Note: The following was written before the SAG-AFTRA strike with the podcast being recorded the day after (July 15). Spencer, MJ, and I stand with the strikers and support the people whose labor makes movies happen. Without them, we would not have the movies and tv shows that we love to watch and talk about. For more information on the strike, please visit the official site. This post may be taken down if contacted by SAG-AFTRA.

If The French Dispatch and its vaguely 1960s sartorial glory was for me, then Asteroid City is for Spendy. The latest WA film is set in the 1955s and showcases milsurp, mid-century sportswear, and a dash of western wear. We’re always hard-pressed to find good, character-intentional costuming outside of watching older films, so we are quite grateful to Wes and his team for the efforts in that arena.

The film is interesting as its framed as a TV presentation of an in-universe fictional play (named Asteroid City). It gets quite meta, as you get to see both the Asteroid City (the play) characters as well as the actors (in-universe) who play them (in the play), who interact with the playwright and the play’s director during the aforementioned TV presentation sequences. It makes more sense when you see it (though you probably will have to see it a few times). I liked this framing device a lot! 

We obviously loved all the costuming in the film, but something about it felt different. While the costumes are just as charming as any other Wes Anderson work, I didn’t find them quirky. By this I mean that everyone fits in; none of the characters stand out too much or have main character energy. I’m of course referencing The Royal Tenenbaums or The Life Aquatic where the main characters’ attire is meant to stand out. In Asteroid City, the characters certainly dress in vibrant or interesting ways, but it’s all cohesive with not only the town, but the period and overall world.

I firmly believe that this is because the 1950s (and perhaps the early 1960s) was one of the last times we got truly interesting sportswear (casual wear). We had western shirts, big chinos, novelty prints, seersucker suits, white suits straw hats, and big shorts with socks. People still wear them today, but when everyone else is wearing them it feels normal. And that’s what I loved about the attire in Asteroid City. It all feels natural.

There is also a sense of sincerity or earnestness that comes with this attire. Obviously vintage is having (or has always had) a moment in fashion, especially western wear thanks to guys like Albert. While I don’t mind that, I’ve definitely noticed that a lot of it has a focus on sex appeal. This makes sense as the western looks people are going for are more Butch Cassidy than Hobie Doyle. I miss the silliness and bit of camp that comes from 1950s western wear (and sportswear). I doubt that Asteroid City will bring that back, but it’s nice to have that in the zeitgeist.

Anyway, Asteroid City is the subject of our latest bonus episode. You can listen to the first 15 minutes of that bonus pod below, but you’ll have to subscribe on Patreon to get the RSS feed of the full episode (as well as access to our Discord).

PODCAST

Don’t forget to support us on Patreon to get some extra content and access to our exclusive Discord. Oh and don’t forget, we do a podcast every two weeks!

Buh-bye!

EthanMWong | StyleandDirection

The Podcast is produced by MJ.

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