The 24 most stylish films of all time (and forget The Beatles' silly AI song, I want their suits)
It's a The Closet clean out this week with a cover-all newsletter on everything style-related that's popped into my brain since last Sunday
Evening all! A bit of a mishmash this week - a The Closet jumble sale, if you will. From musings on the perils and possibilities of double breasted tailoring, to a few useful thoughts on the whole Beatles AI debacle (through a style lens, of course) to my list of the films which have most informed my personal style - there’s something for everyone in this week’s edition of The Closet.
I’ve been informed by my Substack overlords that this particular missive is too long for email, so have a read on the app/online if it seems to cut off at an inopportune point.
To begin, a brief double breasted amuse-bouche
Never let it be said that I don’t love double breasted tailoring. I adore the way a well-cut DB coddles the frame and adds a sense of definition (extra-important at this time of year), I have plenty of time for an oversized DB worn open with jeans or wide leg trousers, and I probably own more double breasted blazers and suits than I do their single cousins.
What I struggle to find time for, however, is a badly worn DB. And as we head face first into party season it’s an occurrence I’m noticing with increasing regularity.
So, to help you get it right, here are a couple of key things you should never, ever do if you plan on going double breasted this winter:
1. Wear said jacket done up with an open-neck collared shirt.
This is IMPERATIVE. The front-facing nature of a double breasted cut means that there’s a lot of ATTACHING going on in the middle of your look already without throwing two, flappy UNATTACHED sides of a shirt into the mix. Those looking at you won’t know where to place their eyes because there’s too much opposing FABRIC for their retinas to contend with, so they might attack you out of anger or FEAR. Stay safe and wear a T-shirt, a crew neck sweater or - if you must - a fine gauge roll neck jumper with your jacket. Or even better, opt for a tonal mandarin collar shirt or classic shirt and tie.
2. Wear a double breasted jacket which is cut to finish above your bum.
It’ll look even worse than a single breasted jacket cut to sit above the bum, and that’s saying something.
3. Wear something that you haven’t had tailored.
Given the wraparound nature of a double breasted jacket and the multiple points where it touches your body, there are more opportunities than usual for unsightly pulling, sagging or stretching to occur. It won’t cost much to get your jacket tailored by a local cutter, and it’ll be worth it, I promise.
4. Be afraid to wear your DB open.
Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard is famous for it’s roomy double breasted suit jackets, cut with uncommonly capacious skirting. Take a leaf out of regular A&S wearer Manolo Blahnik’s book (above), and leave your jacket open OR fastened by the jigger alone. CHIC.
Everyone’s banging on about The Beatles’ new Song. I just like their suits…
It’s no secret that The Beatles were very accomplished songwriters. I’m sure their new AI-assisted song (which feels suspiciously like a PR exercise by the big AI circuit board in the sky, if you ask me) is lovely. But I’m struggling to muster much excitement about it, if I’m honest.
What the furore around the release has got me excited about, however, is the Fab Four’s way with tailoring. Their clean cut early years are often sartorially overlooked in favour of the gloopy Sergeant Pepper days and the hippy dippy late seventies era, but I’m currently looking at their matchy-matchy collarless 60s suits with fresh eyes and they seem properly covetable.
The three (or four button) banger
Flattering, futuristic, very Prada; three and four button jackets are having a moment. The style worn by Paul below, sits somewhere between a classic suit blazer and a worker jacket and, as a consequence, feels more adaptable than a traditional two button notch lapel piece. Easily dressed up, as per Macca, and just as easily dressed down.
Prada should be your go to for one of these jackets (see below), but if you work in the creative/service industries then Theory and Paul Smith are good too.
The collarless cutie
Collarless tailored jackets are everywhere right now (see Burberry - below - Valentino, Gucci, Random Identities and - of course - Prada for proof). The Beatles were the original masters of the style, imbuing their collarless jackets - in combination with their matching Lego man haircuts, of course - with a dose of futuristic elan. Wear yours in black with matching suit trousers, a black crew neck jacket and a pair of sneakers. It’s how AI would dress The Beatles now, if they were all still around. Maybe.
Anyone got a log-in for Midjourney?
The all-denim everything
Just look at them! So ahead of their time they could be fresh off a Jacquemus catwalk in the Calanques. The winners here, for me, are John and George. From the latter’s triple denim serve to the former’s stand collar striped jacket (very Blue Blue Japan and/or Karu Reasearch), you can carry the summery vibe of the Fab Four’s all denim serve into winter by layering a wool or cashmere coat over the top, which will offset the functionality of the jean fabric very nicely indeed.
Ringo looks like he’s borrowed his dad’s jacket to wear to his confirmation, so maybe avoid referencing him too heavily.
24 EXTREMELY Stylish Films I watch again and again (and again)
There are countless articles online which claim to exhaustively list the most stylish films ever made. Mostly, these listicles consist of films which have great wardrobes developed in tandem with talented costume departments and in some cases, designer brands (I’m looking at you, American Gigolo).
For me though, a stylish film is as much about the mood and tone created by the cinematography, the performances and - of course - the story, as it is the clothes worn by the actors. So, in an attempt to approach it a little differently, I’ve compiled a very personal list of the films which have most inspired my personal style over the years.
Like I say, it’s personal - not exhaustive - so please don’t send me digital anthrax for not including A Single Man in there (it’s a lovely film but style without all that much substance, IMO, isn’t all that stylish).
