Rimless glasses, aggressively styled hair, the WristStrong bracelet, and that Brooks Brothers suit: nobody can deny Stephen Colbert has a signature look. Seeing him in that ensemble means it’s time for The Colbert Report, no question about it.
But lest we think it’s just the clothes that make that funny, funny man, let’s take this break period to revisit some great scenes from the Daily Show and Colbert Report archives. Today’s theme: Stephen Colbert, beyond the suit.
First on my agenda: one good-looking peacoat on an equally good-looking Senior Conceptual Art Correspondent.
Next up: quite possibly my favorite sailor suit ever (sorry, Gene Kelly!).
Third on the list: how can you argue with a man in a tux?
Next up: who wants a pinstripe hoodie? I know I do!
For the next clip, I have only this to ask you: “Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?!” (And if you don’t get the reference, I guess you haven’t watched Gladiator recently.)
Finally (enjoy it while you can), we have a flashback to an older Paul McCartney incarnation: Stephen Colbert in the white vest and red Converse All-Stars for “The Girl is Mine”.
Honorable mentions go to Stephen’s Thunderbirds attire, Army boot camp training gear, and pirate garrrrrb. Let’s face it, when Stephen dressed up as some sort of spiritual advisor or tap-dancing in a wetsuit don’t make the cut, you know you’ve got some fabulous options to choose from.
What have been your favorites over the years?
Have to agree, these are some of my very favorite moments … especially the “Gates” piece … definitely a five stroker! … the homage to V-day is great (don’t forget the kiss) … Roman, oh Roman! … and the singing … be still my beating heart!
Thank you!! Ms!
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
A wonderful collection of clips, Ms.I. I hadn’t seen the sailor suit or Roman ones before so I’m grateful for these Klassic Kolbert moments. I love classical history so the Roman one was just swoon-worthy as well as fascinating. And man, he rocked that sailor suit!
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
Ahhh–Stephen in a sailor suit, hinting at being Gene Kelly. HEY, I wanna see that dance!
Thanks for posting all this! So much fun.
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
So, I had to take a speech class recently, and one of the speeches I did was about Stephen (hey, we could pick anything). On the TCR slide of my awesome (if I do say so myself) powerpoint, I had a big picture of him in his normal suit outfit and surrounded it with pictures of him in various other outfits. I would of course have been enthralled with a slide of Stephens even if every picture looked pretty much the same, but I already felt a little bad for picking such a self-indulgent topic. Anyway, the ones I picked were the Roman, the skeleton unitard, the speedskating costume with the sparkly belt and the camera on his head, Future Stephen, Iraq Stephen, Korean music video Stephen, the protective get-up from the tennis pro Fallback Position, and the funny jean shorts lumberjack outfit.
Sorry that was kinda longwinded.
Difference makers:
+5
LOL! The sailor suit clip…man, who was that lucky gal who got kissed by him, eh? Whoo. And I loooove the pinstripe hoody. I was actually looking for one to buy, but I wasn’t sure if it was too nerdy. XP
Shout Out (Hey!):
+2
*swoon* The Girl is Mine *swoon*
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
Thanks, everybody. I really had fun picking out clips for this one.
I somehow overlooked future Stephen — that was a good one! I can’t believe some of the other “contenders” I had to cut, though: Stephen circa Stephen and the Colberts; Stephen in his RAAAAAAAAAIIINNN!! challenge gear; Stephen in his Crosby, Stills and Nash outfit; Stephen in the suit with the tear away sleeves … even Stephen in his bathrobe from the other night was on my list of “maybes” (although that was more because I *want* one of those robes than anything else; I felt too badly for that poor, sick Stevie to want to include it for the ensemble).
Like I said, it was a LOT of fun to put this post together. A great excuse for me to flip through the mental scrapbook again!
(Also? I was really proud of myself for finding an embeddable copy of “The Girl is Mine” again. I have my own copy saved, of course, but it’s so nice to be able to put it back on the site, for however long it lasts!)
Difference makers:
+7
Yummy set of clothes on an equally yummy man!
I know its not from either TDS/TCR , but the Mountie uniform from the Bob Costas show interview was fantastic. I also loved his speed skating outfit, and the devil red one from the luge. Oh, and the tuxedo t-shirt, I think from one of the Oscars stories?
Also, his birthday suit from the Who Wants Cake ep of Strangers With Candy. :D :D :D
Shout Out (Hey!):
+3
MsI – you managed to catch all my faves that came to mind immediately when I saw the topic. My very first thought before clicking past the cut was “Senior conceptual art correspondent better be there!” Oh, the sailor suit, the Roman, the pinstriped hoodie. And, I swear, if anyone mentions the Oscars and I hear “Bertolucci, Bertolucci” in my head.
But yea, it must have been tough to choose – I would have had a hard time cutting “tap dancing in a wet suit”!
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
this was so much fun! thanks!
is it just me or does bearded stephen bring out a rare breed of giddy in you? :D love.
Shout Out (Hey!):
+2
Now, I love Stephen so much in the specs-and-a-sharp-suit combo that I can’t usually bear to see him wearing anything else – except when he adds the pirate hat! Anything sleeveless, lycra or 80s really shouldn’t be encouraged.
But having just seen him – [for the first time, oh thank you so much] – in his previous role as Senior Conceptual Art Correspondent, I have been forced to recontextualise my own notions on what makes me go “cor, bloody hell, mmmm!” when it comes to Stephen. Now, THAT’S what I call public art…. and a five-stroker in every sense of the word!
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
My first thought when I saw the headline “Stephen Colbert, minus the suit” was probably not appropriate to say in a family forum such as this. :-D
However, when I realized what it actually was, I went ahead and watched some of the clips, and I loooooove the Gates. He just looked so yummy! Also looked adorable in the sailor suit. He just looks adorable in anything. Another good clip would be the dance off with Conan at Radio City. God he looked good in those jeans.
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
Agree with you that Stephen’s Dance Off outfit looked great, but I still think that Jon’s overshadowed it somewhat. xD Bwahaha, Mexican Waiter…
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
The ‘Kiss The Cook’ apron! How did I forget about THAT?! *slaps forehead*
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
I love everything about this post. Thanks so much Ms.I!
Stephen looks good in everything, so it’s hard to pick an absolute favorite, but these automatically pop into my head:
I’ve always loved Stubble Stephen, so the Senior Conceptual Art Correspondent bit and his TDS Winter Olympics segments are highlights for me. The Thunderbirds outfit (he looked unbelievable), the old-tyme curling getup, the tennis outfit from Fallback Position, and any time Stephen is in a tuxedo (tuxedo T-shirt included). Oh, and I can’t forget Steve ColberT in the rugby shirt and corduroys! :)
Shout Out (Hey!):
+2