Dusting Off: The Summer Fling

“Movies”

05/14/13

Dusting Off: The Summer Fling

Flings

Travolta and Newton-John in Grease. Swayze and Grey in Dirty Dancing. Peck and Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Hell, basically any pair of characters in Wet Hot American Summer.

With the sheer volume of steamy summer romance we find in pop culture, you’d think we’d all be bumping uglies the second the temperature peaks above 70.

It would seem that falling madly in love with a stranger was totally acceptable—as long as it began and ended within the confines of June and August, on break from school, of course. Then we’re to believe that once your mandated summer breaks are a thing of the past, so are your chances for a casually balmy two months of abbreviated love.

But we don’t think that has to be, and here’s why…»

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05/09/13

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The Perfect Pair of Summer Shorts, Your Gatsby Refresher Course and Valuating the Mad Men IPO

Summer shorts

Short and Sweet: Well Spent catches up with the brother-sister duo behind Jed & Marne, who’ve teamed up with Mayan weavers in their quest to make the perfect pair of summer shorts.

Justified: GQ ranks every hairstyle Justin Timberlake has ever worn—because the world must know where the ramen-top stands.

That’s Great: On the off chance you’re a bit hazy on the Gatsby plot, Mashable has your 133-second refresher course before catching the movie this weekend.

Mad Money: The latest twist on Mad Men (read: spoiler alert) involved Draper’s agency filing for an IPO—which not only has a historically accurate significance, but also makes for some interesting present-day speculations.

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05/02/13

Scene

The Not-So-Great Gatsby Premiere

Gatsby Premiere

We must say, for all of the excitement over what most cinephiles are predicting to be 2013’s most stylish movie, we found ourselves gravely underwhelmed by the cast and crew’s showing on the red carpet for last night’s The Great Gatsby premiere in NYC.

GQ’s The Eye has graciously distilled the press photos down to all of the menswear, but the above triptych is all you need to see to understand the train wreck of a step and repeat—DiCaprio buttoning both suit buttons, Maguire mailing it in (or planning to pick up a few extra bucks as an usher once they got inside)—and that was just the tip of the uninspired iceberg. The only glimmer of hope was Jay-Z’s gray windowpane suit, but the dull matching tie made him look more like a well-dressed businessman than a business, man.

Somewhere, Redford’s Gatsby is rolling in his grave.

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04/25/13

Filmic

Kempt Digs: The 1974 Robert Redford Great Gatsby

Redford

You may have heard of an upcoming Gatsby film from a guy named Baz “shiny things everywhere” Luhrmann. Perhaps here. Or here, even.

With all the hullabaloo around a bow-tied Leonardo DiCaprio, we thought it worth remembering that this is not the only pass made at turning TGG into a movie.

In fact, Robert Redford gave a master class in Jazz Age chic way back in 1974—the year young Leo was born.

Here are five reasons that film’s worth revisiting.»

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04/01/13

The Past

Dusting Off: Chimp Movies

Chimp Movies

Humans have always been fascinated with our astonishingly close evolutionary link to monkeys—the smartest of which have been known to fashion rudimentary tools and learn sign language.

And, most impressive of all: act in major Hollywood films.

So, in our effort to dust off the chimp movie, we ponder the demise of the great movie genre and present some of the more impressive simian performances on film.»

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03/29/13

What's What

But Who Will Be the Next Ryan Gosling?

Gosling

Just when it seemed like this was the year that would see the Return of the Gosling, he went and threw it all away.

If you haven’t heard the news: our reigning red-carpet champion has announced he’s taking a break from acting—and, consequently, the movie premiere circuit.

We understand it’s sad news—step-and-repeats everywhere have been pouring out liquor for their fallen hero—but it’s also great news for a handful of well-groomed contenders. They’ve been waiting in the wings, slowly building their résumés with promising showings of tuxedomanship, casually dapper park strolls and landing roles with the requisite indie cred. Granted, their “suit and tie shit” might not be infallible just yet, but with a few more of the right moves, they could find themselves on the cusp of greatness. But the question still remains: who will rise to the occasion? Who will be there when fights in the East Village need breaking up, or adorable dogs need companionship? Who will be the new face that launches a thousand “Hey, girl…” Tumblrs?

