Tagged: Polo Shirt
The Family Stone: Luke Wilson’s New Plaid Polo Jacket on Christmas Morning
Luke Wilson as Ben Stone in The Family Stone (2005)
Vitals
Luke Wilson as Ben Stone, documentary film editor
New England, Christmas 2005
Film: The Family Stone
Release Date: December 16, 2005
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Costume Designer: Shay Cunliffe
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Merry Christmas!
Released twenty years ago this month, The Family Stone (written and directed by Thomas Bezucha) has quietly earned its place in the modern Christmas-movie canon—not through spectacle or sentimentality, but by capturing something far more recognizable: the particular emotional chaos of being home for the holidays with people who know you a little too well.
Already an emotionally demanding watch, The Family Stone feels newly poignant in the wake of Diane Keaton’s death in October 2025 at age 79. Her characteristically stylish, warm yet acerbic, and ultimately devastating performance as the matriarch Sybil Stone has long been the film’s emotional anchor, and revisiting it now adds an unavoidable layer of grief and gratitude to a story already steeped in both.
Headed by the formidable Sybil and her husband Kelly (Craig T. Nelson), the Stones live in the fictional New England town of Thayer, likely somewhere in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley. Each Christmas, their five adult children—and an assortment of significant others—descend on the family home for a few days of overlapping traditions, unresolved resentments, and aggressively honest conversation.
Most families have a Ben. Luke Wilson’s youngest Stone sibling is the laid-back, free-spirited one—sometimes too laid-back, if his two consecutive missed flights are any indication. An excessive stoner even by his liberal New England family’s standards, Ben’s unbothered demeanor ultimately establishes him as the family diplomat: the only one who really gets along with his brother Everett’s tightly wound girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), gradually thawing her icy, defensive exterior. Continue reading
Rob Reiner in This is Spinal Tap
Rob Reiner as Marty Di Bergi in This is Spinal Tap (1984)
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Rob Reiner as Marty Di Bergi, documentary filmmaker
Across the United States, Fall 1982 to Spring 1983
Film: This is Spinal Tap
Release Date: March 2, 1984
Director: Rob Reiner
Costume Stylist: Renee Johnston
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
To celebrate the life of the late Rob Reiner following his and his wife Michele’s tragic deaths over the weekend, today’s post turns it up to eleven with his directorial debut: the 1984 mockumentary—if you will, rockumentary—This is Spinal Tap.
As the son of comedy legends Carl and Estelle Reiner, Rob established his own career on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family as Mike “Meathead” Stivic, whose passion for political activism mirrored the actor’s own. “I could win the Nobel Prize and they’d write ‘Meathead wins the Nobel Prize’,” the two-time Emmy-winning Reiner once commented of the nickname’s lasting association. Though he continued to act, Reiner pivoted behind the camera with a prolific and wide-ranging filmography as the director of genre-spanning modern classics like Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Misery (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), and The American President (1995)—adept at everything from rom-coms and courtroom drama to fantasy and suspense.
Designed to satirize more hagiographical music documentaries, This is Spinal Tap popularized—if not effectively launched—the mockumentary: a comedic format that continues to thrive through titles like Abbott Elementary, Borat, Documentary Now!, The Office, Parks & Recreation, and What We Do in the Shadows.
Reiner allows Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer to shine as the fictional metal band Spinal Tap, also appearing on screen as Marty Di Bergi, a filmmaker tasked with chronicling the titular band’s American comeback tour. Continue reading
Killer’s Kiss: Jamie Smith’s Nailhead Jacket and Knitwear
Jamie Smith as Davey Gordon in Killer’s Kiss (1955)
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Jamie Smith as Davey Gordon, washed-up welterweight boxer
New York City, Fall 1954
Film: Killer’s Kiss
Release Date: October 1, 1955
Director: Stanley Kubrick
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Stanley Kubrick’s independently produced sophomore film Killer’s Kiss was released 70 years ago this fall—premiering in New York City on September 21, 1955, followed by a wider release on October 1st.
