The Look
There were a great deal of different ensemble elements that gave the Blues Brothers their iconic look. Fedoras, sunglasses (Wayfarer 1s) and black 42-R suit jackets were all crucial pieces that contributed to the overall look, as well as crisp white dress shirts and golf Timex watches. While this was undoubtedly a play on the attire often worn by Chicago blues musicians that the Blues Brothers draw upon as source material, it actually worked quite well for them and turned out to be rather fashionable. Still, there’s no getting around the satirical nature of how the Blues Brothers chose to dress, as well as the fact that the wore the same outfits for every performance in order to fully drive home the iconic nature of their look.
Table of Contents
Outfit Breakdown
Joliet Jake Blues
The Hat
Hat Although in many places Jake and Elwood's hats are described as being 'Porkpie' Hats, they are actually 'Fedora' Hats. Porkpies were a squatter, flatter hat also favored by a lot of blues and jazz musicians in the 50's
The Sunglasses
During the Blues Brothers Movie, Jake wore Ray-Ban 5022C15 Sunglasses (a.k.a. Wayfarer I), with brown frames and black lenses. Genuine '5022' Ray-ban sunglasses have the '5022' written on the frames.
The Beard
Although Jake had a small 'Soul Patch' beard on Saturday Night Live and in concert, in the movie he is clean shaven.
The Tie
Both Jake and Elwood wear very thin black ties, approx. 5cm wide at the end. Jake’s tie doesn’t quite reach his belt. The knot at the top is very tight as well.
The Shirt
Both Jake and Elwood wear white long-sleeved shirts with a single pocket on the left-hand side (where Jake keeps his cigarettes and his lighter). Jake’s shirt sleeves are slightly longer than his jacket sleeves.
The Jacket
Jake wears a black suit jacket with 2 buttons, and 3 buttons on the sleeves. According to ‘Blues Brothers Private’, it is a black 42-R suit jacket. The lapels are longer than Elwood’s because the buttons are lower down. The jacket has a single pocket on the left-hand side. There are no side pockets on the jacket.
The Belt
Jake wears a black belt with a small square shaped buckle.
The Watch
Both Jake and Elwood wear a gold Timex digital watch (Jake’s is broken). It has a red LED display. The exact model number is unknown. Jake wears it on his left arm.
The Hands
Jake has the letters ‘J-A-K-E’ tattooed on his left hand fingers. He also has a small crucifix with time dots on his left hand. Although he was given 2 gold-plated finger rings when he was released, the only point in the movie where he can be seen wearing a ring is on stage at the Palace Hotel. This could be because the ring would cover up the ‘K’ in his ‘J-A-K-E’ tattoo. He has removed it by the time he is confronted by Camille.
The Pants
Jake and Elwood wear black suit pants.
The Socks
Jake and Elwood wear white socks.
The Shoes
Jake wears black boots.
Elwood Blues
The Hat
Although in many places Jake and Elwood’s hats are described as being ‘Porkpie’ Hats, they are actually ‘Fedora’ Hats. Porkpies were a squatter, flatter hat also favored by a lot of blues and jazz musicians in the 50’s.
The Sunglasses
During the Blues Brothers Movie, Elwood wore Ray-Ban Wayfarer II Sunglasses, with black frames and black lenses. Genuine ‘5022’ Ray-ban sunglasses have the ‘5022’ written on the frames.
The Beard
Although Elwood had a small ‘Soul Patch’ beard on Saturday Night Live and in concert, in the movie he is clean shaven.
The Tie
Both Jake and Elwood wear very thin black ties, approx. 4cm wide at the end. Elwood’s tie is about 8-10cm past his waist. The knot at the top is very tight as well.
The Shirt
Both Jake and Elwood wear white long-sleeved shirts with a single pocket on the left-hand side. Elwood’s sleeves are shorter than his jacket sleeves, so most of the time you can’t see his shirt sleeves.
The Jacket
Elwood wears a black suit jacket with 3 buttons, and 3 buttons on the sleeves. The lapels are shorter than Jake’s because there is an extra button. The jacket has a single pocket on the left-hand side. There are no side pockets on the jacket.
The Belt
Elwood doesn’t wear a belt.
The Watch
Both Jake and Elwood wear a gold Timex digital watch. It has a red LED display. The exact model number is unknown. Elwood wears it on his right arm.
The Hands
Elwood has the letters ‘E-L-W-O’ and ‘O-D’ tattooed across his fingers on both hands. He also has a small crucifix with time dots on his right hand. The only point in the movie where he can be seen wearing rings is on stage at the Palace Hotel. He wears 2 finger rings, one on each of his little fingers.
The Pants
Jake and Elwood wear black suit pants.
The Socks
Jake and Elwood wear white socks.
The Shoes
Elwood wears black shoes called ‘Wingtips’
Replica Props
This is where you can find props you can print at home to go with your costume!
Instructions
Simply click the image to view a larger version of the prop, or right click on it and “Save Link/Target As” to download the PNG file to your computer. You can then print it out using any graphics/image editor.
(Note: Some of these props are high resolution, so you may need to adjust your printing preferences to make sure they are scaled down to the correct size!)
Murph & The Magictones Business Card
This is the business card Mrs Tarantino gives Jake and Elwood.
Palace Hotel Ballroom Poster
This is the poster used in the movie to promote the concert at the Palace Hotel Ballroom.
Authentic Fancy Dress
Blues Brother Hats
The Blues Brothers are a blues and soul band that became popular in 1978. The band was made by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, they later became famous for their Hollywood film “The Blues Brothers”. The idea of wearing a suit in the film was primarily inspired by Jazz performers from the ‘40s, 50’s, 60s who almost always wore a formal suit. On the other hand, the idea of wearing a fedora hat was inspired by John Lee Hooker, a famous blues singer who wore fashionable hats. For The Blues Brothers film, Dan and John wore black suits, with white shirts, skinny ties, black glasses and the famous stingy brim black fedora hat.
After researching the specifics of the Blues Brother hat, we came up with a variety of top of the line Fedora Blues Brother hat. Our designs are available in high quality fur felt and lite felt fedora hats. The high end hat we carry was designed with a centerdent crown, a 2” wide grosgrain band like the original hat worn by the Blues Brothers, with roan leather sweatband and the famous miller hat satin liners. If you are serious about hats, Miller Hats online is the place to shop.
Decentron Men’s Wool Felt Winter Hat Short Brim Fedora Hat
Had to buy from UK, Will need to replace the ribbon as the film version had a full flat bow.
- 100% Wool Fedora Featuring pinched crown and grosgrain band
- Supple satin lining help in preventing hat hair, cotton sweatband for wicking moisture away
- Hat Size M 7 1/8 57cm, Brim:3cm-4.5cm Crown Depth:4.72″
- Keeping you toasty and warm during the winter months
- Perfect for daily use or most special occasions like derbies, weddings, proms, plays, musicals and theatre performances
The Skinny Tie
Regardless of how many elements went into the appearance of the Blues Brothers, none were quite as important as the ties they wore. The Blues Brothers wore ties that were exceptionally skinny; it is estimated that they were about 5cm in width towards their end, and were just long enough to reach their belts. These skinny black ties were perhaps an answer to the wider, boxy ties that were often seen in the business world during the late 1970s, and made the Blues Brothers stand out as the rebels without a cause they claimed to be. A wider tie simply wouldn’t have worked as part of their ensembles, and would’ve changed everything about the appearance of the Blues Brothers.
The Timex watch worn by Jake Blues
I believe is a SSG model. Information on the model seems to be quite difficult to find. More investigation neede may have to contact Timex themselves.
