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'Best Dressed Film'

post #1 of 43
10/29/04 at 1:41am
Thread Starter 
I read an article some time ago in which top designers were asked which Film was the 'Best Dressed' in their opinion.

I cannot recall all the replies but Mr Armani chose Cary Grant in Notorious, Vivienne Westwood said The Red Shoes and others included Brideshead Revisited, Death in Venice and Top Hat among their Best Dressed movies.

What do you guys and gals think?

Trot
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post #2 of 43
10/29/04 at 7:01am
The most elegant, best dressed, high style and debonair man that I have ever seen in a movie, is Zachary Scott, in MILDRED PIERCE. He played a fallen aristocrat with unerring taste in clothes, manner and gesture. As for women: two 'entrances' stand out in my mind; both were breathstopping. One is Vivien Leigh, standing in the doorway in her scarlet colored velvet gown, in Gone With the Wind. The other, is Audrey Hepburn, on the stairs, about to leave for the ball in My Fair Lady. But I've got to tell you: the wardrobe that Doris Day wore in PILLOW TALK, designed by Jean Louis, was off the planet beautiful. She wore clothes extremely well. Another super elegant woman was Lana Turner, in PEYTON PLACE. She could wear a tailored brown coat, and look like a queen. Ava Gardner was sumptuously dressed during some scenes, in THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA. And she had an absolutely perfect, body.
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post #3 of 43
10/29/04 at 7:53am
Thread Starter 
For me the following stand out-

Audrey Hepburn in her 'apres-ski' outfit at the start of Charade

Many of the scenes in The Red Shoes

In Brideshead Revisited the scenes in Venice I find very attractive, especially to contrast the clothes with those worn at Brideshead.

Trot
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post #4 of 43
10/29/04 at 8:18am
Nice topic!

Death in Venice certainly has a high rating in my stylish films list. Especially Silvana Mangano (Tadzioâs mother) was rather strikingly dressed.

My Fair Lady also comes into mind with as reference points the opera (Poiret inspired dresses) and Ascot (black and white) scenes.

Le Temps Retrouv is exquisite from beginning till end (and of course Catherine Deneuve is stunning as an overly ripe Odette de Crcy).

Elizabeth (with amongst others Cate Blanchett) is beautifully styled with a very acute sense of colour.
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post #5 of 43
10/29/04 at 4:56pm
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) had a tremendous impact on youth culture, and I think an important part of the appeal came from the excellent wardrobe choices for the entire cast. James Dean's red leather jacket became a trademark of rebellion. In fact when I saw Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club', it strongly reminded me of James Dean in RWAC:

http://www.bradpittfan.com/pics/movies/mfi022a.jpg

'Rebel' may not have been the pinnacle of high fashion, but the wardrobes for James Dean, Nathalie Wood, and Sal Mineo were exactly right in every detail.
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post #6 of 43
10/29/04 at 5:33pm
One of the few instances I recall where the clothing in a film had an impact on me was Armani's wardrobe for Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton in American Gigolo. Coming as it did in 1980/81 (at the close of the Disco Era), the clothing in that movie was a revelation to me.
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post #7 of 43
10/30/04 at 4:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) had a tremendous impact on youth culture, and I think an important part of the appeal came from the excellent wardrobe choices for the entire cast. James Dean's red leather jacket became a trademark of rebellion. In fact when I saw Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club', it strongly reminded me of James Dean in RWAC:

http://www.bradpittfan.com/pics/movies/mfi022a.jpg

'Rebel' may not have been the pinnacle of high fashion, but the wardrobes for James Dean, Nathalie Wood, and Sal Mineo were exactly right in every detail.

Oh, you're so right. That's why I singled out PEYTON PLACE. Same reason: the actors were dressed 'just so,' for the characters that they portrayed. This has not often been the case, with glamorous stars of the past. At certain points in their careers, they dressed like stars, and never mind what the characters they were playing, may have worn. It was refreshing to see a glamor girl like Lana Turner, wearing neat, tailored clothes that suited her role in PP. If we're going to talk about 'suitability,' many other films come to mind. As with 'Rebel,' the movie HUD, was excellently costumed. You could fairly smell the dust and grit from the range, on everyone in the film.
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post #8 of 43
10/31/04 at 1:49am
Must say Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953).

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/112...th_key=0047677

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/112...th_key=0047677

That look is fantastic, I wish I could pull it of myself but I have a feeling I shouldn«t even try... Early Brando and James Dean
were just unbelievably cool.

/mmm
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post #9 of 43
10/31/04 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyManMatt

Must say Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953).

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/112...th_key=0047677

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/112...th_key=0047677

That look is fantastic, I wish I could pull it of myself but I have a feeling I shouldn«t even try... Early Brando and James Dean
were just unbelievably cool.

