American Psycho: Patrick Bateman’s Camel Coat and Navy Windowpane Suit

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (2000)

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Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, investment banker and killer

New York City, Spring 1988

Film: American Psycho
Release Date: April 14, 2000
Director: Mary Harron
Costume Designer: Isis Mussenden

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 50th birthday to Christian Bale!

Prior to his blockbuster performances as Gotham’s caped crusader in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and his Academy Award-winning performance in The Fighter (2011), the Welsh-born actor’s breakthrough adult role was arguably as the sociopathic businessman—and suggested serial killer—Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, adapted by Mary Herron from Bret Easton Ellis’ dark satirical novel of the same name. Continue reading →

L.A. Confidential: Dudley’s Gray Striped Double-Breasted Suit

James Cromwell as Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential (1997)

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James Cromwell as Dudley Smith, charismatic LAPD police captain

Los Angeles, Spring 1953

Film: L.A. Confidential
Release Date: September 19, 1997
Director: Curtis Hanson
Costume Designer: Ruth Myers

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy birthday to James Cromwell, the prolific actor and activist born January 27, 1940 with a career spanning a half-century across the stage and screen. Two years after his first Academy Award nomination for a starring role in Babe (“That’ll do, pig”), Cromwell brought his dignified presence and talents to the ensemble cast of L.A. Confidential as Dudley Smith, the 1950s police captain with a charming brogue and easygoing demeanor that may mask something more sinister. Continue reading →

The Pink Panther: Clouseau’s Après-ski Sweater

Peter Sellers with Claudia Cardinale in The Pink Panther (1963)

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Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau, bumbling Sûreté investigator

Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Winter 1963

Film: The Pink Panther
Release Date: December 18, 1963
Director: Blake Edwards
Wardrobe Supervisor: Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca

Background

Four months after it premiered in Italy on December 18, 1963 (the same day that Brad Pitt was born, for what it’s worth), The Pink Panther was released in the United States sixty years ago this March, introducing audiences to the inept Inspector Clouseau portrayed by Peter Sellers.

Though future installments would focus more intentionally on Sellers’ pratfall-laden performance as Clouseau, The Pink Panther was initially more of a stylish, star-studded caper, set in the favorite winter destination for Camelot-era jet-setters: Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Italian Alps.

Clouseau is in the midst of his investigation into a prolific jewel thief known only as “the Phantom” when joining his wife Simone (Capucine) in Cortina, where we learn Simone had been planning to meet her lover, the dashing Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven)—who happens to be the mysterious Phantom that Clouseau had been chasing. Adding to the complication is the unexpected arrival of Sir Charles’ mischievous nephew and protege George (Robert Wagner) and the target of Charles and Simone’s next heist: the glamorous Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale) and her princess gem called “The Pink Panther”.

Of course, Clouseau never suspects any of the intrigue happening right under his nose as he joins the buttoned-up insurance investigator Tucker (Colin Gordon) and the elegant après-ski set in the hotel lounge during a random but Fran-tastic performance of Henry Mancini’s samba “It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio stasera)”. Continue reading →

Carnal Knowledge: Jack Nicholson’s Duffel Coat

Jack Nicholson in Carnal Knowledge (1971)

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Jack Nicholson as Jonathan Fuerst, arrogant Amherst College student

Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Winter 1946

Film: Carnal Knowledge
Release Date: June 30, 1971
Director: Mike Nichols
Costume Designer: Anthea Sylbert

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

As we continue facing snow and below-freezing temps here in the northeast U.S., I’m finding comfort in the layered winter style from movies like Carnal Knowledge, Mike Nichols’ cold (in every sense of the word) depiction of sexuality through the mid-20th century.

Even though the “New Hollywood” movement led by directors like Nichols, Robert Altman, and Arthur Penn had been breaking cinematic barriers since the late ’60s when the strict Production Code crumbled and the ratings system was introduced, the content and presentation of Carnal Knowledge was still considered too obscene and offensive for some audiences, to the point that a Georgia theater owner was convicted of obscenity charges (later overhauled by the U.S. Supreme Court) for showing it in his theater.

Carnal Knowledge centers around the swaggering Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) and his mild-mannered friend Sandy (Art Garfunkel), whom we first meet as students at Amherst College in the years following World War II. Continue reading →

Cary Grant in His Girl Friday

Cary Grant in His Girl Friday (1940)

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Cary Grant as Walter Burns, fast-talking newspaper editor

Chicago*, Fall 1939**

Film: His Girl Friday
Release Date: January 18, 1940
Director: Howard Hawks
Costume Designer: Robert Kalloch

Background

Today is the 120th anniversary of when screen legend and style icon Cary Grant was born on January 18, 1904. One of the prolific actor’s most memorable films, His Girl Friday, was released on his 36th birthday in 1940. Continue reading →

Happy Days: Henry Winkler’s Leather Jacket as Fonzie

Henry Winkler as Fonzie on Happy Days

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Henry Winkler as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, cool mechanic-turned-diner owner and high school teacher

Milwaukee, late 1950s and early 1960s

Series: Happy Days
Air Dates: January 15, 1974 – July 19, 1984
Creator: Garry Marshall
Men’s Costumer: Mickey Sherrard (1977-1984)

