When I met up with Colman Domingo ahead of his Met Gala hosting gig last month, his stylists had just informed him of a tweet that more or less summed up the actor’s fashion mantra: “Three things are certain: death, taxes, and Colman Domingo having that shit on.”
In recent years, Domingo has nary missed an opportunity to put that shit on, especially on the red carpet. But when you’re famous enough to get nominated for Oscars and invited to host the Met Gala, being a well-heeled celebrity is a full-time gig. Red carpet or not, you’ve got to be prepared. When I asked Domingo about how his style had changed since reaching megastardom in his 50s, he admitted that now he likes to “look a bit more dialed up” when he’s on the move, since there’s a good chance he’ll get recognized.
“People are looking in a different way. People watch you when you walk into a hotel. I’m walking in as Colman Domingo, the actor,” he said then. He added, cheekily, “Being a house ambassador of Valentino, I want to make sure I have my Valentino bag.”
Jason Howard/Bauer-Griffin
So when the paparazzi found Domingo outside of the ABC Studios in Manhattan (he’s currently promoting his new Off-Broadway play, Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole) on Wednesday, he was ready: He beamed in a simple ribbed white tank tucked into super-snug whiskered blue jeans, which he’d cuffed at the ankle and cinched with a double-ring brown belt. He wore ruched tan loafers with bright white socks, Oliver Peoples aviator sunglasses, and—of course—a studded-leather Valentino bag.
He looked like he’d stepped out of a high-fashion version of a Tom of Finland drawing. An ideal look for the second week of Pride Month.
“One of the greatest things that I like right now is as an openly queer man, 55 years old, I have young boys, girls, macho dudes all admiring me. They’re like, ‘Oh, I love you. I want to dress like you. I wish I could. I think I could,’” Domingo told me in May. “I’m inspiring generations of men to be like, ‘Yeah, I want to put that shit on, too.’ I feel like I have a whole league of people that I’m inspiring, and I see it, and I see the effect.”
