Sign up to the Esquire Shops newsletter. Each week, we'll be directing you towards some of the best menswear deals happening right now, alongside style advice, trend reports, grooming tips and product recommendations from the most tasteful people we know.
In the opening episode of Ripley, the new Netflix adaptation of a 1955 Patricia Highsmith novel, Tom Ripley (played with cool aloofness by Andrew Scott) is on a hunt to find the trust-fund loafer Dickie Greenleaf.
Dickie’s currently louching it up on the Italian coast and Ripley’s been sent out to bring him back home by Dickie’s dad. And off Ripley heads, tracking him down to a beach in a small seaside village near Naples. But first: swimwear.
As any self-respecting American of that era would know, the only thing acceptable for public bathing at the time would be a muted pair of shorts, no higher than the thigh, preferably with a vest on top.
So when the conservative Ripley steps out timidly from a boutique’s changing room, sporting just a tiny pair of chequered swim briefs, complete with a skinny leather belt and gold buckle embellishment, it’s certainly a choice look. Despite being told he looks “bello!” by the beaming shop assistant – those Europeans, what are they like, eh? – he wants to know if perhaps there’s anything else available? Of course! There are pretty much the exact type of short-shorts, several colourways over, just without the belt this time.
Ripley settles for the slightly less jazzy briefs, and off he marches to the beach with just the swim shorts on, paired – spot the tourist – with his lace-ups, to start his ill-fated obsessive affair with Dickie.
But what we’re saying is, you don’t need to be a creepy 1950s sociopathic con man to pull off this look, and there’s no reason why summer 2024 shouldn’t be the time to go full Ripley on the beach with your own skimpy retro swim fits.
A good bet is to head to some of the most famous Italian fashion houses, who will have a whole long history of iconic Mediterranean archive swimwear to pull from, even in their newest seasons. Versace’s Barocco black and grey print will make a classy statement on the beach (£351), while if the gold-belt detail is what caught your eye on Ripley’s briefs, then Versace also offer a plain black pair finished with a jewelled look too (£285).
A more striking design can be found on these lemon and serpent-print briefs (£197) by Roberto Cavalli, while the brand also offers a similar pair with another animal print, these tiger in the jungle ones for the same price. Over at Ron Dorff, a striped graphic design (£100) nudges the briefs slightly over into the Sixties.
Or there’s these monochrome briefs from Dolce & Gabbana (£350) that are also in keeping with the black-and-white shot Ripley, and looking exactly like the swimwear sported by the muscle men making a human pyramid on the beach in episode three.
If you take the plunge with these pants, just remember to always ditch the office lace-ups. They're a crime against fashion on any beach – Italian or not – that will surely mark you out as a true psychopath.
