National Treasure: Nic Cage’s Urban Outfitters Outfit

Nicolas Cage in National Treasure (2004)

Vitals

Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates, treasure hunter and cryptographer

Philadelphia to New York City, Fall 2004

Film: National Treasure
Release Date: November 19, 2004
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Costume Designer: Judianna Makovsky

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans!

On this day in 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously ratified the Declaration of Independence that announced the separation of the thirteen American colonies from British rule. Primarily drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration remains one of the most sacred and influential documents in global history and underwent centuries of preservation and protection until it was ultimately stolen by Nicolas Cage in 2004.

Nicolas Cage in National Treasure (2004)

At least he warned us first.

Appropriately titled given Mr. Cage’s reputation, National Treasure was released 20 years ago this November and centers around a historically informed search for a long-buried Freemason treasure trove. A rumored map on the back of the Declaration of Independence provides guidance to Cage’s well-meaning treasure-hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates as well as his assistant Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and the lovely government archivist Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) reluctantly roped into their mission.

Unfortunately for our heroes, Ben’s rival Ian Howe (Sean Bean) is also in pursuit of the treasure… but Ian is British, so one can only imagine the disrespect he would show the Declaration if he were the one to steal it first.

What’d He Wear?

The morning after Ben and Riley successfully liberate the Declaration during a gala event at the National Archives, they follow the early-00s product placement gods to an Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia (actually Pasadena), where they can purchase clothes more appropriate for evading detection while on the run in the City of Brotherly Love than their formal fits. Continue reading →

A Brief Cinematic History of the Lacoste Shirt

Today would have been the 120th birthday of René Lacoste, the French tennis champion and entrepreneur who pioneered the “Lacoste shirt” that remains synonymous with his dual legacy of innovation across both sports and style. To honor Lacoste’s dual legacy in sports and style, let’s walk through a brief (and surely incomplete) illustrated history of his iconic tennis shirt through its appearance on screen.

René Lacoste (1904-1996), modeling one of his own shirts.

Continue reading →

The Graduate: William Daniels’ Blue Cabana Set as Mr. Braddock

William Daniels as Elizabeth Wilson in The Graduate (1967)

Vitals

William Daniels as Mr. Braddock, affable but aloof suburban father

Los Angeles, Summer 1967

Film: The Graduate
Release Date: December 22, 1967
Director: Mike Nichols
Costume Designer: Patricia Zipprodt

Background

The Graduate made Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) an icon for many, whether they could identify with his aimless disillusionment or his killer Ivy style. It may be my own “advancing” age—as I’ll officially be old enough to run for president exactly three weeks from today—that recently drew me more to his father’s charmingly dated leisurewear, specifically the matching blue cabana set when unintentionally humiliating poor Benjamin on his 21st birthday by forcing him to model a full scuba suit for “a practical demonstration” in the Braddock family swimming pool in front of their friends.

It may help my affection for the character that Mr. Braddock was portrayed by the great William Daniels, whose prolific career has spanned eight decades with iconic roles like John Adams in the stage and screen presentations of 1776 and as the avuncular Mr. Feeny on ’90s sitcom Boy Meets World, as well as a distinctive voice that he lent to KITT on the ’80s series Knight Rider. Continue reading →

Glen Powell in Hit Man: Gary’s Western-Inspired Wardrobe as “Ron”

Glen Powell as Gary Johnson in Hit Man (2023)

Vitals

Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, mild-mannered psychology professor moonlighting as an undercover police contractor

New Orleans, Fall 2022

Film: Hit Man
Release Date: May 24, 2024
Director: Richard Linklater
Costume Designer: Juliana Hoffpauir

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

After a limited two-week run in theaters, Hit Man debuted on Netflix at the beginning of this month and quickly became the service’s #1 most-watched movie in the U.S. The screenplay by director Richard Linklater and star Glen Powell fictionalizes the life of Gary Johnson, a college professor and successful “fake hitman” whose undercover police work led to more than 70 arrests of people seeking the services of a contract killer.

