June 20, 2023 - A High Noon Photo Shoot - Quiet Luxury, Business Casual

Dark green polo, stone khaki pleated & cuffed dress pants, brown leather loafers, cheap gold 1970s-style watch. The Passenger, 1975.

Jack Nicholson as David Locke posing as arms-dealer Robertson in The Passenger (1975).

Me as Jack Nicholson as David Locke posing as Robertson. Harsh 1 pm light approaching the summer solstice. On film sets they deflect this direct sunlight from hitting the actors.

It is always a pleasure to know the night before exactly what you want to wear to work the next day. I acquired this dark vivid green supima cotton interlock polo shirt last month. Dillard’s calls the color Eden, an unusually imaginative name for this regal color. I definitely feel like royalty every time I have worn it!

So, why did I gravitate to this color? Perhaps you have seen the 1975 film The Passenger? If you haven’t, don’t worry, almost no one has! It was directed by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, and starred Jack Nicholson in one of his lesser known, but in my opinion, best films. I first viewed it in 2007, when I read Jack’s biography that mentioned it. I had never heard of it, since Antonioni’s work was not well known in the United States, and if it had any showings in the U.S. at all, it likely would have been limited to art-house cinemas in New York and Los Angeles.

Of all the possible careers Robertson could have, he had to be an international arms-dealer?!?!

Like most 1970s films worth watching, if you are a clothing aficionado like me, it is a non-stop feast for the eyes. And the scenery is nice, too, taking place mostly in coastal Spain and Barcelona, but also Munich, London, and Saharan Africa.

Jack’s wardrobe features what were then called sport shirts and would now be called button-downs. He wore both long and short sleeve, depending on if he was in Barcelona or driving down the Mediterranean coastal highway with his new girlfriend. The style he favors are what would now be called coatfront, which means the shirt is made with a knit-interlock type fabric similar to some polo shirts, rather than the standard woven pinpoint-type fabric that is standard for dress shirts.

When in doubt? Head to Barcelona, visit Gaudi’s La Pedrera, meet a local girl there, and head down the coast with her and hide out at a quaint hotel in a small, dusty village. No one would ever find you there, right?

Pants-wise, he wears pleated dress slacks of various shades, except when working in the Sahara Desert at the beginning of the film. There, he wears olive green cargo pants, due to the nature of his job as a reporter and journalist traversing the sizzling desert terrain in a non-air-conditioned Land Rover.

Jack’s favorite slacks were these light stone khakis with pleats. In the harsh Iberian light and warm to hot climates, lighter pants are always a stylish choice.

I am wearing brown leather loafers by Ecco. In The Passenger, Jack wore leather lace-ups with platform heels! As did most other men in the film. 1975. And maybe 2025?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passenger_(1975_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo_Antonioni

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Nicholson

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