Tagged: Adidas sneakers
Body Double: Craig Wasson’s Tan Corduroy Sport Jacket
Craig Wasson and Deborah Shelton in Body Double (1984)
Vitals
Craig Wasson as Jake Scully, sensitive struggling actor
Los Angeles, January 1984
Film: Body Double
Release Date: October 26, 1984
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
After a long, cold winter, the promise of a milder spring invites us to trade heavy wool coats and thick sweaters for lighter, transitional layers—think the corduroy-anchored wardrobe of Jake Scully in Brian De Palma’s Hitchcock-inspired Body Double. This 1984 erotic thriller stars Craig Wasson (born 72 years ago today on March 15, 1954) as Jake, a claustrophobic struggling actor who loses his most promising gig, his girlfriend, and his apartment in one swift collapse.
The cuckolded Jake ultimately stumbles into a promising new arrangement, house-sitting a swingin’ Hollywood Hills pad for the enigmatic Sam (Gregg Henry), who explains it’s “one struggling actor helpin’ out another, that’s what it’s all about, right?” Filmed at the John Lautner-designed modernist Chemosphere off Mulholland Drive, the joint comes with a telescope conveniently pointed into the neighboring home of striking brunette Gloria Revelle (Deborah Shelton).
Jake’s voyeurism grows over the next few days of watching Gloria’s onanistic dancing until he believes she has a more dangerous stalker and takes matters into his own hands, drawing him into a horny Rear Window-meets-Vertigo intrigue that includes an adult film star named Holly Body (Melanie Griffith) and a murder-by-power-drill incident. Continue reading
The Last of Sheila: Ian McShane’s Hockney Shirt
Ian McShane as Anthony Wood in The Last of Sheila (1973)
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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
As Ian McShane celebrates his 83rd trip around the sun today, I want to return to one of his earlier roles among the stylish 1973 murder mystery The Last of Sheila‘s ensemble cast.
Only thirty when the film was released, McShane co-stars as Anthony Wood, the charming but controlling manager for his actress wife Alice (Raquel Welch). The couple are included among the frenemies invited by eccentric producer Clinton Greene (James Coburn) to spend a week stationed on his yacht, Sheila, named for the late wife who died exactly one year earlier in a mysterious hit-and-run. Clinton reveals a plan to be more than just hosting seven days frolicking in the Ligurian Sea, unveiling a dark—and ultimately deadly—mystery game centered around gossip and murder. Continue reading
Society of the Snow: Numa Turcatti’s Corduroy Trucker Jacket
Enzo Vogrincic as Numa Turcatti in Society of the Snow (2023)
Photo by Quim Vives
Vitals
Enzo Vogrincic as Numa Turcatti, Uruguayan law student and college soccer player
Andes Mountains, Fall 1972
Film: Society of the Snow
(Spanish title: La sociedad de la nieve)
Release Date: December 13, 2023
Director: J.A. Bayona
Costume Designer: Julio Suárez
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On October 13th, 1972, an Uruguayan plane crashed in the Andean mountain range. Forty of us passengers and five crew members were on board the plane. Some say it was a tragedy, others call it a miracle. What really happened? What happens when the world abandons you? When you have no clothes and you’re freezing? When you have no food and you’re dying? The answer is in the mountain. We have to go back to the past to understand that the past is what changes the most…
Society of the Snow begins with the narration of Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic), a 24-year-old law student and footballer encouraged by friends to buy a cheap plane ticket to Chile on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, joining his friend Gastón Costemalle (LOUTA) who was traveling with the Old Christians Rugby Club to play a match in Santiago. The flight departed from Montevideo 52 years ago today, followed by an overnight stop in Mendoza, Argentina.
The following day—Friday the 13th of October, 1972—Numa became one of 33 initial survivors when this FH-227D crashed into the Andes just inside the Argentinian side of the Chilean border. Numa’s narration describes this inhospitable pocket of nature where the temperature plunges to −22 °F at night as “a place where life is impossible.”
While official search efforts were called off after the first eight days, the young men endured a total of 72 days through an inspiring mix of fierce determination, resourcefulness, and teamwork, all while continually facing hardships like injury, disease, extreme weather, and avalanches that reduced them to less than half of their number. With an already dwindling food supply exhausted, the small group of remaining survivors resorted to cannibalism of their dead companions to stay alive—an unimaginable decision yet one that almost certainly saved the lives of the sixteen who were ultimately rescued in December 1972.
Skillfully directed by J.A. Bayona, Society of the Snow doesn’t shy away from these more disturbing facts of the incident while remaining a tasteful retelling that celebrates the survival of these sixteen while simultaneously honoring the memory of the dead. Wendy Ide of ScreenDaily cited the latter as one of the film’s greatest strengths, applauding that “Bayona is at pains to ensure that the voices that are foregrounded are not necessarily those of the crash victims who eventually make it home.” 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
Barbie: Ryan Gosling’s Mojo Mink Coat as Ken
I’m pleased to again 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 (and beyond!) on his excellent Instagram account, @oceansographer.
Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023)
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Ryan Gosling as Ken, whose job is just beach
Barbie Land, Summer 2023
Film: Barbie
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Director: Greta Gerwig
Costume Designer: Jacqueline Durran
Ryan Gosling’s Costumer: Mark Avery
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Ryan Gosling, who turns 43 today! The actor/producer/director/occasional musician/former Mickey Mouse Club Member had a hell of a summer with the release of Barbie, in which he brought Ken—the world’s second most famous doll—to life.
