Tagged: Spring
First Man: Neil Armstrong’s Gun Club Check and Omega
Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man (2018)
Vitals
Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, NASA astronaut and former U.S. Navy pilot
Houston, Texas, August 1962 through March 1966
Film: First Man
Release Date: October 12, 2018
Director: Damien Chazelle
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres
Background
In addition to being my 30th birthday, today is also the 50th anniversary of when Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the surface of the Moon at 02:56:15 UTC on July 21, 1969, six hours after he and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle as part of the Apollo 11 spaceflight, a mission also manned by command module pilot Michael Collins.
Last year, Damien Chazelle directed Ryan Gosling in First Man, a biopic focused on Neil Armstrong’s life and career through the 1960s from the tragic death of his young daughter Karen to his triumphant first steps on the Moon… “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Continue reading
Magic City: Ben the Butcher’s White Linen Guayabera
Danny Huston as Ben “the Butcher” Diamond in “Feeding Frenzy”, episode 1.02 of Magic City (2012-2013)
Vitals
Danny Huston as Ben “the Butcher” Diamond, sadistic and volatile Miami gangster
Miami Beach, spring 1959
Series: Magic City
Episodes:
– “Feeding Frenzy” (Episode 1.02, dir: Ed Bianchi, aired April 13, 2012)
– “The Harder They Fall” (Episode 1.06, dir: Ed Bianchi, aired May 11, 2012)
– “Crime and Punishment” (Episode 2.01, dir: Clark Johnson, aired June 14, 2013)
Creator: Mitch Glazer
Costume Designer: Carol Ramsey
Background
Considering classic gangland style evokes images of pinstripe suits, flashy jewelry, and wide-brimmed fedoras… but what do gangsters wear when the sun’s at its brightest? On #MafiaMonday, let’s travel down to sunny Miami Beach where—even in the middle of January—mobster Ben “the Butcher” Diamond is dressed in lightweight linen for days by the swimming pool and nights at the cocktail lounge in Starz’s canceled-too-soon period drama Magic City. Continue reading
Cary Grant’s Beige Summer Jacket and Citroën in That Touch of Mink
Cary Grant and Doris Day in That Touch of Mink (1962)
Vitals
Cary Grant as Philip Shayne, smooth, sophisticated, and suave investment executive and “perfect gentleman”
Bermuda, Spring 1962
Film: That Touch of Mink
Release Date: June 14, 1962
Director: Delbert Mann
Tailor: Cardinal Clothes (credited “for Cary Grant’s suits”)
Background
After being first splashed, then swept, off her feet by the charming tycoon Philip Shayne (Cary Grant), unemployed Manhattanite Cathy Timerblake (Doris Day) finds herself accepting his impromptu invitation to join her for a summery respite in Bermuda. “Nowhere else in the world an you see beaches with pink sand,” Philip promises.
Having purchased every seat on a Pan Am passenger jet to Bermuda, Philip is there to meet her as she deplanes, chauffeuring her in his 1961 Citroën roadster to their luxurious suite at the Victoria Hotel, which is doubled on screen by the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. Continue reading
Bond’s Green Safari Jacket in The Man with the Golden Gun
Roger Moore as James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, British government agent
Bangkok, Thailand, Spring 1974
Film: The Man with the Golden Gun
Release Date: December 20, 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Tailor: Cyril Castle
Clothes by: Jimmy Chen
Wardrobe Supervisor: Elsa Fennell
Background
Today marks the momentous 20th anniversary of the first time I’d ever seen a James Bond movie. June 19, 1999, was the first Saturday of my summer vacation after 4th grade, and my friend Nate was hosting a dozen friends for his 10th birthday party. Among the pizza, pop, and festivities was a rented copy of The Man with the Golden Gun on VHS… and thus Roger Moore was my introduction to agent 007.
Arguably one of the most iconic outfits—for better or worse—from Moore’s sophomore outing is the green safari shirt-jacket and cream trousers that the agent wears when he arrives to meet Andrea Anders (Maud Adams) at a Muay Thai match to take possession of the film’s MacGuffin, a solex agitator.
Casino – De Niro’s Pink Robe
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)
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Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1978
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
More than a year has passed since I last explored the expansive and flashy wardrobe worn by Robert De Niro as “Ace” Rothstein in Casino, so what better occasion than the real Ace’s birthday to take another look at the casino executive’s colorful attire.
Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal was born 90 years ago today—June 12, 1929—in Chicago, where he spent his formative years and early career until moving to Miami in the early ’60s. Within the decade, Lefty grew tired of the attention from local police and federal authorities and moved out to Las Vegas, where he swiftly and secretly established himself as the operator of the now-demolished Stardust Resort and Casino.
Richard Burton’s Golf Cardigan in The Sandpiper
Richard Burton as Dr. Edward Hewitt in The Sandpiper (1965)
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Richard Burton as Dr. Edward Hewitt, self-righteous Episcopal boarding school headmaster
Pebble Beach, California, Spring 1965
Film: The Sandpiper
Release Date: June 23, 1965
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Costume Designer: Irene Sharaff
Background
This Thursday, June 13, the USGA U.S. Open begins at Pebble Beach Golf Links, a renowned public golf course in Monterey County celebrating its centennial this year. 2019 marks the sixth time that Pebble Beach has hosted the U.S. Open, the first time being in 1972, seven years after Richard Burton teed off for a brief scene in The Sandpiper.
The Sandpiper recognizes the golf course’s significance in business transactions, even for school headmasters like Dr. Edward Hewitt (Burton) and his group of major donors. One fellow golfer offers to donate $300,000 to the school’s chapel fund if Dr. Hewitt hits the green… unfortunately, his ball flies into the water instead. Continue reading
Kevin Costner as Frank Hamer in The Highwaymen
Kevin Costner as Frank Hamer with a Remington Model 8 rifle in The Highwaymen (2019)
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Kevin Costner as Frank Hamer, tough Texas special investigator and former Texas Ranger
Texas and Louisiana, Spring 1934
Film: The Highwaymen
Release Date: March 15, 2019 (March 29, 2019, on Netflix)
Director: John Lee Hancock
Costume Designer: Daniel Orlandi
Background
Following a decorated career in law enforcement that found him bravely and successfully leading investigations and captures of violent criminals, Frank Hamer is not the sort of man who should need a cultural reevaluation in his defense. And yet, it was the most celebrated victory of Hamer’s career—bringing an end to Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker’s violent crime spree—that would eventually result in the former Texas Ranger being villianized in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde that romanticized the titular outlaw couple to carry out its countercultural message.