/mmm

I love the The Wild One. It was in that film, that I first saw Marlon Brando. He just knocked me out. Critics often suggested that Brando copied James Dean's halting, mumbling, speaking style. Both of them were just amazing. They radiated, disinterest. :P
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post #10 of 43
10/31/04 at 1:06pm
Didn«t they have the same method-acting coach?

/mmm
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post #11 of 43
10/31/04 at 1:40pm
Gosh, I'm not sure if Dean and Brando shared the same coach. Didn't Brando use Lee Strasberg? I think so. Not sure about James Dean. ???
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post #12 of 43
11/1/04 at 11:18am
Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993). One of the most detailed period drama's with Kubrick's Barry Lydon.

Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2001). The movie is rather boring but stylisticly it's amazing.

Gatacca with Armani clothes, the rest of the movie is very good too.

Most leading ladies in Alfred Hitchcock movies.
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post #13 of 43
11/1/04 at 10:59pm
Jean-Luc Godard's films from the 1960s always seem to have well-dressed casts. Anna Karenin in Une Femme est une femme or Jean Seberg & Jean-Paul Belmondo in A bout de souffle. Then Alphaville, Pierrot le Fou, Masculin-feminin. I quite like that sixties new wave thing. Though the films are sometimes bollocks, Godard's in particular.

Also I always wanted a parka like Han Solo from the Empire Strikes Back.
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post #14 of 43
11/2/04 at 11:11pm
ocean's 11 and the talented mr. ripley

and i'm gonna cheat and just mention an actor but i think Jude Law is one of the best style icons of recent years. everything he wears looks so good on him and so effortless. pure elegance.
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post #15 of 43
11/3/04 at 11:52am
Here's a vote for Pierce Brosnan in both the Bond films and The Thomas Crown Affair
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post #16 of 43
11/3/04 at 12:33pm
And of course, Sean Connery's James Bond films were high style, as well. He too is an amazingly elegant man.
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post #17 of 43
11/4/04 at 9:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mgarisbn

And of course, Sean Connery's James Bond films were high style, as well. He too is an amazingly elegant man.

Thinking of Sean Connery reminded me of the Untouchables - tutti Armani!

Trot
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post #18 of 43
11/4/04 at 9:31am
You said it, Trotsky . . . exceptionally dressed men in that film.
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post #19 of 43
11/6/04 at 8:30am
There are so many well dressed films. In my fashion's eye I love:

-Antonioni's Blow-up. The coolest of cool.
-The padded and quilted jackets of Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet.
-The military uniforms in Francesco Rosi's Bizet's Carmen.
-Bogart in anything: Treasure of the Sierra Madre for casual, The Big Sleep for urban business day-wear, and Casablanca for evening to sunrise.
-Alain Delon in Le Cercle Rouge and Un Flic. Films with subtle hints at how a man should dress (the police firearms instructor who says always carry a lighter or key-carrier in your suit coat pocket so that the weight will help it swing out of the way when you go for your gun.)
-Nothing tops the glamour clothes on the men in Fellini's 8 and a half, but those in La Dolce Vita come close.
-Speaking of Armani's film clothes, his wardrobe for James Caan in Thief must not be forgotten.

Kinda fun thread, but one must really try to get the best of the best since all films try to pick good mood and theatrically appropriate clothes.
--Chris
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post #20 of 43
11/6/04 at 8:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DustB

There are so many well dressed films. ÊIn my fashion's eye I love:

-Antonioni's Blow-up. ÊThe coolest of cool.
-The padded and quilted jackets of Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet.
-The military uniforms in Francesco Rosi's Bizet's Carmen.
-Bogart in anything: Treasure of the Sierra Madre for casual, The Big Sleep for urban business day-wear, and Casablanca for evening to sunrise.
-Alain Delon in Le Cercle Rouge and Un Flic. ÊFilms with subtle hints at how a man should dress (the police firearms instructor who says always carry a lighter or key-carrier in your suit coat pocket so that the weight will help it swing out of the way when you go for your gun.)
-Nothing tops the glamour clothes on the men in Fellini's 8 and a half, but those in La Dolce Vita come close.
-Speaking of Armani's film clothes, his wardrobe for James Caan in Thief must not be forgotten.

