Across the United States, Summer 1988

Film: Rain ManRelease Date: December 16, 1988Director: Barry LevinsonWardrobe Credit: Bernie Pollack

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Let’s kick off this summer’s #CarWeek! As today, July 3, is Tom Cruise’s birthday, there’s hardly a more appropriate subject than the iconic Buick Roadmaster he drives for his trip across the United States with Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.

Cruise stars as Charlie Babbitt, an L.A. yuppie with a failing exotic car import and sales business who just had to postpone a romantic getaway with his girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino) to return to Cincinnati for his estranged father’s funeral. With his business in trouble, Charlie at least looks forward to the promise of a substantial inheritance until he learns that his sole endowment from the millionaire’s estate is the very 1949 Buick convertible that drove father and son apart in the first place… as well as the rose bushes, he definitely got the rose bushes.

Charlie’s search for the heir to his father’s fortune leads him to Wallbrook, a mental health facility where he learns that he has an autistic older brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), and—in a moment of ill-advised opportunism—kidnaps his brother with the initial hopes of returning to Los Angeles and letting the courts settle who deserves Sanford Babbitt’s fortune. Along the way, Charlie develops a true kinship with and appreciation for Raymond, particularly after realizing that his memories of the protective “rain man” from his childhood were actually of the older brother he barely got to know.

It’s lucky for the two men’s relationship that Raymond refused to fly any airline except Qantas, providing the opportunity for the brothers to bond as they drive from one secluded motel and country diner to the next with the occasional stop for Judge Wapner but nary a K-Mart to be patronized.

I must say, I’m with Raymond on this one; if I’m going to be traveling across the U.S., I’d pick a car over a plane anytime, especially if that means a cruise on Route 66 in a classic American convertible.

What’d He Wear?

Properly accessorized with Ray-Ban sunglasses, Charlie Babbitt’s got the look of a stylish but selfish yuppie, exclusively sporting cool tones of gray, charcoal, and navy silk with nary any warmth to his palette save for the gold Rolex shining from his wrist, making him the smooth urbanite response to Don Johnson’s pastel-clad ’80s hero in Miami Vice.

Prologue

Los Angeles

To the tune of The Belle Stars’ “Iko Iko”, we meet Charlie Babbitt as he looks over a sleek new Lamborghini Countach, the latest import to his sales fleet of exotic cars. His attire for the workday is clearly consistent with how he dresses for every occasion: a trendy suit or sport jacket with pleated trousers, a coordinating soft polo or silk button-up, and loafers.

• Charcoal 2-button short-sleeve polo shirt
• Light gray mini-herringbone linen/silk suit:
  • Single-breasted 1-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Double reverse-pleated suit trousers with fitted waistband, extended 1-button front tab, side pockets, flapped back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather tassel loafers

Charlie admires his reflection on a glossy new Lamborghini… and the strategic placement of the luxury marque’s logo tells us even more about what the young man thinks of himself.

Day 1 – Saturday

Leaving L.A.

After a tense day at the office, Charlie and Susanna are on their way to a romantic getaway in Palm Springs when he gets a call on his car phone (hello 1988!) informing him of his father’s death and redirecting him to Cincinnati for the funeral.

• Charcoal microfiber soft silk shirt with spread collar (buttoned to neck), plain front, breast pocket, and button cuffs
• Dark navy windowpane (rust and faded white check) slubbed linen-blend twill Bobby Yosten single-breasted sport jacket with notch lapels, low 2-button stance, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Light gray mini-herringbone linen/silk double reverse-pleated suit trousers with fitted waistband, extended 1-button front tab, side pockets, flapped back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather tassel loafers

A busy day at the office.

Day 2 – Sunday

A funeral in Cincinnati

Dressed in a shiny gray silk suit, Charlie’s attire for his father’s funeral is hardly traditional but apropos the lack of warmth between he and Sanford Babbitt. Given how abruptly Charlie and Susanna changed their plans from a romantic weekend in Palm Springs to a rainy funeral in Cincinnati, it’s likely that Charlie didn’t even stop home in L.A. to pack a new bag and instead just brought along the clothes he was planning to wear on vacation. In that context, this suit is still probably the most formal piece from Charlie’s road wardrobe as everything else consists of odd jackets and slacks.

• Charcoal microfiber soft silk shirt with spread collar (buttoned to neck), plain front, breast pocket, and button cuffs
• Gray silk suit with black-and-white slubbing:
  • Single-breasted 1-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Double reverse-pleated trousers with fitted waistband, extended 1-button front tab, side pockets, jetted back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather tassel loafers

Charlie attends the funeral of his estranged father.

Sanford Babbitt’s funeral marks the first of two times that Charlie would wear this particular suit in Rain Man. The suiting is gray silk with black-streaked slubbing, similar to the “atomic fleck” effect popular during the 1950s, with the occasional white slub.

Day 3 – Monday

Meeting Raymond at Wallbrook

Of course, today’s Monday. I always drive the car on Saturday. Never drive on a Monday.

Charlie Babbitt first meets his brother Raymond the day after his father’s funeral when hoping to identify the mysterious unnamed trustee inheriting his father’s $3 million estate.

Charlie processes the fact that, at the age of 26, he has just learned of the existence of his older brother Raymond.

The disappointed son’s personal investigation takes him to Wallbrook, a psychiatric hospital in Cincinnati, where he whisks Raymond away in his father’s prized Buick Roadmaster. The scene implies that Charlie and Susanna take Raymond across state lines into Kentucky, but the Vernon Manor Hotel—now a pediatric hospital—was actually located at 400 Oak Street in Cincinnati. (Curiously, this is the address that Raymond provides as the K-Mart that is his preferred underwear purveyor.)

