William Powell and Myrna Loy in After the Thin Man (1936)… with Skippy as Asta

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William Powell as Nick Charles, retired private detective

San Francisco, New Year’s Eve 1936

Film: After the Thin Man
Release Date: December 25, 1936
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Wardrobe Credit: Dolly Tree

Background

After the Thin Man was released on Christmas 1936 as a continuation of The Thin Man, as its title implies. The all-original story was drafted by Dashiell Hammett himself immediately after the success of the first film, although Hammett had first envisioned circumstances that would send his witty detective duo back to New York City. Eventually, the decision was made to have the Charles couple solving a crime in their hometown of San Francisco.

The last we saw Nick was lounging in his silk dressing gown and pajamas while riding the train from New York with Nora. After what must have been a three-year-long train ride, they finally arrive in San Francisco just in time for New Year’s Eve… and a dreaded invitation to the snobby abode of Nora’s elderly aunt Katherine (Jessie Ralph) and her lovelorn cousin Selma (Elissa Landi). The visit quickly turns into an investigation as Nick and Nora are set on the case of finding Selma’s absent husband Robert.

Nora: Aunt Katherine wants to speak to you.
Nick: What have I done now?
Nora: Do you know why Robert wasn’t here tonight?
Nick: Sure, because he’s smart.
Nora: I’m not fooling, darling, he’s disappeared.
Nick: That’s swell. Now if we could just get Aunt Katherine to disappear…

What’d He Wear?

Aunt Katherine is a traditionalist, so a visit to her stuffy Frisco mansion naturally calls for full evening dress, a step above the formality of Nick’s black tie dinner ensemble in The Thin Man. Nick Charles shows up to the Forrest residence in elegant and contemporary “white tie” evening dress, tailored exquisitely to flatter William Powell’s lean figure.

The black wool evening tailcoat has wide peak lapels faced in black satin silk and a pink carnation attached to the left lapel. The tailcoat’s only outer pocket is a welted pocket on the left breast, where Nick wears a white linen display kerchief.

For more than a century, this type of dress coat (also known as a “claw-hammer coat” or “swallow-tail coat”) had been designed to not fasten in the front, so the six-button double-breasted front with its three satin-covered buttons on each side are purely vestigal. The three buttons on each cuff and two ornamental buttons on the back waist – above the tails – all covered in the same black satin silk.

The dress coat is cutaway from the back tails to a square-cut, waist-length front, just long enough to correctly cover the white waistcoat and prevent a disruption in the elegant lines of the outfit. The long sweep of the tailcoat’s wide lapels and the V-shaped button formation work together with the high waisted trousers to enhance the appearance.

Nick begrudgingly makes the acquaintance of Nora’s well-to-do relations.

Nick wears the traditional white evening shirt with a detachable white wing collar and a stiff marcella bib with a single small, round, pearl-like stud at mid-chest. The stiff single cuffs are each linked with a set of plain white semi-sphere links.

Nick takes solace in a highball while gangsters and police battle it out in the Lichee’s back office.

The white tie that gives the dress code its name is a traditional thistle-shaped cotton marcella bow tie that Nick wears in front of the wing collar tabs.

The white waistcoat had been standardized for full evening dress since the early 20th century when the black waistcoat was relegated to the less formal black tie code. Nick wears a textured white cotton marcella single-breasted low-cut waistcoat with square-cut shawl lapels, three self-covered buttons, two jetted pockets, and a notched bottom.

Bottoms up!

Nick’s formal trousers are black wool to match the waistcoat with double-braided stripes down the side of each leg in black satin silk to match the tailcoat lapels and button coverings. Double braiding has always been traditional for full-dress trousers, although the single side stripe of black-tie formal trousers is also an acceptable alternative. The straight side pockets of Nick’s trousers are cut along the side seams just behind the braiding.

Concealing the trouser waistband is a must with full evening dress, and the ideal high-waisted look (which was also quite fashionable during the film’s 1930s production) ensures that the top of Nick’s trousers are well-hidden above the bottom of his cutaway tailcoat front and waistcoat.

Flat front trousers had been the standard leading up to World War I, but postwar fashions of the 1920s and ’30s popularized pleats. Thus, our fashionplate detective sports double forward pleats on his full-dress trousers.

Nick is helped out of his overcoat at the Lichee, briefly flashing his coat maker’s label – are any eagle-eyed vintage clothing enthusiasts able to identify it?

The full break of Nick’s plain-hemmed trouser bottoms covers the top of his black leather cap-toe oxfords, the most acceptable footwear alternative to the traditional patent leather opera pumps. Nick wears black ribbed dress socks.

Promotional photo of Myrna Loy and William Powell for After the Thin Man (1936).

The homburg was an acceptable headgear alternative for white tie, but Nick spares no formality and opts for the classic black silk top hat with a duller black silk grosgrain band.

Nick wears a black wool knee-length Chestefield coat. The peak lapels have a classic formal velvet collar and satin facings to coordinate with the formal evening tailcoat worn under it; this is clearly not a coat to be worn with a business suit. The single-breasted coat fastens with a single cloth-covered button at the waist under a fly front. The cuffs have a short vent but no buttons, and there is a a single welted breast pocket and a widely flapped pocket on each hip.

Nick, in full white tie kit with proper outerwear (sans gloves), waits for Nora to enter the Lichee.

Nick’s white evening scarf is likely silk with frayed edges.

Nick makes the most of the aged Henry’s services.

By the 1930s, wristwatches had eclipsed pocket watches as the timepiece of choice for most gentlemen, so the subtle tank watch that Nick wears on his left wrist would not have been a violation of etiquette, especially as it remains relatively unseen.

Go Big or Go Home

Nick and Nora arrive at the Lichee just as Polly Byrnes (Penny Singleton, later famous for her titular role in the Blondie series) is entertaining a New Year’s Eve crowd with the boisterous “Blow That Horn”. The tempo later slows down for her performance of “Smoke Dreams”, a more romantic ballad written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed that makes several appearances throughout After the Thin Man.

Although, in the words of the immortal Mama Cass, you can always feel free to “make your own kind of music.”

Of course, when the clock strikes midnight, the band jumps into a jazzy rendition of the traditional “Auld Lang Syne” as couples greet 1937 with kisses and resolutions.

Nick: Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?
Nora: Not yet. Any complaints or suggestions?
Nick: A few.
Nora: Which?
Nick: Complaints.
Nora: All right shoot.
Nick: Well, you don’t scold, you don’t nag, and you look far too pretty in the mornings.
Nora: All right, I’ll remember: must scold, must nag, mustn’t be too pretty in the mornings.

What to Imbibe

After drowning his sorrows with plenty of brandy at Aunt Katherine’s “soiree”, Nick Charles is more than happy to enjoy the free champagne offered by Dancer (Joseph Calleia) at the Lichee… though Dancer is less than happy when Nick’s party ends up including a number of ex-cons with names like “Willie the Weeper”.

Joe: Champagne, boys.
Joe’s pal: Me too.
Nick: Sure, Champagne! Willie?
Willie the Weeper: Scotch… with a Champagne chaser.
Nora: Likewise.

One hand affixed to the brandy decanter, Nick finds ways of entertaining himself in the company of Aunt Katherine’s senile dinner guests before absconding with Nora to the livelier environs of the Lichee.

But why do we drink champagne on New Year’s Eve? And how do even troglodytes like Joe know to order it at midnight?

Check out this mashed.com article about the history of champagne on New Year’s Eve… and the “villainous compound” of arrack punch that toasted many a new year in the early 1800s.

How to Get the Look

Though full evening dress may be less-than-practical attire for ringing in 2018, the white tie and tails ensemble that Nick Charles (William Powell) wears for New Year’s Eve 1936 in After the Thin Man remains a standard for timeless formalwear should you ever find yourself in a situation calling for the finest of finery.

• Black wool evening tailcoat with wide satin-faced peak lapels, welted breast pocket, satin-covered 6-button double-breasted front, 4-button cuffs, and tails with 2 ornamental buttons
  • Pink carnation, worn on left lapel
  • White linen display kerchief, worn in breast pocket
• White formal shirt with detachable wing collar, stiff marcella bib, and single cuffs
  • White small round studs
  • White semi-sphere cuff links
• White cotton marcella thistle-shaped self-tied bow tie
• White cotton marcella single-breasted 3-button waistcoat with square-cut shawl lapels, notched bottom, and jetted pockets
• Black wool double forward-pleated formal trousers with double satin side braiding, straight/on-seam side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Black ribbed dress socks
• Black wool single-breasted Chesterfield coat with satin-faced peak lapels, velvet collar, fly front, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, vented plain cuffs, and single back vent
• Black silk top hat
• White silk evening scarf with frayed bottom
• Gold tank watch on dark leather strap

I speculate that Nick wears a black wool tailcoat and trousers, although midnight blue had been a fashionable alternative for more than a decade after the trailblazing Prince of Wales introduced a midnight evening suit that would allow his intricate tailoring to be better noticed in photographs.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the entire film series and Dashiell Hammett’s original treatments outlining After the Thin Man and Another Thin Man in the single volume released as Return of the Thin Man… significant for being the last fiction that Hammett composed during his life.

The Quote

We want to go someplace and get the taste of respectability out of our mouths.

Footnote

After taking his guest’s hat, coat, and scarf, the elderly Henry the butler directs Nick to follow him, saying “Walk this way, sir,” as he stumbles toward the drawing room. The cheeky Nick, never the sort to miss an opportunity for wit, replies, “Well, I’ll try,” and affects a stagger to his walk as he follows him.

More modern viewers may recognize the joke from Young Frankenstein, featuring Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman as the hunchback Igor. Feldman later told Robert Ross of The Bookseller that Mel Brooks kept the joke in over the initial objections of Feldman and Wilder:

It’s a terribly old music hall joke. I did that to make the crew laugh and Mel Brooks said, “Let’s shoot it.”

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Die Another Day (2002)

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Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, suave British government agent

London, Winter 2002

Film: Die Another Day
Release Date: November 20, 2002
Director: Lee Tamahori
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming

Background

I received a request for this outfit from Die Another Day which, for all of its shortcomings as a James Bond adventure, featured Pierce Brosnan’s 007 in elegant tailored clothing that is always worthy of discussion. Given the extreme chill in the air for the 00-7th of January today, it felt appropriate to explore his luxurious and layered businesswear upon arriving in London and reconnecting with his MI6 allies at the agency’s secret satellite station in an abandoned Underground tube station at Vauxhall Cross.

Bond: You know, you’re cleverer than you look.
Q: Still, better than looking cleverer than you are.

John Cleese’s Q (or is that “R”) returns from The World is Not Enough after Desmond Llewelyn’s death in December 1999, and Cleese pays homage to both his predecessor as well as the franchise as the two waltz through a bevy of relics and gadgets from forty years of preceding Bond films before leaving the past behind and embracing the future in the form of a virtual reality shooting “range” and an invisible Aston Martin.

Bond: You must be joking.
Q: As I learned from my predecessor, Bond, I never joke about my work.

Readers in the Northern Hemisphere, take pride in your attire when heading to the office in this bitter cold by taking inspiration from 007’s gray pinstripe suit and navy cashmere coat.

What’d He Wear?

James Bond’s gray pinstripe Brioni suit and navy cashmere guards coat in London is an elegant business ensemble that has been written about in equally elegant detail by Matt Spaiser at The Suits of James Bond, so I would direct readers to that site for a deeper analysis of the outfit. (Read about the suit here and the coat here.)

This classic business suit continues Pierce Brosnan’s tradition of wearing Brioni as James Bond. The single-breasted jacket has notch lapels that roll to a higher two-button stance, a welted breast pocket, gently slanted flapped hip pockets with a ticket pocket on the right, and double vents.

A bemused 007 frustrates an unamused Q during a tour of forty years of “old relics.”

Unlike the time of Brosnan’s introduction in GoldenEye, pleated trousers were passé by 2002 so 007 sports trousers with a darted front even though pleats may have better accomodated Brosnan’s more ample physique at the time and would have prevented the unfortunate “bunching” effect at the groin when Bond is seated at his desk.

Production photo of director Lee Tamahori on set with Pierce Brosnan.

As opposed to most of his predecessors, Brosnan’s Bond wore belts with all of his lounge suits, both a concession to fashionable trends of the late ’90s and early 2000s and to better stabilize the shoulder holsters for his increasingly larger sidearms. This belt is black leather with a squared polished steel single-prong buckle.

When Brosnan’s Bond hung up his Walther PPK in Tomorrow Never Dies in favor of the larger, more modern Walther P99, he also traded in his Galco Executive shoulder holster for the larger, all-black custom shoulder rig in a harness that connects over both shoulders and fastens under the holster itself to the left side of his belt.

Production photo of Bond wielding his Walther P99. This photo by Greg Williams would be used on the cover of the paperback version of Williams’ Bond on Set: The Making of Bond 20.

Under the holster, Brosnan wears a light blue shirt identified on The Suits of James Bond as another Brioni piece. The shirt has a wide spread collar, front placket, and double (French) cuffs worn with silver links, likely from Dunhill, although the links have been removed and the sleeves rolled up to the elbow for the VR sequence set in MI6’s offices.

British Die Hard.

Turnbull & Asser still offers three versions of this Die Another Day jacquard weave tie, although none in the original color scheme from the film. The closest is the “Black and Blue Silk Tie” (currently $117 here) with a charcoal ground of gray circles, each shadowed against the left side of the circle with a sky blue crescent moon. The tie is also available in purple and pink and light blue and red; interestingly, these two latter ties are shadowed against the circle’s right border rather than the left.

The tie actually worn by Pierce Brosnan on screen is a series of navy-shadowed light blue circles on a gray ground.

Bond demands to get back to work.

Turnbull & Asser occasionally reissues this tie for sale, and you can read more about it at James Bond Lifestyle. Magnoli Clothiers also offers their own replica, the appropriately named “Brosnan Tie”, for $60. (Brosnan also wears a second tie with this outfit later in the film during Moneypenny’s own VR “experience”, explored in The Suits of James Bond’s post.)

Bond wears a pair of black calf cap-toe derby shoes, likely from Church’s as Brosnan had previously worn their shoes for his first three Bond films. The trousers have a full break, but Bond’s dark socks can be seen as he strolls into Blades (actually the Reform Club at 104 Pall Mall in London) after his “first” encounter with Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens).

Bond inspects his new set of wheels.

“Now, a new watch. This should be your 20th, I believe,” says Q as he hands Bond his latest watch, an Omega Seamaster 300M Chronometer 2531.80.00. Brosnan had first strapped on an Omega Seamaster Professional in GoldenEye, but that quartz model was quickly replaced by the 2531.80.00 Chronometer with the Omega 1120 automatic movement in the following film, Tomorrow Never Dies.

Bond’s stainless 2531.80.00 Chronometer has a blue bezel and blue dial with a 3:00 date window, worn on a stainless link bracelet with a deployment clasp.

Bond inspects his new Aston Martin in disbelief.

Regarding the pièce de résistance… what differentiates Bond’s full-length navy double-breasted overcoat as a “guards coat” rather than a Chesterfield or a paletot? The half-belted back.

Inspired by outerwear worn by traditional English Officers of the Guard, the guards coat is typically a double-breasted coat with a six-button front that can be in a full-buttoning 6×3 formation or a 6×2 like Bond’s with the top vestigal buttons spaced further apart. The pockets are welted for minimalist formality as opposed to the patch pockets of an Ulster coat, though Bond’s pocket flaps nudge it closer to Chesterfield territory. The half-belt cinches the waist in the back and keeps the fit closer to the body, though Bond’s decision to wear his coat unbuttoned somewhat negates this effect while also sacrificing the elegance and warmth of double-breasted outerwear.

A tense meeting with M in the abandoned Underground… “an abandoned station for abandoned agents.”

You can read more about Bond’s elegant navy cashmere Brioni guards coat and his dark leather gloves in this post at The Suits of James Bond.

Go Big or Go Home

…in an invisible car. Wait a sec-

Even Bond seems incredulous at his latest gadget, a 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish (or “Vanish” if you’re in the mood for a headache-inducing eyeroll) supposedly equipped with “adaptive camouflage” as “tiny cameras on all sides project the image they see onto a light-emitting polymer on the opposite side.”

“Oh, very good.”

The sleek gray Aston Martin was fitted with “all the usual refinements” including an ejector seat, torpedoes, and target-seeking shotguns that 007 immediately employs to “shoot through” the manual.

Though one could call it clever, the invisible Aston Martin grew to symbolize the series’ increasing reliability on going over the top, whether with impossible gadgets or extensive reliance on CGI technology. Bond initially quips to Q, “I think you’ve been down here too long,” though his statement could be interpreted to reflect the franchise’s need to emerge from its action-oriented rabbit hole and return to its espionage roots.

Pierce Brosnan and Judi Dench in Die Another Day (2002)

How to Get the Look

James Bond’s gray pinstripe suit, coordinated shirt and tie, and navy guards coat is ideal winter business wear… even if his vanishing rear-wheel-drive sports car isn’t exactly practical for your commute.

• Dark gray pinstripe Brioni suit:
  • Single-breasted 2-button suit jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slightly slanted flapped hip pockets with ticket pocket, 4-button cuffs, and double vents
  • Darted-front trousers with belt loops, straight side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Light blue Brioni shirt with spread collar, front placket, and double/French cuffs
  • Silver Dunhill cuff links
• Gray silk Turnbull & Asser tie with navy-shadowed light blue circles
• Black leather shoulder holster (RHD) for Walther P99 pistol
• Black leather belt with polished steel squared single-prong buckle
• Black calf leather cap-toe derby shoes
• Dark gray dress socks
• Navy cashmere double-breasted guards coat with peak lapels, 6×2-button front, straight flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and half-belted back with single vent
• Dark leather gloves
• Omega Seamaster 300M Chronometer 2531.80.00 with 39mm stainless case, blue bezel and dial (with 3:00 date window), and stainless link bracelet

The Gun

One of my favorite sequences in Die Another Day was the training scenario that begins with James Bond, sitting in his office late at night, sipping whiskey and cleaning his pistol. (Not a euphemism.)

Bond’s Walther P99.

007 hears a suspicious sound… good thing he has his sidearm in hand! Bond loads a fresh magazine into his trusty Walther P99 and leaps up to investigate, discovering that MI6 is being taken over by terrorists! (RIP Moneypenny.)

More razor-focused on tactical precision than we’ve ever seen before, Bond takes down the terrorists before coming face-to-face with M (Judi Dench) in the hands of a stereotypical criminal complete with dark knit cap and sunglasses. Bond immediately regards the situation, makes a decision, and fires… much to the dismay of Q, who steps into the scene as the virtual reality simulation is complete.

Q: Forgive my mentioning it, 007, but a perfect marksman isn’t really supposed to shoot his own boss.
Bond: Check the replay. You’ll find he’s dead and she’s only got a flesh wound.
Q: There’s always an excuse, isn’t there, 00-zero?

007 shoots his boss in order to… protect her? Good luck convincing your HR department of that one, Mr. Bond.

Bond: Give me the old fashioned target range, Quartermaster.
Q: Yes, well, it’s called the future, so get used to it.

The frequent reminders of “this is the future” may get a little tired across Die Another Day, but this is still a very slick action sequence that evokes the best of Bond video games while also allowing Brosnan to show off his Walther-wielding skills after four films as 007.

The Walther PPK had been James Bond’s sidearm of choice since Ian Fleming’s 1958 novel Dr. No, but it was first retired after nearly 40 years when Pierce Brosnan’s Bond encountered a Walther P99 in Wai Lin’s armory during the events of Tomorrow Never Dies, released the same year as the P99’s 1997 introduction. Walther’s updated P99 with its internal striker and standard double-stack magazine carrying up to 15 rounds of 9x19mm Parabellum gave Bond a tactical advantage during the age of video games, and Daniel Craig even carried one in his first 007 outing, Casino Royale, before reverting to the classic PPK in Quantum of Solace.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

Point taken.

With regards to Rosa Klebb.

Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald on Boardwalk Empire (Episode 1.09: “Belle Femme”)

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Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, corrupt Atlantic City politician and bootlegger

Atlantic City, January 1920

Series: Boardwalk Empire
Seasons: 1 – 2
Air Dates: September 19, 2010 – December 11, 2011
Creator: Terence Winter
Costume Designer: John A. Dunn
Tailor: Martin Greenfield

Background

In less than two hours, liquor will be declared illegal by decree of the distinguished gentlemen of our nation’s congress… to those beautiful ignorant bastards!

In the first episode of Boardwalk Empire, Enoch “Nucky” Thompson raises a glass to toast the ratification of the Volstead Act, a constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States, effective at midnight on January 16, 1920, exactly 98 years ago today.

It’s not that Atlantic City’s unabashedly crooked treasurer is a teetotaler, but the good Mr. Thompson already has plans in place to make he and his corrupt political pals fabulously wealthy by circumventing the new law of the land.

What’d He Wear?

Brown plaid and checked suits are a staple of Nucky Thompson’s wardrobe, particularly in the early years of Boardwalk Empire. In just the first two seasons, he is seen wearing a brown glen plaid suit with a salmon windowpane overcheck, a brown tonal plaid suit with a shawl-collar waistcoat, a taupe flannel plaid suit with pink and salmon checks, a taupe-and-purple striped plaid suit with dog-eared lapels, and the comparatively subtle charcoal brown windowpane suit that is the subject of this post.

The Suit

For a few days in his hotel room office – and more than a few nights out at Babbette’s supper club – Nucky wears this charcoal brown flannel twill three-piece suit with a rich peach-colored windowpane overcheck almost certainly tailored by Martin Greenfield of Brooklyn.

“A Return to Normalcy” (Episode 1.12)

The charcoal brown suiting provides a chameleon-like quality that can make the suit look dark gray or blue in certain light. According to previously cited research from Gentleman’s Gazette, charcoal brown suiting was developed in 1938 as “a new color becoming to all men”, a conservative alternative to the traditional blue and gray created by weaving dark brown yarns with black or charcoal yarns. (The late 1930s would technically make the color anachronistic for scenes set in 1920 and 1921, but just because the color hadn’t been marketed until more than a decade later doesn’t mean trendsetting trailblazer Nucky couldn’t have requested custom charcoal brown suits from his tailor.)

Nucky’s long single-breasted suit jacket has notch lapels that roll to the top of a high two-button stance, placed between the axis of the welted breast pocket and the rear-slanting flapped hip pockets. Buscemi’s Nucky Thompson always wears a red carnation in his left lapel, an affectation borrowed from the character’s real-life inspiration, Enoch “Nucky” Johnson.

