BAMF does an absolutely stunnin' Dino-reflection of our King of Cool as the coolest of cool style icon in O11 in their post, "Dean Martin's Classic Brown Sport Coat." Likes ilovedinomartin thinks this is perhaps the bestest of best Dino-posts ever on our Dino's awesome attire...and for sure one of the most unique and unusual bits of homagin' of our great great man. This is one piece of Dino-devotion that all youse Dino-philes are gonna wanna sink your teeth into!
Likes loves how BAMF uses both prose and photos to make their swankest of swank survey of our Dino's awesomely attractive attire in the greatest of great heist flicks on all times. This particular Dino-observation is truly worthy of bein' lifted up for special note..... "Definitely the most casual Rat Packer, as he even wore his tuxedoes with an informal button-down-collar shirt, Dean Martin never let his laid-back style get in the way of looking good. In fact, Dean shows a good example of how even a minimal satorial effort can go a long way.
ilovedinomartin salutes the pallies at "BAMP Style - Dress Like A Man" for one of the finest piece of Dino-prose we've come 'cross in quite a while...and such a truly truly interestin' of accentin' our most beloved Dino on The Day That Coolness Came To Earth." To checks this out in it's original format, simply likes clicks on the tag of this here Dino-report. Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP
Dean Martin’s Classic Brown Striped Sport Coat
Dean Martin and co-star Angie Dickinson in 1960′s Ocean’s Eleven.
Today would have been the 96th birthday of Dean Martin, the King of Cool.
Vitals
Dean Martin as Sam Harmon, lounge singer and part-time casino heister
Beverly Hills, December 1959
Background
Although Sinatra’s vision may have been for a more serious heist film, the presence of Dean Martin ensures that this time capsule of lounge-era cool kept things fun and lighthearted. After his brief introduction earlier in the film (where he sports a very sharp gray suit at the airport to be covered later), our true introduction to the Sam Harmon character begins at the Beverly Hills hotel as Sam provides a piano accompaniment to his own vocal rendition of Dino’s too-racy-for-radio hit “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head”.
It’s true that the song was considered too risque to be released as a single back in 1960 due to lyrics such as “The room was completely black / I hugged her and she hugged back.” Cut to fifty years later, where lyrics in most hit songs are either unacceptable in polite society, unintelligible garbage, or just names of various cities (I’m looking at you, Pitbull.)
Dean’s character, and his attire, are a throwback to when male entertainers could be mischievously classy, romancing women rather than hitting them and indulging in a few drinks without making headlines with substance abuse.
What’d He Wear?
Definitely the most casual Rat Packer, as he even wore his tuxedoes with an informal button-down-collar shirt, Dean Martin never let his laid-back style get in the way of looking good. In fact, Dean shows a good example of how even a minimal sartorial effort can go a long way.
The main item in Dean’s pre-Vegas attire is a sharp brown single-breasted sport coat, worn with both an open neck shirt and with a tie.
The coat itself has moderate notch lapels and double rear vents. The slightly padded shoulders are a good match for Martin’s athletic build and the jacket, with its long opening, hangs loosely and coolly around his frame. It buttons in the front with two dark brown buttons, with two smaller dark brown buttons on each cuff.
A jacket like this can be worn dressier with a tie or more casually without a tie. Also note that Dean Martin has a piano in his hotel room, mostly used for serenading a set of awestruck maids.
Dean’s sport coat is brown with a dark brown stripe that makes the whole garment look a shade darker, especially from a distance. It features three patch pockets – two hip pockets and one breast pocket, garnished with a white linen handkerchief.
Evidently, this type of jacket was a Dean Martin favorite, as he later wears a blue version in the film and can be spotted sporting the same type on some of his album covers.
Dean’s choice of pants is a dark mink-colored pair of flat front trousers with plain-hemmed bottoms. Some men have to be careful when matching a brown blazer with brown slacks, but Dean pulls this off especially well in the pre-khaki days.
Dean was probably just as comfortable in a sharp sport coat and slacks as Peter Lawford was in his terrycloth robe.
The shirt is Dean’s usual lightweight white button-down. Much like most of his shirts in the film, it is a casual style with a loose fit and large button-down collars. White buttons fasten down a wide front placket and the wide barrel cuffs are buttoned on each wrist.
For the later scenes at Spyros Acebos’ Beverly Hills home, Dean dresses up a little for his night of scheming with his old Army buddies. He adds a dark brown silk necktie, very much a 1960 style with its narrow width and relatively short length. The tie is primarily brown but three small rectangles – white, black, and white – sparsely litter the front of the tie.
