Tagged: Formalwear
Black Tie in Scarface – 1932 Style
Paul Muni (center) aims a Thompson submachine gun as Tony Camonte in Scarface (1932).
Vitals
Paul Muni as Tony Camonte, ruthless Italian-born bootlegger and mob enforcer
Chicago, Summer 1929
Film: Scarface
Release Date: April 9, 1932
Director: Howard Hawks
Background
The 1983 Scarface film starring Al Pacino is one of the most popular crime flicks out there, popular enough to warrant the first of many entries on this blog last week. Many people know that it is a remake (although I prefer to think of it as an “update”) of a 1932 film. This earlier movie, also entitled Scarface but given the morality-enforced subtitle The Shame of a Nation, is one of my favorite films of all time. Continue reading
Paul Newman’s Black Tie in The Sting
Paul Newman as Henry Gondorff in The Sting (1973).
Vitals
Paul Newman as Henry Gondorff, Chicago con artist posing as a betting parlor operator
Chicago, September 1936
Film: The Sting
Release Date: December 25, 1973
Director: George Roy Hill
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
It’s been almost a year since I’ve covered the classy Henry Gondorff, played by Paul Newman in 1973’s The Sting, so what would be more appropriate for New Year’s Eve than to break down Gondorff in black tie. Continue reading
John F. Kennedy’s Ivy League Style
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States.
Vitals
John F. Kennedy, U.S. President
Early 1960s, Washington, D.C.
Background
Not every commemoration on BAMF Style is a happy one. To honor JFK on the 50th anniversary of his assassination, I’ll be examining the style of a man often described as our country’s most stylish president.
Whether he was in his office, at a cocktail party, or sailing off of Narragansett Bay, the Kennedys’ style captured the attention of the nation, with men taking hints from Jack’s fashion-forward sartorial sense and women envying Jackie’s elegance.
Everyone has their own conspiracy theory about who truly ended his life in Dallas fifty years ago today, but this isn’t the place to discuss that. Instead, I’ll be delving into the look and style of a man who became an American icon. Continue reading
Bond Style – Black Tie in Thunderball
This weekend, James Bond himself – Sean Connery – turns 83. Celebrate in style with black tie and either a vodka martini or, to honor his heritage, a tumbler of single malt Scotch.
Sean Connery as James Bond in Thunderball.
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and legendary super spy
Nassau, May 1965
Film: Thunderball
Release Date: December 29, 1965
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Designer: Anthony Mendleson
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
For the first time in three years, James Bond spends the majority of the film in beach attire, from swimming trunks to casual shirts and linen slacks. Reasonably so, too, as the warm climate of the Bahamas doesn’t really demand a three-piece flannel suit and tie.
However, we are still given a glimpse of the Bond we all know and love when he rolls into the Nassau casino suited up in a snazzy midnight blue tuxedo. Continue reading
The Casino Royale Dinner Jacket
I’m not sure if any of you knew this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you did – today is National Martini Day, celebrating the favorite drink of many from presidents and industrialists to entertainers and fictional secret agents.
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006).
BAMF Style’s choice for today was an obvious one.
Vitals
Daniel Craig as James Bond, rookie British secret agent
Montenegro, Summer 2006
Film: Casino Royale
Release Date: November 14, 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming
Background
After years of audiences used to Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan*, some Bond fans were unsure what to expect with the new tough and gritty Bond played by Daniel Craig. While most hardcore fans – especially those of Fleming’s novels – were pleased by the return to form in 2006’s Casino Royale, some worried that the “Bourne-era” Bond would be too tough for the Bond dinner jacket.
Luckily, Casino Royale not only puts Bond in a sharp tailored dinner jacket for the second act of the film, but his formalwear actually is commented on in the film’s dialogue as Vesper tells him:
There are dinner jackets and dinner jackets. This is the latter.
The Godfather: Don Corleone’s Tuxedo for his Daughter’s Wedding
For the final entry of BAMF Style’s Week of Weddings, we’re examining one of the cinema’s most iconic characters.
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972)
Vitals
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, powerful Mafia boss and father of four
Long Island, NY, August 1945
Film: The Godfather
Release Date: March 15, 1972
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone
Background
You’ve come across the scene a million times, whether actually watching it, seeing photos, or hearing your friends quote it. And indeed it is one of the most quotable sequences in film history.
