Dressing with dignity in summer, when temperatures reach the levels typical of a gratin oven, may seem like an unattainable desire. This is especially true for the male demographic, whose clothing is more codified and who still find it difficult to transcend these predetermined norms.
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However, cinema has long since taught us that masculine summer elegance is possible, so there’s no need to collect the fashion editorials released in recent months to put this into practice. In fact, all these films were made before 1990 and many are set in earlier times, but their style is perfectly captured in this summer, which is already showing its first fangs.
Gene Kelly in An American in Paris (1951) directed by Vincente Minnelli
It’s surprising how up-to-date Gene Kelly’s wardrobe is in this musical, which was filmed more than seventy years ago. The white sweatshirt or beige linen trousers that he wears in various combinations would serve us today for any occasion. But in the tra la la number, where Kelly tap dances on a piano in a white tank top and baby blue shirt, he looks like he’s straight out of a SS23 menswear catalogue.
Cary Grant, Jean Martinelli and Charles Vanel. Sunset Boulevard (Corbis via Getty Images)
Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief (1955) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Monte Carlo is not what it used to be, as any visit to the Monegasque capital will show. However, Cary Grant’s style in this film is timeless. His ensemble of striped t-shirt, teal pants, brown boat shoes and red polka-dot scarf wouldn’t suit anyone, but you have to try.
Alain Delon, Marie Laforet and Maurice Ronet. Sunset Boulevard (Corbis via Getty Images)
Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet in In Full Sun (1960) by René Clément
It’s true that Anthony Minghella’s 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley stood out for its meticulous costume design. But nearly 40 years earlier, Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet were already at the forefront of men’s style, thanks to a great range of lightweight shirts and piqué polo shirts that made us dream of a Mediterranean summer of secluded beaches, boat trips, seafood platters and pinot grigio glasses.
Marcello Mastroianni in La dolce vita (1960) by Federico Fellini
A party at a beach villa ends at dawn. Marcello Mastroianni, dressed in a light-colored suit, dark shirt and matching scarf, drags himself to the nearby beach, where a young woman tries to get his attention. He doesn’t understand what she’s saying: he gives her a sleepy smile, raises both hands in a sign of helplessness, and returns to his friends to continue the dolce vita. The last scene of this Fellini masterpiece tells something that can be understood in today’s world, in which Marcello’s outfit would not be out of place either. A special piece of advice: don’t be afraid to wear scarves around your neck. And when in doubt about how to wear them, think Mastroianni.
FilmPublicityArchive (FilmPublicityArchive/United Arch)
Jean-Louis Trintignant and Vittorio Gassman in The Escape (1962) by Dino Risi
Another winning duo, Frenchman Jean-Louis Trintignant and Italian Vittorio Gassman, embarked on a tour of the Italian roads in the heart of Ferragosto. Instead, there is a wardrobe that could be described as minimalist – polo shirts and shirts in light tones in the foreground – comfortable and functional for a trip by car. If that’s your plan for this summer, we recommend you watch this film and take good note. And don’t forget that the despised by many men’s short-sleeved shirt is a wonderful option for those dates.
Jean-Paul Belmondo and Françoise Dorléac.Michael Ochs Archives (Getty Images)
Jean-Paul Belmondo in The Man from Rio (1965) by Philippe de Broca
Inspired by the Tintin comics, this highly entertaining adventure film capitalized on its exotic setting (a postcard Rio de Janeiro) and the chemistry between the main couple, the irresistible Jean-Paul Belmondo and Françoise Dorléac. Belmondo took advantage of the situation to run bare-chested and with proven abdominal strength through the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. One of the film’s greatest assets, however, is its wardrobe, which includes a white tuxedo jacket and open-breasted Jacquemus plaid shirt. But Belmondo’s most recognizable look, which needs to be copied right now, is undoubtedly the one that combines dark pants with a sky blue poplin shirt with epaulettes and flap pockets on the chest. The years will pass and this combination will stay just as fresh.