Naturally, we’ve got a few ideas on which stylish up-and-comers have got the chops and how they just might pull it off…»

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03/28/13

Filmic

Baseball Week: The Sandlot

The Sandlot

Next week marks the 20th anniversary of The Sandlot’s release, and it has us feeling nostalgic.

In fact, there isn’t a sport better suited for nostalgia than baseball—which is why the movie resonates so well to this day. It’s a sports flick, a coming-of-age story and a period piece all wrapped into the perfect summer popcorn movie. It doesn’t get much better than that for guys of a certain age—who’ll remember walking out of theaters dreaming of Wendy Peffercorn and calling each other L7 weenies. So we’d like to take a moment to stroll down memory lane—all the way back to the summer of 1962—to check in on Smalls and the gang. You might even notice a few style cues that are on their way back in: the short-sleeve popovers, raglan shirts and cuffed jeans, to name a few. (Even Ham’s jorts.)

We know you want to see s’more.»

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03/18/13

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Cotton Suits, Spring Break Movies and Young Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen

Cotton Eyed: Die, Workwear gives some well-deserved love to an underappreciated summer staple: the cotton suit.

Break Out: With Hollywood buzzing over the release of Spring Breakers, Bullett rounds up eight worthy predecessors.

Zigzag: Retronaut stumbled upon a cache of photos from David Bowie’s 1972 Ziggy Stardust cover shoot.

Bad Is Good: Details makes the case for watching Terrence Malick’s Badlands to better acquaint yourself with the director—and the badassery of young Martin Sheen.

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03/08/13

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Doritos Locos, Vine Filmmakers and the Beginning of the End for the Hangovers

Hangover

Batten Down the Hatches: A Continuous Lean showers praise on the outdoorsy outerwear brand Batten Sportswear.

The Bell Tolls: The harrowing tale of one woman’s destiny with Taco Bell’s latest chimera, a Cool Ranch Doritos Loco, as played out on a subway platform.

Super-Short Film: A few enterprising filmmakers have been honing their Vine craft—and Vulture rounds up the best six-second movies out there.

Back to Vegas: And now, the teaser trailer for the third and final installment of the Hangover trilogy.

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02/21/13

Filmic

If Kempt Ran the Oscars…

Aaron Taylor Johnson

We couldn’t help ourselves. With the Oscars only days away and awards season coming to a head, we felt honor-bound to weigh in on the subject of style, cinema and the intersection of the two.

So we collected our memories of the past year’s worth of handsomeness on film and tried to nail down exactly what made each film stylish—much like the actual Oscars, we’re breaking down the movie by individual garment performance, not just handing out awards willy-nilly.

So without further ado, the Oscar for Best Cardigan in a Supporting Role goes to…»

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02/12/13

Filmic

The Five Most Stylish (Fictional) Politicians

Presidents

Tonight, President Obama’s State of the Union address is supposed to inspire progress and federal stimulation. But often, our focus tends to drift to the hapless sea of baggy, demure suiting filling the audience. It’s a sad sight, really—save for our one beacon of sartorial hope, Vice President Joe Biden. (We’re also giving Obama a pass here, since he’s never given us reason to fret in the past.)

If we were less civic-minded, we’d skip the whole thing and fire up a few episodes of House of Cards—if only to be reminded how a well-put-together politician actually looks (a lot like Kevin Spacey, incidentally). In fact, Hollywood seems to be the only place turning out politicians we’d actually want representing us. So, in hopes of moving a few congressmen to up their style game, we present:

The five most stylish fictional politicians of all time.»

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02/07/13

Icon

Kempt Icon: Toshiro Mifune

Toshiro Mifune never received nearly enough credit for making martial arts movies cool.

Not even after starring in 170 of them—the first of which was released while Bruce Lee was still in diapers. Or doing things like leisurely strolling down overcast streets in Japan looking like he just stepped out of an editorial shoot from a fall issue of Monocle 50 years later.

