What’s happened’s happened. Which is an expression of faith in the mechanics of the world. It’s not an excuse to do nothing.
That’s a line from Tenet, the 2020 film by Christopher Nolan. It’s spoken by Robert Pattinson’s character Neil, a special operative whose origins remain obscure.
Robert Pattinson as Neil and John David Washington as The Protagonist in Tenet. Image: Warner Bros
Our style is in part an acceptance of who we are, but that’s “not an excuse to do nothing”, because our style is also in part a deliberate act to show the side of ourselves we most want others to see. “What’s happened’s happened”, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make choices about our style moving forward.
In the case of Pattinson’s character, he’s a highly intelligent and supremely skilled operative—and extremely dangerous to the wrong person. His self-confidence doesn’t at all veer into cockiness, but it’s always there, just below the surface. And such a self-confident character can wear whatever he wants. Take a look:
Image: Warner Bros.
First note his shirt sleeves. Those are French cuffs, but they’re not buttoned, just folded back. It’s a nonchalant look that says, ‘I wear extremely nice clothes, but I don’t always need them to look perfect.’
More prominently, check out his scarf. It’s not a winter scarf, which actors commonly wear, including some iconically masculine characters:
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall, wearing a medium-gray cashmere scarf from Tom Ford. He’s wearing it in my favorite winter scarf knot, the Parisian. Image: Eon Productions
Pattinson’s scarf is much lighter weight than a winter scarf. It appears lighter than any men’s three-season scarf I’ve seen. If his unbuttoned French cuffs send the message that he wears nice clothes but doesn’t need them to look perfect, this particular scarf, tied this particular way, sends the message, ‘I’m confident in who I am, I’m going to wear what I like, and I couldn’t care less what you think of my style.’
I’m not the only person to make note of Pattinson’s scarf; I’m just a few years late to the party. First GQ UK:
We’re into it and you should be too. Lightweight, flimsy, but totally cool for the summer (you can wear scarves in June, FYI).
And MensXP:
Robert Pattinson can be seen in a light-grey checked suit blazer with a pair of black slacks, but it’s his prominent double-looped chiffon scarf that takes the brownie points. Turns out subtle gender-bending elements in a sharp formal outfit can really take it up a few notches.
The meaning of one simple scarf
Why pay this much attention to one scarf from one scene in one movie? Because it raises an interesting question: How did many men become so unsure of themselves that they’re afraid of appearing soft?