I’m gonna make him an offer he won’t refuse.
The Many Marriages of Sidney Reilly
Yet another Week of Weddings two-partner, this time looking at the many marriages of Sidney Reilly, just in time for Throwback Thursday.
1901
Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly during his first wedding on Reilly: Ace of Spies (Episode: “An Affair with a Married Woman”).
Vitals
Sam Neill as the former Shlomo Rosenblum, now Sidney Reilly, an ex-professor hired as an informant for the British Secret Service
Southampton, Summer 1901
Series: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Episode: “An Affair with a Married Woman” (Episode 1)
Air Date: September 5, 1983
Director: Jim Goddard
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller
Background
Hopefully you know all about Reilly from the first Reilly: Ace of Spies post on this blog. What? You don’t want to go back and read all million paragraphs I wrote? Too bad, here’s a million more:
The first episode, “An Affair with a Married Woman”, quickly establishes Reilly as a cunning man who will stop at nothing in pursuit of his goals. In the summer of 1901, the young Reilly’s primary goal is money. Thus, the following sequence is appealing to him:
- Reilly meets a young woman who is married to a rich older man
- Reilly sleeps with the young woman, who falls in love with him
- The rich older man dies, leaving the young woman with a lot of money
Dino’s New Year’s Eve Tuxedo in Ocean’s 11
Vitals
Dean Martin as Sam Harmon in the original 1960 Ocean’s Eleven.
Dean Martin as Sam Harmon, lounge singer and part-time casino heister
Las Vegas, New Year’s Eve 1959
Film: Ocean’s Eleven
Release Date: August 10, 1960
Director: Lewis Milestone
Costume Designer: Howard Shoup
Tailor: Sy Devore
Background
Much as Dean Martin was seen as Frank Sinatra’s second-in-command in the Rat Pack, Martin’s character Sam Harmon was the right-hand man to Sinatra’s Danny Ocean in the original Ocean’s Eleven. When the film was remade forty years later, Dean Martin’s Sam Harmon became Brad Pitt’s Rusty Ryan, who matched Martin’s sharp-dressed style with classy suits and sport jackets.
However, Pitt knew to stay away from the territory Dean Martin was known for: his tuxedos. Continue reading
Don Draper’s White Dinner Jacket
Don Draper’s approach to a white dinner jacket, typically reserved for summer, defines the attitude of a lighthearted and classy celebration. Take heed for any New Year’s Eve celebrations this week.
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode: “The Gold Violin”)
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Madison Avenue ad man with a dark past
New York City, July 1962
Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Gold Violin” (Episode 2.07)
Air Date: September 7, 2008
Director: Andrew Bernstein
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
Background
We’ve seen Don Draper at work and at play. But when he’s invited to a soiree at the Stork Club one warm Monday night, Draper channels James Bond and pulls out his summer dinner jacket.
By “The Gold Violin”, the seventh episode of the second season, Draper has engaged in a full affair with the wife of entertainer Jimmy Barrett. His professional life is on the rise and, as evidenced by his Cadillac, he’s “arrived”.
However, the party at the Stork Club proves to be a bad decision and marks the beginning of the end for Don and trophy wife Betty. Continue reading
A Black Tie Christmas with Nick Charles
BAMF Style’s 5 Days of Christmas
To celebrate the holidays, BAMF Style will be chronicling the finest yuletide looks from some of our favorites. If you have any suggestions that don’t make it onto the blog this week, don’t worry, there’s always next year. Or the year after. (Or, if it’s a really good one, Christmas in July?)
William Powell as Nick Charles in The Thin Man (1934).
The easiest way to begin (and to celebrate Formal Friday) is naturally…
Vitals
William Powell as Nick Charles, retired private detective
New York City, Christmas 1933
Film: The Thin Man
Release Date: May 25, 1934
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Wardrobe Credit: Dolly Tree
Background
Following his Christmas celebrations, Nick Charles is naturally called upon by the police to solve a murder. With the two most useful tools at his disposal – a sharp wife and an infallible liver – he does so with gusto. Unlike most policemen’s standard procedure of bringing a suspect in for questioning, this would be the waste of a fine dinner party opportunity for a bon vivant like Nick. Naturally, the suspects are the guests of honor, aptly served their dinner and drinks by armed policemen. Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.