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July 3 - Working Titles The Bear

July 3 - Working Titles The Bear

David Shuck
July 03, 2024

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Working Titles - The Bear

Daniel Rockburn

Working Titles takes a closer look at specific films with a denim and workwear aesthetic with the goal of examining the material’s shifting cultural image.

If you’re into raw denim and heritage menswear, you’ll know that pieces from our niche don’t show up too often in pieces of mainstream media. It’s not like you flick onto Food Network and Guy Fieri is wearing a pair of Samurais in the kitchen, or anything. But there is one kitchen where there’s a whole lot of quality menswear on show, and that’s the kitchen in The Bear.

Since its launch, The Bear has been lauded by TV critics and fashion bods alike, receiving a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and being dubbed a ‘menswear show’ by GQ. So as well as being a cultural touchstone in This Thing Of Ours, it’s actually a solid watch — making it a shoo-in for our Working Titles series,

If you haven’t seen the series and want to go in fresh, there may be a few mild spoilers in this piece. If you have seen it, let us know what you thought in the comments!

The Original Beef of Chicagoland

The show is about Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White), a chef who tries to elevate his late brother’s casual Chicago beef spot, ‘The Original Beef of Chicagoland’, from disheveled and disorganized to high-functioning and high-end. Carmy’s past work experience lands in end-tier fine dining — the likes of Noma, Eleven Madison Park, Alinea, etc. The list goes on.

To my disbelief (and probably yours), the first few minutes of the pilot entails Carmy making it clear that he knows something about the value of vintage workwear, with him rushing around to procure funds to pay for precious Italian beef provisions by selling off vintage denim.

Inheriting his brother’s restaurant meant he also inherited his debt, and without money to pay for incredibly important beef, Carmy offers his beef dealer a Blanket-Lined Levi’s Type 3 denim jacket. What? Selvedge denim in my television program? Yep. In Carmy’s apartment, we see his kitchen cabinets at home are in fact packed with vintage denim of all kinds, and even his oven has some denim stashed inside. Is roasting your denim a new tactic to kill off bad odors?

The hero of the show clearly has an eye for quality and classic items of clothing, as well as the value held by said items. We don’t have to tell our readers that vintage denim and quality-made goods, in general, are as good as cash, but this is certainly the first contemporary television series we’ve seen that touches upon that fact, but it’s only referenced once, and isn’t exactly a theme of the series.

Carmy funding his family’s beef joint with vintage denim is one example of how he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep the business going, let alone elevate it to semi-fine-dining status, even if it means parting with every last denim relic he has. Jeremy Allen White is a believable denim head. Sure, everyone loves vintage denim, but White’s obsessive commitment to cooking well has a clear parallel with vintage workwear obsession. Some products are clearly better (or the best) for the discerning customer.

Though the references to vintage denim and workwear fade into the background of this dramatic show about a fine-dining chef dropping suddenly into a lower-end casual fare, it’s a nice nod to those of us who appreciate the craft and lore of denim, something largely unseen or referenced in mainstream media. The Bear is a bit of a phenomenon in that regard.

/ In Partnership with Iron & Resin /

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Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto

With Carmy’s penchant for quality in mind, it makes perfect sense that White’s character would be wearing what’s considered one of the finest white tees in the world throughout the series, even while he’s standing on the line with the chaos surrounding him.

The Merz B. Schwanen 2-Thread Heavyweight T-Shirt is in the running for the best tee of all time. Its broad-shouldered, long, and slim fit might not be for everyone, but it certainly works for Carmy. Loopwheeled on antique German knitting machines, they’re an intentionally slow-crafted piece of clothing, made to be incredibly soft, durable, and handsome.

Carmy’s also outfitted in Japanese-made Whitesville tees, sold in a 2-pack. They’re a soft jersey fabric that makes for one of the best undershirts I’ve personally ever tried, and on Carmy, they’re classic American-style fare – a lot like a classic Chicago beef.

Underneath his blue Bragard apron, you would think that a white tee would become invisible, but no – The Bear stirred a craze for these aforementioned white tees the likes that have rarely been seen.

It’s not exactly clear what kind of unbranded, dark blue-hued jeans Carmy is breaking in on The Bear, but it’s safe to assume they’re high-quality selvedge, perhaps something Japanese or some NOS Levi’s. With his established refined taste and the slim-straight silhouette, perhaps he’s wearing some STF 501s. We can’t confirm, but almost every good denim brand out there makes a cut like this, so it’s kind of hard to nail down, but we’re sure they’re executive chef-approved.

Carmy’s also rotating Black Dickies into the mix. The mixture of high and lower-end gear is as contemporary a style of today as it gets. It’s hard to not leave the house and see someone outfitted in some of the ubiquitous work pants. They’re a far more suitable companion for scrubbing down the kitchen floor than a pair of $300+ Japanese-made jeans, that’s for sure.

The wool coat we see Carmy wearing throughout the series happens to be the Gael 8267 Jacket from Dutch brand NN07. Carmy lives in Chicago, the Windy City, so wearing nordic-approved outerwear makes a lot of sense. It plays well into Carmy’s brooding modern Chef aesthetic, you wouldn’t bat an eye at any hipster on the streets of Chicago or New York outfitted in one of these, it just works and, as eye-catching as it is – it dissolves into Carmy’s whole being.

Image via @thebearfx on Instagram.

Comfortable clogs in the kitchen are a must, Carmy and Sydney are both spotted wearing Birkenstock Tokios on and off the line. These non-slip shoes are kitchen safe and style-friendly, for sure. There’s a moment after a heated argument in the kitchen where Sydney is spotted flipping off her Birks in favor of some comfortable Nike Air Max sneakers, signaling her departure from The Bear, while Carmy and the chaotic state of the restaurant boil over.

I’d say that Birkenstocks are a bit ‘dressier’ than what you’d find most chefs or line cooks wearing on the line, but don’t forget, this is a “menswear show”.

Neil Fak

Real-life chef, restauranteur, entertainer, style icon, and workwear designer, Matty Matheson, is also featured in the show as the shop’s most loyal friend and handyman. Matty’s role serves as comedic relief, but he’s also around to help out when the pipes need fixing. It does appear that Matty’s outfitted in workwear from his latest endeavor, Rosa Rugosa.

Sydney Adamu

You might have noticed that the Character of Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, wears a Kapital bandana throughout the series. Sydney’s commitment to the kitchen becomes clear when she expresses her desire to become Sous of The Bear, improving kitchen processes in style (while practicing food safety), with a variety of colorful and fun headscarves.