The James Bond Wardrobe/Style Thread

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  • Posts: 1,552
    A couple of interesting reads, thanks @SirHilaryBray
  • Posts: 11,425
    doghouse wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    My point is that despite this, the suits often look ill-fitting in the action scenes. Not something I'd noticed in previous Craig outings.

    It was very bad. Even the standing still suits were ill fitting.

    Glad someone else noticed!
  • SirHilaryBraySirHilaryBray Scotland
    Posts: 2,138
    Again that goes back to the Skinny look. It is not for everyone. I did not really have problem with the cut of the suit in Istanbul my problem was Bond was overdressed for the situation and for an Agent a silver/gray that says look its me "the white guy" was just an odd choice. Dan should have been in linen trousers a and a polo. I often wondered if their was more to the PTS that explained this that did not make the cut. Perhaps it showed what happened to Ronson and and the lead up, but Mendes chopped it?
  • Posts: 260
    Getafix wrote: »
    doghouse wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    My point is that despite this, the suits often look ill-fitting in the action scenes. Not something I'd noticed in previous Craig outings.

    It was very bad. Even the standing still suits were ill fitting.

    Glad someone else noticed!

    To say someone else noticed is an understatement. Google "Skyfall Suit" and it will autofill "too small". It's probably the most well known sartorial feature of the movie.
  • edited March 2015 Posts: 260
    Again that goes back to the Skinny look.

    Goes back to the doesn't fit look. Skinny look is fine, if not my personal choice. Not fitting not so much. If you go back up the thread I posted examples of form fitting tailoring that still fit.
  • Posts: 11,425
    doghouse wrote: »
    Again that goes back to the Skinny look.

    Goes back to the doesn't fit look. Skinny look is fine, if not my personal choice. Not fitting not so much. If you go back up the thread I posted examples of form fitting tailoring that still fit.

    Exactly. The 'fitted' look is fine but the SF suits look ill fitting, like they're not properly tailored.

    Didn't know it was so widely recognised. I've had people on here tell me the suits look fine.

    Totally agree about the colour as well. Have a loathing of light grey shiny suits - really nasty and cheap looking. Suits You, Sir!
  • Posts: 5,767
    Again that goes back to the Skinny look. It is not for everyone. I did not really have problem with the cut of the suit in Istanbul my problem was Bond was overdressed for the situation and for an Agent a silver/gray that says look its me "the white guy" was just an odd choice. Dan should have been in linen trousers a and a polo. I often wondered if their was more to the PTS that explained this that did not make the cut. Perhaps it showed what happened to Ronson and and the lead up, but Mendes chopped it?
    If so then one can guess it from the scenes that are in the film.

  • Posts: 802
    Getafix wrote: »
    doghouse wrote: »
    Again that goes back to the Skinny look.

    Goes back to the doesn't fit look. Skinny look is fine, if not my personal choice. Not fitting not so much. If you go back up the thread I posted examples of form fitting tailoring that still fit.

    Exactly. The 'fitted' look is fine but the SF suits look ill fitting, like they're not properly tailored.

    Didn't know it was so widely recognised. I've had people on here tell me the suits look fine.

    Totally agree about the colour as well. Have a loathing of light grey shiny suits - really nasty and cheap looking. Suits You, Sir!

    doghouse and I appear to agree violently about the problem if not the solution.
    The SF suits don't fit and the only suit fully shown for SP doesn't either.
    This is for the simple reason that TF is an off the peg merchant who at best, will do some made to measure were he adjusts standard models to 'better' fit.
    To the best of my knowledge, he partners with Zegna which means the quality of his cloths will be great but the fit will be what it is.
    His latest designs are a rip off from Chittelborough & Morgan who's house style has its roots with Tommy Nutter, the famous '60s tailor. This is a great look but very difficult to pull off because it depends on very finite tailoring.This is what you would get if you had Joe Morgan cut you a suit. Charlie Watts is a big customer of his and always looks fantastic. Unfortunately, IVNSHO, the commercialisation of this look by TF is a sartorial disaster.
    Personally, as I have said times many, I'd have Anderson & Sheppard do Craig's suits. I don't say this just because they are my tailor. I say it because their house style — the Anderson & Sheppard drape would suit Craig's physique perfectly and their understated cut is Bond personified.
    What's more Getaflix is right, 'those shiny suits' are awful and better suited to a game show host or Ant & Dec. Definitely not 007!
    Hot tip in the suit department — watch 'M', he's going to give Bond a run for his money.
    Ralph Fiennes is a real clothes horse and Timothy Everest is bespoking his look.
  • Posts: 260
    There's no conceivable way to put a violent secret agent in the rumpled sack of potatoes Anderson & Sheppard silhouette. His kit should be sharp and slightly evil. C&M, Huntsman, Dege, Poole, Heyward all would fit the bill, along with Richard Anderson, Norton and M&M.

