Better Call Saul - Season Five Discussion

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Jerry Horne, Sep 10, 2019.

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  1. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Thinking about it now, it would have been even more clever for them to name the company BCC Mobile.
     
  2. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    Thanks for that :thumbsup:
     
  3. ciderglider

    ciderglider Forum Resident

    Despite being British, I like to think I can make sense of most of what goes on in Better Call Saul. But the one thing I can't translate is Howard's club collars. I don't think I have ever seen one in the UK. Maybe I just lead a sheltered life? How common are they in the US? I can see that Howard is quite a dapper character, but the collar strikes me as eccentric. So what does the club collar say to US viewers?
     
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  4. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Good question. The answer may differ depending on who you ask. HEre is my take:

    A man in a club collar is definitely seeking to stand out as fashionable and probably wealthy.

    Some would argue that it's actually a bit gauche and a good indicator that the wearer really doesn't know what "good fashion" really is

    Also I'm not sure we call them club collars, but I don't know what we DO call them - honestly, in MY experience, I haven't seen them worn very much at all in any context
     
  5. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I re-read your post and I would say that, yes, the club collar is a little eccentric, but not over-the-top.

    Maybe this is something high-priced attorneys of the time living in a big city in the southwest might wear?

    Curious to hear what others think.
     
  6. chili555

    chili555 Forum Resident

    That's exactly what it says to this US viewer.
     
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  7. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Interesting. That's my take, too. I'm about the least fashion-conscious guy around, so I thought I might be way off.
     
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  8. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    My youngest brother, a (far from big firm wealthy) lawyer for the State, wears club collar dress shirts with his suits on occasion. Maybe 20 percent of the time. He is fashion conscious, a dapper guy. Humble and unpretentious though, no Howard (who is one of my favorite characters).

    My other brother, between us in age, is also a lawyer, for a medium size firm. He has less of a sense of style, dresses quite ordinary for his workforce.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2020
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  9. Hot Ptah

    Hot Ptah Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    I am an attorney in Kansas City. I have never seen an attorney from any city in the U.S. wear a club collar. Sometime in the past ten years, office wear for successful Kansas City attorneys switched to blue jeans and sweatshirts (or t shirts in the summer). Attorneys have a suit, tie and white shirt hanging on the back of their office door for the Court appearances and certain client meetings.

    In the time in which Better Call Saul was set, attorneys in Kansas City wore suits and ties more often but it would have been odd to convey a fashion sense in your work clothes—you would have been talked about as eccentric.

    Kansas City is Midwest, not Southwest like Albuquerque.

    I have commented in the past that the creators and writers of Better Call Saul really capture the day to day life in a law firm extremely well. The one thing I would fault them on is that the luxury life at HHM and Davis & Main is confined to the very largest law firms in the biggest cities, in my experience. Otherwise law firms of smaller size in metro areas of less than ten million people tend to be more modest, cost conscious businesses, with utilitarian looking offices and few to no benefits for the attorneys. In that context an attorney who dresses like Howard sticks out as pretentious.

    Also, contrary to public belief, a very small percentage of attorneys have a car and house and clothing like Howard. Most attorneys in the U.S. don’t do well enough financially to afford any of that.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2020
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  10. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    That makes me think of this:

     
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  11. Hot Ptah

    Hot Ptah Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    That is funny! Attorneys know that they need to grab the suit and tie off their door for certain clients.
     
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  12. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    The brilliant line there (and remember, the dialog on that show is improvised) is "go wrangle someone else's money!" :laugh:
     
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  13. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    My youngest brother is in court often. Several times a week. Still, whenever I visit his workplace only non-legal staff are dressed "casually." When I worked for the state of Texas all our lawyers were suit and tie wearers except for casual Fridays when they did not meet with non-agency staff.
     
  14. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    (Admittedly my working life ended 12 years ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were little change in these policies/customs).
     
  15. Hot Ptah

    Hot Ptah Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    There has been a huge change in the past 12 years in attorney attire in the nation. I know many attorneys in other cities. Dress has become much more casual in the past 12 years. An attorney who wears a suit and tie to the office every day is now unusual, and would be known in town as “that guy who always wears a suit and tie.” It was not unusual 12 years ago to wear a suit and tie.


    Twenty years ago virtually all attorneys wore a suit and tie every day.
     
  16. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    Okay, doesn't surprise me. May be a bit different in the state government world, it is still suit and ties in my brother's work office place.
     
  17. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    Heh, according to this site, they originated in England!

    A History of the Club Collar Dress Shirt - He Spoke Style
     
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  18. ciderglider

    ciderglider Forum Resident

    Well, every day's a school day! Two of the last three UK Prime Ministers have been educated at Eton, but no sign of a club collar.

    Thanks everyone who's helped explain to me what Howard's club collars are saying.
     
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  19. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    The show is very particular about what characters wear and what they drive. You could have entire threads just on those topics.

    Personally, I'm very intrigued by all the Salamancas' footwear.
     
  20. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    I've been watching "Ozark" for the past couple of weeks and I am nearing the end of the season 2. This show is like the anti-BCS. Too much stuff happens, and way too fast, for my taste. There is so much less investment in the characters and their motivations compared to BCS that when the twists and turns come, their impact on me as a viewer is somewhat muted. And very few of these monumental happenings seem to linger with much gravity ... again, as compared to BCS. We're just on to the next big moment. I like the show and I'll plow ahead into season 3 ... but it did make me think about why I like BCS better.
     
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  21. BEAThoven

    BEAThoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    All five of the "Gene scenes" from Better Call Saul stitched:

    BCSGene1-5
     
  22. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
  23. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    His is very much a late 80's early 90's power look. I'd see it held on to by a lot of banker types for sure especially through mid '00s which I think that is where we are show wise right? If forget actually. Knit ties? Nobody really wears those anymore but for those who holding on to that power look in my book. You'd also see a lot of those white collars/cuffs on blue shirts, suspenders, cuff links, power stripes. Bankers and lawyers over here tended towards that Brooks Brothers cut, not the flat front tighter fitting look you'd maybe see more in Europe or maybe NYC here. Of course Howard's seems all custom made of course.

    I don't know if all jurisdictions are the same but attorneys are often required to where suits and ties in court to this day so I am guessing it is just easier to have them on always if one's schedule has you in court a lot, so I can see Howard wanting to project that power getup. You can see it in the prospector's suits, Jimmy's suits, all the more common look in those settings I think.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2020
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  24. BEAThoven

    BEAThoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Howard is not only concerned with his image regarding the law firm, solely -- He probably considers the reptuation of his family name as well. As his father was one of the original partners, there might be a long lineage of well-heeled and respected professional men in his family. If he is insecure in his abilities, he would surely compensate with his dress and demeanor.
     
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  25. MikeInFla

    MikeInFla Glad to be out of Florida

    Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
    Thats pretty cool! i didn't realize there was 38 minutes of Gene so I'll have to watch it tonight when I get home.
     
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