“Boardwalk Empire” (Episode 1.01)

The jacket has natural shoulders, a long single back vent, and four buttons at the end of each sleeve with a “turnback” cuff, an Edwardian detail consistent on all of Nucky’s early suit jackets.

Nucky flashes his unique turnback cuffs during an afternoon of cigarettes, coffee, and the Commodore’s testimony about his near-fatal poisoning in “A Return to Normalcy” (Episode 1.12).

The matching single-breasted waistcoat (vest) has six buttons that Nucky wears completely fastened as the lowest button is placed above the cutaway of the notched bottom (though some sartorial purists would still say to never fasten the lowest waistcoat button.) The satin-covered back is bronze with brown shadow stripes to match the lining of the suit jacket. Unlike some of his other three-piece suits, this waistcoat has no lapels.

The waistcoat has four welted pockets, and Nucky wears his gold Elgin open-faced pocket watch in the lower left pocket, connected on a 18″ gold chain to an ornate fob described by ScreenBid as “a trio of gold cubes with tiny ruby chips.” The watch has winding stem at 12:00 and a white second-hand sub-dial at the 6:00 position. He wears his watch chain through a small hole between the third and fourth buttons of his waistcoat in the traditional “double Albert” style.

Nucky explains a few things to his hapless political henchmen in “Paris Green” (Episode 1.11).

The waistcoat effectively conceals the waistband of his high-rise flat front trousers, which are appropriately worn with suspenders (braces) rather than a belt. The only time we actually see Nucky’s suspenders with this suit are when he finds himself in an increasing state of undress at the hands of “Ukulele Girl” (Lauren Sharpe), a musically inclined prostitute in “Family Limitation” (episode 1.06); his suspenders in this scene are beige with a wide red stripe.

Nucky finds himself struggling to “be good” in “Family Limitation” (Episode 1.06). Note the striped lining on the back of his waistcoat.

As Nucky realistically cycles through his colorful closet, this suit makes plenty of appearances in the show’s first season and sporadic appearances in the second as he begins to phase in a new wardrobe. Interestingly, little is seen of Nucky’s footwear with this suit, although he is seen several times in a pair of black leather lace-up shoes (“Family Limitation” and “Belle Femme”), a pair of light brown leather oxfords (“A Return to Normalcy”), and a combination of both with his black-and-brown spectator shoes in the pilot episode.

A contemplative moment in the pilot episode, brought to you by Piedmont cigarettes, Fralinger’s Original Salt Water Taffy, and Tootsie Rolls.

These may be the same black and tan calf leather six-eyelet wingtip oxford brogues that Nucky notably wears in the show’s credits sequence. The original manufacturer, Italian firm Forzieri, proudly includes in the description of these handcrafted $660 shoes that they were featured in “the opening credits of Boardwalk Empire” (available for purchase here.)

Shirts and Ties

All of Nucky’s colorful cotton dress shirts have a front placket and self-shirted double (French) cuffs. Per the traditions of the early 1920s, Nucky exclusively wears dress shirts with detachable collars; the “self-folding” attached collar had only been patented in 1919 by the Phillips-Jones Corporation (now Phillips-Van Heusen) and even then was primarily the domain of the young and/or poor like Jimmy Darmody.

Nucky’s “keyhole-cut” collar was created specifically by Boardwalk Empire costume designer John Dunn, who explained the design to Esquire just before the show premiered in September 2010. “A period collar that has a little keyhole cutout in the center — when you close the collar with the collar bar, there was then a little hole that the necktie would come out of,” described Dunn. “No one else was allowed to wear that.” The “keyhole-cut” collar lasted for three seasons before the show advanced further into the roaring ’20s and men’s fashions began taking more cues from youth and practicality than old-fashioned formalism.

Below, I’ve detailed the unique shirt and tie combinations that Nucky wears in each episode that features this suit.

“Boardwalk Empire” (Episode 1.01)

The first day of Prohibition in the United States is presented as “a day in the life” for Nucky Thompson, beginning with his holding court at the Ritz Carlton, strolling the boardwalk, and meeting mob chieftains from New York and Chicago to discuss their profitable futures in the wake of the Volstead Act.

The opulent treasurer wears a lavender shirt with a subtle circle print, the same that he wears in the opening credits. His pale blue silk tie has an ornate repeating motif in salmon and cream that echoes the peach windowpane of the suit.

“Boardwalk Empire” (Episode 1.01): An immediately lovestruck Nucky sees Margaret for the first time.

In the pilot episode, Nucky wore a set of vintage octagonal silver-toned cuff links with an onyx ring around a clear stone on the face of each link.

“Broadway Limited” (Episode 1.03)

The suit makes a brief appearance two episodes later when Nucky stops into a psychic’s shop on the boardwalk to meet with Gillian Darmody (Gretchen Mol). He wars a pale blue shirt striped in alternating blue and thin rust-colored stripes. His red silk tie is covered with a blue patterned motif.

“Broadway Limited” (Episode 1.03): Judgement drips from Nucky’s face as he confronts Gillian Darmody in the tarot-reading shop.

“Family Limitation” (Episode 1.06)

This charcoal brown windowpane suit makes two appearances in the show’s sixth episode, first during a brief scene in Nucky’s office at the Ritz Carlton when he and Eli (Shea Whigham) are laying the pressure on an unwelcome Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza). Nucky wears the same pale blue shadow-striped shirt as in “Broadway Limited” with a copper and purple paisley silk tie. This tie would prove to be his most popular tie to wear with this suit, also showing up in the first and second season finales.

“Family Limitation” (Episode 1.06): Nucky makes it clear that Lucky Luciano isn’t welcome to enjoy any of Atlantic City’s dazzling attractions.

Later in the episode, Nucky treats Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague (Chris Mulkey) to a seafood dinner to discuss Nucky’s potential highway, followed by an evening of oysters, champagne, and a beautiful naked woman (Lauren Sharpe) serenading the gents on her ukulele.

Nucky wears his lavender circle-printed shirt from the pilot episode with a purple and maroon jacquard silk tie woven into floral medallions. (This is the same shirt and John Kocis tie combination that Nucky wears in the credits sequence with his charcoal striped suit.) Purple is the traditional color of royalty, and Nucky is certainly treated like a king in this context.

Nucky wines and dines Frank Hague.

The real Mayor Hague was reportedly so infamous for his corruption and greed that one woman oversaw his funeral procession in 1956 holding a sign that read “God have mercy on his sinful, greedy soul.”

“Home” (Episode 1.07)

Night out with the mistresses finds Nucky drinking in one of Chalky’s North Side speakeasies with Harry Price (Michael Badalucco) and avoiding getting roped into a literal Ponzi scheme as the garrulous Harry eagerly describes his investments with “this Italian fella up in Boston.”

Nucky wears a yellow shirt with subtle sets of wide white stripes that are bordered on each side and split down the center with three thin blue stripes. His tie is the navy blue, mustard yellow, and brick red “uphill”-striped silk tie that he also wore with a yellow shirt in “The Ivory Tower” (Episode 1.02) with his charcoal striped double-breasted suit.

“Home (Episode 1.07): Nucky is perplexed after an exchange with Chalky White.

“Belle Femme” (Episode 1.09)

Nucky’s visit with the Commodore and a night out with Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald) and Ed Bader (Kevin O’Rourke) is followed by an assassination attempt by the D’Alessio brothers in “Belle Femme” (Episode 1.09), all to the tune of Kathy Brier channeling Sophie Tucker for her signature hit, “Some of These Days”.

He wears a solid peach shirt with a gold silk tie that is printed with an orange and lavender leaf motif.

“Belle Femme” (Episode 1.09): Nucky tries to make sense of the Commodore’s ramblings.

“Paris Green” (Episode 1.11)

A tough conversation with Eli leads to a meeting with crooked political cronies in Nucky’s suite at the Ritz. He once again wears his lavender circle-printed shirt (as in the pilot episode and in “Family Limitation”) but now with a pink-and-gold floral-patterned jacquard silk tie with strands of blue woven in.

“Paris Green” (Episode 1.11): Nucky explains the latest shakeup in his ranks to Atlantic City’s corrupt chiefs.

“A Return to Normalcy” (Episode 1.12)

Nucky’s political crew of mayors and councilmen file into his office on Halloween for a session of planning strategy for the upcoming election day, though he finds himself frustrated with the gents’ tendency toward cracking wise and ignoring the issues that face them. Again, Nucky wears the lavender circle-printed shirt with the copper-and-purple paisley silk tie we first saw in “Family Limitation”.

“A Return to Normalcy” (Episode 1.12): Nucky can’t believe the idiots he surrounds himself with.

“Ourselves Alone” (Episode 2.02)

The suit makes its first of two appearances in the show’s second season when Nucky and Margaret arrive at Babbette’s for dinner and run into his latest and most dangerous enemies, “Commodore” Louis Kaestner (Dabney Coleman) and one-time protégé Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt).

Nucky wears his boldest shirt with this suit to date, sporting a burnt orange checked shirt that made a few appearances with other suits during the first season; the check consists of bold white vertical stripes bisected by muted white horizontal stripes. His busy tie coordinates with the shirt and consists of a burnt orange grid that separates the rest of the tie’s design into blue-on-white diamond-shaped square grids.

“Ourselves Alone” (Episode 2.02): A night at Babbette’s would soon be ruined by the appearance of newfound enemies Jimmy Darmody and Commodore Kaestner.

“To the Lost” (Episode 2.12)

The final appearance of this suit is a brief one in the second season finale, worn with a lavender shirt that has a series of black-and-white stripe sets. His tie is the same copper and purple paisley silk tie seen twice during the first season.

“To the Lost” (Episode 2.12): Nucky’s trusty charcoal brown windowpane suit makes its final appearance.

Outerwear

Prohibition took effect in January 1920, which would be a chilly time of year to be walking by the sea. Nucky wisely dresses for the cold in a camel knee-length overcoat with wide Ulster-style lapels and a high six-on-three double-breasted front. The coat has padded shoulders, swelled edges, a vertical welt pocket on each side, and a wide cuff at the end of each sleeve. An inverted box pleat on the upper back aligns with the long single vent that extends up to the half-belt.

He wears this coat and a dark brown homburg hat in the pilot episode and in “Broadway Limited” (Episode 1.03).

A warm double-breasted coat is just the thing for combating the frigid winter air on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Another year has come and gone by the time of “Ourselves Alone” (Episode 2.02), set around February 1921. Nucky has upgraded his outerwear from the utilitarian Ulster-lapel topcoat to a villainous charcoal herringbone wool single-breasted overcoat with black Astrakhan fur peak lapels. He naturally tops it off with that most villainous of headgear, an all-black homburg with black grosgrain band and edge trim.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE

When not wearing an overcoat for his summer evenings in “Belle Femme” (Episode 1.09) and “Paris Green” (Episode 1.11), he dons only a tan wool felt homburg with a wide brown grosgrain and and edge trim when venturing out of doors.

No coat is needed for a warm summer evening in 1920, though a gentleman still would have worn his hat.

The Music

Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks Orchestra, led by bass saxophonist and music historian Vince Giordano, has lent its authentic sound to many period-set Hollywood productions including The Aviator, Bessie, and Boardwalk Empire.

The first season of Boardwalk Empire showcases a number of popular hits from 1920 like “Alice Blue Gown”, “Darktown Strutters’ Ball”, and one of my personal favorites, “Some of These Days”.

Penned by Shelton Brooks in 1910, “Some of These Days” made an immediate and lasting cultural impact in the soundtracks of contemporary films like Scarface (1932) and as the oft-recorded signature song of the Ukranian-born vocal powerhouse Sophie Tucker, “the Last of the Red Hot Mamas.”

When Nucky and Margaret escort the Baders to dinner at Babbette’s in “Belle Femme” (Episode 1.09) to convince Ed to make a mayoral run, Sophie Tucker is introduced as the evening’s entertainment and played to brash brilliance by Kathy Brier. Following a brief comedic set, Brier launches into a masterful rendition of “Some of These Days”, backed by the Nighthawks.

The dreamy “The Japanese Sandman” by Richard A. Whiting and Raymond B. Egan, one of the most popular songs of 1920, gets double the Boardwalk Empire treatment.

In addition to a rousing rendition by the Nighthawks in the spirit of the Original Dixieland Jass Band heard over the course of the first five episodes, Nucky and his pal Frank Hague are treated to an alluring vocal version in “Family Limitation” (Episode 1.06) as actress Lauren Sharpe accompanies herself on the ukulele.

Mayor Hague and Treasurer Thompson enjoy their entertainment for the evening.

The show’s original soundtrack, arranged by Vince Giordano, has been released in three volumes: the Grammy Award-winning Volume 1 (Seasons 1-2), Volume 2 (Seasons 3-4), and Volume 3 (Season 5).

How to Get the Look

Nucky Thompson is a colorful dresser, making the most of his eye for wearing brown and pink as opposed to the more traditional grays and blues.

With timeless style elements like a single-breasted, notch-lapel, two-button jacket, single-breasted waistcoat with no lapels, and flat front trousers, this suit remains relatively contemporary nearly a century later for wearers seeking a template for expanding their sartorial horizons.

Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson in Boardwalk Empire (Episode 1.11: “Paris Green”)

• Charcoal brown twill flannel suit with peach windowpane check:
  • Single-breasted 2-button long jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets, 4-button “turnback” cuffs, and long single vent
  • Single-breasted 6-button waistcoat/vest with welted pockets and notched bottom
  • Flat front high-rise trousers with straight/on-seam side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Lavender circle-printed dress shirt with front placket and double/French cuffs
  • White detachable “keyhole”-cut collar
  • Gold collar bar
  • Silver-toned octagonal cuff links with black onyx face
• Patterned tie with color echoing the shirt
• Beige and red-striped fabric suspenders
• Black and tan leather wingtip oxford brogues
• Gray dress socks
• Brown felt homburg with wide brown grosgrain ribbon
• Camel wool knee-length overcoat with Ulster-style lapels, 6×3-button double-breasted front, vertical welted side pockets, and half-belted back with inverted box pleat
• Gold-filled Elgin open-face pocket watch with white dial (with Arabic numerals and 6:00 sub-dial) and 18″ gold “double Albert” chain with ruby-studded triple-cube fob

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the whole series, but start with the first season.

The Quote

Everything you see here… it’s mine. Buy a drink, place a bet, ride the fuckin’ Ferris wheel.

Gallery

Cary Grant as Nickie Ferrante in An Affair to Remember (1957)

Vitals

Cary Grant as Nicolò “Nickie” Ferrante, playboy socialite

Onboard the SS Constitution in the North Atlantic, December 1956

Film: An Affair to Remember
Release Date: July 2, 1957
Director: Leo McCarey
Executive Wardrobe Designer: Charles Le Maire

Background

Happy birthday to Cary Grant, the charming maverick who personifies the intersection of style and screen during the golden age of both. The erstwhile Archie Leach defined men’s style for the better part of the 20th century and his timeless sartorial sensibilities live on through his charismatic performances on screen and, most specifically, via the advice he outlined for This Week magazine (and reprinted in GQ) in the 1960s.

Simplicity, to me, has always been the essence of good taste.

– Cary Grant on style, 1962

One of Cary Grant’s most stylish, romantic, and iconic roles was artistic playboy Nickie Ferrante in An Affair to Remember.

What’d He Wear?

What should one buy? Well, if a man’s budget restricts him to only one suit, then I would choose something unobtrusive. A dark blue, almost black, of lightweight cloth, serviceable for both day and evening wear.

Cary Grant exemplifies his own sartorial advice in An Affair to Remember, dressing for the final night of his romantic crossing on the SS Constitution in a dark navy worsted suit that he effectively wears from the afternoon into the evening for the ship’s New Year’s Eve dance. Common shipboard practices of the era deformalized the evening dress code on the final night of the voyage, operating under the assumption that most gentlemen and ladies would have had their fine evening attire already packed for the following day’s disembarking.

The single-breasted ventless suit jacket has notch lapels with an elegant roll over the top button, fastening on the second button to coordinate perfectly with his trouser waistline for an ideal balanced appearance.

Real talks on deck with Nickie and Terry.

“Learn to dispense with accessories that don’t perform a necessary function,” outlined Grant in This Week. I use belts, for example, only with blue jeans, which I wear when riding, and content myself with side loops, that can be tightened at the waistband, on business suits.”

Nickie’s double forward-pleated trousers here are thus likely fitted with his usual buckle-tab side adjusters, and the bottoms are finished with narrow turn-ups (cuffs).

Two’s company, but three’s a crowd. Get out of there, unwelcome guy.

Shirts should usually be white for the evening, but, in the city’s grime, it’s practical and permissible to wear a light blue or conservatively striped shirt during the day. The type of collar should suit the contours of the neck and face.

Nickie indeed wears a white shirt for this evening occasion with the universally flattering semi-spread collar that accommodates Grant’s wide neck and double (French) cuffs that he fastens with the same set of blue enamel-on-silver oval links that he also wears the following day with his charcoal flannel suit when the ship docks in New York City.

“Button-cuffed shirts are simplest to manage, but if you wear cuff links, as I do, don’t, I beg you, wear those huge examples of badly designed, cheap modern jewelry. They, too, are not only ostentatious, but heavy and a menace to the enamel on your car and your girl friend’s eye,” advised Grant for This Week.

Nickie wears a navy silk tie with a field of micro white pindots, barely discernible on screen but most visible in production photos. The navy tie contrasts little against the suit, providing a sharp look that effectively channels the monochromatic elegance of black tie for an evening soiree where he would otherwise indeed be attired in his dinner jacket.

Shoes? I’ve already mentioned that good shoes look better and last longer. If a man must limit himself to only one pair of shoes for city wear, then they should be black.

– Cary Grant on style, 1962

Grant again adheres to his own advice with this suit, sporting a wear a pair of black cap-toe lace-up shoes, likely oxfords, on screen with dark socks.

Briefly seen on Nickie’s left wrist is a squared gold watch case on a dark leather strap, likely the Cartier Tank wristwatch that Grant was known to wear in real life.

Cary Grant’s watch, likely the timeless Cartier Tank, is visible on his left wrist.

Aside from a brief foray into an “impoverished artiste” phase, Nickie Ferrante maintains a mostly traditional wardrobe of lounge suits in conservative shades of gray and navy blue. This particular outfit would be paralleled decades later by Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Quantum of Solace when 007 attends an evening soiree in a midnight blue lounge suit with a 3/2-roll jacket and cuffed-bottom trousers, a white French cuff shirt, a subtly patterned tonal silk tie, and black oxfords.

How to Get the Look

Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember (1957)

When classic black tie isn’t feasible for an evening occasion, a dark navy suit with a white shirt and subdued tie a la Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember is a practical and elegant alternative.

• Navy worsted tailored suit:
  • Single-breasted 3/roll/2-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Double forward-pleated high-rise trousers with buckle-tab side adjusters, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton dress shirt with point collar and double/French cuffs
  • Blue enamel-on-silver cuff links
• Navy satin silk tie
• Black leather oxfords
• Dark dress socks
• Cartier Tank yellow gold wristwatch with square white dial and black leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

I want to be worthy of asking you to marry me.

Gene Hackman as “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection (1971). Over his right shoulder is Eddie Egan, the real-life inspiration for the character.

Vitals

Gene Hackman as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, gruff NYPD narcotics detective

New York City, December 1970

Film: The French Connection
Release Date: October 9, 1971
Director: William Friedkin
Costume Designer: Joseph Fretwell III

Background

Happy birthday to Gene Hackman, born this day in 1930! This year’s Academy Award nominations were announced last week, so today’s post explores the birthday boy’s first Oscar-winning performance as NYPD narc “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection.

Eddie Egan was a real detective with the NYPD who, with his partner Sonny Grosso, was instrumental in a 1961 investigation that dissolved a massive heroin ring. The case would form the basis of a 1969 non-fiction book by Robin Moore that was swiftly adapted into the fictionalized film The French Connection. Gene Hackman, who by now had two Oscar nominations to his credit, was tapped for the role of “Popeye” Doyle, the profane detective modeled after Egan, while Egan himself would serve as technical advisor and play the smaller role of Walt Simonson, Doyle’s supervisor.

The movie culminates as Doyle, Simonson, and their fellow NYPD detectives finally catch up with the French kingpin Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) on the Triborough Bridge connecting Randalls Island and Wards Island, the latter of which would be the setting of

What’d He Wear?

The conclusion of The French Connection features Popeye Doyle in one of his rumpled business suits worn with a warm overcoat, scarf, and gloves to keep the determined detective comfortable in the chilly stakeout weather of a New York City winter.

Popeye’s dark navy wool topcoat has a knee-length fit that serves him better than a full-length overcoat when dashing in and out of cars in pursuit of his suspects. When the time comes to make a bust, he pins his NYPD badge #373 to the left of the coat’s narrow notch lapels.

The single-breasted coat has three buttons to close in the front and a single non-functioning button on each of the half-tab cuffs. The lapels, cuffs, and hip pocket flaps all have swelled edges.

Production photo of a bundled-up “Popeye” Doyle.

Popeye wears the same navy herringbone scarf and dark brown cotton knit gloves that he wore with his brown suit and coat earlier in the movie.

A signature element of the Popeye Doyle aesthetic is his iconic porkpie hat, the preferred headgear of the real-life Eddie Egan though the detective refused to lend one of his own hats to the production. The wardrobe team thus obtained a different dark brown porkpie hat for Gene Hackman to wear in The French Connection.

Hat, gloves, and scarf. Popeye’s grandmother would be proud.

As the decidedly less-than-fashionable porkpie may imply, Popeye Doyle isn’t the sort to keep up with the latest style trends. He wears a gray worsted two-piece suit that appears to be a holdout from the ’60s. Little is seen of the suit under his overcoat, but it appears to have a single-breasted jacket with slim notch lapels that roll to a low two-button stance and flat front trousers with turn-ups (cuffs) that are worn with a dark brown leather belt.  (It may possibly be the same suit that Hackman would wear four years later in the sequel, French Connection II.)

Popeye runs ahead to “greet” Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey).

For a long night spent taking apart a luxury Lincoln belonging to French television personality Henri Devereaux (Frédéric de Pasquale), Popeye removes his outer layers and tucks his loosened tie between the buttons of his shirt, which looks even sloppier than if he had removed it altogether!

Popeye’s white shirt has a narrow spread collar, a plain front with plastic buttons, a breast pocket, and button cuffs that he unfastens and rolls up for his long night under the Lincoln.

