On-screen Jude Law has played some of the best-dressed characters going, from Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley to the famously style-conscious Alfie.
Since he first rose to fame after a role in 1997’s Gattaca and later cemented household-name status following his portrayal of Greenleaf in 1999, Law has had a nonchalant attitude towards fashion. Typically leaving the big show-stopping looks to his past girlfriends, including Sadie Frost and Sienna Miller, Law adopted a laid-back style of dressing, which typically consisted of muted tones and signature, loose-fitting suiting.
With age, Lewisham-born Law has become a little more flashy (we thank his long-term stylist William Gilchrist for this), finding solace in velvet top layers, wool-blend, straight-fitting trousers and double-breasted suits, and he arguably teeters on the edge of peacocking.
Below are the things you can learn from the 48-year-old actor’s sense of style. And if you need any more tips, we’ve got how to dress in your forties covered.
Back in 2009, ten years before Harry Styles rocked a sheer blouse to the 2019 Met Gala, Jude Law was bringing translucent clothing to London’s West End. Leaving the Wyndham Theatre on Charing Cross Road, where he held the lead role in a production of Hamlet, Law threw on a flimsy, diaphanous polo shirt, the sort you might have found in one of Tom Ford’s sexed-up Gucci collections at the time.
And sheer is being championed by some of the best-dressed men on the planet right now. The aforementioned Styles is at it, as is gender-bending Troye Sivan, who wore a heavenly scarlet Valentino suit with a sheer underlayer to the Met Gala in 2017. Meanwhile, brands such as Ludovic De Saint Sernin, Saint Laurent, Dior and Bianca Saunders are pushing for see-through shirting, which is how we suggest you embrace (and this you must) the style.
While on-screen Lotharios (Alfie, Graham in The Holiday, Gigolo Joe) are the go-to roles for Law, off-screen he has made a simple accessory his signature thing. The humble scarf has been loosely hanging around Law’s neck since his early days of attending red-carpet events.
Punctuating his wardrobe of louche-fitting suits, his collection of thin, silk scarves is ever-expanding. Giving his formalwear a thespian twist, the simple style move of slipping a scarf under his suit jacket has stuck (fellow thesp Ian McKellen does this too).
And he has perfected the winning formula, which is worth replicating. Like Law, opt for a boxy, loose-cut, single-breasted suit, a T-shirt (scoop-neck optional) and a flimsy neutral-hued scarf (not a chunky, Harry Potter number), which should be tucked in, of course.
Law has nailed his outerwear game. Whether a knee-skimming, wool-blend overcoat, velvet bomber jacket (more of that later) or a timeless olive-hued Barbour jacket, he knows what works.
And he knows that a shearling-lined number is always a strong choice. Surely a favourite after he saw his Holiday costar Cameron Diaz wear one in their popular Christmas flick, Law has taken the style and run with it.
The Young Pope actor did the unthinkable and took the bomber jacket to red carpet when he rocked up to the Captain Marvel European Gala held at The Curzon Mayfair in 2019. On paper, a bomber jacket has no place at an event that more than likely has a dress code that errs on the side of formal.
Yet, by simply opting for a perfectly cut bomber in a luxurious fabric like velvet (his own is from Saint Laurent), which is traditionally synonymous with black-tie events, the casualwear staple was given the green light on the blue carpet.
Attending The Laurence Olivier Awards at The Grosvenor Hotel in 2010, Law stood out with youthful panache among the sea of black-tie veterans such as James Earl Jones and Rowan Atkinson.
Today, the tie, while still finding popularity among well-dressed men such as Harry Styles, has largely lost favour with many of the red carpet’s newcomers. Shawn Mendes rarely wears one, instead opting for a low-cut T-shirt, while Rami Malek and A$AP Rocky, like Law, prefer to go without.
An easy (and cheap) move to follow, add it to your own formalwear rotation.
In the 2000s and early 2010s the scoop-neck tee found favour with a host of pop stars, including the entirety of The Wanted and X Factor alumni Shane Ward and JLS sporting them.
Unfortunately, since then, the scoop has fallen to the wayside. Now, it sits among other no-go items, such as uber-thin pashmina scarfs and skintight “spray-on” jeans, both of which are still favoured by a string of Love Island contestants as well as those X Factor faces.
Law, however, has turned a blind eye to Love Island (rightfully so) and has stuck to his guns when it comes to wearing a scoop-neck T-shirt or vest, and these days he wears one almost every time he slips into a suit.
Into it? Follow the two following rules: “The fabric of your tee must be thick and high-quality enough to hold its structure beneath your suit,” explains GQ Style And Grooming Director Teo van den Broeke, “and you should only ever wear a scoop-neck tee with proper tailoring. Anything more casual and you’ll resemble an early-doors Love Island reject.”
While you might think baggy, unstructured suiting belongs only to Armani-clad Richard Gere in American Gigolo or Julia Roberts at the 1990 Golden Globe Awards, think again. Law is making a serious case for roomier tailoring. And while it veers on being on the wrong side of big (he’s six feet tall, but a wider fit has left him looking a little shorter than he deserves), it’s something we’re behind.
Across the men’s shows tailoring has become more lax, with the likes of Gucci, Ami, Giorgio Armani and Loewe presenting collections that have been heavy with relaxed-fitting suits. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Harry Styles has brought them to the main stage, and, as you well know, that man knows how to dress.
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