Tagged: Trilby
007’s Brown Tweed Suit as Sir Hilary Bray
George Lazenby and Diana Rigg as James Bond and Tracy di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).
Vitals
George Lazenby as James Bond, British secret agent posing as heraldry expert Sir Hilary Bray
Swiss Alps, Christmas Eve 1969
Film: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Release Date: December 18, 1969
Director: Peter R. Hunt
Tailor: Dimi Major
Costume Designer: Marjory Cornelius
Background
For the 00-7th of December, I’m reflecting on James Bond’s first Christmas season on-screen, which he spends in the Swiss Alps under the guise of Sir Hilary Bray (a different Hilary than the Hillary that has been so frequently in the news… although one could technically call his outfit here a “pantsuit” as well.)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service sends James Bond in search of his long-time rival, megalomaniac Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas). In his inaugural and ultimately lone outing as 007, George Lazenby’s Bond spends a major portion of the film disguised as Sir Hilary Bray, a brilliant but banal “sable basilisk” from the College of Arms in London. Continue reading
From Russia With Love – Bond’s Dark Navy Office Suit
Sean Connery as James Bond in From Russia With Love (1963).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and legendary lothario
London, Spring 1963
Film: From Russia With Love
Release Date: October 10, 1963
Director: Terence Young
Costume Designer: Jocelyn Rickards
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Bond: Suppose when she meets me in the flesh, I don’t come up to expectations?
M: Just see that you do.
Most office meetings don’t involve a boss slyly encouraging an employee to have sex at all costs (at least, nowhere that I’ve worked), but that’s the world of James Bond for you. Bond attends this somewhat salacious briefing while wearing an intersection of Ian Fleming’s vision for James Bond and the classic image established by Terence Young, Anthony Sinclair, and Sean Connery for the early films in the series. Continue reading
Denzel Washington in Inside Man
Denzel Washington as Det. Keith Frazier in Inside Man (2006).
Vitals
Denzel Washington as Keith Frazier, NYPD detective
New York City, August 2005
Film: Inside Man
Release Date: March 24, 2006
Director: Spike Lee
Costume Designer: Donna Berwick
Background
Thirty years after Al Pacino electrified audiences in Dog Day Afternoon, Spike Lee released Inside Man, another gripping film about a mid-day New York City bank robbery involving hostages, double-crosses, and character-driven comic moments biting into the suspense.
While Dog Day Afternoon focuses primarily on the criminals, Inside Man shifts focus to the other side of the law as the charismatic and somewhat cocky Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) is assigned to handle the robbery. His adversary is far more cunning than the emotional Sonny of Dog Day Afternoon, and Frazier is just the guy to match his wits. As Frazier himself bemoans:
Who ever heard of a bank robbers escaping on a plane with fifty hostages? You’ve seen Dog Day Afternoon! You’re stalling! Why? I don’t know.
Bond’s Gray Flannel Suit and ’57 Chevy in Dr. No
Sean Connery as James Bond, standing in front of a ’57 Chevy Bel Air in Dr. No (1962).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, sophisticated British government agent
Kingston, Jamaica, Spring 1962
Film: Dr. No
Release Date: October 5, 1962
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Master: John Brady
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Welcome back to Car Week, BAMF Style’s semi-annual celebration that combines both sartorial and automotive elegance. And what’s more elegant than a sharply-suited James Bond getting behind the wheel of an American classic – the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air? Continue reading
Hank Moody’s Workout Attire
David Duchovny as Hank Moody on Californication, out for a run in Venice Beach in “So Here’s the Thing…” (Ep. 3.07).
Vitals
David Duchovny as Hank Moody, borderline alcoholic novelist and womanizing college professor
Venice Beach, Fall 2009
Series: Californication
Episode: “So Here’s the Thing…” (Episode 3.07)
Air Date: November 8, 2009
Director: John Dahl
Costume Designer: Peggy A. Schnitzer
Background
For all of the drinking, smoking, drug abuse, and generally self-destructive hedonism that makes up his self-loathing lifestyle, Hank Moody is still in pretty good shape. He manages to avoid the flab that any of the rest of us – including Charles Bukowski, the inspiration for his character – would have obtained. His only trip to the gym, in the first season, was spent lounging in jeans and puffing away on a cigarette until an old “girlfriend” called him into the ring. Perhaps all the bed-hopping counts as exercise? Continue reading
Don Draper’s Gun Club Check Sportcoat
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, drowning his sorrows in badassery in “The Good News” (Mad Men, Ep. 4.03).
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, recently divorced Madison Avenue ad man (although I guess it’s safe to call him Dick Whitman here…)
Los Angeles, December 1964
Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Good News (Episode 4.03)
Air Date: August 8, 2010
Director: Jennifer Getzinger
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant Continue reading
The Thin Man Goes Home – Nick Charles’ Houndstooth Sportcoat
William Powell as Nick Charles in The Thin Man Goes Home (1945).
Vitals
William Powell as Nick Charles, retired private detective
Sycamore Springs, Summer 1944
Film: The Thin Man Goes Home
Release Date: January 25, 1945
Director: Richard Thorpe
Costume Supervisor: Irene
Background
Although it isn’t one of the better films in the Thin Man series, The Thin Man Goes Home offers us a glimpse of Nick Charles’ pre-detective home life in “Sycamore Springs”, an idyllic small town somewhere in New England, in an attempt to ground the man we’d before known only as a wise-cracking, hard-drinking urbanite.
The Thin Man Goes Home, released in early 1945 when the world was still at war, was the fifth in the six-film series that had rapidly began losing momentum. After a strong start, each movie progressively lost the trademark wit of the original, replacing it with family-friendly hijinks and – most notably – less booze. Nick Charles’ shady Greek origins (the family’s original surname was Charalambides in Hammett’s novel) were replaced by a WASPy neighborhood in small town U.S.A. Although it is curious that Nick and Nora leave their young son at home, especially given the series’ new direction in favor of family. Continue reading