Left: Dean in the brown tie worn for most of the scene.
Right: Dean now sports a dark block-striped tie when he’s surrounded by his team. What gives?
Right: Dean now sports a dark block-striped tie when he’s surrounded by his team. What gives?
Strangely, a few shots of Dean in this scene show him instead wearing a darker block-striped tie with blue and red tones. This tie will later be featured in another scene where Dean wears the blue version of the brown striped blazer. Dean also wears this tie for the funeral scene finale. Its appearance in this scene is just a continuity error.
Dean’s footwear in these scenes are a pair of dark brown leather 3-eyelet plain-toe dress shoes, worn with a pair of very thin black silk socks.
The good old days.
While Dean’s usual “accessories” tend to include a cigarette and a glass of whiskey, both of which are present in his hands throughout most of these scenes, he also sports a silver pinky ring and a silver bracelet, both worn on his left hand.
Go Big or Go Home
These early scenes are the best reflection of the real Dean Martin’s character: a romantic crooner with a few vices of his own (notably smoking and drinking very heavily) but a reluctance to go along with the rest of the Rat Pack’s debauchery. While Frank and Sammy would be rounding up girls for all-night orgies, Dean – the closest thing the group had to a family man – would refuse to participate and head home. Although he wasn’t the perfect example of a loyal husband, Martin was much more discreet with his comparatively minimal affairs. His longest marriage, to his second wife Jeanne, lasted 24 years and – although he briefly left her for a younger woman in the 1970s (a decidedly sleazy era anyway) – they reconciled later and remained friends until his death. Also, Dino refused to have any association with Frank and Lawford’s Mafia cronies, despite allegations that he was linked to the mob early in his career.
Although no mention is specifically made of orgies and the mob in Ocean’s Eleven (for obvious reasons), Dean’s character is the one who is most reluctant to take on the heist, instead suggesting that the group finishes their drinks and goes home – likely something the real Dino would have said after a wild suggestion from Frank.
Glad the title clears it up.
If you’re looking for something to listen to that will keep you in the right sort of swinging mindset, pick up Dean’s aptly-titled 1958 Capitol album This Is Dean Martin! Besides the rather obvious title, Dean dons a sport coat on the album cover very similar to the one he wears in Ocean’s Eleven. The track list, which includes “Volare”, is comprised of some of Dino’s most popular songs – a series of lighthearted and romantic songs with an Italian flair.
(As a side note, the backing orchestra on This Is Dean Martin! was conducted by Dick Stabile on some tracks and Gus Levene on others. Levene would later conduct a 1930s-style orchestra for the excellent period soundtrack of 1973′s Dillinger.)
Dean slips from cocktail to cocktail in the film, in accordance with his stage persona. He typically drinks whiskey highballs, a good drink for keeping your whistle wet all day long without getting too messy.
Dean (or Sam, if we’re talking about his character) has the hotel room of Rat Pack dreams – a fully-stocked bar and a piano for serenading the bevy of attractive maids who coo at each note. If your hotel room doesn’t have a bar and a piano, it’s time to change hotels.
The life of Dino.
He also smokes unfiltered Lucky Strikes, the brand of choice for people ranging from old time movie stars Gary Cooper and Myrna Loy to fictional characters such as Don Draper and Gator McKlusky. According to Lucky Strike’s ad campaign, even Santa Claus lit up Luckies.
Just remember that a gentleman always lights a lady’s cigarette first.
How to Get the Look
Dean dressed simply but grandly. A few accessories here and there liven up a casual and cool look.
Dean sports the continuity error tie while clowning around with the Rat Pack on set.
- Brown self-striped single-breasted sport coat with slim notch lapels, patch breast and hip pockets, 2-button front, 2-button cuffs, and double rear vents
- Mink-colored flat front trousers with plain-hemmed bottoms
- White lightweight casual button-down shirt with button-down collars, white buttons down a wide front placket, and buttoned barrel cuffs
- Slim brown silk necktie with a white/black “box” pattern
- Thin black silk dress socks
- Dark brown leather 3-eyelet plain-toe dress shoes
- White linen pocketsquare, worn in breast pocket
- Silver pinky ring (on left pinky)
- Silver chain bracelet (on left wrist)
Do Yourself A Favor And…
Buy the movie. Go ahead and pick up a copy of This Is Dean Martin! while you’re at it.
The Quote
Sam decides to take a very misogynist platform for his entry into politics:
Repeal the 14th and 20th Amendment; take the vote away from the women, make slaves out of them.
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