A rumpled Popeye after a night of Lincoln-stripping.

Popeye wears a gray twill tie with double blue stripe sets in the American “downhill” direction, perpendicular to the left-down-to-right twill.

Popeye sports his well-worn pair of dark brown leather plain-toe derby shoes with two lace eyelets on cutaway eyelet tabs.

“…and I’m gonna nail you for picking your feet in Poughkeepsie!”

Although Popeye is typically seen wearing black cotton lisle socks with this outfit, there is a brief continuity error seen when the detectives are impounding Devereaux’s car and Hackman’s trousers ride up to reveal a pair of mustard gold socks!

A bust gives us a glimpse of Popeye’s socks, which appear to be mustard yellow rather than their usual black.

Watches in Movies identified Popeye Doyle’s watch as a Timex Marlin with a plain silver dial on a gold expanding bracelet. As this watch was marketed as a no-frills, low-cost timepiece, it’s likely that the gold finish is a gold-toned stainless steel.

Timex has since reissued the Marlin, marketing it as “the gentleman’s standard” with a starting price of $199.

How to Get the Look

Porkpie aside, Popeye Doyle’s gray suit and outerwear form the basis for a timeless business outfit that translates just as well nearly 50 years later.

• Gray worsted wool suit, consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with slim notch lapels, welted breast pocket, flapped hip pockets, 2-button cuffs, and single vent
  • Flat front low-rise trousers with belt loops and turn-ups/cuffed bottoms
• White shirt with narrow spread collar, plain front, breast pocket, and squared button cuffs
• Gray twill tie with double sets of blue diagonal “downhill” stripes
• Dark brown leather belt with brass single-prong buckle
• Dark brown leather 2-eyelet plain-toe derby shoes
• Black cotton lisle socks
• Dark brown felt porkpie hat with wide ribbon and white lining
• Dark navy wool knee-length single-breasted 3-button overcoat with slim notch lapels, flapped hip pockets, half-cuffed 1-button sleeves, and single vent
• Navy herringbone wool scarf with frayed edges
• Dark brown cotton knit gloves
• Timex Marlin analog wristwatch with white dial on expanding gold bracelet

The Gun

Art imitates life as the Colt Detective Special is abundant in the hands of lawmen and lawbreakers alike in The French Connection. “Popeye” Doyle, his supervisor Walt Simonson, and federal agent Mulderig (Bill Hickman) all carry blued first-generation Detective Specials as do many of the Boca crime family mobsters that the NYPD engages during the Wells Island gunfight.

A tense Doyle with his Detective Special drawn on Wells Island.

The aptly named Detective Special was introduced by Colt in 1927 in tandem with the larger-framed Official Police, both chambered in .38 Special and aimed for usage among American police departments. Two years after The French Connection was released, Colt introduced an updated third generation of the Detective Special with the most notable cosmetic change being an extended barrel shroud to enclose Colt’s once-signature exposed ejector rod.

For some reason, Doyle’s revolver switches between a Colt Detective Special and the Smith & Wesson Model 36 “Chiefs Special”, both in the Wells Island warehouse scene and during the film’s iconic car chase. While both are blued .38 Special revolvers with wooden grips and 2-inch “snubnose” barrels, the Smith & Wesson can be differentiated with its ejector rod socket, ramp-style front sight, and five-round cylinder as opposed to the six rounds of the Colt Detective Special.

Both the Colt Detective Special and the Smith & Wesson Model 36 had been authorized for NYPD use during the ’60s and ’70s, according to Range365, and the short-barreled Model 36 was even the issued sidearm of choice for female officers.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

That son of a bitch is here. I saw him. I’m gonna get him.

Jean-Pierre Cassel as Jean-François Jardie in Army of Shadows (1969)

Vitals

Jean-Pierre Cassel as Jean-François Jardie, dashing French pilot and resistance operative

France, Winter 1942

Film: Army of Shadows
(French title: L’armée des ombres)
Release Date: September 12, 1969
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Costume Designer: Colette Baudot

Background

Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 French Resistance epic, released at a volatile time for France and the world at large, was barely seen by the rest of the world until decades later. Army of Shadows officially debuted in the United States in 2006 and quickly shot to the top of many critics’ “best of the year” lists.

“Melville knew that life for a fighter was not a series of romantic scenes played in trench coats but ambiguous everyday encounters that could result in death,” wrote Roger Ebert in his 2006 review. “His film is about the war within the minds of Resistance members, who must live with constant fear, persist in the face of futility, accept the deaths of their comrades and expect no reward, except the knowledge that they are doing the right thing.”

Based on Joseph Kessel’s 1943 novel that fictionalized his own experience with the Resistance during World War II, Army of Shadows follows a small but dedicated Marseilles-based network of civilian Resistance operators commanded by Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) as they explore the murky morals and tactics of continuing to operate despite the seemingly inevitable fate that awaits them all.

What’d He Wear?

Jean-François Jardie, a former French military pilot, is recruited into Gerbier’s network by Félix Lepercq (Paul Crauchet), who encounters him in a Marseilles bar.

“You’ve got some nerve, wearing that pilot’s jacket,” Lepercq tells Jardie upon their meeting.

Jardie in repose as the team collects itself in Lyon.

Jardie sports a very dark brown leather jacket throughout Army of Shadows, worn like a topcoat over his suits. Per Lepercq’s comment, Jardie’s jacket indeed shares stylistic similarities to outerwear worn by European civil and military aviators and motorcyclists prior to World War II, and its short, thigh-length fit and sportier details differentiate it from the sinister long leather coats traditionally associated with the Gestapo. Jardie’s coat has raglan sleeves with plain cuffs at the ends of the sleeves.

The coat has an Ulster-like lapel with a deep notch so that it can be worn with the left lapel buttoned up to the right with the collar either flipped up and snapped or folded down over the coat. Jardie typically wears this top button undone and only the back of the collar flipped up against his neck, revealing the under-collar back strap as well as the double snaps on the right collar leaf that coordinate with the single snap on the left.

The single-breasted coat has two buttons that fasten somewhat right-of-center for a fuller wrap similar to a double-breasted jacket. The coat has a full belt that closes in the front through a rounded gold-toned single-prong buckle, positioned just above the lower of the two buttons.

A low-slung set-in pocket over the left breast closes with a single snap on a pointed flap, and the gently slanted welted hand pockets are placed just below the belt on each hip.

Jardie wears his leather pilot’s coat with three distinctive outfits in Army of Shadows. He is wearing it when he first encounters Lepercq in Marsilles, worn over a gray tweed single-breasted suit.

Jardie’s pale gray shirt has subtle tonal hairline stripes, button cuffs, and a point collar with minimal tie space. His gray repp striped tie has bold red “uphill” stripes in the classic European direction, bordered by slimmer blue stripes above and below them.

A chance meeting with an old acquaintance changes Jardie’s life.

Jardie quickly finds himself serving as a courier in Gerbier’s Resistance network, taking time out of his first mission to Paris to meet his quiet older brother, Luc (Paul Meurisse), for a lunch of rutabagas and unrationed cheese. Jean-François knows his older brother only as a reserved and quiet – if eccentric – philosopher, but Luc Jardie is, in fact, implied to be the secret chief of all French Resistance networks (based on the real mathematician Jean Cavaillès who was executed by the Nazis in February 1944.)

For his mission to Paris, Jardie wears a marine blue pinstripe suit, the same pale gray hairline-striped shirt as with his gray tweed suit, and a navy-on-blue checked tie. The double-breasted suit jacket has a 6×2-button front, peak lapels, and flapped hip pockets. The presumably pleated trousers have plain-hemmed bottoms.

The brothers Jardie, each unaware of the other’s role in the French Resistance.

After Lepercq, the agent who recruited him, is arrested, Jardie takes it upon himself to have himself arrested and jailed alongside Lepercq, who is barely alive after relentless torture at the hands at the Gestapo.

As it is now the middle of winter, Jardie adds a layer to his everyday attire, wearing a dark navy jumper under a taupe-gray suit, which appears to have a single-breasted jacket and trousers finished with turn-ups (cuffs). He also wears a different shirt, a pale blue cotton shirt with bisected white stripes and a point collar. He wears a plain navy tie with the knot barely visible above the sweater’s crew-neck opening.

Jardie glares at his interrogators.

With all of his outfits, Jardie wears a pair of cognac tan leather derby shoes and black socks.

Jardie has his bag searched by Vichy France officers who evidently don’t know to look for false bottoms.

Jardie’s Cardigan

For a nighttime mission, Jardie discards his daily getup of a leather coat, suit, and tie in favor of a dark navy knit shawl-collar cardigan and turtleneck jumper that blends him in with the night sky.

Gerbier consults with Jardie and fellow Resistance operatives before he is transported by submarine to London to meet with their chief.

Jardie’s evening mission attire also includes a pair of charcoal gray wool trousers and black leather boots.

How to Get the Look

Jean-François Jardie’s leather aviator’s jacket adds a dashing sense of adventure to his business suits.

• Dark brown goatskin leather belted jacket with snap-closure Ulster-notched lapels, two-button single-breasted front, raglan sleeves, set-in snap-flapped breast pocket, slanted hand pockets, and plain cuffs
• Taupe-gray single-breasted or marine-blue pinstripe double-breasted business suit
• Light subtly striped cotton shirt with point collar and button cuffs
• Navy blue tie
• Navy blue knit crew-neck sweater
• Cognac tan leather derby shoes
• Black socks

The Gun

The film gives us little background regarding Jean-François Jardie’s military experience, but it’s significant that he carries a French SACM mle. 1935A semi-automatic pistol, identified by IMFDB and seen only when he draws it upon hearing a sound during a covert nighttime operation.

Jardie draws his pistol.

The 1935A is one of two French pistols to carry the “Modèle 1935” designation, though the SACM 1935A and MAS 1935S share little in common other than their model numbers and the capacity of eight rounds of the unique 7.65x20mm Longue cartridge.

A French military competition for the next military sidearm in 1935 led to submissions from both Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (SACM) and Manufacture d’armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS), though the latter MAS 1935S submission would be dropped in favor of the SACM 1935A. The specter of war, however, meant the French would need as many arms as it could muster, and both the SACM 1935A and the initially rejected MAS 1935S were ordered into production by October 1937.

The SACM mle. 1935A, which Jardie is seen using on screen, was designed by Charles Petter, a Swiss veteran of the French Foreign Legion, with a unique integrated fire control system that contained the trigger, hammer, mainspring, and sear assembly in one unit and would later be incorporated into the design of the SIG P210 pistol. Delivery to the French Army began in late 1939, and about 10,700 pistols were manufactured before production was halted when the Germans occupied France (and thus, the SACM factory) in June 1940. Following the ousting of the Germans in August 1944, production resumed and a total of 84,950 SACM 1935A pistols were manufactured by February 1950 when the French adopted the MAC mle. 1950 pistol in the more standardized 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie. The now-iconic frame of Cassel’s Jean-François Jardie slumped in captivity while wearing this coat has been used in much of the film’s contemporary promotional artwork.

The Quote

I said five minutes, but she’ll wait a lifetime.

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974)

Vitals

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, cold and calculating Mafia boss

Long Island, Las Vegas, and Lake Tahoe, Winter 1959

Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle

Background

For #MafiaMonday, I’m exploring Michael Corleone at his most iconic, coldly receiving his siblings and family while holding court at his mother’s funeral.

What’d He Wear?

A solid black suit, eh? While typically not advised for most business, black suits tend to come in handy when trying to evoke serious power in a less-than-legitimate business, thus making it quite suitable for Michael Corleone as he continues to grow his status in The Godfather Part II. Michael also wears his black three-piece suit to a funeral, arguably the most appropriate place for the otherwise polarizing black suit. (A black pinstripe suit, as Michael later wears when testifying in front of a Senate sub-committee, is more acceptable for business, though it still can carry sinister connotations… thanks to guys like Michael.)

Michael Corleone wears this black three-piece suit custom-made for the production by Western Costume Co. for much of The Godfather Part II. Based on the suiting’s distinctive sheen and its varying degrees of reflecting different light, the material is likely a mohair and wool blend. Mohair was a common element of 1950s and 1960s suits, popular for its lustrous properties and practical comfort in warm weather, and it adds more depth to Michael’s suit than a standard black wool suit.

Al Pacino’s screen-worn black mohair suit jacket. (Source: GoLive.au.)

Michael’s black mohair suit jacket is single-breasted with notch lapels that roll to the top of a three-button front. The jacket is shaped by darts and gently suppressed through the waist. The shoulders are padded and the sleeveheads are strongly roped, adding structure and strength to Michael’s silhouette.

The jacket also has a welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets on the same axis as the lowest button, and three-button cuffs. It has been auctioned several times throughout the decades, and this online listing from Nate D. Sanders’s 2012 auction offers a description as well as an additional photo.

The waistcoat (or vest) is high-fastening with a single-breasted, six-button front that Michael typically wears with all buttons fastened. There are four welt pockets and the back is finished in black satin to match the suit jacket lining.

Michael wears this same suit, sans waistcoat, for a New Year’s Eve celebration in Havana. (More about the suit worn in that context to come in a later post.)

The trousers have double forward pleats on each side of the fly with belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups (cuffs) on the bottom. The trouser rise is a little too low, allowing the black leather belt and sometimes even a triangle of Michael’s white shirt and tie to peek through under the waistcoat. This is one of the reasons men tend to wear suspenders with a three-piece suit as they keep the trousers from riding down at the waist, simultaneously covering the shirt and tie and maintaining clean lines.

Promotional photo of Al Pacino and Talia Shire as Michael and Connie Corleone, respectively. Note Michael’s deck of unfiltered Camels on the right arm of his chair.

Michael’s white cotton poplin shirt provides a stark contrast to the black suit. His shirt has a long point collar, consistent both with late 1950s fashion and the sharp collars often associated with gangsters, as well as a front placket and single-button rounded cuffs.

The only color Michael injects into this outfit comes from his crimson red textured silk tie, worn when Michael confronts Frankie Pentangeli at his family’s estate and upon returning to Las Vegas in January 1959 after his disastrous New Year’s Eve in Havana.

Michael loosens up when he returns to his Las Vegas headquarters at the Desert Inn.

For his mother’s funeral later in 1959, Michael wears the same solid black tie that he wore in Havana for New Year’s Eve. The monochromatic look of Michael draped in all black with just a hint of frosty white from his shirt communicates the character’s increasingly cold heart. His decision to embrace his brother Fredo is warmly welcomed by the family, but our black-suited protagonist’s frosty glare and the obvious pragmatism that went into his decision tells the audience that this isn’t personal, it’s business.

Michael appears to have at least two wristwatches in The Godfather Part II, a yellow gold watch and a silver-toned watch with a plain white dial that he appears to be wearing here, based on the steel bracelet. His only other piece of jewelry is the plain gold wedding ring on his left hand.

These scenes are generally set during the winter, so Michael’s return to Long Island finds him wearing several topcoats to add a layer of warmth when trudging through the New York snow. He is all power and intimidation when he meets with Frankie Pentangeli wearing a black wool greatcoat, draped over his black suit like a surcote, with its 8×4-button double-breasted front, wide Ulster collar, and button-tab cuffs.

“You heard what happened in my home? IN MY HOME! IN MY BEDROOM, WHERE MY WIFE SLEEPS! Where my children come and play with their toys… in my home. I want you to help me take my revenge.”

Michael sees less need to look powerful for his quiet return home to Lake Tahoe later in the movie, wearing a taupe gabardine raincoat with raglan sleeves, a long single vent, and a four-button covered-fly front.

An understated ritornare a casa.

Michael’s black fedora is the obvious headgear for our gangster with a short brim keeping in fashion with the late 1950s trends.

A wintry walk through Lake Tahoe.

Black footwear is the only way to go with a solid black suit. Michael wears black calf derby shoes with black socks.

How to Get the Look

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974)

Michael Corleone may look cool in a black suit, but keep in mind that a) he’s a mob boss, and b) half of the time he spends wearing it is appropriately at a funeral (with a black tie, rather than red). Check out this handy flowchart from Primer before determining if you really need to add a black suit to your closet.

• Black mohair/wool-blend suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Single-breasted 6-button waistcoat with four welted pockets and notched bottom
  • Double forward-pleated trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• White cotton poplin shirt with point collar, front placket, and 1-button rounded cuffs
• Crimson red textured silk tie
• Black leather belt with rounded gold-toned single-prong buckle
• Black calf leather derby shoes
• Black silk socks
• Steel wristwatch with round white dial on steel link bracelet
• Gold wedding band, left ring finger

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series.

The Quote

My father taught me many things here; he taught me in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Jack Davenport as “Lancelot” in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Vitals

Jack Davenport as James Spencer, aka “Lancelot”, smooth British agent

Argentina, Winter 2014

Film: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Release Date: January 29, 2015
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Costume Designer: Arianne Phillips
Tailor: Martin Nicholls

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

James Spencer, aka “Lancelot” (Jack Davenport), is introduced to audiences in the manner one would expect of a story’s hero. He transitions between dry wit and superhuman agility as he deftly takes out a room full of assassins in his attempt to rescue Professor James Arnold (Mark Hamill) from his kidnappers.

The vignette concludes with a Lancelot in the traditional pose of an action hero, gun up and smirking while on bended knee… only to (spoiler alert!) fall victim to the deadly blade of aptly named assassin Gazelle (Sofia Boutella). Of course, it’s hardly that much of a spoiler as the search for Lancelot’s replacement is what drives much of the plot of Kingsman: The Secret Service.

What’d He Wear?

Lancelot’s style – in this scene, at least – differs greatly from the traditional double-breasted city suits commonly associated with Kingsman agents. If Galahad and Eggsy were the epitome of double-breasted city style, then Lancelot epitomizes the concept of a country suit with his natty three-piece suit of earth-toned tweed suiting with a single-breasted jacket and matching waistcoat and trousers. The suiting is mustard gold with a large-scale overcheck created by green vertical stripes and blue horizontal stripes that intersect to create a square windowpane grid. The bronze satin lining is printed with a black equestrian motif.

I haven’t seen any confirmation, but it’s likely that Lancelot’s suit was made by bespoke firm Martin Nicholls London of Savile Row who had also cut and made the suits for major characters like Galahad, Eggsy, and Arthur.

You wouldn’t expect a guy with such a CMOA to get the axe so shortly after his introduction…

Single-breasted lounge suit jackets are a rare sight among Kingsman agents. Lancelot’s jacket has notch lapels with swelled edges that roll to a three-button front that he wears open. The jacket is shaped with darts and has roped sleeveheads, a single back vent, and the same functional four-button “surgeon’s cuffs,” so named for their rumored origins among battlefield surgeons who wanted to roll up their sleeves rather than remove their jacket before an operation.

The bright red silk pocket square in Lancelot’s welted breast pocket creates a bold statement, and the hip pockets are flapped and slanted in addition to the ticket pocket on the right side.

Lancelot’s single-breasted waistcoat also has notch lapels with swelled edges. He correctly wears the lowest of the five buttons undone over the notched bottom. The waistcoat has four welted pockets.

The things one has to do to get a good drink…

Lancelot’s flat front suit trousers are the most similar in style to the items worn by his fellow Kingsman agents. Devoid of belt loops, the waistband is clean save for the slide buckle tabs on the right and left to adjust the fit around the waist. The trousers have straight pockets along each side seam, and there is a single jetted back pocket on the right that closes through a button. The bottoms are plain-hemmed with no cuffs.

Note his trouser details as Lancelot literally kicks a thug’s ass.

Neither oxfords nor brogues are the footwear of choice for Lancelot on this mission, instead opting for a pair of derby-laced cap-toe boots in cognac brown calf leather. Renowned English shoemaker George Cleverley provided footwear for many of the film’s principals, but I’m not sure if these boots are also Cleverley items.

Another English legacy brand that contributed its wares to Kingsman agents is Turnbull & Asser. Lancelot’s cotton (or Viyella cotton-wool) twill shirt is likely T&A with a blue, green, and lavender tattersall check on a white ground. The shirt has a semi-spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs.

Lancelot wears a bottle green grenadine silk tie that brings together the colors present in the suit and shirt. Drake’s contributed ties and pocket squares to the production of Kingsman: The Secret Service, and this woven high-twist silk tie still available on their site would be a fine match for Lancelot’s on-screen neckwear.

The hell of it is that Gazelle’s preferred killing method ruined a perfectly good suit, shirt, and tie.

We don’t see if Lancelot has the issued Cutler & Gross glasses that his fellow agents wear, but he does wear the standard gold signet ring embossed with the Kingsman crest on his left pinky in addition to his Bremont luxury watch. Bremont developed its “Kingsman” range of three luxury watches that would be worn by characters in the film, including the Bremont Kingsman Special Edition Rose Gold, a modified version of “the wonderfully over-engineered” Bremont World Timer (ALT1-WT) chronograph worn on an embossed brown calfskin leather strap with a rose gold single-pin buckle.

The modified caliber 13 ¼” BE-54AE automatic chronometer has an 18-karat rose gold 43mm case with an internally rotating bi-directional bezel with global time zones to keep Kingsman agents on schedule for missions around the world. The white metal finished dial has three sub-dials at 6:00, 9:00, and 12:00 with the “Kingsman” emblem proudly emblazoned on the latter. The dial also has a date window at 3:00 and Bremont’s signature SuperLumiNova® coated hands. You can learn more about the Bremont Kingsman Special Edition Rose Gold from the Bremont site.

As Kingsman agents wear their signet rings on the dominant hand, we can deduce that Lancelot is left-handed.

Of note for some may be Lancelot’s “severed half-body”, currently being auctioned by Prop Store. The body, made of silicone, is intensely detailed and costumed in, according to the description, “a green tweed three-piece suit, white plaid shirt, and a single beige sock.”

What to Imbibe

Professor Arnold’s kidnappers may be brutal criminals, but they appropriately demonstrate a soft spot for Dalmore 1962 single malt Scotch.

“Honestly, this whisky… it’s amazing. You will shit,” says his captor. The goons never get to try any, of course, as Lancelot interrupts the party before it is even served. And, once the unfortunate server arrives, Lancelot dispatches him with a single shot and catches the glass before the tray hits the ground:

Ah, 1962 Dalmore. It’d be a sin to spill any.

Lancelot rewards his own efforts with a dram of Scotland’s finest.

At least Lancelot is able to enjoy a sip before Gazelle slices him in half. (It’s worth noting that she, too, makes the effort to grab Lancelot’s glass from him before his crumpling halves would send the glass and the contents to the ground.)

