Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983).

To wrap up the week of weddings, BAMF Style presents the first post about a character who was an adaptation of a character who was based on the man who was likely behind the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

So, yeah, logical choice for today once you wrap your brain around it.

Vitals

Al Pacino as Tony Montana, aka “Scarface”, Cuban drug kingpin

Miami, Summer 1982

Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris

Background

First a con man, then a gangster, and now a volatile drug kingpin; I guess the level of criminality this week grows more intense with each post!

What’d He Wear?

Tony Montana isn’t one for muted outfits. With a series of floral shirts and bright suit combinations, Montana sets the precedence for the pastel-suited craze that Miami Vice made popular. It only makes sense that Tony’s wedding suit wouldn’t be traditional morning dress or a dark suit; instead, he opts for a white tuxedo that is just as loud as it sounds.

Tony’s suit is actually more of a cream color. It fits him generously and hangs off of his torso with padded shoulders and a ventless rear.

The jacket is single-breasted with notch lapels, the left lapel adorned with a white carnation to celebrate the day. There is a 2-button front, but Tony wears it proudly open the whole time. It has a welted breast pocket and straight hip pockets with flaps. The jacket also has 3-button cuffs that appear to be functioning surgeon’s cuffs.

The suit also consists of a 6-button single-breasted vest with a notched bottom and flat front trousers with plain-hemmed bottoms.

Underneath, and best seen when he is on the phone with Sosa during the montage, Tony wears a white formal shirt with attached wingtip collars and rounded cuffs. The cuffs close with a single button, which is less formal than single or double cuffs that are traditionally worn with formalwear. His bow tie is dark red silk.

Tony, now a married man, proudly leads his pack across his estate.

We only get a brief glimpse at Tony’s feet, but he appears to be wearing a pair of beige leather laced dress shoes.

Where Tony really goes nuts is his jewelry. Probably the most decked-out, accessory-wise, of any BAMF on this site, Tony wears no less than six pieces of jewelry during his wedding, obtaining the sixth – his plain gold wedding band – on the wedding day.

He also wears two gold chain necklaces under his shirt, two gold rings on his right hand (with a ruby on his pinky and a diamond on his ring finger), and a gold wristwatch with a dark red face. The watch, which he wears on his left wrist, ties in the dark red from both the bow tie and the ruby ring.

I always wondered what was so damn funny about this phone call that Tony and Sosa were both guffawing.

Is the whole thing a bit tacky? Yes, and probably more than “a bit”, but it is from an iconic movie and very evident of the character’s excesses.

Go Big or Go Home – Wedding Edition

The Venue

In the film, Tony is married at his sprawling Mediterranean-style Miami estate. In actuality, the mansion is located on the opposing coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean from Santa Barbara. The mansion is more than 100 years old now, having been originally designed by Bertram Goodhue in 1906 on ten acres.

The Roman Revival mansion has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, which is surprisingly little given the 10,000 sq. ft. size of the house. However, the luxury is in the amenities, which include swimming pools out the wazoo as well as both outdoor and indoor fountains, the latter of which is best known for receiving Tony’s bloody corpse in the finale. (Also, spoiler alert.)

If you’re interested, the most recent buyer of the estate picked it up for a cool $6.2 million, a bargain given its one time price of $35 million. For those on a budget, or those who are only interested in a month’s long version of the Tony Montana lifestyle, it can be rented by the month for $150,000 from Village Properties Realtors.

The Refreshments

Probably lots of cocaine. You should probably just serve champagne, though.

Notable Guests

The gregarious Tony invites his whole gang to the wedding, including guys like Nick the Pig and Ernie. Naturally, his right hand man Manny stands as his best man. I would say that Tony also includes his family as his sister is the maid of honor, but his disapproving mother is nowhere to be seen. (Unless you can prove me wrong).

I’ve rarely seen a wedding photo where everyone involved looks so depressed.

Poor Elvira doesn’t get much representation, but we can’t feel too bad for her. She does get a fucking tiger, after all.

Rawr.

The Music

We only see the wedding during the über-’80s montage set to Giorgio Moroder’s “Take It to the Limit” which is, admittedly, not the greatest song for a wedding. It definitely suits a Cuban coke dealer in the early ’80s pursuing the American dream though!

How to Get the Look

I can’t exactly recommend this look, but if you think you can pull it off, go for it.

• Cream three-piece suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted jacket with notch lapels, 2-button front, welted breast pocket, flapped straight hip pockets, 3-button surgeon’s cuffs, and ventless rear
  • Single-breasted 6-button vest with notched bottom
  • Flat front trousers with plain-hemmed bottoms
• White formal shirt with attached wingtip collars, narrow front pleats, and rounded 1-button cuffs
• Dark red silk bow tie
• Tan leather shoes
• 2 gold chain necklaces
• Gold ring with a large diamond, worn on the right ring finger
• Gold ring with a dark ruby, worn on the right pinky
• Gold wedding band, worn on the left ring finger
• Gold wristwatch with a dark red face, worn on the left wrist
• White carnation, pinned to left lapel

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the deluxe DVD gift set, which includes a DVD of 1932’s Scarface!

Paul Muni (center) aims a Thompson submachine gun as Tony Camonte in Scarface (1932).

Vitals

Paul Muni as Tony Camonte, ruthless Italian-born bootlegger and mob enforcer

Chicago, Summer 1929

Background

The 1983 Scarface film starring Al Pacino is one of the most popular crime flicks out there, popular enough to warrant the first of many entries on this blog last week. Many people know that it is a remake (although I prefer to think of it as an “update”) of a 1932 film.

This earlier movie, also entitled Scarface but given the morality-enforced subtitle The Shame of a Nation, is one of my favorite films of all time.

Ben Hecht’s script for Scarface is adapted from the 1929 novel Scarface by Armitage Trail, which was loosely based on the life of Al Capone. By 1929, the time that the novel was written and around the time the film was set, Capone was at the top of the Chicago mob game. He wasn’t yet under scrutiny for income tax evasion, and he had just risen to kingpin level after neutralizing his enemies with the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Prohibition was still the law of the land with no known end in sight. Thus, the film is a great (and rare) depiction of Prohibition during the era’s heyday, when no one was sure when – or if – it was ever going to end.

Scarface was filmed around 1930 and lingered in post-production throughout 1931, suffering delays from censors who found the portrayal of Tony Camonte to be too sympathetic. Howard Hughes, who produced this film years before becoming the world’s richest recluse, reportedly told director Howard Hawks: “Screw the Hays Office, make it as realistic and grisly as possible.”

Although Howard Hughes insisted that the film itself be as realistic as possible, the poster leaves some realism to be desired…

The original script had Tony the subject of his mother’s unconditional love. He stayed tough to the end, not surrendering immediately when cornered (spoiler alert). This pissed off the folks at the Hays Office, which developed its code for films partially in response to Scarface. This code “cleaned up” movies for about thirty years until people decided they needed to see sex and violence on screen at any and all costs.

Despite Hughes’ insistence on realism, the Hays Office indeed had their way with Scarface, turning his mother against him and insisting that he goes down like a coward. An additional ending was even shot later with Tony going to the hangman’s noose, but it completely changed the tone of the film and – with additional moralizing scenes and text added – the film was released with the ending of a cowardly Tony getting shot in the streets by police.

Despite the laughable and dated moralizing scenes which tell the audience repeatedly that “We think gangsters are bad and so should you!”, the film is a classic piece of cinematic history. Paul Muni’s animalistic portrayal of Scarface during his rise and fall is legendary.

For more proof that the film is worth checking out, Capone reportedly was a fan of it, despite hating the media-given moniker “Scarface” and giving him such a cowardly finish.

One of my favorite blogs about classic cinema, Girls Do Film, has an excellent synopsis and analysis of the film and its characters. The photos are also worth seeing, perfectly chosen to convey the violence and grandiosity of Scarface.

What’d He Wear?

Old pictures and documents are fine, but the best way to really see what clothing was trendy back in the day is to consult the movies of the era. The costumers of Scarface tell us a little something more about each character based on their clothing.

Just by looking at their dinner suits, the contrast between the more modern and innovative Tony and the older “mustache Pete” gangster Johnny Lovo is very obvious. We can also contrast Tony’s lackeys, from his sharp-dressed right hand man Rinaldo to the slow-witted and clumsy Angelo.

Since the movie predates color film, we’ll assume it’s all black and white, although you should be aware that midnight blue was just beginning to emerge at this time as a stylish alternative for a “darker than black” tuxedo. I would also be very surprised if Tony’s tuxedo was actually maroon or something like that, so I think we can say that black is a safe choice.

“Colorized” lobby cards like this don’t offer much help, either.

A pivotal sequence in the film occurs about 3/4 of the way through, with Tony and his gang taking in a production of Rain, a play written by John Colton and Clemence Randolph in 1923. The play was eventually turned into the short story “Miss Thompson” by W. Somerset Maugham and the 1932 film Rain starring Gloria Swanson. For this outing, all of the men are in black tie and it is, opening scene excluded, the first instance in the film of men in tuxedos.

During the intermission of the play, Tony is given the location of rival mobster Gaffney (played by Boris fucking Karloff!) and immediately heads to the bowling alley where Gaffney was found. What follows is Gaffney’s execution at the hands of Tony, an artistically-shot sequence that strangely echoes the murder of Capone’s top hitman “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn, who was actually killed in a Chicago bowling alley four years after the film’s release.

From the bowling alley, Tony takes his gang to the Paradise No. 2 nightclub to celebrate, where he runs into his boss Johnny Lovo (based on Capone’s boss Johnny Torrio and played by decidedly non-Italian Osgood Perkins) and Lovo’s hot main squeeze Poppy. What follows is a perfect sequence of comedy, drama, romance, action, and suspense, Prohibition-style.

Scarface’s Tux

Tony’s black tie ensemble is the most modern. He is the only major character to wear a double-breasted dinner jacket, which was just gaining popularity around this time. His double-breasted jacket, complete with its padded shoulders, makes Tony look even more imposing. Indeed, Muni, despite his relatively average 5’9″ height, looks unstoppable as he looms over the other characters.

No question who’s in command here.

Tony embellishes his jacket with a deco-patterned silk handkerchief, hanging lazily from his breast pocket. The wide satin-faced peak lapels are further embellished with a white flower pinned to the left lapel for the show. His jacket also has jetted, rather than flapped, hip pockets. Flapped hip pockets had been the norm in the early years of dinner jackets before non-flapped pockets became more popular as the formal option. Until a car accident renders his formality unnecessary, he fastens the top of his 4-on-2 satin-covered buttons, totally covering his waistline.

After the aforementioned car accident, he wears the jacket open and we see Tony’s white waistcoat, which is single-breasted and closes in the front with four small white closely-spaced buttons. The notched bottom is very wide open.

Tony, a little worse for wear but still coming out on top.

The tuxedo is completed by a pair of black formal trousers with a satin stripe down each leg to the plain-hemmed bottoms, breaking over black patent leather shoes.

Tony wears a white formal shirt with turndown collars and single cuffs, fastened with dark squared metal cuff links. Like the other formal shirts in the film, it has a stiff, plain front with no pleats and studs down the front. The two studs are different, with the top appearing to be mother-of-pearl and the second a more standard metal stud.

He wears a black satin bowtie with pointed ends, which stays loosely fastened under his collar even after his car wreck.

According to the Black Tie Guide, the best online resource for men’s formalwear, Tony’s tuxedo would have been the cutting edge in fashion at the time:

Previously considered too informal for evening wear due to its lack of accompanying waistcoat, the double-breasted dinner jacket’s popularity skyrocketed in the early thirties thanks once again to Britain’s royal paragon of menswear.  The future Duke of Windsor invariably paired the swank coat with a soft-front pleated evening shirt featuring attached turndown collar and French cuffs rather than the traditional starched front shirt with detachable wing collar and single cuffs.  The overall result, explains renowned haberdasher Alan Flusser, was a look that “brought a new level of informality to the traditional dinner jacket – but with no lowering of the standards that separated those who dressed correctly from those who simply dressed up.”

The platinum blonde moll Poppy notices earlier in the film that Tony is “going in for jewelry”, although the single pinky ring on his right hand pales in comparison to the abundance of gold worn by Al Pacino’s updated-for-the-’80s character fifty years later. This is certainly for the best.

When he heads outside, Tony wears a black fedora with a black ribbon and wide brim. The black hat is certainly no accident, as he is the most villainous of his cohorts and the romance-driven Guino and pure-hearted Angelo have lighter-colored hats. It’s an old trope, but one that drives the message home; Tony may be the protagonist, but there is no doubt that he is the villain as well.

Plus there’s no way that crusty looking guy behind Tony could ever be a villain.

The Other Guys

Tony’s right hand man is the laconic lothario Guino Rinaldo, played by George Raft in the role that catapulted him to stardom… somehow. Guino wears a more traditional black tie ensemble but doesn’t look old-fashioned. In fact, he looks more like a matinee idol of the late 1920s. His black tuxedo is very sleekly fitted and makes George Raft’s lean silhouette look taller than his natural 5’7″.

The dinner jacket is single-breasted with satin-faced peak lapels, also pinning a white flower on for the show. The jacket tapers to the waist and the ventless rear clings to Raft’s torso. The shoulders are gently padded, keeping Guino’s figure sleek rather than formidable. In his breast pocket, a small white handkerchief puffs out above the rim.

The formal trousers naturally have a satin side stripe down each slightly flared leg to the plain-hemmed bottoms, which fall with a medium break over his black patent leather shoes with toe caps and raised heels. The trousers have side pockets and rear pockets; Guino uses his right rear pocket to carry his nickel Colt Police Positive revolver.

Most dates are cut short when the guy whips out a gun, but poor Mabel (or Maisy or whatever her name is) just wants her grasshopper to stick around.

Guino’s white waistcoat is very similar to Tony’s with large lapels that taper up to the neck, a 3-button single-breasted front, and shallow hip pockets.

Guino is one of the few guys to wear a shirt with wingtip collars, which was the most popular option at the time. It is white with metal studs down the plain front and single cuffs, held together by matching links. He wears a large black bow tie that appropriately echoes the width of the lapels, which are fashionably broad.

George Raft prepared for the role by adding 83 pounds of oil to his hair every morning.

Guino’s informal hat for exterior scenes is a light-colored, possibly pearl gray, fedora with a narrow brim. The fedora has a wide black ribbon that has a rear bow, rather than the more commonly seen left side bow.

Sadly, his hats often covered up his well-oiled hair.

When Tony and Guino prepare for their final confrontation against Lovo, we get a good close-up of Guino’s watch that he wears on the inside of his left wrist. It has an octagonal-shaped case, a light-colored face with Arabic numerals, and a black leather strap.

All I know about this watch is that I want to be wearing it whenever it’s 2:10. Does anyone have any additional details?

The only other character who wears wingtip collars is Tony’s boss, Johnny Lovo, played by Osgood Perkins. Although Rinaldo looks like a sharp sheik, Lovo looks tired and outdated – as he is. His white formal shirt has studs down the stiff, plain front and round metal links on the single cuffs. Lovo wears a black single-breasted dinner jacket with satin-faced peak lapels, a single-button closure, 3-button cuffs (uncovered, mind you), and a breast pocket with a small bit of white handkerchief poking out.

Lovo, whose position and dinner suit are both rapidly running out of time.

Although it sounds similar to Guino’s, it fits very differently and makes Lovo look weak rather than strong or sophisticated. Credit is also due to Perkins for playing Lovo as a man weakened by the imbalance of his lofty ambitions and lack of criminal savvy. Like the rest of the film’s old-fashioned or outdated characters, he wears a black waistcoat rather than a white one. Lovo’s waistcoat fastens low on his torso with a v-shaped opening above the single-breasted closure. Naturally, he also wears black formal trousers.

Tony’s other main lackey is poor Angelo, known best to the gang as “Dope” and played by Pittsburgh-born Vince Barnett. Barnett, although he was only 30 when Scarface was released, looks like he’s already middle-aged and acts like he’s already senile. As the film’s comic relief (providing some very comic moments that I quote everyday), Angelo isn’t the sharpest dresser and looks like a little kid at his first wedding. He wears a black single-breasted dinner jacket with natural shoulders, a link-button front closure, and 3-button cuffs. The link-button indeed became popular in the mid-to-late 1920s, but Angelo doesn’t look too popular in his dinner suit. The jacket has a breast pocket (where Angelo tries to match the other guys with a white display handkerchief) and flapped side pockets, but we can’t hold that against him; flapped pockets were very common on dinner jackets in the first few decades of their use.

Despite his best attempts, Angelo is no Tony. It is interesting, though, to see the use of a link-button front tuxedo.

Angelo’s jacket is poorly matched with an off-white button-down shirt with large soft turndown collars. This is likely a light gray or blue everyday shirt rather than an actual formal shirt. He also wears a black bow tie and a black brocade “fancy” waistcoat with a low-fastening single-breasted 4-button front with a v-shaped opening. When he ventures outside, he wears his usual light gray homburg with a wide black ribbon.

The jacket has a short and tight fit, but the trousers are oversized with a large, roomy fit and a full break over his black leather shoes. The costumers knew what they were doing and poor Angelo looks very laughable in his attempt at a tuxedo.

Poor Dope just wants to be one of the guys…

For a different look at black tie in the film, we shift to the stag party that opens the film, where “Big Louie” Castillo – the film’s version of “Big Jim” Colosimo – is celebrating his control of the Chicago rackets. Louie wears a black dinner jacket with satin-faced peak lapels, a single-button front, flapped hip pockets, and a welted breast pocket, where he too wears a white display handkerchief. A colored flower wilts away on his left lapel.

“Big” Louie has certainly earned his moniker; his girth stretches the poor undersized black waistcoat across his vast midsection. The waistcoat has satin lapels, a large notched bottom, and a single-breasted front, where three buttons cling desperately together despite the best efforts of Louie’s stomach to push them away. A pocketwatch chain also stretches across his expansive torso, looped through the waistcoat buttonholes with a fob in the center and the watch stuck into one of the vest pockets.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you which one is Big Louie.

Louie also wears a rumpled white button-down shirt with double cuffs and a soft turndown collar, both very informal factors at the time this scene is set, which would be around 1920 if it truly is echoing the Capone story. Although he is a mob boss, Louie clearly doesn’t know how to dress the part. He looks more like a beleaguered underling, perpetually sweating in his ill-fitting and disheveled clothing.

Perhaps due to the nature of the evening, Louie’s lackeys also look disheveled in their dinner suits, but at least they’re in better shape and can actually fit into their tuxes. Both men’s suits are similar to Louie’s with the peak-lapel dinner jackets, black waistcoats, and black formal trousers. The fellow on Louie’s right (who kinda looks like Harry Dean Stanton) has a 4-button waistcoat, however. He also has a more colorful handkerchief which dangles from his pocket, begging to either fall on the ground or be used for some booger-catching.

Go Big or Go Home

In trying to date this sequence, I eventually pegged it down to summer of 1929, since it follows the film’s version of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (which was February 14, 1929) and it is evidently warm enough that none of the men are wearing overcoats. Since this is Chicago and not Miami, I figure summer is a safe bet.

The sequence from the Paradise No. 2 nightclub to Tony’s final conquering of the Chicago mob with the execution of Lovo is one of my favorite sequences in the history of cinematic crime. As I mentioned earlier, it blends comedy, drama, romance, action, and suspense into one seamless Prohibition-era package. Plus, the sequence involves some of my favorite stuff: tuxedoes, classic firearms, vintage cars, Tin Pan Alley standards, smoking as a sexual metaphor (more on that later), and sexy ’20s dames, most notably Ann Dvorak as Tony’s sister. Dvorak enjoyed a short but successful career, almost always as a lovely but sad sacrificial lamb who fell for the wrong guys in films like G Men, Three on a Match, and – of course – Scarface. She was considered for Donna Reed’s role in It’s a Wonderful Life, but her career slowly faded out before she completed her last film, The Secret of Convict Lake, in 1951. Anyway, enough about my ’30s crush…

The music in the Paradise No. 2 nightclub was provided by Gus Arnheim and his Orchestra, with “St. Louis Blues” and “Some of These Days” providing the backdrop for the dance floor confrontations that set the final act of the film in motion. Unfortunately, this was 1932 so soundtrack albums weren’t yet a thing, especially for non-musicals like Scarface. Thus, the nicely arranged recordings by Arnheim’s band can only be heard as background music in the film. Arnheim, whose orchestra was also an early backing band for Bing Crosb’y solo career, recorded a commercial version of “St. Louis Blues” with Loyce Whiteman providing vocals. Unfortunately, the band didn’t release a studio version of “Some of These Days” – a personal favorite of mine.

Poor Lovo :(

Although he’s been gradually rising throughout the film, this sequence presents how Tony is now living large. He’s surrounded by an entourage of loyal cronies who spring into action when he might be in danger. Tony himself stays cool, showing a nice contrast to Poppy when Lovo nearly trips over his chair upon hearing gunfire in the club. Most of us would probably act like Lovo in that situation; most of us would want to act like Tony.

Despite his more fashion-forward look, Tony shows a preference for old-fashioned taste. Where others smoke cigarettes, he still opts for cigars*. He still wears a pocket watch rather than a wristwatch. And, of course, Tony still uses matches rather than lighters; Poppy famously ignores Lovo’s lighter in favor of Tony’s match, which is about as sexual as 1932 censors would allow.

This is the 1932 equivalent of Sharon Stone uncrossing her legs in Basic Instinct.

 * Scarface was an early “victim” of product placement in films. You’d never know it actually watching the film, but White Owl cigars paid $250,000 to have Tony Camonte smoking White Owl cigars exclusively. Bonus points go to any of you who can find any in-film evidence that any of the characters are smoking White Owls.

How to Get the Look

Tony and Guino are, by far, the most fashionable characters in the film. If you have a broader frame, Muni’s Tony would offer the best black tie option, where Raft’s Guino would present a better alternative for more slender fellows.

Tony Camonte:

• Black tuxedo, consisting of:
  • Double-breasted dinner jacket with 4×2 satin-covered buttons, wide peak lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, and ventless rear
  • Formal trousers with satin side stripe and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White plain-front shirt with turndown collars, single cuffs, and two front studs (mother-of-pearl and metal)
• Black pointed-end satin bowtie
• White low-fastening v-shaped waistcoat with 4-button front, large notched bottom, and shallow hip pockets
• Black patent leather shoes
• Black dress socks
• Black wide-brimmed fedora with a black ribbon

George Raft, disappointed dad.

Guino Rinaldo:

• Black tuxedo, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted dinner jacket with 1-button front, wide peak lapels, welted breast pocket, flapped hip pockets, and ventless rear
  • Formal trousers with satin side stripe, side and rear pockets, slightly flared leg, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White plain-front shirt with wingtip collars, single cuffs, and metal studs
• Black large satin bowtie
• White low-fastening v-shaped waistcoat with 3-button front, wide notched bottom, and shallow hip pockets
• Black patent leather cap-toe shoes
• Black dress socks
• Pearl gray short-brimmed fedora with a black ribbon and rear bow

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie or get the “Deluxe Gift Set” which offers both the 1932 and 1983 versions as well as collectible lobby cards and featurettes on both discs.

The gift set was a major Christmas gift to me about ten years ago and probably cost on the better side of $50 then. At a current price of $14.99, the thing is a steal and all fanatics of gangsterdom should own it.

I haven’t read Armitage Trail’s 1929 novel yet, but I would be interested in picking it up sometime. That said, many reviewers say it’s still just as entertaining more than 80 years later, so it’d probably be worth picking up if you’ve got a few extra bucks.

The Quote

After taking control of the city by his execution of Gaffney, Tony heads to the nightclub and butts in on his boss Lovo’s date with Poppy. Poppy, who once despised Tony, is now warm for his considerably richer form. Tony crashes the date, sitting in at their table and immediately begins asserting himself, to Lovo’s dismay.

Tony: I just finish up tonight. Now I play a while.
Lovo: You get your own table, Camonte.
Tony: Why is that?
Lovo: This is a table for two.
Tony: (winks at Poppy) Well, maybe you get another table, huh, Johnny?

That Tony is one slick bastard…

Billy Zane as Cal Hockley in Titanic (1997).

Vitals

Billy Zane as Caledon “Cal” Hockley, pompous heir to a Pittsburgh steel fortune

North Atlantic Ocean, April 1912

Background

Exactly 102 years today, the RMS Titanic saw land for the last time when it departed Queenstown, Ireland (now Cobh) at 1:30 PM (GMT) on April 11, 1912. The destination was New York City, but the ship foundered in the North Atlantic Ocean, taking with it more than 1,500 passengers and crew and leaving only a scattered 700 in the ship’s relatively few lifeboats.

Oh, you’ve heard of Titanic before? Okay, then, I doubt I need to say much more.

In 1997, James Cameron’s Titanic was released with a shitload of fanfare and awards just begging to be thrown at it. It won 11 mostly well-deserved Academy Awards and became the first film to earn over $1 billion worldwide, making Cameron both very rich and very arrogant. Evidently he forgot that the reason Titanic sank was majorly due to the hubris of its owners.

