Iconic Male Movie Characters Get Modern-day Makeover

What woman hasn’t felt an itch to update her boyfriend’s wardrobe? Even if your boyfriend is, say, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Eddie Murphy or Marlon Brando. Last week, in honor of The Costume Designers Guild Awards, a group of Los Angeles fashion students competed in an event to create a modern-day tuxedo shirt for their favorite male movie character. The catch: They had to make the tuxedo shirts out of LACOSTE polos.

The Style Glossy got an inside look at the sketches.

Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), Coming to America

Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt), Interview with the Vampire

Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), The Great Gatsby

Phil “Duckie” Dale (Jon Cryer), Pretty in Pink

Ren McCormack), Footloose

Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), The Godfather

The winner: Jay Gatsby. Here’s a look at the final shirt, created by Lucy Li of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

But you don’t need a fashion degree to borrow great looks from the boys. Beryl Lacoste-Hamilton, granddaughter of Rene Lacoste who founded the sportswear company in 1933, says she has long shopped the menswear side of the aisle. Here are some of her tips:

Play doubles: Lacoste-Hamilton likes to layer two polo shirts, the better to play with color contrasts by rolling up the sleeves and letting the collars overlap. Her favorite feminine color combinations are pink with orange (in homage to Yves St. Laurent) or pink and purple.

Serve up accessories: “If you’re going to wear a man’s shirt, you need to accessorize to keep the look feminine,” Lacoste-Hamilton says. Her favorite girly accents are chain necklaces in the style of Chanel, or the very French look of a scarf. “You can wear a small scarf tied at the neck,” she says, “or a large square folded into a triangle and draped over one shoulder.”

More top scores from his closet: Tennis sweaters and white dress shirts (chic when belted), Panama hats, neckties (cute as belts) and of course, his colorful polo shirts.