Tagged: Summer
The Great Gatsby: Sam Waterston’s Tan Cashmere Sweater
Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby (1974)
Vitals
Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway, impressionable bachelor and bond salesman
Long Island, New York, Summer 1925
Film: The Great Gatsby
Release Date: March 29, 1974
Director: Jack Clayton
Costume Designer: Theoni V. Aldredge
Clothes by: Ralph Lauren
Background
To celebrate Sam Waterston’s 81st birthday today, I wanted to return to the actor’s breakthrough performance as Nick Carraway, the central character in Jack Clayton’s stylish The Great Gatsby, adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel of the same name.
Devil in a Blue Dress: Easy’s Champion Aircraft Jacket
Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Vitals
Denzel Washington as Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, laid-off aircraft mechanic and World War II veteran
Los Angeles, Summer 1948
Film: Devil in a Blue Dress
Release Date: September 29, 1995
Director: Carl Franklin
Costume Designer: Sharen Davis
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Like a man told me once: you step out of your door in the morning, and you are already in trouble. The only question is are you on top of that trouble or not?
With its dark themes and moral questions, film noir emerged as a cinematic sanctum for depicting the struggles of returning World War II veterans. Movies like Crossfire (1947), Act of Violence (1948), and Thieves’ Highway (1949) showcased the psyche of servicemen who had been to hell and back, depicting them not solely as one-dimensional heroes but as three-dimensional humans whose postwar life requires them to come to terms not just with the trauma encountered overseas but also the impact of returning to a changed home. (I recommend reading more about the connection between veterans and noir in James Barber’s recent article “How the Struggles of WWII Veterans Came to Life in Film Noir” for Military.com.)
Protagonists made cynical by their experiences continued as a theme through the development of neo-noir, whether that’s J.J. Gittes trying to put Chinatown out of his mind or Easy Rawlins, whose lifetime has seen his mother’s early death, his father forced to leave, racial inequities, the scars of wartime service, and—where we find him at the start of Devil in a Blue Dress—just having lost his job at the Champion Aircraft assembly plant. Continue reading
Picasso’s Terrycloth Leisurewear
Pablo Picasso, photographed by Arnold Newman, 1956.
Vitals
Pablo Picasso, influential Spanish painter
Cannes, French Riviera, September 1956
Photographs by Arnold Newman
Part of BAMF Style’s Iconic Photo Series, focusing on style featured in famous photography of classic stars rather than from specific productions.
Background
Born 140 years ago today on October 25, 1881, Pablo Picasso may be one of the few painters so associated with his craft that even those with little knowledge of art know his name. Thus, October 25 is also observed annually as International Artist’s Day, celebrating the contributions of creators around the globe.
A month shy of his 75th birthday, Picasso posed in his La Californie studio in Cannes for a series of portraits captured by Arnold Newman, the prolific photographer whose subjects ranged from Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Mantle to JFK and Alfried Krupp. Continue reading
The Squid Game Tracksuit
Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game
Vitals
Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun, desperate gambling-addicted chauffeur and game player #456
Off the South Korean coast, Summer 2020
Series: Squid Game (Korean: 오징어 게임)
Air Date: September 17, 2021
Creator: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Production Designer: Chae Kyung-sun
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Pop culture moves at such a rapid pace these days, it’s surprising to even consider that a TV show released more than a month ago would still be topical in time for Halloween. Yet, Squid Game has already proved its relative staying power by launching past Bridgerton to become Netflix’s most-watched series worldwide after being released only a month. (And yes, I was one of those 111 million watchers, having binged all nine episodes in two days!)
Green tracksuits have been selling out across the Internet as Halloween revelers are choosing to dress as the desperate players recruited into the deadly games as well as the boiler-suited guards who oversee them… and gun them down.
For those unfamiliar with this South Korean series, Squid Game revolves around a group of 456 everyday people, with little in common aside from being desperately in debt, recruited to compete in a progression of childhood games with deadly stakes, all for the chance to win a life-changing fortune. Continue reading
The Many Saints of Newark: Dickie Moltisanti’s Black Striped Knit Shirts
Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti in The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
Vitals
Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti, slick gangster
Newark, New Jersey, Summer 1967 through Summer 1971
Film: The Many Saints of Newark
Release Date: October 1, 2021
Director: Alan Taylor
Costume Designer: Amy Westcott
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
“Pain comes from wanting things,” Sal Moltisanti (Ray Liotta) explains to his nephew Dickie, though it could have also been meta-messaging from David Chase, creator of The Sopranos and a frequent critic of the fans and pundits always demanding more from his magnum opus, be it answers (What happened to the Russian? Did Tony die at Holsten’s?) or more stories to be told.
Regarding the latter, Chase had expressed interest in prequel stories—if anything—to continue building the Soprano-verse. He returned to a setting that had intrigued him as far back as his days in film school: the race riots that swept through Newark in July 1967.