The Tree of Life
When I first went to see Terrence Malik’s tour de force in 2011, people walked out of the cinema (I don’t think they appreciated the dinosaur bit). From Emmanuel Lubezki’s painterly cinematography to the Radio 3-on-crack soundtrack, it’s a thing of elegiac beauty. The simplicity of the clothes worn by Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and the pair’s on-screen family are satisfyingly simple in their mid-century-ness, and they manage not to feel pastiche-y. Sean Penn also looks ace in his all black funeral suit.
Doubt
Clergy vestments have never looked chicer than they do in Doubt, rustled around on screen by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep, like a pair of cassocked crows. Delish!
Gattaca
Miuccia Prada didn’t design the all-tailored outfits for 90s sci-fi hit Gattaca, but she might as well’ve done. The soundtrack, by Michael Nyman, gives the whole thing an extra edge.
Passages
Ira Sachs' new(ish) offering is a lesson in neo-sleaze dressing for the 21st Century. It's also super horny. Read all about it in a dedicated newsletter here.)
Phantom Thread
Paul Thomas Anderson’s imagining of the trials and tribulations which occur in the interior of a mid-century couture house bristles with elegant energy. The line of Daniel Day Lewis’s character Reynolds Woodcock - not just in his suits, but his person - hasn’t been seen since the glory days of Hubert de Givenchy. The hideous Tudor kirtle-style dress Woodcock makes for Gina McKee’s character at the beginning is the only (minor) aesthetic carbuncle in this film.
Carol
Cate Blanchett swishing around in Dior-style dresses and full fur coats. What’s not to love?
Harry Potter parts 7 & 8
Snape and Voldemort in their kimono-style capes are the most stylish villains since Hannibal Lecter in his panama. The rest of the clothes in the series, however, are rubbish. 50 points to Slytherin House.
Black Swan
The pallet of this film is so brilliantly moody - punctuated only by pops of pink and pearly white to denote Nina’s innocence, pre-descent. It’s Vincent Cassel’s character who stands out the most, though, in his rakkishly Gallic monochromatic gear. Cassel is incredibly stylish in his own right, like an angry French Tom Cat, which is perhaps why he shines through Darren Aronofsky’s impenetrably miserable vision so vividly.
Romeo & Juliet
Sure, Baz Luhrmann’s late 90s romp is camp to the max, but John Leguizamo’s Tibault is a character of sexed up, ultra stylish brilliance. Part early days Ricky Martin, part Strictly Ballroom, his clothes hug in all the right places and he manages to make Cuban heels look cool. No small feat.
Call Me By Your Name
I wasn’t sure whether I could include Luca Guadaglino’s masterpiece, since its star Armie Hammer got cancelled, but everything about this film - from the clothes, to the 80s soundtrack, to the set design - reeks of subtly money-soaked European summers and I love it DESPITE IT’S STAR’S CANNIBALISTIC TENDENCIES.
Love Story
Ryan O’Neal’s shearling jacket. That’s all.
Tar
This film’s wardrobe is genius. Handmade Egon Brandsetter suits (actually crafted in a tailor’s room in Badelsburg Findus), waspy vicuna sweaters in tones of flax, goji and chia, bespoke shirts cut so crisp they make even Balnchett’s sheer features seem pillowy. You’ll spot a black cashmere coat from The Row in there, if you look hard enough, plus lots of roomy Studio Nicholson. Just the best.
Priscilla Queen of The Desert
Because what’s more stylish than dressing however the f*ck you want?
Cruel Intentions
I have never fancied anyone more than I fancied Ryan Philippe in this film. I think less because of his slightly over-mannered acting style, more because of the Saint Laurent-esque cut of his overcoats. He also singlehandedly made me want to wear V-Neck sweaters with nothing underneath them…Something I never thought I would say.
American Psycho
An obvious one, this, but an important one. TAILORING TO THE MAX.
The Talented Mr Ripley
Again, a super obvious one, but I’d go so far as to say that The Talented Mr Ripley is the most stylish film ever made. Everything about it is immaculate, save Jack Davenport’s insipid turn as Peter Smith Kingsley, which put me off duffle coats for life.
The September Issue
This is the film that made me want to start working at magazines. Glamorous, ridiculous, a moment. Watch it if you want to feel nostalgia for the golden age of an industry which has since declined.
Man On Wire
This award-winning documentary by James Marsh tells the story of Philippe Petit, a high wire walker who completed a leisurely stroll between New York’s Twin Towers in 1974. The story-telling is tight, the editing is spare and Petit’s all black performance outfits are elegant in the extreme
Breathless
John Paul Belmondo proves that your jacket needn’t fit like a glove in order to look incroyable. Imperfections can be perfect!
The Remains of The Day
A perfectly quiet paean to longing and loss, this 1993 film is based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s beautifully sotto voce novel and everything about it, from the performances to the pin sharp wardrobe, speaks in corresponding whispers.
Revolutionary Road
Sometimes I think I love films more for their soundtracks than I do their outfits. Case in point Sam Mendes’ 2008 banger, with it’s oboe-laced Thomas Newman score. The 1950s all-American wardrobe is great too.
Brokeback Mountain
The film that first made denim truly, madly, spit-on-your-hand-and-slap-it-in-a-rectum sexy.
Living
With it’s understated wardrobe of Savile Row tailoring designed by the legend that is Sandy Powell, how could Living not be included in this list? Be warned, though, not an awful lot happens in the film.
The Matrix
Bottega Veneta wouldn’t exist as we know it were it not for the leather-clad excellence of The Matrix.
DB suits on a fat fuck like me look horrible, or worse yet I look like a ‘30s mobster, a bad idea when your name ends in a vowel. They are, however, good for concealed carry...