In 'Notting Hill,' Hugh Grant Makes the Case for Simple, Uniform Dressing

Jan 25, 2024

By Avidan Grossman

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Notting Hill, the canonical British rom-com written by Richard Curtis, is not a movie that offers much in the way of surprises. It remains a stalwart of the genre thanks to its neat story arc and satisfying denouement. The stakes are low. The setting is cheery. The happy ending is never in serious jeopardy. But a close rewatch of the late-’90s tearjerker inspires more than a few double-takes. The grand gestures are still big. But the fits, it turns out, are even bigger.

Romantic comedies are perennial crowd-pleasers because of their soothing predictability. Even the best of them tend to rely on a familiar set of narrative tropes. So it’s fitting that William Thacker—a floppy-haired Hugh Grant, at the height of his stammering charisma—is portrayed as a maestro of unfussy, formulaic dressing. As Thacker navigates the turbulence of a blossoming romance, he cycles through all the emotions typical to the onset of a new relationship. But his personal style stays remarkably consistent.

From the beginning of the movie, Thacker swears by a rotating ensemble of sensible knits, sturdy hardbottoms, classic straight-leg trousers, and rumpled button-ups. (His shirts are a particular strong point. Cut loose but not billowy, they fall gently around Grant’s frame, drooping just-so over his belt buckle, forever threatening to come fully untucked. The fabrics are soft and thoroughly broken-in, the collars are sizable without being aggressively retro, and the sleeves are nearly always wrinkled and pushed carelessly to the elbow.) A good shirt, a proper pair of pants, a well-worn blazer—these are foundational wardrobe basics, or so the keyboard warriors on r/malefashionadvice would have you believe, but in the context of the movie they really do seem sufficient.

Style-wise, Thacker is an anomaly. Notting Hill mostly takes place in the titular London neighbourhood, and its residents skew far more bohemian than the main character. (His gawky roommate Spike, played by the Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, serves as an accurate stand-in for the area’s hipper contingent. Scruffy and usually stoned, he wears a scuba suit when he runs out of clean clothing and wouldn’t look out of place fronting a Collina Strada campaign.) In comparison, Thacker’s style harnesses the proto-normcore power of Gap in its “Who Wore Khakis” heyday, or the thrillingly inoffensive styling of a ‘90s J.Crew catalog.

Menswear is in the midst of a tectonic reassessment of what it considers cool, and forgotten fashion plates are being rescued from the throes of obscurity every day. (Call it the masculine urge to dub every goofy white guy in a suit an unheralded style icon.) It’d be a stretch to apply the label to Thacker—the movie simply doesn't provide enough material to judge by. But that doesn’t diminish how great he looks, precisely because of how unassuming his style is. In its simplicity, it offers a testament to the power of carefree, no-frills dressing, a compelling visual argument in favor of throwing on the most thoroughly-loved pieces in your closet and then strolling out the door and carrying on with your day.

Two decades after Notting Hill’s release, Thacker’s style remains, to quote the movie’s own soundbite, charmingly “squidgy around the edges”—a restrained counterpoint to menswear’s maximalist, more-is-more bent. Sometimes, of course, occasion dictates that you dress like a sexy space pirate or a reclusive poet. But sometimes you’re just a boy, standing in front of your closet, trying to figure out what jacket to wear.

Julia Roberts’ turn as a beret-wearing A-lister in a long leather jacket might inspire the most chatter online, but Grant, playing a down-on-his-luck divorcee, deserves his due. His character is a beau idéal of consistency, never deviating far from a formula of tried and true menswear fundamentals.

Mr P. unstructured worsted wool blazer

Mr Porter

Everlane grade-A cashmere crewneck sweater

Everlane

Todd Snyder 5-pocket "Bedford" corduroy pants

Todd Snyder

R.M. Williams classic Chelsea boots

Amazon

Part of the appeal of Grant’s pared-down style is that it plays well during the vast majority of the year. In the cooler months, layer on a sturdy jacket (Grant’s character favors a wrinkled corduroy number) and soldier on undeterred.

Polo Ralph Lauren soft corduroy jacket

Ralph Lauren

Alex Mill "Mill" shirt

Alex Mill

L.L.Bean essential braided leather belt

L.L.Bean

Levi's Vintage Clothing 1937 501 jeans

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Tricker's "Robert" suede derby shoes

Mr Porter