Hit Man is Linklater’s second cinematic depiction of stranger-than-fiction true crime based on a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth (the first was Bernie in 2011), though the production and setting were moved from Houston to New Orleans to take advantage of Louisiana tax credits.

Described in the epilogue as the “chillest dude imaginable,” the real Gary Johnson—whom the same epilogue is sure to insist was never actually involved in any murders—died in 2022 at the age of 75 before getting to see this dark comedy that riffed on his life story.

Though sensationalizing his life for dramatic purposes, Hit Man includes many details from Johnson’s life, like his cats Id and Ego, his unassuming politeness, and the random opportunity that elevated him to the city’s most in-demand assassin who signals his identity to prospective clients with a single response phrase:

All pie is good pie.

Continue reading →

Moonraker: Roger Moore’s Cream Suit in Rio

Roger Moore as James Bond in Moonraker (1979)

Vitals

Roger Moore as James Bond, suave and sophisticated British MI6 agent

Rio de Janiero, Brazil, February 1979

Film: Moonraker
Release Date: June 26, 1979
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Costume Designer: Jacques Fonteray
Tailor: Angelo Vitucci

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Moonraker launched James Bond into orbit when it premiered 45 years ago today on June 26, 1979 as the fourth of Sir Roger Moore’s seven adventures as the dashing spy.

Before his out-of-this-world journey, 007 trots the globe from California to Italy and ultimately to Brazil, where he landed in Rio de Janiero during the annual Carnival festivities held in February. February is a summer month in Brazil, so Bond dresses for the warmth in a cream linen suit and open-neck brown shirt and matching pocket square as he alights from his plane. Continue reading →

Don’t Look Now: Donald Sutherland’s Glen Plaid Jacket

Donald Sutherland in Don’t Look Now (1973)

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Donald Sutherland as John Baxter, architect and grieving father

Venice, Italy, Winter/Spring 1973

Film: Don’t Look Now
Release Date: October 16, 1973
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Wardrobe Credit: Anna Maria Feo

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today’s post pays tribute to the late, great Donald Sutherland (1935-2024), the Canadian-born actor who died last week at the age of 88. One of the actor’s most-discussed films is Nicolas Roeg’s haunting horror tale Don’t Look Now, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. Continue reading →

A Shot in the Dark: Inspector Clouseau’s Trench Coat and Trilby

Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in A Shot in the Dark (1964). Photo credit: MGM.

Vitals

Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau, bumbling Sûreté investigator

Paris, Fall 1963

Film: A Shot in the Dark
Release Date: June 23, 1964
Director: Blake Edwards
Costume Designer: Margaret Furse
Tailor: Douglas Hayward

Background

Tomorrow will commemorate 60 years since the release of A Shot in the Dark, the sequel to The Pink Panther which introduced Peter Sellers as the inept Investigator Clouseau. Sellers’ comedic talent elevated Clouseau to a breakout favorite among audiences of The Pink Panther, which was otherwise meant to be a stylish ensemble comedy centered around David Niven’s dashing jewel thief in pursuit of the eponymous diamond.

After observing how Clouseau resonated with audiences, director Blake Edwards and his co-screenwriter William Peter Blatty adapted Henry Kurnitz’s comic mystery play A Shot in the Dark—itself a Broadway adaptation of Marcel Archard’s L’Idiote—to reprise Sellers’ characterization of Inspector Clouseau. Set in Clouseau’s home turf, the story introduced Clouseau’s long-suffering boss Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) and martial-artist manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk) who would both reappear in all three subsequent Pink Panther films to be released the following decade.

