Roy Scheider’s Killer Look in ‘Jaws’
Clothes are the last thing you think about while watching Spielberg’s classic about squaring off with a great white shark, but take another look at Sheriff Brody’s hip couture.
Universal Pictures/Photofest
In the menswear Hall of Fame, Steve McQueen still rules, with his easygoing modern classic style. But he is one cool cat who does not walk by himself. In the role of Chief Martin Brody in Jaws (1975), Roy Scheider epitomized modern summer style at its best (all while turning in a terrific performance as the unlikely, water-phobic hero who finally slays the shark that’s been terrorizing a New England beach). Few actors—few men period—have managed to seem so stylish or pulled it off with such unconscious and effortless cool—and in shorts.
Confident but not hyper-masculine, Scheider sported a look in Jaws that had a 21st century vibe even back in 1975. His combo of loopwheeler navy short-sleeved sweatshirt, khaki shorts, and slick aviator glasses is exactly what many men’s designers have been offering this spring, from Todd Snyder to Bonobos.
While the pieces are streamlined, the key to nailing the look is to keep the fit trim and the shorts not too baggy. Call it looking great without looking like you’re trying hard—it’s an unpretentious summer uniform great for bumming on the beach or grabbing drinks around town. This clean look is a hallmark of what great summer menswear is all about: that simple pieces that are so easy to wear it’s practically unconscious.
Oh, and all while looking as cool as a man can look on a sunbaked, shark haunted beach, Scheider delivered one of the greatest fashion critiques in all of cinema: “That’s one bad hat, Harry.”
