20 style lessons from Coen Brothers movies

We’re not suggesting that you leave the house in the full dressing gown and jelly shoes combo, but you could do a lot worse than turn to The Dude and his Coen-verse cohorts for style tips. They are, after all, among the coolest and most distinctive characters to ever hit the big screen. 

So, whether you’re looking for advice on knitwear, moustaches, or even just how to put of a pair of shades, to coincide with the 4 March release of Hail, Caesar!, here are 20 need-to-know style lessons from Coen brothers films.

Roll Necks Are For The Wood Chipper

Movie:Fargo

Evidence: Does Gaear (Peter Stomare) really hack partner-in-crime Carl (Steve Buscemi) to death over money? Or is because of Carl’s relentless wearing of roll neck sweaters, despite their continual presence on the fashion police’s ten most wanted list? Red, yellow, and even mustard under a fur-lined winter coat… Carl’s dedication to the roll neck knows no bounds. It’s just bad luck he happened to wearing one when it was quite rightly cut to pieces. A lesson for us all. 

Braces are the new belts

Movie:The Hudsucker Proxy

Evidence: Or to be more precise, braces are the old belts. But it’s time they sprang back into fashion, because as mailroom clerk-turned-company president Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) proves, the suit has lost a certain old-timey charm since their demise. Like Norville himself, the mighty braces are straight, simple and hold the whole business together.

Back to basics is the height of cool

Wearing shades is an art form

Movie:The Big Lebowski

Evidence: The Dude’s ensemble is a piece of work in itself – jelly shoes, big cardigans, shorts – but it’s the shades that really, well, tie the look together. We all know shades are the universal symbol of cool, and The Dude wears a particularly tasty pair of Vuarnet 003s. It’s not what his Dudeness is wearing though, but how he’s wearing them – and knowing the perfect moment to slip them on. For instance:

a) After getting his head flushed down the toilet,
b) When having the last word in an argument over a peed-on rug
c) Just before getting his dead friend’s ashes blown in his face

When in comes to looking an absolute boss in shades, The Dude abides. You should too.

Dress to impress every single minute of the day

Movie:The Man Who Wasn’t There

Evidence: Billy Bob Thornton is a barber who gets tied up in a murky web of murder, dry cleaning, and UFOs. But despite all that, he recalls a golden time when men looked their absolute best no matter what. Just check him out – whether he’s at dinner, lounging around the house, or even at work in his barbering whites, he’s dressed immaculately. And not a crease on him.

A man needs a hat

Movie:Miller’s Crossing

Evidence: Hitman Tom (Gabriel Byrne) once had a dream that he was walking in the woods and the wind blew his hat off. “There’s nothing more foolish than a man chasing his hat,” he says glumly. But he knows the truth: his hat completes him. Tom’s is a Homburg, one of your classic old school brimmed hats. The pork pie, trilby, fedora and panama for equal mobster style.

Have a selection of awesome shirts

The Movie: Raising Arizona

Evidence: Say what you will about H.I. McDunnough’s (Nic Cage). Sure, he’s an ex-con, he’s thick as two (very) short planks, and he’s a baby-napper. But he’s also a man who knows that a good shirt never goes out of fashion, which is why he’s got a seemingly endless selection of Hawaiian and patterned numbers. Worn over a white tee or vest it’s a strong look every time. 

The cowboy look never gets old

The Movies: True Grit, No Country For Old Men, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple

Evidence: Part of Coens’ genius is that their movies are almost timeless. It’s no surprise then, that the cowboy – Americana’s most timeless icon – should make regular appearances. No matter what guise he takes – a narrator (Sam Elliot – The Big Lebowski), an accidental hero (Josh Brolin – No Country For Old Men), a gun-toting lawman (Jeff Bridges – True Grit), or a strangely comical backing singer (Adam Driver – Inside Llewyn Davis) – the cowboy is a recurring mainstay, a testament to a classic style that has never aged. So if in doubt, whip on a Stetson, pair of Levi’s and boots. You can’t go wrong.

Find a hair product that works for you and keep it to hand

 Movie: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Evidence: “I’m a Dapper Dan man!” announces escaped convict Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), outraged that the local store doesn’t stock his favourite hair product. Even on the run, he refuses to look anything but his best. And it’s a pain we’ve all felt. So when you find a product that holds your hair exactly as you like it, always have a supply on your person for hair emergencies, and accept no substitutes.