It’s disappointing to me that Cameron – who honestly managed to recreate the disaster as masterfully as anyone will – felt the need to include both a romantic centerpiece and a villain to the film. Nothing against Leo and Kate, both of whom I enjoy, but they weren’t needed to make this story an identifiable tragedy! If you watch A Night to Remember, the 1958 retelling of the tragedy, you’ll feel honest emotion for the plight of the 2,200 people who weren’t planning on having to abandon ship and watch more than half of their fellow travelers die. A Night to Remember doesn’t tell us who to be bad for; the characters’ anonymity makes every story relatable and brings the Titanic disaster home.

Cameron’s film, on the other hand, tells us who we should feel bad for. Naturally, there are the obligatory shots of doomed third class passengers, but they didn’t just have sex with Kate Winslet so why should we care, right?

According to Wikipedia…

Cameron felt the Titanic sinking was “like a great novel that really happened”, yet the event had become a mere morality tale; the film would give audiences the experience of living the history. The treasure hunter Brock Lovett represented those who never connected with the human element of the tragedy, while the blossoming romance of Jack and Rose, he believed, would be the most engaging part of the story: when their love is finally destroyed, the audience would mourn the loss.

Oh, really? Two made up people is the most engaging part of the story? The audience should be mourning the loss of the OTHER 1,500 people! The story of the RMS Titanic is one of real people who were forced to deal with a horrible situation, not some poor wiseacre who got lucky.

(Sorry, Leo. I really am a fan!)

In case you can’t tell, I’m a passionate historian when it comes to Titanic and other maritime disasters of the era (SS Valencia, Empress of Ireland, Lusitania, etc.) Thus, I’m certainly not going to let the anniversary of Titanic‘s sinking go by without a post. Since I already covered A Night to Remember last year with a post about Kenneth More’s portrayal of Second Officer Lightoller, I’m left with few choices but to discuss Cameron’s film… and the closest thing we have to a well-dressed BAMF in Titanic is the aforementioned “villain”, Caledon Hockley.

He doesn’t care what you think of him.

There are plenty of arguments one could make (“Aw, but he’s the bad guy!” “He’s such a dick!” “What about Jack? He was the main character!”) and I don’t care about any of them. To be honest, I’d much rather be Cal than Leo in the flick. Not only would it mean I’d get to survive – and in a BAMFy way like in the swamped Collapsible A – but I’d get to do it all wearing white tie. Cal is shrewd, cunning, and calculating even when others were showing their more selfless side; to get off of the sinking ship, he picks up a lost, crying child and uses her to barter his way onto a lifeboat. It may seem like kidnapping (because it by definition is), but let’s face it – that kid was not gonna be finding her mum. Cal probably saved her life, even if he did it for the most selfish of reasons.

In casting the villainous Cal, Cameron originally offered the role to Matthew McConaughey, who had also been considered for the role of Jack. McConaughey, who still had EDTv, The Wedding Planner, and Failure to Launch ahead of him before actually achieving greatness in Dallas Buyers Club and True Detective, evidently passed and the role went to Billy Zane.

If you’re disappointed to see the guy who essentially killed Jack Dawson as the subject, you can toss out a few suggestions for my inevitable Titanic-related post in April 2015. Also, you probably are or were once a teenage girl.

What’d He Wear?

A couple of 1912 gentlemen. The dinner jacket (left) was just coming en vogue, but an old money type like Cal would sport white tie regardless.

The Black Tie Guide is the perfect site for anyone even remotely interested in men’s formalwear. The site, in addition to detailing correct practices today, breaks down – in fascinating and intricately-researched detail – the history of formalwear from Beau Brummell in the early 1800s to today. Given that the Titanic disaster is often cited as the climax of the Edwardian era – even though Edward VII had been dead for two years – the Black Tie Guide’s section on Edwardian era formalwear tells us where Cal’s white tie was right on the money and where he faltered.

The site’s white tie section also details how little the “uniform” of white tie has changed since the days of the Titanic. Sadly, full evening dress is now relegated only to the most formal events like presidential inaugurations, conducting a symphony, and probably some stuff in Europe. About 96% of men (I made this statistic up but it sounds realistic) will go through life without ever donning white tie.

Of course, 102 years ago, white tie was de rigueur for the well-to-do gentleman, and Cal was certainly well-to-do… if not exactly a gentleman. Each night for dinner, he would join his fellow “masters of the universe” in white tie before retiring to the smoking room on A-Deck for cigars, brandy, and cards.

Cal and his fellow masters address an underling who has been forced among them.

The centerpiece of full evening dress for a 1912 gentleman was the tailcoat. Since the 1850s, black was the color of choice for an evening tailcoat, and this still would have been the most popular option in the pre-war era. Perhaps as a forward-thinking American, Cal wears a “blacker than black” midnight blue evening tailcoat in worsted wool, predating the color’s popularity by about ten years.

The evening tailcoat – which was also known as a “dress coat”, “swallow-tail coat”, or “claw-hammer coat” – has a double-breasted front with three buttons on each side, as was fashionable by this time. Despite the buttons, the evening tailcoat has been designed to not button since the 1820s and should be worn open. It fits snugly around the torso, further indicating Cal’s status among the upper class as a tailcoat can only truly look correct when it has been custom made for a gentleman’s physique.

The athletic fit of a tailcoat is especially useful when preparing to chase your ex-fiancee and her new paramour down a few flights of stairs while brandishing a .45.

Black Tie Guide recalls the statement from a 1913 issue of Vanity Fair:

The front effect of the coat is best when well opened, exposing considerable shirt, the lapels rolling to a little below the top button of the waistcoat from where the line slants away to the edge which inclines slightly upward and rounds into the skirt.

… and this has been the rule for evening tailcoats ever since.

In addition to the correct faux-double-breasted layout of six covered buttons, Cal’s evening tailcoat also appropriately has black silk-faced peak lapels. Shawl lapels were also in and out of vogue on evening tailcoats, but they were more of a fad and aren’t associated with the timelessness of peak lapels. Notch lapels on an evening tailcoat were unheard of and still only serve to indicate a rental.

In the original script, Cal slapped Rose after she accused him of renting his formalwear.

In the rear, Cal’s two curved knee-length tails are separated by a long single vent and embellished with two ceremonial buttons on the waistline. These rear buttons, now purely ornamental, recall the tailcoat’s origins when men would fold up their tails and button them to their waistline before riding a horse.

Although it’s pretty obvious that neither Cal nor Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon will be riding any horses this evening.

Cal’s jacket has a welted breast pocket, which was introduced on the evening tailcoat during the Edwardian era. Despite the presence of the pocket, it was still correct to leave the pocket empty, and Cal is no exception. He wears no pocket square and prefers to keep his possessions in his inner tailcoat pockets or his trouser pockets. White pocket squares have become more acceptable with evening dress as the years have progressed.

Considering fit, Cal’s tailcoat was clearly designed to fit Billy Zane perfectly. Jack is lucky that the film’s costumers likely fitted his borrowed tailcoat to fit Leonardo DiCaprio rather than Molly Brown’s absent son. The rear of Cal’s coat rises above the bow tie, allowing just enough of the white wing collar to show itself around the neckline.

An indication of a properly-fitting evening tailcoat is when the rear of the bow tie is just covered to leave enough white collar showing around the neck.

The sleeves also are cut to reveal a minimal account of Cal’s white shirt cuffs. Cal has two decorative buttons on each cuff; two buttons may have been correct in 1912, but modern evening tailcoats typically have four.

Underneath the tailcoat, the waistcoat is another element of white tie that has gone through many evolutions of style fads. During the early days of full evening dress, waistcoats were typically black with a low-fastening V-shaped front and shawl lapels. Around 1890, the V-shaped front gave way to a softer U-shaped front and the previously standard single-breasted front now faced competition from the increasingly popular double-breasted layout, as seen on Sidney Reilly’s white tie ensemble in 1910. The English also began wearing white piqué waistcoats instead of the traditional black. During the Edwardian era, the white piqué waistcoat for full dress caught on in America as well, and black waistcoats became the strict domain of the burgeoning informal dinner jacket while white piqué waistcoats were in vogue for formalwear on both sides of the Atlantic.

The waistcoat is typically not supposed to be this visible, but normally a man in white tie would not be conducting himself in such a way. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Cal’s ivory piqué waistcoat is a more traditional item with its single-breasted front and V-shaped opening, perhaps due to his attachment to Titanic‘s “old money” set. It has shawl revers (lapels), jetted hip pockets, and a correct 3-button front with covered buttons. It has a notched bottom to follow the newly-angled lines of his tailcoat. Although men had previously worn their watches on a chain across the waistcoat – again seen with Reilly’s 1910 full dress – this fell out of style by the pre-war years as men began carrying watches in their trouser pockets or hidden on their hip on a fob or key chain. Cal’s fashionably wears his watch accordingly hidden.

In earlier years, Cal’s watch would have been dangling in Rose’s face here. Also note the piqué waistcoat.

Now, the white piqué waistcoat has remained the standard for white tie. They are typically single-breasted, but double-breasted waistcoats are also popular. The V-shaped opening has regained popularity; Cal was smart to stick with that variation. However, full dress waistcoats are now typically manufactured backless; since the tailcoat is supposed to never be removed, there’s no reason why it would need to add additional discomfort to the wearer. The backless waistcoat was popularized by the Duke of Windsor in the 1920s, making the Edwardian era the last period of popularity for the waistcoat as a functional garment rather than a ceremonial one.

The shirt can make or break the look for evening dress, and Cal correctly wears a white lightweight voile shirt with a stiffly-starched piqué bib, detachable wing collar, squared single cuffs, and two visible studs down the front.

The studs are mother-of-pearl with gold trim, unfortunately not matching the diamond cuff links as they should, but at least they both have gold trim. The actual shirt fabric – likely voile here, although broadcloth is also an option – is never supposed to be seen, with the bib, cuffs, and collar the only parts visible in full dress. By this time, each of these elements typically matched the piqué material of the waistcoat and tie.

Man, Cal really shit the bed if he was trying to match his cuff links and shirt studs. Also, the guy behind Rose kinda looks like Oscar from The Office.

The rule for matching piqué waistcoat, shirt bib, and tie were just becoming popular around the time Titanic sank, and Cal’s white cotton piqué bow tie was a fashionable nod to this emerging trend. The tie has pointed ends, and the pointed end on the right wing gives the tie just the right amount of irregularity to mark that this is, indeed, a self-tied bespoke tie made to fit Cal’s neck, exactly as a full dress bow tie should.

Cal’s smarmiest look yet.

Cal wears a pair of black flat front formal trousers with his full evening dress, in the same worsted wool as the tailcoat. They have a single black silk side braid down each leg, although double stripes were also common at the time when side braids were present. Cal often places his hands in his pockets, which are placed just along the side braids. Flat front trousers like his were most common during this era as men aspired to display a lean silhouette, but pleated trousers became popular with the “baggy” look of the 1920s and have remained popular to this day.

The sort of men who wear white tie are usually not the ones who find themselves on the ground, so do try and keep your balance.

The trousers are cut high to his waist, sitting just above the bottom of the cutaway front of the coat. Although barely seen, white silk suspenders would be the correct accompaniment for full dress trousers, and it appears that Cal is wearing them – seen only when he stumbles down the grand staircase in his desperate gun-brandishing pursuit of Jack and Rose during the ship’s final moments. The trousers break with plain-hemmed bottoms over his shoes.

Black leather footwear always has and always will be necessary with full evening dress, but the type of shoe has changed since its origins. In the early days, pumps set the standard as the evening dress shoe, but leather dress boots began to emerge in popularity as the 20th century dawned. By the height of the Edwardian era, patent leather lace-ups became the most popular option, even displacing the most formal pumps. Although he is aristocratic, Cal’s sense of practicality resulted in his choice of the more popular plain-toe lace-ups over the more effete pumps. He does wear black silk dress socks, although they don’t extend far up his shins and his bare leg can be seen when he is lounging in his stateroom before the ship founders.

First class life.

Once the passengers are given notice to go up to the boat deck on the night of the sinking, Cal grabs his overcoat but ignores any other sort of outerwear. Indeed, being loaded into a lifeboat is not the occasion for a black silk top hat or white buckskin gloves, although some gloves may have been useful against the bitter cold. A white silk scarf with tasseled ends is also the correct option for white tie, but Cal forgoes a scarf as well.

“Scarfs are for pussies,” says the man who likely hires people to feed him.

The overcoat, which Cal gives to Rose in his sole – and later regretted – moment of chivalry, is a charcoal wool Chesterfield with a single-breasted 4-button fly front, a welted breast pocket, flapped side pockets, and 2-button cuffs with black horn buttons to match the front. The overcoat correctly is knee-length with the fly front and a black velvet collar.

Cal’s arisocratic touch further manifests itself with his jewelry, a gold pinky ring with a ruby stone, worn on his left hand. We don’t see his watch, but based on the gold ring and the gold trim of his studs and cuff links, we can assume that he wears a gold watch hidden away in a trouser pocket.

The morning after the disaster, aboard Carpathia, a dazed Cal searches for Rose among the passengers. He is still wearing his tailcoat, waistcoat, and trousers, but he looks much worse for wear with a tear in the arm of the coat. His detachable wing collar and tie are both gone.

Cal after a very shitty night.

Go Big or Go Home

As a first class gentleman, Cal’s lifestyle would be one still envied by the upper class set today. His personal life may have been slowly crumbling to shambles, but he still enjoyed the finest that the ship had to offer.

The film has Cal, Rose, and Rose’s mother occupying one of the two promenade suites on the ship, which were the ultimate in luxury. Think penthouse suite; that’s the modern day equivalent of these rooms. In real life, the B52-54-56 suite was occupied by White Star Line president J. Bruce Ismay, while the starboard suite, B51-53-55, was occupied by Charlotte Drake Cardeza, a nomadic widowed millionaire who was traveling with her son. Cal and Co. are shown occupying Ismay’s suite in the film.

Cal’s suite would be the port side suite at the top of the deck plans here. Deck plans from the Encyclopedia Titanica site , courtesy of Bruce Beveridge from Titanic: The Ship Magnificent (2008), The History Press.

The parlour suites were decorated in a mock-Tudor style and consisted of two bedrooms, one sitting room, and a fifty-foot long private enclosed promenade; each bedroom had two beds. Since someone traveling in these cabins would obviously have their own servants, the occupants were given the three-berth stateroom B102 for servants.

The total cost of the promenade suite was about $4,350, equivalent to more than $100,000 today. If you had that kind of money, would you buy a new Aston Martin or a seven day boat trip? To give you an idea of how luxurious the suite was, J.P. Morgan was to originally occupy B52-54-56 before his health prevented him from making the trip and Ismay went in his stead.

A suite like that would give a man plenty of places to lean against in an attempt to look dashing.

The incredible accommodations would be enough to keep one in their room the whole time, especially when traveling with a fiancee, but the rest of the “floating palace” would beckon anyone to explore. There were many places for first class passengers to lounge about, just being rich, from the sun-lit Cafe Parisien covered in French trellises and ivy to the Louis XV-style first class lounge on A-Deck. The ship had a full gymnasium available to first class passengers on the boat deck as well as a squash court and a swimming pool for the more athletic aristocrats belowdecks.

The centerpiece was naturally the grand staircase, which extended from the boat deck down to E-Deck and was lit through an ornate large glass dome. It was one of the ship’s most luxurious appointments with detailed oak paneling and carvings, bronze cherub lamp supports, and Louis XIV-inspired iron banister grillwork. The highlight of the forward grand staircase was a clock surrounded by an intricate carving of “Honour and Glory crowning time”; it is at this clock where Jack will ask Rose to meet him to “make it count”.

“Isn’t that the kid from Growing Pains?”
“Yes, yes, Ruth, but don’t say anything.”

There was a smaller grand staircase further aft, going only from A-Deck to C-Deck, and it was through this space that the ship broke in two during the final stage of the sinking.

Enjoy!

For dinner, Cal escorted Rose and Ruth down from B-Deck to the white Jacobean-style reception room on D-Deck before proceeding into the dining room for a grand dinner.

Dinner was quite a to-do for all of these status-obsessed patricians on board. It was a grand honor to dine at the captain’s table, and, on the night of the 14th, a grand dinner held in Captain Smith’s honor was held for him by the Wideners in the exclusive A La Carte Restaurant on B-Deck.

In the regular dining room on D-Deck, first class passengers enjoyed a delicious final meal including filet mignons, lamb in mint sauce, roast duckling, and beef sirloin. You’ll notice I said “and”; it’s no wonder these people didn’t feel like swimming after such a meal.

(On the 100th anniversary of the sinking, my wonderful girlfriend excellently recreated the meal from scratch. I was almost full after the delicious salmon with mousseline saucer and cucumbers, but I powered through and wolfed down the exquisite meats and vegetables, finishing everything through the pâté de foie gras and French ice cream. An abundance of wine and champagne throughout helped.)

Naturally, wine was served throughout dinner. The film accurately portrays Moët & Chandon champagne as a sparkling wine of choice for the first class passengers at dinner, served with caviar. It doesn’t get much more luxurious than that.

See the label? That’s Moët, bitches.

After dinner, the men retreated to the first class smoking room on aft A-Deck for “cigars and brandy” as Col. Gracie announces in the film. Indeed, a number of spirits were available from whiskies  and liqueurs to beer and cocktails. Cigars and cigarettes were plentiful. The style of the room was meant to emulate the gentleman’s clubs in London and New York with an early Georgian style of rich mahogany and stained glass windows. Many men, including a few professional cardsharps, spent the night playing cards until the room was closed at midnight.

Men.

On the night of the sinking, it was kept open for the men to stay warm while their wives were sent away in lifeboats. It was the last known location of Thomas Andrews, the ship’s designer, who likely remained in the smoking room until the ship foundered.

As part of this luxurious upper crust, Cal feels no sympathy for steerage passenger Jack, who lives among the rats down below. It naturally comes as a great blow to Cal that, despite his immense wealth and the promises of an elegant lifestyle, Rose opts for the starving artist. Cuckolded by Rose, Cal even passes up his chance to be in a comfortable lifeboat – one that doesn’t swamp – out of his remaining love for her, even if it is misogynistic and misguided. Of course, Cal is still so vindictively ruthless that he even has Jack – who, as a third class male passenger, has the least likely rate of survival anyway – chained belowdecks to ensure his death. That’s such a dick move you almost have to respect it. Of course, Jack is freed by Rose, but… you know, he still dies.

As Cal says with a smirk, a lot of people will die, but…

Not the better half.

The better half, doing what it does best: drinking and judging.

How to Get the Look

Cal’s full evening dress is a fine execution of white tie, combining both traditional and then-modern elements. Unlike black tie, there are now very few variations on correct white tie, but during the look’s formative years, it wasn’t uncommon for eveningwear to differ from man to man.

Cal, briefly doubting that money can buy happiness.

• Midnight blue evening tailcoat with black silk-faced peak lapels, 6-button double-breasted front, 2-button cuffs, welted breast pocket, 2 decorative buttons over the rear tails
• Black formal trousers with side pockets, plain-hemmed bottoms, and a single satin stripe down each leg
• White piqué single-breasted waistcoat with self-faced shawl lapels, 3-button front, 2 jetted hip pockets, and notched bottom
• White formal dress shirt with a stiff piqué bib, detachable wing collars, and single cuffs
• Mother-of-pearl shirt studs with gold trim
• Diamond cuff links with gold trim
• White piqué pointed-end bow tie
• Black patent leather plain-toe lace-up shoes
• Black silk dress socks
• Charcoal wool single-breasted Chesterfield coat with black velvet collars, notch lapels, 4-button front, 2-button cuffs, welted breast pocket, flapped hip pockets, and a single rear vent

The Gun

Cal doesn’t carry a gun of his own, but his bodyguard, ex-Pinkerton detective and current dickhead Spicer Lovejoy, carries a beautifully ornate nickel-plated Colt M1911 in a brown leather shoulder holster. Cal indeed grabs Lovejoy’s M1911 in a moment of passion, chasing down Jack and Rose while emptying each round from the magazine, but he misses with each shot and just manages to further destroy the ship.

The impressive but anachronistic M1911A1 rented from Stembridge for use in Titanic.

As a strikingly attractive firearm, the ornate M1911 was probably irresistible for Cameron to include in the hands of his villains. It was rented from Stembridge Gun Rentals of Hollywood, an old firm dating back to the early 1920s that still provides excellent weaponry for productions today.

Unfortunately, the use of Lovejoy’s M1911 is an anachronism easily spotted by firearm enthusiasts.

“Has this gun even been invented yet?!”

“Wait, now… that’s an M1911? Doesn’t that mean it was made in 1911?”

Well, sort of. The M1911 was a John Browning design that was the result of nearly a decade of trying to develop the perfect .45-caliber handgun for the U.S. Army. Finally, in January 1912, the first M1911 was produced by Colt’s Manufacturing Company.

“Ah, ha!” you say, although your voice quivers a little. “That’s still months before the Titanic sank! He could’ve had one of those.”

The first run of 1911 pistols was delivered to the military in mid-February 1912. For Lovejoy to have his weapon, he would’ve needed to illegally obtain one from the U.S. Army, have it completely refinished in ornate nickel-plating, and have the foresight to replace the hammer with the 1911A1-style hammer and curved mainspring housing, which wasn’t developed until the M1911A1 variant in 1926.

Lovejoy decides some firearm-related intimidation is necessary for Jack, despite the latter being handcuffed to a pole in a rapidly sinking ocean liner.

What gun would have been a more likely option for Lovejoy to carry?

The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless was one of the most popular guns at the time for concealed carry among civilians. It was offered with either .32 ACP or .380 ACP ammunition – Lovejoy probably would have opted for the latter – and had a total capacity of 8 or 9 rounds, depending on the caliber. If he truly wanted a .45-caliber weapon, he could have carried a Colt New Service revolver, although this would be a less sleek-looking weapon, and it is obvious that the filmmakers wanted Lovejoy’s gun to be impressive.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie. The Blu-Ray version currently available is much better quality than the two-tape bootleg VHS set my cousin had, which included such great side characters as Gets-Up-For-Popcorn-Three-Times Guy and Guy-Who-Shouts-Out-“Oof”-When-A-Man-Hits-The-Propeller.

The Quote

A real man makes his own luck.

Footnotes

In addition to the spectacular Black Tie Guide,  this article on Démodé also addresses specifically dressing for dinner on Titanic with month-by-month breakdowns of popular womens’ styles in early 1912. Men are also addressed in the article, but men’s fashion was more of an annual cyclical change; what was popular in January 1912 was still popular in April.

Despite what was seen in the film, many of the first class male passengers had already changed out of their dinner attire and were dressed either for bed or for evacuation by the time the ship sank. The film places John Jacob Astor IV, notorious as the richest man on board, in the grand staircase moments before the ship sinks, clinging to a wooden column and wearing the white foam lifejacket over his white tie ensemble. This is doubly incorrect, as not only was Astor crushed by the forward funnel (shown happening just before we see him in the staircase), but he had already changed out of his formalwear into a much more casual suit.

When Astor’s corpse was recovered by the cable-ship Mackay-Bennett a week after the sinking, he was found to be wearing a blue suit and brown shirt and carrying the equivalent of $58,000 in American currency and £19,000 in British currency. The full discovery notes are listed below:

NO. 124 - MALE - ESTIMATED AGE 50 - LIGHT HAIR & MOUSTACHE

CLOTHING - Blue serge suit; blue handkerchief with "A.V."; belt with gold buckle; brown boots with red rubber soles; brown flannel shirt; "J.J.A." on back of collar.

EFFECTS - Gold watch; cuff links, gold with diamond; diamond ring with three stones; £225 in English notes; $2440 in notes; £5 in gold; 7s. in silver; 5 ten franc pieces; gold pencil; pocketbook.

FIRST CLASS NAME-J.J.ASTOR

Michael K. Williams as “Chalky” White on Boardwalk Empire (“Two Imposters”, Episode 3.11).

Vitals

Michael Kenneth Williams as Albert “Chalky” White, notorious bootlegger

Atlantic City, Spring 1923

Series: Boardwalk Empire
Episodes:
* “The Milkmaid’s Lot” (Episode 3.09, aired November 11, 2012, dir. Ed Bianchi)
* “Two Imposters” (Episode 3.11, aired November 25, 2012, dir. Allen Coulter)
* “Margate Sands” (Episode 3.12, aired December 2, 2012, dir. Tim Van Patten)
Costume Designer: John A. Dunn

Background

Most people – myself included – don’t approach summer with the attitude of, “Oh, good, it’s three-piece suit season!” However, most people are not badass gangsters community leaders like “Chalky” White on Boardwalk Empire.