    I'm glad that you are happy with A&S, they have a huge loyal following here in the States and are first rate, but are probably the most singularly inappropriate Row tailor you could come up with for Bond, along with perhaps Steed who do generally the same thing as A&S.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I believe the grey may have been a nod to Connery in Istanbul in FRWL. The colour didn't suit Craig all that well imho, and of course we've discussed the terrible fit here already.
  • Posts: 260
    bondjames wrote: »
    I believe the grey may have been a nod to Connery in Istanbul in FRWL. The colour didn't suit Craig all that well imho, and of course we've discussed the terrible fit here already.

    Agree.
  • Posts: 802
    doghouse wrote: »
    There's no conceivable way to put a violent secret agent in the rumpled sack of potatoes Anderson & Sheppard silhouette.
    .
    And the rumpled sacks are, in no particular order, Cary Grant, David Niven, Bryan Ferry, Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Fred Astaire, oh and yes, I almost forgot, a certain Mr.Laurent, a certain Mr.Ford.
    Rumpled sacks to a man!
    Frankly Bond should be understated and elegant. Not garish and dandified.

  • edited March 2015 Posts: 6,601
    Frankly it depends probably, where, what country he is, what is he doing, is there a reason for a style other then showing imself in an appropriate outit etc. IMO he isn't stuck in the 60's nor are the films and that should and has been marked in the films with more or less success. But try they should.
  • Posts: 260
    Villiers53 wrote: »
    doghouse wrote: »
    There's no conceivable way to put a violent secret agent in the rumpled sack of potatoes Anderson & Sheppard silhouette.
    .
    And the rumpled sacks are, in no particular order, Cary Grant, David Niven, Bryan Ferry, Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Fred Astaire, oh and yes, I almost forgot, a certain Mr.Laurent, a certain Mr.Ford.
    Rumpled sacks to a man!
    Frankly Bond should be understated and elegant. Not garish and dandified.

    There's a lot here, so this might take a minute to unwind. Firstly, naming names doesn't really mean anything when it comes to aesthetic value of cut and silhouette. A&S is rumpled, that is their milieu and always has been, just look at HRH. It plays well with Yanks because of its similarity to the old Brooks No.1. Fantastic quality though they had a little dark period with a few less than optimal garments that made it out the door, plus we need to see where they go with Hitchcock retiring. I'm sure they will be fine though and on a workmanship level as good as anyone anywhere.

    Secondly, all of those people are customers elsewhere, most at many of the houses. Cary Grant was mainly a Kilgour customer and they cut the suit for North by Northwest that everyone thinks of when they think Cary Grant. Fred Astaire quite a good customer too, though a lot of his dancing ensemble was A&S for the very cut they have. Niven did Gieves as much as A&S. And again, not related to whether Bond should wear it.

    Thirdly, no one is advocating dandyism for Bond. Though you put Bryan Ferry in your wish list, which insinuates you are ok with dandyism, giving your argument an air of contradiction. At various points you have labeled pieces of a stylist and understated outfit dandyish, farmer fran, and denim something or other. It boggles the mind, and must make it quite difficult to get dressed with only three or four acceptable clothing items to choose from! Pretty much every tailor on the Row can make an understated sharp cut that has zero to do with dandyism. This is another non starter of an argument.

    At the end of the day, A&S have a very loose rumpled look which some love but is probably not appropriate for a cold killer like Bond. There needs to be more sharpness and edge to his cut.

    This is a current shot of Hitchcock and the boys, and you can clearly see the looseness.

    429H5483.jpg

    For a cleaner traditional SR cut, Patrick Grant from Norton shows a clean line and nice waist.

    Patrick+Grant.jpg


  • edited March 2015 Posts: 11,425
    I am loving this little discussion. Can imagine Bond giving the Bernard Lee-era M a lecture about his tailoring in a similar tone. I am assuming this is based on genuinely informed opinion and you're not both just making all this up for a laugh! Who'd have known we had such SR aficianodos in our midst.
  • Posts: 4,619
    It seems like some people here are still claiming that Bond's suits in Skyfall were ill-fitting. Ok, they might look too tight for your average middle aged (or older) suit aficionado, but there is a difference between tight fit and ill-fitting... Guess what! Fashion chances and yes, style changes too! Otherwise we would still be dressing like cavemen. It boggles the mind that some people here seriously believe they know more about the proper fit of suits than Jany Temime and Tom Ford do.

