As I’m sure some of y’all have noticed, I really enjoy movies with flashy costumes and over-the-top fantasy elements. While we can take elements from exciting costumes and incorporate them into our Hero Looks, there is a lot to be said about a simple look that works as an introduction. That’s why I love the 70s summer style of Jaws.
Despite what we’re told by Big Fashion and social media, the function of clothing is not always to impress the people around us. Yes, it’s nice, but the true function of clothing is to cover our bodies while we pursue our own hero’s journey.
In the same way, the function of a costume is not only to wow the audience but to inform them about the character. I may not gush over the outfits in Breaking Bad, but they are an integral part of the storytelling process.
The costumes in Jaws are a perfect example of this storytelling technique. Although they appear natural enough to be from the actor’s closet, each piece was carefully selected to enhance story-telling. I hope that by the end of this, you’ll understand what dressing like the movie Jaws has to do with personal styling.
Dressing Like Jaws: “Timeless” 70s Summer Style
Hi-key, when I decided I wanted to do Hero Looks, Jaws was at the top of my list. As a kid, I was too scared to watch it, but it’s okay, I’ve watched it two or three times a year to make up for the lost time.
But here’s a fun fact: there are no credited costume designers on Jaws. Robert Ellsworth, Louise Clark, and Irwin Rose were credited later, but looking for them on IMBD, you won’t see Jaws. As someone who loves research, that makes me kind of crazy. This is one of my favorite movies, and I can’t find a single interview about the costumes? Quelle tragedie.
(p.s. if I’m wrong and one of y’all has a link, please send it my way, I need this in my life)
Instead of that, we’re gonna have to piece some other information together.
The Tumultuous History of Jaws
They started filming Jaws in 1974 and it was, by all accounts, a goddamn nightmare. Steven had wanted to use a real shark, but 1) that’s a terrible idea, and 2) there aren’t any sharks as big as Bruce. So they decided to create several mechanical sharks and ship them out to Martha’s Vineyard where they were filming.
And the sharks worked great, hell, everything was working great until they went out on the actual ocean. It turns out saltwater gums up mechanics faster than a two-year-old with slime and a heating vent. Bruce crapped out on a daily basis.
The other issue with filming on the open ocean is that Mother Nature gives no damns. Even on days when the weather was nice, they had to stop filming for leisure boats and other passersby. One of their boats sunk during filmmaking, and it was just… it was a lot.
A film that was only supposed to take 55 days capped off at 159 days, and was way over budget. Everyone involved thought this was going to be a disaster. So why go to the lengths they did to create what was essentially a summer monster movie?
One of the biggest reasons Jaws was a success is because Spielberg goes hard on realism. It doesn’t matter if the story is about aliens, dinosaurs, or 25-ft sharks, he knows that if the audience doesn’t believe you, your movie is tanked. Spielberg has a plethora of techniques to usher the audience into the world of the movie without destroying the suspension of disbelief.
With all that going on, it’s still very important the audience knows who these people are the moment they’re on screen. You cannot flippantly pick out an outfit when you only have 90 minutes with a character. It has to be a distillation of everything we need to know about each person, a perfect sartorial edit. Whatever else was going on in Jaws production hell, which also affected the wardrobe department, they nailed this bit of realism.
Jaws Costumes: Instant Character Profiles
The costumes in Jaws might be a time capsule of 70s summer style, but they’re also timeless.
For the sake of this discussion, I’ll be talking about five characters as they’re introduced, and the outfits we first encounter them wearing. I’ll add other inspiration based on their costumes in the links, but I’ll try not to talk about them as much.
Chief Martin Brody
The first time we see Brody, he’s putting on his uniform, joking with his wife, and telling his kids to stay safe. When he drives off, we know his profession, he’s not from the island, and that he’s a loving family man.
And those are the three things that will define his character until the third act, at which point he’ll switch to a short sleeve sweater and over-shirt. He even wears the patented Spielberg Dad Plaid at the beginning of the second act, just in case you weren’t sure where his loyalties are.
