Style Lessons to Learn from Nicolas Cage

The cult icon turns 55 today...

Perhaps one of the most memeified actors of all time, Nicolas Cage has plenty more strings to his bow than you’d maybe like to think. One of those is the rare ability to pull off a snakeskin jacket as well as every colour Hawaiian shirt under the sun. So this is for you on your 55th birthday Nic: lover of the low-cut, sunglasses-puller-offer, print wearer and chest beater.

know you can never go wrong with a hawaiian shirt

The ultimate bad boy gone good look, a print shirt with a classic white tee under: think Leo in Romeo and Juliet and of course Clarence’s True Romance signature piece, it suits all and instantly makes you (seem) more interesting.

FIND THE JACKET THAT SYMBOLISES YOUR INDIVIDUALITY AND FREEDOM

Undoubtedly Nicolas Cage’s coolest role to date is Wild at Heart‘s Sailor: he’s got Elvis lilts as on beat as his outfits. Probably the most memorable line of the film, and the most notorious piece of costume design, is the snakeskin jacket, which as Sailor says “represents a symbol of my individuality, and my belief in personal freedom”. To be honest, anyone who’s individuality can be symbolised in a snakeskin jacket deserves to pull one off, so find your spirit animal and celebrate your personal freedom.

an axe is the best accessory

The wackiest film of 2018 award goes to Mandy, a directorial feature debut from Panos Cosmatos, which played over so well with Nicolas Cage’s cult persona so flawlessly, and turned him into the vengeful hero we all knew was inside. The ultimate accessory for such a man? An axe-essory of course. Silver, slim, and licensed to thrill.

a wooden hand doesn’t mean a wooden heart

As chameleonic as he is recognisable, Nicolas Cage threw his all into his performance alongside Cher in Moonstruck: devoted to the point of destruction, he even lost his hand to love. “I was in such a state of shock that I had made a sweet, romantic movie I had to go and do Vampire’s Kiss right after,” the punk-lovin’ actor told The New York Times back in ’94. He lost his hand, he lost his bride – but he’s never lost his style.

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Kitty Robson