How to Get the Look

Lancelot counters his fellow Kingsman agents’ impeccable double-breasted city suits by sporting the ideal countrified tweed suit with just the right amount of panache befitting a sophisticated secret agent.

• Mustard-gold (with green/blue windowpane) tweed tailored suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets and right-side ticket pocket, functional 4-button cuffs, and single vent
  • Single-breasted 5-button waistcoat with notch lapels, four welted pockets, and notched bottom
  • Flat front suit trousers with extended hidden hook-and-eye closure squared waist tab, buckle-strap side adjuster tabs, straight/on-seam side pockets, button-through right back pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White tattersall-checked cotton twill Turnbull & Asser shirt with semi-spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Bottle green grenadine silk tie
• Red silk pocket square
• Cognac-brown calf leather derby-laced cap-toe boots
• Beige cotton lisle socks
• Gold signet pinky ring
• Bremont Kingsman Special Edition Rose Gold automatic chronometer with 18-karat rose gold 43mm case, white dial (with 3 sub-dials and 3:00 date window), and brown embossed calfskin leather strap

The Gun

Although they represent the best of English traditions – from their clothing to their manners – Kingsman agents are issued unique custom handguns based on the very Russian Tokarev TT-30 semi-automatic pistol. The design comes from Cohort Film Services, which “refinished and reblued” six original TT-30 pistols, according to IMFDB.

Cohort Film Services also designed the custom suppressors that agents like Lancelot here fit on their pistols.

In addition to modifications to the frames, hammers, slides, and grips, the pistol was fitted with an underbarrel shotgun attachment for extra lethality and a unique profile fitting for Kingsman agents for its blend of a classic aesthetic with modern innovation.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

I suppose asking to borrow a cup of sugar is a step too far.

To commemorate the 39th anniversary of the legendary John Wayne’s passing on June 11, 1979, please enjoy this submission from the estimable pen of BAMF Style reader and contributor “W.T. Hatch.”

John Wayne as J.B. Books in The Shootist (1976)

Vitals

John Wayne as John Bernard Books, aging gunfighter

Carson City, Nevada, January 1901

Film: The Shootist
Release Date: August 20, 1976
Director: Don Siegel
Wardrobe Credit: Luster Bayless

Background

I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

The Shootist was John Wayne’s final movie role and no actor, before or since, had a more fitting last appearance on the silver screen. Wayne plays John Bernard “J.B.” Books, the most “celebrated shootist extant,” in turn-of-the-century Carson City, Nevada. The film opens with a montage from the Duke’s earlier pictures providing Books’ background as a gunman and occasional lawman in the Old West. Now the last of his kind, Books travels to Carson City seeking assistance from his physician in what may be his final battle against cancer. This deeply compelling story is revealed as Books confronts the consequences of both his life and his own pending mortality.

What’d He Wear?

While we are accustomed to walk-in closets the size of small apartments, The Shootist is set in another era when most people owned far less clothing. Books owns just two sets of clothing – an everyday suit and a more formal “Sunday-go-to-meeting” attire – but never appears in public looking anything but his best.

Books wears his most formal “Sunday-go-to-meeting” attire of dark frock coat, black waistcoat, “cashmere stripe” trousers, and white striped shirt, though his hat, tie, belts, and boots remain the same.

Throughout most of the picture, Books wears a lounge suit first made popular at the turn of the 20^th century. Books spent most of his life in the wild country, but he is also a man who deeply cares about his appearance and reputation. Shortly after arriving in Carson City, Books takes up lodging in the Rogers’ Boarding House and immediately makes arrangements to have his clothes cleaned after his long journey.

Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) cleans her latest boarder’s jacket by hand, still believing his name to be “William Hickok”.

Later in the film, Books makes use of the new dry processed cleaning for his more formal suit. Regardless of which suit he dons, Books never appears in public without at least a necktie and waistcoat. Books also rotates the wear of his suit coats, pants, and shirts to fit the occasion.

Books’ lounge suit is a flat gray in color and likely made of wool. This style of jacket, known as a sack coat, has a four-button front although Books wears it open to ensure access to his sidearms. The coat has padded shoulders and wide lapels with shallow cut notches. There are two large pockets, with flap closures, on the coat which Books uses to hold spare ammunition.

Books uses his Winchester Model 1892 carbine rifle to give Gillom Rogers (Ron Howard) orders.

The coat is paired with a matching set of flat-fronted trousers with horizontal besom pockets. Books wears a plain brown leather belt with a single metal prong. We may safely assume these trousers have the same 41.5” waist and a 31.5” inseam as his more formal suit pants which are currently listed for sale by the American Heritage company.

Naturally, the Duke wears brown leather cowboy boots with narrow toes and ornamental scroll work. Books adds spurs while riding his favorite horse, Dollar, during the opening scene.

Note the spurs on Books’ boots.

After wearing a plain beige shirt into town, Books wears primarily a tan shirt with fine gray, red and yellow striping. The stripes are all but invisible in a casual viewing of the movie particularly given the difference in picture quality from a film made over 40 years ago. The shirt is long-sleeved with a single breast pocket. The wrists and placket are closed with clear, and anachronistic, plastic buttons.

According to the Heritage Auction website, the cotton shirt is made to fit a 34” sleeve and 18.5” neck. The attached collar is closed with a button and Books regularly wears a black string tie as well.

The lounge suit is worn with a slate gray waistcoat, or vest in American parlance, of a lighter shade than the jacket and pants. The waistcoat has a seven-button front and four besom pockets. Books uses the lower left pocket to hold his pocket watch.

The Heritage Auction website lists Books’ black vest [worn with his frock coat and striped trousers] as being of wool and cotton material in size 50. There is little doubt the gray waistcoat is of the same material and size albeit in a different color.

Books in the black waistcoat that he wears with his more formal frock coat and cashmere stripe trousers.

The inevitability of time is a recurrent theme throughout The Shootist as evidenced by the end of the Victorian Era, the movie chapters being denoted as individual days or the prominent role of his pocket watch in the final scenes.

Books carries an engraved gold hunter case pocket watch with a thick gold chain and large ornamental fob. The watch has a white face with Roman numerals and a “morning glory” second-hand display. One internet source identifies the maker as the N.Y. Standard Watch Company. Books leaves the watch as a parting gift for Bond.

Out of time?

As with all his films made after 1968, John Wayne wore a brass colored Montagnard metal bracelet around his right wrist that first appeared in The Green Berets. Wayne received the bracelet as a gift from U.S. Army Special Forces Captain Jerry Dodds during his tour of Vietnam in 1966. Wayne reportedly never removed the bracelet and is buried with it in Newport Beach, California.

Topping off the entire outfit, the Duke wears a large khaki-colored cowboy hat with a distinctive rattlesnake skin headband. The hat, likely of beaver felt, has a tall 4” crown and a very wide 5” brim. Like most of Books’ clothing, the hat appears used and definitely shows signs of the 10-day horseback journey from Creede, Colorado to Carson City, Nevada. Beaver felt hats are damn near waterproof and warm while the wide brim is perfect for keeping the mountain sun out of the wearer’s eyes.

What to Imbibe

The author of The Shootist, Glendon Swarthout, wanted to distinguish Books from similar characters and had John Bernard order a white wine to celebrate his birthday before the novel’s climactic gunfight. John Wayne would have none of it, demanding the shot (nice pun, eh?) be changed with Books ordering a whiskey. And so, J.B. Books purposefully walked in the Metropole Saloon and purchased a bottle of whiskey. Being a veteran gunfighter, Books limits himself to one – rather generously poured – glass before engaging his three opponents.

Nothing but “the best in the house” for J.B. Books’ birthday shot.

The exact whiskey brand is not shown in the movie, but fans may opt instead to sample “The Style of Duke” Kentucky straight bourbon instead.

The Gun

BAMF Style readers would be wise to heed J.B. Books’ advice to not mix alcohol and firearms. That said, Books carries a matched pair of .45 caliber Single Action Army revolvers throughout The Shootist. These beautifully engraved, ivory handled pieces were John Wayne’s personal property given as a gift from the Great Western Arms Company during his years as their celebrity spokesman.

As Gillom introduced him: “His name was J.B. Books. He had a matched pair of .45s with antique ivory grips that were somethin’ to behold.”
Note the twill frock coat suiting, black waistcoat, watch fob, holster detail, and “cashmere stripe” trousers. Books is dressed somewhat more formally for Gillom’s shooting lesson.

Books wears a simple brown leather shooting rig with a holster on his right side. He tucks the second revolver into the front of his pistol belt near the single prong brass buckle. The pistol belt has the usual leather loops for carrying additional ammunition.

This author advises against carrying ammunition in this fashion as it all but guarantees the rounds will be fouled with dust and dirt prior to reloading… and for God’s sakes don’t wear a pistol tucked into your belt. For more on J.B. Books’ weaponry, visit IMFDB.

The lounge suit coat has a third inside breast pocket where J.B. keeps his wallet and a two-shot derringer pistol used to great effect on a rather inept highwayman.

John Wayne as J.B. Books in The Shootist (1976)

How to Get the Look

If there is a fashion lesson to be learned in The Shootist, it is to always take pride in your appearance even when marching out to face your enemies.

• Dark gray lounge suit consisting of:
  • Single-breasted 4-button sack jacket with notch lapels, straight flapped hip pockets, and ventless back
  • Flat front trousers with tall belt loops, horizontal besom front and back pockets, and straight-leg plain-hemmed bottoms
• Slate gray single-breasted 7-button waistcoat with notch lapels, four besom pockets, and straight-cut bottom
• Tan striped dress shirt with attached point collar, front placket, breast pocket, and 1-button squared cuffs
• Black satin string tie
• Brown leather belt with large squared brass single-prong buckle
• Dark brown leather cowboy boots
• Large khaki beaver felt cowboy hat with rattlesnake headband (reproduction hats may be purchased at WesternSaddle.com)
• Montagnard bracelet (readers may learn more about the Montagnard people and purchase bracelets here)
• N.Y. Standard Watch Company hunter case pocket watch, complete with thick gold chain and ornamental fob
• Brown leather pistol rig, with matched pair of Single Action Army .45 caliber revolvers

The Western Costume Company of Hollywood, California, supplied at least three pieces of J.B. Books’ clothing including a black waistcoat, tan shirt detailed in this post, and black striped trousers. Side note: These three items are available for purchase online at Heritage Auctions.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

This is my birthday. Give me the best in the house.

James Caan as Paul Sheldon in Misery (1990)

Vitals

James Caan as Paul Sheldon, successful but cynical romance novelist

Silver Creek, Colorado, Winter 1990

Film: Misery
Release Date: November 30, 1990
Director: Rob Reiner
Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Stephen King’s novels have provided the basis for some of the most enduring horror cinema, from Carrie and Christine to The Shining and The Stand. With Halloween a week away, I wanted to focus on a request I received to take a look at the protagonist’s style in the thrilling and witty adaptation of King’s self-inspired 1987 novel Misery. The novel was partly inspired by King feeling trapped both by his demanding, horror-loving fans and his own drug and alcohol demons, all embodied in the form of the obsessive tormentor Annie Wilkes.

Misery begins with novelist Paul Sheldon finishing his latest literary creation on a mint-colored Smith-Corona typewriter. Once he’s written all but the title, he celebrates with a glass of champagne, a single unfiltered cigarette, and a snowball thrown against a tree. “Still got it,” he notes before loading his sole manuscript in his ’66 Mustang and driving toward town to the tune of “Shotgun” by Junior Walker and the All-Stars, a booming soul single released the year before Paul’s Mustang rolled off the production line. (Clearly, this is a man more comfortable with the tools of an earlier era.)

Unfortunately, the New Yorker’s beautiful rear-wheel-drive pony car can’t handle the rigors of Colorado’s winding snow-covered roads and Paul soon finds himself bloodied, dazed, and trapped in his crashed Mustang… until a mysterious figure lifts him out of what would be a certain death scenario.

Paul awakens to the beaming face of Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in an Oscar-winning role), his “number one fan” who reveals herself to be his number one nightmare.

What’d He Wear?

Paul’s jacket for the Colorado winter is a tobacco brown suede blouson with a hunter green quilted lining for extra warmth in the snowy climate. The jacket has large bellows pockets on the hips that close with concealed-snap flaps, and there is a vertical opening behind each pocket for an additional hand pocket on each side. The zip-up jacket also has a two-button standing collar that Paul wears open and folded down like a standard shirt collar and ribbed knit cuffs and hem.

One last snowball before hitting the road… and hitting the snow.

Paul wears multiple layers under his jacket, including a dark red shirt made from a heavy microfiber fabric, patterned with a grid made of a black mini-check. The shirt has a front placket with black plastic sew-through buttons, two button-through patch pockets on the chest, and button cuffs.

Annie ostensibly removes Paul’s shirt along with the rest of his clothing after his accident. She gives it back to him to wear, perhaps as a reward, when they dine together at his suggestion midway through his draft of Misery’s Return.

Under the red shirt, Paul wears a black ribbed knit turtleneck.

A job well done.

Before he is confined solely to sweatpants, Paul wears a pair of medium blue denim jeans with a zip fly, worn without a belt.

Paul is pulled from his Mustang by a less-than-benevolent savior.

Paul wears a pair of russet brown moc-toe work boots with two-tone rawhide laces through seven derby-style eyelets up the front of each boot. The boots also have two sets of grommets for decorative side lacing, similar to the classic Sperry Top-Sider boat shoe. Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, and other companies that mastered preppy fashions have offered this type of “boat boot”, so named for their similarity to the traditional New England loafer.

He wears a pair of heavy ivory ribbed-knit wool socks to keep his feet warm when trudging through the snow.

When Paul wakes up bedridden at Annie’s, his wardrobe is reduced to a white long-sleeve T-shirt, slightly torn. This may be the shirt that Paul had been wearing as a undershirt beneath his turtleneck, but the emblazoned logo for “OLD WEST SADDLERY Leather Goods | Outfitters” may suggest that it came from the shop of the same name in Cortez, Colorado.

Not yet provided sweatpants by Annie, Paul spends his first few nights wearing only the light blue cotton boxer shorts he likely had on under his jeans during the accident.

Escape attempt #1 of many.

After his first few nights and the revelation of Annie’s true motives, Paul begins cycling through different clothing that Annie presumably provides for him. A montage set to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as interpreted by Liberace (who else?) showcases the progression of Paul’s wardrobe in captivity as he graduates from ratty henley shirts and sweatpants to the nicer flannel shirts in blue, white, and teal plaid as well as the Christmassy red, green, and white plaid shirt that he is wearing for the horrifying hobbling scene.

What to Imbibe

Paul Sheldon’s habit upon completion of his books is evidently well known in the literary world… or at least among die-hard fans like Annie Wilkes. His cigarette of choice is an unfiltered Lucky Strike, as seen in the opening shot of the film.

“You need a cigarette, because you used to smoke but quit, except when you finish a book, and you have just one. And the match is to light it…”

Also setting the scene in Paul’s hotel room as he finishes his novel in the opening scene is a chilling bottle of Dom Pérignon (“Dom Per-ig-non it is,” he later confirms to Annie) with a 1982 vintage.

“…and you need one glass of champagne, Dom Perig-non.”

On the opposite end of the vino spectrum is the Gallo “Classic Burgundy” red table wine that Annie serves for their Liberace-scored dinner date of Spam-infused meatloaf. While not Paul’s preferred libation, he is nonetheless grateful to have the wine as a possible vessel for the codeine pills to drug Annie.

“Can’t get this in a restaurant in New York.”

The Car

It’s not car week, but the plight of Paul Sheldon wouldn’t receive its due justice without describing the black 1966 Ford Mustang hardtop whose failure to perform on the snowy Colorado roads leads him to his fate with Annie Wilkes and her sledgehammer. (In the book, it was a Chevrolet Camaro.)

The newspapers describing Paul’s predicament incorrectly describe his car as a blue 1965 Mustang. In addition to the three horizontal sweeps on the side scoops, the 1966 Mustang appears to have a free-floating “horse and corral” emblem on the grille as opposed to the honeycomb effect created by the four vertical grille bars of the 1965 models.

MISERY

The “289” badging and shots of the car’s interior help us determine that Paul Sheldon is driving a Mustang equipped with a 289 cubic inch “Windsor” V8 engine and Ford’s new C-4 “Cruise-O-Matic” three-speed automatic transmission. The 289 was offered in three different performance packages for 1966, a two-barrel, a four-barrel, and a High Performance four-barrel (only available with the four-speed manual transmission), but we can assume that Paul is driving the base two-barrel V8.

1966 Ford Mustang

Body Style: 2-door hardtop

Layout: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive (RWD)

Engine: 289 cid (4.7 L) Windsor V8 with Autolite 2-barrel carburetor

Power: 200 bhp (149 kW; 203 PS) @ 4400 rpm

Torque: 282 lb·ft (382 N·m) @ 2400 rpm

Transmission: 3-speed automatic

Wheelbase: 108 inches (2743 mm)

Length: 181.6 inches (4613 mm)

Width: 68.2 inches (1732 mm)

Height: 51.2 inches (1300 mm)

Unfortunately, the rear-wheel-drive drivetrain doesn’t do Paul any favors while driving on the snow, and his Mustang skids out of control. If only Harry Ferguson Research had carried through on its prototype of an all-wheel-drive Mustang, having purchased and converted three Mustangs to 4×4 in the hopes of selling clients on its AWD system.

How to Get the Look

James Caan as Paul Sheldon in Misery (1990)

Paul Sheldon’s layered look nicely balances the aesthetic of a rugged outdoorsman with preppy success and would be equally fashionable and functional for autumn, winter, or even early spring.

• Tobacco brown suede zip-up blouson jacket with two-button standing collar, flapped bellows pockets with hand pockets behind them, and ribbed-knit cuffs and hem
• Red-and-black mini-check microfiber shirt
• Black ribbed-knit cotton long-sleeve turtleneck jumper
• White cotton “Old West Saddlery” long-sleeve T-shirt
• Blue denim zip-fly jeans
• Russet brown leather moc-toe “boat boots” with rawhide laces and side-lacing detail
• Ivory ribbed-knit wool socks
• Light blue cotton boxer shorts

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and read Stephen King’s novel.

Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Vitals

Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, stir-crazy writer

Silver Creek, Colorado, Winter 1990

Film: The Shining
Release Date: May 23, 1980
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy Halloween, BAMF Style readers! What better way to observe the most haunted holiday than with a look at one of the scariest and most suspenseful psychological horror movies, The Shining.

Three years after Stephen King’s novel was published, Stanley Kubrick brought his own adaptation of the story to the big screen with a screenplay co-written by novelist Diane Johnson, significantly altering the characters and motivations of the source novel.

Perhaps most significantly – and certainly cited as one of King’s greatest dissatisfactions with the movie – was Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the central character, Jack Torrance, the new caretaker who brings his family to the Overlook Hotel for the winter and hopes the seclusion will help him with his writing… and to continue overcoming his battle with alcoholism. “Instead of playing a normal man who becomes insane, Nicholson portrays a crazy man attempting to remain sane,” wrote Cinefantastique editor Frederick S. Clarke in 1996.

Despite – or perhaps due to – Kubrick’s shift of Jack Torrance from sympathetically conflicted to singularly crazy, the resulting movie remains a major subject of speculative interpretation among film scholars and novices for nearly four decades. Is The Shining an allegory for the Holocaust (as Geoffrey Cocks argued) or the genocide of Native Americans (as Bill Blakemore suggested), or is it an indictment of American imperialism as John Capo has concluded?

What’d He Wear?

Jack’s signature outfit for much of The Shining takes its inspiration from classic blue-collar workwear. He is, after all, the hotel’s caretaker. He’s always been the caretaker.

Several film scholars have suggested that Stanley Kubrick directed The Shining as an allegory for American imperialism, thus making Jack’s red, white, and blue outfit take on a heavier significance.

According to the film’s costume designer, four-time Oscar winner Milena Canonero, the burgundy corduroy blouson jacket was hand-picked by Jack Nicholson from his own personal wardrobe for his character to wear in these scenes and an additional 11 replicas of the jacket were thus ordered for the production.

The original jacket was made by Margaret Howell, a British designer who got her start with menswear in the 1970s before expanding to design for women as well. Oliver Franklin-Wallis reported for British GQ in spring 2012 that Margaret Howell had just updated and reissued Nicholson’s iconic corded jacket the previous fall, selling for £465 and available “in two new fabrics, grey marl and blue gabardine, and with a slightly cropped silhouette.”

As of the fall of 2018, the only corduroy jacket available from Margaret Howell is this “boxy cut” work jacket in midnight blue corded cotton with three widely spaced buttons for £395. Fans hoping for a screen-accurate jacket will have to look elsewhere, such as one of the many replicas offered online.

The screen-worn jacket (size large) still had the Margaret Howell label when it was included in an Italian auction of props from Kubrick’s cinematic career in March 2018.

“Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in…”

Jack’s burgundy corded blouson jacket has a one-piece, shirt-style spread collar. The jacket has a seven-button front with five buttons under a covered fly that ends above the waistband, which has a double-button closure. Except for this double-button closure in the front, the waistband is ribbed and elasticized in brown wool. The set-in sleeves close over each wrist with a squared single-button half-tab at the cuff.

The jacket has a long patch pocket on the left breast and a lower bellows pocket on each side, all with buttoned flaps.

Jack has an understandable reaction to learning he was making out with a ghost’s rotting corpse.

The auction catalog also included a burgundy cotton shirt that Nicholson reportedly wore during costume rehearsals though not in the film itself. This burgundy shirt was made in Sweden by London clothier Austin Reed, so it’s possible that his navy plaid check shirt came from the same shop.

The screen-worn plaid shirt is patterned with two interlocking white large-scaled grid check patterns on a navy ground. One check is a bold white windowpane bordered on each side by a red stripe for a shadow effect; the other check is two faded white stripes criss-crossing with a faded green stripe bordering each vertical set of double stripes.

Jack’s flannel shirt has a large point collar, a front placket with mixed tan plastic sew-through buttons, button cuffs, and a set-in breast pocket with a single-button flap, rounded on the corners.

Jack dissolves further into madness.

Jack’s jeans are the classic Lee 101 Rider style in dark blue selvedge denim, the same model worn by James Dean in Giant and Rebel Without a Cause and by Steve McQueen in The Hunter, also released in 1980. These sanforized jeans with the original zip fly (a Lee innovation dating back to 1926) can be identified by the black tag with “Lee” in yellow on the corner of the back right pocket as well as Lee’s signature decorative curved “Lazy S” stitching across each of the back pockets.

