From heritage patterns like windowpane checks to refinements like discreet pocket squares, bow ties and well-chosen eyewear, the new season’s suiting line-up modernizes some of the most unreservedly old-school menswear looks, recalling the 60s at their best, but in a new way.
Vibing on the decade that gave us diverse fashion icons like Steve McQueen, JFK, Jimi Hendrix and British Invasion bands, we recommend five remakes of 60s films that nail the decade’s mix of swagger and refinement, while adding something new.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Guy Ritchie’s movie-length prequel to the 1960s Ian Fleming TV series about an international spy ring looks so fetching that it almost feels like it was created just so that former Dunhill model Henry Cavill can wear cool three-piece suits, mixing windowpane checks and polka dots with late 60s nonchalance, and showing exactly how to wear a pocket square or a signet ring. Total eye candy, the spies chew through a lot of gorgeous vintage cars, bikes, boats, and European lairs, as well.
Guy Ritchie’s movie-length prequel to the 1960s Ian Fleming TV series about an international spy ring looks so fetching that it almost feels like it was created just so that former Dunhill model Henry Cavill can wear cool three-piece suits, mixing windowpane checks and polka dots with late 60s nonchalance, and showing exactly how to wear a pocket square or a signet ring. Total eye candy, the spies chew through a lot of gorgeous vintage cars, bikes, boats, and European lairs, as well.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
A love letter to the 60s directed by Brit Matthew Vaughn, costume designer Arianne Phillips created an entire Savile Row collection to kit out Colin Firth’s character, an impeccable British secret agent, who’s inducting a talented but chavvy youth into a secret spy ring. Classic British style is so important that the pair visits a secret enclave hidden within a Savile Row shop to emerge in double-breasted pinstriped suits, 60s eyewear and state of the art weaponry. Their dapper elegance is as much a weapon as the umbrella that unfurls to become a bulletproof shield, and they wear their suits with as much glee as they seem to take from cracking baddies’ skulls.
A love letter to the 60s directed by Brit Matthew Vaughn, costume designer Arianne Phillips created an entire Savile Row collection to kit out Colin Firth’s character, an impeccable British secret agent, who’s inducting a talented but chavvy youth into a secret spy ring. Classic British style is so important that the pair visits a secret enclave hidden within a Savile Row shop to emerge in double-breasted pinstriped suits, 60s eyewear and state of the art weaponry. Their dapper elegance is as much a weapon as the umbrella that unfurls to become a bulletproof shield, and they wear their suits with as much glee as they seem to take from cracking baddies’ skulls.
The Truth about Charlie (2002)
For his remake of Charade, the 1963 thriller that originally paired Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) cast Thandie Newton and Mark Wahlberg. Set in Paris, it has the big city sophistication and pace of the original, but when translated into a modern context, it feels a little more fun. Wahlberg, reprising Cary Grant, looks incredibly grown-up in a turtleneck, voluminous outerwear and slick hats.
For his remake of Charade, the 1963 thriller that originally paired Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) cast Thandie Newton and Mark Wahlberg. Set in Paris, it has the big city sophistication and pace of the original, but when translated into a modern context, it feels a little more fun. Wahlberg, reprising Cary Grant, looks incredibly grown-up in a turtleneck, voluminous outerwear and slick hats.
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
A deeply silly, enjoyable satire of 60s spy thrillers and ‘wrong man’ dramas, Bill Murray plays an American guy visiting his brother (Peter Gallagher) in London, who unwittingly becomes targeted by assassins, both Russian and British, without ever tweaking to it. He just thinks he’s participating in an immersive improv theatre work that has really, really good special effects.
Murray’s wardrobe is dapper but approachable: a sharp grey suit, patterned tonal tie and trenchcoat — a staple of both London films and spy films — is softened by the trench’s slouchy cut, and Murray’s expressive, lovable face.
A deeply silly, enjoyable satire of 60s spy thrillers and ‘wrong man’ dramas, Bill Murray plays an American guy visiting his brother (Peter Gallagher) in London, who unwittingly becomes targeted by assassins, both Russian and British, without ever tweaking to it. He just thinks he’s participating in an immersive improv theatre work that has really, really good special effects.
Murray’s wardrobe is dapper but approachable: a sharp grey suit, patterned tonal tie and trenchcoat — a staple of both London films and spy films — is softened by the trench’s slouchy cut, and Murray’s expressive, lovable face.
