Sylvester Stallone isn't a fashion icon... yet. The macho action-film star whose most famous characters wore sweatsuits or camouflage is launching a men's clothing line in 2012 based on his two biggest roles — Rocky and Rambo. The business will take his nickname — it will be called Sly Inc — and include everything from jeans and shirts to watches and, eventually, grooming products. "I thought the time is now," Stallone said, according to Women's Wear Daily. "I've lived a life where I know what has worked and what hasn't worked. Clothing is the first step to building a character." The idea is already drawing plenty of giggles. Here, a sampling of wit:
Worst. Idea. Ever.
"I may have thought that celebrity clothing lines officially jumped the shark when Al Roker landed his own raincoat collection," says Tracey Lomrantz at Glamour, "but it turns out there were far more ridiculous depths for them to sink to, dolls." But what do I know? My boyfriend says, "If this clothing line is anything like Rocky IV, then it'll be legendary."
Do as he says
"Stallone is a man defined by triumph over adversity, so if Sly says 'wear this,' who are we to argue?" says Belinda White at Britain's Telegraph.
Wardrobe we can believe in
"Of all the celebrities to wake up one day and think, 'Gosh, I should do a clothing line so more people can dress like me,' Sylvester Stallone is one we can actually get behind," says Charlotte Cowles at New York. After this is the guy who told Men's Week, "If [Rocky] wore white and pleated pants, it would have been a whole different thing."
Drape yourself in Sly
Other action stars have tried to sell cologne, "but Sylvester Stallone cannot be bottled," says Sean O'Neal at AV Club. "A man must purely drape himself in Stallone" — but "not necessarily in a tank tops and porkpie hats and indiscriminate blood stains kind of way."
Just crazy enough to work
At first, "I had to make sure I wasn’t reading The Onion," says Cheryl Wischhover at Fashionista. But, upon reflection, I'm thinking this might actually fly. "The grooming products make total sense, because that man has an enviable head of hair, and you just know he doesn’t leave the house without a little cologne."