We give a lot of leeway to the men (and women) who report back on their 10 Essentials for GQ.com. Some prefer to put together a playlist, others tick off the contents of their overnight bags. But few have captured such a fantastic spectrum of their own mythology like Tommy Hilfiger, who crafted today's list. By now, 25 years into his career, his style is firmly a part of this country's fashion narrative, as All-American as the flag—the colors of it are quite literally stitched into the lining. His reputation precedes him a little bit, so forgive him for taking a moment to set the record straight. You think you know what Tommy Hilfiger is all about? Buddy, your credit card limit does not even go that high. Here, Mr. Hilfiger lets us in on the 10 things that make his life a little more, well, rich.
"British racing green. It's my only Aston, yeah, but I think you only need one. I think the Aston has better performance [than a Jaguar]. I mean, I like an XKE, an old Jag. But for today's use, Aston has a lot of pep. I've gotten it up to over a hundred. My Ferrari I've gotten up to about 200, on a track up in a Canada. But it's an Enzo, so it's as close to an F1 car as you can get. And I don't take it out very much because it's very low to the ground and the weather has to be perfect. I take it in the backwoods of Connecticut when I do drive it. The Aston is a little more practical."
"It's on the beach. I've been going to Mustique for 25 years and I've owned the house for 15 years. I built it from a redo of a beach shack, and I built it in coral stone so it would withstand the weather and the salt and the sand. I have a very large family, lots of children, brothers and sisters, relatives, so we have beach cottages right next to the water. It's a tropical paradise, but it's about, you know, barefoot elegance. "
"It's sort of a quasi-tudo jacket with the shawl collar, but to be worn with shorts, or beach wear, which makes it a little bit different. You dress it up or dress it down. It's not too serious—nothing should be too serious."
"They come in a lot of great colors. These are sort of a grass-green. I love nautical accessories. I'd wear these with madras trousers. "
Photo: Jerry L. Thompson, N.Y.
"I love American contemporary art. And the Whitney has celebrated American contemporary art for many years. So, I look at the Whitney as being a very important museum in the city. I go at least once a year—and that's not frequently enough. Anything Warhol, Basquiat, Kuhns. I like John Currin, Jasper Johns. But Warhol and Basquiat are my favorites. And I love [Johns'] White Flag. It's my favorite piece in the world."
"Mark Twain wrote many of his books in Elmira, New York, my hometown. He spent his summers up there. And thinking that someone like Mark Twain was from Elmira, New York was very inspirational because I thought, you know, someone that talented and that well known could come from Elmira, New York, maybe it wouldn't be so hard to be a person with aspirations and dreams coming from Elmira."
"I take it all over. I go to my email or I go to newspapers, magazines. But GQ, I like in the hardcopy—the real thing."
"Dustin Hoffman was genius in it. And Jon Voight. I also love the music—Glenn Campbell. There's a scene where Dustin Hoffman is walking across 43rd and Broadway, coughing and lost in traffic—his acting was genius. It was brilliant. I also loved him in The Graduate."
"The new one is too new. The vintage has the patina, the history. I like the Daytona. My father used to be a watchmaker, and he loved Omega. I don't own one, but I like Omega, too."
"I play tennis on clay courts, also. But I like grass because I think it's just such a thing of the past. You don't really find it any more. But, you know, I play on clay and I play on Har-tru. But grass—I have a grass court at my home in Connecticut. And it's sort of like going back in time. It's a slow bounce. I play every weekend with a group of friends. I only win when I'm lucky."