Style on screen: Goodfellas
“What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?”
Words - Taj Hayer
From the opening scene in which banging from the back of the trunk forces a group of wiseguys to pull over, to the dizzying last 30 minutes, Goodfellas (1990) is a cinematic tour de force and one of those movies that you could watch again and again without being bored, each time discovering a new and intelligent reference.
The story of mobster Henry Hill played by Ray Liotta and his cronies Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, told brilliantly via Liotta’s narration is not only a warning to anyone that like Liotta’s character only ever wanted to be a gangster, but for a homage to the Sixties and Seventies and all of the tacky, silk shirts, wide cars and gold jewellery that it is remembered for. For men that have grown up modestly to have suddenly got more money than they know what to do with, and a pressure to fit in, their wardrobes are a character in the movie; one that epitomises excess in wealth and shiny suits.
For all of the negative style takeaways from the era, Goodfellas is so beautiful to watch, that you may find yourself desperately trying to recreate some of those iconic looks. As the story unfolds from adolescent to desperate middle aged man, it is undoubtedly Liotta’s earlier looks that are the most captivating.
So wrong right now, but so right at the time, the spearpoint collar shirts are instantly recognisable as style belonging to the film, worn with such ease with matching ties and light lounge suits. One of the movie’s style high points is the brilliant “funny now” scene in which Liotta wears a shirt with ultra thin and narrow collars, with a tan suit, light pink tie and slick back hair. Those trousers had to be big & bold. In one of the movie’s earliest scenes, Henry Hill’s mother is shocked to see her teenage son looking “…like a gangster!” In his gold necklace, brown suit with wide lapels and flared trousers. As Hill grows in confidence he wonderfully mixes sportswear & denim for his off duty day look and is full on goodfella in the evening.
As the narrative evolves and Hill ages, so too does his sense of style, spurred on by the huge wads of cash that he is bringing home each week. Loafers now have tassels, suits are not sharkskin and the gold jewellery is now a Rolex Day Date. The low waistline and loud accessories make these suits ones that are definitely not appropriate for the boardroom. Red features heavily throughout the wardrobe of the three lead characters, most memorably when De Niro dons a vibrant red leather jacket as he embarks on a killing spree. Liotta too wears a leather blazer in red, for a look that may be memorable, but feels apt to belong to the decades that style forgot. As a mobster, Henry Hill is a freewheeling man about town - he feels a million dollars and his wardrobe reflects this. He can wear what he wants, how he wants and he chooses to wear his shirts very wide collared.
Goodfellas tells us how importance style is in convening a message of power. Best told through Henry Hill, he starts the movie as a wide-eyed kit on the streets, dreaming of being a gangster in hand me down suits, knitted shirts and turn up trousers, evolves into a man about town with a Cadillac and Rolex to match the super wide suits and between the orange jump suit and the end of the movie, descends into dishevelled hair, chain smoking with a gun permanently at his hip and sweating into a plain white vest. If there is a lesson to be learnt, it is surely to stay on top of your game.
