The Lift-Off Look

THE MOVIE: “The Rocketeer.”

THE SETUP: Young aviator Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell, pictured) accidentally finds a rocket pack and stumbles into a heroic battle against the evils of Nazi Germany. His skeptical girlfriend, Jenny Blake (Jennifer Connelly, pictured), needs to be convinced of his blastoff abilities. The action is set against the colorful backdrop of Los Angeles of the 1930s.

THE LOOK: Movie-matinee adventure heroes. Cliff cuts a rakish figure in a leather jacket whose sleek lines are lifted from the pages of the original “The Rocketeer” comics series. (For the historically minded, the storyline is pre-World War II so the jacket can’t be called a bomber.)

For the original comic strip, creator Dave Stevens crafted a jacket that was part ‘30s aviator-style, part circus stunt flier. For the movie, costume designer Marilyn Vance-Straker embellished it with epaulets, to hold the rocket-pack straps in place, and shiny brass buttons. The jodhpurs and tall, black boots Cliff wears with it are typical of prewar aviation gear.

Villainous Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) also struts in jodhpurs and boots, a jaunty look many Hollywood stars adopted at the time. It still looks great on screen. Jenny’s scene-stealing clingy white satin gown manages to be demure yet shows off her voluptuous figure.

THE SOURCE: All the costumes worn by the principal characters were designed by Vance-Straker and made by local tailors. Even Cliff’s boots were custom made to fit the actor’s large frame--6-foot-3--and feet. For the record, just like Dorothy’s shoes in the “Wizard of Oz,” more than one leather jacket was made for the movie. Indeed, about 40 were stitched to accommodate stunts. As for Cliff’s odd-looking flying helmet, it was made by comic strip creator Stevens and sculptor Kent Melton. It is plastic with a tarnished-brass patina.

THE PAYOFF: The pleasure of looking at costumes that triumphantly embrace old-fashioned heroics and Hollywood fantasy.