Celluloid Rain
In L.A., we have zero game when it comes to dressing for the rain. Have you seen some of the creative get-ups that have been sloshing around our fair city this past week? Trash bags as ponchos, clear vinyl grandma rain bonnets tied under the chin of 30-somethings and rubber overshoes not attached to Michael Caine are only a few of the oddities that have darkened our paths.
Chalk it up to collective inexperience — we live in a desert, after all. But how to up our rainy-day fashion quotient? Channel our cinematic heritage, of course.
Some of film's most iconic scenes have taken place in the rain — and everyone always looks amazing. So tomorrow, when you're dressing for a downpour, ask yourself, Would a hell-bent Clint Eastwood have looked as menacing trudging through the rain in 'Unforgiven' wearing a yellow rain slicker?
In the name of sartorial inspiration, we bring you a few of film's most fashionable rainy moments...
Audrey Hebpurn and George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany's
Trench coats (a.k.a "macs") are the only acceptable "rain" coat past the age of 12. And if you're stumped on how to wear one, revisit this 1961 quirky classic. Hepburn wears her double-breasted coat with the ease of a bath robe — throwing it over cocktail dresses and nightgowns alike.
Daryl Hannah in Blade Runner
It's always drizzling in Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi masterpiece. But no one looks better wet than a young Daryl Hannah, playing human clone (or "replicant") Pris -- reminding us that wet weather provides the perfect opportunity to try out a "dewy" makeup look, using cream blush and a sheer lip color. Oh, and the more black kohl eyeliner, the better. Dog collar optional.
Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain
The up-turned lapels, the wide-brim fedora cocked to the side and the full-sized black umbrella: Gene Kelly and his cohorts set the bar for dapper rainwear in 1952's Singin' in the Rain. Add a trenchcoat to the Kelly look (hey, it's real life), and you're sure to be the best-dressed guy in the office tomorrow.
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook
Yes, it was a hot moment in the midst of an otherwise schlockey film (which we adored, P.S.). But you've also gotta give it to Gosling and McAdams for looking super-stylish while they grope eachother. Caught in a storm while row-boating, the young lovers aren't outfitted for inclement weather. Still, Gosling exhibits the sex appeal of a white-shirt-gone-see-through, while McAdams is proof that a form-fitting dress looks even sexier when wet.
Paul Newman, Tom Hanks and cast in Road to Perdition
In Sam Mendes' rain-heavy mob movie, Road to Perdition, Paul Newman (playing an Irish-American mafia boss) and his crew of enforcers — including Tom Hanks as minion Michael Sullivan — are dressed to the nines in double-breasted overcoats, fedoras and newsboy caps, carrying staid black umbrellas to pop open when it storms. The look may be somber, but it holds up to this day. And it's a reminder that you don't have to be covered in plastic to stay dry. After all, it's only a little water.