A Shot in the Dark begins at the country estate of millionaire Benjamin Ballon (George Sanders) outside of Paris, where we observe the household and staff watching, evading, and romancing each other in the shadows… until a gunshot rings out and the head chauffeur is found dead in the bedroom of the alluring maid Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), last seen clutching the victim’s own still-smoking Beretta pistol. Enter Inspector Clouseau onto the scene… stepping out of his car and immediately into the Ballon fountain, perfectly introducing the madcap mystery to follow. Continue reading →

The Gambler: James Caan’s White Tennis Gear

James Caan as Axel Freed in The Gambler (1974)

Vitals

James Caan as Axel Freed, gambling-addicted English professor

New York City, Fall 1973

Film: The Gambler
Release Date: October 2, 1974
Director: Karel Reisz
Costume Designer: Albert Wolsky

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

In addition to today being the first day of summer, June 20th is also observed as International Tennis Day, established ten years ago to recognize the day when the first “Tennis Court Oath” was taken in 1789 at a tennis court near the Palace of Versailles.

The sport has found renewed interest this year after the release of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, a film not without its own notable style including—but certainly not limited to—the “I TOLD YA” T-shirt homage to John F. Kennedy Jr. that costume designer J.W. Anderson chose for Zendaya’s wardrobe.

“We don’t talk enough about the scene in the original version of The Gambler where the James Caan character absolutely destroys his own mother at tennis,” Matt Zoller Seitz tweeted after Caan’s death in July 2022, so I’m hoping to rectify this oversight.

While Challengers will have its BAMF Style spotlight soon, the intersection of International Tennis Day and the summer solstice during the 50th anniversary year of The Gambler drew me toward the Fred Perry-branded tennis whites that Caan wore as Axel Freed in this 1974 drama. Continue reading →

The Last of Sheila: Ian McShane’s White Lacoste Cardigan

Ian McShane as Anthony Wood in The Last of Sheila (1973)

Vitals

Ian McShane as Anthony Wood, controlling Hollywood husband and ex-convict

French Riviera, Late summer 1972

Film: The Last of Sheila
Release Date: June 14, 1973
Director: Herbert Ross
Costume Designer: Joel Schumacher

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

One of my favorite “summer vibes” movies is The Last of Sheila, which I first watched last summer after learning that it was among Rian Johnson’s inspiration for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. As the third Knives Out movie has commenced filming and we’re approaching another summer solstice, let’s revisit the Riviera style on parade in The Last of Sheila, released 51 years ago this month on Flag Day 1973.

Written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, The Last of Sheila boasts a fine ensemble cast portraying “six hungry failures” summoned by Hollywood producer Clinton Greene (James Coburn) to spend a week in the Ligurian Sea aboard his yacht, Sheila, named for his late wife who died exactly a year earlier in a mysterious hit-and-run.

After Clinton is murdered during his festivities, the six frenemies begin looking amongst each other for who would have had the means and opportunity to kill Clinton, though all had a motive—presumably to silence the gossip he knew about each of their pasts, revealed by the cards he had assigned to each on their first day at sea.

Perhaps the least connected of the six is the charismatic but shady Anthony Wood (Ian McShane), who fiercely promotes—and controls—the career of his glamorous actress wife Alice (Raquel Welch). When the “I am an EX-CONVICT” card held by the anxious Lee Parkman (Joan Hackett) is revealed to apply to Anthony’s dual convictions for assault, Lee’s writer husband Tom (Richard Benjamin) briefly focuses his interrogation on Anthony as the group tries to solve the mystery. Continue reading →

Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition

Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition (2002)

Vitals

Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, recently widowed Irish mob enforcer and dedicated father

The Midwest, Winter 1931

Film: Road to Perdition
Release Date: July 12, 2002
Director: Sam Mendes
Costume Designer: Albert Wolsky
Tailor: John David Ridge

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“Natural law… sons were put on this earth to trouble their fathers,” avuncular mob boss John Rooney (Paul Newman) advises his top enforcer Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) at a time that both men are facing crises with their respective sons.

Father’s Day feels like the appropriate time to celebrate the style from this unorthodox role for America’s Dad. Tom Hanks pivoted from a career built on playing affable heroes and everymen to a dangerous Depression-era mob hitman in Road to Perdition, Sam Mendes’ 2002 drama adapted by screenwriter David Self from a graphic novel series of the same name by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner. Continue reading →