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Coming to HBO this Sunday: yet another show based in New Jersey, featuring criminals, corruption, and the overdressed underbelly of society. And no, it's not another season of Real Housewives or a Jersey Shore spin-off.
The latest in a long line of period-drama cable series, Boardwalk Empire, a new show from Terence Winter, former executive producer of The Sopranos, and Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese chronicles the rise and rise of Atlantic City—beginning with day one of prohibition in 1920. Based on the Nelson Johnson book by the same name, the show offers a fictionalized account of "an incredibly rich, detailed history of this town," Winter says.
The show also offers a spectacular study of 1920s fashion—especially menswear—and a fascinating look at then-retail in the New Jersey resort town. The show's stars—including Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Vincent Piazza, who plays Lucky Luciano—are dressed in an elaborate and extraordinarily well-researched wardrobe comprising three-piece pinstripe suits and two-tone wingtip oxfords, complete with pocket watches, vintage tie-clips, and Homburg felt hats. In recreating the atmosphere of the grand promenade 90 years ago, the set features reproduction storefronts—palm readers, baby incubator shops, and supper clubs—everything "booze, broads, and gambling," the unofficial governing model of Buscemi's character, town treasurer Nucky Thompson.
The television series' Atlantic City premiere was hosted on Thursday night at Caesars—cast members, including Michael Pitt (who was accompanied by supermodel girlfriend Jamie Bochert), Paz de la Huerta, and Kelly Macdonald (Gosford Park) vamped in 1920s high-style at the casino resort, which was decked out, a-la-20s for the event. Showgirls were resplendent in costumes inspired by the show, 1920s vintage automobiles lined the streets outside, reproduction show posters decorated the boardwalk, and, best of all, Prohibition-era prices were in full effect at some of Caesars' restaurants and on select rooms.
Boardwalk Empire will debut on HBO at 9 p.m. ET this Sunday. We've seen a sneak peek of the first episode and we're super-excited about it—and that there's now another amazingly-styled show on right before Mad Men at 10 p.m. No question about it, this 1920s-inspired show will make its mark on the fashion world. In a season or two, there'll be Margaret's (Macdonald) good-girl coats and blouses and Lucy's (de la Huerta) bad-girl flapper dresses and marabou-fringed duster coats sauntering down the runway. And we'll all be drinking Canadian Club whiskey. Just wait and see.
Note: Transportation and accommodation provided by Civic Entertainment, Harrah's-Caesars AC, and HBO.
· Boardwalk Empire, the book [Official Site]
· Boardwalk Empire, the show [HBO]
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