Pittsburgh-born Jamie Smith stars as burned-out ex-boxer Davey Gordon, whose growing romantic involvement with his neighbor—the alluring blonde taxi dancer Gloria Price (Chris Chase, credited as Irene Kane)—sets him dangerously at odds with her shady employer, Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera). Inventively shot and economically packaged (if somewhat underwritten) on a $75,000 budget, this tight thriller clocks in just under 70 minutes, benefiting from on-location shooting across New York from Penn Station and Times Square to the Brooklyn waterfront and “Hell’s Hundred Acres” in SoHo.
As Davey and Gloria plot their escape from the neon-lit nights of 1950s New York, the storyline and atmosphere read like a blend of Detour (1945) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957), making this little-known landmark noir an ideal starting point for Noirvember! Continue reading
Night Moves: Gene Hackman’s Blue Lacoste Shirt
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby in Night Moves (1975)
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Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby, private detective and former professional football player
Florida Keys, Fall 1973
Film: Night Moves
Release Date: June 11, 1975
Director: Arthur Penn
Costumer: Arnie Lipin
Costume Supervisor: Rita Riggs
Background
I love sweaty ’70s movies during the summer, especially when our star is rocking a superb soup-strainer.
Released 50 years ago in June 1975, the dolorous detective thriller Night Moves features the marvelous mustached private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) dressed in array of casual attire, from super-trendy safari shirts and suede shirt-jacs to more timeless attire like a smart tweed sports coat and a classic Lacoste tennis shirt to beat the heat when his work takes him to the Florida Keys. Continue reading
The Two Jakes: Jack Nicholson’s Gray Donegal Tweed Jacket
Jack Nicholson as J.J. Gittes in The Two Jakes (1990)
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Jack Nicholson as J.J. “Jake” Gittes, world-weary private investigator and ex-policeman
Los Angeles, Fall 1948
Film: The Two Jakes
Release Date: August 10, 1990
Director: Jack Nicholson
Costume Designer: Wayne A. Finkelman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I had only just turned one when The Two Jakes was released 35 years ago today on August 10, 1990, so I can’t say whether anyone was really asking for a sequel to Roman Polanski’s 1974 neo-noir masterpiece Chinatown. What I can say is that there’s been surprisingly steady interest from BAMF Style readers in how Jack Nicholson’s wardrobe evolved from Anthea Sylbert’s Oscar-nominated designs for the 1930s-set Chinatown to suit the sequel’s setting in the fall of 1948. Continue reading
Niagara: Joseph Cotten in Shades of Gray
Joseph Cotten as George Loomis in Niagara (1953)
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Joseph Cotten as George Loomis, former sheep rancher and Korean War veteran
The Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Summer 1952
Film: Niagara
Release Date: January 21, 1953
Director: Henry Hathaway
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of 20th Century Fox’s biggest box-office hits of 1953, Niagara is one of the most accessible movies to be described with the seemingly oxymoronic “color noir,” blending elements of dark film noir with stunning three-strip Technicolor, photographed by cinematographer Joseph MacDonald.
The action is set at picturesque Niagara Falls—specifically on the Canadian side, though the American side became New York’s first state park 140 years ago today when Governor David B. Hill signed legislation creating the Niagara Reservation on April 30, 1885. The tradition of newlyweds journeying to Niagara Falls dates back to at least 1801, when Aaron Burr’s daughter Theodesia joined her new husband Joseph Alston at the falls.
