George Clooney Is Still Dressing Like George Clooney

Look at almost any red carpet photo of George Clooney from the past two decades, and you’ll find plenty that feels familiar. Sure, there was a little less gray in his hair way back when. But the clothes? Dark suits, crisp button-up shirts, handsome dress shoes, maybe a simple watch or a nice pair of shades. In other words: he dresses like a movie star. Clooney figured out what works for him a long time ago, he’s rarely strayed from the formula ever since. So it should come as little surprise that when the 65-year-old actor arrived at the Venice Film Festival earlier this week, he did so looking exactly like himself.The Oscar winner was in Venice to receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at last night’s opening ceremony, and over the course of two days in the Floating City, he cycled through a trio of timeless matinee-idol outfits.First up was a more casual fit—a dark polo with cream pants, beige suede loafers, and a pair of his beloved aviator sunglasses. The next day, for the festival’s iconic water-taxi arrival, he was in a tidy navy suit with a crisp white dress shirt, cap-toe Oxford shoes, and the very same movie-star shades. (Yes, the ones he wore in the pages of this very magazine two years back.) Then, Clooney changed into a supremely classic black tuxedo for the opening ceremony. Across all three looks, the cuts are contemporary but not trendy; the colors are effortless and flattering without demanding attention. Nothing about his outfits is particularly daring, and that’s exactly the point.Clooney has essentially been following the same formula his entire career. He wore a dark, relaxed polo and cream pants at the very same film festival in 2005, and a simple black suit and inky button-up at the Independent Spirit Awards later that year (a choice that feels especially low-key next to Sam Rockwell’s sheer shirt and pinstripe tailoring). Even the notch-lapel tuxedo he wore to win his first Academy Award in 2006 doesn’t look all that different from the one he wore this week. The details change, but Clooney’s sartorial register remains remarkably consistent.It’s impossible to picture Clooney ever partaking in some of the flashier, ultra-baggy tailoring that many A-listers have turned to in recent years—and it’s not simply because of his age. His buddy and fellow sixty-something leading man Brad Pitt has been gravitating toward splashier looks of late: bright suits, unusual silhouettes, and generally more fashion-y clothes. (And he often looks great doing so; different strokes for different folks.) Clooney, meanwhile, doesn’t seem particularly interested in reinventing George Clooney.There’s a certain self-assurance required to dress this way when almost everyone around you is chasing menswear’s next big thing. Clooney doesn’t need every red carpet to be an opportunity for an outfit to steal the show. He figured out a long time ago that he looks good in dark tailoring, an archetypal dress shirt, polished shoes, and of course, a great pair of sunglasses. It’s not right for everyone, of course, but Clooney is living proof that when you find a signature style that works, there are few things cooler than sticking with it for life.