Tagged: Blue Shirt
Bond’s Gray Flannel Suit and ’57 Chevy in Dr. No
Sean Connery as James Bond, standing in front of a ’57 Chevy Bel Air in Dr. No (1962).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, sophisticated British government agent
Kingston, Jamaica, Spring 1962
Film: Dr. No
Release Date: October 5, 1962
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Master: John Brady
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Welcome back to Car Week, BAMF Style’s semi-annual celebration that combines both sartorial and automotive elegance. And what’s more elegant than a sharply-suited James Bond getting behind the wheel of an American classic: the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air? Continue reading
Paul Newman’s Blue Suit as Harper
Paul Newman as Lew Harper in Harper (1966).
Vitals
Paul Newman as Lew Harper, wisecracking private eye
Los Angeles, Late Summer 1965
Film: Harper
Release Date: February 23, 1966
Director: Jack Smight
Background
The beginning of Harper is classic hard-boiled private eye stuff as we see our titular hero waking up in his shitty apartment cum office, pulling on his clothes, and drinking bad coffee (from a filter pulled out of the trash, no less) before slipping on his shoulder holster and heading out in his old roadster to a better part of town where the better class of people turn out to be worse in every other way. Continue reading
Bond Style — A Double-Breasted Blazer in GoldenEye
Pierce Brosnan and Famke Janssen in GoldenEye (1995)
Vitals
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, British government secret agent
Monte Carlo, April 1995
Film: GoldenEye
Release Date: November 13, 1995
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming
Background
In London, April’s a spring month. The same is true in Monte Carlo, the “international byword for the extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth” (according to The New Encyclopædia Britannica‘s 15th Edition), where April temperatures remain steady in the mid-50s°F range. Already sophisticated, Bond fits in nicely with this world of the elite as he tracks Xenia Onatopp, the Georgian femme fatale with connections to the Janus crime syndicate.
After Xenia’s night of passion gives new meaning to the term “thunder thighs”, Bond sneaks aboard the yacht where Xenia hosted her deadly tryst. Once he discovers the dead Royal Canadian Navy admiral (named “Chuck” rather than Charles?), Bond realizes Janus’s plan to steal the prototype Tiger helicopter. He takes off across the harbor, but it’s too late; Xenia has already escaped with the stolen helicopter. Foiled again! Continue reading
Bond Style – Blue in Beirut (The Man with the Golden Gun)
Roger Moore as James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, British government agent
Beirut, Lebanon, Spring 1974
Film: The Man with the Golden Gun
Release Date: December 20, 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Tailor: Cyril Castle
Wardrobe Supervisor: Elsa Fennell
Background
Happy 00-7th of April!
Following a lead on the gold “007” bullet received at MI6 headquarters takes James Bond to Beirut in search of information related to deceased agent Bill Fairbanks. Naturally, this being a Bond movie, that search leads him directly into the arms of a slinky Lebanese belly dancer named Saida. Continue reading
Patrick Bateman’s Gray Suit in American Psycho
Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (2000).
Vitals
Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, bored investment banker and possible serial killer
New York City, Spring 1988
Film: American Psycho
Release Date: April 14, 2000
Director: Mary Harron
Costume Designer: Isis Mussenden
Background
Perceived as nothing more than a bland Wall Street banker by his friends at the start of the film, Patrick Bateman’s “mask of sanity” begins slipping away as some begin to see that there’s something darker beneath the surface.
Even his friends, never directly privy to his violent secret life, show strands of doubt after an ill-humored joke at the expense of real life serial killer’s Ed Gein’s multiple victims. Bateman tries to maintain his surface as a fashionable, successful businessman, but those not enraptured in the yuppie universe of late 1980s Manhattan—notably detective Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe) and poor prostitute Christie (Cara Seymour)—see through the designer brands. Continue reading
Casino – De Niro’s Blue and Yellow Plaid Sportcoat
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1977
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
Spring is coming, and that means bright colors… a color palette that few movies have mastered for men’s fashion as well as Scorsese’s crime epic Casino.