Maurice Ronet, Alain Delon and Romy Schneider. Sunset Boulevard (Corbis via Getty Images)
Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet in The Swimming Pool (1969) directed by Jacques Deray
Nine years after In Full Sun, Delon and Ronet returned at full capacity with this somewhat insubstantial but visually unbeatable plot police force. Not that Alain Delon wears a lot of clothes most of the time, but when he does — high-waisted jeans with unbuttoned blue shirt, ecru mesh sweater, plaid short-sleeve shirt — it’s an absolute yes.
Helmut Berger and Fabio Testi. United Archives / Alamy
Helmut Berger, Fabio Testi and Lino Capolicchio in The Garden of the Finzi-Contini (1970) by Vittorio de Sica
De Sica presented a somewhat paltry adaptation of Giorgio Bassani’s beautiful novel about a Jewish patrician family from Ferrara in the days just before the Holocaust. But he knew how to convey the idea of paradise, soon to be destroyed by blood and fire, with a wardrobe fit for both a tennis match in 1930 – its original function – and a Spritz al Campari on a terrace in Portofino in 2023. What was good for Berger, Testi and Capolicchio is good for you.
Jean-Claude Brialy in Claire’s Knee (1970) directed by Eric Rohmer
Talking about Rohmer’s films, the obvious choice would have been Pauline on the Beach for her perfect 80’s wardrobe. But we have preferred to draw attention to the style with which Brialy approaches his Lake Annecy vacation in La Knee de Clara in the summer of 1970. With a straw hat and a dark blue cardigan over his shoulders, he awakens nostalgia for the time of the summer day when, in some places that are not in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, the temperature drops pleasantly and it is the right moment for an aperitif.
Ian Holm and Ben Cross.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection (Getty Images)
Ben Cross, Ian Charleson and the rest of the cast of Chariots of Fire (1981) directed by Hugh Hudson
In one of the first scenes of the film, set at Cambridge University in 1919, we are presented with a visual inventory of British university style, with its perfectly tailored jackets, peaked caps and V-neck cable-knit sweaters, so diverse and expansive that we could live in it. But it must also be said that the runners’ uniforms of the time were perfectly suited to elegantly navigating the sweltering summer afternoons in our cities devastated by climate change.
Al Pacino. Photo: MPTV.net
Al Pacino and Steven Bauer in Scarface. The Price of Power (1983) directed by Brian de Palma
Tony Montana and Manny Ribera, the drug dealers who star in this film set in early ’80s Miami, are said to be downright cheesy guys. And it can be difficult to defend some of those suits with shirts whose huge collars jut out above the lapels of the jacket: however, as with most things, it just comes down to knowing how to wear them. However, costume designer Patricia Norris has also assigned them some patterned shirts that anyone in their right mind will want to wear this summer.
Alain Delon, Carlos Miranda and Rogerio Miranda.United Archives / Alamy
Rupert Everett and Anthony Delon in Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1987) directed by Francesco Rosi
The translation of García Márquez’s novel to the screen was not exactly a triumph, but the way all the protagonists dress, who sometimes seem to find themselves more in a perfume advertisement than in a town in rural Colombia, is. Flawless white pleated trousers and rolled up shirts is the combination we propose for this summer and all to come. The panama hat is optional but highly recommended.
Anthony Barboza (Getty Images)
Spike Lee in Do the Right Thing (1989) directed by Spike Lee
In a much looser form, this film, set in a north Brooklyn neighborhood, offered much of the repertoire of what we now call street style: shorts, bowling alleys, baseball shirts, basketball jerseys, sneakers, and explosive mixes of color formed a style characteristic of African-American youth at the time, which later gradually spread to other segments of society. Today it’s almost a prevailing standard, but few have defended it with the grace and originality with which Spike Lee paired his Dodgers baseball cap with red shorts, two-tone socks and Nike Air Trainer 3 shoes. Conclusion: We must go back to the sources.
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