Tagged: New England
Richard Burton in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Vitals
Richard Burton as George, weary but witty history professor
New England, Fall 1965
Film: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Release Date: June 21, 1966
Director: Mike Nichols
Costume Designer: Irene Sharaff
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Hollywood icons Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were married (for the first of two times) sixty years ago today on March 15, 1964. The A-list couple starred in 11 films over the span of a decade, with arguably the most acclaimed being Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, adapted by Ernest Lehman from Edward Albee’s play of the same name and the directorial debut for then-comedian Mike Nichols. Continue reading
The Holdovers: Paul Giamatti’s Tan Corduroy Suit and Sweater Vest
Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers (2023)
Vitals
Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, cantankerous boarding school professor
Massachusetts, Winter 1970/1971
Film: The Holdovers
Release Date: October 27, 2023
Director: Alexander Payne
Costume Designer: Wendy Chuck
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of my favorite new releases in 2023 is The Holdovers, Alexander Payne’s comedy-drama centered around the skeleton staff chaperoning a group of boarding school students who aren’t going home for the holidays.
Set through the 1970 winter break, The Holdovers centers around the cranky classics professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), an odorous, lazy-eyed loner whose few friends among the Barton Academy staff include cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and administrator Lydia Crane (Carrie Preston). After four of the five students are given the opportunity to leave Barton days before Christmas, Paul and the remaining student—the bright but troubled Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa)—transform their mutual dislike into a surprising bond.
As many are returning to work and school this week after the holidays, let’s take a deeper look at Paul’s classic Ivy fashions that he wears to bookend the Barton Academy holiday break. Continue reading
Leave Her to Heaven: Cornel Wilde’s Brown Plaid Flannel Shirt
Cornel Wilde in Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Vitals
Cornel Wilde as Richard “Dick” Harland, idealistic novelist
Northern Maine, August 1942
Film: Leave Her to Heaven
Release Date: December 25, 1945
Director: John M. Stahl
Costume Designer: Kay Nelson
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I began Noirvember this month by highlighting a costume from one of the rare classic examples of “color noir”—which is exactly what it sounds like, a crime-centered drama from the 1940s and ’50s that includes many of the same themes and techniques as the shadowy film noir but photographed in full color, rather than the typical black-and-white.
Arguably the first major example of color noir is Leave Her to Heaven, widely released on Christmas 1945 and starring Cornel Wilde opposite the ravishing Gene Tierney, whose performance resulted in the actress’ only Academy Award nomination. Tierney died 32 years ago today on November 6, 1991. Continue reading
Warren Beatty’s White Suit in Reds
Warren Beatty as Jack Reed in Reds (1981)
Vitals
Warren Beatty as John Silas “Jack” Reed, radical journalist and activist
Provincetown, Massachusetts, Summer 1916
Film: Reds
Release Date: December 4, 1981
Director: Warren Beatty
Costume Designer: Shirley Ann Russell
Background
Whether it’s because Labor Day is considered by some sartorial purists to be the last acceptable day for wearing summer whites or because the holiday originated to recognize the American labor movement, it feels appropriate for today’s post to explore Warren Beatty’s off-white summer suit as labor activist Jack Reed in his 1981 historical epic Reds.
Reds won three of the 12 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including Beatty for Best Director, Maureen Stapleton for Best Supporting Actress, and Vittorio Storaro for Best Cinematography, though it had also been nominated for Best Picture and—of significant interest for this blog’s focus—Best Costume Design. Continue reading
Jaws: Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper
Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper in Jaws (1975)
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Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper, oceanographer
Amity Island, July 1974
Film: Jaws
Release Date: June 20, 1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Design: Louise Clark, Robert Ellsworth, and Irwin Rose
Background
As this summer’s headlines are dominated by stories of orcas reclaiming the sea, now is as good a time as any to revisit the 1975 blockbuster Jaws that thrilled audiences upon its release 48 years ago this month.
Based on Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel of the same name, Jaws centers around the hunt for a man-eating shark terrorizing the beach of a New England resort town. The hunters include aquaphobic police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), fearless shark hunter and USS Indianapolis survivor Quint (Robert Shaw), and the intense, serious-minded marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), visiting from the Oceanic Institute. Continue reading
Supernatural: Dean Winchester’s Barbour Jacket in Connecticut
Today’s post about a much-requested character’s style is the second to be written by the curator of the popular Instagram account @jamesbondswardrobe. Enjoy!
Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester in Supernatural (Episode 10.06: “Ask Jeeves”)
Vitals
Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, nonchalant monster hunter
New Canaan, Connecticut, Fall 2014
Series: Supernatural
Episode: “Ask Jeeves” (Episode 10.06)
Air Date: November 18, 2014
Director: John MacCarthy
Costume Designer: Kerry Weinrauch
Background
If the successful spin-offs of this eponymous piece of small-screen history is anything to say, Supernatural is probably one of the greatest TV shows to ever premiere, arguably up there with the likes of M*A*S*H and Friends. The show centers around two monster-hunting brothers—Sam and Dean Winchester—who are likely just as iconic as the show itself. Trailblazing across and around the American heartland in their family heirloom of a car, the duo investigate and hunt all things that go bump in the night.
With fifteen seasons-worth of lore, it’s quite the task to jam all of it into a brief summarization. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it, especially if you’ve a knack for iconic jackets, flannels, old-school muscle and classic rock. In this specific article, we’ll be going over a surprising piece of outerwear worn by Dean: an olive Barbour jacket very likely inspired by Skyfall, which had premiered just two years prior. Continue reading
Love Story: Ryan O’Neal’s Navy Blazer and Reversible Raincoat in an MG
Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw in Love Story (1970)
Vitals
Ryan O’Neal as Oliver Barrett IV, preppy Harvard student
Boston, Winter 1966
Film: Love Story
Release Date: December 16, 1970
Director: Arthur Hiller
Costume Design: Alice Manougian Martin & Pearl Somner
Background
As Car Week continues, it may not seem like it makes sense to focus on such an exposed car like the vintage MG roadster that appears in Love Story, but Ryan O’Neal bundles up accordingly in his reversible raincoat while behind the wheel with Ali MacGraw by his side.
Far From Heaven: Dennis Haysbert’s Green Work Jacket and Red Plaid Shirt
Dennis Haysbert as Raymond Deagan in Far From Heaven (2002)
Vitals
Dennis Haysbert as Raymond Deagan, affable gardener and widowed father
Suburban Connecticut, Fall 1957
Film: Far From Heaven
Release Date: November 8, 2002
Director: Todd Haynes
Costume Designer: Sandy Powell
Background
Far From Heaven premiered twenty years ago this week, a smart, sincere, and stylish drama that stands alone as a thoughtful story beyond its oft-discussed intentional parallels to the Douglas Sirk melodramas of a half-century prior.
The Sirk homages are evident not just in the autumnal photography but also the plot, recalling the romance between a woman and her gardener in All That Heaven Allows (1955) as well as the racial themes driving Imitation of Life (1959). In this case, the woman is housewife Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore), who raises her friends’ eyebrows through her growing bond with Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert), a kind gardener taking over his late father’s accounts. Continue reading
John Forsythe’s Autumn Attire in The Trouble with Harry
John Forsythe as Sam Marlowe in The Trouble with Harry (1955)
Vitals
John Forsythe as Sam Marlowe, touchy artist who scores the town with his belting baritone
Vermont, Fall 1954
Film: The Trouble with Harry
Release Date: September 30, 1955
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
As we settle into what looks like a comfortable autumn—at least for fallphiles like me—I want to highlight what must be one of the earliest movies to truly capture the season’s striking colors.
Though regarded as the “Master of Suspense”, Alfred Hitchcock had long incorporated humor into his movies. The Trouble with Harry differentiates itself among Hitch’s more earnest thrillers and mysteries by emphasizing the comedy, resulting in what may be among of the director’s least suspenseful outfit but still entertaining and certainly aesthetically satisfying. Continue reading
Johnny Depp’s Red Leisure Suit in Blow
Johnny Depp as George Jung in Blow (2001)
Vitals
Johnny Depp as George Jung, successful cocaine smuggler
Massachusetts, Fall 1979
Film: Blow
Release Date: April 6, 2001
Director: Ted Demme
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
Background
One of the more formative movies in developing my appreciation for more outlandish period style is Blow, Ted Demme’s Scorsese-inspired chronicle of the rise and fall of real-life drug smuggler George Jung, who was born 80 years ago today in Weymouth, Massachusetts. The DVD (does anyone remember its white case?) was in almost constant rotation when friends would come over in high school, and Mark Bridges’ costume design resonated to such a degree that, thanks to eBay, I may have been one of the few high-schoolers in the early 2000s to own a vintage polyester leisure suit. Continue reading
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