Background

Happy Days premiered 50 years ago today on January 15, 1974, the start of an impressive 11-season run on ABC chronicling an idealized look at mid-century life in the Midwest. Created by the prolific Garry Marshall, the series initially centered around all-American teenager Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his family and friends until retooling to increase focus on Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), a quintessential ’50s greaser in the mold of Marlon Brando and James Dean who quickly rose to become an audience favorite. Continue reading →

The Bear: Richie Wears Suits Now

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie Jerimovich on The Bear (Episode 2.08: “Bolognese”)
Photo credit: Chuck Hodes/FX

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Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie Jerimovich, restaurant manager and honorary Berzatto “cousin”

Chicago, Spring 2023

Series: The Bear
Episodes:
– “Bolognese” (Episode 2.08)
– “Omelette” (Episode 2.09)
– “The Bear” (Episode 2.10)
Air Date: June 22, 2023
Director: Christopher Storer
Creator: Christopher Storer
Costume Designer: Courtney Wheeler

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“New year, new me” is an oft-repeated philosophy thorough January as people reaffirm committing to becoming their best selves. One of my favorite on-screen transformations recently has been Richie Jerimovich’s journey to find his purpose across the second season of The Bear. For his portrayal of Richie, Ebon Moss-Bachrach has been nominated for a Golden Globe, an Independent Spirit Award, and an Emmy—with the results of the latter to be announced this Monday night.

The Bear established Richie at the start as a brash and boastful loudmouth, proud of his self-maintainted reputation as a wild card. “I’m not like this because I’m in Van Halen, I’m in Van Halen because I’m like this,” he frequently reasserts, all the while increasingly questioning his purpose. Though he loves his “cousin” Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Richie clearly resents the new methods that the experienced chef and his visionary new hire Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) had brought to their longstanding Chicago restaurant… until Carmy enrolls Richie in a week honing his stagiaere skills in what would be essentially an unpaid internship at the exclusive Chicago restaurant Ever. Continue reading →

The Sopranos: Tony’s Gray Suit and Shirt in the Pilot Episode

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 1.01)

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James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob chief

North Caldwell, New Jersey, Summer 1998

Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “The Sopranos” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: January 10, 1999
Director: David Chase
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The Sopranos premiered 25 years ago tonight, introducing HBO audiences to New Jersey Mafia chief Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), driven to therapy following stress-induced panic attacks as he attempts to balance family and The Family.

“Written and directed by [David] Chase, the pilot is a hybrid slapstick comedy, domestic sitcom, and crime thriller, with dabs of ’70s American New Wave grit,” conclude Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall in The Sopranos Sessions. “The device of putting the hero in therapy lets Chase deliver reams of information about Tony, his crew, his bosses, his family, and their overlaps, along with the points where Tony’s personal and professional distress are inseparable, all without the usual pilot-episode busy work.” Continue reading →

“Nuns don’t work on Sunday…” — One of Magnum’s Striped Band-Collar Shirts

Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I. (Episode 2.13: “The Jororo Kill”)

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Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, private investigator and former Navy SEAL

Honolulu, Hawaii, Fall 1981

Series: Magnum, P.I.
Episode: “The Jororo Kill” (Episode 2.13)
Air Date: January 7, 1982
Director: Alan J. Levi
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Supervisors: Denita Del Signore & James Gilmore

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Nuns don’t work on Sunday…

Though perhaps not as iconic of a line to Magnum, P.I. fans as Thomas asking Ivan if he saw the sunrise, this brief moment from the series’ second season—followed by Tom Selleck’s heel turn to shoot a figure dressed in full habit—has found renewed life in meme format, often paired with captions like “80s detective shows rocked” or “the best scene in movie[sic] history”.

Of course, the context of the scene helps audiences realize that Thomas Magnum doesn’t have a trigger-happy reaction to monastics who divert from his expectations of their schedule.

The episode featuring this moment, “The Jororo Kill”, first aired 42 years ago today on January 7, 1982. Continue reading →

The Godfather, Part II: Tom Hagen’s Gray Striped Suit

Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen in The Godfather, Part II (1974)

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Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, levelheaded Mafia lawyer

Nevada and Washington, D.C., Winter 1958 through Spring 1959

Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today is the 93rd birthday of Robert Duvall, the prolific actor born January 5, 1931 whose extensive filmography includes the first two films of The Godfather saga as Tom Hagen, the orphan informally adopted by the Corleone family—and whose cool head and legal savvy resulted in his position as the family’s trusted consigliere.

As this is the 50th anniversary year of The Godfather Part II, today’s post will explore Tom’s character and costume in this masterful second installment, set across the late 1950s as Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) continues consolidating his power and seeks to legitimatize the family’s interest as Tom had long advised him to do.

Although he’s been transitioned from consigliere to being the family’s lawyer in Las Vegas, Tom still serving as Michael’s right-hand man, with duties beyond legal counsel including everything from buying Christmas presents for the don’s children to blackmailing a senator whom they’ve framed for the murder for a prostitute. Continue reading →