Chalky has been a fan favorite since the early episodes of the show, and Michael K. Williams’ brilliant portrayal as the tough but conflicted bootlegger finally earned him an elevated role in the show’s fourth season last year. Williams has been acting on screen for nearly 20 years now, but it was his turn as Omar Little on HBO’s The Wire that brought him into the mainstream eye. Williams’ performance as Omar was so good that even Barack Obama had to praise the character:

He’s not my favorite person, but he’s a fascinating character… he’s the toughest, baddest guy on the show.

Two years after The Wire‘s finale, Williams was back on HBO as Albert “Chalky” White, a powerful gangster and de facto leader of Atlantic City’s black community. Although once again playing a character who was arguably “the toughest, baddest guy on the show”, Williams was able to draw a clear distinction between the violently moral and homosexual Omar and the troubled family man Chalky.

After nearly three seasons as a strong but decidedly supporting character, Chalky was called upon by the show’s central character – Nucky Thompson – to step up in the penultimate episode of the third season.

What’d He Wear?

When Nucky shows up at Chalky’s door in “Two Imposters”, Chalky is wearing a light three-piece linen summer suit that had only been seen once earlier during a brief scene in Nucky’s office in “The Milkmaid’s Lot”. The suit is cream-colored linen with a brown Glen Plaid check and an alternating green and red overcheck pattern.

Inset detail of Chalky’s suit, as seen in “The Milkmaid’s Lot”. The shirt and tie seen here are not the same as he wore in the final two episodes of the season.

The suit has a large fit, accentuated by the overly wrinkly nature of linen. It follows the analysis offered by The Gentleman’s Gazette after the first season:

With regards to fit, his suits do not seem to be superb. You can often see gaping collars and other imperfections. Considering the colorful fabrics and outward appearance of Chalky White, I doubt this was done so intentionally by the costume designers, though I do not know that for sure. They definitely choose to tailor him long coats and vests and made him into something like the forefather of the zoot suits – though in moderation… Sartorially speaking, Chalky is definitely a highlight especially when lookingat the mass of rather uniform modern day navy and charcoal business suits.

While the fit may leave something to be desired, there’s no denying that this is a sharp, eye-catching suit. The jacket has a very vintage style with its high-fastening front and long straight bottom in the front. This is especially noticeable when Chalky fastens the 4×2 button double-breasted front.

Chalky buttons up when heading out on a nighttime mission.

The jacket has wide and sharp peak lapels with a slanted gorge that roll just above the mid-torso button stance. There is a welted breast pocket high on the left side that slants slightly toward the center of the coat. There are also two flapped straight hip pockets and 4-button cuffs.

The ample fit of the jacket also nicely hides two .45s.

The large-fitting jacket has natural shoulders with roped sleeveheads. The front is darted and there is a single rear vent.

Chalky spends plenty of time in these episodes with his jacket removed. Underneath, he wears a single-breasted matching vest with a high-fastening 6-button front. All buttons are fastened, including the lowest button just above the notched bottom. Like the jacket, it has peak lapels and a high-fastening front. There are four welted pockets that gently slope toward the center of the vest.

Chalky defends his home base.

The rear is lined in dark red silk with a strap that adjusts with a brass clasp.

Chalky’s lower back is a mishmash of straps that probably make it difficult to go to the bathroom in a hurry. Thankfully for him, there was no such thing as Taco Bell in 1923.

Chalky’s suit trousers are also very period-correct. Appropriately worn with suspenders, they have a fishmouth rear and an adjustable strap with a silver-toned clasp. Since there are no belt loops or side buttons on his trousers, Chalky fastens his shoulder holsters to the trousers’ adjustable rear strap. While this likely isn’t the most convenient or practical method, the weight of two 1911 pistols are enough to keep in place.

Chalky’s suspenders are dark blue with red trim and a cream check. They have gold adjusters that are adorned with a cube-like checked surface.

Even if this screenshot didn’t offer the clearest shot of Chalky’s suspenders, I’d still have to include it for the insane amount of badassery involved.

The trousers have double reverse pleats. The waistband remains unseen as Chalky’s vest appropriately keeps it well covered at all times. There are on-seam side pockets and button-through jetted rear pockets on both the right and left side. Like the rest of the suit, the trousers have a generous fit throughout the leg down to the cuffed bottoms, which have a full break over his shoes. It is especially important to have a larger fit with linen trousers, as linen can cling to sweat and make a tight fit very uncomfortable.

Linen trousers help one stay a little cooler even when hiding one rival gangster from his well-armed opposition. Not like Chalky would fold under pressure, anyway…

An Entertainment Weekly article that ran just before the fourth season started shed some light on both Williams and Chalky:

The show’s other leading players are equally motivated by the 1920′s fashion, particularly Michael K. Williams, who plays Chalky White. “He’s so cute. He [recently] said, ‘I think Chalky White has a shoe fetish,’ so he wanted special shoe inserts to keep his shoes pristine,” said [costume designer Lisa] Padovani, who happily granted the actor’s wish. “John [Dunn] and I are very detail oriented. [When they’re filming, the cast] can’t wear their sneakers, even though we usually don’t see their feet. Once you’re on set, you really should wear the costume. It helps the actor.”

For “Two Imposters” and “Margate Sands”, Chalky’s shoe fetish extends to his light brown leather 4-eylet medallion cap toe bluchers, wisely worn with cream dress socks to continue the leg line from trouser into shoe.

Chalky at rest and in action.

The earth tones continue through the rest of Chalky’s wardrobe. His shirt is yellow cream with a brown stripe. It has a front placket and matching double/French cuffs with buttoned gauntlets. Chalky wears one of his usual white detachable club collars.

This cigarette scene is going much better than the time Omar tried to buy a soft pack of Newports.

Chalky’s round cuff links are pearl with silver trim.

Chalky and Arnold Rothstein are the show’s two most prominent bow tie wearers. Throughout the final two episodes of the third season, Chalky wears an orange herringbone silk bow tie with brown vertical stripes. The bow has straight ends.

The grimace that launched a thousand ships.

Two episodes earlier, in “The Milkmaid’s Lot”, Chalky wore the same suit with a difference shirt and tie combination. In that episode, his shirt is pale green with a green and brown shadow check. He wears an orange bow tie, but it is solid rather than striped and has pointed ends.

Throughout both episodes, Chalky wears a tan felt homburg with a light brown ribbon. The hat’s pinched crown indicates a slightly less formal hat than the traditional homburg, evocative of the burgeoning fedora. Chalky wears his hat throughout almost every scene. Chalky isn’t the type of person who submits easily; when he takes off his hat, it’s either out of respect or necessity. The social convention of not wearing a hat inside doesn’t extend to a guy who makes his own rules.

This is not the sort of person you give orders to.

Update! The very astute blog commentor Roman noted that this particular type of homburg style is called a “Lord’s hat”. Thanks, Roman!

We also get a few glimpses of Chalky’s wristwatch, worn on his left wrist. It appears to be silver with a round white dial, although any additional details are hard to determine.

You see his watch? On his left wrist there? Ah, never mind.

Chalky keeps his shoulder rig that he wears throughout the show. It is brown well-worn leather with holsters under each arm to fit a full-size 1911 pistol. It connects across his shoulders with a single beige canvas strap. As mentioned earlier, Chalky fastens his rig into place via the rear strap of his trousers.

Nucky Thompson may get more attention on Boardwalk Empire, but there’s no doubt that Chalky White is the true BAMF of the show.

Go Big or Go Home

Chalky is cool, loyal, and shrewd. Although he can be insecure about his modest roots, he is also very proud and as much of a dedicated family man as a hardened criminal can be. While Nucky might have a soft spot for children, Chalky would murder anyone for insulting one of his kids.

When Nucky calls upon Chalky for a favor in “Two Imposters”, Chalky doesn’t turn him down… but his loyalty has reached a point. After years of being used by Nucky with only his own relative community power given in return, Chalky knows he finally has the leverage to get himself into a higher position. Through some sharp bargaining, Chalky manages to get himself a nightclub on the Atlantic City boardwalk before coolly going out to give Gyp Rosetti a flourishing “fuck off” message from Nucky.

How to Get the Look

There’s no reason to let warm weather stop you from looking BAMF in a three-piece suit. Keep the tweed and wool in your closet and opt for linen, which will both turn heads and keep you feeling cool. (Although you might start sweating bullets anyway with a combined five pounds of weaponry hanging from your shoulder holsters…)

Lose the jacket if it’s too hot out or if you want to show off your twin .45s.

• Cream linen suit with a brown Glen Plaid check and alternating green and red overcheck, consisting of:
  • Double-breasted high-fastening jacket with peak lapels, 4×2 button front, welted breast pocket, flapped straight hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and single rear vent
  • Single-breasted vest with peak lapels, 6-button front, four welted pockets, notched bottom, adjustable rear strap, and dark red silk lining
  • Double reverse-pleated trousers with on-seam side pockets, button-through jetted rear pockets, and cuffed bottoms (turn ups)
• Yellow cream striped button-down shirt with front placket, double/French cuffs, and white detachable club collar
• Orange striped herringbone silk straight-ended bow tie
• Round pearl cuff links with silver trim
• Light brown leather 4-eyelet medallion cap toe bluchers
• Cream dress socks
• Dark blue suspenders with red trim, cream check, and gold square-patterned adjusters
• Silver wristwatch with a round white dial
• Tan felt “Lord’s hat” homburg with light brown grosgrain ribbon and pinched crown
• Brown leather double shoulder holster rig with tan rear canvas strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the third season. This suit shows up primarily in “Two Imposters” (Ep. 3.11) and “Margate Sands” (Ep. 3.12), but it was also worn earlier in “The Milkmaid’s Lot” (Ep. 3.09).

The Quote

All due respect, General Custer, this ain’t no spot for a last stand.

Two years ago, I broke down the great off-white dinner jacket worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger. For your end-of-summer fancy soiree (which I assume you’re hosting), the white or off-white dinner jacket should always be an option.

Nicholas Clay as Patrick Redfern in Evil Under the Sun (1982).

Vitals

Nicholas Clay as Patrick Redfern, philandering Latin teacher

a remote Mediterranean island, Summer 1937

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

1982’s Evil Under the Sun is a lavish adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1941 novel, jumping on the popularity of its successful predecessors Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile by stacking together a star-studded cast, dressing them up in expensive period costumes, and dropping them into a murder mystery in an exotic locale.

Since the original novel was set on an English island, the filmmakers evidently decided they could weasel much more camp value out of a warm island palace, and the secluded hotel in Devon was scrapped in favor of a regal resort in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. Quiet intrigue gave way to flamboyant grandstanding as a delightful cavalcade of stars chewed the scenery against a backdrop of murder and Cole Porter.

Nicholas Clay was one of the film’s many stars, playing Patrick Redfern, a charismatic if inattentive husband who grows more and more nefarious as each brogue-covered layer is stripped away by master detective Hercule Poirot.

What’d He Wear?

For the resort’s cocktail hour, Redfern is appropriately dressed in an ivory dinner jacket just as white-toned dinner jackets were coming into fashion. The Black Tie Guide, which should be considered the definitive online guide to men’s formalwear, notes that:

White dinner jackets premiered alongside the mess jacket in resorts like Palm Beach and Cannes, albeit with much less fanfare.  Constructed of cotton drill, linen or silk they were originally worn with either black or white trousers of tropical weight wool.  Their popularity at tropical locales grew slowly but surely and by the time the mess jacket had become passé in 1936 they were as common as traditional dark coats.  In its August 1936 issue, Esquire defined the quintessential warm-weather formal evening wardrobe: “This year, the big swing is to single- or double-breasted [light colored] dinner jackets, collar and self lapel facings.  These are worn with[black] tropical dress trousers, patent leather oxfords or pumps, a white, soft shirt with either soft or laundered collar and a black dress tie.”

As the film is set in a tropical locale in 1937, Redfern’s double-breasted, light-colored, self-faced dinner jacket, soft white shirt, black dress tie and trousers, and patent leather oxfords hit the Esquire nail on the head. The character, a supposedly humble schoolteacher who hides great wealth and is much more fashionable than his dowdy wife, would be the sort of guy who would wear exactly what Esquire prescribes when heading to a tropical island.

Redfern nails it while Poirot’s eccentric taste prevents him from even entering the same sartorial arena.

As Esquire indirectly stated, the white dinner jacket implied a drop in formality that is reflected throughout the outfit.

Redfern’s dinner jacket is ivory lightweight wool with a 4×1-button double-breasted front. The substantial shawl lapels are self-faced – rather than grosgrain or satin-faced – and roll cleanly to his waist. The waistline is only slightly suppressed, more of an indication of the 1980s boxy fit than the 1930s athletic fit. Still, Clay’s athletic silhouette is kept intact by the jacket’s correct ventless rear, darted front, and long natural shoulders with roped sleeveheads.

Redfern enjoys cocktail hour.

The buttons, including the 4-button surgeon’s cuffs, are all white plastic, again a less formal option than mother-of-pearl. The welted breast pocket is embellished with a white silk handkerchief poking out; a red carnation pinned to the left lapel further enhances the ensemble. The hip pockets are jetted, as they should be.

Since the jacket is double-breasted and worn less formally than most black tie ensembles, a cummerbund is optional although still the standard option for resort formalwear. Redfern keeps his jacket buttoned at all times so it is left to speculation whether or not he wears a cummerbund. It’s likely that he would, as the Black Tie Guide continues:

By 1937 The New Etiquette was describing the [cummerbund] as a “popular and chic” waist covering for informal evening wear at resorts.  “It is meant for hot weather to obviate the necessity of having the harness of a waistcoat over the shoulder and back when it might be uncomfortably warm.  On the right people at the right time it is decorative and correctly in the spirit of colorful gaiety.” As the author alluded, the cummerbund could be used to infuse warm-weather formal wear with color and even patterns.  Most often though, black silk continued to be de rigueur for waist coverings worn with the white dinner jacket.  The pleated formal sash could also be correctly matched with a black tuxedo according to the book’s author, but only when those tuxedos were worn at resorts; the acceptance of cummerbunds year round was still at least a decade away.

Redfern’s formal trousers are black with flat fronts and a silk braid running down each side. He often places his hands in the on-seam side pockets, and the plain-hemmed bottoms slightly flare out with a short break.

Redfern’s shirt also indicates the relaxed formality of his outfit. It is white with a plain (not piqué or pleated) front and mother-of-pearl buttons (not studs). He wears a set of round golf cuff links through the double cuffs. Under the shirt’s soft turndown collar, Redfern wears a black silk “thistle”-shaped (or “semi-butterfly” or “hourglass”) bow tie that is clearly not a pre-tied version, which deserves a thumb’s up. Also, the thicker tie is good for someone with Clay’s large face and strong features.

Mrs. Redfern knows not to trust her husband when he starts employing his Roger Moore eyebrow.

On his feet, Redfern wears a pair of black patent leather cap-toe balmorals with raised heels. With the stitched toe cap on the uppers, this balmoral is more commonly seen as a business shoe and not with a formal outfit like a dinner suit. However, both the casual nature of his ensemble and the shiny patent leather excuse this choice.

Redfern eyes the cocktails being passed around as he lounges in the hotel parlor. He looks somewhat out of place next to his gaudy-dressed cast mates and surroundings.

Also, this less formal jacket and shirt would look very strange with the pinched bow pumps considered to be “proper” with black tie. Redfern wears thin black dress socks, as he should.

His watch has been identified by Roman and Will – two great commenters here – as a vintage Gruen Curvex on a black alligator strap. With its large Arabic numerals and oblong silver case, it is a more casual watch than most would accept with black tie, but it works here.

Redfern’s watch, now almost definitely identified as a Gruen Curvex. (Thanks, Roman and Will!)

Go Big or Go Home

The white 4×1-button double-breasted, lapeled dinner jacket says plenty about its wearers. The most famous wearer was Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca, but a similar jacket also showed up on Emilio Largo, one of the more stylish Bond villains.

Bogie in Casablanca, Adolfo Celi as Largo in Thunderball, and Clay. (Largo image sourced from The Suits of James Bond.) Clay steps up his game by adding a red carnation.

Although Largo and Redfern, as a terrorist and a murderer respectively, qualify more as villains than Rick Blaine, each of the three men carries a mischievous charm and a devil-may-care attitude as they conduct their shady business among fellow patrons of an exotic bar/casino/hotel.

Despite posing as a man of modest means, Redfern is still able to afford a leisurely week at such an exclusive Mediterranean resort… although it is his Broadway diva mistress that buys his room, so that sort of negates it. However, he still lives lavishly while there, indulging in numerous cocktails and rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.

Although I have no idea what the hell his wife is sipping on here.

The Redferns are eventually revealed to be a horribly deceptive couple of whom even Frank and Claire Underwood would disapprove. The casting of Jane Birkin as Redfern’s supposedly “plain Jane” wife Christine is interesting, especially given the start of her career as a mod icon and symbol of Swinging London.

Christine plays her part well, looking continuously haggard and beleaguered as her husband enjoys the attentions of Diana Rigg as the doomed diva. (Interestingly, Rigg is eight years older than Birkin. I guess the Redferns targeted cougars.)

Much of my enjoyment of this guilty pleasure piece of celluloid comes from the soundtrack. The score consists entirely of Cole Porter hits, masterfully arranged by John Lanchberry. Unfortunately, most of the tracks are unavailable on YouTube, so I can’t share any here. The first cocktail hour is scored by “Longing for Dear Old Broadway” (from The Pot of Gold, one of the earliest shows written by Porter) and “You Do Something to Me”. “You Do Something to Me” is one of Porter’s most popular songs, and it became a standard in the songbooks of legends like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

Here is Leo Reisman and his Orchestra performing “You Do Something to Me” in 1929, the year Porter penned it for Fifty Million Frenchmen.

How to Get the Look

Though his behavior shouldn’t be copied, Patrick Redfern’s casual and comfortable tropical black tie sets a fine example for anyone who wants to class up a warm holiday.

• Ivory double-breasted 4×1-button dinner jacket with large shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 4-button surgeon’s cuffs, and ventless rear
• Black flat front formal side-braided trousers with on-seam side pockets and slightly flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• White plain front shirt with front placket, mother-of-pearl buttons, and double/French cuffs
• Black silk “thistle”-shaped bow tie
• Gold round cuff links
• Black patent leather cap-toe balmorals
• Black thin dress socks
• Gruen Curvex wristwatch in an oblong silver case on a black alligator strap

To be extra natty, pin a red carnation to your left lapel and tuck a white silk handkerchief into the breast pocket.

Do Yourself A Favor And…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

It’s funny to think if Giuseppe Verdi had been an Englishman his name would have been Joe Green.

Excerpt from a promotional poster for Skyfall (2012), featuring Daniel Craig as James Bond against the familiar “gunbarrel” backdrop.

Vitals

Daniel Craig as James Bond, British government agent

Macau, Spring 2012

Background

Nearly forty years after his last visit, James Bond returns to Macau in The Man with the Golden Gun after discovering a casino chip on an assassin in Shanghai. Now officially back in Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond packs up his dinner suit, cut-throat razor, and sunglasses and heads to the film’s version of Macau.

Skyfall‘s Macau is far different and more primitive than its real life counterpart, which is more like an Asian Las Vegas with a twist of Portugal rather than the simple but mysterious Ming Dynasty village seen in the film. A Special Administration Region like Hong Kong, Macau was a Portugese colony until 1999. During its 500 years of Portuguese rule, Macau developed a fascinating fusion of Portuguese and Southeast Asian culture that is still perceptible in all aspects from language to architecture.

When I first saw Skyfall, I was intrigued by this rustic place with the strongly masculine hotel and floating casino. While the floating casino exists, and is one of many casinos in the city, the film’s portrayal misses the city’s neon accents.

Still, the entire Macau sequence is filled with stunning visuals from the locations (fictional though they may be) to the film’s two Bond girls, played by Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe, and – of course – Bond’s dark blue tux. I’m not sure what your plans are this week, but I can guarantee they would be enhanced by rolling out your own sharp blue dinner suit.

What’d He Wear?

Bond’s Macau dinner suit, the only one he wears in Skyfall, was used very prominently during the film’s promotion, and rightly so as it is a very good-looking suit and was worn during some of the film’s key scenes.

Promotion for Skyfall utilized the dark blue dinner suit to emphasize both the series’ return to a focus on style balanced with action after both the Casino Royale reboot and the Bourne-like ruggedness of Quantum of Solace.

It also is notable for being one of the few times that a blue suit was worn to actually photograph blue. Often, Bond – and other characters – sport midnight blue tuxedoes that are meant to appear “darker than black”, hence the misconception that Bond wears strictly black tuxedoes. In fact, most of Bond’s dinner suits have been midnight blue. For a terrific infographic that broadly analyzes Bond’s clothing, check this out.

The more visible blue dinner suit has been catching on since Skyfall with stars like Ryan Gosling, Kevin Spacey, and Bradley Cooper famously wearing them to award shows. Cooper’s appears to be the same Tom Ford tux worn by Craig, or at least very similarly styled.

Bond stands around as Silva prepares some shots of Scotch.

So let’s look at the actual tux that Bond wears in Skyfall. Certainly by Tom Ford and possibly part of his “O’Connor” collection, the cloth is a vivid dark blue that shines more navy than midnight when Bond steps out into the sunlight the next day wearing the same suit. As we rarely see Bond’s evening attire during the daytime (appropriately enough), it makes sense that this blue tux would stand out more than the others in the series. Matt Spaiser’s expert blog, The Suits of James Bond, also features a post about this suit.

On October 5, 2012, Christie’s of South Kensington auctioned one of the dinner suits worn in the film, describing it as:

A two-piece dinner suit in navy wool by Tom Ford, worn by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall.

The suit, sold as Lot #42 for £46,850 ($75,756 if you’re nasty), was part of a collection consisting mostly of other memorabilia from Daniel Craig’s outings as Bond including a Skyfall Omega watch, the “charcoal serge with light blue rope-stripe” suit he would wear later in London, the famous La Perla swimming trunks from Casino Royale, and a genuine Aston Martin DBS from Quantum of Solace.

The auction also validates many people’s complaints about the dinner suit; the auctioned tux was sized 38R (the label read 48F but us Ameicans or Brits know that better as 38R). Though he may be the shortest Bond actor at 5’10”, Daniel Craig is not a small person. After gaining plenty of muscle for the Bond role, Craig would easily fit into a 40 or 42-sized suit, but 38? No wonder he looked like he was about to burst out of it. This was likely one of his stunt tuxes, as he certainly wore bespoke versions for close-ups and sequences not requiring running, jumping, or shooting.

The dinner jacket, though the tight fit and short cut may distract some, still has undeniably classic features. The jacket is the same dark navy as the rest of the suit with wide shawl lapels with black satin silk facings.

Daniel Craig impregnates the audience.

Bond’s jacket is single-breasted and closes in the front with a single black satin-faced button. This poor button becomes considerably strained when Craig closes it over his torso, likely breathing a sigh of relief when he sits down and unbuttons it again.

The 3-button cuffs are also covered in the same black satin silk. As usual for Craig’s Bond, he shows off the surgeon’s cuffs by keeping the bottom button unfastened.

It’s okay to be rakish with your surgeon’s cuffs if you’re badass enough to back it up.

Bond’s dinner jacket has narrow shoulders with roped sleeveheads. There is a welted pocket and two jetted hip pockets, both also featuring black satin silk jetting. He wears a white handkerchief neatly folded into the breast pocket, likely made of either linen or silk.

Little did Bond know that the beautiful woman he was flirting with over drinks would soon be in his sights during a Scotch-fueled dueling match the next day – ah, you know what, he probably knew.

The only exception to the jacket’s classic look is the single rear vent, which belongs only on business suits or sport coats; dinner jacket should either have double vents or none at all.

Poor Bond was followed around all night by sartorial critics pointing at his rear vent and sneering.

The likely reason for the single vent is that the tight fit of the jacket meant that:

• a ventless jacket would be too tight, and Craig would be unable to move
• double rear vents would create the effect of “ass-popping”, and Craig would look silly

There are two things that James Bond is not known for: immobility and looking silly. In her quest to place Bond in these very contemporary but very tight-fitting suits, costume designer Jany Temime is also mindful of these two tenets and sacrifices proper dinner jacket venting in order to meet them.

Bond’s formal flat front trousers are also midnight blue with black satin stripes down the leg. The trousers rise appropriately high on Bond’s waist, where they fasten with an extended front waist tab and buckle side adjusters.

Bond plays with his toys.

The trousers fit neatly down the legs, tapering to the plain-hemmed bottoms. They also have on-seam side pockets where Craig often places his hands when idle.

Although the trousers have side adjusters, Bond wears a set of white moiré suspenders with white leather joints (constructed of vegtanned goatskin) and braid ends, made by Albert Thurston according to James Bond Lifestyle.

Traditionists eschew the wearing of evening attire both in the daytime and without the jacket and tie. However, these are extenuating circumstances if I’ve ever seen them.

The suspenders (or braces) are fitted with clips to fasten to the top of the waistband, but since Bond’s trousers are fitted with inside buttons, the braces are able to fasten inside and out of sight for a cleaner look.

