Scaramanga’s dummy of James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun is dressed in a black button two suit made by Cyril Castle with a cream silk shirt by Frank Foster and a black knitted silk tie. The suit’s crisp, lustrous cloth suggests mohair. Though James Bond only wears black suits for mourning, Scaramanga likely dressed his James Bond dummy in a black suit to be a symbol of death.
The suit follows the other single-breasted suits from The Man with the Golden Gun in its details: the coat has a two buttons on the front, soft and slightly roped shoulders, long double vents, slanted hip pockets with flaps and link-button cuffs. The jacket’s lining is dark red. The trousers have a darted front, are slightly flared, are worn with a belt and have two pockets in the rear and two large coin pockets beneath the waistband in front. The shirt has a moderate spread collar and two-button cocktail cuffs.
Below you can see the Gucci belt buckle worn with this suit. Bond kept on the cream poplin shirt and black trousers he was wearing before with the checked sports coat and only took the jacket and tie from the dummy since changing the trousers would’ve taken too much time. The suit trousers and the odd trousers that Bond wears with
This suit was auctioned at Christie’s in South Kensington on 24 November 2009 for £7,500. Though the auction listing labels their suit as the suit from the dinner scene with Goodnight, that suit is not black and is woven in a herringbone weave.
This blog is superb on the details, but I'm a bit lost on the big picture. There seems to be a general sense that what's great about Bond's clothes is how "old school" or "classic" they are. Yet each post points out unusual, even unique details, such as the cuffs and the waistbands. Some choices might be considered cutting edge, even risky, like the choice of 2-button for Connery in the '60s. His clothes more broadly seem boldly minimalistic, such as the shoes, rather than traditional. In this sense, Roger Moore's wider lapels and flares are in perfect keeping with the character as he moves on from the '60s. So which is it: is Bond admirable for his traditionalism or his fashionableness?
There's a related question of how it is that a spy should be a menswear model! I'd have thought spies would instead wear bland, rather than noticeably "classic," clothes.
When I think of what is fashionable, it's what makes things look dated. Roger Moore's suits did have somewhat of a 70's edge but they didn't go overboard with that, at least not until the late 70s. Whilst many of the details of the suit may not be traditional, I wouldn't call them fashionable either. The link-button cuffs, for instance, are not traditional, but they had nothing to do with the 1970s fashions. They are just an interesting detail. My purpose is to give you all the information possible about Bond's clothing. I've pointed out what breaks from classic style and what makes Bond's style unique. This isn't as much about what is classic style or what is in fashion, but rather how each outfit relates to Bond's individual style. I look at Bond's clothing from a more traditional point of view, and I do mention when Bond wears something more fashionable than traditional. What constitutes traditional clothing has changed much over the past 50 years, and the idea of a conservative suit also is very different in the US compared to the UK (I don't know where you come from). It's true that a spy shouldn't be a menswear model, but when you compare Roger Moore's style to other people in the 1970s his clothes can look quite tame. In Moonraker the lapels were their widest, but Bond's character was also the most ridiculous. Bond isn't the type of spy who stays in the background but rather the type who gets involved. He meets and gets to know his enemies so he can better fight them. Being a well-dressed man helps him to get closer to his rich enemies. The majority of the bad guys in the Bond films are rich men, and if Bond looked like a nobody they might be less willing to associate with him. Also, Bond has a cover: he works for a trading company called Universal Exports. He must look the part. I will edit my mission statement to make my intentions with this blog clearer.
Come on, people. Its a blog about The Suits of James Bond. If you are a 007 fan and enjoy reading the blog, then chill out and enjoy it! Who cares about a mission statement or intention! Lets discuss our favourite gentleman spy with a licence to kill and get on with it.
Thanks, Matt, your point of view is clearer to me now. The distinction between fashionable and simply unique details is useful. Good point, too, about the need for Bond to move in elite circles. I'm writing from the US, where conservative dress is perhaps best described as bland, so just trying to fit in with whatever's popular on the racks. Wearing elements of traditional English tailoring, let alone bells and whistles like the turnback cuffs, would actually make one stand out in an essentially un-"conservative" way. Maybe this is true by now in the UK as well. That said, I'm sure elements of Bond's character, whether the Fleming version or from the films, are lost on us over here.
best,
CC
Notice the Gucci bag in the closet.
ta ta/ J
Phuyuck…
This suit appears to be more of a brown.
The images I posted aren't well-lit scenes. In better, whiter lighting it's clearly charcoal. When you shine a red light on it like in the second picture above, it will look brown. And since the tie and shoes are clearly black, a brown suit would clash.