Wendell Hickson in The Electric Horseman (1979)

Vitals

Willie Nelson as Wendell Hickson, trusty talent manager and cowboy singer

Las Vegas, Fall 1978

Film: The Electric Horseman
Release Date: December 21, 1979
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Bernie Pollack

Background

Happy 90th birthday, Willie Nelson! Best known as a country singer/songwriter and prolific stoner, Nelson made his screen acting debut in The Electric Horseman as Wendell Hickson, the laidback and loyal yet understandably weary manager to Sonny Steele (Robert Redford), an increasingly erratic ex-rodeo star who has been reduced to PR appearances promoting cereal for his corporate overlords.

Naturally, Willie also contributed three songs for the film’s soundtrack, including the outlaw standards “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys”, “Midnight Rider”, and “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”. Continue reading →

Succession: Roman’s Cardigan for Norway

Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy on Succession, Episode 4.05 (“Kill List”)

Vitals

Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy, newly ascended “CE-bro”

Møre og Romsdal, Norway, Fall 2020

Series: Succession
Episode: “Kill List” (Episode 4.05)
Air Date: April 23, 2023
Director: Andrij Parekh
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

My favorite Succession looks are always when the Roy family and their hangers-on are out of the office—or, even better—far from the city, either dressed down in linens for a sunny day at sea or layered in knitwear and Barbours for the country.

Midway through the series’ fourth and final season, “Kill List” was an example of the latter, transporting the Waystar RoyCo corporate entourage to western Norway for tech giant GoJo’s corporate retreat, where they plan to land a deal with its insufferably erratic Elon-esque billionaire CEO, Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård).

The Scandinavian woods brought out plenty of great style, from Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) in his shearling-lined bomber and one of his trademark cashmere caps to Siobhan (Sarah Snook) rotating through a few neutral turtlenecks layered under sport jackets… not to forget her soon-to-be-ex-husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) channeling Steve McQueen in a similar sport jacket and turtleneck, albeit with sneakers so white they threaten to confuse the molly-addled Swedes among them.

Among many great performances, the episode belonged to Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy, who was already an exceedingly entertaining character but whose mourning through the latest season brought out an even greater depth in the character. Succession has chronicled Roman’s growth from an immature prankster to a more business-minded professional—albeit still not one above his occasional dick joke (or pic, with apologies to Gerri Kellman). His quest for his father’s approval—even posthumously—has shown Roman taking himself more seriously while still battling his own unresolved inner turmoil. Continue reading →

Pacino in Heat: Vincent Hanna’s Checked Canali Suit

Al Pacino as Vincent Hanna in Heat (1995)

Vitals

Al Pacino as Vincent Hanna, intense LAPD detective-lieutenant and Marine Corps veteran

Los Angeles, Spring 1995

Film: Heat
Release Date: December 15, 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 83rd birthday to Al Pacino, the iconic actor born April 25, 1940. Pacino rose to fame after his performance as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather, Part II (1974), the latter also establishing his co-star Robert De Niro. After two decades heralded as two of the best actors of their generation, Pacino and De Niro were finally reunited in Heat, sharing the screen for the first time as their characters in The Godfather, Part II never appeared together.

Michael Mann was inspired by the real-life exploits of Chicago detective Chuck Adamson’s investigation into an early 1960s bank robber named Neil McCauley to write and direct Heat, which was actually Mann’s second go at the story which he had originally filmed as a much lower-budget, less complicated made-for-TV movie in 1989 called L.A. Takedown.

Pacino stars in Heat as Vincent Hanna, an intense and idiosyncratic lieutenant in the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division given to bombastic outbursts (especially when women’s asses are a topic of discussion), explained in the original screenplay as the byproduct of Hanna’s cocaine addiction. Hanna is as “funny as a heart attack,” as described to Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), the professional armed robber whom Hanna becomes increasingly obsessed with hunting, sure that McCauley is planning on a major score but unsure of what it will be.

Continue reading →

The Man Who Fell to Earth: David Bowie’s Table Tennis Whites

David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

Vitals

David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton, ambitious humanoid alien

New Mexico, Summer 1975

Film: The Man Who Fell to Earth
Release Date: March 18, 1976
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Costume Designer: May Routh

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today is World Table Tennis Day! For nearly a decade since it was established, WTTD had been celebrated on April 6 until the ITTF Foundation announced that it would be moved this year to April 23, to mark the birthday of Ivor Montagu, founder of the International Table Tennis Federation who organized the first World Table Tennis Championships in 1926. History buffs may also recognize his name as Ivor Montagu was also recruited by Soviet intelligence during World War II, at the same time that his older brother Ewen Montagu was developing the famous Operation Mincemeat on behalf of British intelligence.

Among the many movies that feature table tennis—or ping-pong, if you prefer its onomatopoeiac nomenclature—is The Man Who Fell to Earth, Nicolas Roeg’s surreal science fiction drama based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel of the same name. David Bowie stars as the titular Thomas Jerome Newton, a humanoid alien subject to an isolated life in government captivity. Continue reading →

Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider

Jack Nicholson as George Hanson in Easy Rider (1969)

Vitals

Jack Nicholson as George Hanson, civil rights attorney

New Mexico to Louisiana, February 1968

Film: Easy Rider
Release Date: July 14, 1969
Director: Dennis Hopper

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today is the 86th birthday of Jack Nicholson, the screen icon who recently [sort of] made headlines—and more than a few memes—after being photographed for the first time in 18 months, proving that not even an octogenarian retiree is spared superficial judgements about appearance.

Nicholson’s prolific career spanned six decades, and his 12 Academy Award nominations establish him as the most nominated male acting nominee in Oscar history. His first nomination recognized his memorable turn in Easy Rider as George Hanson, the easygoing lawyer who joins countercultural bikers Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) on their freewheeling trek across America. Continue reading →