Jack wears a brown leather belt with contrasting tan edge-stitching and a thick squared steel single-prong buckle.

Apropos his now neglected position as caretaker, Jack wears a pair of well-worn work boots that appear to be Timberland’s classic six-inch waterproof boots in gold wheat-colored burnished full-grain leather, now offered as part of the Timberland Heritage line from Timberland as well as Amazon.

Designed for waterproof comfort with seam-sealed construction, rubber lug outsoles, and brown leather padded collars, these plain-toe boots are derby-laced with seven brass grommets on each side for the two-tone laces.

Wendy (Shelley Duvall) finds a place for Jack.

Barely glimpsed on Jack’s left wrist is a steel wristwatch, which he wears throughout the film.

What to Imbibe

God, I’d give anything for a drink. I’d give my goddamned soul for just a glass of beer.

While Jack Torrance’s soul is certainly up for grabs, it’s not beer but bourbon that ends up satiating the part of him that has been craving a drink after spending the better part of a year on the wagon.

At least, the laconic Lloyd calls it “bourbon,” a surprising misstep for a professional bartender who ought to know that the Jack Daniel’s he pulls off the shelf for a thirsty Jack is actually a Tennessee whiskey rather than the differently distilled bourbon whiskey associated with Kentucky. After all, Jack Daniel’s proudly earns its Tennessee whiskey designation alongside other Tennessee whiskies like George Dickel after the spirit is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal chips, a step popularly known as the “Lincoln County Process” that became required under the law after Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed House Bill 1084 in May 2013.

Jack for Jack.

I like you, Lloyd. I always liked you. You were always the best of them. Best goddamned bartender from Timbuktu to Portland, Maine. Or Portland, Oregon, for that matter.

In search of a drink, Jack feels an instant kinship with Lloyd, a connection communicated to the audience through their nearly matching “uniform” of similar jackets. While Lloyd’s burgundy velvet dinner jacket is more indicative of a bygone era, the color and texture it shares with Jack’s more contemporary corduroy blouson unifies the two in the Overlook Hotel’s unending time warp.

To be fair, Lloyd’s selection of whiskies does look relatively limited with plenty of gin, cognac, and liqueur but nary much whiskey other than Jack Daniel’s.

Lloyd: Women. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.
Jack: Words of wisdom, Lloyd, my man. Words… of… wisdom.

And if drinking in a Prohibition-era setting, you’ll want the appropriate music. From Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke to Sidney Bechet and Duke Ellington, there’s no shortage of great musicians from the 1920s that can provide the soundtrack to your night of classic cocktails, however this British production used the stirring vocals of Al Bowlly backed by Ray Noble and his Orchestra to set the mood, most notably the 1934 recording of “Midnight, the Stars, and You” that leads into the end credits.

Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980)

How to Get the Look

“As the winter and his madness closes in, Jack recedes to workwear staples: a corduroy bomber jacket, plaid flannel work shirt, jeans, and work boots,” wrote David Shuck in a thoughtful 2014 exploration for Heddels. “This stands in stark contrast to the black tie dinners that haunt his vision.”

• Burgundy corduroy blouson jacket with shirt-style collar, 5-button covered fly front with double-button bottom closure, brown woolen elasticized hem, three patch pockets with buttoned flaps, and single-button cuffs
• Navy, white, red, and green plaid flannel shirt with point collar, front placket, flapped set-in breast pocket, and button cuffs
• Dark blue selvedge denim Lee 101 Rider jeans
• Brown leather belt with contrasting tan edge-stitching and thick squared steel single-prong buckle
• Timberland Heritage six-inch work boots in burnished, waterproof-treated full-grain wheat gold leather

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie and read Stephen King’s novel. If you’re among the many fascinated with interpreting and exploring the film’s many possible meanings, check out Rodney Ascher’s 2012 documentary Room 237 featuring insights from Blakemore, Cocks, and other film scholars who provide unique analysis into the movie.

If you’re looking to take in the alpine aesthetic of The Shining with less of the axe-wielding madness, check out the Majestic Yosemite Hotel (former the Ahwahnee Hotel) which inspired much of the Overlook’s set design and architecture.

Fans should also check out some of this behind-the-scenes footage of the cast, including an increasingly intense Jack Nicholson.

The Quote

Here’s Johnny!

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972)

Vitals

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, war hero and Mafia son

New York City, December 1945

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

Background

As we get closer to the holidays, today’s #MafiaMonday look from The Godfather is a fall-friendly approach to dressing for cooler weather and grayer days.

And the days are indeed gray for the Corleone family, particularly the recently returned Michael (Al Pacino). Things were going pretty well for a while, as the decorated Marine hero had just attended the wedding of his sister Connie (Talia Shire) and was looking forward to a comfortable life with his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton)… until his father, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), was shot and badly wounded by Mafia rivals.

Now, a gloomy Michael is home for the holidays but has little to do other than hang around the family’s Long Island compound and learn a few family secrets about making sauce. He keeps his date with his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton), though the couple’s quiet dinner at the St. Regis does little to alter his glum attitude.

Following their date, Michael goes to visit Vito in the hospital and discovers that McCluskey (Sterling Hayden), a corrupt New York City police captain, has dismissed the bodyguards. Sensing something wrong, Michael recruits the trembling baker’s son Enzo – who really couldn’t have picked a worse time to drop in on a family friend – to stand in front of the hospital until reinforcements arrive.

Michael’s gambit was enough to deter one round of potential killers, but a bitter, blustering, and furious Captain McCluskey arrives on the scene and decks him. Michael ends up with a sizable shiner on his jaw, but the real damage runs far deeper as the next morning we witness the young man’s transformation from the ambitious war hero hoping for a safe family life into the calculating mob boss capable of both planning and executing murder:

They want to have a meeting with me, right? It will be me, McCluskey and Sollozzo. Let’s set the meeting. Get our informants to find out where it’s going to be held. Now we insist it’s a public place, a bar or a restaurant; some place where there’s people there so I’ll feel safe. They’re going to search me when I first meet them, right? So I can’t have a weapon on me then. But if Clemenza can figure a way to have a weapon planted there for me, then I’ll kill them both.

What’d He Wear?

It’s Christmastime in New York, and the nip in the air means pulling out the coats and scarves. After wearing a brown overcoat and striped brown scarf for some holiday shopping with Kay, Michael ditches the scarf and instead pulls out a second, heavier brown topcoat that buttons up to the neck. It’s worth noting that both of Michael’s coats before he gets more involved with the mob are a deep, earthy shade of brown, communicating a grounded sincerity.

This brown napped wool coat has four widely spaced mixed plastic sew-through buttons up the front from just below his waist line to his neck, where the top button fastens under a flat, shirt-style collar. The coat has hand pockets and the cuffs are triple-banded with no buttons or fastening.

“When Michael Corleone went into the city that night it was with a depressed spirit,” wrote Mario Puzo at the start of Chapter 9 of The Godfather. “He felt that he was being enmeshed in the Family business against his will and he resented Sonny using him even to answer the phone.”

Ivy League style is a hallmark of Michael Corleone’s fashion sense during his brief “civilian era” between the Marine Corps and the Mafia, so noticeable that even his older brother Sonny can’t help but comment on it when Michael suggests taking a more active – read: murderous – role in his family’s activities. His brown pinwale corduroy cotton sport jacket is an Ivy style staple.

The single-breasted two-button jacket has notch lapels, a welted breast pocket, and straight flapped hip pockets, all with swelled edges. There is a single vent in the back and two spaced non-functioning buttons at the end of each sleeve.

“The change in him was so extraordinary that the smiles vanished from the faces of Clemenza and Tessio,” wrote Mario Puzo in Chapter 10 of The Godfather. “Michael was not tall or heavily built but his presence seemed to radiate danger. In that moment he was a reincarnation of Don Corleone himself.”

Michael’s oxford-cloth cotton shirt with its button-down collar is another Ivy classic that’s far more collegiate than criminal in its associations. The hairline striping is dark navy on white, and it appears to be the same shirt he would wear with his charcoal flannel three-piece suit when executing Sollozzo and McCluskey at Louis’ Restaurant. The shirt has a breast pocket, front placket, and single-button barrel cuffs with mitred corners.

The autumnal striped silk tie coordinates with the other colors in his outfit with “downhill” diagonal stripes of varying widths in bronze, brown, and gray.

Michael wears a pair of dark gray flannel trousers, the pants that Alan Flusser refers to as “the blue blazer of cool-weather dress slacks” in his seminal Dressing the Man, commenting that “should you be considering a new sport jacket and are having difficulty visualizing it with a medium gray trouser, move on.” Michael’s gray trousers have turn-ups (cuffs) on the bottoms, and he wears them with a dark brown leather belt.

The belt coordinates with his brown leather V-front derby shoes with two-eyelet lacing. These shoes and his black socks are Michael’s standard footwear with his civilian wardrobe.

As Michael begins strategizing on behalf of his family’s criminal empire, he adopts a powerful yet comfortable position in his chair that would become his signature.

Before he would graduate to the 18-karat gold Omega for his reign as Don of the Corleone crime family, Michael sported a much simpler timepiece, a plain steel wristwatch on a black leather strap. With its black dial, it could be a military watch – and thus possibly made by Hamilton, Bulova, or Elgin – that he may have retained from his wartime service in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Time is running out for Michael Corleone to avoid the powerful pull of his family’s dark side. If only he had stayed longer during his date with Kay…

Go Big or Go Home

…and enjoy a home-cooked pasta dish with Clemenza’s signature recipe for Sunday gravy, which he teaches Michael after some gentle ribbing about his phone call with Kay.

Come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for twenty guys someday.

You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then, you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste. You fry it, you make sure it doesn’t stick. You get it to a boil, you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs, heh? And a little bit of wine, and a little bit of sugar, and that’s my trick.

The Barefoot Clemenza at work.

Progresso appears to be the brand of choice for the Corleone family’s Sunday sauce. (As far as wine goes, anything from a glass jug ought to do the trick.)

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972)

How to Get the Look

From the hotel to the hospital and back home again, this sequence features the last stand of Michael Corleone’s traditional Ivy-inspired style as he finally finds himself unable to resist the pull of his family’s criminal ventures.

• Brown pinwale corduroy single-breasted 2-button sport jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, spaced 2-button cuffs, and single vent
• White-and-navy dress-striped oxford-cloth cotton shirt with button-down collar, front placket, and mitred button cuffs
• Autumnal “downhill”-striped tie
• Gray flannel flat front trousers with turn-ups/cuffs
• Dark brown leather belt with squared steel single-prong buckle
• Brown leather 2-eyelet derby shoes
• Black dress socks
• Brown wool 4-button topcoat with flat collar, hand pockets, and single vent
• Steel military-style field watch with black dial on black leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series and read Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel that started it all.

The Quote

It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.

Louis Jourdan and Elizabeth Taylor in The V.I.P.s (1963)

Vitals

Louis Jourdan as Marc Champselle, “a gigolo… a buffoon… a professional diner-outer… a notorious sponger!”

Heathrow Airport, London, Winter 1963

Film: The V.I.P.s
(also released as Hotel International)
Release Date: September 19, 1963
Director: Anthony Asquith
Costume Designer: Pierre Cardin (uncredited)

Background

Happy December! For the first month of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, we look to the stylish 1963 film The V.I.P.s, a cinematic celebration of jet-age luxury starring an impressive international cast as a group of travelers stranded at London’s Heathrow Airport and the neighboring Hotel International for a cold but passionate January night.

Screenwriter Terence Rattigan supposedly based this drama on his friend Vivien Leigh’s attempt to leave Laurence Olivier for her lover, Peter Finch, until Leigh and Finch’s flight out of London airport was delayed by fog, giving Olivier time to rush to the airport to confront them and convince Leigh to return home with him.

While Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton famously played the feuding married couple in the first of a dozen films they would star in together, in a role that would become all too real for the film’s cast and crew, the role of Liz’s dashing – if irresponsible – paramour went to Louis Jourdan, a suave Marseille-born actor who had taken a break from his fledgling film career during World War II to join the French Resistance. Twenty years after his role in The V.I.P.s, Jourdan would bring his urbane sophistication to the James Bond franchise as Kamal Khan, the villain opposite Roger Moore’s 007 in Octopussy (1983).

What’d He Wear?

“Jourdan flew to London from Hollywood at the last moment to appear in the film, bringing his own wardrobe with him,” wrote Sam Kashner for Vanity Fair in July 2003, providing the definitive behind-the-scenes account of this movie. “‘I had never seen anything like it,’ remembers [assistant director Peter] Medak, who was the first to greet Jourdan on the set. ‘There were 20 pairs of gray flannel trousers in various shades, and sport jackets, and those shoes! The same shoes Cary Grant used to wear, those kind of loafers. He always looked immaculate on-screen and off—he was famous for that.”

Early in his career, Louis Jourdan had been a model for Pierre Cardin, and Cardin’s uncredited costume design on The V.I.P.s leaves little doubt that it was Cardin’s designs that provided the bulk of Jourdan’s wardrobe as the debonair Marc Champselle.

Marc drapes himself in a camel cashmere raglan-sleeve coat. The single-breasted coat has a single-breasted three-button covered fly front; when he turns up the notch lapels, a fourth button is revealed at the neck to close the coat over the chest for additional warmth. The full-fitting, knee-length coat has hand pockets with large vertical openings, cuffed sleeves, and a single vent.

Note the raglan sleeves and the button at the neck.

Perfect for a winter day in London, Marc wears a gray herringbone tweed sport jacket with an American-inspired cut with no darts and a single rear vent. The single-breasted front has notch lapels with swelled edges that roll over the top of three dark gray plastic buttons. Two non-functioning buttons are spaced apart on each cuff. The jacket also has a welted breast pocket and straight flapped hip pockets.

Marc stands in the lobby of Hotel International.

In the welted breast pocket of his tweed sportcoat, Marc wears a red silk pocket square, printed in a foulard pattern of ornate olive squares.

Marc enjoys a moment with Frances in her suite.

“His need is for Charvet ties and silk shirts,” Paul growls about Marc. If that’s the case, Marc is certainly ignoring his needs for his day of luxury air travel, wearing instead a considerably subdued cotton shirt and solid black tie.

Marc’s shirt is pale gray with a semi-spread collar and double (French) cuffs. His only concession to any sort of sartorial grandeur is this regard is a set of large and ornate gold cuff links with enamel-painted striped shields on the faces.

Marc flashes his cuff links as he works out an arrangement with Paul.

Marc keeps his neckwear simple with a plain black tie, knotted in a four-in-hand. It may indeed be a Charvet tie, but not conspicuously so.

Seemingly in line with the real Louis Jourdan’s reported penchant for gray flannel trousers, Marc Champselle wears a pair of dark charcoal wool flat front trousers that rise to his waist, just at the buttoning point of the jacket. They appear to be beltless and finished on the bottoms with plain-hemming rather than cuffs.

Despite Peter Medak’s recollection of Jourdan wearing “those kind of loafers… Cary Grant used to wear”, his character appears to be wearing black calf leather lace-up derby shoes with black socks to continue the leg line.

Marc indulges in his virtues: gambling, drinking, and womanizing.

Marc wears a plain gold watch on a black leather strap, fastened to his left wrist.

What to Imbibe

Although much of the movie is set in a V.I.P. lounge where the characters have little to do other than drink, The V.I.P.s featured far more imbibing behind the scenes than on the screen. Richard Burton “would drink Bloody Marys before noon, then a second bottle of vodka for lunch,” while Peter Medak told Vanity Fair decades later about Elizabeth Taylor drinking glasses of straight vodka in her makeup chair before going on camera.

Booze was even a major part of the film’s promotional tactics. Anatole “Tolly” de Grunwald designed a marketing campaign that included a contest where the winning “V.I.P.” would win a personalized portable bar that was stocked with twelve bottles of Booth’s High & Dry gin, three bottles of dry vermouth, and a set of cocktail accessories.

In the film itself, White Horse blended Scotch whisky seems to be the booze of choice for our stranded characters. White Horse has been continually produced since 1861, and it was reportedly distributed to crews of the U.S. Army Air Force 467th Bombardment Group when stationed at RAF Rackheath in England during the final months of World War II. The whisky’s blend includes Glen Elgin and Lagavulin, before the latter would become a popular single malt bottling in its own right, including as the favorite of Parks and Recreation‘s Ron Swanson.

“I thought we might be needing this,” Marc offers when he brings a bottle of White Horse to Frances’ hotel suite.

Later, a squabble between Frances and her jealous husband Paul leads to her cutting her hand. He pours out a dram of White Horse for both of them before he realizes…

Paul: Didn’t know you liked whisky.
Frances: It’s not my bottle.
Paul: Oh, I see… do you think he’ll forgive us?

Paul soon gets the chance to find out as Marc returns to Frances’ suite and is drolly greeted by Paul: “I’ve stolen some of your whisky, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” responds the jilted lover.

How to Get the Look

Louis Jourdan as Marc Champselle in The V.I.P.s (1963)

A dapper dresser in real life, Louis Jourdan brought a fashionable yet functional aesthetic to his character in The V.I.P.s with a timeless ensemble just as appropriate for a natty winter day at the office as for high-class air travel.

• Gray herringbone tweed single-breasted sport coat with notch lapels, 3/2-roll dark gray plastic buttons, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, spaced 2-button cuffs, and single vent
• Pale gray cotton shirt with semi-spread collar and double/French cuffs
• Black tie
• Charcoal wool flat front trousers with side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black calf leather derby shoes
• Black socks
• Camel cashmere raglan coat with notch lapels, single-breasted 3-button covered-fly front with throat button, large vertical hand pockets, cuffed sleeves, and single vent
• Red square-printed foulard silk pocket square
• Gold watch on black leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

Look, I’m not insulted. From all you know of me, you’ve a perfect right to suppose that I can be bought off. As a matter of fact, I have been bought off by a jealous husband before… two, come to think of it.

Frank Sinatra trims the tree during the opening of “Happy Holidays with Bing & Frank,” the 1957 Christmas special episode of The Frank Sinatra Show.

Vitals

Frank Sinatra, multi-talented entertainer

Hollywood, December 1957

Series: The Frank Sinatra Show
Episode: “Happy Holidays with Bing & Frank” (Episode 1.10)
Air Date: December 20, 1957
Director: Frank Sinatra
Wardrobe Credit: Morris Brown
Tailor: Sy Devore

Background

Happy birthday, Frank Sinatra! To celebrate the 103rd anniversary of Ol’ Blue Eyes entering the world in a Hoboken tenement, let’s look back at a time when Frankie was sittin’ on top of the world: the late 1950s.

After the low point of his life and the prospect of his career in ruins, Sinatra bounced back with an Academy Award-winning performance in From Here to Eternity (1953) and a seven-year recording contract with Capitol Records that yielded an impressive string of concept albums that remain among the best popular music ever recorded.

Sinatra was one of the biggest stars of the world in 1957 when ABC signed him to a $3 million contract for The Frank Sinatra Show, a variety and drama series for which Sinatra would have almost total artistic freedom.

As the Chairman of the Board was a lifelong Christmas fanatic, it was unquestioned that the series would feature a special holiday episode, which Sinatra himself stepped up to direct, though he knew the show would need a guest worthy of the season he loved.

“He was a guerilla, if he wanted to direct, [he would direct],” said the show’s producer William Self during a 2003 Q&A at the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) after the show was unearthed. “It was Frank’s idea to do a Christmas show with Bing. He respected Bing a great deal… they got along great, and Frank just said, ‘I’m gonna direct it,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir!'”

A year after their success together in High Society, the 1956 musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, Bing Crosby joined Frank for the half-hour special episode. Both stars were big enough to work their own preferred way, so the musical “duets” were recorded ten hours apart to accommodate Bing’s preference for pre-recording in the morning and Frank’s preference for live recording in the evening.

Frank joins Bing for a duet of “The Christmas Song”.

“Nobody embraced Christmas as he did,” Nancy Sinatra told Variety of her father’s love for the holiday season. It was Nancy who unearthed the original 35mm film print of the holiday special while she was looking through disintegrating items in the family vault.

“I think this show exemplifies that he loved this time of year,” said Tina Sinatra, Frank’s youngest daughter, during the same MT&R Q&A, though both daughters dispute that Frank would ever live in what Tina described as a “bachelor’s lair” as Nancy pointed out that he would have hated all of the green on the set – from the mint-colored Royal typewriter to the bright green horse that would later be used on the set of The Brady Bunch.

“You see how neat Dad was with the trimming of the tree? Forget it,” Nancy explained to the audience of the 2003 Q&A, demonstrating Frank’s real-life method of haphazardly throwing tinsel on a tree.

“That was only once… it was late he got tired,” argued Tina.

“…and drunk,” added Nancy, to a knowing audience’s laughter.

“Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank” aired Friday, December 20, 1957 on ABC. The warm half-hour program includes many genuine moments, such as Sinatra accidentally dropping an ornament while trimming the tree during the opening number, “Mistletoe and Holly”. Despite producer William Self wanting to reshoot the scene, Frank merely shrugs off his clumsiness, casually bending down to pick it up before re-hanging it on the tree, adding a touch of authenticity that makes viewers feel like me may be watching the real Frank Sinatra decorating his home for the holidays… albeit while dressed impeccably in a blazer, cuff links, and silk tie in the well-lit Samuel Goldwyn Studios in West Hollywood.

What’d He Wear?

Sinatra dresses sharply for an evening of holiday entertainment, though his three-button navy blazer and gray flannel trousers recalls a similar look he wore in Pal Joey (1957), released just two months earlier.

Frank kicks back between numbers in the swingin’ bachelor pad set.

Frank’s dark navy wool blazer was almost definitely tailored by Sy Devore of Beverly Hills, the go-to tailor for the Rat Pack as well as gents in their orbit including Bing, Nat King Cole, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley, and John Wayne. It’s a darker shade of blue than the blazer he wore earlier that year in Pal Joey, and this particular jacket has silver crested shank buttons rather than the gold buttons on the Pal Joey blazer. Frank fastidiously wears the blazer with the top two buttons fastened, leaving the third correctly undone. There are also three smaller matching buttons on each cuff.

The ventless blazer has notch lapels, straight flapped hip pockets, and a welted breast pocket for his neatly folded white linen pocket square.

