What Henley Shirt Was Ryan Gosling Wearing in His New Film “Drive”?

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Special Update on Gosling’s Henley Shirt

If you’re here, you’re likely wondering two things:

  1. What Henley shirt was Ryan Gosling wearing in the movie Drive, and
  2. Where can you get it?

The short answers are:

  1. A special vintage-era (made in the 1940’s) Henley shirt from a company called Williams. See below for more info about the specific shirt.
  2. Your best bet is a some Vintage store, because they haven’t been made for about 40-50 years.

Ryan Gosling’s Henley Shirt

Gosling wearing a Henley shirt.

The henley shirt Ryan Gosling was wearing in Drive (2011). What brand was it?

ANSWER: It was a Williams Vintage Henley from Mister Freedom. SEE BELOW.

In an effort to save you a little time, the closest comparable Henleys to the one Ryan wore are:

  1. Henley T Shirt from Magnoli Clothiers ($45). Pretty much exact replica of the Henley Ryan wore in Drive. 100% Cotton & Slim Fitting. Although this company is based in New Zealand, it looks like shipping may be included in the purchase price. What a deal!
  2. Vince Cotton Slub Henley T-Shirt ($68) – Combines all the best elements of a cool henley with a casual tee
  3. White Camisa de Chino SS ($9.99) – Information courtesy of a reader who posted the product info and link in a comment below. Looks very similar, except there appears to be some design incorporated into the sleeve cuffs.
  4. Henleys from Union Made Goods. Check out the one from H.W. Carter & Sons (color: Natural). Information courtesy of Mister Freedom. See below for more information about Mister Freedom.
  5. Merz b. Schwanen (Germany-based) 1920’s worker shirt Henley.  You can also view their entire collection of “Button Facing Shirts” (Henleys). This company has shops in many locations throughout the world, but I’m not sure if they offer these items in all the stores.
  6. (AG) Adriano Goldschmied – Short Sleeve Henley ($98) – Just got word of this Made-in-USA Henley product by way of an advertiser. Looks like the company manufactures in Los Angeles, CA, and has 12 retail locations. Good thing though, you can order the Henley online too! (I was asked to give a shout out to Adam in the South Beach store for providing the information about this awesome Henley!)

Everything from here forward is from the original article.


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— Original Article Begin —

Inquiring minds want to know what Henley T-Shirt Ryan Gosling was wearing in his new film Drive (2011).

Well, I don’t know for sure, but there are several possibilities, including:

Sunspel Henley Undershirt: 3-button front Short Sleeve, 100% two fold Egyptian cotton ($68.96 USD)

Adam: Short-Sleeve Henley T-Shirt ($50)

No longer available – original link – http://www.shopadam.com/mens-tees/short-sleeve-henley-t-shirt/invt/adabjs27/

JCrew: Homespun Knitwear short-sleeve henley shirt ($65)

LVC Levi’s 20’S Henley Tee ($105)

Nordstrom: Alternative ‘Moroccan’ Trim Fit Henley Shirt (nordstroms.com) ($38)

I’m gonna see if I can get in touch with one of the costume designers to find out.

— Original Article End —

9/22/11 Update

I got connected with the lead person who worked in wardrobe on the movie Drive, and this is what she had to say about the Henleys Ryan Gosling wore:

I went to your website and read your guesses. They are good guesses, but they are all wrong.

Ryan’s henleys were 1940’s vintage henleys.

They were purchased at a store called Mister Freedom on Beverly Blvd (Los Angeles, CA). We bought everything they had.

Hmmm…maybe I’ll go check out the store – it sounds pretty damn cool and maybe I’ll find some vintage undershirts!

9/22/11 Update #2

I contacted the folks at Mister Freedom to let them know about the article and the store’s founder, Christophe Loiron, was cool enough to get back to me and provide the following, additional information:

Hello Tug and thank you very much for the ‘plug’ ;-)

Indeed had a long chat with Ryan at the store when he was working on his wardrobe (he’s one of the few who actually works close with his stylist to get clothes that work for his characters).

We discussed ideas for a jacket that he wanted to be as iconic as De Niro M-65 in Taxi driver etc…

The henleys came after.

We always have a large selection of vintage henleys, from new-old-stock military issue to 1940’s vintage pieces, mostly 3/4 sleeves but s/s as well.

We also have our original Mister Freedom production (made from vintage cotton jersey knit), our “gym henleys” http://www.misterfreedom.com/?p=1299.

Jordan and John will answer any Qs you might have.

Thanks again for the kind support.

9/23/11 Update

Thanks to another reader who stopped by, we now also have some additional intel on the vintage henleys courtesy of The Golden Closet, Iconic Entertainment Memorabilia.

Check out the costume tag on the far right.

Hell, if you’ve got an extra $2k sitting around, you can own the original costume Ryan wore in the movie.

Original costume tags.
Original Costume Tags (Click to Enlarge)

9/25/11 Update

Thanks to my new best friends over at The Golden Closet, and for your viewing pleasure, I am now in possession of some A-MAZE-ING hi-resolution original photos of the vintage henleys Ryan Gosling wore in the movie.

What’s most interesting about these photos, is that in a couple of them you can clearly see the WPL# of the henleys along with Williams brand name.

