Brad Pitt Was a Seriously Overlooked ’90s Style God
Brad Pitt's personal style has never looked bad, not once in a career spanning three decades. Pitt is one of the leading actors of his generation, meaning his style has often flown under the radar, but that doesn't mean the man doesn't know how to dress.
Instead of pandering to popular brands or egregious logos, Pitt usually opts for a more casual look. When you're one of the world's biggest celebrities, one whose name is known in nearly every nook and cranny of the globe, getting caught up in hype fashion would be almost vulgar.
Pitt eschews statement-making sartorial gestures and instead lets his career the talking, a bit like the Jerry Seinfelds and Michael Jordans of this world, only with more taste. When you reach such a level of superstardom, frippery like the sneakers you wear is of no consequence. Your work and legacy are paramount, everything else a distraction. Pitt's low-key sensibility befits his stature as one of this generation's true cultural icons.
Yet, unsurprisingly, many of Pitt's ’90s outfits still resonate with the menswear looks seen on the runways and streets of today. Don't believe us? Take a look at the best of Brad Pitt's ’90s style below.
Ice Cold Color Palettes
Here, Pitt appears in an elegant combination of white pants and layered shirts. It almost looks like something from an Our Legacy campaign, only taken eight years before the Swedish label was even founded.
The key to this ’fit is the balance of colors and fabrics. The color palette starts off with a white T-shirt as the base and is slowly built up with a light gray shirt and heavier charcoal jacket layered over the top. We would update this look today with a bit of transparency, pulling from Our Legacy's recent gray organza options.
Sadly, the cropped paparazzi shot here doesn't let us see what the footwear situation was, but we'd like to hope it was a pair of simple black sneakers.
’90s-Style Suiting
Here's Pitt at Bally's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in 1993. The suit is more or less of its time, with a slightly slouchy fit, a generous pant break at the ankle, and a colorfully patterned tie, highlighting how men's suiting was beginning to break free from its conservative Wall Street associations.
The silhouette isn't unlike some of the looser tailoring we saw at Paris Fashion Week last year from the likes of Sies Marjan and Dior. We would update this ’fit with some more casual footwear, potentially a pair of Vans or even the Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike Air VaporMax, Frank Ocean-style.
Looking Like a Balenciaga Campaign
Pitt appears here with then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow in Paris, 1997. Although The Matrix (aka one of the most stylish films of all time) was two years away from release, the matching ’90s cyberpunk vibes still stand out. We'll try to ignore the slightly worrisome twin vibes. Isn't that Pitt's exact haircut on the left?
He has ditched the French Riviera-inspired style of open-cuffed white shirts and tailored pants for something more grungy — and it's working. Here, he rocks an all-black leather duster trench, dark denim jeans, and black leather boots for a casual style that is alarmingly similar to Balenciaga's SS19 campaign featuring beautiful Parisian couples.
Anti-Red Carpet Glamor
Pitt donned a floral paisley shirt and beige chinos to the 1993 premiere of Quentin Tarantino-written, Tony Scott-directed crime film True Romance. The shirt is slightly oversized, liberally unbuttoned, and rolled up at the sleeves for a casual, anti-red carpet look.
You can replicate Pitt's style here via German label A Kind of Guise, which manufactured short-sleeve shirts for SS19 using traditional Indonesian fabrics and craftsmanship.
The Perfect Leather Perfecto
Here, Pitt has found a perfectly aged vintage Perfecto leather jacket, a classic item worthy of any serious menswear collection, and a tricky thing to get right. If this image of Pitt from 1990 sparks your interest, we've covered everything you need to know about leather jackets here.
The distressed jacket in this look has been paired with taupe pants, a paint-flecked or bleached undershirt, and a plain black crewneck sweater. The only correction needed to adapt this style for the present day would be to swap out the single-use Evian water bottle for something reusable.
