What do words, music, facial expressions, body language, written word, and fashion have in common? Well, they are all forms of communication. Just as silver screen characters communicate with their behaviour and their words, they also communicate with their wardrobe. Of course, they also do that with the manner they carry their style with. After all, looks aren’t built just with pieces of fabric; they’re built with the ability to wear that fabric, to make it shine and stand out. Not all actors can be sharply dressed and look natural, but legends can, and today, we are going to talk about them.
Well-written silver screen characters can inspire the audience to improve themselves, to learn something new, to question their choices, and ask some philosophical questions. Also, silver screen icons can inspire us to question our wardrobe and get the urge to throw away some of our shirts and go shopping. Some styles that were paraded on the silver screen are so easy to fall in love with. Some of them are classy, some glamorous, and others a bit brave.
However, falling in love with some style doesn’t mean that it is going to fit you perfectly (unfortunately, this is so true). Be that as it may, nothing can stop us from praising and admiring some iconic attires for a moment. Now, it doesn’t hurt to have these styles somewhere in your mind when you go shopping; it’s just that you have to carefully combine it with your unique character. After all, finding your style is a lot like painting — you have your colours, your empty canvas, your brushes, but all of that has to be on the highest level of compatibility with your vision.
So always carefully introduce new clothes to your overall lifestyle. Make the fabric dance with your personality in sync! Having said that, let’s see when has fabric danced so enchantingly and naturally with the characters on the silver screen.
James Bond (Dr. No)
It’s not easy to say in which movie was James Bond dressed the best, but James Bond from Dr. No somehow manages to stand out. Maybe he wasn’t the best baccarat player, but he was one of the best-dressed men in the history of Hollywood. The glamorous style of the early ’60s definitely shined here and blended amazingly with James Bond’s macho personality.
Marcello Rubini (La Dolce Vita)
Hardly any man can carry a classic, elegant suit better than Marcello Mastroianni. We all remember and love his charming and legendary performance from La Dolce Vita, but we also remember his classy style. From the white shirt/black tie classic combo to the white suit/black shirt elegant look from the closing scenes of the movie, everything that Mastroianni wore in this masterpiece went straight into the silver-screen-fashion hall of fame.
Louis Cyphre (Angel Heart)
Classy, elegant, but eccentric, this style ought to allude to the devil himself, and it sure did! A few sprinkles of uniqueness and eccentricity fell on the elegant male fashion and created the style of memorable Louis Cyphre. Of course, who else than Robert De Niro could have brought this combination of elegance, bizarreness, dominance, and nobility to life on the silver screen.
Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby)
Jay Gatsby, as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, taught us a lot about fashion and style. He showed us that not everyone could wear a breathtaking suit and that it required more than good posture. It requires natural elegance and honest confidence. Nevertheless, nothing stops us from learning a few tricks from this silver screen fashion icon. In fact, the undying elegance of the early ’20s can be smartly incorporated into modern fashion as well.
Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
He may be a narcissistic psycho and sociopath, but he does have a great taste in fashion and music, we give him that. From cleverly chosen ties to the love for Genesis, the character of Patrick Bateman shows some serious class. Also, we like his little homage to the fashion of the legendary movie Wall Street.
Phillip Jeffries (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me)
Even on the silver screen, David Bowie doesn’t stop being David Bowie. His fashion style from “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” remains as well-remembered as his charismatic performance. But let’s face it; this style would hardly work on someone else; it needs David Bowie’s unique personality to breathe life into it. Of course, this doesn’t stop you from experimenting with comfy retro white suits.
Henry Hill (Goodfellas)
Ray Liotta’s look from that “You are really funny” scene is undoubtedly one of the most iconic male looks from the gangster Hollywood movies. We all remember the scene quite well because of its humour, tension, and the weird energy that circles around the table full of mafia guys. However, we also remembered Liotta’s evergreen style with a dash of eccentricity.
Hannibal (Dr. Hannibal Lecter)
As a respected curator and an art lover and expert, Dr. Hannibal Lecter didn’t fail to leave an impression as a fashionable and well-mannered man (well, if we put the killings aside). However, his style is more of an old-school, European noble-like style from the turn of the previous century than it is something that would easily pass as casual nowadays. Somehow, Dr. Lecter manages to parade his unique sense of elegance on the streets of Italy, with grace and confidence, almost blending it in with contemporary fashion. So while memorable, this is something that not everybody can get away with.
Aniki Yamamoto (Brother)
Here, we are talking about Takeshi Kitano’s simple elegance of the yakuza style. Not a lot is going on here; there are no accessories, no playing with colours, no combination of styles. It’s just evergreen — simple black suit/white shirt look crowned with dark shades. Not everyone can make something of this simple look, but Takeshi Kitano sure can. Anyhow, this look can be a sure bet for a lot of men, and just a few accessories can make it radiant. Plus, if you like the ’90s elegance, you can learn a lot from this Kitano’s look. This type of style stands out while saying: “Less is more.”
Desi Collings (Gone Girl)
Now we are talking about a guy who really knows his fashion and his style in general. From the interior design of his home to the pieces in his wardrobe, everything around this guy says “good taste.” His style is some kind of casual elegance that can work quite well with almost everybody. All you need is an elegant hairstyle and a good perfume, and you are ready to steal some tricks from Desi Collings. This guy maybe doesn’t have good taste in women, but he does have a great taste in fashion.
Final Thoughts
All of these iconic styles we talked about now are worthy of our admiration, but not all of them would be forgiving if tried out. Of course, nothing stops you from experimenting for special occasions, especially if your posture lets you get away with something more glamorous. It’s not easy to pull off Louis Cyphre or even Patrick Bateman style, but Desi Collings look is something that is an excellent inspiration for both an everyday-look and the one for a night out. Great suit, polo collar, and smartly blended colours are a winning combination for a lot of guys, and the risk factor for failure with this look is minimal. Also, Marcello Rubini style is not something that you should shy away from, especially if you admire retro fashion. After all, this kind of evergreen look will never go out of style.
