Tagged: Cardigan Sweater
Succession: Roman’s Cardigan for Norway
Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy on Succession, Episode 4.05 (“Kill List”)
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Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy, newly ascended “CE-bro”
Møre og Romsdal, Norway, Fall 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “Kill List” (Episode 4.05)
Air Date: April 23, 2023
Director: Andrij Parekh
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
My favorite Succession looks are always when the Roy family and their hangers-on are out of the office—or, even better—far from the city, either dressed down in linens for a sunny day at sea or layered in knitwear and Barbours for the country.
Midway through the series’ fourth and final season, “Kill List” was an example of the latter, transporting the Waystar RoyCo corporate entourage to western Norway for tech giant GoJo’s corporate retreat, where they plan to land a deal with its insufferably erratic Elon-esque billionaire CEO, Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård).
The Scandinavian woods brought out plenty of great style, from Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) in his shearling-lined bomber and one of his trademark cashmere caps to Siobhan (Sarah Snook) rotating through a few neutral turtlenecks layered under sport jackets… not to forget her soon-to-be-ex-husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) channeling Steve McQueen in a similar sport jacket and turtleneck, albeit with sneakers so white they threaten to confuse the molly-addled Swedes among them.
Among many great performances, the episode belonged to Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy, who was already an exceedingly entertaining character but whose mourning through the latest season brought out an even greater depth in the character. Succession has chronicled Roman’s growth from an immature prankster to a more business-minded professional—albeit still not one above his occasional dick joke (or pic, with apologies to Gerri Kellman). His quest for his father’s approval—even posthumously—has shown Roman taking himself more seriously while still battling his own unresolved inner turmoil. Continue reading
Mad Men: Kinsey’s 420-Friendly Mohair Cardigan
Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey on Mad Men, Episode 3.03: “My Old Kentucky Home”
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Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey, blowhard advertising copywriter
New York City, Spring 1963
Series: Mad Men
Episode: “My Old Kentucky Home” (Episode 3.03)
Air Date: August 30, 2009
Director: Jennifer Getzinger
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
Background
Though Mad Men is typically associated with alcohol, especially in the early seasons set early in the 1960s, the series still included a handful of memorable 420 moments, from Don Draper’s flashback-inducing toke at a Bohemian shindig to when Pete Campbell finally chills out with a much-needed spliff to the tune of Janis Joplin toward the end of the sixth season. But before we get to that point, we have a trio of Sterling Cooper creatives spending their Saturday afternoon trying to smoke their way to success on the Bacardi account in the third-season episode “My Old Kentucky Home”, set sixty years ago in the spring of 1963.
While the senior staff are invited to “work disguised as a party” hosted by Roger Sterling and his new wife Jane, copywriter Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis) is among the Sterling Cooper skeleton crew of Smitty Smith (Patrick Cavanaugh) and Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) stranded in the office on this sunny spring weekend. Continue reading
Poker Face: Charlie’s Jacquard Cardigan
Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale on Poker Face, Episode 1.01: “Dead Man’s Hand”
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Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, casino cocktail waitress and human lie detector
Nevada, November 2021
Series: Poker Face
Episode: “Dead Man’s Hand” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: January 26, 2023
Director: Rian Johnson
Creator: Rian Johnson
Costume Designer: Trayce Gigi Field
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Despite the mysteries that drive each episode, it was no mystery to me that Poker Face would immediately become one of my favorite new shows of 2023. As intended, this case-of-the-week series could softly be described as a modern update to Columbo, with its “howcatchem” structure (rather than the traditional murder-mystery “whodunit”) and a scrappy lead character with an uncanny ability to read people, here brought to life by the amazing Natasha Lyonne, who celebrates her 44th birthday today. Continue reading
Succession: Logan’s Navy Knit Blazer-Cardigan in “The Munsters”
Brian Cox as Logan Roy on Succession, Episode 4.01 (“The Munsters”)
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Brian Cox as Logan Roy, media mogul and domineering patriarch
New York City, Fall 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “The Munsters” (Episode 4.01)
Air Date: March 26, 2023
Director: Mark Mylod
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
Background
Succession fans welcomed the premiere of the fourth and final season on Sunday night, setting up the pieces for our final chapter with the profane and power-hungry Roy family.
As in the first episode, this installment centered around a birthday party in honor of Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the misanthropic head of the Waystar RoyCo media conglomerate. Continue reading
Michael Caine’s Thanksgiving Cardigan in Hannah and Her Sisters
Michael Caine as Elliot in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
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Michael Caine as Elliot, financial advisor
New York City, Thanksgiving 1985
Film: Hannah and Her Sisters
Release Date: February 7, 1986
Director: Woody Allen
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Background
Happy Thanksgiving! Hannah and Her Sisters is one of my favorite movies to keep in my Turkey Day rotation (I know, I know, Woody Allen… And no, I’m certainly not one of the Maxes in the “Woody Underground” described in Jason Diamond’s excellent recent article for his Substack, The Melt.)
Set between three Thanksgivings, the story centers on the eponymous Hannah (Mia Farrow) and those in her orbit, including her nebbish ex-husband Mickey (Allen) and her current husband Elliot (Michael Caine), a “glorified accountant” whom we meet at the outset harboring an impossible obsession with Hannah’s sister Lee (Barbara Hershey).
