Working Titles takes a closer look at specific films with a denim and workwear aesthetic with the goal of examining the material’s shifting cultural image.
In the summer of 1947, nearly 4,000 rowdy bikers descended upon a small town in central California. After a weekend of drinking, dancing, and cruising, the town’s small police force had to call in reinforcements and tear gas the bikers into submission.
The event became known as the Hollister Riots and, thanks to a nationally published Life magazine story, would galvanize the image of the American motorcyclist as a misfit hooligan who aimed to terrorize the family values set of the country. Naturally, the teens thought it was pretty cool!
Hollister 1947.
The movie most responsible for cementing this new American archetype was 1953’s The Wild One. It was a small movie starring up and coming actor Marlon Brando as “Johnny”, the leader of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club gang. The three dozen or so young men of the BRMC don’t seem to have much purpose other than riding their bikes from town to town and having a good time, whether that be disrupting a motorcycle race, fighting in the street, or “draggin’ for beers.” Which is exactly what they do when they ride into the small town of Wrightsville.
When asked, “What are you rebelling against?” “Whaddya got?” Is Johnny’s iconic reply.
Johnny, however, shows a softer and more vulnerable side than the other gang members. Confused about what he wants, whether he’s rebelling against polite society because they won’t accept him or if he won’t accept himself, and the real effect his antics have on the world around him.
The ruling townspeople, however, know exactly what they want: the BRMC out of Wrightsville by any means necessary. And their violent reprisal leads to deadly ends.
The Wild Clothing
Plot and character aside, The Wild One is a smorgasbord of 1940s-50s era military and workwear. This was during the early period of shifts in biker style from clothing akin to equestrian dressage to what you’d wear in a fighter plane cockpit.
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Just like motorcyclists at the time, the film’s costumes drew on the enormous amounts of World War II surplus: A-2 Bomber Jackets, USN Watch Caps, N-1 Deck Coats, A-3 Mechanic’s Caps, and flight goggles and aviator sunglasses. These all interplay with asymmetrical Perfecto-style leathers, dark rigid 501s, black engineer boots, Aloha shirts, and even the occasional top hat.
The BRMCs represent the war (and the machinery that fueled it) coming home in a way that the people of Wrightsville aren’t ready to accept. The town is removed from the violence and manufacturing work and will get violent to make it stay that way. Charlie Thomas, the main antagonist and the leader of the violent mob of townspeople, is still stuck in pre-war values and pre-war clothing. He wears a billowy shirt tucked into the high-waist pants of his double breasted suit.
Our man, Johnny, however is all civilian clothes. A ringer t-shirt beneath a black asymmetrical riding jacket (name chainstitched on the breast like all the BRMCs to give them some comfort of identity), straight fit 501 jeans with high cuffs, black engineer boots, and topped off with an old school Harley hat and aviators.
Our picks are below, but no guarantees they won’t make you look like Michael Cera as Wally Brando instead of Marlon…
- Harley Hat available for $56 at Sterkowski
- Black Perfecto Jacket for $760 ($646 for Type 2 Members) at Stag Provisions
- General Sunglasses for $180 at American Optical
- Cross Stitch Leather Belt for 99EUR (~$120USD) at Rumble Speed Shop
- Warehouse 1947 DD-1001XX Jeans for $365CAD (~$287USD) at Lost & Found
- Nep Raglan Ringer Tee for $65 at Left Field
- Mister Lou Engineer Boots for $699 at Wesco
Michael Cera as Wally Brando in Twin Peaks The Return.