When in the casino, Bond covers up his waist with a black satin silk Tom Ford cummerbund, marking one of the few times in the series that he wears one.

Bond looks like a very serious man on a mission. Because he actually is.

Now that he’s practically a Tom Ford brand ambassador, Bond also wears a white cotton voile Tom Ford shirt that kicks the outfit’s traditional look up a notch. The bib, spread collar, and double cuffs are all piqué, a standard weave for formalwear since the early days of white tie. The shirt has two side darts on the back.

Silva takes a few liberties with Bond.

Bond wears a set of white mother-of-pearl cuff links, also from Tom Ford, through his shirt cuffs. They are round with white gold trim and, as you might be able to guess, were made by Tom Ford. You might not be able to guess the price, though; according to James Bond Lifestyle, they can run you about $3,400. If you’re the sort of person that spends $3,400 on cuff links, I’m requesting that you stop reading this blog on principle alone.

The photo of Bond’s Tom Ford cuff links have a Bond Lifestyle watermark because you should visit that site for all of your James Bond lifestyle needs. They’ve got you covered.

Since Tom Ford’s hand is present throughout this outfit, the cuff links perfectly match the shirt studs, a smaller version of the white gold-trimmed mother-of-pearl links. The studs are worn through the shirt’s plain front, with four showing between the bow tie and cummerbund.

Bond’s bow tie is black grosgrain with a “batwing” shape, a narrower tie that works best with slimmer men wearing slimmer collars and lapels.

Bond sizes up his surroundings.

The English shoemaker Crockett & Jones is well-represented in Skyfall as Bond wears his third pair of C&Js in Macau. This is the “Alex” plain-toe wholecut shoe, constructed of black calf with five eyelets and a single leather sole. Again confirmed by James Bond Lifestyle in its infinite wisdom, the Crockett & Jones “Alex” can be had for £360… that’s just £180 per shoe!

The Crockett & Jones shoes were worth the investment for the poster art, but in the film they’re only seen fleetingly after Bond’s already been through a rough night. Not the best use of £360.

Naturally, Bond wears a pair of black socks. Would you really think Bond is the sort of guy who “wants a hint of color“?

Bond’s watch is his Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Mid Size Chronometer, worn in all scenes after his return from exile. The reference number is 231.10.39.21.03.001, and it is stainless with a stainless case and a brilliant blue dial with an indicator at 3:00 and a screw-in crown.

Bond, genuinely afraid that his watch will get scratched.

His holster remains unseen, but it looks like he is back to wearing an IWB as a shoulder holster would create a very unsightly bulge in the tight dinner jacket. Reportedly, his Skyfall IWB holster was a cognac-colored suede Vega IB333 to fit the Walther PPK/S he is issued by Q. He certainly wears it during the following scenes in London after Silva’s capture, but he is back to carrying a standard PPK by then.

Another tool of the job is worn in his ear. To communicate with Moneypenny in the Floating Dragon Casino, Bond fits a Phonak Invisity Flex Miniature Receiver into his ear. Before you start thinking I’m an earpiece expert (I’m not; I’m only an apprentice earpiece expert), this very acute detail also comes from James Bond Lifestyle, which reports that Bond dropping the earpiece into Eve’s champagne is “an expensive joke, since this earpiece costs £1100 – £1500 (with remote control) or $1290 – $1750.” No wonder he and Q were always at odds!

Interestingly, James Bond Lifestyle also reports that the earpiece was more than just a prop. When Silva (Javier Bardem) was locked inside the glass, he wore one of these earpieces to hear the lines of the actors outside the glass. The film concealed the earpiece nicely, as this is impossible to discern when watching.

The next day, Bond and Sévérine emerge from what was likely a few hours in the shower for a bright morning ride on her yacht. To combat the sunlight, Bond puts on a pair of Tom Ford Marko FT0144 “18V” aviator-style sunglasses with silver rhodium frames and blue lenses.

Bond was wisely prepared for a sunny morning on Silva’s private island.

I have no idea where he was keeping these, as they surely would’ve broken when he jumped into the Rancor pit komodo dragon pit the previous evening and certainly would’ve bulged through his clothing. Perhaps after leaving the casino he picked them up from his car, knowing that he and Sévérine wouldn’t be finished until morning.

Craig also wore the Tom Ford sunglasses while filming in Istanbul, but they weren’t part of that scene. More info is available at James Bond Lifestyle… but you knew that. Maybe you didn’t know that you can still get a pair of Markos yourself on Amazon.

All in all, this is a great dinner suit that could’ve been just a little bit better with a correct fit. Had it fit better, it would’ve likely had the proper rear venting and still would have flattered Craig’s muscular physique. It’s interesting to see the transition between the evening and day, as Bond ditches the bow tie and adds sunglasses, making it almost a completely different look. This is very reminiscent of Moonraker (and the only real thing the two films have in common*) where Bond wore his black tux to the Rio carnival then showed up the next morning still in the same clothing.

* Other than the fact that both films feature black tie scenes in Portuguese-speaking countries that are not Portugal. Eerie coincidence.

* An additional coincidence – or maybe it isn’t? – is the fact that Macau is a Portuguese-speaking country and Raoul Silva is supposed to be Portuguese-born. I don’t believe this was mentioned in the film; something extra for viewers in the know?

Go Big or Go Home

James Bond’s badassery seemingly knows no bounds; he begins his night by shaving with a straight razor. Moneypenny – and many others – refer to these as “cut-throat” razors and for an excellent reason that needs no explanation. Straight razors were once the only way to shave until the development of the safety razor around the start of the 20th century. An additional blow was delivered to the straight razor as the popularity of electric razors blew up in the 1950s.

Very few men still shave with straight razors, and even Bond himself used a Gillette-style safety razor in the novels and the Goldfinger film. By the time of Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan’s Bond had even adopted an electric razor, the Philips Philishave Sensotec HQ8894 (marketed in North America as the Norelco Spectra 8894XL). Of course, a straight razor wouldn’t have been as practical for Bond to shave off the heavy beard he had accrued in that film, and the Philips product placement gods were sated by Britain’s #1 hero using their razor.

The theme of old vs. new runs rampant in Skyfall, and Bond’s choice of razor is not insignificant. The skill required to safely and efficiently use a straight razor means that most men desirous of these close shaves go to a barber who is learned in the ways of the razor. For Bond to be able to use one himself, he must be steady-handed and steady-minded to not be intimidated by the shave. (Moneypenny seems to appreciate it too.)

Nor is he intimidated by exotic casino games. If a man came up to you in a casino and asked you to pay some chips on a game of 骰寶, would you do it?

骰寶, pronounced Sic bo in English, is also known as tai sai (大細), dai siu (大小), big and small, or hi-lo. Three dice are shaken in a mechanical shaker, and the player must predict the outcome. Like roulette, it is almost completely a game of chance. It is very popular in Macau, and Bond satisfies himself with a few games before heading to the bar for some dangerously sexually-charged drinks with Sévérine.

Bond shakes and stirs Sévérine. (Ugh, I hate puns.)

And who exactly was Sévérine, anyway? While I get that all Bond adventures need at least two Bond girls – including one sacrificial lamb – her role was slightly unclear to me. So she had been an ex-prostitute that was now somehow in service to Silva, and this service included getting men to look at art while being shot?

A scene was unfortunately deleted from the film at the Shanghai airport that would have shown Sévérine handing a briefcase to Patrice, Silva’s silent henchman that Bond kills through hand-to-hand combat and eventual defenestration. The briefcase, as we see in the finished film, contained the Floating Dragon Casino chip that led Bond to Macau and, thus, Sévérine. Perhaps the filmmakers thought a more stylish introduction to her character would be seeing her through Bond’s eyes for the first time during the assassination, but this cut took some clarity with it.

What to Imbibe

While Bond indulges in one of his extra chilled vodka martinis during his tête-à-tête with Sévérine, Skyfall gives a nice boost to Macallan single malt Scotch whisky throughout. Casual viewers who only associate Bond with martinis were probably stunned to see him drinking so much whisky, not to mention the controversial Heineken! Of course, casual viewers haven’t read the books or paid attention to the films, which often find Bond drinking far more whisky; alas, the simplicity of whisky doesn’t stick in audience’s minds as much as a complicated martini order that shows just how much of a connoisseur/snob one can be.

Despite tacky taste in clothing, Raoul Silva has excellent taste in libations. He keeps a bottle of Macallan 1962 Fine and Rare Vintage on his private island, pouring out shots for he and Bond as the two compare marksmanship with the lovely Sévérine as an unwilling target stand. Of course, Bond’s been a bit shaky lately and Silva is forced to take the shot – the gunshot, that is – and put poor Sévérine down.

Bond is coldly laconic, as usual:

Waste of good Scotch.

How to Get the Look

As several gents in Hollywood have proved, a sharp blue dinner suit is a classy way to show up on the red carpet. If you’ve got any red carpet events this weekend, or just any red rugs in your house that you feel particularly like walking on, now you know what to wear.

Daniel Craig on the Floating Dragon Casino set.

• Midnight navy blue wool dinner suit by Tom Ford, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted jacket with wide black satin silk-faced shawl lapels, single black satin silk-covered button, welted breast pocket, black satin silk-jetted hip pockets, 3 covered silk button “surgeon’s cuffs”, and single rear vent
  • Flat front high rise trousers with extended waistband, buckle side adjusters, side pockets, and plain-hemmed tapered bottoms
• White cotton voile Tom Ford shirt with piqué plain-front bib, piqué spread collar, and piqué double/French cuffs
• Black “batwing”-style grosgrain bow tie
• White mother-of-pearl Tom Ford cuff links with white gold round trim
• Black calf wholecut plain-toe 5-eyelet shoes
  • Bond wears the Crockett & Jones “Alex” model
• Black dress socks
• White moiré Albert Thurston suspenders with white goatskin leather joints and braid ends
• Black satin silk Tom Ford cummerbund
• Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra  Mid Size Chronometer, ref. 231.10.39.21.03.001 with a stainless steel bracelet and case and a blue dial
• Vega IB333 cognac-colored suede IWB holster for Walther PPK/S
• Tom Ford FT0144 Marko “18V” aviator-style sunglasses with silver rhodium frames and blue lenses
• White silk (or linen) folded pocket square, worn in jacket breast pocket

The Gun

Chekhov’s Gadget in Skyfall was actually a gun this time. Q had issued Bond his new pistol, a “Walther PPK/S, nine-millimeter short”, with a special palm print coding meaning only Bond could fire it. He tests out the coding briefly in Shanghai, acknowledging it with a smirk. Surely this isn’t the sole narrative purpose of the gun’s new feature!

Bond next continues to Macau, and the pistol even becomes a topic of discussion with Sévérine…

Sévérine: Would you mind if I ask you a business question?
Bond: Depends on the question.
Sévérine: It has to do with death.
Bond: A subject in which you’re well-versed.
Sévérine: And how would you know that?
Bond: Only a certain kind of wears a backless dress with a Beretta 70 strapped to her thigh.
Sévérine: One can never be too careful when handsome men in tuxedos carry Walthers.

Chekhov’s Gadget survives another scene unused, however, and Chekhov’s Gun is averted. Not only is Sévérine’s referenced Beretta Model 70 never used, it’s never even seen. (For those who are curious, the Beretta Model 70 is a compact .32-caliber semi-automatic that popped its head up as a continuity error in The Spy Who Loved Me when Bond was in Egypt. It has been used in plenty of foreign films but is well-remembered as the pistol used by Andy Garcia to kill two home invaders in The Godfather, Part III.)

Alas, Chekhov’s Gadget finally rears its head in the komodo dragon pit in the following scene. Bond drops into the pit and loses his PPK/S, which is subsequently picked up by one of Silva’s more portly henchmen.

Again keeping utter cool, Bond deadpans: “Good luck with that,” and the henchman pulls the trigger. Click. Click. Enough time to allow Bond to kick some ass and escape, but – unfortunately – without retrieving his pistol.

Bond gets his hands on another weapon the next morning when his marksmanship (and hubris) are tested on Silva’s island. For Silva’s aforementioned marksmanship exercise, he reveals a stunning Ardesa 1871 percussion cap dueling pistol, as identified by IMFDb.

An Ardesa available from Henry Krank.

The above photo, found at HenryKrank.com, has a .45 inch bore – making it 11.4 mm caliber. It weighs approximately one kilogram with an overall length of 16.9″ (430 mm) and a 9.4″ barrel (240 mm). Both the polished barrel and the walnut stock are fluted.

At nearly a foot and a half long, the Ardesa is a world apart from Bond’s usual 6″-long Walther PPK.

Proving to be a wasteful dickhead, Silva places a shot glass of Macallan on Sévérine’s head as she remains tied up. Bond is given the challenge: shoot the glass of whisky on top of her head. We’ve already seen Bond try to regain his marksmanship skills during his re-training. It wasn’t pretty.

That guy with the Glock is getting a little too anxious…

After a tense few seconds, Bond misses. Luckily, he avoids hitting Sévérine. Silva takes the dueling pistol next and – BANG! – wins the match on a technicality by shooting Sévérine dead. She slumps forward, and the shot glass slips off. While Bond reacts coolly, it becomes obvious he was just biding his time, looking for the perfect chance. The moment strikes and he takes over, wiping out all of Silva’s henchmen and simultaneously swiping a more tactical Glock 17 from one of them.

Bond takes control.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

Well, I like to do some things the old-fashioned way.

Footnotes

Today is my girlfriend’s birthday, and she was sweet enough to allow me to indulge in a very Bond-like date night two years ago when we went to see Skyfall. The evening was complete with Tagliatelli Verdi and Chianti (Bond’s favorite Italian dinner in the novels) and a fair amount of know-it-all moments for me as I rambled on about Bond trivia minutae. Naturally, I wore a dark blue worsted suit with a white shirt, black knit tie, black casual moccasins, and a holstered .32.

In an additional display of awesome, she was the one to buy me my own DVD copy of Skyfall after it came out!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

David Niven as Sir Charles Lytton in The Pink Panther (1963).

Vitals

David Niven as Sir Charles Lytton, urbane master jewel thief and titular “Pink Panther”

Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Winter 1963

Film: The Pink Panther
Release Date: December 19, 1963
Director: Blake Edwards
Wardrobe Supervisor: Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca

Background

No discussion of debonair actors would be complete without mention of David Niven, a gentleman in every sense of the word.

Ian Fleming had long envisioned Niven taking the role of James Bond when 007 would finally receive a big screen adaptation only for Niven to appear in the 1967 screwball parody of Casino Royale.

Around the same time that Sean Connery was making his debut as Bond in Dr. No, Niven was cast as the lead in The Pink Panther, a comic heist film penned by Blake Edwards designed to be a vehicle for Niven. Eventually, co-star Peter Sellers’ immense talent for improv comedy shifted the spotlight from Niven to Sellers. Despite the fact that Niven himself was “The Pink Panther”, Sellers would go on to star in five more films as Inspector Clouseau and the phrase “Pink Panther” would be forever associated with Sellers’ bumbling detective. (Interestingly enough, Sellers would also appear in the 1967 Casino Royale. He just couldn’t let David Niven have anything, could he?)

However, Niven’s portrayal of the sophisticated playboy thief should not go ignored. Bringing his usual romantic charm and cheeky wit, Niven transformed the thief into someone we would root for all while supporting his unsuspecting nemesis, Inspector Clouseau. It speaks volumes for Niven that Sir Charles – a cuckolding career criminal who has no qualms about manipulating people – remains so likable.

Thus, BAMF Style is focusing on Sir Charles’ holiday-worthy attire on this Christmas Eve.

What’d He Wear?

This one takes cojones to pull off and should be reserved for only the truest of gentlemen. In short, if you don’t have a pencil-thin mustache, you don’t have a favorite walking stick, and you don’t conclude each evening with a snifter of cognac, you should pass on this outfit.

The epitome of class.

Sir Charles shows up at dinner with Princess Dala wearing a dark red velvet dinner jacket that you can be damn sure was tailored just for him. It is single-breasted with black satin-faced shawl lapels and – as an extra touch of elegance – matching black satin turnback cuffs. The four black satin-covered cuff buttons match the larger single button that closes the front.

The jacket fits Niven perfectly with a ventless rear, natural shoulders, and roped sleeveheads. The lack of an outer breast pocket keeps the jacket looking clean through the chest down to the flapped hip pockets. Typically, dinner jackets should have jetted pockets but this more unconventional and obviously bespoke piece of evening wear should have allowances made for the wearer’s personal preference. The pocket flaps blend nicely with the jacket anyway without the black satin jetting that would otherwise disturb the jacket’s flow.

The “correct” terminology for Sir Charles’ jacket depends on which side of the pond you dwell. Colored velvet jackets (and most velvet jackets, for that matter) have typically been the domain of the smoking jacket, which is likely what the English would use to refer to Niven’s jacket here. We Americans would instead look at this jacket and simply call it a “velvet dinner jacket” due to its traditional dinner jacket features; indeed, the only thing differentiating Niven’s jacket from the traditional dinner jacket is the fabric.

The context of the jacket doesn’t help either. Smoking jackets are best for informal lounging while dinner jackets would be required for formal dining. This is more of an informal dinner for seven, although the presence of royalty (Princess Dala) may have necessitated something more formal. Still, this is David Niven so who the hell are we to argue?

(Terminology info from Black Tie Guide, which anyone interested in formalwear and looking like a grownup should read!)

Sir Charles wears his jacket with a pair of black formal trousers that appropriately feature a single black satin side stripe down each side. Due to the camera angles and Niven’s correct habit of keeping the jacket buttoned when standing, not many details are seen of the trousers other than the slanted side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms.

Sir Charles at dinner.

Sir Charles wears a white formal shirt with a spread collar and narrowly pleated front. The small black studs down the front have gold trim, similar to the links worn through his French cuffs. The cuff links are large black squares with gold trim and a single diamond in the center.

Now this is a gentleman.

Naturally, Sir Charles wears a black satin bow tie. This is David Niven we’re talking about, so none of the pre-tied or adjustable nonsense that you see in high school prom photos.

Another very distinctive aspect of Niven’s dinner attire is his footwear. Rather than the usual black plain-toe leather shoes, Sir Charles wears a pair of black Prince Albert slippers with a gold “CL” monogram. Also known as a “house shoe” for its purpose of informal lounging, the Albert slipper’s velvet upper and decidedly British heritage make it a fine pairing with the playboy thief’s red velvet dinner jacket.

While it may sound ridiculous to some to wear slippers with evening wear, the tradition began around 1840 when Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, decided that gentlemen could combat the harsh dirt roads of Britain by switching out their shoes for a more comfortable slipper when entering someone’s home. Thus, the leather-soled slip-on “Albert slipper” became fashionable. (More info here from Black Tie Guide!)

Sir Charles wears his all-gold wristwatch to dinner. It has a round case and an expanding bracelet, and he wears it on his left wrist.

Sir Charles’ watch pokes out as he chats with a dinner guest. In case you couldn’t tell, the guest in question is not the lovely Princess Dala.

Not much is seen of Sir Charles’ outerwear, as Princess Dala’s footman takes his overcoat as soon as he enters her chalet. He appears to be wearing a black wool double-breasted topcoat with large lapels and flapped hip pockets.

Sir Charles battles the bitter cold (left) and enjoys the comforts of a royal chalet (right).

As an elegant touch, the red silk lining of the topcoat nicely evokes the color of his dinner jacket.

What to Imbibe

Sir Charles Lytton has a fully-stocked bar in his hotel room with gin, vermouth, whiskey, and champagne. Would you expect any less?

I have yet to find a Motel 6 with these kinds of amenities.

After making a date for Princess Dala to visit him in his room (scandal!), he pulls out a bottle of bubbly to entertain her. Though she’s maintained a reputation as a teetotaler, the exotic “virgin queen” soon succumbs to the vintage champagne’s charms. Aware of her situation, she playfully threatens Sir Charles:

Princess Dala: If I were my father, I’d have you tortured.
Sir Charles: No. If you were your father, I doubt very much if I would have kissed you.

Sir Charles enjoys a pre-dinner tête-à-tête with Princess Dala.

With Thin Man-esque banter like that, the evening’s seduction is ramped up and Sir Charles finds himself embracing the lovely princess on the tiger rug splayed out across his floor in front of the fire. Unfortunately, the champagne in question didn’t receive enough screen time to prominently reveal itself; this was surely a missed opportunity for a “sex sells” product placement campaign. Are any refined drinkers out there able to identify the bottle? (Extra points to anyone who can identify any other bottles in Sir Charles’ hotel bar.)

For any non-refined (or at least poor) drinkers, you can take a Lytton-worthy cheeky approach to drinking in a red velvet dinner jacket by providing a bottle of Cupcake Vineyards’ “Red Velvet” blend. Combining Zinfandel, Merlot, and Petite Syrah, this economically-priced wine is a fine accompaniment for a hearty dinner with friends. (After all, not all of us can afford Château Margaux!)

As an interesting side note, a bottle of Cupcake Red Velvet wine showed up in Dallas Buyers Club in the home of Dr. Eve Saks. This would’ve been good product placement if not for the fact that Cupcake Vineyards didn’t even exist until twenty years after the story is set. Other places where I’ve noticed Cupcake wines are an early scene in the movie I Love You, Man and a Chardonnay in an episode of Bored to Death.

How to Get the Look

If you manage to successfully wear this evening attire, you’ll be remembered as a debonair gentleman who will certainly be called for another dinner… as well as a romantic rendezvous or two. If you don’t pull it off, you’ll likely be laughed out of the house before the main course is served.

• Dark red velvet single-breasted dinner jacket with black satin shawl lapels, black satin turnback cuffs, black satin-covered single front button, black satin-covered 4-button cuffs, flapped hip pockets, and ventless rear
• Black formal trousers with black satin side stripe, slanted side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White formal dress shirt with spread collar, pleated front, black studs, and double/French cuffs
• Black satin bow tie
• Black cuff links with gold trim and a single diamond center
• Black velvet Prince Albert slippers with a gold crest
• Black dress socks
• Gold wristwatch with expanding bracelet, worn on left wrist
• Black wool double-breasted topcoat with flapped hip pockets

With confidence, elegance, and a cheeky degree of self-awareness, you can wear whatever you want while enjoying digestifs with the best of them.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the film. Make sure it’s the 1963 classic and not the Steve Martin remake. Nothing against Steve, but why did anyone think The Pink Panther needed a remake?!

The Quote

Oh, champagne’s not drinking. That’s the minimum of alcohol and the maximum of companionship.

Footnotes

All readers of this blog should also check out Black Tie Guide, the definitive online resource for classic, contemporary, and alternative formalwear. It certainly helped me out getting some background info on Sir Charles’ eccentrically suave outfit, and it’ll help you, too.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah, BAMF Style readers! Whether you’re saying “Ho ho ho” or “Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel”, I hope this holiday season has been a happy one full of delicious booze and bad decisions.

BAMF Style looks forward to Valentine’s Day this weekend with an abbreviated Week of Weddings.

James Caan as Santino “Sonny” Corleone in The Godfather (1972). This is a production photo; in the film itself, he pins a white carnation onto his left lapel.

Vitals

James Caan as Santino “Sonny” Corleone, hotheaded Mafia underboss

Long Island, NY, August 1945

Film: The Godfather
Release Date: March 15, 1972
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone

Background

Sonny is a natural choice as a groomsman for his sister’s wedding. Not only did he introduce her to her new husband, but he’s the underboss of New York’s powerful Corleone crime family and not the sort of guy who would appreciate being left out.

Sonny is a busy guy on the wedding day. He has to be all over the place, from the parking lot to his father’s office while keeping tabs on his war hero brother, his wife, and his mistress. Of course, when the Don summons him, he’s never far away.

What’d He Wear?

The Corleone men – sans Michael – appear as a force to be reckoned with in their sharp black tuxedoes on the day of Connie’s wedding. While his father opts for a more old-fashioned look with his cran necker lapel jacket, Sonny and Fredo stay up to date by donning double-breasted dinner jackets that reached their pinnacle of popularity in the late 1930s and 1940s.

The Corleone men, all cleaned up.

Sonny’s dinner jacket has a high-fastening 6×2 button front. He typically keeps the lower button fastened, although the strong structure of the jacket on James Caan’s athletic build keeps it from flopping over. The buttons are all black plastic, matching the three buttons on each cuff.

Sonny confronts a group of wedding crashers.

The dinner jacket has fashionably wide peak lapels with a black satin facing. To celebrate the occasion, a large white carnation is pinned to the left lapel. The heavily padded shoulders emphasize Caan’s imposing “bulk”. It also features a welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, and a ventless rear. Such a jacket would have been the epitome of style in 1945.

Sonny naturally wears a pair of black formal trousers with a black satin stripe down each leg. The on-seam side pockets break just behind the stripe; it is from this left side pocket that Sonny produces a wad of cash to condescending toss at a hapless photographer. The bottoms are plain-hemmed with no cuffs.