The destination’s self-dubbed reputation as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” inspired producer Charles Brackett, who co-wrote the script for Niagara with Richard Breen and Walter Reisch. The story centers around the honeymooning Cutlers—Ray (Max Showalter) and Polly (Jean Peters)—who arrive at the Rainbow Cabins, only to find their reserved suite still occupied by George Loomis (Joseph Cotten) and his sultry wife Rose (Marilyn Monroe), who explains to the couple that George was recently discharged from an Army mental hospital. Continue reading
The Departed: Jack Nicholson’s Seersucker Sport Jacket
Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello in The Departed (2006)
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Jack Nicholson as Francis “Frank” Costello, sadistic Irish-American mob boss
Boston, Spring 2007
Film: The Departed
Release Date: October 6, 2006
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Sandy Powell
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
With 12 Academy Award nominations (and three wins), today’s birthday boy Jack Nicholson remains the most-nominated male actor in Oscar history. Following a prolific career that began in the late 1950s, Nicholson delivered one final characteristically intense performance in The Departed (2006), his first—and, given his decades-long retirement from acting, only—collaboration with director Martin Scorsese. Continue reading
The Godfather, Part II: Hyman Roth’s Birthday Party Knit Shirt
Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth in The Godfather Part II (1974)
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Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth, mobster and gambling kingpin
Havana, New Year’s Eve 1958
Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Released 50 years ago this month, The Godfather Part II expands the Corleone crime family chronicles to include Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg), a respected gangster inspired by the real-life Meyer Lansky. Al Pacino had been one of Strasberg’s students at the Actors Studio and recommended his former acting coach for the role that would eventually garner Strasberg his sole Academy Award nomination.
Decades after his rumrunning partnership with the Corleones during Prohibition, the aging Roth is now based in Miami, where he’s visited by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) to discuss a history-making collaboration. The two travel to Havana to work with representatives from American corporations and Fulgencio Batista’s corrupt Cuban government to take over a Reno casino—all while Roth is plotting to fatally double-cross Michael.
Of course, it’s the last week of December 1958, so the Batista government’s days are numbered as Fidel Castro’s rebels are getting closer to their New Year’s Eve victory. However, the primary celebration on Hyman Roth’s mind is his 67th birthday, which he celebrates on a Havana rooftop with Michael, Roth’s right-hand man Johnny Ola (Dominic Chianese), and other criminal cohorts. Continue reading
And Then There Were None (2015): Anthony Marston’s Pink Terry Shirt
Douglas Booth as Anthony Marston in And Then There Were None (2015)
Vitals
Douglas Booth as Anthony Marston, irresponsible socialite
Devon, England, August 1939
Series Title: And Then There Were None
Air Date: December 26-28, 2015
Director: Craig Viveiros
Costume Designer: Lindsay Pugh
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
A recent rewatch of the 2015 BBC One series And Then There Were None brought to mind the exquisite parade of interesting menswear designed by Lindsay Pugh for the half-dozen gents summoned to the mysterious Soldier Island off the coast of Devon. The series is set during a late summer weekend in August 1939 on the brink of World War II, a specter that hauntingly looms over the darkly faithful series which is the first English-language adaptation to restore Agatha Christie’s original ending.
The story centers around ten strangers—eight guests and a married couple to serve as their staff—invited to the island by the enigmatic U.N. Owen, whom it is quickly established none of the ten have ever met… nor will they meet him, as their unknown host only makes his presence known by a recording accusing each of the ten of murder. All but two of the attendees respond with horrified denials, with the roguish adventurer Philip Lombard (Aidan Turner) and brash socialite Anthony Marston (Douglas Booth) being the only two to instantly own up to their past crimes. Continue reading
The Gambler: James Caan’s White Tennis Gear
James Caan as Axel Freed in The Gambler (1974)
Vitals
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
In addition to today being the first day of summer, June 20th is also observed as International Tennis Day, established ten years ago to recognize the day when the first “Tennis Court Oath” was taken in 1789 at a tennis court near the Palace of Versailles.
The sport has found renewed interest this year after the release of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, a film not without its own notable style including—but certainly not limited to—the “I TOLD YA” T-shirt homage to John F. Kennedy Jr. that costume designer J.W. Anderson chose for Zendaya’s wardrobe.
“We don’t talk enough about the scene in the original version of The Gambler where the James Caan character absolutely destroys his own mother at tennis,” Matt Zoller Seitz tweeted after Caan’s death in July 2022, so I’m hoping to rectify this oversight.
While Challengers will have its BAMF Style spotlight soon, the intersection of International Tennis Day and the summer solstice during the 50th anniversary year of The Gambler drew me toward the Fred Perry-branded tennis whites that Caan wore as Axel Freed in this 1974 drama. Continue reading
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