By the time we get to the climax of the movie, he’s the only one wearing black. This helps us distinguish him as the hero, and keeps him separate from the two experienced sea-goers Quint and Hooper.
Ellen Brody
My beach queen is only in the first two-thirds of the movie, but she wastes no screen time. The first time we see her, she’s waking up with her husband. She wears a pale blue nightgown and a matching blue robe with red gingham trim. She is beautiful, vibrant, and stylish.
Ellen is Martin’s wife, and while she represents what he’s trying to protect and come home to, she’s smart and full of life. She dresses in bright blue colors and basic flattering silhouettes. I also love a woman who utilizes scarves and hoop earrings, because they’re also my go-to accessories. If you’re looking for some 70s summer-style inspiration, Ellen is your girl.
Mayor Larry Vaughn
This fashionable idiot is just, god, it’s a master class in costume communication. He’s wearing a printed suit jacket, the kind of thing you’d only see in beachside boutiques, over black pants with a red tie. It’s the kind of easy-going authority you’d expect from an easy-going beach town mayor, and IT’S ALL TOO BIG FOR HIM.
This shit does not fit him, and we know immediately that he is too small for the role to which he’s been elected. He’ll continue to wear similar outfits for the rest of the movie, and it’s all *chef’s kiss*
Quint
Quint is first seen wearing a fisherman’s sweater over his denim shirt, and corduroy, all of which look old and a little dirty. The bill of his hat is broken because Quint is a man who bends nature to his will. It’s such a perfect picture of his character I could scream.
For the rest of the movie, we’ll see him in the same hat with a variety of denim, fisherman’s sweaters, and his military coat.
Hooper
Hooper shows up in denim on denim, a grey sweatshirt, a knitted cap, a leather knapsack that looks pretty new, clean boating shoes, and an expensive diving watch. It’s a simple outfit, something you might see in a Gap ad, to be honest. He doesn’t look like an academic, but when you find out he’s rich, it’s not a huge surprise.
This is honestly my favorite outfit in the whole movie. It goes beyond 70s summer style and straight to a classic bright-eyed hero. Later on, he’ll wear the same kinds of looks (other than the suit he wears to dinner at the Brody’s). Although it’s like what Quint wears, the quality and cleanliness of his clothes set him apart from the old boat captain. It’s not until the climax of the movie when both Quint and Hooper realize the kind of trouble they’re in, that their costumes show any unity.
What Dressing Like Jaws Has to Do With Styling
“Okay, we get it,” you might be thinking, “you really like Jaws. What does this have to do with Hero Looks and personal styling?”
Everything.
Good costuming goes beyond the design. For most movies, you have to have multiples of each outfit for continuity. You also have to consider the actors, the resources, and the money you have on hand, plus the time your team has to put everything together. For the movie, it was important that the customers chose outfits that both worked for each character, and were easy to find.
If that doesn’t sound like dressing for your first day of work or school, I don’t know what does.
Finding your Hero Look comes down to time, money, availability, and intentionality. If we had the budget and fashion resources like Audrey Hepburn’s Funny Face, we’d be wearing designer every day. But most of us are 104 days over schedule and need a bigger boat.
The costumes from Jaws are not flashy or designer, but they are intentional as hell. Every outfit is not only a great representation of the character, but it also feels like something they would have wanted to wear. Whether they chose it for form or function (looking at you, Quint), the costumes help us blur the line between character and real person.
Lots of us feel like we don’t belong like we’re characters in someone else’s play. Maybe your job tells you what to do and wear. Or maybe you feel like someone else is dictating what you should be like, whether it’s the kids at school or the moms at the park. But you can make your own personal style choices without looking like you’re wearing a costume.
If we can pick out a handful of outfits with the same intentionality as great customers do, we can bridge the gap between fantasy and function. We can have a true Hero Look that will help us move through life with a little more confidence.
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