While much excitement was garnered when it was announced that the late James Gandolfini’s son Michael would be playing a younger version of the role his father had immortalized on the series, the central character of Chase’s prequel would be Dickie Moltisanti, the smooth mafiosi whose death prior to the events of the series left the hotheaded young gangster Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) desperately in search of a father figure.
After years of The Sopranos building up Dickie’s mythos, Alessandro Nivola delivers a charismatic and engaging performance that makes Dickie Moltisanti a particularly compelling character to finally meet, illustrating the magnetism that would have so entranced a young Tony as well as the internal demons that he would have transferred to Christopher.
The Towering Inferno: Paul Newman’s Tan Suede Jacket
Paul Newman as Doug Roberts in The Towering Inferno (1974)
Vitals
Paul Newman as Doug Roberts, ambitious architect
San Francisco, Summer 1974
Film: The Towering Inferno
Release Date: December 14, 1974
Director: John Guillermin
Costume Designer: Paul Zastupnevich
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Alongside disco and bell-bottoms, one major cultural trend that emerged during the 1970s—for better or worse—was the disaster movie. True, the genre had existed since the early days of film, but the ’70s saw a boom in these high-budget, star-studded dramas that introduced as many calamities as the decade’s most popular celebrities could handle. After conquering air (Airport), earth (Earthquake), and water (The Poseidon Adventure), the Hollywood gods—specifically Irwin Allen—turned their attention to the one remaining element.
Thus, on the eve of National Fire Prevention Week, let’s take a look at one of the protagonists who was trapped in The Towering Inferno!
La Piscine: Alain Delon’s Windowpane Shirts and Autumn-Ready Storm Rider
Alain Delon and Romy Schneider in La Piscine (1969)
Vitals
Alain Delon as Jean-Paul Leroy, moody ad agency writer on vacation
French Riviera, Summer 1968
Film: The Swimming Pool
(French title: La Piscine)
Release Date: January 3, 1969
Director: Jacques Deray
Costume Designer: André Courrèges
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
“Actually, I don’t care much for summer,” the glamorous sun-kissed socialite Marianne (Romy Schneider) explains, clarifying “just the in-between seasons.” As tomorrow marks the first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, start finding your style for this transitional “in-between” season! Continue reading
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Leo’s Black Airport Attire
Leonardo DiCaprio and Lorenza Izzo in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Vitals
Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, re-energized movie and TV star
Rome to Los Angeles, Summer 1969
Film: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Release Date: July 26, 2019
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Arianne Phillips
Background
I recently had the good fortune to rejoin my friend Peter Brooker on his excellent podcast, From Tailors With Love, joined by John Williams of James Bond Radio to talk about the style in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Tarantino’s ode to the movie industry at the close of the 1960s.
Though Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cycles through the orbit of real-life stars like Sharon Tate, Steve McQueen, the Mamas and the Papas, and James Stacy—to name just a few—the central story focuses on the dynamic between the fictional actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend, the laconic stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt).
The movie begins with Rick coming to terms with his “washed-up” career, his desperation leading to a meeting with talent broker Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino), who suggests spaghetti westerns as the gateway to the next phase of Rick’s career. Following Rick’s impressive performances on episodes of The F.B.I. and Lancer, Schwarz books him four back-to-back gigs in Italy, where he also meets and marries the beautiful starlet Francesca Capucci (Lorenza Izzo) as his stardom climbs to new heights. Continue reading
Body Heat: William Hurt’s Lawyerly Seersucker
William Hurt as Ned Racine in Body Heat (1981)
Vitals
William Hurt as Ned Racine, unscrupulous attorney
Palm Beach, Florida, Summer 1981
Film: Body Heat
Release Date: August 28, 1981
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Costume Designer: Renié
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I couldn’t let the hottest summer of my lifetime end without talking about Body Heat, especially as Lawrence Kasdan’s sweaty directorial debut will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release in two days.
The term “neo-noir” has often been used—and, indeed, overused—to describe stylish, shadowy, and sexy crime dramas with elements recalling film noir’s golden era in the ’40s and ’50s, though Body Heat struck me as one of the prized handful of movies most deserving of the description, perfectly balancing the spirit of classic noir with contemporary cinematic expectations without falling too far in either direction. Continue reading
Magnum, P.I.: The Purple Calla Lily Aloha Shirt
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum in a promotional shot for Magnum, P.I.
Vitals
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, private investigator and former Navy SEAL
Hawaii, early 1980s
Series: Magnum, P.I., seasons 2 through 6
Creator: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Supervisor: James Gilmore
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy Aloha Friday! While the tradition of ending the workweek with a Hawaiian shirt dates back to the ’60s, today is a particularly significant Aloha Friday as the third Friday in August is observed as Statehood Day in Hawaii, commemorating Hawaii’s admission to the United States in August 1959.
Servicemen returning from the Pacific after World War II had an early role in introducing the colorful and tropical style of the Hawaiian islands to the continental U.S., aided over the following decades by movies like the Oscar-winning From Here to Eternity and the Elvis vehicle Blue Hawaii, but I would argue that few productions have been as impactful as bringing Aloha style mainstream as Magnum, P.I. Continue reading