• Dark navy knit cotton 2-button short-sleeve polo shirt by Carroll and Company
• Dark navy windowpane (rust and faded white check) slubbed linen-blend twill Bobby Yosten single-breasted sport jacket with notch lapels, low 2-button stance, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
• Light gray mini-herringbone linen/silk double reverse-pleated suit trousers with fitted waistband, extended 1-button front tab, side pockets, flapped back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather tassel loafers
• Gray socks
• Gray cotton Calvin Klein boxer shorts with white stitched band branding (though he gives Raymond a pair of “Hanes 32” underwear a few days later)

Charlie stands astride his newly inherited Roadmaster on the driveway (“slow on the driveway”) at Wallbrook.

Both the sport jacket and the polo shirt have since been auctioned. The Bobby Yosten jacket, described as a “navy blue knobby linen blend” in the auction listing has yet to be sold, but the polo shirt—made by Carroll and Company and described as a size M—was included with a pair of screen-worn woven gray trousers that sold for $2,560.

A more complete version of the outfit, consisting of a second Bobby Yosten jacket, a second navy knit cotton Carroll and Company polo (this one size L), gray-and-white herringbone slacks (size 30×31), black-and-gray diamond pattern socks, and light blue cotton Perry Ellis boxers (size 30) was also auctioned, yielding a total of $3,000.

The kidnapper makes his ransom demands.

Susanna: You use me, you use Raymond, you use everybody!Charlie: Using Raymond? Hey Raymond, am I using you? Am I using you, Raymond?Raymond: Yeah.Charlie: Shut up! He is answering a question from a half hour ago!

Day 4 – Tuesday

Grounded

Now traveling sans a frustrated Susanna, Charlie dons the silk suit from his father’s funeral two days earlier and takes Raymond to breakfast at a diner in Newport, Kentucky—directly across the river from Cincinnati—where both he and waitress Sally Dibbs (Bonnie Hunt) are duly impressed by Raymond’s ability to instantly count the number of matches (246) that spilled to the floor.

Charlie isn’t yet used to the fact that he’ll need to keep an extra eye on Raymond, particularly when in a new place.

Charlie intends for it to be a single stop before their flight back to L.A., but—as Raymond’s preferred accident-free Qantas does not fly from Cincinnati to Los Angeles—Charlie must change plans and begins the first leg of a long road trip in the Roadmaster that had proved to be the final wedge in his relationship with his father.

• Charcoal knit long-sleeve polo shirt with three widely spaced buttons
• Gray silk suit with black-and-white slubbing:
  • Single-breasted 1-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
  • Double reverse-pleated trousers with fitted waistband, extended 1-button front tab, side pockets, jetted back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Black leather tassel loafers

Qantas receives the greatest word-of-mouth advertising it could ask for in the form of Raymond Babbitt’s memorization and recital of aviation disaster stats and facts.

Day 5 – Wednesday

Bumblefuck, Missouri

So much for a long road trip. The rain prevents Raymond from allowing he and Charlie to leave their room at “the Honeymoon Haven Motel in Bumblefuck, Missouri”, presumably off of U.S. Route 60.

• Pale gray shirt covered with mini navy dots, with point collar, plain front, and two low-slung chest pockets
• Gray silk double reverse-pleated trousers with fitted waistband, side pockets, flapped back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Brown leather penny loafers
• Charcoal socks

Charlie’s clothing is as gray as his attitude as he downs Pepto-Bismol in a lonely motel room.

Day 6 – Thursday

Old 66 in Oklahoma

Clear skies on Thursday mean extended road time for Charlie and Raymond, who admits that he isn’t wearing any underwear as he’s out of his fresh pairs from K-Mart. Growing increasingly impatient with his inability to deal with his brother’s condition, Charlie stops in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where he takes Raymond to a family doctor who eagerly explores Raymond’s intellectual talents and aptitude for math, even if he isn’t able to process the concepts on a practical level. The rest of the day’s activities include phone booth farting and a Judge Wapner “emergency” before the two finally stop for the night at the Big 8 Motel in El Reno, Oklahoma, where they bond over their shared memories of Charlie’s childhood.

• Dark navy knit cotton 2-button short-sleeve polo shirt by Carroll and Company
• Light taupe double reverse-pleated suit trousers with fitted waistband, extended 1-button front tab, side pockets, flapped back-right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Brown leather penny loafers
• Taupe socks

Although the photos from this auction listing for the dark navy polo and “gray woven slacks” indicate that the costume was worn in this scene, the trousers depicted in the auction listing differ with the more neutral-toned taupe slacks seen on screen.

With the help of a small-town doctor, Charlie discovers the depth of his brother’s talents.

It’s this sequence in Oklahoma, halfway through the brothers’ road trip, where we start to see Charlie’s genuine affection toward Raymond and concern for his wellbeing emerge, and with that shift in attitude comes a slight palette shift toward taupe and ivory, slightly warmer colors than his usual shades of gray.

The ivory comes into play when Charlie recognizes the desperate situation on their hands if Raymond isn’t able to watch The People’s Court when it airs. Posing as “Donald Clemons from the A.C. Nielsen Company” with his partner, “Mr. Bainbridge”, Charlie dons a light gray silk single-button sport jacket to give himself a more professional appearance as he tries to gain his brother entrance to a rural farmhouse… with a television.