Tagged: Turtleneck
John Wick’s Suit
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in John Wick (2014).
Vitals
Keanu Reeves as John Wick, retired assassin out for revenge
New York City, Spring 2014
Film: John Wick
Release Date: October 24, 2014
Director: Chad Stehelski
Costume Designer: Luca Mosca
Background
Rarely have I ever received such overwhelming demand for a post as I had for John Wick… and I hadn’t even heard of the film before February! Somehow this flick missed my radar completely (the concussion in January didn’t help). Granted, the only movie I’ve managed to see in theaters since last summer was Birdman, but still I tend to be aware of badass action movies upon their release. Thankfully, the badasses who comment on this blog brought it to my attention and now we all have Craig, Aaron, and Gunner to thank for this post!
Any preconceived notions I may have had about Keanu Reeves were tossed—or, rather, violently thrown—out the window after seeing him take out approximately 80 bad guys with advanced weaponry and tactics, all while wearing a sharp suit and driving a beautiful example of automotive American muscle. Continue reading
The Boondock Saints
Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery as the MacManus Brothers in The Boondock Saints (1999).
Vitals
Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as
Connor MacManus and Murphy MacManus (respectively), Irish-American blue-collar vigilante brothers
Boston, MA, March 1999
Film: The Boondock Saints
Release Date: January 22, 1999
Director: Troy Duffy
Costume Designer: Mary E. McLeod
Background
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
For most of us, St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration full of green beer, corned beef, and bad decisions. For the MacManus brothers, two cheeky but religious meat packers in South Boston, it usually means the same thing. Even Murphy MacManus uses the holiday to welcome a trio Russian mobsters to the neighborhood bar:
Yeah, it’s St. Paddy’s Day, everyone’s Irish tonight. Why don’t you just pull up a stool and have a drink with us?
Unfortunately, the Russkies aren’t as willing to throw a few back and celebrate, so the holiday leads to an eruption of violence that evolves the MacManus brothers into “The Boondock Saints”. Continue reading
George Jung’s White Leisure Suit in Blow
Johnny Depp as George Jung in Blow (2001), from New Line Cinema.
Vitals
Johnny Depp as George Jung, international cocaine dealer
Miami to Colombia, Summer 1977
Film: Blow
Release Date: April 6, 2001
Director: Ted Demme
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
Background
Pablo Escobar: So, you’re the man, huh? Who takes fifty kilos and make them disappear in one day.
George Jung: Actually, it was three days.
As a multimillion dollar-earning international drug dealer, George Jung was well-known to drug culture and law enforcement by the time Bruce Porter’s 1993 book, Blow, was released. However, it was the Ted Demme-directed 2001 film of the same name that brought Jung’s life into the mainstream with Johnny Depp in the lead role. Continue reading
Michael Caine’s Beige Suede Reefer Coat in The Italian Job
Michael Caine as Charlie Croker in The Italian Job (1969).
Vitals
Michael Caine as Charlie Croker, cheeky and charming mob thief
Turin, Italy, Spring 1969
Film: The Italian Job
Release Date: June 2, 1969
Director: Peter Collinson
Wardrobe Supervisor: Dulcie Midwinter
Background
Although modern American audiences may be more familiar with the 2003 Mark Wahlberg film The Italian Job, most Brits and film buffs recognize the classic 1969 version as the truer of the two. Continue reading
Titanic’s 2nd Officer Lightoller in A Night to Remember
Kenneth More as Second Officer Charles Lightoller in A Night to Remember (1958)
Vitals
Kenneth More as Charles Lightoller, Second Officer of the RMS Titanic
North Atlantic Ocean, April 1912
Film: A Night to Remember
Release Date: July 3, 1958
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Costume Designer: Yvonne Caffin
Background
101 years ago at 2:20 a.m., the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after colliding with an iceberg, resulting in the death of more than 1,500 passengers and crew. The story has remained at the forefront of public consciousness for generations to follow, an enduring historic tragedy that has resulted in scores of books, films, televised works, and more, perhaps most famously the 1997 blockbuster Titanic directed by James Cameron.
Cameron stated that he was inspired by scenes from the 1958 film A Night to Remember, a comparatively little-known film when compared to his expensive epic. However, many historians refer to A Night to Remember the definitive filmed adaptation of the disaster. Continue reading
Jason Bourne in Paris
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity (2002).
Vitals
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, ex-CIA assassin on the run
Paris, Winter 2002
Film: The Bourne Identity
Release Date: June 14, 2002
Director: Doug Liman
Costume Designer: Pierre-Yves Gayraud
Background
After Bourne realizes his identity (as you would expect him to in a film called The Bourne Identity), he begins dressing in a manner that allows him to be practical and blend in while still looking respectable enough to access offices and decent hotels. Continue reading
Bullitt: Steve McQueen’s Tweed Jacket and Turtleneck
Steve McQueen’s iconic style in Bullitt was one of my first BAMF Style posts, originally published in October 2012. As my writing style and the information available to me has evolved over the years, this post has been in a state of constant revision and updates, most recently in April 2021.
Steve McQueen as Bullitt (1968).
Vitals
Steve McQueen as Lt. Frank Bullitt, maverick San Francisco inspector
San Francisco, Spring 1968
Film: Bullitt
Release Date: October 17, 1968
Director: Peter Yates
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
Background
When I originally set out to learn more about Lieutenant Bullitt’s clothing, I came across a blog dedicated to Steve McQueen’s style that instantly made me feel seen with the declaration:
One thing sane people do, as we all know, is spend a good portion of their spare time on eBay searching for a brown tweed jacket a bit like the one in Bullitt.
Thanks to movies like The Great Escape, The Cincinnati Kid, and The Thomas Crown Affair—to name just a few—the Indiana-born McQueen has been firmly established as an icon of tough and timeless style, though its arguably his wardrobe as the eponymous hardworking and hard-driving SFPD detective in Bullitt that’s most singularly responsible for his enduring reputation as the “King of Cool”.
McQueen cycles through three distinct outfits in Bullitt—four, if you count his paisley pajamas—though it’s the tweed jacket, turtleneck, and boots that he wears while speeding his green ’68 Mustang fastback through the sloping streets of San Francisco in pursuit of a villainous black Dodge Charger R/T during the film’s unmatched ten-minute car chase that remains his most famous look. Continue reading
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