Male style icon of the week: Sir Michael Caine

THOUGH Sir Michael Caine has enjoyed a long and distinguished film career - spanning five decades and over 100 films - it would not be controversial to suggest that his was films of the 60s and 70s left the most indelible impression as far as contemporary menswear is concerned.

Caine’s suits in The Italian Job, designed by legendary tailor Dougie Hayward, typified the Academy Award-winning actor’s onscreen impact: dressed to the hilt in tailoring redolent of classic Italian and British design, but worn with a certain insouciance that meant he never appeared too smooth or too stiff.

An imposing dark trenchcoat, worn over similar suits, also adorned Caine in 1971’s Get Carter. The trenchcoat further articulated the air of authority Caine exhuded onscreen, and at the same time undermined the elitist origins of the garment - for a time, only army personnel of officer rank were permitted to wear it.

Caine’s long association with Hayward, who he counted as a friend, bolstered the idea of tailoring-as-social-leveller - the actor’s immaculate attire made increasingly opaque the relationship between someone’s perceived social class and what they wore.

Caine’s most iconic wardrobe staples were the three-button blazer (one that could be rolled into two buttons, if you can find one) and black, thick-rimmed, quasi-Wayfarer glasses - together, a bold and assertive statement, but always worn with a shrug and the merest hint of mischief in Caine’s glinting, bespectacled eye.

• Who would you recommend as next week’s male style icon? Do you have an all time favourite, or maybe a Scottish gent to suggest? Tell us in the comments section below, on Facebook or on Twitter.