Tagged: Aloha Shirt
Nicolas Cage in Snake Eyes
Nicolas Cage as Rick Santoro in Snake Eyes (1998)
Vitals
Nicolas Cage as Rick Santoro, flashy homicide detective and compulsive gambler
Atlantic City, September 1998
Film: Snake Eyes
Release Date: August 7, 1998
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Odette Gadoury
Background
Folks, today is Nicolas Cage’s birthday so we’re going to celebrate in style by taking a look at the film that won Cage the esteemed Blockbuster Entertainment Award in the category of Favorite Actor (Suspense).
Has anyone been asking to read about the threads Nic Cage wore in the 1998 box office bomb Snake Eyes? No. Is that going to stop me after the absolutely insane year that we’ve just had? Also no.
A Magnum, P.I. Christmas: The Burgundy Rugby Shirt
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I. (Episode 1.18: “Beauty Knows No Pain”)
Vitals
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, private investigator and former Navy SEAL
Hawaii, Christmas 1980 to Summer 1981
Series: Magnum, P.I.
Episodes:
– “Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too” (Episode 1.04, dir. Bruce Seth Green, aired 12/25/1980)
– “Lest We Forget” (Episode 1.10, dir. Lawrence Doheny, aired 2/12/1981)
– “Beauty Knows No Pain” (Episode 1.18, dir. Ray Austin, aired 4/16/1981)
– “Dead Man’s Channel” (Episode 2.02, dir. Ray Austin, aired 10/15/1981)
Creator: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Designer: Charles Waldo (credited with first season only)
Costume Supervisor: James Gilmore
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In perhaps an early Christmas gift to the TV-watching world, Magnum, P.I. debuted on CBS forty years ago tonight on December 11, 1980, when the two-parter “Don’t Eat the Snow in Hawaii” introduced us to a charming, bewhiskered private investigator living the dream life on a Hawaiian estate with a sleek red Ferrari and a full closet of Aloha shirts at his disposal.
Four episodes in, Magnum, P.I. aired its first holiday-set episode when “Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too” aired on Christmas night, 1980. The series would revisit the holidays once more during the fourth season’s more festively titled “Operation: Silent Night”, though Magnum spends most of the episode clad in his drab tank top and bush shirt rather than the more colorful, creative outfit he wears while spending the holidays foiled by schoolteacher Linda Booton (Katherine Cannon) and her larcenous young wards.
Tom Selleck and Katherine Cannon in Magnum, P.I.‘s first season Christmas-set episode “Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too”.
With just two weeks to go to Christmas on this #AlohaFriday, I wanted to wish BAMF Style readers a happy holiday season by delving into a yuletide-themed episode from one of my favorite series!
Elliott Gould’s Aloha Shirt as Trapper John in MASH
Elliott Gould as Captain “Trapper John” McIntyre in M*A*S*H (1970)
Vitals
Elliott Gould as Capt. “Trapper John” McIntyre, irreverent U.S. Army chest surgeon
Korea, Summer 1951
Film: M*A*S*H
Release Date: January 25, 1970
Director: Robert Altman
Background
Before there was Magnum, there was M*A*S*H, in which Elliott Gould set the “Gould standard” for effectively pairing a prolific mustache with an Aloha shirt. Robert Altman’s film was based on the then-recently published MASH: A Novel of Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker, which would in turn be adapted into a long-running TV series that would last almost four times as long as the Korean War itself.
While maverick Army doctor “Hawkeye” Pierce was arguably the central figure (and increasingly the show’s moral fiber, under Alan Alda’s creative direction), I was also fond of his cinematic sidekick, Captain “Trapper John” McIntyre as portrayed by Elliott Gould, born 82 years ago today on August 29, 1938.
Fun in Acapulco: Elvis’ Second Striped Shirt
Elvis Presley in Fun in Acapulco (1963)
Vitals
Elvis Presley as Mike Windgren, expat singer, part-time lifeguard, and former circus performer
Acapulco, Summer 1963
Film: Fun in Acapulco
Release Date: November 22, 1961
Director: Norman Taurog
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Tailor: Sy Devore
Background
On the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death on August 16, 1977, I wanted to celebrate the entertainer’s legacy with a look at one of the singer’s under-celebrated summer films.
I imagine the debate about what to call the movie lasted no more than ten seconds (“What’s Elvis doing in this one?” “Having fun in Acapulco.” “There it is.”) Continue reading
The Irishman: Tony Pro’s Controversial Shirt and Shorts in Florida
Stephen Graham as “Tony Pro” in The Irishman (2019)
Vitals
Stephen Graham as Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, brash New Jersey mobster
Miami, Summer 1972
Film: The Irishman
Release Date: November 1, 2019
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
“Next time you come in, you come heavy or not at all.”
“Meeting in the middle of the desert always made me nervous. It’s a scary place. I knew about the holes in the desert, of course, and everywhere I looked, there could have been a hole.”
“Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family again.”