“Me, have a date, did you think? Heavens to Betsy, no,” Frank sheepishly responds when Bing assumes that the “intimate” dinner he arranged is for a young female caller. For context, Frank and Ava Gardner had only divorced months earlier, though they’d been separated since October 1953.

“He was crazy about his ties – only silk would do, in muted patterns or dignified stripes,” writes Bill Zehme in The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin’, the definitive guide to the Chairman’s sense of style. “He favored the feel and designs of Sulka, which he learned from George Raft, who wore Sulka everything. Turnbull & Asser impressed him as well.”

Nancy Sinatra apparently inherited her father’s eye for neckwear, vigorously noting during the 2003 Q&A that the restoration made his tie look grayer than the bold blue it was in real life.

“Fancy ties and grandma’s pies, and folks stealin’ a kiss or two,” croons Frank as he rubs the shiny satin of his blue cravat during “Mistletoe and Holly”. When he later repeats the verse, he actually pulls the tie out of his blazer to reveal that the right side of the bottom down to the blade is a lighter shade of blue, creating an asymmetrical “dipped” effect.

“Fancy ties”, indeed.

When not wearing a tuxedo for the evening, Frank seemed to prefer keeping his evening ensembles as close to black tie with dark (but never brown) suits and sport jackets worn over plain white shirts. His white cotton shirt in the Christmas special has a large point collar with a shapely, semi-spherical curve over the tie space. Behind-the-scenes shots illustrate that the shirt buttons up a plain front and has a monogram on the left breast.

Naturally, the shirt also has double (French) cuffs for Frank’s required cuff links. “Cuff links were, of course, required always,” writes Zehme, who recalls family anecdotes about the Chairman’s two drawers for cuff links alone. “He got them everywhere, but especially loved to buy them from a Florida hustler named Swifty Morgan.”

The flat gold square links that Sinatra wears on his cuffs for this special Christmas episode are consistent with the elegant minimalism of the rest of his outfit. Whether or not they were purchased from the questionable Mr. Morgan is lost to history.

♪ Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town ♪

While Frank Sinatra paid attention to how he dressed, he was hardly a flashy dresser. In fact, the most affected piece of his wardrobe in this particular episode was his subtly monogrammed belt buckle, a silver pinhead-textured box-style buckle with “FS” embossed in the upper left and lower right corners, respectively.

Bing and Frank behind the scenes of “Happy Holidays with Bing & Frank”, late 1957.

Navy blazers and khaki slacks have become something of an easy go-to ensemble for gents looking for a shortcut to dressing well. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that combination, I prefer the more classic balance of dark gray wool trousers with a navy blazer. Frank sports a pair of dark gray flannel trousers that, combined with the double reverse pleats and the fashionably full fit of the late ’50s, look voluminous on the slim singer’s frame. They have side pockets and are finished with turn-ups (cuffs) on the bottoms.

“There was no excuse for brown shoes past sundown, ever,” writes Zehme. “To emphasize his convictions, [Sinatra] was not above inserting lit firecrackers into the brown shoes of any comrade.” Keeping this in mind, it’s no surprise that Frank wears a pair of black calf cap-toe oxfords and black socks with his ensemble.

While his guest had the presence of mind to wear black shoes for his appearance on the show, one wonders how Frank must have seethed at Bing’s decision to appear on his evening-set Christmas special wearing a brown suit.

Frank wasn’t as much of a jewelry enthusiast as his fellow Rat Packer Sammy Davis Jr., but he would occasionally wear a ring on his right pinkie, whether it was the signet ring with his family crest or one of the matching diamond rings he had made for him and Dean Martin. The ring worn in this special appears to be a different one altogether with a large black surface.

Well, Merry Christmas, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our Christmas show for Bulova – the gift of a lifetime – and Chesterfield – my cigarette.

The Frank Sinatra Show was proudly sponsored by Bulova and Chesterfield and, though Ol’ Blue Eyes was almost definitely reading from cue cards for the above opening to the episode, he was certainly a confirmed Chesterfield smoker during this era before he switched to Camels for his Reprise years and beyond.

Could his watch possibly be a Bulova then? The show certainly makes a case for it as the first part of Frank’s clothing we see is his gold wristwatch, strategically positioned with the round silver dial gleaming from the inside of Frank’s wrist as he trims his tree.

♪ Oh by gosh, by golly… it’s time for shameless product placement ♪

Founded in New York City by Bohemian immigrant Joseph Bulova in 1875, Bulova has been a steady presence in the American watchmaking scene for nearly 150 years, breaking ground not only for its technical innovations but also its marketing savvy. Bulova produced the first-ever advertisement broadcast on radio (1926), followed by the first-ever TV advertisement fifteen years later (1941).

Now owned by the Japanese conglomerate Citizen Watch Co., Bulova continues to make men’s watches that pay homage to its mid-century reputation, particularly the Classic Collection. If you’re looking for the simple elegance of Frank’s gold case, silver dial, and dark leather strap, check out the Aerojet (also on Amazon) or the Surveyor, both available for under $250.

A brief “fantasy” sequence finds the two crooners joining the carolers for a brief – and unquestioned – transportation back to Merry Olde Victorian England, where they merely supplant their 1957 outfits with ulsters, scarves, and felt toppers to fit in with the Ralph Brewster Singers.

Bing and Frank step back into history.

Frank may have been known for the way he wore – and cocked – his hats, and you have to admit that he brings more swagger to a felt top hat than one might expect.

What to Imbibe

Frank: Bingo, can I offer you a little toddy?
Bing: Ah, a little toddy for the body might just take the chill off. What are you featuring here tonight, Frank?

Frank pours “a little jazz” for himself and Bing as they launch into a fun “Jingle Bells” duet, though it isn’t until the song is over that we hear Frank explain “what’s going on in the tub here.”

Our host is quick to clarify that the “tub” full of apples that Bing refers to is actually “an old English wassail bowl,” and that the two are thus imbibing in wassail. Frank claims the recipe is hundreds of years old (he’s not wrong) before bemusing about the “wonderful time in merry old England,” which of course inspires our crooning heroes to saunter outside and join a group of Victorian-era carolers.

Frank makes Bing sing for his booze.

Wassail? What’s that?

In short, it’s a hot, mulled cider punch that originated in England during the Middle Ages as part of a yuletide ritual for luck in the coming year’s harvest. The ritual itself is known as “wassailing”, which was typically observed on Twelfth Night (January 5 of 6). The traditional Christmas carol “Here We Come A-wassailing” (Americanized to “Here We Come A-caroling”) celebrates this practice and the spirit of generosity as the rich would offer up the contents of their wassail bowl to carolers that arrived at their door with cheerful songs promising good fortune.

The earliest known wassail was actually a drink called “lambswool” that consisted of warmed mead with roasted crab apples dropped in and bursting. By the 1600s, the drink evolved to a mulled cider spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and sugar, and topped with slices of toast for sopping. Modern recipes have extra spirits – often with a base of wine, brandy, or sherry – and are topped with apples and oranges, perhaps in tribute to the original crab apples of the lambswool recipe.

According to “We Two Kings”, the tenth season holiday-themed episode of Frasier, the bowl itself is integral to the definition of its contents.

Martin: Why don’t you just use the punch bowl?
Frasier: Because then it wouldn’t be wassail, it would be punch.

Fed up with his pretentious son, Martin consults the dictionary for a clearer definition of wassail and learns that it is merely defined there as “a Christmas punch.”

The Music

Our old friend, Mr. Bing Crosby, will be our guest, and the accent is on music, both traditional and modern… and here’s one of the newer songs…

Frank doesn’t mince words when beginning his holiday show. After the first sentence mentioning his sponsors, he spends the next sentence introducing his guest, the show’s focus, and the first song, “Mistletoe and Holly,” for which he shares a writing co-credit.

Bing himself shows up after the song, joining Frank in a short a capella round of “Happy Holiday,” an Irving Berlin tune that Bing himself had introduced in the 1942 film Holiday Inn:

Bing: Say, that must be your key.
Frank: This is my ballpark!

The good Mr. Crosby comes bearing gifts, including his own recent Christmas album, A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World. In turn, Frank hands him “a jolly group of Christmas songs… by me.”

While Bing had recorded plenty of holiday-themed albums by the time of the special, A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra was Frank’s second holiday record but his first full-length holiday album as his 1948 album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, had been originally released by Columbia as a 78 rpm album set and a 10″ LP record.

Recorded in the decidedly non-wintry setting of Los Angeles in the early summer of 1957, A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra consists of twelve holiday tracks featuring Frank backed by an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins, who also arranged the music for the album. Choral backing is provided by the Ralph Brewster Singers, who also appeared as the Victorian-era carolers in this special. The album was first released on September 21, 1957, though the CD reissue 30 years later included two bonus tracks: the 1954 single versions of “White Christmas” and “The Christmas Waltz”, the latter being one of my personal favorites.

Bing and Frank gifted their own records to the other.

The entire playlist for the “Happy Holidays with Bing & Frank” special:

• “Jingle Bells” (Instrumental)
• “Mistletoe and Holly” (Frank Sinatra)
• “Jingle Bells” (Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby)
• “Deck the Halls” (The Ralph Brewster Singers)
• “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (Frank, Bing, and The Ralph Brewster Singers)
• “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (Frank, Bing, and The Ralph Brewster Singers)
• “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Frank, Bing, and The Ralph Brewster Singers)
• “The First Noel” (The Ralph Brewster Singers)
• “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” (Frank Sinatra)
• “Away in a Manger” (Bing Crosby)
• “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby)
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (Bing Crosby)
• “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (Frank Sinatra)
• “The Christmas Song” (Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby)
• “White Christmas” (Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby)

How to Get the Look

Frank Sinatra in “Happy Holidays with Bing & Frank,” the 1957 Christmas special episode of The Frank Sinatra Show.

The Chairman of the Board illustrates the classic navy blazer’s versatility for holiday get-togethers, whether you’re dressing for a party or a one-on-one musical dinner with a respected pal.

• Dark navy wool single-breasted blazer with 3 silver shank buttons, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
• White cotton shirt with large point collar, plain front, breast monogram, and button cuffs
• Blue satin silk tie with light blue “dipped” blade
• Dark gray flannel double reverse-pleated high-rise trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, button-through jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Black leather belt with textured silver monogrammed box buckle
• Black calf leather derby shoes
• Black socks
• Bulova yellow gold wristwatch with silver dial on black leather strap

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the TV special. You can pick up the features-laden DVD, which restores the black-and-white original broadcast to full color, or stream the special itself on Vimeo.

You can also read more about Frank’s daughters Tina and Nancy celebrating their father’s legacy and love of the holidays in this article written by Chris Willman last December for Variety.

Dressing for the holiday office party can be a mixed bag. Do you embrace the festive aspects of the holiday with a snowman-themed tie, Santa Claus socks, and a nutcracker pin… do you treat it like any other day of work and not worry about your grays and blues discouraging Christmas revelry… or do you meet somewhere in the middle, maybe wearing a tie with some holiday color but not looking much different than you would any other Monday?

As a satirical look at American work life, NBC’s The Office fully leaned into some of the most absurd aspects of corporate culture from ridiculous jargon and petty office politics to the time-honored tradition of the office holiday party. Over its nine seasons, The Office dedicated seven episodes to corporate Christmas celebrations (seasons one and four were the exception), all showcasing the unadvisable drinking, flirtations, and holiday outfits that cogs of the real-life corporate machine can identify with all too well.

This week is probably kicking off a bulk of your workplace holiday parties, so – in the spirit of Christmas – enjoy this ranking of the male characters’ outfits during the third season’s “A Benihana Christmas”, one of my favorite Christmas episodes and something that gets just as much airplay for me during the holiday season as classic films like Christmas Vacation, Elf, and White Christmas do.

The cast of The Office poses for a promotional shot of season 3’s “A Benihana Christmas”, though only the characters from Dunder-Mifflin’s Scranton branch are featured.

Series: The Office
Episode: “A Benihana Christmas” (Episode 3.10-3.11)
Air Date: December 14, 2006
Director: Harold Ramis
Creator: Greg Daniels
Costume Designer: Carey Bennett

Keeping in mind both the quality of each outfit and their appropriateness for a workplace holiday party, I ranked the 11 male characters from the Dunder-Mifflin office who show up for one or both of the office’s respective Christmas parties, whether it be Angela’s Nutcracker Christmas or Pam and Karen’s Margarita Karaoke Christmas. (However, I did not include Roy, as I deemed his simple shirt and pants as too pedestrian to be of any sartorial interest, even for the sake of comparison.)

11. Andy Bernard (Ed Helms)

So she looks at me, right, and she goes, “I’m sorry, don’t I even know you?” After a year – a year – of buying lattes from her, do you believe that?

As the male character who arguably cares most about his wardrobe and appearance, the office sycophant Andy Bernard is the biggest sartorial disappointment for his first Christmas party at the Scranton branch.

Andy’s navy houndstooth suit and checked shirt are actually quite nice, but the cheap-looking satin-finished tie with its wide stripes alternating in bright red and retina-burning green ruins an otherwise decent outfit.

It’s the wasted potential – as well as his boorish behavior in this episode – that truly shoves poor Andy to the bottom of this list, below the snowman-printed ties and the short-sleeved shirts (though anyone sporting a combination of both would surely be on the bottom spot.) No wonder Dwight shoved a door closed in his face.

Better luck next year, Bernard.

I’m too angry about the shiny, uncoordinated tie to appreciate an otherwise fine suit and shirt.

10. Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner)

I hear Angela’s party will have double-fudge brownies. It will also have Angela.

You have to respect Kevin for ditching his suit jacket early to wear a robe around the office. It’s far from stylish but comfortable enough that Kevin wouldn’t mind his place toward the bottom of this list. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with a snowman tie, a corpulent fella like Kevin should probably avoid any sort of neckwear that draws attention to his not-unsubstantial belly area… especially when it’s a rotund snowman painted on the blade of his tie.

You think a robe-wearing hedonist going for his second double-fudge brownie cares about where he ranks on a list of best-to-worst dressed? Let him eat cake.

9. Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson)

I accidentally ran over it. It’s a Christmas miracle!

Ah, Dwight, of all people… you almost pulled it off! Dunder-Mifflin Scranton’s assistant to the regional manager actually looks rather inspired in his variations of green, an under-utilized holiday color, with an olive suit and a low-contrast outfit that avoids excess flash. The tie’s a bit frantic, but even Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond wore some excessively patterned neckwear, an appropriate comparison as the CIA has been courting Dwight for a secret holiday mission.

The muted green metallic shirt takes the outfit into something appropriate for evening revelry that can be worn with a suit and tie without looking like you came straight from a staff meeting… if only that shirt had long sleeves. The short-sleeved shirt with a suit and tie downgrades Dwight’s look from a dark horse candidate for the top spot to something you’d expect from your high school principal.

Foiled again.

8. Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak)

I miss the days when there was only one party I didn’t want to go to.

As you’d expect from his talking head moment as well as his general demeanor, erstwhile temp Ryan Howard doesn’t even try to dress for his office’s holiday fun, ignoring the traditional Christmas colors in favor of a blue-centered outfit that would look fine any day of the year. (True, it could be argued that he’s wearing blue and white to reflect Hanukkah, or even winter snow, but it can be reasonably assumed that Ryan was not considering this when he dressed for work.)

Despite the lack of festivity, the items themselves are fine enough, from the micro-striped navy suit and white point-collar shirt to the striped tie in its shades of navy, periwinkle, and white.

Ryan’s cool blues provide a non-festive counter to Kelly Kapoor’s holiday red. Yet as much as he tries to resist both Kelly and the office festivities, he soon finds himself with his arms around her singing along to Kevin’s karaoke.

7. Michael Scott (Steve Carell)

I’d like everybody’s attention. Christmas is canceled.

Michael Scott does a fair job coordinating his outfit, consisting of an off-the-rack gray suit with a subtle blue pinstripe that nicely works with his light slate blue-colored shirt. It’s the sort of outfit that would go perfectly with a navy silk tie which, to be fair, at least describes Michael’s tie knot.

Michael’s silk snowmen-and-Santa tie made its first appearance in the second season masterpiece “Christmas Party”. Working up from the tie blade, the scene painted on the tie consists of jolly old St. Nicholas singing from a book of Christmas carols as the musical notes waft up to four snowmen – dressed in red and green, of course – who accompany him. The snowmen are singing next to a fully decorated Christmas tree, and further up the snowbank (and closer to the tie knot) is a brown chalet with smoke blowing from the chimney into the snowy dark blue sky. You can see more of the tie in this Amazon listing, though it appears to be out of stock as of December 2018.

Such an ostentatious tie might have earned Michael a lower spot on the list, but he gets some sympathy points after the devastating and humiliating breakup with Carol – there aren’t enough nog-a-sakes or James Blunt song previews on iTunes in the world to make up for that sort of pain.

The costume department deserves some credit for finding – and frequently using – a tie that a boss like Michael would take a special pride in wearing at his office’s annual Christmas bash.

6. Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson)

Hey, look, when you get done with your… meeting, you should come to the break room. We’re having a party.

In his blue striped shirt and dark jeans, Darryl bridges the gap between the better and lesser dressed gents of Dunder-Mifflin Scranton. Of them all, he looks the most ready to party, though the untucked shirt tails, jeans, and exposed T-shirt underneath may be a bit too casual for most offices.

Darryl interrupts the Nutcracker Christmas “meeting” to invite Phyllis to the break room party.

5. Jim Halpert (John Krasinski)

It’s a bold move to Photoshop yourself into a picture with your girlfriend and her kids on a ski trip with their real father. But then again, Michael’s a bold guy… is bold the right word?

As Jim pontificates on “bold moves”, he remains characteristically un-bold in his manner of dressing. His pedestrian taupe suit, off-white shirt, and dark tie could have been featured in any other episode, but where Jim should get some credit is adapting his everyday “uniform” to nod to the holiday. For better or worse, the down-to-earth Jim isn’t the type of guy who’s going to wear a Santa tie or a tie obnoxiously striped in the colors of the season just to reflect the holiday.

However, his silk tie, woven in burgundy, tan, and black stripes, appears to be the same one he wore for the previous year’s Christmas party. Evidently, the deep burgundy in the tie is Jim’s way of being festive, and we have to respect that. After all, it’s probably the most exciting tie he owns.

It wouldn’t be until the sixth season’s “Secret Santa” that Jim would wear a brighter red tie for the office Christmas party. By that episode, though, everyone’s sense of festive dress went up a few too many notches… even Stanley would be wearing a Christmas sweater.

4. Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker)

I’m going to the party in the break room, because they have more chairs in there. If I have to stand around a long time, I get real unpleasant to be around.
[from a deleted scene]

And speaking of Stanley… Dunder-Mifflin Scranton’s grumpy senior sales rep dresses rather well for the party in “A Benihana Christmas”, though it’s likely that he was also just dressing for a day at the office. His floral patterned tie adds an air of festivity without relying too hard on holiday or winter imagery, and the bold shade of his suit makes it stand out more than the typical navy suit, while the thin burgundy and blue stripes of his shirt bring it all together.

Bravo, Stanley.

Stanley’s tie seems ahead of its game, as that sort of small floral print has been revived in recent years with retailers like Express keeping them popular among the younger set.

3. Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein)

…Why?

Say what you will about Toby Flenderson – and people have said plenty – the guy doesn’t too a half-bad job when dressing for his company Christmas party. Especially in the context of his less-than-ideal home life, Toby pulls it together for a day at the office that often brings out the worst in people with a decent brown houndstooth jacket, brown slacks, and a subtly striped shirt.

Of all the guys wearing obvious holiday ties, Toby does it best. From a distance, you can hardly tell that the orderly, repeating red-and-yellow pattern on the oft-beleaguered Toby’s neckwear is a series of nutcrackers.

Sorry, Toby.

2. Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez)

Too soon.

Shortly after returning from his Dunder-Mifflin-paid three-month vacation in Europe, Oscar makes his first reappearance on The Office for a single shot at the Christmas party. The site of Dwight holding Angela’s microphone as she sings “The Little Drummer Boy” is too much for the accountant, however, and he leaves with his boyfriend Gil after deeming his return to be too soon.

Oscar’s departure is a sartorial loss for the episode, as the short glimpse we get shows one of the stronger holiday party outfits of the episode. He wears a burgundy crew-neck sweater with a large-scaled indigo cross-check, an indigo striped scarf, a lilac button-down collar shirt, and light brown slacks. The subtle, comfortable outfit is festive without being too loud, and it’s certainly an improvement over the reindeer-scattered red tie he had worn for the previous year’s party… however, Oscar wasn’t coming from a day in the office so – like Darryl – he had the advantage of not being restricted to a jacket and tie.

In Oscar’s defense, I’d leave too.

1. Creed Bratton

I don’t care which party I go to. Once you’ve danced naked at a hash bonfire with the spirits of the dead, all parties seem pretty much the same.
[from a deleted scene]

Okay, Creed, way to bring it. While some fit issues leave a bit to be desired, Creed’s aesthetic of a dark suit, non-white (but not too dark) shirt, and reddish tie is a timeless example of how a man can dress for an office Christmas party without attracting too much attention for going overboard…or for ignoring the holiday altogether.

A simple charcoal wool suit is essential for every man’s closet, as this versatile suit works just as well for a day behind the desk as well as a night on the town. Creed also wears a light gray shirt with a spread collar and a distinctive two-button barrel cuff.

I’m a sucker for incorporating some seasonal color during the holidays, and Creed’s ritzy tie of burgundy and gray gradient stripes nicely nods to Christmas while adhering to the suit and shirt’s gray palette. In fact, the neutral gray of the suit and shirt make the reddish tones of the tie pop even more.

Creed Bratton, unironically one of the best-dressed men at Dunder-Mifflin this holiday season.

Happy holidays, BAMF Style readers!

I hope all of you, particularly fans of The Office, enjoyed this exploration into one of my favorite holiday episodes.

If you haven’t seen The Office, do yourself a favor and check it out on Netflix or find the complete series on DVD.

Rock Hudson as Ron Kirby in All That Heaven Allows (1955)

Vitals

Rock Hudson as Ron Kirby, ambitious and independent-minded landscaper

New England, Fall to Winter 1955

Film: All That Heaven Allows
Release Date: August 25, 1955
Director: Douglas Sirk

Background

Among the many classic movies commonly associated with Christmas – It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and White Christmas to name a few – there are countless additional fine films from that same nostalgic postwar era that relied on the warmth of the holidays to set the scene.

Though it was released in London four months earlier, the Douglas Sirk-directed melodrama All That Heaven Allows made its United States debut on Christmas Day 1955.