So we’re giving credit where credit is due, by bestowing upon him Kempt Icon status. And here’s why…»

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01/23/13

LinkOut

Lawyers for Hobbits, Bad Writing Advice and New Corvettes

House Call: A Continuous Lean visits Dunhill’s flagship “retail home” in London. Handsomeness ensues.

Second Restatement: Wired asks a lawyer to analyze the validity of a major plot hinge in The Hobbit: the contract between Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves.

So Bad, It’s Good: Flavorwire tries to call into question some “bad” advice from famous authors, but it’s hard to argue with gems like “write drunk; edit sober.”

Vetting Process: On the occasion of the unveiling of Corvette’s newest, the 2014 Stingray, Gear Patrol charts the evolution of the legendary American muscle machine.

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01/17/13

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Seinfeld Style, Slick Jeans and Wes Anderson

Urban Sombrero: Four Pins recounts the rich sartorial history of Seinfeld by recapping the show’s greatest fashion moments.

Salve-aged Denim: A high-tech clothing solution for a problem that we can’t be sure really exists: leg-moisturizing jeans.

Middle Man: The story of one savvy programmer who managed to outsource his own six-figure job for pennies on the dollar.

How Grand: The Hollywood Reporter, er, reports that filming for Wes Anderson’s next twee opus, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is under way.

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01/03/13

Filmic

Return of the Gosling

We’re only three days into 2013 and things are already looking up in the Ryan Gosling department with this recently released trailer for The Place Beyond the Pines, (which sounds like a mashup of his roles in Blue Valentine and Drive… with stunt motorcycling swapped in).

Aside from one fleeting flash of brilliance on the red carpet, Ryan Gosling was largely absent from 2012’s menswear conversation—mostly because his two big projects got pushed. Gangster Squad will be out next week and Pines, though it premiered last year, doesn’t get released until March.

Throw in an as-of-yet untitled Terrence Malick film that’s currently in postproduction, and this could mean a big return to red-carpet form for The Notebooked One. (Let’s not forget the epic Gucci-fueled red carpet heater he was on for all of 2011. We almost had to have his Cannes pajama-shirt retired to the rafters of Kempt Man of the Hour Arena.)

Naturally, we’ve got the official trailer here for you, after the jump.»

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12/21/12

Filmic

Your Latest Dose of Gatsby

We’ve said it before, but Hollywood’s been coming up handsome these days.

And even though we originally thought we’d get to see Baz Luhrmann’s neo-Gatsby this weekend, it’s been pushed back to next summer. So instead, we’ll have to settle for these recently released film posters—more evidence of all the literary good-looking-ness to come. We couldn’t be more excited. (A three-piece tweed suit can do that to us…) And don’t worry, you’ll still get your fill of rakish Leonardo DiCaprio this Christmas.

See the rest of the cast of well-heeled dandies and flappers after the jump.»

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12/20/12

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Edita Vilkeviciute Is Ready for the Ball

via Fashion Faves

My Tie: Some well-deserved love for the herringbone tie—with some solid options, to boot. [Put This On]

Snow Business: Recounting the haunting tale of an avalanche in Washington—replete with impressive embedded GIFs of the snow and Doppler radar. [NY Times]

Another Look: Slate rounds up their top 10 most viral photos of 2012. [Slate]

Sheer Malice: A doctor diagnoses the injuries sustained by the “Wet Bandits” in a holiday film that just barely missed our list, Home Alone. [The Week]

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12/20/12

Filmic

The 12 Most Stylish Movies of Christmas

We’ve got a hunch that you’re going to find yourself in front of the television sometime in the next few days, probably watching a holiday movie. And, all things being equal, you’d prefer to watch the most stylish film available.

So we took the liberty of surveying your options, and distilling them down to the season’s magical number of 12. Not all of them are distinctly Christmas movies at the outset (take Edward Scissorhands or Trading Places), but they’ve all got a lot to do with the holiday spirit and lessons of kindheartedness—and, most importantly, there’s a lot of holiday-appropriate stylishness on display. If you’re feeling exceptionally ambitious, you should have enough time to run through all 12 movies if you get started… now.