    By the way, why is it that the only thing everyone ever talks about in this thread are the suits of Bond (probably the most boring aspect of the costume design of a Bond film)? Is really nobody interested in the costumes of other characters and *gasp* Bond's more casual clothes?
  • Posts: 260
    Getafix wrote: »
    I am assuming this is based on genuinely informed opinion and you're not both just making all this up for a laugh! Who'd have known we had such SR aficianodos in our midst.

    Looking forward to being back on the Row next week. Among a few other things, having a button one midnight blue velvet blazer done with peak lapels to use at cocktail parties and the like. Stoked!
  • edited March 2015 Posts: 6,601
    doghouse wrote: »

    Looking forward to being back on the Row next week. Among a few other things, having a button one midnight blue velvet blazer done with peak lapels to use at cocktail parties and the like. Stoked!

    Could you post a pic, once its finished? Sounds good.

    A bit like this?

    http://sassypriscilla.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c504353ef01127905b5cb28a4-320wi

    http://cdn.styleforum.net/6/69/350x700px-LL-69692526_ESQ-05-christoph-walz-mdn.jpeg
  • Posts: 260
    Germanlady wrote: »
    doghouse wrote: »

    Looking forward to being back on the Row next week. Among a few other things, having a button one midnight blue velvet blazer done with peak lapels to use at cocktail parties and the like. Stoked!

    Could you post a pic, once its finished? Sounds good.

    Certainly.
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    It seems like some people here are still claiming that Bond's suits in Skyfall were ill-fitting. Ok, they might look too tight for your average middle aged (or older) suit aficionado, but there is a difference between tight fit and ill-fitting... Guess what! Fashion chances and yes, style changes too! Otherwise we would still be dressing like cavemen. It boggles the mind that some people here seriously believe they know more about the proper fit of suits than Jany Temime and Tom Ford do.

    Haven't you already said that you don't care that much for suits or know much about them? Because you keep coming back to this point that Tom Ford did it, therefore it's correct. Tom Ford is a very famous designer, but he's not god. I'm sure he's aware of how a suit should fit, he just decided to make a fashion statement and make them a size small. And most people who know something about suits noticed and didn't like it.

    This isn't about whether Bond changes with the times. Men today aren't all wearing too tight SF suits. Wearing normally fitting suits don't make Bond some antiquated dinosaur.
  • Posts: 260
    Germanlady wrote: »
    doghouse wrote: »

    Looking forward to being back on the Row next week. Among a few other things, having a button one midnight blue velvet blazer done with peak lapels to use at cocktail parties and the like. Stoked!

    Could you post a pic, once its finished? Sounds good.

    A bit like this?

    http://sassypriscilla.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c504353ef01127905b5cb28a4-320wi

    http://cdn.styleforum.net/6/69/350x700px-LL-69692526_ESQ-05-christoph-walz-mdn.jpeg

    No, more of a regular jacket, with one button and made of velvet.

    Like this Timothy Everest but in midnight and a blue/black paisley lining

    aw14-jac-04-01.jpg
  • Posts: 6,601
    Thanks. Looking forward to it. Sounds like a very gentleman like look. I see an image, with you adding a pipe to it. ;) You smoke?
  • Posts: 802
    doghouse wrote: »
    Villiers53 wrote: »
    doghouse wrote: »
    There's no conceivable way to put a violent secret agent in the rumpled sack of potatoes Anderson & Sheppard silhouette.
    .
    And the rumpled sacks are, in no particular order, Cary Grant, David Niven, Bryan Ferry, Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Fred Astaire, oh and yes, I almost forgot, a certain Mr.Laurent, a certain Mr.Ford.
    Rumpled sacks to a man!
    Frankly Bond should be understated and elegant. Not garish and dandified.

    This is a current shot of Hitchcock and the boys, and you can clearly see the looseness.
    429H5483.jpg

    "Though you put Bryan Ferry in your wish list, which insinuates you are ok with dandyism, giving your argument an air of contradiction."

