Ok, the men were a little easier than the women, mostly because men's styles don't change as radically and I think we can get away with a little blurring of time lines for that reason.
I'll start with Tom, who has a few different looks throughout the film.
First, as a young man in Finland in 1899, Tom will be wearing a traditional Finnish cap and workman's clothing, like the shipbuilders in these pictures.
When he arrives in America, he'll look about the same, plus a jacket, like in the picture of our actual actor who plays Tom, Don Wood, above.
When he marries Katja, he should be wearing a borrowed suit that is a bit too small, but is in the style of the time or a little old fashioned. The wedding is in 1901.
The night before he leaves, Tom should be wearing a variation of the costume he'll use for much of the film: a white shirt, suspenders, perhaps a vest, and dark pants. He'll dress like this to go to the party and to go to town. Perhaps we can add a jacket or sweater once in awhile. He should always wear a cap like this, never a fedora or straw hat. When he leaves the next morning, we'll add a jacket to his costume from the night before.
When he is working, Tom should wear these kinds of clothes most of the time (next few photos).
Tom spends a good part of the film in his hospital gown. This is circa 1943, so not the flimsy polyester modern style with the opening in the back, but something more sturdy and made of cotton, more like a nightshirt than what we think of as a hospital gown these days. It should be white or slightly offwhite. Here are a few pictures of what I have in mind:
Vic Markula is Tom's best friend and will have to age throughout the film, but I would like his style to stay the same. He should always wear a farmer's fedora when he has a hat on. I see Vic in this kind of costume when he is working:
And this kind of costume when he is dressed up.
When Vic visits Tom in the hospital in 1943, he might wear a selection from the following photo dating from that era:
The male extras will look like farmers taking a midday break from working in the threshing machine demo scene, like these next four pictures:
And when they are at the post-threshing dinner party they will dress it up a bit more, like the following photos. These are from slightly different eras as you can tell by the women's clothing but the men's styles are pretty constant. I'm thinking that white shirts with ties, suspenders, vests, and dark pants, along with a few clean straw hats will do it for the party scene.
Lloyd the shopkeeper won't change that much between his two scenes, although one is in about 1910 and the other 1930. I am thinking we could start with the white shirt and vest or V-neck sweater, dark pants and long white apron for the 1910 scene, like this...
... then add a jacket for the later scene (along with a little grey hair maybe) for the second scene, like this:
Constable Fisk appears twice in the film, and in the first scene he will be in civilian clothing. I don't want anyone to realize until the very end of the scene that he is a police man. He comes to pay Tom a friendly visit and a uniform will undermine the meaning of the scene, so I am looking at putting him in a nice simple suit with a fedora, something like what he might wear to church. In fact this visit might even be after church. The fedora is missing in this picture but you get the idea.
Ok, here's a fedora just so I've got one on the blog:
Here's an actual picture of Corporal Fisk. Apparently he wasn't wearing this traditional Mountie uniform when he arrested Tom, and our RCMP actor Rod McLeod has a line on a vintage uniform that should fit the bill. I can't wait to see it!
The boss is a shipyard manager in 1899 in Finland. He should look fairly successful and prosperous and solid. Here are some great looks for a man like this:
So here's a summary of what we need for the male (adult) costumes (boys are covered on the women and children page):Tom
- Finnish shipyard: blue cap, work pants, work shirt, boots (1899)
- New York bar: above costume plus jacket (Don has)
- 2 working costumes: 1) bib overalls, shirt, boots, cap, and 2) dark shirt, dark pants, cap
- 1 clean costume: dark pants, white shirt, suspenders, maybe a vest, jacket
- wedding scene: ill-fitting suit
- hospital gown
Vic
- working costume: dark pants, dark shirt, farmer's fedora, boots
- visiting/party costume: white shirt, clean fedora, suspenders, vest, jacket (1920's)
- hospital visit costume: white shirt, clean fedora, vest, jacket, tie, overcoat (1940's)
Lloyd
- white shirt, dark vest, dark pants, tie, long white apron, dark jacket
Constable Fisk
- visiting suit with fedora (1930's)
- RCMP uniform (1943)
Boss
- white starch collar shirt, white tie, dark suit
Threshing demo extras
- 7 - 10 male costumes for farmers, circa 1912
Party extras
- 6 or 7 costumes for dressed up farmers: white shirts, ties, suspenders, etc. (circa 1912)
Well, that's about all for now. I am sure that our costume designer will find some ways to make these better/more interesting/more accurate, but at least we have a starting place!
Until next time, Sisu!
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