Tagged: Cabana Shirt
Bottle Rocket: Owen Wilson’s Cabana Shirt
Owen Wilson in Bottle Rocket (1996)
Vitals
Owen Wilson as Dignan, small-time crook and big-time dreamer
Texas, Fall 1995
Film: Bottle Rocket
Release Date: February 21, 1996
Director: Wes Anderson
Costume Designer: Karen Patch
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Wes Anderson and his friend—and frequent collaborator—Owen Wilson shared their respective directorial and acting debuts thirty years ago today when Bottle Rocket premiered on February 21, 1996.
The director and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson had previously filmed the story as a 13-minute black-and-white short that was screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, where it caught the attention of James L. Brooks, who agreed to finance a full-length version. Brooks’ financial involvement bumped the budget to $5 million, attracting co-star James Caan to bring experience and credibility alongside Anderson and the Wilson brothers’ freshman talent. Continue reading
Dean Martin’s Matching Cabana Set in Artists and Models
Dean Martin and Dorothy Malone in Artists and Models (1955)
Vitals
Dean Martin as Rick Todd, struggling but smooth-talking painter
New York City, Summer 1955
Film: Artists and Models
Release Date: November 7, 1955
Director: Frank Tashlin
Costume Designer: Edith Head
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Iconic entertainer Dean Martin was born 108 years ago today on June 7, 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio. Born Dino Crocetti, the singer and actor remains well-known for his joint acts like the Rat Pack and a decade-long partnership with comedian Jerry Lewis.
After debuting together in Atlantic City in 1946, Martin and Lewis made a total of 16 movies together. Their 14th feature, Artists and Models, was released 70 years ago on November 7, 1955—five months to the day after Martin’s 38th birthday. Though the team would make two more movies before the dissolution of their partnership the following year, Artists and Models foreshadowed the future directions of their respective solo careers as the first of eight collaborations between Lewis and Looney Tunes director Frank Tashlin and the first of seven times that Martin would star with Shirley MacLaine.
Martin and Lewis brought their usual personas to Artists and Models as the romantic painter Rick Todd and goofy children’s author Eugene Fullstack, respectively. In her second film appearance, MacLaine co-stars as Lewis’ love interest Bessie Sparrowbush, who also helps Rick woo her friend, professional artist Abigail Parker (Dorothy Malone). 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
Kramer’s Cabana Shirts on Seinfeld
Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld (Episode 7.05: “The Hot Tub”)
Vitals
Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer, eccentric “hipster doofus”
New York City to the Hamptons, Spring 1994
Series: Seinfeld (Seasons 5-9)
Created by: Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Costume Designer: Charmaine Nash Simmons
Costumer: Stephanie Kennedy
Background
As we begin planning summer getaways, it’s time to start getting your vacation clothes out of storage… and making sure your son didn’t sell them!
Puffy shirts, Gore-Tex, and “morning mist” had already established the comedic significance of costumes woven into Seinfeld‘s humor by the time the fifth-season episode “The Raincoats” aired 30 years ago today on April 28, 1994. In addition to the eponymous beltless trench coats referenced by the episode’s title, this two-parter directed by Tom Cherones also introduced a new wardrobe staple for the series: Kramer’s terry-lined cabana shirts. Continue reading
Thunderball: Quist’s Cabana Style
Bill Cummings as Quist in Thunderball (1965)
Vitals
Bill Cummings as Quist, silent yet easily subdued SPECTRE henchman
Nassau, Summer 1965
Film: Thunderball
Release Date: December 29, 1965
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Designer: Anthony Mendleson
Background
As summer winds to an unofficial end, I want to continue celebrating some of my favorite warm-weather fashions. During a recent rewatch of Thunderball, I was again struck by how contemporary the men’s summer style remains almost sixty years later, with tropical prints and terry cloth still best-sellers for many modern-day outfitters.
Naturally, Sean Connery’s wardrobe as 007 remains a highlight, but I also delighted in the aloha shirts worn by his allies Q (Desmond Llewelyn) and Felix Leiter (Rik Van Nutter) as well as the beach-wear sported by a character so minor that he’s routinely dismissed not just by the characters, but even the movie itself as Bill Cummings’ performance goes uncredited in the official end credits cast roll. Continue reading
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