Sonny struts away after defusing the FBI situation in his own special way.

His shoes are black leather plain-toes, naturally worn with black dress socks.

Although a black satin cummerbund is correctly worn to cover his waist, Sonny relaxes a bit between meetings in his father’s office and pulls back his unbuttoned jacket, revealing the black leather ends of his suspenders holding up his trousers.

Though he’s no slave to decorum, even Sonny knows the only time it’s appropriate to let his sartorial guard down is in an informal setting.

While less formal turndown collars and pleated fronts were coming into fashion for men’s formal shirts, Sonny sticks with the traditional stiff-front white shirt with a wing collar, single cuffs, and a plain front bib. When his jacket is buttoned, only one silver stud is available on the shirt front; three total can be seen above his waist when the jacket is unbuttoned. His cuff links are only briefly seen, but they are likely also silver to match his shirt studs.

Sonny ties a slim, adjustable black satin bow tie under his wing collar. The tie’s black adjuster can be seen briefly on the left side of his neck when he bends down to invite Lucy Mancini to an afternoon bathroom tryst.

Sonny makes an impromptu bathroom date with Lucy Mancini. What woman wouldn’t be charmed by such a request?

He accessorizes like any good mobster would, wearing a gold wristwatch and a silver pinky ring.

Go Big or Go Home – Wedding Edition

The Venue

As discussed in the post about Vito Corleone’s wedding attire, the occasion is hosted at the Corleone family compound in Long Island, although the house was actually situated off Longfellow Road on Staten Island.

Of the men in this photo, only Michael and the three strapping young lads managed to survive up through The Godfather, Part III. Assuming that photographer kicked the bucket, of course.

Notable Guests

While everyone else is distracted by Frank Sinatra’s Johnny Fontaine’s surprise appearance (and performance), Sonny focuses on different surprise guests, notably the FBI guys taking down license plate numbers in the parking lot.

The women in Sonny’s wife also play a major role in the wedding. His sister is naturally the center of attention, and even his mother gets some time on center stage to serenade the group in Italian. His wife, perhaps a little tipsy, regales some of her female friends with some bragging about Sonny’s beef bayonet while he’s off putting it to good use with his mistress, Lucy Mancini. (According to the novel, this is the very occasion where he impregnates her with Andy Garcia his bastard son Vincent.)

Sonny’s wife does some fine PR work on his behalf.

How to Get the Look

Although he is outspoken and flashy in his management style, Sonny chooses a slick yet traditional aesthetic for his formalwear.

• Black double-breasted dinner jacket with wide satin-faced peak lapels, 6×2 button front, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless rear
• Black formal trousers with black satin side stripes, on-seam side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White plain front formal shirt with wing collar and single cuffs
• Black satin adjustable bow tie
• Silver shirt studs and cuff links
• Black satin cummerbund
• Black suspenders with black leather ends
• Black leather plain-toe dress shoes
• Black dress socks

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the series.

The Quote

Goddamn FBI don’t respect nothin’.

Warren Beatty as “Bugsy” Siegel in Bugsy (1991).

Vitals

Warren Beatty as Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, debonair and mercurial Jewish “celebrity” gangster

Hollywood, March 1945

Film: Bugsy
Release Date: December 13, 1991
Director: Barry Levinson
Costume Designer: Albert Wolsky

Background

Unfortunately, the ultra formal white tie dress code is all but extinct in American culture. The popularity of black tie in the post-World War I era was the first bullet to the chest of white tie, but an increasingly informal society has peppered white tie with more bullets than the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Luckily for sartorial purists, Downton Abbey and programs of its ilk have inspired a resurgence in early 20th century formalwear. As Mad Men has taught us, all it takes is a good TV show with well-dressed characters to get Americans to dress better.

A natty dresser like Bugsy Siegel didn’t need examples from the movies, though. While I’ve never seen a photo of the real guy in white tie, it makes sense that an image-conscious guy like Siegel would sport a tailcoat for a night of dancing at the legendary Ciro’s nightclub in West Hollywood to cultivate his image as a romantic ladies’ man rather than a vicious mobster. Siegel even tells a photographer from The Herald that catches him in mid-dance:

See that they run that, and not one of those sinister mugshots.

In the film’s universe, it’s Thursday night, March 8, 1945. The U.S. First Army has just taken Cologne back after the Battle of Remagen and the Allies are making their way further into the heart of Europe to surround Hitler. V-E Day is just two months away. In the Pacific, the Americans continue firebombing Japan.

The mood at Ciro’s is light, but conspiracy and intrigue are laced in every conversation. After dancing with an eager young ingénue, Siegel acquaints himself with the Count and Countess di Frasso, sparking his own ambition to fly to Europe and kill Mussolini. The usual cavalcade of stars present at Ciro’s isn’t well-represented here, although George Raft (Joe Mantegna) – a boyhood friend of Siegel’s from Hell’s Kitchen – makes an appearance.

The real Ciro’s was the place to be seen for movie groupies in the ’40s and ’50s. It was opened in January 1940 by William Wilkerson, the same entrepreneur that discovered Lana Turner and actually founded the Flamingo before Siegel took the idea and ran with it. Until closing its doors in 1957, stars ranging from the Rat Pack to Lucy and Desi could be found enjoying its luxe baroque atmosphere. Future presidents JFK and Ronald Reagan drank and dined with the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant, as well as gangsters like Bugsy Siegel. Ciro’s is long gone now, having converted to a rock club in the ’60s before the site became The Comedy Store in 1972.

What’d He Wear?

Bugsy adheres pretty closely to the rules of formal evening dress… which is pretty surprisingly for a guy named “Bugsy”. His black wool tailcoat is nicely tailored with wide peak lapels faced with black silk. The front cuts away at a sharp angle, as an evening dress coat should. There are few instances where evening dress can be adjusted to fit popular trends; Bugsy’s wider lapel points and slanted gorges, padded shoulders, and the white linen handkerchief, tri-folded into his breast pocket can be considered among them.

A very intense phone call.

The four decorative buttons and 3-button cuffs are covered in the same black satin silk found on the lapel facings. The buttons are one of the few deviations from standing evening dress, as most traditional tail coats were fitted with six front buttons and four buttons on the cuff. There are also two decorative satin-covered buttons on the rear waistline above the single vent tails.

Bugsy offers an eager newspaper photographer a much better side than you’ll see in “one of those sinister mugshots”.

Moving further down, Bugsy’s trousers are made of the same black wool as his tailcoat with a black satin stripe down the side. The trousers may actually have the correct double stripe, but it is difficult to tell from the angles offered in the film. They are double reverse-pleated with a high rise under the waistcoat and correctly plain-hemmed bottoms. He wears them with ivory-colored suspenders with silver clips for his waistband. They are only seen on the ground with his shoes after Virginia’s late night visit.

The waistcoat has a V-shaped opening and wide shawl lapels with flat bottoms. It closes in the front with four mother-of-pearl buttons on a single-breasted layout.

George Raft’s black tie pales in comparison to Bugsy’s classy white tie.

The bottom of the waistcoat has a wide notch and two welted pockets. Traditionally, the bow tie and waistcoat were constructed from the same white or off-white piqué. In this case, Bugsy’s low-cut waistcoat is a deeper ivory that clearly contrasts against the plain white tie.

Even a shady L.A. gambling den is a fine place to sport white tie… although you’ll almost definitely be the only one doing so.

Bugsy’s white cotton formal shirt has the proper detachable wing collar, although standing collars are also an option. His wing collar is held into place by a gold button on the front and a gold button through the rear. The stiff front closes with two diamond studs visible between the tie knot and the waistcoat opening. His single cuffs are fastened in place by rectangular gold cuff links.

The guy sure spends a lot of time on the phone.

Bugsy also nails the bow tie, wearing a white piqué bow tie that is clearly real, evident both by the knot and its appearance when untied.

I don’t know what the rules of evening dress say about undershirts, but Bugsy sports a white cotton crew neck short-sleeve t-shirt.

A detachable collar and non-adjustable bow tie are a nice way to prove to your late night booty call that she made the right choice.

Bugsy ignores the traditional (and, if you ask me, outdated) black patent leather opera pumps for a pair of 4-eyelet cap-toe balmorals made of well-polished black calf leather. His socks are likely also black, and probably silk. Balmorals – or Oxfords – are acceptable alternatives for opera pumps, although some fellas have also worn Chelsea boots or side-buttoning boots with white tie.

If Bugsy breaks any steadfast white tie rules, it is his choice of wearing a wristwatch rather than a pocket watch, although he should be given a break for nailing the rest of the look so nicely when no one else in the club is even trying. His gold watch is worn on a slim black leather strap.

Bugsy deals with commoners.

Bugsy’s only other accessory is a gold pinky ring on his left hand with a dark stone. Although he’s married, Ciro’s is no place for a playboy gangster like Bugsy to be wearing a wedding ring.

Go Big or Go Home

And speaking of rings, one of Bugsy’s all-time smooth moments comes when he hands a ring to a slow-witted Ciro’s waiter and points out Virginia. The waiter doesn’t move, so Bugsy instructs him: “Put it in her hand.” While Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford croon the 1945 hit “Candy” from stage, Bugsy watches with hungry eyes as Virginia accepts the gift and distresses her uniformed date.

How to Get the Look

Can you pull off full evening dress?

• Black wool cutaway tailcoat with 4-button decorative front, wide peak lapels with black satin facings, welted breast pocket, 3-button cuffs, and 2 decorative rear buttons over single vent with tails
• Ivory piqué low-cut waistcoat with wide shawl flat-bottom lapels, V-shaped opening, 4-button single-breasted front, two welted pockets, and wide notch bottom
• Black wool double reverse-pleated high-rise formal trousers with black satin side stripes, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton formal shirt with stiff plain front and single cuffs
  • White detached wing collar
  • Diamond front studs
  • Gold rectangular cuff links
• White piqué bow tie
• Black calf leather 4-eyelet cap-toe balmorals
• Black silk dress socks
• White cotton crew neck short-sleeve undershirt
• Gold wristwatch on black leather strap
• White linen pocketsquare
• Gold pinky ring with dark stone, worn on left pinky

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

I only talk this much before I’m gonna kill someone.

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

Vitals

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, adventurer and archaeology professor

Shanghai, Summer 1935

Film: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Release Date: May 23, 1984
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Designer: Anthony Powell

Background

For the first Indiana Jones post on BAMF Style, one might expect to see the iconic leather jacket, fedora, and bullwhip costume. However, Indy’s first chronological appearance in the original trilogy is at the outset of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when Indy dons his finest duds to meet with Shanghai crime boss Lao Che at the hopping Club Obi Wan.

What’d He Wear?

English costume designer Anthony Powell set himself apart as a master of 1930s film wardrobes for a few decades, dressing everyone from Indiana Jones to the oft-doomed vacationers in several lavish Agatha Christie adaptations.

One of Powell’s earlier designs, a white dinner jacket worn by Nicholas Clay as Patrick Redfern in Evil Under the Sun, was also featured on BAMF Style last summer. Two years after Evil Under the Sun, Powell returned to the drawing board to create a white dinner jacket for another ’30s gentleman in a warm climate.

And what a gentleman he is!

Like Patrick Redfern, Indy would’ve been taking a cue from the tropical resorts where gents were now sporting white or off-white dinner jackets in warmer climates. As Black Tie Guide says: “White dinner jackets premiered alongside the mess jacket in resorts like Palm Beach and Cannes, albeit with much less fanfare. Constructed of cotton drill, linen, or silk they were originally worn with either black or white trousers of tropical weight wool.”

Based on the texture and thickness, Indy’s cream dinner jacket appears to be tropical wool or possibly a cotton and wool blend. It is single-breasted with a single covered button in the front. The wide, silk-faced peak lapels extend sharply toward the padded shoulders and roped sleeveheads. (More about the silk facings later.)

Indy turns on the charm for the crime bosses.

Dr. Jones embellishes his look with not one but two added touches. He folds a white linen handkerchief into the welted breast pocket and pins a large red carnation to the left lapel.

Indy’s dinner jacket also has jetted hip pockets, a ventless back, and 4-button cuffs in mother-of-pearl. Questionable silk facings aside, it would’ve been a very stylish jacket for 1935 before men’s formalwear briefly entered a more double-breasted phase as seen on the Redfern jacket and in Casablanca.

Indy hops around Club Obi Wan.

Black Tie Guide also notes the rising popularity of formal waistcoats in the 1930s: ‘Waistcoats have become a high style item,’ observed Apparel Arts in 1933. ‘No more of the thick ill-fitting affairs but today a suave and sleek arrangement.'” Indy’s nod to this “suave and sleek arrangement” is a black silk single-breasted waistcoat with a low V-shaped front opening. Although backless designs were entering the men’s fashion realm, Indy’s vest appears to be the more traditional full-back version.

Indy’s waistcoat has a 4-button front – each button covered in black satin – with a notched bottom. The jacket covers the vest most of the time, but it appears to have wide shawl lapels and no pockets.

I’ve never seen Harrison Ford look so distressed!

Indy properly wears a pair of black formal trousers made of tropical-weight wool with a single satin stripe down each side to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

Indy’s shirt is a more traditional white plain front bib that is now more associated with white tie. Two onyx studs are visible between the detachable wing collar and the bottom of the waistcoat opening. The shirt’s single cuffs are fastened by a pair of unique bronze cuff links depicting the Eye of Horus, the Egyptian god of creation. According to Indy Props, which recreated its own pair in gold-plated or bronze-plated metal: “This symbol represents royal authority as well as mathematical signs used by the Egyptians. This design of cufflinks is also fitting for the time period, with the Egyptian art-deco renaissance of the 1920s and 30s.” Indy’s cuff links provide a unique, adventurous touch to an otherwise traditional outfit.

#YesAllWillies

Another non-traditional – and more disappointing – aspect of the outfit is Indy’s black satin bow tie. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a black satin bow tie with a white dinner jacket, Indy wears a pre-tied model rather than a self-tie model. This would be less grievous if it wasn’t for Indy’s wing collar which fails to obscure the hook closure on the left side of the tie knot.

“GET OFF MY PLANE!”

Indy’s shoes are a correct pair of black patent leather longwing oxfords, best seen when he scrambles all over the floor of Club Obi Wan in search of an antidote. We briefly see his socks, also black and likely cotton.

♫ Happy feet… ♫

The oft-referenced Black Tie Guide directly mentions this outfit in a blog post from last summer, commenting that “[the silk facing] might be legitimate for the 1980s production timeline it certainly wasn’t for the 1930s narrative. Of the dozens of Depression-era white DJ references I have on file from leading menswear periodicals, none of them suggest anything but self facings.” Author Peter Marshall also notes that “the black waistcoat would have been equally unorthodox back in the day.” Given Mr. Marshall’s extensive research into the history of formalwear, I would accept his word and say that Indy’s formal attire is more an ’80s interpretation of the ’30s than an actual reflection of the period’s fashions.

What to Imbibe

Indy and his criminal companions do better than James Bond’s ten-year-old champagne by sipping from a bottle of Moët & Chandon 1915… which would’ve been a full twenty years old by the time of the film’s setting. Modern Moët drinkers may be used to seeing the traditional “Brut Imperial” label, but here we see a “Dry Imperial” label.

*Pop!*

Of course, you’ll want to avoid any poisoned coupes of Moët. Even if you have the antidote, you never know what you’ll have to do to get your hands on it.

How to Get the Look

While not a perfect translation of ’30s formalwear, Indy’s off-white dinner jacket provides a cool template for making an impression on your weekend getaway. (In Dr. Jones’ case, that would be a literal getaway.)

• Cream wool-blend single-breasted dinner jacket with wide peak lapels, single covered-button front, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 4-button mother-of-pearl cuffs, and ventless back
• Black satin silk single-breasted 4-button waistcoat with wide shawl lapels and notched bottom
• Black tropical wool formal trousers with satin side stripes and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White formal dress shirt with detachable wing collar, plain front bib, two onyx shirt studs, and single cuffs
• Black satin silk bow tie
• Bronze deco-style “Eye of Horus” cuff links
• Black patent leather longwing oxfords
• Black cotton socks

Indy accessorizes with a large red lapel carnation and a folded white silk pocket square.

The Gun

Indiana: Where’s my gun? WHERE’S MY GUN?
Willie: I burned by fingers and I cracked a nail!

Although it is only briefly spotted as Indy fights back against Lao Che’s gangsters, the gun used in Temple of Doom has been determined to be a Colt Official Police revolver with a 4″ barrel, chambered in .38 Special. The fact that Indy loses his Official Police in the first scene may explain why he has a different weapon, a Smith & Wesson, by the time of the next adventure (Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Good thing Colt didn’t pay for this placement.

Due to its quick and blurred screen time, many assumed that this standard-looking American revolver was the same as the Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector used in Raiders of the Lost Ark. IndyGear.com, however, has been able to definitely prove that it was an Official Police. IndyGear.com researched the three handguns rented for the film’s production, a Colt Official Police .38 with a 4″ barrel, a Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 with a 5″ barrel and lanyard ring, and a Webley Green revolver that was meant to be used as Indy’s “hero” gun (explaining the larger Webley-sized holster he wears later).

Interestingly, this car chase through Shanghai is the only time that Indy uses a handgun throughout the film.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie, or the whole series.

The Quote

I suggest you give me what you owe me… or anything goes!

George Clooney as Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven (2001).

Vitals

George Clooney as Danny Ocean, smooth-talking casino heister and con man

Las Vegas, Summer 2001

Film: Ocean’s Eleven
Release Date: December 7, 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland

Background

Although he aimed to distance himself from the original Ocean’s Eleven as much as possible with this 2001 remake, Steven Soderbergh must have realized that you don’t have George Clooney in a movie about slick Vegas con men without placing him in a tuxedo. Danny Ocean’s tux was a very welcome throwback to a time when people didn’t wear graphic t-shirts, cutoff jorts, and fanny packs to casinos. (Although, since Frank Sinatra didn’t wear a tuxedo at all in the 1960 film, it could be argued that Clooney’s dinner suit is more of a throwback to characters like Cary Grant‘s gentleman thief in To Catch a Thief.)

According to IMDB, the cast made the most of their time in the gambling capital of America by spending plenty of time at the tables. According to George Clooney, Matt Damon was the biggest winner, but Damon himself says it was Brad Pitt. No matter who won the most, it’s reported that Clooney lost at least 25 hands of blackjack in a row. No wonder Danny stuck to the slot machines.

What’d He Wear?

On the evening of the big heist, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) and his security team spot Danny hanging out at the slot machines while sporting a black wool tuxedo and a casually untied bow tie around his neck. Once he knows he’s gotten their attention, he straightens himself up and cleans up his appearance as he goes to see Tess.

Danny makes sure he looks his best when going to see the ex.

Danny’s black dinner jacket is double-breasted with wide satin-faced peak lapels and a low six-on-one button front. All buttons, including the three functional buttons on each cuff, are also covered in black satin. A buttonhole is stitched into the left lapel.

Most prisons don’t offer tuxedo-pressing services, much to Danny’s chagrin.

The double-breasted dinner jacket has a classic style with the straight padded shoulders offering a strong silhouette with a ventless back. The hip pockets are straight with satin jetting, and there is no breast pocket or any sort of lapel ornamentation.

Before and after prison. (This time, at least.)

Although he removes his jacket and shirt when carrying out the actual robbery, Danny keeps wearing his formal trousers. It’s a reasonable decision as it saves him both the time and effort of packing extra pants and changing in and out of them. Since he intends to look beaten up by Bruiser, it’s also a practical way to give the trousers some extra wear that the supposed beating would provide.

Danny’s formal trousers are flat front with a high rise to the waist and a single satin stripe down the side of each leg to the plain-hemmed bottoms. He has straight pockets which open just behind the side stripes and two jetted rear pockets.

Luckily for Danny, his formal trousers still look pretty good with his tactical t-shirt and vest.

Danny foregoes wearing a cummerbund, vest, or any other sort of waist covering. Not only would it be an extra garment to deal with during his repeated “costume changes”, but it’s also unnecessary with a double-breasted dinner jacket that entirely covers the waist.

Danny wears a white cotton shirt with a point collar and a piqué bib front designed to resemble the formal British Marcella shirt. The shirt takes four large black studs through the bib, which has a rounded bottom.

For the most part, Danny keeps his black satin bow tie untied which certainly isn’t the correct way to wear it but is more in keeping with the informality of 21st century Las Vegas. It is a refreshing indication that he is wearing a classic self-tie rather than a pre-tied or – gasp! – clip-on version. When he does tie it, it takes a large butterfly shape.

The cuff links worn through the shirt’s non-piqué square French cuffs are silver octagons with mother-of-pearl center settings.

Danny reaches into his goodie bag.

Danny’s shoes, which he wears with the trousers for both his time on the casino floor and down in the vault, are black leather 4-eyelet cap toe bluchers. Bluchers are typically considered to be too informal with a dinner suit, although patent leather bluchers would be more acceptable than the black calf that Danny wears. Balmorals or oxfords are considered to be the most formal contemporary dress shoes. Naturally, Danny wears a pair of fine black socks that extend far enough up the leg that they’re not seen when he’s flailing around during his faux beating from Bruiser.

Wouldn’t he look worse than this after a few hours of sustained beating? Benedict should’ve been suspicious… oh wait, he was.

Other than his wristwatches, Danny’s only piece of jewelry is the plain silver wedding band that he wears on the third finger of his left hand. Unlike Tess, he makes no claim to having gotten rid of it.

Sly!

Danny’s wristwatch is a Hamilton Linwood Viewmatch powered by an automatic 25-jewel movement, an elegant, reliable, and practical choice for a man who embodies all three. The round 38 mm case is polished stainless steel, worn on a 16 mm-wide black crocodile leather strap that fastens through a steel tang buckle. The textured silver dial has gold-toned hands, plain gold and black hour markers, and a small date window at 3:00.

The Hamilton is Danny’s primary watch throughout Ocean’s Eleven.

During the actual heist, Danny wears a second watch – an all-black Luminox with white numerals on the black dial and rotating black bezel. It lacks a sub-dial and is most likely a variant of the Luminox 3000 series, similar to the Luminox 3001 worn by Paul Walker in The Fast and the Furious, also released in 2001.

No bandit team is complete without matching watches…

Evidently, the Luminox is standard issue for Danny’s heist team as Linus Caldwell (Damon) wears the exact same one.

The actual heist also finds Danny sporting a black cotton crew neck short-sleeve t-shirt and a black leather vest, both of which he was supposedly wearing underneath his formal jacket and shirt. The black leather vest covers his whole torso with velcro straps over each shoulder and a short zipper under the left arm. He also dons a pair of black tactical gloves. Since Danny’s operation is mostly inside and incorporates his black formal trousers, this is a better use of black covert attire than 007 sported in Goldfinger as I featured in Wednesday’s post.

…and matching vests.

Of course, Danny’s overdressing leads to a very entertaining exchange when he leaves the pokey after a few months for violating parole and runs into his much flashier lieutenant.

Rusty: (re: Danny’s tuxedo) I hope you were the groom.
Danny: (re: Rusty’s awful shirt) Ted Nugent called. He wants his shirt back.

Although the scene is meant to evoke the opening of the film when Danny is released from prison in black tie, it should be pointed out that the two tuxedoes are different. Notably, the first dinner jacket is single-breasted with notch lapels. Danny wisely opts for the more luxurious double-breasted dinner jacket when carrying out the film’s climactic heist.

Danny’s dinner suit from the opening scene is clearly different than the one he later wears in Vegas. That’s one classy con man!

Clooney again sports a black single-breasted dinner jacket with notch lapels in Ocean’s Thirteen during that film’s casino con.

How to Get the Look

Danny Ocean is a throwback to an era of “honor among thieves” before a trip to Las Vegas meant seeing old t-shirts and ratty cargo shorts. You’d be hard-pressed to find any other man in this day and age who takes so much pride in his appearance while committing a crime.

• Black wool double-breasted dinner jacket with wide peak lapels, 6×1 satin-covered button front, jetted hip pockets, 3 satin-covered functional cuff buttons, and ventless back
• Black wool formal trousers with satin side stripe, on-seam side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton formal shirt with point collar, piqué bib front with 4 black studs, and double/French cuffs
• Black satin butterfly-shaped bow tie
• Silver octagonal cuff links with white mother-of-pearl centers
• Black calf leather 4-eyelet cap-toe bluchers
• Black dress socks
• Hamilton Linwood Viewmatch wristwatch with a polished stainless steel case and textured silver dial on a black crocodile leather strap
• Silver plain wedding band

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

There’s a ninety-five pound Chinese man with 160 million dollars behind this door.

Footnote

I thought I was so clever by putting this Ocean’s Eleven post on October Eleventh. If anything, I’m just a nerd.

Sean Connery as James Bond (or is he?) in From Russia With Love (1963).

Vitals

Sean Connery as an impostor James Bond

SPECTRE Island, Spring 1963

(“SPECTRE Island” is actually Heatherden Hall at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.)