Our story begins in the fictional New England town of Stoningham, the quintessential American small town that provides a scenic backdrop as the seasons transition from fall to winter. After starring together in Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession (1954) the previous year, Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson were reteamed to play the leads whose “May to December romance” – despite Wyman only being eight years Hudson’s senior – scandalize the tight-knit Stoningham community.

Rock Hudson, who would turn 30 a month before the film was released in the U.S., starred as the young, hardworking landscaper Ron Kirby whose ambitions of growing a tree farm are sidetracked after he falls for the classy widow Cary Scott (Wyman). The film follows their romance from fall into winter, a passage of time visually noted as the lush scenery transitions from autumnal leaves to freshly falling snow and even a gratuitous vignette of über-outdoorsman Rock Hudson feeding a reindeer.

Happy holidays.

What’d He Wear?

From its title to its description, All That Heaven Allows may not sound like a sanctum of badass men’s style, but Rock Hudson’s laconic landscaper proves otherwise with his rugged wardrobe of plaid flannel shirts and coats, wool jackets, chinos, and corduroys.

“Shirts came in plaid, plaid, plaid, and more plaid,” writes Debbie Sessions in VintageDancer.com’s overview of 1950s men’s fashion. “What sets 1950s men’s casual clothing apart is the sheer variety of options, the bold splash of colors, and the overwhelming use of new textures and materials. The cost of clothing plummeted after the war. New synthetic materials made clothes easy to wash and wear and the movies helped spread new fashions faster than ever before.”

During the postwar era of American consumer optimism, these durable plaid shirts came to symbolize the jack-of-all-trades everyman who could cut down a Christmas tree, repair a leaky pipe, and fix your roof…all in the same day. While Ron Kirby could ostensibly be a walking catalog for Pendleton Woolen Mills, whose specialty remains classic 1950s-style flannel “board shirts”, the popularity of this ubiquitous style during the fabulous fifties rose to the point where even companies like Amana – known for their refrigerators and furnaces – were selling plaid flannel shirts with their brand on the label. In fact, it’s likely that many a repairman called to service an Amana stove 60 years ago was wearing an Amana plaid flannel shirt as he did it.

#1 – Burgundy Shadow Plaid Shirt

If you’re impatient, you have no business growing trees.

It’s autumn 1955. Ron is nearly finished with his job pruning Cary’s trees and announces to the lovestruck widow – who’s been crushing on him hard – that she won’t be seeing him again until the following spring. On an impulse, she agrees to a date with the younger man at his home, just a woodie wagon’s ride away into the woods.

“I can see that a woman might not like it, but it does very well for me,” Ron explains of his rustic home. Perhaps it’s because I’ve just been rereading about Ed Gein’s crimes, but I was a bit uneasy to see Cary so enthusiastically accompanying a man she didn’t know very well into his secluded home in the woods. However, the world of Douglas Sirk-directed Technicolor melodrama is far from that of the Butcher of Plainfield… at least until you compare Gein’s plaid-capped outfit from his 1957 arrest to Ron Kirby’s ear-flapped outfit during the finale. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…

Ron dresses for his last day of work as Cary’s landscaper in a low-contrast two-toned burgundy-and-red shadow plaid flannel shirt with a point collar lined with burgundy satin-finished nylon. This type of lining remains a fixture of woolen flannel shirts and shirt-jackets like these vintage examples: here and here.

Note the burgundy nylon strip lining the inner placket, a fixture of all of Ron Kirby’s flannel shirts.

The shirt has dark red plastic sew-through buttons on the front placket, the cuffs, and to close the pointed flap over each of the two chest pockets. Ron wears it over a white cotton crew-neck undershirt.

As the seasons are still changing, Ron is still wearing his lighter weight khaki chinos. These flat front trousers have on-seam side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms that he wears self-cuffed to reveal his tall white socks with a wide red band around the top. He wears a wide russet leather belt that coordinates with his brown leather moc-toe work boots.

All in a day’s work.

Ron’s jacket is a dark navy fleeced wool zip-up blouson with an elastic waistband, button-closed cuffs, and two chest pockets that each close with a single-button flap.

An extra layer after wrapping up a job well done.

#2 – Red and Green Tartan Plaid Shirt

Later that fall, Ron returns from his tree-buying journey upstate and invites Cary to join him for a lobster-and-wine “clambake” at the house of his friends, Mick and Alita Anderson:

Alida: Make Cary comfortable, will you, Ron?
Ron: Alright… sit down, Cary.

I guess telling Cary to sit down is one way of making her comfortable… either way, Ron dresses for comfort himself in his second flannel shirt of the movie, this time in the traditional Royal Stewart Tartan plaid of a red ground with a green-and-navy plaid and thin white-and-yellow overcheck. The shirt plays up its Christmas aesthetic with a hunter green satin-finished nylon neck and placket lining.

Like the previous red duo-toned shirt, this shirt has a front placket, button cuffs, and two flapped pockets with pointed button-down flaps.

Ron adds his own singing abilities to the party’s entertainment.

The weather has been getting colder, so Ron swaps out his usual work khaki chinos for a pair of heavier corduroy trousers in rust brown. These flat front pants have straight side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms. He wears the same russet leather belt with the slim-framed, gold-toned rectangular single-prong buckle.

Cary’s not gonna like this.

As he’s attending a party and not working in someone’s yard, Ron seems to have swapped out his usual work boots for a pair of brown leather derby shoes.

Ron again wears the dark navy fleece wool blouson, though he also wears a dark blue wool scarf and black leather gloves for added protection against the chilly weather of a late autumn day in New England.

#3 – Red Plaid Hunting Coat

I’m learning right now how easy it would be to let myself be changed.

It’s now deep in December and there’s no doubt that a white Christmas is in the cards as the whole region is covered with snow.

Ron’s staple outerwear during the holidays is a black-on-red buffalo check plaid hunting coat, similar to those produced by Woolrich. Known as “the original outdoor clothing company”, Woolrich takes credit for the development of buffalo check plaid in 1850, twenty years after John Rich started the company with his first woolen mill in Plum Run, Pennsylvania. Countless vintage Woolrich hunting coats in red-and-black plaid can be found on sites like eBay, including this wool/nylon-blended 1970s jacket (here) that – save for the snap-up front – resembles the details and plaid pattern of Rock Hudson’s on-screen hunting coat.

Ron’s thigh-length coat fastens with five black snaps up the front to a wide, sharp shirt-style collar. The coat has set-in sleeves with single-button cuffs, and four patch pockets with mitred corners. All four pockets have a flap that closes with a single black snap, and the lower pockets have additional hand pockets behind them accessed through long vertical welts.

A high-caliber Christmas greeting from Ron Kirby.

Ron wears a taupe canvas hunting cap with brown fleece-lined ear flaps that he wears fastened to the top of his head. Hunting caps like this were developed through the early-to-mid 20th century as a modern alternative to the antiquated deerstalker.

Tension at the tree lot.

Ron is engaged in the very wintry activity of feeding a reindeer when Cary arrives for an impromptu Saturday evening date to see his progress on converting his barn into a livable home for them… and to ask her to marry him. He removes his plaid hunting coat and dark blue wool scarf to reveal… a red plaid flannel shirt – his third of the movie.

Unlike the others, however, this shirt has a primarily navy blue ground with a complex plaid pattern in red, black, and hunter green. The shirt is styled like his others with its substantial point collar, front placket, button cuffs, and flapped chest pockets. The strip lining the inner neck and placket is dark green nylon.

Ron and Cary’s romance runs hot…

Ron and Cary’s love story continues along a rocky path; she is issued an ultimatum, choosing between Ron and her kids. When she visits Ron’s home to make the decision, he is wearing a solid navy flannel long-sleeve shirt, styled the same as his others with point collar, front placket, button cuffs, and button-flapped chest pockets.

Ron sports the same brown corduroy trousers that he wore with the red-and-green Royal Stewart tartan plaid shirt, worn with his usual wide russet brown leather belt, brown leather moc-toe work boots, and those tall white socks with the red band around the top.

…and cold.

From that point on, Ron subconsciously rejects his festive red plaid and sticks with his navy shirt to match “the blues” of his mood. He is wearing the same shirt under his red plaid hunting coat for a scene of Christmas pheasant-hunting with his pal Mick, who offers terrible advice like: “She doesn’t want to make up her own mind, no girl does.”

Luckily, Cary proves Mick wrong by driving to Ron’s idyllic winter homestead on her own… but the couple’s luck soon runs out when Ron falls off an embankment after failing to get her attention.

Go Big or Go Home

Ron Kirby almost slid in as a Car Week contender for his “woodie wagon”, a maroon 1946 Ford. Though wood had been infrequently tapped as a resource for car bodies during the automotive industry’s formative years, it wasn’t mass-produced until Henry Ford – who had more than 400,000 acres of Michigan’s Iron Mountain forest at his disposal – introduced it as a body option for the 1929 Model A wagon. Thus, the woodie style emerged during the 1930s as automakers – particularly American manufacturers – augmented their steel-bodied vehicles with wood construction for a unique touch passenger compartments and panels.

After enjoying nearly a quarter century of popularity on American roads, the distinctive but labor-intensive woodie wagon had all but vanished for the 1953 model year, with only Buick holding out. Automakers who appreciated the woodie aesthetic – but not the cost – developed faux wood shortcuts with vinyl, plastic, and steel alternatives. (Read more about the history, making, and maintenance of woodie wagons here.)

Produced during the golden age of woodie wagons, Ron Kirby’s ’46 Ford Super De Luxe eight-passenger station wagon is the real deal.

And what to listen to?

1955 was a significant year for music as the tide started turning toward rock and roll: Chuck Berry recorded his first single (“Maybelline”), Elvis Presley was shooting to stardom with riots at his concerts and Colonel Tom Parker as his manager, and Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” was shaking the world through its use as the first rock song in a major film (Blackboard Jungle) and becoming the first rock single to hit #1 on the U.S. charts.

Rock had yet to reach the sleepy hamlet of Stoningham, though. Our story plays out against the dulcet tones of “Consolation No. 3 in D flat major,” one of Franz Liszt’s six solo compositions for the piano from 1849-1850 known as Consolations, S. 172.

What to Imbibe

Mick Anderson (Charles Drake), Ron’s friend and war buddy, serves up “The Anderson Special” for the guests, though this particular concoction goes undefined.

Alida, Cary, Ron, and Mick. Now that’s what I call a clambake.

Unlike many party guests, Ron shows off not by how much he can drink but by using his teeth to uncork one of the 16 bottles of wine purchased for the party.

How to Get the Look

Rock Hudson as Ron Kirby in All That Heaven Allows (1955), photo by Everett.

Put the “Rock” in “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by channeling Rock Hudson’s impressive red holiday plaid and flannel game this year!

• Red plaid woolen flannel shirt with nylon-lined wide point collar, patch chest pockets (with button-down pointed flaps), front placket, and button cuffs
• Red and black “buffalo check” plaid wool hunting coat with five-snap front, point collar, set-in sleeves, and four patch pockets (with snap-closure flaps)
• Brown corduroy flat front trousers with belt loops, straight/on-seam side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Russet brown wide leather belt with thin-framed gold rectangular single-prong buckle
• Brown leather lace-up moc-toe work boots
• White socks with red top band
• Taupe canvas hunting cap with brown fleece-lined ear flaps

While a solid collection of red plaid work shirts and jackets perfectly bridge your fall to winter wardrobe, one would be advised not to go overboard. As the great Twitter user @NitrateDiva points out, it’s rather difficult for anyone but Rock Hudson to “look this good while dressed as Elmer Fudd.”

In fact, Northern Hats even markets similar-looking headgear in various shades of brown sheepskin leather as “Elmer Fudd” hats.

The perfect outfit for picking out your Christmas tree or hunting scwewy wabbits.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, and keep an eye out for fifties flannel shirts available from sites from Ballyhoo Vintage Clothing.

The Quote

I’ve met plenty of girls, nice and otherwise.

Dennis Morgan and Barbara Stanwyck in Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Vitals

Dennis Morgan as Jefferson Jones, U.S. Navy Chief Quartermaster and war hero

Connecticut, Christmas 1944

Film: Christmas in Connecticut
Release Date: August 11, 1945
Director: Peter Godfrey

Background

Something about a naval uniform always reminds me of the holidays. Maybe it’s the happy homecoming of the heroic Commander Harry Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, or maybe it’s the charming naval hero in Christmas in Connecticut who finds himself instantly falling for Barbara Stanwyck (relatable enough) after he arrives on her doorstep to spend a memorable holiday in New England.

Christmas in Connecticut is breezy, funny, and classic holiday entertainment in the spirit of the optimistic post-World War II zeitgeist. Barbara Stanwyck and Sydney Greenstreet take a break from their recent run of sinister roles – hers in Double Indemnity and his in, well, anything he’s done – as food writer Elizabeth Lane and her domineering editor Alexander Yardley, respectively. Like his magazine’s readers, Mr. Yardley believes Elizabeth to be the perfect homemaker and invites himself to her fictitious Connecticut farm to spend the holidays with her equally fictitious husband and baby.

Of course, Elizabeth – the single New Yorker who just likes her cushy writing gig for the chance to wear a mink coat – can’t even properly flip a flapjack.

…or so she thinks.

Elizabeth’s situation is complicated when Yardley invites a war hero who turns out to be the charismatic Jefferson Jones, played by Dennis Morgan, who was born 110 years ago yesterday. The potential “catastroph!” twists at every turn as neither the faux-homemaker nor the dashing Navy hero can resist falling for the other.

As feel-good fun released shortly after the United States was out of World War II, Christmas in Connecticut quickly recouped its budget to gross more than $3 million at the box office, making it one of the top movies of 1945 and certainly a more uplifting one than The Bells of St. Mary’s, the year’s top-grossing film, which was released just before Christmas.

I prefer my uplifting Christmas movies to have a jolly Sydney Greenstreet than a terminally ill nun.

What’d He Wear?

Barbara Stanwyck and Sydney Greenstreet may have been playing against type, but Dennis Morgan had just enjoyed the biggest role of his career as a U.S. Army Air Force colonel in God is My Co-Pilot (1945) and Warner Brothers was likely eager to get the popular actor back into a military uniform for his next performance. Thus, Morgan’s naval officer Jefferson Jones spends the majority of his screen time, after his discharge from the military hospital, wearing the timeless blue service dress uniform, designated “Service Dress, Blue, A”.

In March 1919, shortly after World War I, Uniform Change 27 authorized the double-breasted reefer jacket that U.S. Navy officers wear to this day, replacing the single-breasted fly-front coat that had been first authorized in 1877. The update was inspired by the tunics worn by British Royal Navy officers as well as a reflection of the evolution of civilian menswear and business dress. (Read more about the history and evolution of the U.S. Navy uniforms here.)

Quartermaster Jones thus arrives at Elizabeth Lane’s “home” in the winter-friendly service dress uniform constructed in dark navy wool serge, 16-ounce weight. The double-breasted reefer jacket has eight gilt buttons with four to button in a straight, rectangular layout. As Jones’ Chief Petty Officer (CPO) rank places him among the enlisted rather than commissioned officers, the 28-line buttons are slightly smaller than those on commissioned officers’ jackets, though a regulation immediately after the war would increase CPO reefer jacket and overcoat button sizes to 35-line and 40-line, respectively, to match those of commissioned and warrant officers.

The ventless jacket has straight peak lapels, welted hip pockets, and a welted breast pocket, which his ribbon row is placed directly above.

Jeffy Boy’s forgotten fiancee gets a mixed reception at the Sloan household the day after Christmas.

Jeffy Boy introduces himself to Elizabeth as “Quartermaster Jones,” consistent with the pre-1949 practice of U.S. Navy enlisted service members identifying themselves by occupational type, which was also denoted by the placement of one’s rank insignia with Seaman branch ratings worn only on the right sleeve – as we see with Jones – and non-seamen wearing theirs on the left sleeve only.

A full-color version of the insignia that Jefferson Jones would wear as a Chief Petty Officer rank with a Quartermaster rating.

The practice of members of the Seaman branch wearing their rank insignia on only their right sleeves was established in 1841 while other ratings were worn only on the left sleeve. This was still in practice a century later during World War II for petty officers with the occupations Boatswain’s Mate, Fire Controlman, Gunners Mate, Mineman, Signalman, Torpedoman’s Mate, Turret Captain, or Quartermaster like our pal Jones. The practice was disestablished on April 2, 1949, and – as of December 2018 – all Chiefs across all occupations wear their rank insignia only on their left sleeves.

Jones’ insignia consists of three red chevrons topped by a single red rocker with a white embroidered eagle perched on the rocker and a white embroidered ship’s wheel between the chevrons and the rocker. The three chevrons and single rocker indicate his Chief Petty Officer rank while the ship’s wheel indicates his occupation in the Seaman branch, leading us to the conclusion that Jones’ correct ratingis that of Chief Quartermaster (CQM). (Read more about World War II-era U.S. Navy ranks and insignia here.)

Jones’ rank is easily enough to discern, though his medals require some deeper investigation. I’m no military historian, but I looked at all three of his service ribbons from varying angles and – even without the benefit of color to help identify them – I think I have an idea of the three he is wearing, though the third poses more of a mystery. (See more U.S. Navy awards/ribbons here.)

From left to right:

• China Service Medal: Established on August 23, 1940, by Navy Department General Order No. 135, this medal was awarded for qualifying U.S. Navy service between the inclusive dates of July 7, 1937, and September 7, 1939, subsequently extended to include service rendered between September 2, 1945, to April 1, 1957. If this is the case, it would imply that Jones’ service dates back to the late 1930s, before U.S. entry into World War II.
  • Description: Golden yellow ribbon with a single red stripe toward each end
• American Defense Service Medal: Established on June 28, 1941, by FDR’s Executive Order 8808, this medal was awarded for qualifying active service in the American armed forces between September 8, 1939, and December 7, 1941… aka up to two years leading up to World War II. Unlike the China Service Medal, it was available to service members across all branches, though U.S. Army members had to serve 12 months to be eligible while Navy and Marine Corps members were eligible based on any length of service. This solidifies the theory that Jones has been an active member of the U.S. Navy since before World War II. Per the standard order of display, this would follow the China Service Medal as it does on Jones’ jacket.
  • Description: Golden yellow ribbon with a two sets of thin 1/8″-wide tri-parted stripes toward each end – blue/white/red on the left and red/white/blue on the right – each separated from the ends by a 3/16″-wide golden yellow edge stripe and a 3/4″-wide center stripe. The colors are technically the dark “Old Glory blue” and scarlet red.
  • Jones wears two bronze service stars on this ribbon, here correctly worn in lieu of fleet clasps for service on the high seas.
• American Theater Campaign Medal: Established on November 6, 1942, by FDR’s Executive Order 9265, this medal was awarded for service within the American Theater beginning December 7, 1941, the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. The medal was last awarded on March 2, 1946.
  • Description: “Oriental blue” ribbon with a 1/8″-wide center stripe in Old Glory blue, white, and scarlet, plus sets of 1/16″-wide stripes in white, black, scarlet, and white to represent the German and Japanese enemies engaged in conflict, respectively.

Jefferson Jones’ service ribbons tell the story of his Navy career, dating back at least six years.

Consistent with the Navy’s desire for its service uniform to reflect the trends in men’s everyday business attire, the prescribed shirt for blue service dress is a plain white cotton shirt – with a soft, turndown collar and non-flapped breast pocket – to be worn with a “plain black” woven silk tie, knotted four-in-hand. Jones’ shirt and tie follows all regulations, while the shirt’s point collar and the tie’s wide blade reflect the predominant fashion of the mid-1940s.

He lasted 16 days on a raft in the middle of the ocean, but a splash of soapy water in his eyes and Jefferson Jones is done for!

Jones’ dark navy flat front trousers match the reefer jacket. They have side pockets, jetted back pockets, and belt loops for his black leather belt with – we can assume – a gold-plated brass single-prong buckle. Navy uniform regulations issued in 1922 dictated black grain leather belts “of best quality”, but the service has since adopted cotton web belts for service dress uniforms.

Jones eagerly rolls up his sleeves to help Robert– er, Roberta with her bath.

“Black shoes, high or low Oxford, shall be laced, of black leather, and shall be worn when blue trousers are prescribed,” reads the same 1922 regulations on U.S. Navy uniforms. Jones’ dark lace-ups indeed appear to be black calf cap-toe oxfords, worn with dark socks. Black and white were the only colors of socks authorized for Navy service members, so we can assume that Jones’ socks are also black.

The snowy New England winter calls for a heavy coat and gloves. The Navy authorized gloves to be “iron gray… made of suede, lisle, or silk thread”, though Jones appears to be wearing a pair of black or charcoal gloves made from a heavier knit fabric.

Jones also wears a warm bridge coat, essentially an overcoat-length pea coat that extends to his knees. After its popularity as naval outerwear, the bridge coat style was appropriated for civilian fashions. In fact, James Bond (Daniel Craig) wore a bridge coat in Spectre that was nearly identical to the one worn by Dennis Morgan’s naval hero in Christmas in Connecticut, right down to the eight non-gilt buttons and lack of epaulettes, though the back belt of 007’s coat had a decorative button on each end.

Jones’ double-breasted coat is likely made from a heavy, 30-ounce dark navy Kersey wool that was used for much U.S. Navy outerwear throughout the 20th century.

Love at first salute.

The double-breasted coat has eight horn buttons in two parallel columns of four buttons each, meant to be worn with all four buttons on the right fastened. There are two additional buttons on the underside of each collar that connect to buttonholes on the lapels. It has slanted hand pockets, a half-belted back with a single vent, and raglan sleeves with plain cuffs devoid of buttons, tabs, or any other adjustment mechanism.

Both blue and white caps were authorized for commissioned, warrant, and chief petty officers, though winter often meant the blue cap was most frequently seen. The blue peaked “combination cap” is made with a stiff dark navy 16-ounce broadcloth cover, a black patent leather strap across the front attached to a 22-line gilt button at each end, and a black patent leather visor. Pinned directly to the front of the cap is a gold-plated brass fouled anchor device with the letters “U.S.N.” in sterling silver, fastened midway on the anchor shank.

The fouled anchor device is specific to the Chief Petty Officer rank. Although USN officially stands for “United States Navy”, it also carries a symbolic abbreviation for Unity, Service, Navigation.

Jones wears a leather-strapped wristwatch with a light round dial on his left wrist.