In addition to being the highest grossing film of 2023, Barbie may also be the funniest. What had the potential to be just another blatant cash grab based on popular IP turned into a masterpiece of absurd comedy and proto-feminism thanks to the inspired direction of Greta Gerwig. By fully committing to Ken’s goofy, childlike nature, Gosling managed to steal scene after scene in a movie filled with hilarious performances. Continue reading
The Big Chill: William Hurt’s Tan Corduroy Jacket
William Hurt in The Big Chill (1983)
Vitals
William Hurt as Nick Carlton, former radio psychologist and war veteran
Beaufort, South Carolina, Fall 1983
Film: The Big Chill
Release Date: September 28, 1983
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Costume Designer: April Ferry
Background
Today is the 40th anniversary of the release of The Big Chill, Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 comedy-drama centered around seven friends from college (played by Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, and JoBeth Williams) who reunite after more than a decade for the funeral of a fellow UMich alum who committed suicide.
Scored by the rock and R&B hits from their late ’60s college heyday, the movie focuses on the ennui of adulthood as this handful of baby boomers are forced to reconcile their current realities with the idealistic visions they had for their future when they were young, energetic, and relatively free of responsibility.
It was easy back then, no one ever had a cushier berth than we did… it’s only out here in the world that it gets tough.
The Last of Sheila: James Coburn’s White Yachting Gear
James Coburn in The Last of Sheila (1973)
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James Coburn as Clinton Greene, eccentric Hollywood producer
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
If you’re the sort of person who follows such sartorial conventions, Labor Day on Monday makes this the last weekend where it’s “acceptable” to wear white. Of course, there are many who take umbrage to being told what’s acceptable to wear and when—such as Clinton Greene, the flamboyant film producer at the center of The Last of Sheila‘s sun-bleached mystery. Clinton was played by James Coburn, the versatile Nebraska-born actor born 95 years ago today on August 31, 1928.
Recently widowed after his wife Sheila was killed during a mysterious hit-and-run accident near their Hollywood home, Clinton commemorates the one-year anniversary of Sheila’s death by inviting his six closest frenemies—most of whom had been present during the party at their home the night Sheila was killed—to spend a week playing high-stakes puzzles on his luxury yacht off the coast of southern France. Continue reading
The White Lotus: Jack’s Terrycloth Leisurewear from Dandy Del Mar
Leo Woodall and Haley Lu Richardson on The White Lotus (Episode 2.05: “That’s Amore”)
Vitals
Leo Woodall as Jack, a brash young man from Essex who is close to his uncle
Sicily, Summer 2022
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “That’s Amore” (Episode 2.05)
Air Date: November 27, 2022
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The warmer weather may be inspiring you to plan for a late spring break or start prepping for summer vacations. With the recent announcement that the third season of The White Lotus, Mike White’s anthology of doomed vacationers, will be set in Thailand, I returned to the style from the series’ second season set in sunny Sicily… specifically a style that I was pleasantly surprised to see had long been in my own closet!
Rather than being a guest at the resort, the cocksure Jack (Leo Woodall) is connected to the coterie of Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his “high-end gays” who entertain the oblivious Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) and her Gen-Z assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) on their yacht Ethna en route Palermo. Quentin describes the outgoing yet shady young man from Essex as his “cheeky nephew”, who initially seems to be the answer to Portia’s wish for a simple, adventurous fling before she and her employer begin seeing the far more sinister reality underscoring their association. Continue reading
Day Shift: Jamie Foxx’s Vampire-Hunting Aloha Shirts
Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski in Day Shift (2022)
Photo by Andrew Cooper/Netflix
Vitals
Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski, maverick vampire hunter
San Fernando Valley, California, Summer 2022
Film: Day Shift
Release Date: August 12, 2022
Director: J.J. Perry
Costume Designer: Kelli Jones
Background
When I saw that Day Shift, the latest Netflix action comedy, centered around Jamie Foxx killing vampires while wearing a rotation of Hawaiian shirts, I knew I had to check it out.
Foxx stars as Bud Jablonski, whose job cleaning pools in the San Fernando Valley provides cover for his more serious occupation of hunting the undead. Continue reading
Skyfall: James Bond’s SIS Training Gear
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall (2012). Adapted from an image sourced at thunderballs.org.
Vitals
Daniel Craig as James Bond, “resurrected” British secret agent
London, Spring 2012
Film: Skyfall
Release Date: November 9, 2012
Director: Sam Mendes
Costume Designer: Jany Temime
Background
Having been assumed dead after taking friendly fire in the field, James Bond returns from self-imposed exile. However, before he can go from “resurrection” to active duty, the British Secret Service needs to make sure their most famous secret agent can still shoot straight.
Following the attack on their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, SIS has set up temporary shop in the concrete bowels of the Old Vic tunnels under London, and it’s here that Bond runs through a variety of exercises from treadmills to crash drills. The service’s ever-affable chief of staff, Bill Tanner (Rory Kinnear), attempts to save time by bringing 007 up to speed on his new assignment, but months on a Greek beach fueled by Heineken and vintage Macallan haven’t made it easy for Mr. Bond to catch his breath.
Tanner: We can always do this later.
Bond: You know what? Let’s.
Although Daniel Craig’s 007 was often referred to by his Royal Navy rank, Commander Bond never actually appeared in uniform on film during Craig’s era. In fact, the closest we saw to Craig’s James Bond in any sort of uniform—aside from when the actor himself received his honorary commission in 2021—was when he was put to these tests in Skyfall, resurrected and ready to be retrained by his superiors… and dressed the part in an SIS-marked track jacket and training shirt.
SIS Training Gear recognized the opportunity for Bond fans to borrow from our favorite secret agent’s style, not with a tailored suit or trim navy polo but through an increasingly growing selection of activewear that started with just a pair of T-shirts and joggers, designed to resemble Craig’s screen-worn apparel. Since then, the collection has grown to a wide and exciting lineup of a range of casual styles that reference Bond films across the franchise’s 60 years. Continue reading
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