Best Dressed Characters

[cookie]

How about this distinguished gentleman?

So much a style icon that major sections of my own personality are modeled after his.

For you who don't remember or skipped the '80s, Edward Woodward in the role of Robert McCall, The Equalizer.

"Yes and we executed them under rule .303!"

 

[Devo]

I'm more of a sports guy...

Don Cherry, NHL commentator

Michael Irvin, NFL commentator

Rick Pitino, University of Louisville men's basketball coach

 

[Diamondback]

"Yes and we executed them under rule .303!"

Cookie, if you wanna get into Woodward characters' quotes, McCall trumped even that:
"Don't make me do something which I will regret and you won't live to."
Simple, refined, illustrates the character's "I hate it but it's gotta be done, so might as well get it done with" attitude perfectly.

 

[Riposte3]

Not in any particular order, with a brief reason why:

David Tennant as The Doctor in Doctor Who
Always in a very nice suit, except when in period appropriate attire.

Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch in Law & Order: SVU
Always in a suit, often with bold color combinations and a fedora.

Sam Waterston as ADA Jack McCoy in Law & Order
Always in a suit, usually a conservative pattern and color, and with a pocket square when he's in court.

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Indy! Need I say more?

-Jake

 

[BegintheBeguine]

...

Don Cherry, NHL commentator

You may want to look up the Don Cherry thread around here sometime, Devo.

 

[Miss 1929]

Some of my favorites.

Bertie Wooster (except for the rare occasions when he breaks free of the guiding hand of Jeeves).
Jeeves himself!
Hercule Poirot.
All of these are in various media...Book, movie, TV... all good.

 

[Mojito]

Not necessarily in one of his screen incarnations, but Dorothy Sayers' descriptions of Lord Peter Wimsey have always pegged him in my mind as a style icon. His off hand comments about clothes and tailoring and incredible acumen on matters of style and how they relate to a crime are one of the reasons the books are so entertaining - I love that scene in "Murder Must Advertise" when he's cheerfully discussing where he has his shoes made, and nearly gives away his undercover identity in doing so.

 

[Aloysius]

Not necessarily in one of his screen incarnations, but Dorothy Sayers' descriptions of Lord Peter Wimsey have always pegged him in my mind as a style icon. His off hand comments about clothes and tailoring and incredible acumen on matters of style and how they relate to a crime are one of the reasons the books are so entertaining - I love that scene in "Murder Must Advertise" when he's cheerfully discussing where he has his shoes made, and nearly gives away his undercover identity in doing so.

Amen to Wimsey

Also, though I'm the third to say it, James Bond [as portrayed by Sir Sean].

 

[Dominic]

Oh do I ever agree with Audrey Hepburn. she's in a class of her own as far as style goes.

 

[ThomasV]

My list

Definetely Cary Grant, Edward Woodward and Sam Waterston. Others would be the man who played Boston Blackie-Chester Morris. Anyone like to start a topic on really good Scotch, as its the best "hootch" to drink?

 

[Corona Smith]

Ralph Finnes always seems to be a very class act when it comes to dress and apperance, in both film and in-person (I'll even say that about Strange Days...sleeze and sweat aside, he made it work). I'll cite Quiz Show as the most soild example. There wasn't a frame in which Mr Van Doren's hair or clothing was anything less than a textbook definition of polished!

 

[BigLittleTim]

Duh!

I hate to state the obvious:

The Duke of Windsor.

The man had nothing to do, his whole life, but be well dressed.

 

[cookie]

I hate to state the obvious:

The Duke of Windsor.

The man had nothing to do, his whole life, but be well dressed.

Yes and tragically he never heard about the Fedora Lounge![huh] [huh]

 

[nobodyspecial]

Dana Sculley in the X files; smart, well dressed and easy on the eyes.

 

[BigLittleTim]

Yes and tragically he never heard about the Fedora Lounge![huh] [huh]

Isn't he it's patron saint, or something?

 

[SamMarlowPI]

thank you google...

 

[sweetfrancaise]

Well, first of all, Miss Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story. It's not just what she wears, but the attitude that goes with it!

Then Ms. Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not. Bogart is wonderful, but she really shows a certain strength and charisma.

And last, but not least, M. Jean Gabin in Pepe le Moko. The suits he wears in this film would be flamboyant on anyone else, but he carries them well while hiding from the police in Morocco. He even looks good when he breaks into a sweat!

 

[Woland]

Richard Widmark, especially as Alec Stiles,

in the strange and fabulous film-noir The Street with no name".

The film is (as far as I know) one of the first quasi-documentaries to be made.
The opening credits include the following written foreword:

"The motion picture you are about to see was adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Wherever possible, it was photographed in the original locale and played by the actual FBI personnel involved."

This is followed by a written message from J. Edgar Hoover:

"The street on which crime flourishes is the street extending across America. It is the street with no name. Organized gangsterism is once again returning. If permitted to go unchecked three out of every four Americans will eventually become its victims. Wherever law and order break down there you will find public indifference. An alert and vigilant America will make for a secure America."

(Source: Wikipedia)


Interesting fact; the film reached great popularity with the South-African street hoodlums of the late 40s.
One of those great cases where the "morality" of the film is completely overshadowed by the style and charisma of Widmarks bad-guy; Mr. Alec Stiles, or "Styles" as was his streetname in Sophiatown.
His arrogance and impeccable grasp on mens fashion, (every new guy in his outfit was handed a wad of dollarees and told to dress up accordingly) made him a streethold icon amongst the Tsotsis.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

One of my premiere style icons is Nero Wolfe's sidekick Archie Goodwin, both as described by Rex Stout in the Wolfe novels (where narrator Archie shares considerable detail concerning his spiffy wardrobe) and as played by Timothy Hutton in the A&E television series.

Among other television characters, one must pay tribute to veterinarians Siegfried and Tristan Farnon in the British series All Creatures Great and Small, played by Robert Hardy and Peter Davison in absolutely smashing tweeds.

So many male stars of the Old Hollywood always had style no matter what characters they played -- Joel McCrea, Alan Ladd. Watch Kiss Me Deadly for Ralph Meeker looking fine as Mike Hammer -- pocket squares, French cuffs, great shoes, a stylish lightweight topcoat in the opening scene. Va-va-voom!

I've got to tip my hat to Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, despite the odiousness of the character's character. I've always liked that master of the universe look.

Among fictional characters, one should mention Jay Gatz in The Great Gatsby, and clotheshorse FBI agent Kemper Boyd in James Ellroy's American Tabloid (J. Edgar Hoover to Boyd: "There have been times when I wondered how your salary could sustain your wardrobe").

As for real people who've got it going on: Sinatra, of course! Singers Chris Isaak and Michael Buble. Golfer Payne Stewart, who wore his plus-fours with real elan. I would concur with the positive opinions of newsman Anderson Cooper.

A number of college basketball coaches dress well. Billy Donovan of the University of Florida is classic in the sleek Italian mode. Jay Wright of Villanova favors a more detailed "bond trader" look, as I tend to do myself.

 

[jake_fink]

Jake Gittes

Gus Sands

and his mate Max Mercy

Bill Chandler from Libeled Lady

and Uncle Charlie

("Characters" are fictional, right?)