The business suit is dead. Long live the suit!
Typically when James Bond is putting on a suit during the day, it’s for business. Bond is almost always conducting business throughout his life, but sometimes his business is to be social. A dark suit, and particularly a dark striped suit, during the day looks too serious for a social occasions.
While quite frequently Bond eschews suits for such daytime occasions in favour of blazers and other sports coats, the right suit can dress up a man for such occasions while not looking too serious. Sometimes Bond wants to dress down in a suit too.
The key is to not look like you’re dressing for the office, for a board meeting or for a funeral. Daytime social occasions are generally less formal than evening occasions, so the suits for daytime are more relaxed. Whether Bond is going out for a nice lunchtime drink or to an intimate afternoon concert, he need to look suitable for the occasion.
001. The Glen Check Suit
The glen check suit is Sean Connery’s Bond’s go-to suit for the daytime when he wants to get out of his business suit. He fits in perfectly at the Queen’s Club in Dr. No, and he couldn’t look cooler in his three-piece version on Goldfinger’s ranch in Goldfinger. With three-pieces this suit makes a particularly special daytime wedding suit.
002. The Linen Suit
Amongst the least formal of all suits is the linen suit. Bond wears linen suits in light colours such as tan, cream and light grey, and the occasional dark blue. He prefers to wear it without a tie, helping him to keep cool in the linen suit’s ideal setting. This is the kind of suit that fits in at a fancy tropical resort restaurant or bar.
003. The Corduroy Suit
Bond’s latest daytime social suit is the baby corduroy suit in No Time to Die. Like the linen suit, this is also a very informal suit. The relaxed construction of Bond’s suit from Massimo Alba makes it even more casual. It’s the type of suit a man can easily put on for occasions when he wouldn’t normally dress up. Bond’s lightweight example works particularly well in moderately warm weather, while a heavier version is best for cool autumns and spring.
004. The Dupioni Silk Suit
Roger Moore wears a number of silk suits in lighter colours throughout his Bond films in the 1970s. These suits are all very special suits, though he wears them during the day going about his business. They’re not something he would wear to the office, but they’re ideal for looking sophisticated throughout his travels in sunny locales. Such a suit may be best saved for a special luncheon or for a wedding, as it’s one of the dressier daytime suits.
005. The Gabardine Suit
The gabardine suit, in tan or fawn, was Roger Moore’s preferred daytime social suit in the 1980s. It replaced his silk suits of the previous decade as a slightly sporty but less ostentatious suit. Moore always looks relaxed in his gabardine suits, ready to sit down for afternoon tea rather than chase a villain.
006. The Grey Flannel Suit
The grey flannel suit is an all-purpose suit for cold weather. It’s appropriate for most formal office settings, but its soft look makes it suitable for social occasions too. Bond typically wears his grey flannel suits to the office, but in The Living Daylights he wears one to an intimate concert during the day.
007. The Damier Check Suit
The dark grey damier check suit in Spectre has a bold pattern that makes a dark suit more social than business. An off-duty Bond returns to Q-Branch to pick up his Aston Martin DB5 wearing this suit. It may be a three-piece suit, but Bond looks almost as cool and relaxed in it as he does in his checked suit in Goldfinger. Because this suit is also made of worsted wool, it’s a dressier social suit and is appropriate for weddings. Because this is a darker suit it can seamlessly make the transition from day to evening.
Honourable mentions go to the brown Donegal tweed suit in Moonraker, which is designed for more of a hunting purpose than a social purpose, and the brown mohair-blend suit in Quantum of Solace, which is somewhere between a business suit and a social suit. Brown suits can be excellent social suit, with their ideal purpose and setting depending on what they’re made of.
Matt Do you know any of The Gentleman Gazette staff and products. What do you think of them. I think they are cool
I’ve corresponded with Raphael, and he’s an honest man. I bought some of their silk flowers, which I thought were excellent. I don’t have experience with anything else from them, but I think their products are worth a try.
Since they days of wearing a suit for the office and board meetings is over for most of the population, daytime social occasions are now a better time than ever to wear one.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s so disappointing to attend a traditional wedding and see people turned out in polo shirts etc. If you can’t get a suit and tie on for a daytime wedding then when will you ever?
True, but honestly I prefer to see (be at my wedding or a friend’s) people wearing nice, well fitted polo shirts (maybe with a sport coat) than ugly fitting suits, demonstrating the guy has absolutely no clue on how to dress properly.
Great post Matt! I will say that I do agree with you on this list of suits. I am a big fan of the glen check suit being such a great example of casual with a suit. My question to you is what do you think about the marine blue suit in the man with the golden gun? I worn something like this today for a social event and was wondering what your thoughts on this is Matt? Anyway great post as usual!
The marine blue suit is good too, but it’s good for both day and night.
No 003 but two 004s
Thanks, it’s fixed now.
What are your thoughts on the grey mohair suit in Dr. No or a black and grey pick-and-pick suit for daytime social occasions? Would they be considered a bit formal or for the latter’s case “business-like” or are they appropriately formal?
I think they can work well for daytime social occasions. The sheen of the mohair takes Bond into night particularly well. The pick-and-pick is similar to the flannel in that it can be business-like or social.
I am a physician and I wear a suit most days to my office. Suits are comfortable, convenient(lots of pockets) and give a man an improved shape. I will keep hope alive and hope the worm turns.
Fabulous article as always, thank you!
Matt I was wondering if you could make a review of the suits that M wore in on her majesty’s secret service and the suit that Gustav Graves wore in the fencing club and the press interview in Die another day.
Nice post! I am a big fan of the glen check suit being such a great example of casual with a suit.
The glen check suit is far from casual. It’s slightly sporty, but it’s still quite dressed up.