    "must make it quite difficult to get dressed with only three or four acceptable clothing items to choose from! "

    "At the end of the day, A&S have a very loose rumpled look which some love but is probably not appropriate for a cold killer like Bond. There needs to be more sharpness and edge to his cut. "

    You cover a lot of ground doghouse but in response I would say the following:

    Firstly, the photo you posted of the A&S team illustrate my point perfectly.
    These aren't gym honed metrosexual models. Just english gentlemen of varying ages, who work in the shop and are out for a walk — to my eye, they look great and if I didn't know their real profession, quite dangerous. I would be much more likely to cross the road if I saw this gang walking towards me as opposed to a load of Pitti Uomo dandies prancing down the street.
    That said, with two exceptions, they are sporting double breasted whereas it would be their single breasted house style I would propose for Bond.
    The great thing about this look is its inherent masculinity and quintessential englishness
    - two key characteristics of Fleming's Bond.
    Secondly, my good friend Ferry personifies completely the sense of understated style that a modern Bond would do well to emulate. He always looks immaculate and entirely age appropriate. Not at all dandified although his penchant for scarfs is perhaps best avoided.
    Finally, as to getting dressed in the Villieurs household, don't worry on my account. It's easy, everything fits perfectly and is what you would expect the well dressed spy to wear albeit masquerading more as 'M' these days. I don't have to squeeze into any ill fitting, badly made, dandified attire and I'm normally good to go in about 15 minutes providing my butler has done his work!

  • AVBAVB
    Posts: 97
    I can't believe people think Craig's suits in SF were ill-fitting.

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRnGcwfJ-0hOXfOusEFJDd6oVpwr9JJXfysy7hEeqcns30DQsq4mA

    Clearly ridiculous.
  • AVBAVB
    edited March 2015 Posts: 97
    As for casual wear, I'd love more polos. Not a fan of Bond in t-shirt, but more of this, without the horrible wide chino however. Craig looks best with a slightly tapered leg.

    cr8-main1.jpg

    It's amazing how dated CR looks now. Of course if was 10 yrs ago, but still...
  • Posts: 260
    Germanlady wrote: »
    Thanks. Looking forward to it. Sounds like a very gentleman like look. I see an image, with you adding a pipe to it. ;) You smoke?

    My wife actually did give me a pipe somewhat tongue in cheek a few years ago. I quite like it, I quit smoking cigarettes back when I was 19, so it's my only tobacco use.

    AVB wrote: »
    I can't believe people think Craig's suits in SF were ill-fitting.

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRnGcwfJ-0hOXfOusEFJDd6oVpwr9JJXfysy7hEeqcns30DQsq4mA

    Clearly ridiculous.

    Haha.
  • Posts: 802
    AVB wrote: »
    As for casual wear, I'd love more polos. Not a fan of Bond in t-shirt, but more of this, without the horrible wide chino however. Craig looks best with a slightly tapered leg.

    cr8-main1.jpg

    It's amazing how dated CR looks now. Of course if was 10 yrs ago, but still...

    Correct, the polo is by Sunspel - they are absolutely brilliant and worth every penny.
    As for the chinos, you are absolutely correct. Dunhill do one of the best tapered leg chinos they are a great width without descending into Pitti Uomo farce.
  • SirHilaryBraySirHilaryBray Scotland
    Posts: 2,138
    Villiers53 wrote: »
    AVB wrote: »
    As for casual wear, I'd love more polos. Not a fan of Bond in t-shirt, but more of this, without the horrible wide chino however. Craig looks best with a slightly tapered leg.

    cr8-main1.jpg

    It's amazing how dated CR looks now. Of course if was 10 yrs ago, but still...

    Correct, the polo is by Sunspel - they are absolutely brilliant and worth every penny.
    As for the chinos, you are absolutely correct. Dunhill do one of the best tapered leg chinos they are a great width without descending into Pitti Uomo farce.

    Chinos are Levis Sta press they were a limited run.
  • Posts: 12,526
    AVB wrote: »
    I can't believe people think Craig's suits in SF were ill-fitting.

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRnGcwfJ-0hOXfOusEFJDd6oVpwr9JJXfysy7hEeqcns30DQsq4mA

    Clearly ridiculous.

    Where did that figure come from?
  • Posts: 802
    Villiers53 wrote: »
    AVB wrote: »
    As for casual wear, I'd love more polos. Not a fan of Bond in t-shirt, but more of this, without the horrible wide chino however. Craig looks best with a slightly tapered leg.

    cr8-main1.jpg

    It's amazing how dated CR looks now. Of course if was 10 yrs ago, but still...

    Correct, the polo is by Sunspel - they are absolutely brilliant and worth every penny.
    As for the chinos, you are absolutely correct. Dunhill do one of the best tapered leg chinos they are a great width without descending into Pitti Uomo farce.

    Chinos are Levis Sta press they were a limited run.
    Thank God it was limited Sir Hilary.
    I wasn't suggesting they were Dunhill. Merely suggesting a suitable sartorial twin (Dunhill) for the Sunspel polo.
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