“God, she’s beautiful,” Elliot’s limerence-laden narration begins over Harry James’ “I’ve Heard That Song Before,” as he continues detailing his private admiration and lust for Lee while he and Hannah host their annual Thanksgiving party. Of course, he’s concerned less about the Thanksgiving turkey than at landing himself that elusive Hershey’s kiss (do you get it please?) Continue reading
Nightmare Alley: Comparing Carlisle’s Cardigans in 1947 vs. 2021
Left: Tyrone Power as Stan Carlisle in Nightmare Alley (1947)
Right: Bradley Cooper as Stan Carlisle in Nightmare Alley (2021)
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Tyrone Power (1947) and Bradley Cooper (2021) as Stanton “Stan” Carlisle, opportunistic drifter-turned-carny
Rural Kentucky, Summer into fall 1939
Film: Nightmare Alley
Release Date: October 9, 1947
Director: Edmund Goulding
Costume Designer: Bonnie Cashin
Film: Nightmare Alley
Release Date: December 17, 2021
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Costume Designer: Luis Sequeira
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Almost immediately after William Lindsay Gresham published his 1946 novel Nightmare Alley chronicling the grifters, geeks, and gals populating a second-rate sideshow, Tyrone Power asked 20th Century Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck to purchase the film rights.
Power had built his swashbuckling screen image in movies like The Mask of Zorro (1940), Blood and Sand (1941), and The Black Swan (1942), but—as so many had—returned from his World War II service as a changed man. The decorated Lieutenant Power was released from Marine Corps active duty in January 1946 and, after flying dangerous transport missions during the war, sought roles that would expand his image beyond the romantic hero he had established.
Director Edmund Goulding helmed the production that brought Gresham’s creepy carnival world to life via a working carnival constructed on ten acres of the Fox back lot, even employing actual carnies and more than 100 sideshow attractions to add verisimilitude. The talented cast also included Joan Blondell, appropriately appearing about fifteen years beyond her Warner Brothers heyday as she deliciously dives into the role of the washed-up tarot reader “Mademoiselle Zeena” whom the unscrupulous Stanton Carlisle manipulates into revealing the trick to her successful mentalist act. The married Zeena allows herself to fall for Carlisle’s romantic advances despite being married to her alcoholic stage partner Pete (Ian Keith) and Carlisle’s own obvious interest in the ingenue Molly (Coleen Gray).
Nightmare Alley premiered 75 years ago today on October 9, 1947, with Power’s performance lauded by critics like James Agee, who noted for Time that he “steps into a new class as an actor,” playing against type as Carlisle.
The Nightmare Alley story was recently revived for Guillermo del Toro’s re-adaptation of the novel, reinstating some of the darker components to blend Gothic horror with the noir-ish elements that were also present in Goulding’s film. Released in December 2021, del Toro’s Oscar-nominated Nightmare Alley featured a star-studded cast led by Bradley Cooper as Carlisle, Toni Collette as Zeena, Rooney Mara as Molly, David Strathairn as Pete, and Cate Blanchett as Dr. Lilith Ritter, the mysterious femme fatale who Carlisle meets after escaping the carnival world and re-establishing himself as the debonair mentalist “The Great Stanton”. Continue reading
The Gambler: James Caan’s Houndstooth Cardigan
James Caan as Axel Freed in The Gambler (1974)
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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
A meditation on self-destruction, The Gambler was based on James Toback’s semi-autobiographical script that was the first to be produced from the soon-to-be-prolific screenwriter. Toback had incorporated his own gambling addiction that plagued him while he lectured at City College of New York. Robert De Niro was an early contender for the leading role of Axel Freed, but director Karel Reisz opted to cast another Corleone: James Caan, who explained the challenge of the role that would reportedly be one of his favorites from own his filmography: “It’s not easy to make people care about a guy who steals from his mother to pay gambling debts.” Continue reading
The Godfather, Part III: Pacino’s Brick-Red Cardigan
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III (1990)
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Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, repentant mob boss and World War II veteran
New York City, Fall 1979
Film: The Godfather Part III
Release Date: December 25, 1990
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in.
Sixteen years after its masterpiece sequel told the parallel stories of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and his father Vito (Robert De Niro) building their crime families, Francis Ford Coppola returned to the Corleone clan with the polarizing coda, The Godfather, Part III. Continue reading
Batman: Michael Keaton Gets Nuts in Layered Taupe
Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne in Batman (1989)
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Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, enigmatic millionaire and defender of Gotham
Gotham City, Fall 1989
Film: Batman
Release Date: June 23, 1989
Director: Tim Burton
Costume Designer: Bob Ringwood
Clothes By: Giorgio Armani
Background
Happy 70th birthday, Michael Keaton! Born September 5, 1951 just outside of Pittsburgh, Keaton rose to fame throughout the ’80s in comedies like Night Shift, Mr. Mom, and Beetlejuice before he was tapped for the titular role in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Bob Kane’s famous comics. The casting decision initially soured fans, who mailed thousands of letters to Warner Bros. in protest, but his unassuming performance quickly won over audiences and Batman became one of the top-grossing movies of 1989.
Mister Rogers
Fred Rogers on the set of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
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Fred Rogers, America’s favorite neighbor
Pittsburgh, late 1960s through early 2000s
Series: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Air Dates: February 19, 1968 through August 31, 2001
Created by: Fred Rogers
Background
I’ve written plenty about characters and figures who may have influenced my fashion sense and lifestyle, but today I want to recognize someone who (I hope!) had one of the most significant impacts on my personality during my formative years. Fred Rogers was born 93 years ago today on March 20, 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, just about an hour east of where I currently live. For more than thirty years, he celebrated acceptance, inclusiveness, curiosity, emotional intelligence, open-mindedness, and love as the warm host of the Emmy Award-winning series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, filmed at WQED Studios in Pittsburgh.