Film: From Russia With Love
Release Date: October 10, 1963
Director: Terence Young
Costume Designer: Jocelyn Rickards
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair

Background

Dressing up as James Bond for Halloween this year or just celebrating the new release of Spectre? You’re certainly not the first to don a 007 costume; even within the series itself, an anonymous SPECTRE bait henchman sported a classic midnight blue tuxedo for his unnecessarily detailed Bond guise during the pre-credits sequence of From Russia With Love.

This sequence provides some interesting cultural context; formalwear was nowhere nearly as prominent in Ian Fleming’s literary Bond adventures as it would become in the films, yet the opening scene of the second film seems to recognize and lampshade the fact that the audience will know this is James Bond because we’re seeing Sean Connery in a dinner suit.

Of course, it turns out to not be Bond as we see when the gummy mask is removed – accompanied by a gross sound effect – and we see the mustached actor John Ketteringham, who more closely resembles a snooty waiter than Sean Connery. (This was by design, the original actor under the mask shared too much of a physical resemblance with Connery so director Terence Young re-shot the scene with Ketteringham. From Russia With Love would mark the start of a six-film career for Ketteringham, always uncredited.)

The opening scene is a cheap gag and not the last time the series would try to “trick” the audience into thinking Bond is dead. Of course, a dead Bond means a dead franchise and even the least cynical of movie-goers know that EON Productions would never shoot itself in the foot like that. Wisely, editor Peter R. Hunt – later to direct On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – moved the scene from the middle of the film to a quick teaser before the credits, introducing the now-traditional pre-credits sequence that Bond fans have come to expect. 007 himself would not appear until nearly 20 minutes into the story.

What’d He Wear?

The impostor’s sharp midnight blue tuxedo has all of the characteristics of classic Bond dinner suits, blending Anthony Sinclair’s timeless tailoring with fit and style details contemporary for 1963. It shares many similarities to the tuxedo that Connery wore previously in Dr. No for his iconic “Bond, James Bond” introduction, but the slimmer, more streamlined look informs us that this is not an identical suit.

The single-breasted dinner jacket has very straight, narrow shawl lapels. The hip pockets are jetted, and a white linen handkerchief is nearly folded in the welted breast pocket to provide a subtle and welcome contrast against the darkness of the scene.

Sneaking around SPECTRE Island at night isn’t smart.

The classic “turnback” jacket cuffs make a return from the Dr. No tuxedo, paired with four covered buttons on the end of each sleeve. This would be the last appearance of turnback gauntlet cuffs on a Bond dinner jacket until the classic Tom Ford dinner jacket worn by Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace.

Due to the darkness of this brief sequence, other details are difficult to ascertain, but the jacket likely has no vents. The shoulders are straight with roped sleeveheads. The lapels, the single front button, and the gauntlet cuffs are all faced in midnight satin, rather than pure black.

When 007 first emerges from the hedge maze, his white shirt provides a stark contrast against both the dark night and his midnight tuxedo. The shirt has a traditional English spread collar and stitched front placket with mother-of-pearl buttons, which Bond prefers to studs on his formal shirts. The French cuffs are fastened with links that appear to be the gold discs he wears in most of the early films, although the promotional photos show a more ornate design.

After Red Grant works his garotte and “Bond” falls dead to the ground, Grant pulls off the mask to reveal the mustached impostor. This also reveals more of the shirt, including the 1/8″-pleated front.

“You look boring enough to not be Sean Connery. How would you like to be in a movie?”

Bond’s bow tie is a very slim “batwing”-shaped tie with straight blades on each end. The narrow batwing is the most flattering tie shape for this slim dinner suit. It appears to be midnight satin to match the lapel facings, although it might also just be black.

The statue behind Bond looks eerily similar to the one that Oddjob would make short work of a year later.

The lower half of Bond’s outfit in the scene is almost totally guesswork, but the trousers definitely have a traditional rise with double forward pleats and midnight silk side striping. Bond always followed black tie rules with plain-hemmed bottoms on his formal trousers, and promotional photos indicate that these tapered leg trousers are no exception.

Connery poses with Martine Beswick, who played Zora in this flick and later the much tanner Paula in Thunderball.

Many men also prefer waist coverings like cummerbunds or waistcoats, but early Bond never did. The doomed SPECTRE impostor evidently knew this, as he also foregoes any waist covering. (This poor guy put way too much work into being killed!)

Based on the promotional photos – again – it looks like Bond is wearing his usual black patent leather plain-toe oxfords. Oxfords – or balmorals – are the preferred practical shoe* for black tie, although later Bonds also wore less formal bluchers/derbies and even slip-on loafers.

* I consider opera pumps – the most formal men’s footwear – to be impractical.

A very accurate Bond costume would also include a light brown chamois leather shoulder holster with a blue nylon strap, and – if you can swing it – a stainless Rolex Submariner with a black dial secured to your left wrist via NATO strap. NATO straps appear to be making a comeback, thanks in part to their reappearance in Spectre after a 50-year absence from the Bond franchise.

If you’d like an awesome graphic breakdown of all of Bond’s dinner suits over the years, check out Matt Spaiser’s infographic from January. Matt also covered this tuxedo in a post on his blog, The Suits of James Bond.

How to Get the Look

Even though this isn’t technically James Bond (in the film’s narrative), it’s a classic 007 look and the promotional material featuring Connery in his From Russia With Love dinner suit holding a long-barreled Walther air pistol has become iconic in its own right.

• Midnight blue tuxedo, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with slim satin-faced shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted pockets, 4-button “turnback” gauntlet cuffs, and ventless back
  • Double forward-pleated formal trousers with satin side stripe and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White formal shirt with spread collar, pleated front, mother-of-pearl buttons, and double/French cuffs
• Midnight blue satin batwing-style bow tie
• Flat gold disc cuff links
• Black patent leather plain-toe oxfords
• Black dress socks

Bond typically also wears his tan chamois shoulder holster under his left arm, although arming himself doesn’t do the impostor much good against Red Grant’s garotte watch. And speaking of Bond’s armament…

The Gun

From Russia With Love – in fact, this scene – is the first time we actually see James Bond carrying an actual Walther PPK, as it is now well-known that the “PPK” in Dr. No was actually the slightly larger Walther PP. Bond’s PPK is chambered for the somewhat anemic 7.65 mm (.32 ACP) round, although carrying the .32 rather than the larger .380 gives him one extra round in the magazine.

“Take THAT, empty night air!”

The famous image of a tuxedoed Sean Connery smirking while holding a Walther pistol near his face – seen a few times in this post alone – was taken during a promotional shoot for From Russia With Love. However, the pistol is not an actual firearm; it’s a Walther LP-53 air pistol.

When photographer David Hurn was taking photos of the actors, the film’s propmaster either misplaced or simply forgot to bring Bond’s signature PPK. The quick-thinking Hurn improvised by getting his own Walther air pistol and using it for the shoot. Nearly 50 years later, Hurn’s original Walther LP-53 from the shoot was auctioned by Sotheby’s for $439,000.

David Hurn’s Walther LP-53 saved Sean Connery the embarrassment of being featured on movie posters doing finger guns.

Luckily, few of the movie-going public recognized that the prop wasn’t the same Walther they’d seen on screen. The all-metal LP-53 thankfully shared some cosmetic traits with both the Walther P38 and Luger pistols, both recognized as deadly tools from World War II. The LP-53 is far from deadly, though, firing a lightweight .177 pellet at just around 300 ft/s. (Stats from a Pyramid Air review.)

Sotheby’s auctioneer Dr. Gabriel Heaton commented on the use of the pistol: “Sean Connery clearly had such a presence that it was never questioned. A lot of people presumed it had a silencer attached.”

Knowing that it’s an air gun still doesn’t excuse some of the egregious firearm safety violations.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie and have a Happy Halloween!

Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly on Reilly: Ace of Spies, Episode 10: “The Trust”.

Vitals

Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly, Russian-born British Secret Service agent and anti-Bolshevik

New York City to Berlin, Fall 1924

Series: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Episode: “The Trust” (Episode 10)
Air Date: November 2, 1983
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller

Background

Ninety years ago today, Sidney Reilly was executed in a forest outside Moscow by a Soviet firing squad overseen by OGPU officer Grigory Feduleev. Reilly had been earlier tried to death in absentia after a failed coup of the Bolshevik government in 1918. Seven years later, he was lured back into the Soviet Union by undercover OGPU agents who had formed The Trust, ostensibly a secret organization raising funds to remove the Bolsheviks from power. Reilly was arrested as soon as he had crossed the Finnish border in late September 1925. Although he would be questioned for more than a month before his execution on November 5, the Soviets almost immediately issued a statement that he had been killed during a border skirmish.

Due to his own self-promotion and tall tales, Reilly developed a legendary status in his own lifetime as one of the greatest spies of his day. Several books and the 1983 miniseries Reilly: Ace of Spies have perpetuated this myth, but the truth is that Reilly was, in fact, a shady opportunist who crossed the globe as he swindled and killed to achieve his means. He was indeed recruited by MI6 during World War I and had been sent to Russia to spy for them, but his true motives were quickly made apparent as he ignored his directive and began working to actively displace the Bolshevik government. Disowned by the British government and nearly broke from relentless attempts to finance a coup, Reilly was quite vulnerable by the time The Trust came calling.

The miniseries flashes forward six years in its tenth episode, “The Trust.” Sam Neill’s Reilly is living in New York, independently raising funds for his coup with financiers ranging from the swaggering but addiction-laden Boris Savinkov to Henry Ford. The episode also incorporates the controversial “Zinoviev Letter,” which was published in the Daily Mail on October 25, 1924 a few days before the British general election as a severe embarrassment for the British Labour Party as Anglo-Soviet treaties are demolished. Historians now believe that the letter, which called for a rise of communist activity in England, was a forgery; some historians still believe that Reilly may have been involved to some extent.

At any rate, the episode provides an introduction to Reilly’s final act. Set in the fall of 1924, Reilly is shown to be suspicious of The Trust and surrounded by betrayals, notably in the form of his new secretary Eugenie. He maintains a healthy (perhaps too healthy) relationship with his now ex-wife Nadia, and it is while traveling in Berlin during the episode’s finale that he meets his final wife, the vivacious actress Nelly “Pepita” Bobadilla.

What’d He Wear?

Andrew Cook’s 2004 biography, Ace of Spies: The True Story of Sidney Reilly, includes OGPU agent Alexander Yakushev’s first impressions of meeting Sidney Reilly when he made his final journey across the Finnish border:

[Reilly’s] dark eyes expressed something biting and cruel; his lower lip drooped deeply and was too slick—the neat black hair, the demonstratively elegant suit.

Yakushev’s mention of a “demostratively elegant suit” jibes with one of the more accurate aspects of the miniseries; Reilly was a fashionable dresser. Through most of “The Trust,” when not sporting a dinner jacket or black stroller, Sam Neill wears a sharp Glen check double-breasted, three-piece suit. The suiting is black and white Glen plaid with a muted red windowpane accent check.

The classic black and white Glen plaid check with a subtle red overcheck.

The double-breasted suit jacket has a high 6-on-2 button stance that he almost always wears closed.

Both of the sharp peak lapels have a long buttonhole stitched into them. The welted breast pocket slants slightly down toward the center of the chest, where it meets the top left button.

The breast pocket collides with the top left button of Reilly’s suit jacket!

Reilly’s suit jacket also has flapped hip pockets straight across his waist. It is ventless with slightly padded shoulders and roped sleeveheads.

Reilly and Savinkov enjoy a few celebratory glasses of Moët.

The suit has a matching vest – or waistcoat – with four welt pockets. The front is single-breasted with a six high-fastening buttons closing over a notched bottom. The back is brown silk with an adjustable strap.

Reilly suspiciously enters the bathroom of his Berlin hotel room.

Reilly’s reverse-pleated suit trousers have a long rise that is covered by the waistcoat but likely worn with suspenders. They have no back pockets, but Reilly often places his hands in the on-seam side pockets. The bottoms are cuffed with turn-ups.

Reilly wears a plain white dress shirt with a large point collar, front placket, and double cuffs – typically fastened with gold links.

In New York, Reilly wears a brown necktie with a pattern of tan diamonds with navy centers and borders. With this tie, he wears a silver collar bar secured under the tie knot.

Reilly listens to Eugenie’s story.

When he travels to Berlin at the episode’s conclusion, he wears a solid brown butterfly-shaped bow tie and no collar bar. The choice to give Reilly a bow tie may have come from a photo of the actual agent in 1924, sporting an equally large butterfly bow tie.

Neill as Reilly and the agent himself in 1924.

Including both neckwear options, Reilly wears primarily brown accessories and outerwear with this suit. His shoes are dark brown leather split-toe oxfords, worn with dark brown dress socks.

Reilly doesn’t remember ordering extra towels.

In both “The Trust” and the following episode – “The Last Journey” – Reilly wears an elegant camelhair overcoat with raglan sleeves. Like his suit jacket, it is double-breasted with a 6-on-2 button stance, although it also has a belt that fits through a loop on each side of his waist and fastens through a brass buckle in the front. Edge swelling is present throughout the coat, including on the large lapels, single-button cuff straps, and the patch hip pockets’ flaps. A single vent splits the back of the jacket halfway up to the belt.

The overcoat combines

Reilly had been wearing fedoras on the series since the second episode, set in 1904 Manchuria, but it wasn’t until this time – the early 1920s – that they truly began to become popular among gents. In this episode, he wears a light gray felt fedora with a wide, dark brown grosgrain ribbon.

Reilly gives his Berlin outerwear an extra luxurious touch with a silk paisley scarf.

Evidently the weather has gotten chillier by the time Reilly arrives in Berlin by the end of the episode; he has taken to wearing a printed paisley silk scarf in various shades of light brown with red fringe on the ends.

Perhaps as a nod to Fleming’s James Bond, Reilly wears a compact Beretta .25 semi-automatic pistol in a brown leather shoulder rig, secured in a holster under his left arm.

Ever the gentleman, Reilly takes off his shoulder holster before going to the bathroom he shares with Pepita.

How to Get the Look

Reilly was a shrewd businessman who knew could influence and manipulate people as needed. His sharp Glen plaid suit that took him from New York to Berlin in 1924 indicated the fashionable and powerful man wearing it.

• Black-and-white Glen plaid wool suit with muted red windowpane overcheck, consisting of
  • Double-breasted 6-on-2 jacket with peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Single-breasted 6-button vest with four welt pockets, notched bottom, and adjustable rear strap
  • Single reverse-pleated high-rise trousers with straight side pockets and turn-ups/cuffed bottoms
• White dress shirt with large point collar, front placket, and double/French cuffs
• Brown diamond-printed necktie
• Dark brown leather split-toe bluchers
• Dark brown dress socks
• Camelhair double-breasted belted overcoat with double-breasted 6-on-2 front, raglan sleeves with 1-button cuff straps, and single rear vent
• Light gray felt fedora with dark brown grosgrain ribbon
• Light brown printed paisley silk scarf with red fringe
• Brown leather shoulder holster

Feeling a bit daring or just retro? Swap out the brown patterned necktie for a solid brown bow tie.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the series.

Frank Sinatra as Mike Connor in High Society (1956).

Vitals

Frank Sinatra as Macauley “Mike” Connor, swaggering tabloid reporter

Newport, Rhode Island, Summer 1956

Film: High Society
Release Date: July 17, 1956
Director: Charles Walters
Costume Designer: Helen Rose

Background

100 years ago today, on December 12, 1915, two Italian immigrants welcomed the birth of their son, Francis Albert Sinatra, in a Hoboken tenement. A century later, their legendary blue-eyed son has left an indelible legacy on our culture that can never be replicated. Sinatra’s style, stubbornness, and swagger complemented his natural skill and hard work to make him a living icon and one of the greatest singers of the 20th century.

After enjoying a decade of early success singing with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey orchestras before his personal appeal allowed him to sign with Columbia as a solo artist, Sinatra’s popularity began to decline. The death of his publicist George Evans, his tumultuous public affair with Ava Gardner, and his own throat issues nearly meant the end of Sinatra’s career by the early 1950s.

Sinatra persevered. His records weren’t selling, and he was singing to county fairs in Hawaii, but he wasn’t going to give up that easily. His Oscar-winning role in From Here to Eternity (shades of The Godfather!) signified the start of a unprecedentedly booming career revival. 1953 also saw Sinatra signing his seven-year contract with Capitol Records that would produce his groundbreaking “concept albums” and – in my opinion – some of the greatest music ever recorded. Despite his perfectionist tendencies, even Sinatra couldn’t help but to agree. After hearing he and arranger Nelson Riddle’s first cut of “I’ve Got the World on a String”, Sinatra couldn’t help but to exclaim:

I’m back, baby, I’m back!

What’d He Wear?

For Sinatra’s birthday, it only makes sense to explore a look best associated with him: a dark tuxedo and – of course – a drink in his hand. In 1956’s High Society, a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story that also starred Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, Sinatra plays cheeky tabloid reporter Mike Connor assigned to cover a socialite’s wedding.

Mike wears a midnight blue dinner jacket for a reception the evening before the nuptials. The single-breasted dinner jacket has a full 1950s cut with soft, widely extended shoulders, drape in the chest, and a suppressed waist. Although Sinatra had a famously slender frame, the large cut of the jacket is still tailored to look both flattering and fashionable.

According to Black Tie Guide, Mike’s look is quintessential for the era:

Formalwear worsted became lighter during the decade eventually weighing in at ten ounces to the yard. The visual manifestation of this slightly relaxed formality was a preference for the slimming single-breasted jacket with streamlined shawl collar and understated cummerbund. Add to this a turndown collar shirt and narrow bat wing tie and the result was the quintessential fifties tuxedo.

Mike and his fellow tabloid scribbler Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) regard their lavish surroundings.

A few details of Mike’s midnight blue dinner jacket signify that it isn’t quite as formal as others, a reflection of the relaxed formality that permeated American menswear during the postwar years. The single button in the front and 3-button cuffs all appear to be plastic rather than covered in satin or silk. The shawl lapels are also self-faced rather than silk-faced.

The jacket has jetted hip pockets and a welted breast pocket, where Mike wears a white folded pocket square. The back is ventless

Frank finds a very polite way to moon Bing.

Mike’s pleated formal trousers are likely made from the same lightweight midnight blue worsted cloth as his dinner jacket. There is a wide satin stripe down the side of each leg, with the side pocket cut straight just behind the stripe. The trousers are fully cut, like the jacket, with a slight taper at the plain-hemmed bottom of each leg.

Mike wears a white pleated-front formal shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons on the front placket. The shirt has a large turndown point collar and double cuffs, through which he wears a pair of gold rectangle links.

As Frank pours Bing’s champagne (clearly showing who was still who in the hierarchy of the 1950s entertainment world), we also see Bing wears a more formal dinner jacket with satin-faced lapels.

Although his dinner jacket doesn’t have the traditional black satin facings, Mike still sports black satin with his slim batwing-shaped bow tie and cummerbund.

Mike wears a pair of well-polished black patent leather cap-toe balmorals with black dress socks, the ideal footwear for black tie.

Frank and Grace Kelly. ’50s Hollywood royalty.

Not much is seen of Mike’s wristwatch, but it appears to be a gold tank watch on a black leather strap. Despite the wealth of information out there about Sinatra’s personal style, it’s hard to find information about his preference for timepieces.

Singing with a drink in hand: Frank, as he’d want to be remembered.

In The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin’, author Bill Zehme includes Sinatra’s personal credo when it comes to black tie:

For me, a tuxedo is a way of life. When an invitation says black tie optional, it is always safer to wear black tie. My basic rules are to have shirt cuffs extended half an inch from the jacket sleeve. Trousers should break just above the shoe. Try not to sit down because it wrinkles the pants. If you have to sit, don’t cross your legs. Pocket handkerchiefs are optional, but I always wear one, usually orange, since orange is my favorite color. Shine your mary janes on the underside of a couch cushion.

Go Big or Go Home

There’s no denying that Frank Sinatra and the rest of his Rat Pack cronies are legendary for their drinking habits. In High Society, we see Frank treating himself and Bing to a few – well, more than a few – glasses of champagne, but the real Frank’s preference was definitely whiskey.

Frank tops off a few glasses for Bing and himself.

… and not just any whiskey. Jack Daniel’s was Sinatra’s elixir of choice, and there was a science to mixing his favorite concoction. Zehme gives us the recipe:

Sinatra enjoys his favorite whiskey with his best pals Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Always three or four ice cubes, two fingers of Jack Daniel’s, the rest water, in a traditional rocks glass.

Most surprisingly, Frank would always say: “I don’t like the taste if it’s too strong.” And why should he? A guy like Sinatra could drink all night (and all day), so he may as well enjoy what he’s drinking and be able to keep himself ready to sing – or throw down – at a moment’s notice.

Ice was also a touchy subject for Frank. It had to be just right – not too little and not too much. Zehme tells a story of Sinatra sitting down at the Boston Four Seasons Hotel bar where a bartender served him a glass of Jack Daniel’s filled with ice. Without a word – but with a dose of passive aggression – Sinatra began “plunking” ice cubes onto the bar. When the bartender asked if there was a problem, Frank retorted: “No, but with all this ice, I figure we’re supposed to go skating here or something. That’s not my sport.” And with that, Frank left himself four ice cubes and was able to enjoy his drink.

Zehme even notes his favorite type of glass: “a traditional squat old-fashioned, or rocks, glass”, often with a leaded base that could be elegantly held from below with a linen cocktail napkin in his right hand.

With all that work, it would certainly be a cautious honor to be able to pour Sinatra a drink. Even the man himself was reluctant to do so, groaning “Yeeesh, that’s a brown mother I made!” if he poured incorrectly.

Frank also enjoyed a far simpler voice; even after his throat hemorrhage that nearly ended his career in the early 1950s, his Camel unfiltered cigarettes became a trademark. If he wasn’t drinking or eating, he was smoking; he even attributed his venerable vocal talents to the constant stream of tobacco smoke and whiskey that were coating his throat on a daily basis. After Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, he was buried with his two most reliable companions – a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a pack of Camel cigarettes – tucked into his suit.

How to Get the Look

If Frank Sinatra could be honored in any way, I’m sure he would appreciate knowing the generations of men who have been inspired by his style. So pour yourself a Jack Daniel’s over ice, fasten those cuff links, and step out on the town with a beautiful woman on your arm. Just make sure you look the part:

• Midnight blue worsted single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with self-faced shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Midnight blue worsted formal trousers with pleats, on-seam side pockets, satin side stripes, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White pleated-front formal shirt with turndown point collar, pearl buttons, and double/French cuffs
• Black satin slim “batwing”-style bowtie
• Black satin cummerbund
• Black patent leather cap-toe balmorals
• Black dress socks
• Gold tank-style dress watch on black leather strap

In High Society, Frank neatly folds a white handkerchief into his jacket breast pocket. In real life, Sinatra would often be seen sporting a red or orange pocket square with his formalwear.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie, and – of course – pay tribute to the Chairman of the Board by letting the crooner provide your soundtrack today. While any of his Christmas classics may seem right this time of year, the recently released A Voice On Air (1935-1955) would also make a great stocking stuffer either for you or a loved one who appreciates classic style.

Fans of the man’s style should also look for a copy of Bill Zehme’s The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin’; I was very lucky to have received mine from Teeritz last year, and it’s become a constant reference for all things Frank.

Do yourself one more favor and pour out a birthday toast for Frank.

The Quote

You know how I feel about my grandmother but I’d sell her for a drink.

Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson in “Resolution”, Episode 3.01 of Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014).

Vitals

Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, crooked city politician and influential mob bootlegger

Atlantic City, New Year’s Eve 1922

Series: Boardwalk Empire
Episode: “Resolution” (Episode 3.01)
Air Date: September 16, 2012
Director: Tim Van Patten

Background

Tomorrow night is New Year’s Eve, an evening that sees many flocking to friends’ houses, bar parties, or an overcrowded section of New York without realizing that even the country’s most populous city can’t handle the lavatory needs of one million intoxicated visitors.

But I digress. For the lovable gang of murderous bootleggers on Boardwalk Empire, New Year’s Eve is an opportunity to party at the home of the town’s gregarious and graft-loving treasurer, Nucky Thompson. To ring in 1923, Nucky has a full evening planned with a literal treasure chest of gifts as well as live entertainment from Eddie Cantor and Billie Kent, his latest mistress an up-and-coming showgirl.

Guests include old favorites like Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Arnold Rothstein, but Nucky also welcomes a relative newcomer, the volatile Italian gangster Gyp Rosetti who doesn’t set a good example for America’s youth about treating a host with kindness.

What’d He Wear?

And then there’s you. Fucking breadstick in a bow tie. You pasty-faced, cocksucking-

Poor Nucky goes to all this work to look sharp for his New Year’s bash, and then he goes and gets insulted for his bow tie and complexion. Although I can’t guarantee that your party’s Gyp Rosetti won’t level a few unnecessary insults in your direction, I can endorse Nucky Thompson’s dinner suit as a fine way for a gentleman to stand out at any upcoming New Year celebrations.

