Thanks for the note, Tony... this is a fun one. And harder than I thought it would be!
I've been a freak about clothes since I was a kid, so I can find something to groove on in practically any movie ever made. (Most recently Frozen II... have y'all seen that? Underneath the fur tunic, Kristoff's got on this umber-ish Shaggy Dog sweater that had me thinking about cold weather again...) But, okay, in an attempt to narrow this down a bit, I tried to think about the movies that have had the clearest influence on our line... like, who are the characters that have been in the back of our minds as we've been designing all these years? You can tell I'm into the 60s. I'm not sure this is my definitive Top Five of all time, but it's definitely a Top Five. The trailer to each movie is linked, so you can get a sense of whether you want to watch the whole thing. Because like you said with The Gentlemen, sometimes the costumes are better than the movie itself... and if you're not vibing on the storyline, why not head straight to Google Images? Anyway, here we go.
1. To Sir With Love (1967)
I love Sidney Poitier in almost everything (our Virgil model of tailored clothing is actually named after his character in In The Heat Of The Night) but especially in this movie. And the soundtrack kills me. He appears to forgo a pocket square for most of the movie — and even his jacket, like in this great shot — but we took some creative liberty by giving him a white one with a navy edge. I'm only sad we don't have a tan trench right now... he looks great in that one. Honorable mentions in the slim, suited-up 1960s category are Charade and, of course, North by Northwest.
The Mark Thackeray look: striped tie of course, white poplin shirt, semi-brogues, navy-edged pocket square, navy suit with a spare pair of grey trousers to swap in
2. Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Now this is a match. Matt Damon looks great in pretty much everything in this film, but I had to do a double-take in this scene because it's a dead ringer for our Rally Polo. I always like natural-colored 5-pockets, but in some scenes his pants look a little dressier, so we threw some of those in, too. And plot-wise, I can never resist a sports drama or a car race.
The Carroll Shelby look: chronograph watch, wheat jeans, burnt crystal sunglasses, navy sweater-knit polo, hopsack dress trousers, plaque belt buckle
3. Blow Up (1966)
Classic! I think of David Hemmings in this movie nearly every time I put on a pair of white jeans with a blue shirt. He switches back and forth between two blue shirts (when he's wearing a shirt at all!)... a solid and a mini gingham. In the movie, his jacket is actually a super-dark green, which got twisted in my memory, but a sporty navy leno-weave sort of does the same thing here. The soundtrack's good, too.
The Thomas look: navy leno-weave blazer, blue mini-gingham shirt, blue chambray shirt, white jeans, black bridle belt, black Chelsea boots
4. Love & Mercy (2014)
Yes, another recent-ish 60s period piece. I love that whole Beach Boys look. We used to play Pet Sounds a LOT when we first opened the shop, so the fact that much of this movie was about the making of that very record had me hooked. The fantastic style was just a bonus... just look at the official art! Patterned shirts with short sleeves — or just the sleeves rolled up — with light-colored, lightweight trousers. Relaxed, California, easy. An honorable mention with a similar vibe is Endless Summer (a classic). Also, the Crab Key scenes in Dr. No have some great beachwear.
The every-Beach-Boy look: linen guayabera-style shirt, paisley swim trunks, tropical-printed sport shirt (roll the sleeves up), bleached canvas sport trousers and leather sandals... why not?
5. Hud (1963)
Oh, man. This one is a killer. Watch this if you liked Giant — it nails that rugged, late-50s-early-60s Texas Panhandle look. Paul Newman's western shirt is red, which would feel a touch aggressive for my own life, but he pulls it off. And the silhouette is perfect.
The Hud Bannon look: chambray western shirt of course, big leather belt with a big brass buckle, rigid blue jeans, a bandana for the back pocket, roper boots and a bootjack to get 'em off at the end of the day
And 6... a bonus pick. You asked for five, but I realized that I missed my favorite style movie of all time: Jazz on a Summer's Day. It's really more of a documentary, shot at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, and it was kind of a big deal because it was shot in color, as opposed to black-and-white, which was typical of most music films at the time. It would be impossible to distill it down to a single look, because for me, this movie has got it all. Suits, stripes, madras, sport trousers... and everything is cool as all get-out. Do not miss Thelonious Monk's bamboo-templed sunglasses. The whole thing used to be on YouTube, but got taken down for copyright reasons. But it's worth looking up some piecemeal clips or tracking down a copy — I could watch this on repeat for the rest of my life. At the very least, check out the soundtrack.
Thanks again, Tony. This was fun. Now I'm off to check out The Gentlemen.
