Jul 20, 2006

The show that made stubble cool

Guy Trebay doesn't think the Miami Vice movie will have nearly the impact on fashion that the show had.
The extent to which the show played a part in the sartorial recasting of the American man is difficult to overestimate. Before “Miami Vice,” which was conceived as a cop show for the MTV generation, adult males were not often in the habit of wearing T-shirts under sports coats or shoes minus socks. Most guys without ties in the 1980’s would have been considered slobs or candidates for the unemployment line. Pastel-colored trousers were reserved for caddies, pastel-colored vehicles for pimps. Suits in the late Reagan era were still substantially lined and padded and as rigidly shaped as Barcaloungers, although with sleeves. Loose, crumpled garments were considered work wear for convicts or gigolos. Hardly anybody without a begging cup wore a straw hat.

In other words, "Miami Vice" is the source for most of modern man's sartorial sins. And the new movie may also have a bad influence on how men look today. Trebay notes that Colin Farrell, starring as the modern-day Crockett, sports a "porn star" moustache; Giorgio Armani had his models wear similar moustaches when he showed his last collection. Could the movie usher in a new era for soup strainers? Let's hope not.

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