Steal the Style: The American

The worthy rental:  The American starring George Clooney

The American is based on the book A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth.  Originally released in September of 2010.  Running time is 1 hour 45 minutes.  Amazon options are $2.99 to rent, $7.55 for the DVD.

“The American” is not your average assassin movie.  There’s a lot of quiet.  Especially when it comes to George Clooney’s character Jack, who depending on who he’s with, also goes by Edward.  Head into “The American” jonesing for a shoot em’ up action flick and you’ll be as disappointed as those who flocked to see Drive wanting to see a car chase movie.

That dark & quiet tone also applies to the wardrobe of the movie.  Clooney’s character has to hide out while working to get out, and he’s not going to be skipping around sleepy Italian villages in white linen.  Black, charcoal, and navy dominate Jack/Edwards clothes.  Affordable options to what you’d find in his sparse apartment are found below…
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The Wire Framed Sunglasses: Mosley Tribes Alliance – $75 ($180)

Clooney’s character wears two pairs of sunglasses in the movie: This pair of Zegna wire frames, and thinner acetate frame sunglasses from Persol.  The wire frame aviators have a pretty unique bow shape to them, with lenses that don’t droop too deep, but widen out pretty significantly.  These Mosley Tribes might not match the color of Jack/Edwards shades, but the shape is there.  These won’t work on every face, and also know they’re final sale.

 

The Plastic Sunglasses: Banana Republic Corbin – $54.60 w/ BRFASHION ($78.00)

Two pairs of sunglasses huh?  Jack has a thing for eyewear.  Sure.  Hide out in some small Italian town, try to blend in, but bring two pairs of sunglasses with you.  The Persol model Clooney wore in the film appear to have been discontinued.  They had rectangular lenses that leaned larger and sportier without looking like you’re headed to the X-Games.  That’s the BR Corbin in a nutshell.  Only major difference is where the ear pieces connect to the main part of the frame.  That, and the price of course.

 

The Sweater: Neiman Marcus Cashmere Slim Fit – $146.25 |J .Crew Merino – $69.00

Zip cardigans can go wrong in a hurry.  You want something slim fitting with a knit that’s not too thick or bulky.  Cashmere is the perfect play, but even with the extra 25% off sale that Last Call is running right now, it’s not cheap.  The J. Crew sweater is made from Merino wool, which will slim it down compared to those late 1990’s cotton ribbed things.  On sale through today as part of their select sweaters sale.

 

The Blazer:  John Varvatos Star USA Tweed Sportcoat – $179.17 w/ALAUGUST2 ($495)

Looks like Edward has on some sort of marled, tweed blazer when he’s on his dinner date.  There’s some structure to it, with medium sized notch lapels.  The code ALAUGUST2 is good for, among other things, 30% off orders over $200, which drops this down to $180.  It looks a little lighter in color online, but who knows if that’s accurate.  Made in Mexico.  The Factory Herringbone sport coat could have worked here, but word is the quality on those stink.  The luxury option would be this ticket-pocket equipped blazer from J. Crew.

 

The Suit: SuitSupply Napoli Dark Grey Plain S110s – $469

Dark, two button, notch lapel, side vents, worn tieless, and Zegna(Gilt even sold some of the wardrobe for charity after the movie came out).  Easy enough except for that last part.  Suit Supply is on the high end of the affordability scale, but if you’re trying to mimic a Zegna suit, their Napoli fit Charcoal is as good as it gets in the $500 and under crowd.  The jacket tail is a more traditional cover-thy-entire-ass length, and the shoulders are very lightly padded.  Unlike a one-color completely block-solid suit from say, Alfani Red, this one has some real depth to the fabric.  Functional button holes might make for tailoring headaches, but the sleeves seem to run pretty true.

 

The Jacket:  Brooks Brothers Cotton Hybrid Jacket – $124.00 ($248)

Very basic button front jacket with a single button chest pocket.  Just past the hip.  No real flash to this one and a perfect coat for someone who wants to blend into the masses without trotting around wearing a polyester windbreaker.  One left chest pocket and a couple of lower pockets.  Other options include this more modern, stand up collar jacket from Edun, or for something a little different with a dose of country, the Whipcord Weekender from Filson.

 

The Watch: Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chrono MK1 – $410.00

Lots of price options here, so hang on.  Jack/Edward wears an Omega Speedmaster chronograph on a leather band in the movie.  Seems that the dirtiest of jobs pays pretty well (and who knew that Amazon sells Omega direct?).  Black dial with a tach ring over black and a not too gigantic 41.5mm diameter.  The next generation of this watch comes out in mid September, but they’ve redesigned the face and now the sub-dials no longer match up with the Omega (that doesn’t mean the new version doesn’t look better).  More affordable options now:

• Seiko Solar Flight Dial – $235.60
• Seiko SNDC99 Chrono – $147.79
• Fossil Decker Chrono – $81.20
• Casio Edifice – $76.63

 

The Hair:  Short.  Probably a 5 or 6 on top blended to a 3 on the sides and back.

His hair in the movie is shorter than the Dr. Ross days.  Almost a buzz, but not quite.  This is a clipper job, but still use a little matte product to add some texture so you avoid that fuzzy look.  His sideburns are also pretty long in this one.

 

The Physical Fitness Device – Doorway Pull-Up Bar

Guessing there’s not a lot of Gold’s scattered about Italy’s mountain towns.  Clooney gives his lady fans (and yes, a smaller percentage of his male fans too) a bit of a show when he does pull-ups shirtless during his fitness routine.  His character is a loner, so it makes sense that his workout is a series of pushups, situps, and chin-ups inside his darkened room.

 

Her Dress:  L.L. Bean Signature Belted Turtleneck Dress – $99.00

Dear L.L. Bean Signature.  1.)  Thank you.  2.) Really like the “Russet Brown” color, but one in an off-white wouldn’t be too bad either.  Just sayin’.  It’d be a perfect match to Mathilde’s dress at that point.  Right down to the belt.

More on the wardrobe can be found here.  Thoughts on the movie?  Did you see it when it came out?  You a fan of movies that take a while to develop, or was The American too slow for you?  Leave it all in the comments section.