For a jaunt into town and to a nightclub during James Bond’s Jamaican retirement, he wears an appropriate and unassuming casual outfit. It’s a casual look that takes Bond from day to night without ever looking out of place.
The main piece of Bond’s look is a black silk shirt from Tommy Bahama. The shirt is called the ‘Catalina Twill Shirt’ and is made of a lightweight 100% silk twill. The shirt has a one-piece collar designed to look integrated with the body of the shirt. It has long sleeves with two-button mitred cuffs, but Bond wears them rolled up. It also has a rounded, open patch pocket on the left side of the chest. There are side pleats in the back of the shirt under the yoke and short vents at the sides of the hem. The collar, cuffs, seams and edges all are top-stitched with contrasting white stitching.
The costume department shortened the shirt considerably and probably tailored it at the sides as well. After shortening, the shirt has six buttons down the front instead of the original eight. The fit is neat but it’s still full, keeping Bond cool in the tropical climate.
This shirt recalls the dark blue silk shirt that Bond wears to the Ocean Club for poker in Casino Royale. While Bond looks a slightly too dressed down in Casino Royale, the similar look in No Time to Die is perfect for Bond’s circumstances.
Bond wears light grey jeans from Tom Ford, the only casual piece from Bond’s primary suit brand in the film. They have a slim fit with a low rise and a classic five-pocket design, and Bond turns up the hem a bit to rest neatly on top of his shoes. The jeans are the most expensive piece of this outfit, contrasting with the less extravagant items he wears with them.
Bond doesn’t wear a belt with these jeans and leaves his belt loops empty, but since he wears the shirt untucked the empty belt loops are hidden. It helps the shirt to lie over the trousers without a bulge from the belt.
The waistband of Bond’s black underpants shows when Bond lifts up his shirt to pull his gun out from the front of his trousers, but there is no look at what style the underpants are.
His shoes are the Sperry ‘Gold Cup Authentic Original Rivingston’ boat shoes in tan nubuck leather. They have a mocassin toe and a 360° lace-up design with two pairs of eyelets at the vamp. Each shoe has a single rawhide lace. They have a lambskin lining for additional comfort.
Tommy Bahama and Sperry are affordable brands, and they are popular brands with American retirees. In this outfit, Bond looks like he could have retired to Florida instead of Jamaica. The brands are not up to Bond’s usual standards, though they still have the right looks. Bond is well put together in these clothes, which flatter him better than the tight clothes Daniel Craig usually wears. The clothes are also appropriate for the location and what Bond is doing. We’re not even supposed to identify Bond with these brands, and the look is right for Bond. The Tommy Bahama shirt is nothing more than a black shirt with a resort look. It’s nothing special, but it doesn’t need to be.
While the shirt is the correct size, it’s clearly not a bespoke shirt. We’re supposed to think that Bond simply purchased this shirt off the pegs and isn’t going out of his way to be his formerly stylish self. He’s not keeping up his appearances in retirement. He may not have let his body go, but clothes are not as important to him as they once were. He’s not living it up in retirement like David Niven’s Sir James Bond in the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale.
His sunglasses are the same Vuarnet Legend 06 in Brown with Brownlynx lenses that he wears for sailing in the previous scene.
For a sail from Jamaica to Cuba, Bond puts a navy jacket and baseball cap on over the outfit. Though it doesn’t get as much screen time as the shirt he wears under it, the Barbour jacket should be the real star of this look. It’s the most Bondian piece, and it’s perfect for sailing. Since Bond first wore Barbour in Skyfall, it’s nice to see the iconic British brand returning to the series.
The jacket is the Barbour x Engineered Garments ‘Graham’ Jacket in the unwashed waxed version, now sold in a modified form called the ‘Covert’. The jacket has a zip front with a fly that fastens with five poppers. It has a large turn-down collar that can be folded up to fasten with a popper via a wind flap. It has raglan sleeves for full mobility and slash pockets at the sides. The jacket has a very full fit. The Barbour jacket is the perfect British touch for this outfit, which is overall one of Bond’s most American looks of the series.
Bond’s navy baseball cap is from Carhartt in cotton canvas. It recalls Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair, who is one of Daniel Craig’s biggest stylish inspirations. On one hand the cap makes Bond look like he’s become an American like McQueen, but on the other hand the cap suits the sailing activity and looks good on Craig. It has an adjustable strap at the back. It originally had a Carhartt patch on the front, which the costume department removed. This is the only time that Bond wears a baseball cap in the series, but one was originally slated to appear as part of a disguise in A View to a Kill.
Like Tommy Bahama and Sperry, Carhartt is a brand that one would not usually associate with Bond, partially because it’s American. It’s also a workwear brand, and while workwear is currently trendy it has never been part of Bond’s aesthetic, especially not American workwear. On the other hand, Carhartt is also known for making sturdy clothes, which Bond would appreciate given his rough lifestyle. Ultimately, the cap is not branded in the film, and we’re not supposed to associate Bond with the brand. It’s nothing more than a blue baseball cap. Like the Tommy Bahama shirt, if we can focus on the look and forget about where costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb and her team sourced the clothes, there’s nothing particularly objectionable about them.
Despite an unusual choice of brands for Bond’s Jamaican look, the outfit still comes across looking perfect for Bond’s circumstances and for the most part traditionally appropriate for the James Bond character.
I like this outfit! To me I think that it is a great outfit for James Bond to wear in Jamaica. I also don’t mind the brands that they choose to use at all! I own a pair of Sperry boat shoes that I love to wear! They are comfortable shoes and it seems that they are always given great compliments. I like the outfit for the idea of going clubbing to. This outfit looks like something most people would wear when going in these types of nightclubs. Great outfit and keep these interesting articles coming!
Great as ever, interestingly enough in the UK Carhartt is and has been a staple brand you see everywhere for as long as I can remember. So it may not be a Bond brand per say but definitely a commonly seen one here.
Personally, I have no issue with the Carhartt baseball cap. Similar navy baseball caps have been part of undress/operations uniforms for the Royal Navy for a decade now:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2116485/amp/Baseball-caps-zip-boots-fake-laces-Royal-Navy-makes-daring-fashion-statement.html
There was some criticism from traditionalists regarding the introduction, but they make a lot of practical sense and I think it has a perfectly Bondian nautical/naval look as a result.
LOL. Daniel Craig vs. David Niven. Like comparing a neanderthal with a patrician.
This attire is my favorite casual dress in the movie. The outfit gives Bond the relaxed style many people dress in the modern world. It is nice to see the return of the Barbour jacket as well. These brands are many American brands, but the outfit gives off a great fit. Bond’s look help establish his natural surroundings. Brands like Tommy Bahama and Sperry are great beach brands. Overall, I approve of this outfit because I works well with the setting.
I wish the Sperrys had a white sole rather than brown. Bond is a sailor and is using them as a practical piece of footwear rather than as a preppy fashion piece – so he would know that such boat shoes should (and indeed the original Sperrys did/do) have a white sole to avoid putting marks on the deck. The gold eyelets are a bit too flashy – I think silver would have been better. Also I would have liked to see him tuck the laces into the shoe rather than tying the knots, in keeping with the literary Bond’s dislike for shoe laces.
Carhartt may not be Film Bond, but Fleming’s character often wore cheap and durable clothes when necessary for a mission or disguise. He wears cheap canvas jeans to Crab Key and a hunting outfit with brown jeans in For Your Eyes Only.