Elements Of Style: The Importance of Looking Good
Discussed: Ayn Rand Needed A Stylist, Lazy One Stop Identity Shopping At The Gap, Awesome Wood Boats – I Need One, Suggested Reading Lists For Everyone, Cinema’s Modern Men, Pajamas As Clothing, German Mycologist Heinrich Anton de Bary’s Legacy
CHUCK AND CINEMA – WOMEN RESPOND TO ASCOTS
Men’s style has always been a bit of tricky thing. While certain tropes exist that we can choose to ascribe to, usually attached to one-stop-shopping and therefore tainted in a wash of bland boring capitalist nothingness.
There’s the big, brutish cut of the old monied Criss-Crafting J.Crew, the boxed silhouette of the Serengeti shooter (photographs/shotguns) in Banana Republic, and the fast unraveling tatters of the Euro-Dandie lucky enough to have valiantly battled his way to his size in H&M, amongst others offering their similarly unified lifestyle defining aesthetic.
As discussed elsewhere, one of the most affective devices of Gossip Girl is when they get all Meta on us, making Godard misty eyed from his beneath his stacks of page worn Noam Chomsky tomes piled to his Rolle, Switzerland ceiling. And nothing is more meta, fashion wise, then the immaculate, Cinema-referencing style of Chuck Bass.
One need not look further then Bertolucci’s landmark 1970 film “The Conformist” to witness the ripples that resulted in Chuck’s tailored suits of infinite refinement, accentuating not overwhelming ascots and beyond. In fact, the argument could be made, that the 65 – 72 golden age of French and Italian New Wave films form the bedrock of the Bass Style Guide, from Bresson’s “Pickpocket” to Antonionis masterpiece “The Passenger”, from Chuck’s ample turtleneck and trenchcoat collections, to his unbuttoned shirts and sports coats. But he’s no purist, and mixes it up, as the occasional pastel three piece suit and a bow tie bears 80s Southern Gentleman witness to. And while we appreciate the attempt at translating this flamboyance into Chuck’s Season 1 Lower East Side basketball attire, there are certainly more absurdly loud looks that could have achieved this – had they really not familiarized themselves with the cartoon decadence of Iceberg Jeans and nauseating plaid whirl of Phat Pharm?
While impeccably styled men have existed on television before, Chuck Bass is a perfect symbiosis of style and character. To have him dressed any other way would shatter the believability of Chuck’s every action. And therefore offers a stellar example for Modern Men everywhere. The style makes the man, and the man makes the style.
Tags: 1970, Bass Style Guide, Bertolucci, Chuck Bass, Cinema, Film, French New Wave, Godard, Style
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:09 am
yo - what about that purple suit last night? I’m generally down with Chuck’s daring color choices but that thing was a bit too much of the joker for me.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Really, Katie? Was it really too much?
First we have to look at the timing of the outfit - often times the most daring of the Bass outfit choices we only have for a few delicious shots, and the lavender suit was certainly one of these, thereby functioning as a brief explosion of awesome underlining his influence on the plot developments.
Additionally, if we do look at the outfit as a bit of the classic DC comics villain The Joker, the point could be argued that that was the entire intention of the suit; episode 4 was quite a tour de force of maniacal Bass-ian manipulation.
Which, is an interesting point to have arrived at, good looking out Katie.
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Hey, great post guys. I’d like to thank you for this blog. I recently found it and must admit I love it. I’ve been looking long for a website or blog where style is discussed like this. Before today I wasn’t even aware the “tie” was called an Ascot, though I consider myself fairly familiar with the formal wear.
And who better to take as example than Chuck Bass? I agree with your “Why Chuck Bass”!
Keep up the good work boys, it’s very much appreciated.
Oh and PS: Katie: It was a bit of a misfit. I could see situations where that suit would’ve worked, but given the mood in the bar he stood out too much.
Good comment though, B. And as for the Joker reference… Ep 3 was entitled “The Dark Knight”, there seems to be a pattern here
ha ha.
- Casper
September 29th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Wow. Point taken. Didn’t catch that the previous episode was named “The Dark Knight” till you guys pointed it out. The purposeful reference changes everything. Brilliant.
December 9th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
save to my Bookmarks