Style Icon: Marcello Mastroianni

Italian style at its best. Mastroianni was the super cool actor in such great movies as La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 — no surprise, then, that he was the muse of Federico Fellini, the filmmaker behind almost every Italian classic we herald today when talking style.

Mastroianni is the man we think of when we think of black and white perfected. He is the man we think of when we think of looking good while keeping it simple. He typified 1960s Italy. His look is today a source of inspiration to us all, and no doubt, his style demonstrates how good one can look by sticking to the classics: a slim black suit, a sharp narrow tie, and a white french cuff shirt. The shoes? Mastroianni was a notorious customer of John Lobb. Mastroianni loved clothes — he ordered twelve suits a year from his Roman tailor — but he preferred quality over ostentatiousness. The simplicity of it all, combined with flawless tailoring and the fine craftsmanship of everything he wore, is what makes his look so desirable today.

And of course, there was his attitude. Taking a drag off his skinny cigarette, leaning back in a chair with his feet up on the table and his wraparound black shades shielding the sun, Marcello’s nonchalance epitomized sprezzatura, or natural elegance.