Sources

If you’d like to know the U.S. Navy uniform regulations at the time of World War II, check out this comprehensive 1922 volume issued by the Department of the Navy. If you’re curious about the variety of uniforms worn by U.S. Navy enlisted members and officers during World War II, read more here.

To read the modern specifications for a male Chief Petty Officer’s Service Dress Blue uniform, check out the official U.S. Navy regulations here or the history of CPO uniforms here.

The Music

Although Christmas in Connecticut makes no secret of its holiday setting, the central song has nary a jingling bell or roasting chestnut. With music by M.K. Jerome and lyrics by Mack Scholl, “The Wish That I Wish Tonight” became a considerable hit for 1945 with versions recorded by Ray Noble and his Orchestra (with vocalist Trudy Irwin), Jo Stafford, and the Duke Ellington orchestra.

However, Dennis Morgan’s booming tenor does offer a heck of a job with the Christmas standard “O Little Town of Bethlehem” while Elizabeth trims the tree.

“Nice voice, that boy,” notes Yardley. It’s so entrancing, in fact, that a distracted Elizabeth drops the massive ornament she was holding. It isn’t until she insists that he keeps playing that he shifts gears from Christmas carols to the wistful “The Wish That I Wish Tonight”.

CQM Jones’ Uniform

Dennis Morgan as CQM Jefferson Jones in Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

The U.S. Navy’s “Service Dress, Blue A” was introduced at the end of World War I and has remained relatively unchanged for a century of American conflict. The fitted, military cut of both the uniform and the bridge coat would have made Jefferson Jones seem very dashing to magazine writers and military hospital nurses alike.

• Dark navy wool serge double-breasted U.S. Navy service dress reefer jacket with eight gilt buttons (four to button), welted breast pocket, welted hip pockets, and ventless back
  • Chief Quartermaster (CQM) insignia on right upper-arm sleeve
  • Three service ribbons in single row above breast pocket
• Dark navy wool serge U.S. Navy service dress trousers with flat front, belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton shirt with point collar, front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs
• Black woven silk tie
• Black grain leather belt with brass-plated gold single-prong buckle
• Black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Black socks
• Dark navy peaked combination cap with black patent leather visor and fouled anchor “U.S.N.” device
• Dark navy Kersey wool double-breasted 8×4-button bridge coat with side pockets, raglan sleeves, half-belted back, and single vent
• Wristwatch on leather strap

So you like the look but you’re not in the Navy? Easy enough! Swap out the uniform for a navy double-breasted blazer and charcoal trousers, and add a colorful flourish with a festive red pocket square.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie… and make sure it’s this 1945 version. A remake was made in the early 1990s with Dyan Cannon, Kris Kristofferson, and Tony Curtis, directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, of all people. While Arnie may have hit holiday gold with Jingle All the Way, this particular story was best left to the originals.

The Quote

I’m as free as a bird!

Jake Johnson as Nick Miller on New Girl (Episode 1.09: “The 23rd”)

Vitals

Jake Johnson as Nick Miller, grumpy bartender

Los Angeles, December 23, 2010 (“Christmas Eve Eve“)

Series: New Girl
Episode: “The 23rd” (Episode 1.09)
Air Date: December 13, 2011
Director: Jason Winer
Creator: Elizabeth Meriwether
Costume Designer: Debra McGuire

Background

Nick: All dressed up. What, are you in The Temptations tonight?
Winston: That’s so cute, Nick, you’re intimidated by my style. But one of us is walking out of here with a job.

Nick Miller is easily the least fashion-conscious of the dwellers of the 4D loft. Between Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris) with his colorful printed “bird shirts” to the materialistic Schmidt (Max Greenfield), who is obsessive about his tailoring and whose heart could be won over by a pair of gray Calvin Klein slacks, Nick is the most content to roll out of bed in a stained henley shirt and unwashed sweatpants before heading straight to work at his bar.

However, in New Girl‘s first holiday-themed episode, set on the 23rd of December (hence the timing of today’s post), Nick shows that his laidback look can be effective when he easily outdresses Schmidt at the latter’s own office Christmas party… then again, pretty much any outfit trumps the skimpy Santa costume that Schmidt is forced to wear by the domineering women at his company.

“Looking forward to years of therapy over Dirty Santa,” admits Schmidt’s boss Gina (Michaela Watkins), who regrets bringing her “cowardly son” to the party.

Established “bad gift giver” Nick Miller reluctantly attends the Christmas party at Associated Strategies, the generically corporate-named workplace that Schmidt abbreviates to “Ass Strat”, though he spends a fair amount of his evening panicking that he won’t make it to the airport in time for his flight home for the holidays.

The party itself is ripe with tension as Jess (Zooey Deschanel), the roommate whose move into the loft gave the show its title, also attends with her new boyfriend Paul (Justin Long), a kind but perhaps overly emotional fellow teacher at Jess’ school whose first declaration of love earlier in the day had met with a “thank…you?” response from her. Nick, trying to be helpful, steps in to mediate and ends up overly complicating things when he reveals to Paul that Jess doesn’t love him, then reveals the fact that he said that to Jess, and finally finds himself locked outside with the couple (“this is my nightmare!” he declares for the first of many times) as they are now forced to work out their issues.

The sequence is pretty entertaining, and – in true New Girl fashion – the comedy is balanced with a positive emotional punch when Nick makes up for his blunder by driving the whole crew to Candy Cane Lane (“the crème de la crème of decorated streets”) so that Jess could see the holiday lights that make her happy… though the sweet moment is hilariously halted when all the houses have their lights off for the evening. Like the grumpy old man at heart that he is, Nick bickers until he gets his way:

We got a girl out here who’d really like to see the lights! Sorry to wake you up! This is rude! Make it the Candy Cane Lane or whatever! You spend all this time to show off and do it, so show off, you got an audience! You all show off so turn on the lights! Just go in the shed or whatever and turn your damn lights on, you show-offs!

The detour all but guarantees that Nick will miss his flight home for the fifth year in a row, but he doesn’t seem to mind as it puts a smile on his friend’s face.

What’d He Wear?

I’m a sucker for including some seasonal color in my holiday party attire, so Nick’s comfortable, textured layered outfit of a red plaid shirt balanced by dark jeans and a neutral tweed jacket and desert boots strongly appeals to me.

Promotional photo of Jake Johnson and Zooey Deschanel in New Girl.
Photo credit: Greg Gayne/FOX.

Though he’s not one for dressing up, Nick pulls out a surprisingly sophisticated taupe tweed sport jacket for this party. The single-breasted, two-button jacket has notch lapels, a welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, slightly padded shoulders with roped sleeveheads, four-button cuffs, and a single vent.

Nick takes a poorly timed phone call from his mom.

When the time comes for Nick to leave the walls of the loft, he can invariably seen wearing one of many plaid flannel shirts.The sport jacket may be uncharacteristic, but he wears it in a way that’s authentic to his own sense of style by pairing it with one of these shirts.

Despite his “slovenly” reputation (and Schmidt’s insults), his shirts across the show’s seven seasons have often been sourced from reputable retailers like J. Crew, John Varvatos, Lucky Brand, Pendleton, Scotch & Soda, and Urban Outfitters as well as everyday classic brands like Billabong, Levi’s, Patagonia, Vans, and Target’s in-house Mossimo line.

This particular red flannel shirt is patterned in a black-on-red plaid with a white wide-scaled grid overcheck. The inside – and underside – of the collar is lined with the same plaid pattern but with yellow (instead of red) and a red overcheck (instead of white) for an interesting contrast. Although not an exact match, the primary shirting is a variation of the Clan Munro tartan in red, black, and white plaid while the inside lining is a variation of the Clan MacLeod tartan in yellow, black, and red.

The shirt has a slim spread collar, black buttons down the front placket, two chest pockets with button-down flaps, and long sleeves with button cuffs on the ends.

Nick reacts to one of many awkward moments with Jess.

Nick’s dark pants are black denim jeans, a casual alternative to chinos for the gent who desires the comfort that jeans offer while still going a step dressier. He wears them with his usual wide dark brown leather belt with its large steel single-prong buckle.

Nick refuses to allow the gang’s trip to Candy Cane Lane to be a bust for Jess.

As a man who embraces self-comfort, Nick often resorts to crepe-soled desert boots to complete his look. Online speculation and visual hints suggest that he’s wearing Clarks Original Desert Boots.

The two-eyelet boots he wears in “The 23rd” are a light taupe suede that looks like the “Cola Suede” offering in the current Clarks lineup.

Promotional photo of New Girl’s regular cast: Hannah Simone, Lamorne Morris, Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, and Max Greenfield.

And if you’re curious about the unseen aspects of Nick’s wardrobe…?

“We all wear each other’s underwear!” Nick exclaims in the closing moments of “Jess and Julia” (Episode 1.11) after Schmidt discovers that the two men have been accidentally sharing a towel and wonders to what depth he and Nick are sharing items in the loft.

The Music

Heard at the party is Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run”, a 12-bar blues released as the B-side of “Merry Christmas, Baby” in December 1958. Covered by dozens of artists over the sixty years since its debut, “Run Rudolph Run” has been particularly embraced by rock-oriented artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Joe Perry, and Keith Richards who may have wanted to perform a known Christmas song without straying too far from their comfort zone.

Thematically similar to Berry’s hit “Johnny B. Goode”, “Run Rudolph Run” provided a bluesier alternative to the pop-friendly “Jingle Bell Rock”, introduced by Bobby Helms the previous year as one of the first major holiday hits in the rock-and-roll genre.

Series star Zooey Deschanel had recorded her first holiday album with M. Ward, A Very She & Him Christmas, released less than two months before the episode aired. The album consists of She & Him’s delightful takes on mid-century Christmas classics, beginning with my personal favorite “The Christmas Waltz”, which had been originally written for Frank Sinatra in 1954.

The episode features She & Him’s recording of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, the fourth track of the album. The melancholy song, ostensibly from a soldier’s perspective, was written by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent during the height of World War II and became an instant hit when Bing Crosby’s recording of it was released in December 1943.

Closing the episode with “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” offers the poignant commentary that – while Nick may be missing his flight to Chicago to be with his family – he truly is home for Christmas as he’s already with his roommates in the loft… and isn’t your real family the people that you’re group-hugging and high-fiving after vocally harassing a streetful of people to turn on their Christmas lights at 2 a.m.?

She & Him followed up with a second holiday album in October 2016. Christmas Party follows the formula of A Very She & Him Christmas, including exclusively popular holiday songs written during the mid-century era of the mid-1930s through the early ’60s, with the exception of a cover of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” that leads the album. Worth noting is that the seventh track of the album is the duo’s take of Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run”.

Jake Johnson as Nick Miller on New Girl (Episode 1.09: “The 23rd”)

How to Get the Look

Nick Miller rarely dresses to impress, but his holiday party outfit in “The 23rd” combines casual comfort and seasonal style without sacrificing Nick’s own subdued aesthetic.

• Taupe brown tweed single-breasted 2-button sport jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and single vent
• Red-and-black plaid (with white overcheck) flannel shirt with slim spread collar, front placket, flapped chest pockets, and button cuffs
• Black denim jeans
• Dark brown wide leather belt with steel single-prong buckle
• Light taupe suede desert boots with two-eyelet open lacing and crepe soles

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series, which just completed its final season in May. New Girl is available to stream on Netflix and Hulu and also on DVD from Amazon.

The Quote

Hey, Ma, how ya doin’? I can’t talk right now, I’m in a real weird situation… No, Ma, I’m not high, I’m done with that phase.

Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace in White Christmas (1954)

Vitals

Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace, Broadway crooner and World War II veteran

Pine Tree, Vermont, December 1954

Film: White Christmas
Release Date: October 14, 1954
Director: Michael Curtiz
Costume Designer: Edith Head

Background

Happy holidays, BAMF Style readers! I hope all who celebrate are having a very merry Christmas whether you’re spending it with loved ones or beloved movies.

One of the most esteemed entries in the ever-expanding world of holiday cinema is White Christmas (1954), the story of two World War II veterans who go into show business together. Business is booming for the song-and-dance men Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) with nary a complication in sight… until the two make the acquaintance of the lovely and talented Haynes sisters and change their plans to join them for a gig in Vermont. Bob is smitten with the vocalist Betty (Rosemary Clooney), while Phil finds himself drawn to the dancer Judy (Vera Ellen).

The fun really begins when the foursome arrives in Vermont on an uncharacteristically sunny December afternoon and head to the inn where the women are performing, only to discover that it’s run by their popular ex-commanding officer, Major General Tom Waverly (Dean Jagger). Will the showbiz pros be able to deliver a show good enough to bring business to Waverly’s failing inn? Will Bob and Betty find love despite their stubbornness? And, most importantly, will it snow on Christmas? You’ll just have to watch!

Bing and Rosie send their regards as well.

Though Bob Wallace sticks mostly to suits, sport jackets, and the occasional service uniform, the real Bing Crosby dressed to the nines for special occasions like the holidays.

Bing Crosby carved himself quite a place in Christmas lore, having recorded nearly a dozen Christmas albums over the course of his half-century career, the bulk of which were recorded in the 1950s after the success of White Christmas established him on the holiday map.

Even Frank Sinatra’s kids were forced to admit that “Bing Crosby was there first,” as Nancy told Variety during a 2017 interview. Bing was thus a natural choice when holidayphile Ol’ Blue Eyes was tapping a partner for his 1957 Christmas special.

Bing’s first major role in a Christmas-themed movie was in the season-spanning Holiday Inn (1942), co-starring Fred Astaire and Marjorie Reynolds, where he first introduced Irving Berlin’s song “White Christmas”. Although the plot elements of showbiz pros at a New England inn during the holidays remained intact, the story was mostly reimagined when it was loosely remade as White Christmas in 1954.

What’d He Wear?

Bing Crosby was in fine sartorial hands for his role in White Christmas, whether he was dressed by his usual tailor H. Huntsman of Savile Row or by the film’s costume designer, the esteemed Edith Head.

“Having done costuming for a number of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope’s Road pictures prior to White Christmas, [Head] knew exactly how to make Crosby’s character shine,” notes Jeff Saporito for ScreenPrism.”

Bob Wallace dresses fashionably for his arrival in Pine Tree, Vermont in a glen plaid suit, striped tie, and long-sleeved cardigan sweater meant to combat the expected snowww in “New England’s winter playground”.

The suit is a gray finely checked glen plaid wool. The single-breasted jacket has notch lapels that roll to a low, two-button stance. It’s detailed with a welted breast pocket – where Bing wears a white pocket square – as well as flapped hip pockets and a narrowly flapped ticket pocket just above the right-side hip pocket. The jacket has a short single back vent and three-button cuffs that match the mixed brown-and-tan plastic sew-through buttons on the front.

Imagine if it was customary for all hotel guests to salute the hotel owner upon meeting them.

Bob adds some holiday festivity – and a warm additional layer – with a burgundy knit long-sleeve cardigan sweater under his suit jacket. A lifelong golfer, Bing Crosby’s cardigans became an increasing part of his image as he aged, and Slazenger even reintroduced the blue lambswool cardigan he wore during his iconic “Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy” duet with David Bowie during Crosby’s TV Christmas special, “Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas”, which aired posthumously a few weeks after the singer’s death in October 1977.

The burgundy cardigan in White Christmas has smoke gray plastic sew-through buttons and is made from a lightweight material, possibly even a linen-wool blend, that reveals the silhouette of his tie under the sweater. Bob would later wear the same cardigan, shirt, and tie with his dark gray flannel blazer when seeing Betty off on her train to New York toward the end of the movie.

Like his neckwear in the preceding scene with his powder blue mini-checked jacket, Bob wears another fancy-striped tie. The brown tie is patterned with tan “downhill” stripes that are split by very narrow stripes in brown, periwinkle, tan, and orange. His white cotton shirt has a large semi-spread collar and plain front, though it’s hard to tell if the shirt has his usual double (French) cuffs under the sleeves of his cardigan sweater.

The suit’s pleated trousers have a full fit and are finished on the bottoms with turn-ups (cuffs) that cover most of his black patent leather lace-up shoes that appear to be the same cap-toe oxfords he wore during the “Sisters” number in Florida. The full break of the trouser bottoms prevents us from seeing if Bob is wearing some of his more colorful hosiery like the yellow or red socks that make appearances during his time at the Columbia Inn.

From remarks about grass-covered igloos to suggesting that they’re actually in southern Vermont, the gang has more jokes about the weather than Linda from finance when you run into each other on Monday morning at the office coffeemaker.

Now that they’re heading for the cozy, casual confines of a winter getaway in Vermont, Bob swaps out his business-friendly gray fedora for an all-brown felt fedora with a wide brown grosgrain band. As it was evidently 68°F the day before, Bob has no need to don the camel overcoat he carries over his arm, though he does wear his butter yellow cashmere scarf with its frilly edges, albeit untied.

It’s never too late to start harmonizing about snow.

Bing Crosby wears his own wristwatch in White Christmas, a plain gold-toned watch on a tooled brown leather curved strap with a gold single-prong buckle. The watch appears in several other Crosby flicks of the ’50s such as High Society, where he also wears it with the face on the inside of his wrist; though this could be explained as a holdout from Captain Wallace’s service in the U.S. Army, it’s one of the many real-life Bing Crosby traits that the actor brought to his performance.

Just the Jacket…

When dressed more casually for his rounds of rehearsals at the Columbia Inn, Bob later wears the jacket orphaned with a bold blue knit polo shirt, gray wool trousers, bright yellow socks, and a red-and-blue striped silk handkerchief around his neck.

What’s a retired general supposed to do when the Army doesn’t want him back? If only there was a song about it…

It’s a natty outfit, to be sure, and one worthy of its own discussion… perhaps next Christmas!

Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace in White Christmas (1954)

How to Get the Look

It’s no surprise that a sharp dresser like Bing Crosby would bring his colorful, well-tailored style to the role of Bob Wallace in White Christmas.

• Gray glen plaid wool suit
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets with ticket pocket, 3-button cuffs, and single vent
  • Pleated trousers with turn-ups/cuffs
• Burgundy lightweight knit long-sleeve 5-button cardigan sweater
• White shirt with large semi-spread collar, plain front, and double/French cuffs
• Brown tie with tan “downhill” stripes and complex narrow stripes
• Black leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Gold wristwatch on tooled brown leather curved strap
• Brown felt short-brimmed fedora with brown grosgrain band
• Butter yellow cashmere scarf with frilly edges

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, and have a very happy holiday season!

The Quote

Well! Must be wonderful in Vermont this time of year… all that underwear.

Sammy Davis Jr. and his Ocean’s Eleven (1960) cast mates Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. (Photo by Sid Avery)

Vitals

Sammy Davis Jr. as Josh Howard, sanitation worker and World War II veteran

Beverly Hills, December 1959

Film: Ocean’s Eleven
Release Date: August 10, 1960
Director: Lewis Milestone
Costume Designer: Howard Shoup
Tailor: Sy Devore

Background

The days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve are an ideal week for reunions. In the Rat Pack’s arguably most famous film, Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) organizes a reunion of eleven men from his 82nd Airborne unit for a heist to ring in the new year.

After deciding not to attempt the life of “a one-eyed third baseman in Mobile,” former paratrooper Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) took a job in sanitation. “Trash is where you find it,” Josh explains. “You gotta follow the fleet!”

With few other promising prospects, Josh finds himself easily recruited back into the fold of his old army pals for the simultaneous robbery of five Las Vegas casinos at midnight on New Year’s Eve. “He’s the main cog,” Danny tells the team regarding Josh’s role in the heist. “If he goofs, it’s over.”

What’d He Wear?

As a professional sanitation worker, Sammy Davis Jr.’s character Josh Howard spends much of the heist’s planning and execution in the decidedly less-than-glamorous but functional uniform of a gray jumpsuit and turtleneck. However, the kickoff meeting calls for something a little more stylish and Josh is more than up to the task.

Josh dresses for the group meeting in a light gray sport jacket, like the group’s leader Danny Ocean, though Davis wears a jacket more conventional in its suiting and styling than Sinatra’s distinctive tweed jacket.

Josh’s light gray semi-solid jacket appears to be worsted wool with slim notch lapels that roll to a high-buttoning three-button front that, again like Danny, is worn with the top two buttons fastened.

The four ex-paratroopers – Josh, Sam Harmon (Dean Martin), Danny, and Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) – discuss how they’ll use their ill-gotten gains before they’ve even planned the heist.

The ventless jacket has two “kissing” cuff buttons at the end of each sleeve and straight, jetted pockets on the hips. In the jacket’s welted breast pocket, Josh wears a gray patterned silk pocket square.

Josh, Danny, and Jimmy can’t hide their amusement at their outlandish benefactor Spyros Acebos (Akim Tamiroff).

As a contrast to his white-shirted comrades, Josh wears a light gray shirt just a shade cooler than his jacket for a natty monochromatic look, balanced by a slim, straight black satin silk tie that coordinates with the trousers.

Josh’s shirt has a slim semi-spread collar, a front placket, and squared barrel cuffs that each close with an oversized mother-of-pearl button.

Josh wears a pair of charcoal gray trousers with a medium rise and a thin fitted waistband, shaped over Davis’ hips with reverse pleats. These trousers have frogmouth front pockets, no back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms. The sheen of the trousers suggests a fabric of mohair or a mohair blend, a popular suiting during the era and certainly a favorite of Sammy Davis Jr., who would wear a brown mohair double-breasted suit for the film’s iconic finale.

The sleek, monochromatic outfit gets a subtle pop of color with Josh’s bright red socks, worn with black leather derby shoes.

Erstwhile lieutenant Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) calls the “alumni meeting” to order.

Josh wears a gold wristwatch with a link bracelet on his left wrist.

Sammy Davis Jr. and his fellow Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop prepare for Sid Avery to take promotional photos for Ocean’s Eleven (1960).

How to Get the Look

Sammy Davis Jr. embraced the opportunity to dress his character in the original Ocean’s Eleven in more than just a sanitation worker’s jumpsuit, opting for a cool, casual ensemble ideal for a low-key evening gathering.

• Light gray semi-solid worsted wool single-breasted 3-button jacket with welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, “kissing” 2-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Light gray shirt with slim spread collar, front placket, and large mother-of-pearl button cuffs
• Black silk slim tie
• Charcoal gray mohair reverse-pleated trousers with fitted waistband, frogmouth front pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather two-eyelet V-front derby shoes
• Red socks
• Gold wristwatch on link bracelet
• Gray-on-gray patterned silk pocket square

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

It’s simple enough… in my book, “brave” rhymes with “stupid” and it still does.