The annals of mob fiction are laden with rules and etiquette surrounding meetings in the world of La Cosa Nostra, and Martin Scorsese’s latest continues that grand tradition in The Irishman when hotheaded capo Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano (Stephen Graham) meets with famously outspoken labor official Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) in Florida. Continue reading
Palm Springs: Andy Samberg’s All-Day Aloha Shirt
Andy Samberg as Nyles in Palm Springs (2020)
Vitals
Andy Samberg as Nyles, aka “Misty’s boyfriend”, time-looped slacker focused only on “the next bite”
Palm Springs, California, November 2019
Film: Palm Springs
Release Date: July 10, 2020
Director: Max Barbakow
Costume Designer: Colin Wilkes
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This is today, today is yesterday, and tomorrow is also today… it’s one of those infinite time loop situations you might’ve heard about.
Shorthand descriptions of Palm Springs have summed up the movie as “Groundhog Day for millennials,” though I was pleasantly surprised by the poignancy and philosophical complexity of this incredibly entertaining movie… particularly in the context of the much-publicized fact that the Lonely Island tacked on a nice 69 cents to the record-setting $17.5 million sale price to Neon and Hulu after its premiere at Sundance in January 2020.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Raoul Duke’s Terrycloth Acapulco Shirt
Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971)
Vitals
Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke, “doctor of journalism” and alter ego of Hunter S. Thompson
Las Vegas, Spring 1971
Film: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Release Date: May 22, 1998
Director: Terry Gilliam
Costume Designer: Julie Weiss
Background
We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold…
…and, with the scream of a bright fireapple red Chevy convertible speeding through the desert scored by Big Brother and the Holding Company’s manic “Combination of the Two”, we’re off and running with Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo on their way to a hallucinogenic weekend romp in Sin City. Johnny Depp’s opening narration as the notorious Dr. Duke transcribes verbatim the opening lines of Hunter S. Thompson’s landmark roman à clef Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Budget Buys for Summer 2020
Whether locked down at home or safely enjoying a warm getaway, I hope this summer has been safe and stylish for BAMF Style readers!
Although this summer has been markedly different from years past, I still found myself relying on the familiar comforts of retail therapy, specifically building my unnecessarily vast wardrobe of short-sleeve printed shirts and discovering the wares of great warm-weather outfitters like Aloha FunWear, Busbee McQuade, Dandy Del Mar, and Scott Fraser Collection.
I’m always on the lookout for budget-friendly alternatives to favorite items I’ve spotted in movies and TV, and this was a particularly fruitful year for finding three fine alternatives to shirts I’d long wanted from the tropical worlds of James Bond and Thomas Magnum. While I’ve already explored two of these looks in depth on BAMF Style, I wanted to break from my usual format on what I believe to be my 1,000th post to express my excitement for these finds.
I had plenty of fun putting together this brief guide to share some of this season’s finds that I’ve been picking up, comparing budget versions against some of the higher investment pieces and—for the sake of transparency—being sure to mention whether or not I personally owned the shirts in question.
Please feel free to add your own observations or summer favorites in the comments! Continue reading
Sinatra on Magnum, P.I.
Frank Sinatra and Tom Selleck during production of “Laura” (Episode 7.18 of Magnum, P.I.)
Vitals
Frank Sinatra as Michael Doheny, experienced and tough retired New York police sergeant
Hawaii, Spring 1987
Series: Magnum, P.I.
Episode: “Laura” (Episode 7.18)
Air Date: February 25, 1987
Director: Alan J. Levi
Creator: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Supervisors: James Gilmore & Charlene Tuch
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Twenty years after he played Tony Rome, Frank Sinatra returned to the world of private eyes in warm locales with his final major acting role, a special appearance in “Laura”, a seventh season episode of Magnum, P.I. The Voice was already over 70 when the episode was produced, but he’s still as charismatic, wiry, and tough as his reputation had preceded him for the better part of a century. On this summertime #SinatraSaturday, let’s take a deeper look at Frank’s final screen role.
Blue Hawaii: Elvis’ Brown Tapa Shirt
Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii (1961)
Vitals
Elvis Presley as Chadwick “Chad” Gates, young tour guide and U.S. Army veteran
Honolulu, Hawaii, Summer 1961
Film: Blue Hawaii
Release Date: November 22, 1961
Director: Norman Taurog
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Summer kicks off this weekend in the Northern Hemisphere with beaches and warm destinations slowly reopening around the world after months of lockdown during the early phases of the coronavirus pandemic. Whatever your summer plans include, I hope all BAMF Style readers enjoy a safe, healthy, and happy season whether enjoying time at home or safely traveling.
Travel or no travel, this is also the season for summer shirts and summer movies. The tenth top-grossing movie of 1961, Blue Hawaii was the first of three movies that Elvis filmed in the “paradise of the Pacific” and remains one of his most popular for its tropical style and memorable soundtrack, which includes dusted-off classics like the title track “Blue Hawaii” (originally written for Bing Crosby in 1937), “Hawaiian Wedding Song” as well as introducing “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, which would become a new standard for the King.