Tagged: Light blue Short-sleeve Polo Shirt
Goodbye, Columbus: Neil’s Light-Blue Polo
Richard Benjamin with Ali MacGraw in Goodbye, Columbus (1969)
Vitals
Richard Benjamin as Neil Klugman, listless library employee and Army veteran
Westchester County, New York, Summer 1968
Film: Goodbye, Columbus
Release Date: April 3, 1969
Director: Larry Peerce
Costume Designer: Gene Coffin
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This springtime casual Friday feels like an appropriate time to address another request to cover Richard Benjamin’s style from Goodbye, Columbus, released 55 years ago this week on April 3, 1969, just two days after Benjamin’s co-star Ali MacGraw celebrated her 30th birthday. Continue reading
Mad Men: Don’s Blue Knit Golf Shirt for Memorial Day
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 2.06: “Maidenform”)
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, mysterious ad man and Korean War veteran
Ossining, New York, Spring 1962
Series: Mad Men
Episode: “Maidenform” (Episode 2.06)
Air Date: August 31, 2008
Director: Phil Abraham
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
It’s Memorial Day weekend on Mad Men, and the Drapers and their Ossining neighbors gather at the Willow Oaks Golf Club’s annual Ribs and Fashion Show to bemoan their self-described “high-class problems” ranging from the sticky summer from when the Rosenbergs were murdered to taking the fall for the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Among the elite in their tennis whites and the veterans in their aging uniforms, Don’s simple and timeless knit shirt and trousers has been frequently requested as a popular look from the fashion series, despite only appearing in this one episode.
Rod Taylor’s Baracuta Jacket in The Glass Bottom Boat
Rod Taylor as Bruce Templeton in The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)
Vitals
Rod Taylor as Bruce Templeton, charismatic aerospace lab chief
Long Beach, California, Spring 1966
Film: The Glass Bottom Boat
Release Date: June 9, 1966
Director: Frank Tashlin
Costume Designer: Ray Aghayan (credited with Doris Day’s costumes only)
Background
In the years since I’ve started this blog, I’ve discovered that there are many unsung “style heroes” that are often lost in the discussion of Cary Grant, Clark Gable, and Steve McQueen, including actors like Rod Taylor who brought understated elegance to flatteringly tailored suits and timeless casual attire alike.
I was first familiar with Taylor in The Glass Bottom Boat, one of my grandma’s favorite movies and one that we used to watch until we wore the VHS tape thin. Last year, I was delighted to see that my friends Shawn Bongiorno and Ryan Hall had collaborated on a series of Instagram posts that highlighted a look from the movie, and that inspired us to put our heads together and take a deeper dive at a springtime essential that Taylor wears.
The Rum Diary: Gabardine Windbreaker and Chinos
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp in The Rum Diary (2011)
Vitals
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, expatriate American journalist
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Summer 1960
Film: The Rum Diary
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Director: Bruce Robinson
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
Background
“In summary, this airman, although talented, will not be guided by policy,” heralded Hunter S. Thompson’s honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force in November 1957, a considerable understatement given the iconic writer’s eventual symbolic anti-authoritarian status.
Following his discharge, Thompson tried a few journalistic stints in New York but was fired by Time (for insubordination) and the Middletown Daily Record (for damaging a candy machine) and moved to Puerto Rico in 1960.
Having failed to procure a position with the San Juan Star, Thompson wrote for the El Sportivo sporting magazine… though it folded quickly after his arrival. His experiences in San Juan formed the basis of The Rum Diary, a novel that he penned shortly after his return to the U.S. the following year, although it wasn’t published for more than three decades.
While it would be inaccurate to describe The Rum Diary as a strict roman à clef, its morose, restless narrator Paul Kemp is clearly modeled on Thompson himself, and Thompson’s friend Johnny Depp was naturally tapped to play the role in the film adaptation. Continue reading
Bond Style – Crab Key Summer Attire in Dr. No
Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No (1962).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, cunning and sophisticated British government agent
Jamaica, Summer 1962
Film: Dr. No
Release Date: October 5, 1962
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Master: John Brady
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Last year around this time, I covered the various swimwear sported by Sean Connery in Thunderball. Today, I’ll be looking at James Bond’s first cinematic beach visit, although his intent was more reconnaissance than leisure.
After a thorough investigation in Jamaica—which included a very bad date—Bond decides that his new target is undoubtedly the evil and enigmatic Dr. No, who has holed up on Crab Key with a small army of disposable minions and a standard megalomaniac plan to take over the world. Continue reading
Paul Kemp’s Blue Suit Jacket and Corvette in The Rum Diary
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp in The Rum Diary (2011).
Vitals
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, expatriate American journalist and borderline alcoholic
Puerto Rico, Summer 1960
Film: The Rum Diary
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Director: Bruce Robinson
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
Background
Car week continues with a story by an American icon involving an iconic American car.
More than a decade before becoming the face and beautifully twisted mind of Gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson was a struggling writer who had recently been discharged (honorably, but with prejudice) from the U.S. Air Force and had a few legal issues to his credit, not the least of all being the sinking of nearly every boat in a Kentucky harbor by shooting holes into the boats’ hulls just below the waterline. Continue reading