A movie in which clothes maketh (and unmaketh) a man!

TI watched this flick last night with the sound off and for the first time realized how precise and sharp the visual strategies of this classic really was. Without the distraction of the bad plot (talk about deus ex machina in excess) and the wooden acting, it really hits home how much this film is about CLOTHES. It is legend now that Giorgio Armani outfitted Gere for his looks in the film and it is accepted that this movie (recontextualized as a feature length Armani ad) really sold the Italian designer's name to America via Hollywood. But when you really examine the clothes Gere wears and his relationship to those clothes, you do gain a newfound respect for director Paul Schrader's ability to communicate character and plot points using purely visual code. The shoes, the belt, the ties are always right. The gigolo in question is so assured in his sense of style, so correct, so note perfect, you know he is going to get in biiiig trouble mid-film. It is like watching a symphonic take on status dressing . It is an aesthetic that is not flashy and it pretends to be casual in that California mode but boy is it a dream world when it comes to evoking LA style. As Julian comes apart , so does his wardrobe until towards the end, unshaven and desperate he stumbles through LA in MATCHING denim work wear. Brilliant, no? Equally spot on is Lauren Hutton gorgeous American sportswear looks. In the hubalahoo about the Armani menswear, I had forgotten to clock Hutton's WASP casual ensembles. Cable knit sweaters ...trench coats...polite little coat dresses. ... Even though there was little sexual chemistry on screen between these two very pretty people, they are so nice to look at. For hours... which is a testament to Schrader's eye given that Gere was still an up and comer and Hutton was not exactly a sure sell at the box office. If you do decide to check it out, get into Richard Gere's moment with Leon's oxblood red disco boots and tell me this is not a film where the clothes and the shoes made (and unmade )men!