Kinda fun thread, but one must really try to get the best of the best since all films try to pick good mood and theatrically appropriate clothes.
--Chris

Beautifully elocuted. Trotsky really did come up with a challenging 'thread!' Whether one wants to emphasize beauty, or skill, or subtlety . . . everything must come together, for a film to be dressed 'well.' I have to think of Saint Laurent's costumes for Catherine Deneuve, in BELLE DE JOUR. For a dress she wore in a rape scene, YSL inserted strips of velcro, so that when the dress ripped off her body, the 'correct' shredding sounds, could be communicated to the audience. And I agree that the 'cad costuming' in 81/2 and La Dolce Vita . . . is oozing with the drop dead elegance that Europeans know how to create. The only man in American movies, who for me, reaches that apex of chic is Zachary Scott, in the movie Mildred Pierce. He was unbelievably sophisticated. Mr. Scott played a snide, aristocratic scounrel in the film. This helps. He held his cigarette close to his chest, which was just wickedly debonair. 8)
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post #21 of 43
11/7/04 at 7:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DustB

There are so many well dressed films. ÊIn my fashion's eye I love:

-Antonioni's Blow-up. ÊThe coolest of cool.


-Alain Delon in Le Cercle Rouge and Un Flic. ÊFilms with subtle hints at how a man should dress (the police firearms instructor who says always carry a lighter or key-carrier in your suit coat pocket so that the weight will help it swing out of the way when you go for your gun.)
-Nothing tops the glamour clothes on the men in Fellini's 8 and a half, but those in La Dolce Vita come close.

Chris,

Great choices. David Hemmings in Blow Up was for years my style icon. I suppose getting the chance to fool around with the young Jane Birkin was part of the appeal!

Fellini's films are great for style. If you are incredibly cynical and/or shallow it is possible to watch La Dolce Vita as a lifestyle advertisement

And don't forget Alain Delon in Plein Soleil of course. Riviera cool has never looked so good.
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post #22 of 43
11/18/04 at 8:27pm
I think Thomas Crown Affair ...Pierce Brosnan wore some great suits and some nice casual clothes in it. Moreover, Antonio Banderas wears nice clothes in his films.

A very nice thread.
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post #23 of 43
11/20/04 at 2:55pm
Boiler room
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post #24 of 43
10/5/12 at 4:15pm
What about Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief? Simple elegance.
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post #25 of 43
10/5/12 at 6:43pm
La Dolce Vita and A Single Man come to mind
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post #26 of 43
10/5/12 at 7:11pm
Excellent call, A Single Man directed by Tom Ford. Every one is impeccably dressed.
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post #27 of 43
10/5/12 at 9:07pm
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)

P.S. Apparently was an influence on Lagerfeld's S/S 2011 Chanel Collection.
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post #28 of 43
10/6/12 at 12:12am
Divina Creatura (1975)
American Psycho (2000)
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post #29 of 43
10/6/12 at 5:52am
All the lovely suits and coats and men's wear in The King's Speech made me want to dress in drag.
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post #30 of 43
10/6/12 at 11:13pm
Bill & Teds...

...nuff' said.
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post #31 of 43
10/7/12 at 4:22am

May not be fashionable right now but can one really beat furry shorts?
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post #32 of 43
10/7/12 at 7:36am
Lana Turner and Van Heflin in Green Dolphin Street (1947)
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post #33 of 43
10/7/12 at 3:34pm
Damn. Why didn't I think of that. One of my favorite movies, American Psycho. Not only are they impeccably dressed, but the American Psycho prefers Yves Saint Laurent's Pour Monsieur.
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post #34 of 43
10/20/12 at 3:15pm
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief. Understated elegance.
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post #35 of 43
10/20/12 at 6:09pm
Chinatown, jack nicholson.
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post #36 of 43
10/23/12 at 7:47am
League of Gentlemen (1960)
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post #37 of 43
10/24/12 at 7:33pm
Alfie. Both original and re-make with the Dior man, Jude Law.
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post #38 of 43
2/24/13 at 7:54pm
Sky fall. Tom ford suits nuff said. Tv show called white collar.
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post #39 of 43
6/10/13 at 9:33am

Ryan Gosling in Drive, the look is simply iconic.

 

Skyfall is impossible not to mention. Craig's suits look outstanding. Some people would say they were too small. Some people would be wrong.

 

Ryan Gosling again in Crazy Stupid Love

 

Christian Bale in American Psycho

 

Ryan Gosling a third time in Blue Valentine (the man has an impeccable stylist)

 

I know it's TV, but Mad Men. The entire show. Can't believe nobody's mentioned it so far.

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post #40 of 43
6/10/13 at 10:44am
Another vote for Armani from The Untouchables...

Also, Daniel Craig's suits in Layer Cake
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post #41 of 43
6/10/13 at 12:39pm

For its' time...... Dr Zhivago

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post #42 of 43
6/10/13 at 1:10pm

Wizard of Oz

 

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post #43 of 43
6/10/13 at 4:51pm

Boardwalk Empire- Knuckie is the best!!

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