As the party’s King Tut, Nucky knows it’s his duty to his guests – as well as his own sartorial reputation – to maintain his usual resplendent levels of dress for the evening. He saunters into the party in a black wool dinner jacket that seems to have borrowed more styling cues from his business suits than the typical tuxedo. The single-breasted jacket has three black satin-covered buttons in the front (with the lapels gently rolling over the top button), at Nucky’s typical high stance, with straight shoulders, roped sleeveheads, and a full chest. Nucky continues to channel his classic Edwardian style with satin-faced “turnback” gauntlets accompanying the four satin-covered buttons on each cuff.

Nucky and Margaret host a King Tut-themed New Year’s shindig.

Nucky’s dinner jacket was clearly styled after his business suits, not unlike the lukewarm-received ivory Tom Ford “Windsor” dinner jacket that showed up on James Bond in Spectre. Its sporty details like the unconventional multi-button front, flapped hip pockets, and single rear vent are all more traditionally seen on suit jackets and sport coats than dinner jackets, where they are considered very out of place. However this was 1923, and the dinner jacket was still finding its footing. It’s not beyond the edge of reason to assume that a flamboyant individualist like Nucky would use this opportunity to allow himself to stand out from the others while embracing a style that is clearly comfortable for him. Plus, as the host of the party, who would be allowed to complain? (Besides Gyp Rosetti, who takes it upon himself to take offense to everything.)

For a more contemporary look that would also be correct to black tie, a dinner jacket should have a single button in the front (for smoother lines), jetted hip pockets, and preferably a ventless back. Most modern jackets that follow Nucky’s example of more than one button in the front and single vents end up looking more like rentals… and that’s a look that would certainly disappoint Nucky Thompson.

The details of Nucky’s dinner jacket may make sartorial purists cringe, but he wouldn’t care. In fact, he hardly looks like he cares about a single damn thing right here.

Nucky’s dinner jacket has wide peak lapels with slanted gorges, and a closer look at the collar reveals some of the jacket’s poorly-fitting aspects. There is a larger gap between Steve Buscemi’s neck and the jacket collar, revealing much more of the shirt and vest beneath than one would typically desire. This could be explained by the revolver holstered under Nucky’s left armpit, which would certainly pull the jacket away from the neck, but it’s surprising that this would not have been taken into consideration when Nuck was being fitted for what would obviously be a bespoke jacket.

Nucky sports a small green pin through his left lapel.

Nucky lays down the law.

Under his dinner jacket, Nucky wears a black silk double-breasted waistcoat with a subtle black check pattern.

Nucky spends the early hours of 1923 in his office, drinking alone…

Nucky’s waistcoat has shawl lapels, four welted pockets, and a 6-on-3 button layout over the straight bottom. The taupe silk back of the vest is printed with ornate dots.

In the lower left welt pocket of his vest, Nucky wears his gold Elgin open-faced pocket watch, attached to a gold 18″ chain. The watch has a white dial and a 6:00 sub-dial. At the other end of the chain, which loops through the upper left welt pocket, is a trio of gold cubes.

…unless you count his Colt Police Positive revolver as an acquaintance. (At least an auld one not to be forgot?)

Although he may wear some unconventional items like the fancy waistcoat and non-traditional dinner jacket, Nucky keeps everything relatively standard and simple from the waist down. His black wool flat front formal trousers have the typical satin side stripe with on-seam side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms. On his feet are a pair of black patent leather cap-toe balmorals and black dress socks.

I’d be very (pleasantly) surprised if anyone brings in 2016 the same as this group welcomed 1923.

Wing collars were still de rigueur for men’s formalwear in the early 1920s, not that it would’ve stopped Nucky. Still, he adheres to convention with his white formal shirt with its textured piqué front bib, black studs, and detachable wing collar. The collar is held into place with a single metal stud through the front and through the back.

When Nucky takes off his dinner jacket (and Billie takes off everything), we see more of his formal shirt, which appears to have a tonal stripe through the sleeves. At the end of each sleeve is a mother-of-pearl gauntlet button and rounded double cuffs, through which Nucky wears a set of flat, round black cuff links with gold trim.

Nucky nicely compliments his new mistress Billie Kent’s thighs as “the only place I can truly rest my head.” Remember that one, fellas.

And, ah, the black satin bow tie that made Gyp so angry. Perhaps Gyp, who was sporting a diamond-pointed bow tie that evening, was just upset by Nucky’s choice of a batwing-shaped tie. Or – more likely – Gyp is just insane. Either way, Nucky appears to have overcome his rookie mistake of wearing a bow tie with a visible adjuster.

Sure it’s a bow tie, but it hardly makes him a breadstick, Gyp.

When he ditches Margaret after the party, Nucky dons his usual evening outerwear, consisting of a black homburg, white printed silk scarf, and black wool overcoat. The single-breasted coat has peak lapels and 3-button cuffs visible in this scene. (I can’t confirm any other appearances of this particular coat anywhere else in the series, unfortunately.)

Nucky abandons Margaret after another fine mess.

For the first time in the show’s history, Nucky appears to be constantly armed. Like many a movie badass, he opts for a shoulder holster with a brown leather rig holstering his nickel Colt Police Positive revolver – with white pearl grips, of course – under his left armpit for a right-handed draw. The holster is secured with a gray adjustable strap that hooks over his right shoulder.

Nuck pours himself a few fingers of whiskey to ring in the new year.

Now a happily married man, Nucky wears a plain gold wedding band on the third finger of his left hand. The ScreenBid.com prop auction earlier in 2015 confirmed that Nucky’s ring was actually gold-painted. If you’re married, you may want to opt for something a little more authentic and less… you know… painted.

What to Imbibe

When it’s time to get down to business with his associates, Nucky and his crew dig into a bottle of bootleg American whiskey, a libation in which he also takes post-party solace.

Of course, it’s a party – a New Year party, at that – so Nucky also has champagne on hand for his guests. Ever the gracious host, the Veuve Clicquot flows very freely through the Thompson house on New Year’s Eve 1922. Let it flow freely through yours as well!

How to Get the Look

Nucky welcomes 1923 with – as expected – a very individual, non-conformist approach to black tie. What will you be wearing to welcome 2016?

• Black wool single-breasted 3-roll-2-button dinner jacket with satin-faced peak lapels, welted breast pocket, rear-slanting flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs with satin-faced “turnback” gauntlets, and single rear vent
• Black check-printed silk double-breasted waistcoat with shawl lapels, 6×3 button front, four welt pockets, straight bottom, and taupe spotted silk back
• Black wool flat front formal trousers with satin side stripe, on-seam side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White striped formal shirt with detachable wing collar, textured piqué front bib, black studs, and double/French cuffs
• Black satin “batwing”-shaped bow tie
• Gold-edged flat black round cuff links
• Black patent leather cap-toe balmorals
• Black dress socks
• Black wool single-breasted overcoat with peak lapels and 3-button cuffs
• White printed silk scarf
• Black felt homburg with black ribbon
• Brown leather shoulder holster with gray strap, for RHD revolver
• Elgin gold open-faced pocket watch with white dial and 6:00 sub-dial on gold 18″ chain attached to gold fobs
• Plain gold wedding band

Based on the details, this does appear to be the same dinner jacket that Nucky would wear throughout the fourth season, albeit with different shirts, bow ties, and waistcoats. I’ll cover his fourth season black tie at another time.

And Nucky certainly has a habit for wearing non-traditional formalwear, as the unique dinner jacket paired with a white bow tie during the first two seasons can verify.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

This episode is from the third season, but now that the series has wrapped up – and done so beautifully, I might add – you should try and get your hands on the entire show!

The Quote

New year, new rules.

Anatol Yusef, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Vincent Piazza as Meyer Lansky, Arnold Rothstein, and “Lucky” Luciano, respectively, on Boardwalk Empire (Episode 3.01 – “Resolution”).

Vitals

Michael Stulhbarg as Arnold Rothstein, powerful New York gambler and racketeer
Vincent Piazza as Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, the Mafia’s smooth and ambitious future chief
Anatol Yusef as Meyer Lansky, Rothstein’s clever mob protégé
Bobby Cannavale as Gyp Rosetti, violent and hotheaded Italian-born gangster

Atlantic City, New Year’s Eve 1922

Series: Boardwalk Empire
Episode: “Resolution” (Episode 3.01)
Air Date: September 16, 2012
Director: Tim Van Patten

Background

Not every man is a Nucky Thompson. A group of New York gangsters choosing Nucky’s basement to talk business while a party oblivious heaves forward upstairs leads itself to a major conglomeration of styles – both in leadership and in attire – that illustrate just how much about a man can be determined by looking at the way he puts himself together.

What’d They Wear?

The notion of black tie may sound restrictive to a novice, but part of its charm comes from the amount of personalization that a man can still fashionably pull off without being relegated to the implied limitations of a “penguin suit”.

When A.R., Lucky, Lansky, and Rosetti converge on Nucky Thompson’s New Year’s Eve party, Boardwalk Empire presented a mishmash of formalwear fashion that nicely represented each man’s position both in life and in the criminal hierarchy.

Arnold Rothstein, George Remus, Meyer Lansky, and “Lucky” Luciano are among Nucky Thompson’s distinguished New Year’s guests. We’ll disregard George Remus just because anyone who refers to himself in the third person so frequently (then shoots and kills his wife, but that’s a different story) doesn’t quality as a BAMF in my book.

Arnold Rothstein

The low-key but successful gambler dresses in traditional black tie with his single-breasted peak-lapel dinner jacket and wing collar shirt. However, he does add a touch of the classic Old West gambler look with a fancy waistcoat, evoking images of Doc Holliday and the frontier forbearers of Rothstein’s chosen occupation and favorite pastime.

A real life mentor to up-and-coming mobsters like Lansky and Luciano, Rothstein prided himself on his attire, and he is arguably the best-dressed of Nucky’s most prominent guests.

Details:

• Black wool single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with satin-faced peak lapels and welted breast pocket
• Blue & gold paisley single-breasted waistcoat with sharp peak lapels, six high-fastening covered buttons, four welt pockets, and notched bottom
• Black wool forward-pleated formal trousers with satin side stripes and slanted side pockets
• White formal shirt with mother-of-pearl studs down front placket, double cuffs, and detachable wing collar
• Black satin bow tie
• Gold pocket watch, worn on a gold chain through waistcoat

Charlie “Lucky” Luciano

As a slick gangster who cared a little too much about the ladies, Salvatore Lucania always strived to dress at the cutting edge of fashion. His shawl-lapel dinner jacket, striped waistcoat, and large wing collar would have drawn much attention in the early 1920s.

Shawl lapels had all but disappeared from white tie tailcoats during World War I, so the fashionable Luciano’s shawl lapel on his dinner jacket a decade later indicates a clear movement away from tradition.

Details:

• Black wool single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with satin-faced shawl lapels and welted breast pocket
• Dark blue striped silk single-breasted waistcoat with shawl lapels, six covered high-fastening buttons, four welt pockets, and notched bottom
• Black wool formal trousers with satin side stripes
• White formal shirt with mother-of-pearl studs down wide front placket, double cuffs, and detachable wide wing collar
• Black satin butterfly-shaped bow tie

Meyer Lansky

Lansky was always known for his sharp business savvy before his dress, although he was certainly no slouch. Here, the youthful mobster – only 20 years old and far from his future reputation as the “Mob’s Accountant” – looks a bit less refined than the others in his dinner jacket with its large notch lapels. Lansky also wears a wristwatch with his dinner suit, not yet acceptable for black tie in 1922 as pocket watches were still the norm. A practical decision for a practical guy.

Notch lapels on dinner jackets were certainly not uncommon in the early 1920s; they were merely considered less traditional. Still, the unique shape of his notches and other details like the satin stripe around each cuff draws a clear distinction between Lansky’s dinner jacket and a modern rental tuxedo jacket.

Details:

• Black wool single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with satin-faced wide-notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, and 2-button cuffs with thin satin stripe above buttons
• Black single-breasted 3-button waistcoat with low V-shaped opening, slim lapels, and notched bottom
• Black wool formal trousers with satin side stripes
• White formal shirt with black studs down pleated front, double cuffs, and detachable short-wing collar
• Black satin bow tie
• Gold wristwatch, worn on black leather strap

Gyp Rosetti

Gyp was a true individualist, and not to anyone’s benefit! He shows it in every part of his dinner suit, from his striped double-breasted dinner jacket to his loud, pumpkin orange waistcoat.

Gyp’s look most resembles what you’d see at a modern day prom.

Details:

• Black tonal-striped double-breasted dinner jacket with satin-faced peak lapels, high 6-on-3 button stance, welted breast pocket, and 4-button cuffs
• Orange floral-printed single-breasted waistcoat with lapels, six high-fastening covered buttons, four welt pockets, and notched bottom
• Black tonal-striped formal trousers with satin side stripes
• White formal shirt with detachable wing collar and single cuffs
• Black satin diamond-pointed bow tie
• Cream silk pocketsquare

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Enjoy the entire show in all five seasons of its glory. If you have a penchant for watching New Year-themed episodes of your favorite shows, you’ll find “Resolution” at the beginning of Boardwalk Empire‘s third season.

The Quote

Gyp Rosetti: I’ll shit you out like yesterday’s sausage, you bog-trottin’ prick.

Gyp Rosetti tells it like it is. Or at least like he thinks it should be.

And Happy New Year to you too, Gyp.

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in a 1942 studio portrait to promote Casablanca.

Vitals

Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, cynical “gin joint” manager and former arms dealer

Casablanca, Morocco, December 1941

Film: Casablanca
Release Date: November 26, 1942
Director: Michael Curtiz

Background

Although remembered today as one of the greatest romances to grace the screen, the Los Angeles Times‘s Bob Strauss was most accurate when he declared Casablanca a “near-perfect entertainment balance” of comedy, romance, and suspense. In fact, the movie has become so engrained as a romance classic that few recall just how badass it actually is.

Take the leading male: Rick Blaine. Played by Humphrey Bogart (which already lends plenty of BAMF credibility), Rick is more cynical than any of the private eyes that Bogie ever played on screen. He owns a bar with an illegal gambling den and maintained a successful side racket of running guns to Ethiopia, in addition to packing his own pistol on most occasions.

When Ilsa, the love of his life, walks back into his bar after nearly two years, he takes to the bottle… and he does so with gusto. The bitter Rick refuses to help Ilsa’s crusading resistance leader husband, to which she responds by drawing her own gun. After sorting out conflicted feelings, old flames, and a bullet or two in the gut of a Nazi, Rick finally manages to find closure with his old love while paving the way for further shady business ventures. The end.

With just over a week left until Valentine’s Day, Rick Blaine provides a classic, dapper look sure to make your special lady swoon on this most hated of holidays. Good luck, fellas.

What’d He Wear?

For the first few decades of the dinner jacket’s existence, black or midnight blue wool was the standard. It wasn’t until the early 1930s when travelers in warm, tropical climates began to abandon darker colors in favor of the less formal “white” dinner jacket. Technically colored in shades of white like ivory or cream, these lighter dinner jackets provided a comfortable alternative for gentlemen in warm tropical heat who didn’t want to endure their vacation in heavy, dark wool.

Rick Blaine, operating his club in the heat of Morocco’s largest city, wears an ivory summer-weight worsted dinner jacket as part of his nightly attire. The classic image of Bogie, clad in his ivory dinner jacket with a glass of Bourbon in front of him and cigarette smoking from his hand while half of his scowling, embittered face is cloaked in a shadow, has become an icon.

Cheer up, Bogie!

Rick’s dinner jacket is double-breasted with a 4-on-1 stance of white plastic buttons. The wide shawl lapels are appropriately self-faced, and the shoulders are padded with roped sleeveheads. There are four buttons on the cuff of each sleeve. The back is ventless.

Everybody comes to Rick’s…

Rick’s jacket also has three external pockets: two straight jetted hip pockets and a welted breast pocket with a white silk handkerchief poking out. Since his jacket is double-breasted and he always wears it closed, Rick likely wears no cummerbund or any sort of waist covering that would just be an added layer of uncomfortable warmth in the Moroccan heat.

Two slightly different men in two very different white jackets. (Gotta love the way Bogart holds his cigarettes…)

Magnoli makes a “replica” of the jacket in either wool or a wool blend with a few different touches that differentiate it from the classic Bogart jacket, such as three functional cuff buttons instead of the four seen in the movie. Magnoli offers several options, including color, fabric, and lapel facings.

Rick’s trousers are the same dark wool formal trousers – likely black – that one would wear with any dinner jacket. They have a black satin side stripe down each leg to the plain-hemmed bottoms.

Rick wears a white dress shirt with a long-pointed turndown collar. Soft turndown collars are the preferred option for pairing with a warm-weather dinner jacket due to the shared relaxed vibe that both garments exude. The double cuffs on Rick’s shirt are fastened with white disc links, and white buttons fasten down the front placket.

Rick beats himself at yet another chess game.

A black silk thistle-shaped bowtie is neatly tied at Rick’s neck. The tie is surprisingly small compared to the size of Rick’s shirt collar and jacket lapels.

A proud moment for this club owner.

Rick’s shoes are best seen in production stills, but they appear to be black patent leather cap-toe balmorals with black dress socks.

Bogie strikes a dignified Captain Morgan pose on the set… perhaps not realizing that he would, in fact, be playing a Captain Morgan in To Have and Have Not two years later.

All of Bogart’s usual accessories are present. His father’s gold ring – with two rubies and a diamond – is on the third finger of his right hand, with replicas available from Royalty and Hollywood Jewelry and Amazon.

Man, he is having a rough night!

Bogart also wears his Longines Evidenza wristwatch. The Evidenza was released in 1941, so Bogie’s – with its tonneau-shaped gilt case and dark brown leather strap – would have been relatively new at the time Casablanca was filmed.

Go Big or Go Home

While you’d be wise to avoid any sort of doomed romance like Rick and Ilsa, there’s no reason why your Casablanca-themed date shouldn’t end with you getting the girl instead of sending her off in an airplane to go help the resistance effort while you spend your time glad-handing corrupt public officials. The first thing you’ll want to do is set the mood.

Drinking alone is not a good way to set a romantic mood!

Since you probably don’t have a jovial piano player at your beck and call, you’d be well-advised to get a classic version of “As Time Goes By” playing for your date. You could even take it a step further and play it on the piano yourself, but it may end up awkward for your date to stand there for three minutes while you fiddle around on the keys.

What to Imbibe

Next – libations. Rick drinks Bourbon (the fictional Kentucky Hill brand) and cognac (appears to be Cognac Vieux from Lehman ses Fils), but the film also prominently features the French 75 cocktail when Yvonne is ordering at the bar with her new boyfriend.

So what the hell is a French 75? I tried to order one once at Red Lobster and was flatly rejected. (True story. At least I filled up on Cheddar Bay Biscuits.) Although it may not look it and its non-Ron Swanson-approved ingredients may lead you to believe otherwise, the French 75 is one of the more badass cocktails because it’s named after a gun. A fucking big gun. A 75mm field gun, to be precise. The French Canon de 75 modèle 1897.

Doesn’t really look like it was named after a massive gun, right?

The French 75 was developed during World War I (yet another BAMF point in its favor!) as, essentially, a fancier version of the Tom Collins cocktail but replacing the carbonated water with champagne… which is about as fancy as replacing water can get. The legendary Harry MacElhone, a god amongst barmen, first developed the cocktail at the New York Bar in Paris. The name came from the kick of the drink, which imbibers compared to being shelled by a 75mm field gun.

Though it was developed in 1915, the French 75 became the toast of the Roaring Twenties as a popular order at the Stork Club in New York. Harry himself first listed the drink in print as “the 75” in the 1922 edition of Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails (consisting of gin, Calvados, grenadine, and abstinthe!), but it wasn’t until five years later – in Judge Jr.’s Here’s How – that the now-common recipe of gin, sugar, lemon juice, and champagne was listed. Finally, the “French 75” name appeared in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, fifteen years after MacElhone first mixed it.

So how would you make yours?

Combine three parts gin, two dashes of simple syrup (or a teaspoon of superfine sugar), and 1.5 measures of lemon juice into an ice-filled cocktail tumbler. Shake it all until it’s very cold, then strain it into a chilled Collins glass or champagne flute. (In case you can’t tell, you’re gonna want this drink to be cold!) Finally, top it up with six measures of champagne. G.H. Mumm was the champagne of choice throughout Casablanca, and it’s a fine spirit for you to include in your concoctions as well.

Some folks add a lemon twist for garnish and an extra citrussy pop. Some customize theirs a step further by swapping out the gin for cognac, although this is technically called a King’s Peg in some circles.

How to Get the Look

With Rick Blaine’s iconic formalwear, Humphrey Bogart shows us why being a cynical tough guy doesn’t mean foregoing elegance.

• Ivory wool double-breasted dinner jacket with 4-on-1 button front, shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Black wool formal trousers with black satin side stripe, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White dress shirt with long-pointed turndown collar, front placket with white buttons, double/French cuffs
• Black silk bowtie
• White disc cufflinks
• Black patent leather cap-toe balmorals
• Black dress socks
• Longines Evidenza gilt-cased wristwatch on dark brown leather strap
• Gold ring with two rubies and diamond
• White silk pocket kerchief

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

The Quote

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine…

Footnotes

I haven’t been able to find any information about what happened to Bogart’s dinner jacket, but the black dinner jacket worn by S.K. Sakall as Carl the waiter was auctioned by Bonham’s in November 2014, fetching $3,750.

Although filmed and released in 1942, it’s interesting to note that Casablanca is set in early December 1941 as Rick dates a check for December 2nd, a decision by the screenwriter to add plausibility to Rick’s motivation. It’s also interesting to wonder what the super-neutral American Rick would have done just days later after his own country was pulled into the war. (Supposedly, a scene was planned of Rick and Renault joining the Allies for the 1942 invasion of North Africa, but Rains’ unavailability meant this scene was wisely scrapped and the ending remained untouched.)

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 1.05: “5G”).

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, mysterious and award-winning Madison Avenue ad man

Ossining, New York, Spring 1960

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “5G” (Episode 1.05)
Air Date: August 16, 2007
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Happy birthday to Jon Hamm, born today in 1971!

While Jon is celebrating his birthday, Don Draper also had a reason to celebrate in “5G” after winning the Newkie(?) award. Although Don is dubious about his own achievements, Betty (January Jones) is very proud of him. Don had reason for concern, though, as his photo in Advertising Age gets him some unwanted attention.

This episode was the first to truly begin peeling back the layers of Don Draper, née Dick Whitman. Other than the man who recognized Don on a train a few episodes earlier, the appearance of his wide-eyed but estranged brother Adam Whitman gives our protagonist his first impetus to face his shady past.

What’d He Wear?

“Look at you in this tuxedo,” Betty coos while admiring Don’s dinner suit after returning from the awards dinner. “5G” marks the first of several appearances of Don Draper in black tie, and – set in spring 1960 – this one nicely exemplifies the “Continental look” that could be found on many fashionable gentlemen during the jet age, as Black Tie Guide outlines.

Don still looks plenty “Continental” when he gets home.

Don’s single-breasted dinner jacket is black wool with slim shawl lapels that are distinctively trimmed with satin edges rather than fully faced. This style was popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s and thus would’ve been very fashionable for Don to wear at this event.

A respected problem solver, Don doesn’t let a silly thing like a distant light switch get between him and a full night’s sleep.

The dinner jacket has a full cut with heavily padded shoulders and a ventless back. Don wears a neatly folded white linen pocket square in the welted breast pocket. His dinner jacket also has jetted hip pockets and 2-button cuffs.

To match his dinner jacket, Don wears black wool formal trousers with double reverse pleats. The trousers have a wide satin stripe on the side of each leg, over the straight on-seam side pockets down to the slightly flared plain-hemmed bottoms. There are two jetted pockets in the back; the left pocket closes with a button but the right pocket does not.

Don’s in for a harsh awakening. Inset photo: A behind-the-scenes shot.

Don covers his waist with a black satin silk cummerbund, appropriately worn with the pleats facing upward. Although originally done for gentlemen to place their concert tickets, this upward-pleated design led to the cummerbund’s moniker of “crumb catcher”; for Don Draper, it likely also caught some loose tobacco from his trusty Lucky Strikes. The cummerbund fastens with a steel buckle through the black back ribbon.

A telltale sign that someone is rich? He sleeps in a cummerbund.

Don’s white formal shirt has a spread collar and French cuffs. The front bib has 1″-wide pleats and a rounded bottom below the third stud. Both the cuff links and the slightly smaller shirt studs are round and black with gold trim. Below the three visible studs on the bib, the shirt buttons are mother-of-pearl.

Even during a conversation with his wife, Don takes an especially strong drag on his Lucky to remind us that he is Don Draper.

Don wears a black silk, straight-ended “batwing”-style bow tie, yet another style that was popular during the era.

