Larger Than Life

THE SHOW: “Morton & Hayes,” 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, CBS.

THE SET-UP: Eddie Hayes (Bob Amaral, pictured right) and Chick Morton (Kevin Pollak, pictured left) are a 1940s movie comedy team a la Abbott & Costello “rediscovered” by Rob Reiner, who introduces each episode.

THE CLOTHES: Like characters in ‘40s movies, these guys have an outfit for everything. Formal dinner wear is back with a vengeance, safari suits instantly appear and smoking jackets are worn for at-home leisure--not to nightclubs. Chick dresses like the typical straight man but has some great ‘40s ties, which are authentic. “(Chick’s) ties were the one thing I wanted to show color and flare,” says costume designer Juan de Armas. Eddie is dressed to make actor Amaral appear even larger than he is, with pants cut wide all the way down. He wears oversize bow ties that are never on straight. De Armas says he’s modeled on Fatty Arbuckle. “I dressed Eddie in plaids and checkered shirts and bow ties with dots,” says De Armas, “so there was really no sense of style.” Female guest stars have the silky shot-through-gauze looks of ‘40s movie queens.

THE INSPIRATION: De Armas says he watched a lot of Three Stooges, Abbott & Costello and Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movies and then went to the library to research period clothing for the ‘40s Hollywood look.

THE LABELS: Most of the clothes are custom-made, due in part to stunts and, de Armas says, the unusual size of some of the characters. Some of the clothes, including Chick’s ties, come from thrift stores and vintage clothing stores around Los Angeles, like American Rag Cie., Repeat Performance, Ragtime and “a bunch of little thrift stores in the (San Fernando) Valley.”

THE PAYOFF: The clothes really give the show a ‘40s feel. Fashion-wise, its nice to know there was life before bike shorts.