WPL numbers were used between 1941-1959, prior to the introduction of RN numbers.

So simply put, you know that these henleys are the real deal.

I’ll talk about WPL and RN numbers in a subsequent post.

  • A photo of a Henley shirt.
  • A photo of a Henley shirt.
  • Close-up Henley shirt collar
  • Williams brand care label
  • Front view: Henley
  • Henley: Back view
  • Grey henley shirt
  • Henley side view
  • Williams brand care label | grey henley
  • Original Costume Tags
  • Ryan Gosling's Henley shirt.

10/12/11 Update

Buy one of the Original Vintage Henley Shirts worn by Ryan Gosling in the movie Drive. Selling price: $450 on The Golden Closet.


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37 thoughts on “What Henley Shirt Was Ryan Gosling Wearing in His New Film “Drive”?”

  2. Hey! I’ve looked everywhere and through this article and I’m not completely sure where I can find one of these! I recently saw the movie after renting it and am really curious to find a shirt similar to this! Does anyone have any tips for me in the 2012 year to find any? I’ve followed most of the links and searched around, even went to my mall today but was unable to find anything similar.
    Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

    Reply

    • hey phillip, are you talking about the white raglan long sleeve undershirt (sweatshirt) that shaun was asking about?

      how’d you find yourself sending a shirt to ryan gosling? do you work for a store he was shopping at??

      Reply

      • Im referring to the henley he wears through out the movie….. I use to work for American Rag in los angeles. he bought the shirt and levis vintage (actual not LVC)jacket from me. I would imagine the raglan sleeve sweatshirt is a vintage piece which you could get at kelly cole store on 3rd just passed Fairfax (heading from east).

      • interesting, because the costume people from the movie told me different. if you read the article, you’ll see that the shirt ryan wore in the movie was said to be the vintage williams henley.

        they were purchased at mister freedom by the costume people.

        maybe they saw the levi’s lvc 1920’s tee that ryan had purchased from you, got inspired, and went on a quest to find more similar looking henleys?

  7. Long shot here, but does anyone know the brand of the white raglan long sleeve undershirt (sweatshirt?) he’s wearing during the scene where he’s watching tv on the couch with the kid?

    Reply

  8. thanks! did a bit of detective work and found out more clothes related things with drive:

    jeans (the person wasn’t 100%)
    http://shop.acnestudios.com/shop/men/jeans/max-raw-19.html

    shoes
    http://www.stacyadams.com/shop/style/00035.html
    http://www.endless.com/dp/B001J54SOE/184-1416761-3407962?ie=UTF8&camp=217145&creative=399373&suppressRedirect=1&linkCode=as2&tag=dappered-20&creativeASIN=B001J54SOE&_encoding=UTF8&ref_=as_li_tf_tl

    denim jacket
    http://us.levi.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11645396&ab=leftnav%3Ashopothercategories%3Ajackets%3A3146860&clickid=prdsw

    Reply

      • Hey,

        Thanks for all this info… i’m wondering if anyone has any info on the actual Levi’s jacket he wears… Apparently it’s vintage… no side pockets… a bit different from the new Truckers levi’s makes now…

        does anyone know what year/years his jacket is from?

        thx!

    • hey devon, i’d recommend checking with mister freedom in los angeles (323-653-2014). they just might have some because the way vintage stores work normally is that they buy clothing pretty often.

      so, even if the costume designers of drive bought all the williams henley shirt stock mister freedom had at the time, that doesn’t mean they haven’t found some more to purchase since then.

      keep in mind that original vintage williams henleys are not likely going to be cheap – they’re probably somewhere between $120 – $140 each if they are in good condition.

      Reply

  12. Mr Undershirt! if it wasn’t for your page…. I would not have a clue! honestly!

    answered all my questions! as for the levi’s shirt! it’s close but not close enough Will.

    If I get one or 2 , I will be sure to let you know and provide mega feedback and promote your site till my fingers fall off! thx again!

    Devon

    Reply

    • thanks for the intel devon. that’s a great find!

      the person in charge of wardrobe on drive (2011) said she and her team bought those henleys at mister freedom in los angeles, but she indicated that they bought all the inventory.

      no matter, you should contact them and see if they have anything similar. keep me posted!

      Reply

  14. i own a couple of those henley from Mister Freedom, but they sold at fast.
    Definately worth checking out the store or keep an eye on the website for updates.
    Mister Freedom is the master of old school cool.

    Reply

  15. It’s definitly the levis sunset one. There are several distinctive and odd features, the extra wide rectangular reinforcement in the front with the buttons set noticeably off center, and the extra tall knit cuffs.

    Reply

    • hey will, it does look similar to the levis sunset henley, but the only ones i could find online were made in the color “milk white”. i compared the colors on my screen, and the henley ryan is wearing does look quite a bit whiter than the milk white color of the sunset henley.

      any thoughts about that?

      Reply

      • I’ve seen them in person and even the milk white is pretty white, just an unbleached cotton. Definitely the same as in the movie I would say. Plus Levis would never let that product placement slot escape them, it fits perfectly with their “workers” and “pioneers” campaign demographic.

      • hey will, wound up connecting with the lead person in wardrobe from the movie drive. check out the updated information in the post for the definitive answer about what henley it was.

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