He is the whitest of the white trash, the kind of man who dumps raw sewage in a storm drain and kidnaps your boss as a Christmas present. And the only man to ever combine a leather belt with a bathrobe. Randy Quaid has played lovable moocher ‘Cousin Eddie’ in four separate National Lampoon films, but his most famous performance still resides at yuletide. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, directed by Jeremiah C. Chechik) has weathered years of apathy to become something of a seasonal favourite. Watching Chevy Chase’s bipolar family man Clark Griswold lose his rag every December is now a festive tradition . Yet Clark is not really…

A new trailer for Daniel Radcliffe’s Guns Akimbo has arrived and it’s hilarious. The latest book by fashion historian, and now TV presenter Amber Butchart (A Stitch in Time on BBC 4 – second season please), is a comprehensively researched stroll through the best dressed folk ever to exist on the planet. The Fashion Chronicles: The Style Stories of History’s Best Dressed is laid out to be effortlessly readable, split into sections ranging from Ancient (and we mean ancient; basically like the first clothes ever) to 20th and 21st Century. Each entry gets a couple of pages of engaging historical notes and background justifying their inclusion along with a photo…

We interrupt normal programming to ask a favour: Please vote for Clothes on Film as Best Male Blog in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2011. This is a big deal for Clothes on Film; it is recognition for all those who work hard on the site creating original, focused content about costume in cinema (NB: the reason we are in the Best Male Blog category is because that’s where we were nominated). To vote all you have to do is enter your email address at the link below (you won’t get spammed), find Male Blog and then click Clothes on Film. Deadline for votes is 30th September. VOTE FOR CLOTHES ON…

A new VLOG looking back over the still stunning costume design on of Inception. We chat about why James Bond wearing a Tom Ford suit is almost a waste of time for the From Tailors with Love podcast.

How Richard Burton’s character in Villain (1971) dresses to impress and intimidate. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Richard Burton is The Dandy Villain 15 Apr ’16 7 Jul ’11 7 Jun ’13 The costumes of Rumble Fish express the importance of teenage dress codes before the segregating journey into adulthood. Contributor 4 Comments 1 Jan ’20 27 Aug ’10 11 Mar ’11

We are just under a week away from the Orange BAFTA Film Awards so now seems an appropriate time to consider who might win the prize for Best Costume Design (it will be a period drama) and why (because all the nominations are). We should again clarify that Clothes on Film enjoy period and fantasy costume just as much as contemporary, BUT we do consider it a shame that the latter category is often overlooked by simple virtue of being too good to be seen. If you have been taking advantage of Orange Wednesdays (and who doesn’t?), i.e. texting FILM to 241 from any Orange mobile to get two-for-one cinema tickets, you…

How Richard Burton’s character in Villain (1971) dresses to impress and intimidate. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Richard Burton is The Dandy Villain 14 Aug ’17 31 Mar ’17 11 Nov ’11

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz Director: Quentin Tarantino World War II set Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s first ‘period film’ as such. It is an occasionally taxing two and half hours, not for the easily distracted. Though judging by Tarantino’s appreciation of how costume (military or otherwise) defined this brutal time, maybe he should revisit history’s atrocities more often. Via costume designer Anna B. Sheppard, Tarantino has deftly employed uniform to suggest a threatening presence in his antagonists. For the film’s first act, or chapter, SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) visits the home of a French farmer and his three daughters he suspects of harbouring Jews. Landa…

This is part 2 (part 1 HERE) of an expanded article Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty wrote for men’s style resource MR PORTER analysing Michael Caine’s suits in The Italian Job. This post covers all the costumes he wore during the film. We rejoin Charlie and his ragtag crew at the big meeting when the gang are all introduced to each other. It had to be a Doug Hayward moment and thankfully does not disappoint. In actual fact it is probably Michael Caine’s best fitting suit in the whole movie: Dark blue worsted wool suit; double breasted jacket, wide peaked lapels, 6 on 2 fastening, slanted hip pockets, ticket……

We chat about why James Bond wearing a Tom Ford suit is almost a waste of time for the From Tailors with Love podcast.