Don shoots for the moon.

Don’s choice of footwear is also fashionable, a pair of well-shined black patent leather cap-toe oxfords with black dress socks. He manages to kick off one of the shoes before going to sleep, but uncomfortably wakes up with the other still on.

A production photo reveals just how nicely shined Don’s oxfords are.

When changing for work the next morning, Don reveals that he wears his usual undershirt – a white cotton crew-neck T-shirt – under his tuxedo. It can likely be deduced that he’s also wearing his usual white cotton boxer shorts, but that’s both speculation and truly unnecessary knowledge.

Although Joe’s Daily has confirmed that Don Draper wore a “tuxedo” dial Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox throughout the first season, he doesn’t appear to be wearing it during this scene. This is unfortunate for Don, as Joe’s mentions that it was the first automatic wristwatch to include a mechanical alarm function, and our protagonist oversleeps until 8:00 the next morning.

Mad Men audiences wouldn’t see Don Draper in black tie again until two seasons later when accepting an award in “The Color Blue” (Episode 3.10), where he again wears a black dinner jacket with shawl lapels except the lapels in “The Color Blue” are fully faced with black satin. It may be significant to note that these episodes serve as bookends for the Dick Whitman/Don Draper storyline; it is in “5G” that the audience first learns of his true identity but not until “The Color Blue” that Betty does. Her attitude at the black tie awards dinner in “The Color Blue” is notably different than her excitement after the “5G” dinner.

Although he doesn’t wear traditional black tie until two seasons later, Don does wear an off-white dinner jacket during a summer evening on the town in “The Gold Violin” (Episode 2.07).

Go Big or Go Home

Don’s lucky enough to get big at home, if you catch my drift.

I always forget how many of these early episodes gave January Jones a chance to model some early ’60s underwear, and I also do not have a problem with that.

Unfortunately for both parties, it was a boozy party and they can hardly get out of their shoes, let alone the more interesting garments. We see some very interesting solutions for the problems facing one feeling lazy after imbibing too much.

Can’t reach the switch to turn off the light? Just yank the cord until you unplug it.

Wake up coughing incessantly? Follow your instincts and grab that pack of unfiltered cigarettes you left on the nightstand. After all, you only live twice.

How to Get the Look

Don’s hangover may mean a rough morning, but owning his own tuxedo means not having to dodge pink elephants while driving a rental back (in addition to the other many pros of not having to rent a dinner suit!)

• Black wool single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with satin-trimmed shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 2-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Black wool double reverse-pleated formal trousers with satin side stripe, on-seam side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White formal shirt with spread collar, 1″-pleated bib front with three black studs, double/French cuffs
• Black satin silk “batwing” bow tie
• Black round cuff links with gold trim
• Black satin silk cummerbund
• Black patent leather 5-eyelet cap-toe balmorals/oxfords
• Black dress socks
• White cotton crew-neck short-sleeve undershirt
• White cotton boxer shorts
• White linen pocket square

Do Yourself a Favor and…

If you’re a fan of good TV, you should really do yourself the favor of catching up on the entire series of Mad Men. Of course, that would include starting at the beginning with the first season; “5G” is – appropriately enough – five episodes in.

The Quote

What, take that thing on the train like some kid who won at the 4H? Besides, no one wants to look like they care about awards.

Footnotes

Six years old or not, Sally is reasonably perplexed about Don’s award. After six years in the business myself, I’ve never heard of a “Newkie” nor have I ever seen any marketer take home an award with a golden horseshoe (or any horseshoe) on it.

And speaking of awards, it was last month that Jon Hamm himself won his second Golden Globe for his portrayal of Don Draper… although the Golden Globes misprinted his name as John Hamm on the actual award. While this could be some strange reference to Hamm playing a character using a fake name, I think it’s just safe to say that someone fucked up. (Especially since he’d already won one before in 2008!)

More trivia: The first person to congratulate Don as he enters the Sterling Cooper office is Allison, working at the front desk. Allison would eventually rise to the position of Don’s personal secretary and fall to the position of one night stand when he drunkenly sexes her up in “Christmas Comes But Once a Year” (Episode 4.02). Allison’s excitement in this episode over Don getting his photo in Ad Age is a sad indication that she must’ve been harboring some long time feelings for her boss before his somewhat unwise and certainly inebriated seduction of her.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Ike Evans on Magic City.

Vitals

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Isaac “Ike” Evans, tough and shrewd hotel owner

Miami Beach, January 1959

Series: Magic City
Episodes: “The Year of the Fin” (Episode 1.01), “Castles Made of Sand” (Episode 1.03), & “Crossroads” (Episode 2.04)
Air Dates: March 30, 2012 (Episode 1.01), April 20, 2012 (Episode 1.03), & July 12, 2013 (Episode 2.04)
Directors: Carl Franklin (Episode 1.01) & Ed Bianchi (Episode 1.03 & 2.04)
Creator: Mitch Glazer
Costume Designer: Carol Ramsey

Background

For two seasons, Magic City presented the abundantly stylish saga of the Evans family and the Miramar Playa, telling a compelling story beneath the elegant late ’50s aesthetic of long-finned cars, sharp-suited men and tightly-dressed bombshells, and ubiquitous cocktails and cigarettes.

Superficially, Magic City has been lumped in with many other shows that followed in Mad Men‘s wake with darkness underlying Jet Age glamour. However, the show was a long-time passion project for Mitch Glazer, who tapped into his early life growing up in Miami and working as a cabana boy in one of its many resorts during the ’50s and ’60s. He heard stories from his father, a hotel engineer, about the secretive drama unfolding among the guests and staff, all bathed in the dichotomous sunlight for which Miami Beach is famous. After realizing that he had far more material than a single movie would serve justly, Glazer developed his concept into a series for Starz with astounding mob tales from his journalistic background adding to the story.

Drawing upon his own family’s connection to hotels of the era, Glazer wrote Magic City as a very family-centric story with the pragmatic patriarch Isaac “Ike” Evans at the helm of the swanky Miramar Playa hotel in Miami Beach. Widowed and remarried to the glamorous ex-dancer Vera (Olga Kurylenko), Ike must manage his three kids, his ex-wife’s sophisticated sister, and the volatile mobster that serves as his silent partner.

We first meet Ike Evans on New Year’s Eve 1958, a date well-known (especially to fans of The Godfather Part II) as the day that Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba and made things very difficult for the Mafia. Ike isn’t necessarily a gangster, but he’s got “friends” like Bel Jaffe and Ben Diamond who aren’t afraid to do any dirty work… providing that there’s money in it for them. Beset by union problems that threaten the future of the Miramar Playa (as well as the possibility of Sinatra performing at that evening’s New Year’s Eve party!), Ike is forced to request a favor of Faustian proportions.

What’d He Wear?

After Magic City ended its run in 2013, many costumes, props, and other items from the show were auctioned. One lucky fan, Eric Tidd, took over as Ike Evans’ spiritual successor in charge of the Miramar Playa and now proudly owns Ike’s cream dinner jacket ensemble – arguably the show’s most iconic outfit among its male characters – among many other cool costumes, accessories, and props. Eric was generous enough to share photos and details of the outfit with me for use on this site.

Ike looks over his town from his penthouse balcony at the Miramar Playa.

Ike Evans’ cream-colored single-breasted dinner jacket was custom tailored for the production by Dennis Kim from a design by costumer Carol Ramsey, who recalled in an interview with the Los Angeles Times her hard work of dressing more than 600 people for the production every nine days:

We would look at various aspects of each suit that we liked, such as the width of the shoulder from this one, the sleeve or lapel of that one.

Eric owns some of Ramsey’s copy of episode scripts; one page confirms that this formal jacket was one of the Dennis Kim-tailored pieces. Elements of the jacket include front darts, roped sleveeheads, and a welted breast pocket that Ike wears without a display kerchief. It closes with a single button in the front and has three buttons spaced apart on each cuff.

Ike preps for NYE ’58.

Although he runs one of the flashiest hotels in one of America’s flashiest city, Ike balances his businesslike mentality with the sharp cunning required to run such a swanky, gangster-laden establishment. His dinner jacket reflects that balance, with fashionable details like super slim shawl lapels (with a slanted buttonhole on the left lapel) and padded shoulders that emphasize his power. The jacket’s long fit also evokes the era’s trend of sweeping elegance.

Ike strolls to meet Vera and Cliff for their outing.

The jacket also incorporates features more commonly seen on business suits like hip pocket flaps and a single vent. Typically, these aspects would not be welcome on formalwear, but the automatically implied informality of an off white-dinner jacket combined with Ike’s practicality (as well as the incredible research that Ramsey and her team conducted on the era’s fashions!) provide reasonable explanations in this case.

Ike’s flapped pockets and single vent are nontraditional dinner jacket elements.

An additional dose of informality is injected into the outfit with the black wool flat front trousers that Ike wears with it. Made by Theory, the trousers have side pockets, jetted back pockets that close with a button, plain-hemmed bottoms, and… belt loops. Actual formal trousers – recognizable by the satin side stripe that also isn’t present on Ike’s trousers – are almost always made with a fitted or adjustable waist meant to be worn without a belt.

Ike’s non-formal trousers are best seen in this production photo with the rest of the Magic City fellas.

According to the eBay auction page from November 2013, the trousers have a 33-inch waist and 29-inch inseam, although this seems considerably short for the 6’2″ Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Theory still offers similar pants on its page, including the slim-straight fit “Italian Wool Suit Pant” for $225. However, if you’re looking for something to wear with a dinner jacket while still sporting an Ike Evans-approved brand, Theory sells a wool twill “Marlo P Tuxedo Pant in Hamburg” for $285 that includes the same pocket structure as Ike’s trousers with the more formal waistband and side striping.

Speaking of Ike-approved brands, the formal shirt is from the appropriately-named Ike Behar. The white cotton twill shirt has a spread collar, a pleated front with ¼” pleats on each side of the placket, and rear side darts. The shirt buttons at the collar and below the waist with white plastic buttons, but the placket is reserved for the gold-filled white pearl studs that Ike wears.

Although he often waits until the last minute to tie his bow tie, Ike usually has his formal shirt covered with his dinner jacket even when lounging around the penthouse.

Not immediately evident on screen, Eric noted to me that the shirt cuffs have barrel cuffs designed to take links, more reminiscent of a rental’s “convertible cuffs” than most bespoke formal shirts which feature French cuffs. In her Times interview, Carol Ramsey mentions the issue of “how to deal with French cuffs on the slim sleeved shirts of the time.” It’s possible that the production’s solution was single cuffs, which would combat the added fabric at the cuffs in Miami’s warm climate. Ike’s cuff links are flat white pearl discs with gold links, nicely matching the studs on the front of his shirt.

NB: The Cuban-American shirtmaker Isaac “Ike” Behar launched his brand in New York in 1960, and the company is still going strong more than 50 years later under the management of Behar’s three sons while Behar concerns current work with supporting Miami Jewish Health Systems, interestingly paralleling Magic City and the plight of its similarly-named protagonist. (Although Behar has been widely recognized for his humanitarian efforts… likely not a recognition that would go to someone who partners with Ben Diamond.) Ike Behar’s site currently offers a 100% cotton “Spread Pleated Tuxedo Shirt” for $245.

Eric identified Ike’s black satin adjustable pointed-end bow tie as a vintage Brooks Brothers item. Proving that true style is timeless, Brooks Brothers still offers a pointed-end self-tie bow tie, crafted from black English silk, for $60.

Although when Ike actually does tie his bow tie, he looks sharp.

Ike covers his waist with a black polyester cummerbund that clasps in the back with an adjustable black strap through a silver-toned metal clips that Eric describes as “worn”, possibly indicating yet another true vintage item in Ike’s wardrobe. Apropos the garment’s general reputation as a “crumb catcher”, Ike correctly wears his cummerbund with the pleats opening toward the top.

All of the above items were included in the auction that Eric won. The fact that the shoes and socks – which aren’t seen very clearly in these scenes – weren’t included in the bundle tells me that:

a) The shoes are likely the same black patent leather horsebit loafers that Ike wears with all of his suits throughout the first season.
b) There is likely no major demand for screen-worn socks, and that’s probably a good thing.

Ike and his family (although that could be the whole room based on who he considers to be “family”) enjoy Vera’s show in “Crossroads” (Episode 2.04).

Ike appears to be wearing his 18-karat white gold Longines diamond-studded wristwatch which was appraised at $2,800 and auctioned in February 2014. The silver index dial rests under sapphire crystal and is surrounded by a bezel of 44 round single-cut diamonds. The black leather strap is described in the auction as “I.W. SUISSE black genuine lizard”.

Thanks to Eric, who confirmed that the preferred cigars of Ike and all of Magic City‘s smokers are Partagás from Havana.

Ike’s only accessory is the silver wedding band he wears on the third finger of his left hand, a refreshing symbol of one of the few faithfully-married male protagonists seen in recent period drama TV.

Go Big or Go Home

Compared to the most recent string of male anti-hero protagonists, Ike Evans is the best example of a focused family man. He remains faithful to his wife despite the certainty that a weaker-willed character (looking at you, Don Draper) would indulge himself in the vivacious temptations that surround him, excused by the era’s norms. Devoted to his wife, his two sons, and his young daughter, Ike’s vast ambition and business savvy are a means to an end; for him, this end is a secure life for his family. Ike’s compassion extends beyond his nuclear family to admiration for his deceased wife’s sister, Meg, and many of the staff at the Miramar Playa.

Unfortunately, Ike is forced to make a string of risky decisions to ensure that dream and his association with the brutal gangster Ben “the Butcher” Diamond signifies the Faustian consequences that even a shrewd businessman like Ike can’t foresee. Ike’s impulsively protective nature often places him and other things he values in harm’s way for the short-term protection of another; to protect Judi Silver, a loyal Miramar Playa call girl, he confronts and kills* a devious mob hitman. Judi’s life is saved for now, but Ike’s world – and thus the world of his hotel and his family – will be turned upside down.

* or, at least, “creates the perfect circumstances for the death of”

Despite his more altruistic nature, Ike would still superficially fit in well with the chain-smoking, hard-drinking boys’ club of shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. A product of his times, Ike is never seen without a smoke in his hand – whether it’s one of his filtered Kool Menthol cigarettes or a fat cigar – lit by his trusty silver Zippo lighter.

The impetus for Ike’s definitive actions in the pilot episode is Frank Sinatra’s pending performance at New Year’s Eve party that could make or break the future of the Miramar Playa. Frank would’ve been at the top of his game at the time, nearly at the end of his seven-year recording contract with Capitol that is defined by its unprecedented streak of artistic revival as Sinatra crooned hit after hit on his then-innovative notion of concept albums. New Year’s 1959 would fall right between the release of Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely and Come Dance with Me!, two of his most popular albums that included Sinatra standards like “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)” and “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads”, respectively.

Indeed, Sinatra had the world on a string by 1959, making Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler’s “I’ve Got the World on a String” an apt selection for Sinatra to croon to Ike and his guests while ringing in the new year.

Unfortunately, Ike’s world is on a string too, and the string is about to get snipped.

What to Imbibe

Ike’s preferred drink of choice is Scotch on the rocks, although he brings New Year’s Eve to a crescendo by tipping back some Grand Marnier in the Atlantis Lounge with his son Stevie.

Grand Marnier – and its iconic bottle – is well-known to imbibers as a delicious and versatile digestif that can be sipped neat, used to enhance a mixed drink, or even used as part of a dessert recipe. The French are most fond of this latter practice with popular flambé dishes like Crêpes Suzette making good use of this cordial.

Created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, Grand Marnier is an orange-flavored liqueur made from a blend of Cognac brandy and sugar with its distinctive flavor coming from the distilled essence of bitter orange. Although several variants have been developed since then, the most commonly seen is the original Cordon Rouge (“Red Ribbon”).

How to Get the Look

Ike Evans doesn’t stand on ceremony, and when he gets dressed up for a Sinatra concert, he does so on his terms… just as Ol’ Blue Eyes would appreciate it. He breaks a few rules of formalwear with the details of the jacket, the standard trousers, and his more casual loafers, but he remains comfortable and confident – two attributes far more important than being arbitrarily fashionable.

• Cream single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with slim shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, flapped hip pockets, single rear vent, and 3-button cuffs
• Black wool flat front Theory trousers with belt loops, side pockets, jetted button-through back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton twill Ike Behar formal shirt with spread collar, slim-pleated front, rear side darts, and single cuffs
• Black satin silk Brooks Brothers pointed-end bow tie
• Black polyester pleated cummerbund with adjustable back strap and silver metal adjuster clips
• Black patent leather horsebit loafers with silver horsebit detail
• Black dress socks
• Longines white gold wristwatch with round silver dial and diamond-studded bezel on black leather strap
• Silver wedding band

For an added touch of cool, Ike wears a pair of black acetate-framed wayfarer-style sunglasses.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the series.

Ike wears this cream dinner jacket in two first season episodes: “The Year of the Fin” (Episode 1.01) during the New Year’s Eve party and in “Castles Made of Sand” (Episode 1.03) when he interrupts his night out with Vera and Cliff to show Meg around the hotel.

Ike’s cream dinner jacket shows up again during the second season, notably during Vera’s dance performance in “Crossroads” (Episode 2.04).

The Quote

I’m a lucky man.

Ray Milland as Stanford White in The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955).

Vitals

Ray Milland as Stanford White, debonair playboy architect

New York City, June 1906

Film: The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
Release Date: October 1, 1955
Director: Richard Fleischer
Wardrobe Director: Charles Le Maire

Background

Tomorrow is the 110th anniversary of the famous Madison Square Garden shooting of architect Stanford White by the deranged Harry Kendall Thaw, one of the first of many incidents dubbed as “The Trial of the Century” by contemporary reporters due to the juicy scandal embellished by manipulative millionaires and illicit sex.

On June 25, 1906, the psychotic Thaw was escorting his wife, actress and artists’ model Evelyn Nesbit, to the premiere performance of Mam’zelle Champagne at Madison Square Garden’s rooftop theater. Nesbit, renowned for her beauty as the archetypical “Gibson Girl”, had married Thaw the previous year despite his violent and manipulative desire to control her. One of Thaw’s most tenacious provocations was the subject of Stanford White, Nesbit’s former lover and the man who had – in Thaw’s eyes – robbed her of her virtue.

The real Stanford White, in fact a heavily mustached man, sometime in the early 1900s.

Thaw, born in Pittsburgh to a coal and rail baron family, knew nothing but privilege throughout his life. This distorted and spoiled existence – combined with his obvious mental instability – led to his development into a reckless and selfish profligate who could be triggered by the most petty of slights. He began a manipulative campaign to meet and seduce Evelyn Nesbit after spying her in a show, at the time unaware of her previous liaison with his imagined rival Stanford White. Learning that the object of his latest affection had once been involved with White enraged Thaw, who responded violently and would frequently force both himself and Nesbit to recount the events of her initial seduction. His obsession built up for years until all three found themselves taking in the same summer show on the rooftop of the White-designed Madison Square Garden.

Thaw, armed with a revolver and a perverted sense of justice, approached White and fatally shot him three times before pronouncing, “You’ve ruined my wife!”

Despite the obvious selfishness of this violent act, Thaw’s lawyer is shown in the film summing up their defense tactic of “Those twelve men in the jury must be convinced that Harry K. Thaw was the defender of American womanhood,” an argument that may have led to Thaw being found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Fifty years later, Nesbit herself served as the technical adviser for a somewhat sanitized adaptation of this early chapter in her life, the 1955 film The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, borrowing the moniker that stuck to Nesbit after her and White’s activities in his apartment were made public. After Marilyn Monroe turned down the role, Joan Collins was cast as Evelyn Nesbit with Ray Milland and Farley Granger portraying White and Thaw, respectively.

The film mostly delivers a straightforward retelling of the facts, including the unfair vilification of Evelyn Nesbit in favor of examining the actions and motivations of the two possessive, hopelessly privileged, and ultimately careless men in her life. Ray Milland portrays a correctly debonair (though not-quite-caddish-enough) Stanford White who assumes control over Nesbit’s life after feeling the guilt of his manipulative seduction of her.

White expects us to respect him for resisting the advances of a 16-year-old woman three decades his junior, which he does by reciting pretentious poetry about their age difference and using it to claim superiority when making decisions about their “romance”:

That’s all I need, having you cry now. You’re going to get some food and conversation from a Dutch uncle.

Although White’s control is less violent than Thaw’s, it’s no less manipulative and perfectly illustrated by the pleasure he exudes from pushing her around in the titular swing, a reflection of both his desire to control her and his sexualization of the age difference from which he also derives so much obvious guilt.

What’d He Wear?

We first meet Stanford White in the summer of 1901, wearing a shining example of gentlemanly white tie and black tailcoat while bickering with Harry Thaw over a table at an exclusive Manhattan restaurant. Five years later, and five years deeper into the Edwardian era, White is shown returning to the restaurant wearing the increasingly popular black tie and tuxedo.

Stanford White moves through the tailcoat-clad restaurant in his slightly less formal dinner jacket.

According to the Black Tie Guide:

At the beginning of Edward’s reign evening etiquette was the same two-tier system introduced in his mother’s era. The formal tailcoat ensemble remained de rigueur for an evening out in public alongside ladies’ elaborate evening gowns while the “dinner coat” or “Tuxedo coat” was largely confined to a man’s home, club or stag parties. Warm weather also exempted men from the full-dress rule, making the alternative jacket ever more popular at upscale holiday getaways on both sides of the Atlantic.

This being a warm summer night in 1906, White’s “alternative” dinner jacket would have been more acceptable in this context than it would have at the beginning of the decade, although the presence of women both at dinner and the show would have likely meant that white tie would still be expected from a gentleman of Stanford White’s social standing.

Stanford White wears a classic midnight blue single-breasted dinner jacket with shawl lapels faced in a smooth satin silk. The shoulders are padded with roped sleeveheads, and the back is ventless.

White surveys the scene over at Madison Square Garden.

White’s dinner jacket has a welted breast pocket, where he carries a white silk handkerchief, and jetted pockets that sit straight on his hips. Both the single button in the front and the 3-button cuffs are covered in the same shiny satin as the lapel facings. His midnight blue wool formal trousers matches the dinner jacket with satin side stripes that reflect the lapel facings.

Throughout the first decade of the 20th century, the tuxedo was still finding its awkward place among the rules of a stricter society. By the end of the decade (and the Edwardian era), the black bow tie and waistcoat were standardized and would become enduring rules for the basics of men’s formal dress. White wears a single-breasted waistcoat in midnight blue satin that rises to mid-chest with a soft V-shaped opening, self-covered buttons, and no lapels.

Two diamond studs are visible above the waistcoat opening, prominently fastened to the starched plain bib of White’s formal shirt. The shirt likely has single cuffs with matching diamond links. The shirt has a stiff standing imperial (or “poke”) collar, a style that would be gradually supplanted by the detached wing collar as the era progressed. White’s black satin silk bow tie has a slim butterfly shape.

Only the somewhat outdated poke collar dates this outfit to the early 1900s. Otherwise, it would look just as fashionable and stylish today.

Although only briefly seen, White appears to be wearing a pair of black patent leather balmorals with black dress socks, certainly a fitting choice of footwear although both dress boots and pumps were still popular alternatives for both white and black tie at the turn of the century.

Black silk top hats were still the expected headgear for formally-dressed men of the Edwardian era, but White opts for the more summer-friendly straw boater with a black ribbon and a brown leather band along the inside.

White coolly sits with his hat on his table when Harry Thaw approaches him with his gold revolver drawn.

A brief earlier scene that finds White speaking to both Evelyn Nesbit and her mother features the same outfit under a black single-breasted Chesterfield coat made from milled melton cloth with three hidden buttons under a fly front, straight flapped hip pockets, and Tautz-style straight-gorge peak lapels.

White mansplains a few things about courtship to Mrs. Nesbit (Glenda Farrell).

He also briefly wears this coat when wearing white tie and escorting Evelyn up to his apartment for the titular “red velvet swing” incident.

How to Get the Look

Joan Collins and Ray Milland in a promotional photo for The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955).

As a cosmopolitan socialite, Stanford White would be knowledgable about cutting-edge fashion, just as comfortable breaking the rules of sartorial decorum as he is comfortable with breaking the rules of courtship.

• Midnight blue wool single-breasted 1-button dinner jacket with satin-faced shawl lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
• White formal shirt with standing imperial/poke collar, 2 diamond studs on plain front bib, and single cuffs
• Black satin slim butterfly-style bow tie
• Midnight blue single-breasted formal waistcoat
• Midnight blue wool formal trousers with satin side striping
• Black patent leather balmorals
• Black dress socks
• Straw boater with black ribbon

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Buy the movie.

Paula Uruburu’s 2009 book American Eve is a great, well-researched read that sheds plenty of light on the story and the era as a whole.

The Quote

You don’t have to finish that sentence, Mrs. Nesbit. I’m a man who shaves himself. No pleasure for me to look into these eyes of mine every morning.