Tall hair is cool. Highlights are not

Movie:Barton Fink, Burn After Reading

Evidence: Question: When is it acceptable for hair to exceed two inches in length vertically?
Answer: When it’s worn by Barton Fink (John Turturro), whose hair speaks volumes about his tortured genius and original geek chic. 
Second question: When is it not acceptable for hair to exceed two inches in length vertically? 
Answer: When it’s worn by personal trainer Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), whose hair speaks volumes about him being an insufferable knucklehead.

Matching your hat and suit works

Movie:Blood Simple

Evidence: For all his faults, scummy double-crossing P.I. Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) has achieved something few others would even dare attempt – the matching suit and hat combo. Leaning casually against his car, basking in dusk sunlight, and wearing a cream top-to-toe, he’s a vision of the classic Southern style.  

But matching your shirt and trousers doesn’t

Movie:The Big Lebowski

Evidence: Never mind all the weird ball licking and fact he’s a certified sex offender, Jesus’s (John Turturro) real crime against humanity is the shocking purple combo – a clear warning to any man who ever dared to go all-in-one with his pastels.

Make a statement with your specs

The Movies:Barton Fink, A Serious Man, The Big Lebowski 

Evidence: Barton Fink’s are perfectly round for maximum eccentricity. Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) from A Serious Man has arguably the most Jewish frames of all time. Walter (John Goodman) from The Big Lebowski has the tinted lenses that make him look like the sort of 'Nam Vet you should just well avoid. In other words, your glasses should say something about you. Even if what they’re saying is, you’re a total crackpot. 

Go dark when doubling up your denim

The Movie:No Country For Old Men

Evidence: The “Canadian tuxedo” might be one of the great laughing stocks of men’s fashion, but would take balls of steel to laugh in the face of its most sociopathic wearer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). This is largely because:
a) He’d probably blow a hole in your brains with his cattle stun gun. 
b) He actually makes it look damn good.
The secret, it turns out, are shades of denim as dark as his soul. But you can’t deny – good style is good style. 

Few men can pull off the Colonel Sanders look

The Movie: The Ladykillers

Evidence: Even a man of Tom Hanks’ considerable acting prowess couldn’t pull this one off. Yes, the old Southern “devil’s goatee” is much forgotten and overlooked, but the rest of it is just one fat no. And we do mean fat.

Don’t be afraid to rock the knitwear out of season

Movie:Inside Llewyn Davis

Evidence: For some, a knitted jumper is an absolute no-no, something reserved for semi-ironic joviality at Christmastime. Then you see someone like Justin Timberlake wearing an orange one – yes, orange – and still managing to look as stylish as ever (to be fair, he has been bringing sexy back for about 15 years now). The lesson here is simple: anyone can work the knitwear if they’ve got the confidence and an impeccably trimmed beard.

The eye-patch is next level stuff

Movie: True Grit, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Evidence: Though most men can wear a hat well, the eye-patch is something else. Take John Goodman’s Big Dan from O Brother, Where Art Thou? (a bit like an oversized Man From Del Monte), or Jeff Bridges’ Rooster Cogburn (who looks like the meanest son-of-a-bitch the Old West ever saw). In both their cases, the eye-patch is part of a look that demands that extra touch. It’s the difference between a memorable style and absolutely unforgettable one.

Dress to express yourself

The Movie:Raising Arizona

Evidence: Bounty hunter Leonard Smalls (Randall Cobb) doesn’t need to say a word. Just one look at his Mad Max-style biker leathers you know exactly who he is. Clothes truly should maketh the man, and there’s no doubting what kind of man Leonard is – a bona fide “vision from hell”. A raging psychopath, for sure, but Leonard certainly knows how to dress to express his inner feelings. 

The moustache is your most versatile accessory

The Movies: No Country For Old Men, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, The Ladykillers

Evidence: Big ones. Small ones. No-nonsense ones. Pencil ones. Hitler ones. All of these and many more have been seen in Coens’ movies. Each is different to the last and much more than just a piece of facial hair – a character in its own right. And who doesn’t want an upper lip with plenty of character, fellas?

The sailor look is coming back in a big way

The Movie:Hail, Caesar!

Evidence: You even don’t need to have seen Hail, Caesar! to know that man-of-the-moment Channing Tatum has achieved what Mr Stay Puft failed to do all those years ago – make the sailor boy outfit look sexy. This time next year we’ll all be wearing little bibs and jaunty hats. Get on board.