As top handicapper and Vegas casino runner “Ace” Rothstein, Robert De Niro wears more than fifty different costumes, all generally a series of colorful suits and sport coats. Some who don’t know better have criticized the film for this, unable to take the man seriously for his wardrobe. However, Ace’s costumes are a reflection of the wardrobe of his real life counterpart Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal. In fact, costumer Rita Ryack mentions in an interview that the real Lefty’s clothing was even more extravagant than De Niro’s. Continue reading
Lt. Aldo Raine Leads the Inglourious Basterds
Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds (2009).
Vitals
Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, U.S. Army OSS officer and redneck leader of the “Inglourious Basterds”
Occupied France, Fall 1942
Film: Inglourious Basterds
Release Date: August 21, 2009
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Anna B. Sheppard
Brad Pitt’s Personal Costumer: Isabell Logen (though I’m not sure what her contribution was to this particular outfit)
Background
Surprisingly to most, I was a late comer to Tarantino’s work. It wasn’t until my freshman year of college in the fall of 2007 when I first saw Reservoir Dogs and – entranced – I soon caught up by getting my hands on Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, True Romance, and Death Proof. (Somehow, neither Kill Bill film made the cut until years later.) Thus, Inglourious Basterds was the first QT flick I actually saw newly released in theaters. Continue reading
Lee Marvin’s Gray Flannel Suit in Point Blank
Lee Marvin as Walker in Point Blank (1967).
Vitals
Lee Marvin as Walker, revenge-driven armed robber
San Francisco to Los Angeles, Summer 1967
Film: Point Blank
Release Date: August 30, 1967
Director: John Boorman
Costume Designer: Margo Weintz
Background
One of the ultimate classic movie tough guys, Lee Marvin, was born on this day in 1924 in New York City. After serving with as a Marine in the Pacific Theater during World War II (and receiving a Purple Heart among other commendations), Marvin fell into acting and eventually became a household name as Chicago cop Frank Ballinger on M Squad, the show best lampooned by Leslie Nielsen and the ZAZ gang in 1982’s short-lived but brilliant Police Squad! Continue reading
Bond Style: A Navy Blazer at Christmas Time (OHMSS)
George Lazenby as James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).
Vitals
George Lazenby as James Bond, intrepid British secret agent
London, October 1969
Film: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Release Date: December 18, 1969
Director: Peter R. Hunt
Costume Designer: Marjory Cornelius
Background
For the 007th of December, I’ll be focusing on a very holiday appropriate look from one of best-dressed (if not best-acted) Bonds, George Lazenby.
While this scene doesn’t exactly take place at Christmas, later scenes establish this film as “the Christmas Bond” and Lazenby’s attire when visiting M at Quarterdeck would be fine for a fashionable holiday outfit. Plus, the book On Her Majesty’s Secret Service features Bond sharing a Christmas dinner with M at the latter’s home.
(Since Bond receives two weeks leave sometime around September 15 and he’s still “on leave” when visiting M, this scene is likely set in late September or early October.) Continue reading
Ryan O’Neal in The Driver
Ryan O’Neal in The Driver (1978).
Vitals
Ryan O’Neal as “The Driver”, professional getaway driver
Los Angeles, Spring 1978
Film: The Driver
Release Date: July 10, 1978
Director: Walter Hill
Costume Designers: Jack Bear, Robert Conwall, and Jennifer L. Parsons
Background
The Driver is a perfect example of European-influenced, American-made, existential ’70s cinema featuring the male anti-hero so frequently seen throughout the decade. A laconic criminal not without his own set of ethics set in a bleak world filled with morally questionable characters, Ryan O’Neal’s unnamed protagonist follows in the footsteps of guys like Vanishing Point‘s Kowalski.
Writer, director, and all-around tough guy Walter Hill’s auteurism clearly shows through in this terrific and über-cool neo-noir where talk is cheap, and those doing the most of it typically have the least to say. Continue reading
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