For your yuletide viewing pleasure, the 12 most stylish movies of Christmas.»

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12/19/12

Icon

Icon: James Coburn

Today we take on James Coburn, a pitch-perfect lesson in the power of walking around like you’ve got the secret.

Coburn was the guy who introduced McQueen to Ferraris. A guy who lampooned James Bond, intimidated the hell out of Bob Dylan and somehow ended up on the cover of Band on the Run over the course of a 70-film, Oscar-winning career.

He was a Hollywood tough guy in the golden era of the archetype. But he brought rakishness to the role that belied the menace, the cunning. At that point in the movie where a Bronson would simply scowl harder, where an Eastwood would chomp a little firmer on that toothpick, Coburn would turn a gloriously mustachioed glower into a Cheshire grin.»

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11/22/12

Good Idea

The Kempt Guide to Your Thanksgiving Weekend

You did it. You survived Thanksgiving. Now what?

You could join the fray of rabid consumers… or you could catch up on your Kempt, with a few timely reads from the archives that should help you make it through the weekend—like some prescient sweatpants advice, football talk with John Elway or something magical we like to call T.Hanks-giving. Without further ado:

The five Kempt posts to guide you through your Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy:»

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11/20/12

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Cecilia Has Earned Her Wings

via Fashion Faves

Cameo Filling: Grub Street celebrates the Twinkie with a movie montage of the snack cake’s impressive cinematic legacy. [Grub Street]

Airport Nachos: Details gets some excellent holiday travel advice from Mr. No Reservations himself, Anthony Bourdain. [Details]

From Taschen with Love: Driven gets a good-looking glimpse into the latest James Bond coffee-table book. [Driven]

It’s Dead… Whatever It Was: When taxidermy meets conceptual art. Who’s up for a bedazzled bobcat? [Bullett]

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11/14/12

Icon

Icon: Nick Cave

Leather is an easy cop-out for wannabe bad boys of rock.

It’s far more difficult (and much more interesting) when menace is conjured with an impeccably tailored suit.

Case in point would be the singer, writer and all-around bad seed Nick Cave.

Here all at once: a gentleman and a punk.»

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11/09/12

Big Picture

Kempt Man of the Hour: Colin Firth

We meet again, Mr. Firth…

We haven’t seen much of Colin Firth since his meteoric King’s Speech-era run, when he left red carpets and Oscar acceptance podiums in his Tom Ford-fueled wake. And then he showed up this week at the premiere of his new film, Gambit, looking like he hadn’t missed a beat. We’ll assume this three-piece was another Tom Ford joint, which Firth lends his quintessential British unassuming-dandy-ness to perfectly. The whole thing is harder to pull off than he makes it look—especially the peak lapels—but he does it by keeping it simple in the tie and shirt department. And having some American-born arm candy doesn’t hurt either.

Bravo, sir.

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10/09/12

Filmic

8 Notes from the Most Stylish Film We Saw This Week

In the ’60s, Sopranos creator David Chase was the worst kind of suburban brat: he played drums in a basement rock band in suburban New Jersey. While his musical aspirations never really took off (“We were so good, we never left the basement”), Chase turned his recollections of the era into his first full-length movie, Not Fade Away, which screened last week at the New York Film Festival.

In the movie, a Dylan-esque college kid named Doug (newcomer John Magaro) forms a band with some high school friends. Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll ensue. Unfortunately, Not Fade Away doesn’t bring much of anything new to the (already cluttered) table of coming-of-age films. Fortunately, it’s still full of lots of our favorite things: mod-ish girls in Pucci dresses. Curmudgeonly fathers. Shaggy-haired band members smoking makeshift bongs in bathrooms. All in some really great ’60s clothes.

Ahead: our 8 favorite moments in Not Fade Away…»

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10/01/12

Filmic

Blond on Bond

Bond villains have had a proud history of maniacal hairdos (and so has Javier Bardem).

From the latest round of leaked stills from the upcoming Bond release, Skyfall, we are presented with Bardem in his full blond-coiffed glory, looking nearly as evil as his bowl-cut character in No Country for Old Men, but definitely more so than his character in The Dancer Upstairs.