Style Moves You Can Learn In 9 1/2 Weeks
Our Sartorial Movie Of The Week list would not be complete without the original source of inspiration for it's modern knock-off "50 Shades of Grey", namely 9 1/2 Weeks (1986). Just as in the case of American Psycho, we don't recommend you to emulate the main protagonist in any way other than his style moves such as elegant suits and timeless casual attire.
A young, divorced gallerist Elizabeth McGraw (Kim Basinger) meets a handsome Wall Street banker John Gray (Mickey Rourke) and while Elizabeth expects all the usual steps to a love affair, she is instead pulled into intense sexual and psychological games carefully planned by John. At first it seems acceptable, but later on the intensity is too much for the relationship to withstand, and Elizabeth is forced to choose between her self-respect and the sexual dynamic that threatens to destroy it.
The Place
Filmed entirely on location, the gritty mixed-up charm of New York City in the 1980s is highly seductive. Neutral grey palette, cool industrial look, beautiful against-the-light photography and intense soundtrack are all equally executed with incredible detail. John's perfect Manhattan penthouse with polished wooden floors includes iconic furniture such as The Wassily lounge chair designed by Marcel Breuer, Chaise designed by Richard Meier plus his homage to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Ladderback chair to name a few. You can either rent the actual penthouse featured in the movie, or take inspiration from it and decorate your own space accordingly.
The Suit
John Gray is a hallmark of the best 1980s style, wearing well proportioned, clean double-breasted suits with white shirts and patterned ties in muted colours. The suit jacket sits just as elegantly when worn unbuttoned and has beautiful structure and drape while the trousers are pleated and worn with a belt that John uses deliberately for other purposes too. For this style, we suggest The Armoury’s Model 6 featuring a lower, more horizontal lapel that sweeps out wide and straight, with extended shoulders and high rise, single-pleat trousers.
The Coat
John prefer charcoal, grey and black six-button double-breasted coats that are long and fluid. He wears them both with business suits and casual knitwear, often with his hands in pockets and collar popped. To achieve the casual chic today, we recommend something more unstructured such as this double-breasted casual coat from Barena Venezia.
The Sweater
For casual wear, John sticks with fine cashmere knitwear, worn without additional layering. He doesn't need gloves in chest pocket to achieve sprezzatura. Instead he shows a fearless attitude to his comfortable, natural, fuss-free appearance. There are tons of options available in the market but we are particularly keen about the light grey wool cashmere crewneck and the navy wool cashmere V-neck sweater available here at SARTOISM.COM
The Fragrance
Coincidentally, night time and winter fragrances tend to share a lot of common traits with archetypal seductive men's colognes. The reason for this is because the best winter fragrances tend to go well in the cool night air. By extension, this is the most common time of day for a date. To achieve best results, your should either choose a fragrance which is an extension of your personality, or you can try to choose a fragrance that sets the mood you wish to create for your date. Dior's Eau Sauvage Eau De Toilette is the safe choice as far as seductive colognes go with a burst of citrus, herbs, and oakmoss all rolled into one. A token of good taste and refined virility, Eau Sauvage EdT is synonymous with absolute elegance since its introduction in 1966.
The Music
“I Do What I Do” by John Taylor is the official theme song but “You Can Leave Your Hat on” performed by Joe Cocker has a stronger association with the movie, probably because it accompanied the striptease that Elizabeth performs for John. The soundtrack also includes tracks by Eurythmics, Stewart Copeland and Bryan Ferry and is a fine testament to the songwriting achievements of that era.