Arianne Phillips built Cliff Booth's look around garments that seem naturally worn-in. The Hawaiian shirt and T-shirt are memorable, but the buckle, footwear and fit also play a part in that image.
A carefully constructed casual combination
Cliff Booth is often remembered for the yellow Hawaiian shirt, white T-shirt and jeans. The combination conveys comfort, but its spontaneous appearance is the result of costume design. Arianne Phillips explained that many of Brad Pitt's garments were made for the film. The mustard-coloured shirt with Asian-inspired motifs belongs to that specific work, even though it represents an everyday piece within 1969.
The Champion Spark Plugs T-shirt introduces a graphic reference linked to the motor world. It is visible beneath the open shirt and contributes to an image of a man used to physical work and vehicles. The logo does not need to be turned into a made-up professional affiliation. It can form part of the character's wardrobe without proving that he worked for the brand or that there was sponsorship within his biography.
The jeans create a simple silhouette that allows attention to the body in motion. Cliff drives, fixes an aerial, walks around the ranch and responds physically to dangerous situations. The clothing does not seem to demand constant vigilance over his appearance. That ease contrasts with Rick's concern about the image he projects, even though both are professionals in the same field and share many of the same spaces.
The open shirt adds colour and breadth around the torso, while the T-shirt keeps a clear, recognisable base. The outfit can remain legible in wide shots, even when the character moves through a visually complex setting. The film's cinematography uses that difference in surfaces and tones to keep his presence within the landscape without needing formal costume or a star figure carefully isolated from the background.
The buckle links the body to a trade
Phillips found a buckle in Warner Bros.' costume archive linked to the Stuntmen's Association and incorporated it into Cliff's look. Its provenance is documented by the designer herself. The object establishes a specific connection to the world of stunt performers, much more precise than an interpretation based solely on the size or shine of any old buckle.
That reference does not authorise us to reconstruct a complete administrative affiliation for the character. The film does not present an association file or a detailed work history on the basis of the accessory. Its cinematic usefulness lies in offering a trace of the trade within everyday clothing. It can help the actor feel a connection to that world and provide the attentive viewer with a detail that fits what they already know about Cliff.
The work of stunt performers often remains behind the image of the star. Cliff belongs to that area of production where the body carries out tasks that the audience will attribute to another face. The buckle introduces a small professional statement into a character whose public recognition is limited. It does not occupy a prolonged explanatory close-up, but it preserves a working identity where the story shows mostly friendship, errands and practical jobs.
The footwear takes part in the same bodily construction. The soft loafers differ from the cowboy boots that Rick keeps as part of his look. The choice makes it possible to perceive a less rigid relationship with movement and with the ground. It does not on its own explain Cliff's physical ability, but it fits into a performance that conveys readiness: the character seems prepared to move from sitting to intervening without a ceremonial change of clothes.
Comfort can coexist with threat
Cliff Booth's casual look helps ensure that his capacity for violence is not always the first thing people notice. He can seem like a relaxed man having a conversation or doing a household task, and then respond with unexpected force. The clothing maintains continuity between those states. The film avoids making him put on a combat uniform to reveal a side that was already part of his body and his history.
At Spahn Ranch, the yellow shirt sets him apart from the surroundings and from those who watch him. Cliff moves through the space with a confidence that does not depend on belonging to the group. The costume helps keep that difference visible while he tries to identify a place associated with his former work. His presence can feel bright and ordinary, even when the scene develops an atmosphere of surveillance and threat.
The relationship with Brad Pitt adds another layer without replacing the character. The actor has a recognisable public image, and the costume uses his physical presence to build someone who works away from the spotlight. The clothes seem to encourage that paradox: the double can strongly draw the audience's eye while, within the fiction, still being the man who drives the star and then returns to a caravan.
Costume and identity meet here in material details that serve different functions. The shirt organises colour, the T-shirt provides a graphic reference, the jeans and loafers allow ease of movement, and the buckle recalls a trade. Together they produce a coherent figure without turning each item into a biographical statement. Cliff seems to inhabit his clothes with ease, and that ease makes the contrast between his modest life, his practical competence and the violence he can exercise all the more visible. are found here in material details that fulfil different functions. The shirt organises colour, the T-shirt provides a graphic reference, the jeans and loafers allow ease, and the buckle recalls a trade. Together they produce a coherent figure without turning each garment into a biographical statement. Cliff seems to inhabit his clothes with ease, and that ease makes more perceptible the contrast between his modest life, his practical competence and the violence he can exert.
More context in the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood guide.