She had us at "Tanqueray." When Julianne Moore coos to Colin Firth in A Single Man, "Be a darling and pick up some gin for me. Tanqueray. I love the color of the bottle," we were toast. No turning back. We were already in love — and now always will be — with A Single Man's 1960s style, but the Tanqueray moment sealed the deal. Firth's midcentury lair? Perfection. His Mercedes-Benz coupe? Chills. Moore's pink cigarettes and furry white vanity chair? Somebody pass the smelling salts. Indeed, the film is achingly stylish, as we knew it would be, but there is substance spooling onto the screen, too. From the first flicker to the last, the talented Tom Ford beautifully adapts a tale of true love, twists of fate and those teeny-tiny moments that can sometimes justify an existence. Believe us, the film is so much more than pretty gin and pretty cars. However, if you, like us, are equally inspired by the luxe look of it all, here's a terribly brief primer on how to live like A Single Man — and his wise-cracking, red-headed best pal. 

 

The digs: Key to the look is a glass-and-wood house of cerebral leanings (think about the Vandamm house in North by Northwest). Lucky for you, Colin Firth's actual house in A Single Man — a 1949 stunner by John Lautner — is for sale, by design-savvy Realtor Crosby Doe of Crosby Doe Associates in Beverly Hills. Pack your valises and bring $1,495,000: You're moving to 527 Whiting Woods Road in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.

 

 

 

 

The wheels: Firth motors about in a terribly urbane coupe, a Mercedes-Benz 220 S of the 1956 to 1959 vintage. In the movie's early '60s era, Mercedes-Benzes were still rare in the States, not the ubiquitous sights they are today, making this a very telling choice for Firth's professor character, George Falconer. It says Falconer is a quiet individualist who prefers quality and intelligence over flash and fins. Find yours at eBay Motors or at specialist site MBZPonton.org.

 

The update: While we will always prefer a period Benz, if you must go modern, the new E-Class Coupe is today's equivalent to Falconer's car. In fact, its rear haunches wink at the famous ponton (German for "pontoon") fender styling of the 1950s and '60s Mercedes-Benzes.

 

 

The smokes: Julianne Moore, as Charley, George's bawdy — and British — best friend, puffs on pink cigarettes by Sobranie of London and (not coincidentally) delivers the film's most fabulous one-liners. ("I'm dyyyying for a dose of you!" "More smoking and more drinking and screw it all.") Sobranies have been made since 1879 and were reportedly supplied to the royal courts of Romania, Greece, Spain and, indeed, Great Britain. (Imagine those one-liners.) Source your Sobranies online, at about $40 per carton.

  

The rings: Wouldn't an old-school rotary telephone feel good right now? Weighty equipment for weighty (or not) news. Firth takes a fateful call on a beige desk number; Moore, of course, purrs into a Princess. Dial up your style at OldPhoneWorks.com or RotaryDialPhones.com.

 

 

The update: What would George and Charley chatter on today? We think Bang & Olufsen's Beocom 1401, a modern classic in our books. Simple, tactile, and with magnificent sound — you won't miss a single barb.

 

 

 

The reads: Firth's George Falconer is the literary sort — after all, he is a college professor. Among the works singled out in A Single Man: Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and, most prominently, Aldous Huxley's After Many a Summer, which Falconer discusses in class. Hunt for your pedigreed page-turners at vintage bookshops or online.

 

 

Bowled over: We spied a Heath Ceramics ashtray on Firth's desk at the university where he teaches. It's as smooth and restrained as he is. Find your vintage one on eBay (Heath no longer makes the ashtray) or prop your own lair with loads of plates, cups, bowls and vases at HeathCeramics.com. The California company has been making mini masterpieces by hand since 1948, all sophisticated, all sinuous.

 

 

 

The update: If only George had waited a few years, we think he would've opted for Arne Jacobsen's rotating ashtray from his urbane Cylinda series, designed from 1964 to 1967. Just one flick of the rotating scoop and — whoosh — no evidence that you've been puffing pink Sobranies while the students aren't looking.

 

 

The tickers: Time itself is a recurring character in the film — Firth is up against a self-imposed deadline, and ticking clocks, even in Firth's Mercedes, figure heavily in the plot. Wind up a Westclox, the same brand propped on Firth's stylish bedside table, through several sites, including VintageWestclox.com and ClockHistory.com.

 

The update: The minutes would be easy to measure with designer Gideon Dagan's Timesphere Clock for MoMA. It certainly would've given Falconer a reason to keep his eye on the (red) ball.

 

 

 

The tunes: Julianne Moore drops a needle onto a scratchy record. Violins wail. Etta croons. We swoon. "Don't know why/There's no sun up in the sky/Stormy weather..." (Get your Etta fix at iTunes — "Stormy Weather" is on her definitive "At Last!" album — or on Amazon.com. Other great ditties in the film: Jo Stafford's "Blue Moon," Serge Gainsbourg's "Baudelaire" and the groovy "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The MGs.)

 

 

The update: A gorgeous score for a gorgeous film. Haunting melodies by Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski and lilting pieces by Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi are mixed with with Etta James' aforementioned "Stormy Weather" and a classic "Blue Moon" by Jo Stafford. Perfection, all for just $9.99 on iTunes and at Amazon.com.

 

 

 

The writing paper: Falconer pens his poignant notes on Smythson stationery, the hallmark of a gentleman, indeed. (We suspect the actual hand doing the writing is Tom Ford's, though — we've seen his elegant cursive on a notecard or two in our day.) The lovely people at Smythson of Bond Street do confirm that Falconer's stationery is their White Wove paper, with "GEORGE FALCONER" in black ink, in the Hamilton Hall font, a font exclusive to Smythson and only available via their boutiques. Order a sheaf ASAP, and maybe Ford will scribble something salacious to you on the top sheet.

 

 

 

The wrap: Firth's final scene — the poignant ending we bet you didn't see coming — happens in a smart gray robe. It looks like cashmere and we suspect it's by Tom Ford. (We're waiting to hear back from Tom on that.) In the meantime, swaddle yourself in this heather-gray version from Williams-Sonoma Home. It's pure cashmere and just $398. But please, don't follow in Firth's footsteps quite so slavishly, re: that surprise ending.

 

 Julianne's gin: We'll drink to that. (And she's right about the bottle color.)

 

The bonus: Extra points if you can spot Richard Buckley, Ford's partner of 20-plus years, in the film. It's a two-second appearance, a la Hitchcock's own famous cameos, and real Ford-ophiles won't miss it. Here's a shot of Richard, fashion journalist and former editor of Vogue Hommes International, to aid novices. Good luck out there.

 

 

 

Schaffer house: Judith Lautner, The Lautner Foundation