Every man should want to dress like Stanley Tucci
As an Italophile with an appreciation for (and a career in) style, I’ve hit upon a happy Venn diagram sweet spot in the form of the debonair, Italian-inflected, bespectacled Stanley Tucci. And I’m not the only one; the honey-voiced actor (who, in his introduction to his excellent Searching for Italy TV show, informs us he’s “Italian on both sides”) has become something of a latter-day matinee idol, stepping into the polished Oxfords of the Cary Grants and Gregory Pecks before him.
Meryl Streep, his The Devil Wears Prada co-star, agrees: “Stanley has an elegance to his heterosexuality, his undeniable heterosexuality, which is formidable,” she said upon the unveiling of his Walk of Fame star a few days ago, to coincide with the monolithic junket tour the stars of the film are on to promote the sequel.
That word “elegance” is telling, and not one often used to describe – or sought by – the current crop of Gen Z guys on the red carpet. “Creating an Instagram moment” is more their speed (see the pantomime posturing at the Hunger Games-style Met Gala – a film Tucci also starred in, coincidentally, which now seems almost clairvoyant in its grotesque peacockery among the elite; see the Met Gala for details).
Tucci is an Italian-inflected style icon - Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images
If that event was the nadir of style – the plastic faces, the Last Days of Rome of it all – Tucci is the cool, calm antithesis of such nonsense in how he presents himself, as chilled and crisp as one of his beloved, ice-cold Martinis. Tucci writes about his approach to style in his book Taste, expressing a distaste for dressing down at airports, with which I wholly agree.
What’s obvious is that the 65-year-old has little time for “fashion” in The Devil Wears Prada sense (catwalk theatrics) but adheres to a molto Italiano ethos of timeless style that is considered without being affected or precious. It’s a very Italian approach in the general sentiment – simple but excellent ingredients, treated well and executed with care, like the most succulent San Marzano tomatoes (skin off, obviously) for an aromatic puttanesca.
In real terms, that means tailoring done very, very well. Nothing extreme, just excellent suiting that’s worn without extraneous “faff”. He also knows the power of fit – helpful, given he himself writes about his rigorous exercise routine. The proportions are lean and precise, rather than the blousier silhouettes that menswear has been used to these past few years, and the details are finessed. They also are not overly tight.
Tucci’s tailoring is often impeccably cut - Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images
That’s not to say he takes an entirely “relaxed” approach to tailoring – you rarely see him pairing a T-shirt with a suit jacket – but more that he fits the famous Hardy Amies edict perfectly; “a man should look as if he’s bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them”.
Quite; see Tucci gamely crouching by his Walk of Fame star, for example – a chalk-stripe navy suit that’s fastidious in its uprightness. It’s a three-piece, no less, with pocket square, tie and monk-strap shoes, but happily at ease as he crouches on the dusty Hollywood street.
Tucci with Emily Blunt at his Walk of Fame unveiling - Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Tucci, who once starred in a Levi’s ad back in the Eighties, looking every inch the Italian-American hunk, also knows how to master casual dressing; jeans, but worn with a cream blazer and polo shirt, again with just the right exactness in the proportions – the cut of the jeans lean but not skinny, hitting the shoe at the right point (more on shoes later).
Stanley Tucci in a Levi’s campaign in 1985, every inch the Italian-American heartthrob
This also parlays into his approach to summer sprezzatura; a softer-structured jacket (and occasionally, allora, a knitted jacket) and cream tones, particularly fitting for Wimbledon. Brand-wise, he tends to veer towards the classicists; he’s a fan of the Italian king of cashmere, Brunello Cucinelli, as well as shirts from Luca Faloni. Last winter he also debuted a capsule range with historic British knitwear house N Peal, and he has recently spoken about the idea of launching his own range of clothing.
As for Tucci’s occasional tendency to flash a touch of mankle (the politics of which we shall investigate another day); it’s an Italianate flex that’s entirely in keeping with how his fratelli dress in warmer months. Let the ankle breathe; basta. That, or colourful socks. He has a fondness for monk straps, which are a less prevalent form of formal shoe; less straight than an Oxford and a little more interesting (they’re actually derived from outdoor footwear, making them less formal than the likes of the patrician Oxford).
A flash of mankle at Wimbledon – proof that even the smallest Italianate flourish can elevate tailoring - Dave Benett/Getty Images
On the subject of accessories, Mr T has two tricks up his perfectly cut sleeve. One is the fact that, as a bald man, he has made bold, thick-framed spectacles by Moscot his mainstay, which serve to break up, as he told GQ Italia, “the monotony of my face”. Then there’s his fondness for beaded bracelets, a sentimental touch – four feature the names of his children; one was given to him by film director Paul Feig as a symbol of health after his recovery from oral cancer.
As for the final flourish, we mere mortals might be able to replicate one of his excellent Martinis (believe me, I have tried), but the most stylish accent to his look is that Italian un certo non so che. A certain something.
Tucci favours bold, thick-framed spectacles - Neil Mockford/GC Images
Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.
