I’m honoured to be featured in the Fall 2021 issue of Sarto magazine in an article titled ‘Nobody Wears It Better’. When the Magazine’s founder and creative director Chuck Pollard approached me about being featured in Sarto, I couldn’t have been more excited. I then spoke with Eric Twardzik, who wrote an article about how James Bond’s style influenced my own style and about some of my favourite parts of From Tailors with Love: An Evolution of Menswear Through the Bond Films, a book I co-wrote with Peter Brooker. This issue has many other fascinating features, including those about Jonathan Sigmon of Alan Flusser Custom, New York’s most stylish bars and cocktails, knitted ties, scents, and afternoon tea (a favourite of Bond villain Hugo Drax). The magazine is based in New York and is particularly interesting for anyone interested in New York’s menswear scene.
One of my favourite parts of being featured in the magazine was taking studio portraits with Mitchell Vito Helson. I had worked with professional photographers before, but never in a studio setting. The photos shown here are all Mitch’s as part of the magazine’s photoshoot but were not used in the magazine. Chuck chose five other spectacular photos of me and my clothes that you can see in the magazine. I love the vintage vibe of these photos.
Chuck asked me to bring two outfits, with one being a dinner jacket. I brought some of my favourite outfits with me that are also heavily inspired by James Bond.
My dinner suit is Anthony Sinclair bespoke from Mason & Sons, cut by Henry Rose. It is made of a midnight blue wool and mohair from Holland & Sherry with midnight blue silk satin-faced peaked lapels and gauntlet cuffs. The trousers have double forward pleats and Daks side adjusters. The dinner suit is mainly inspired by Sean Connery’s dinner suit in Dr. No, with peaked lapels inspired by George Lazenby’s dinner suit in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and shaped like those on Roger Moore’s dinner jacket in Octopussy. My bespoke shirt from Frank Foster is white cotton voile with a pleated front, a spread collar and double cuffs, and it’s a dead-ringer for the shirt Roger Moore wears with his ivory dinner jacket in A View to a Kill. The bow tie is midnight blue silk satin from Turnbull & Asser. The shoes are John Lobb ‘Tamar’ two-eyelet plain-toe derby shoes, a purchase inspired by Sean Connery’s shoes in Goldfinger and Daniel Craig’s John Lobb ‘Luffield’ derbys in Casino Royale.
The blue sharkskin single-button suit is Anthony Sinclair made-to-measure, which was inspired by a combination of three of James Bond’s blue suits: Sean Connery’s in You Only Live Twice, Roger Moore’s in The Man with the Golden Gun and Daniel Craig’s in Spectre. The combination of white shirt and a blue tie that matches the suit was particularly inspired by Spectre. The white poplin shirt is Turnbull & Asser bespoke and has a Tomorrow Never Dies-inspired ‘Prince of Wales’ spread collar that’s been raised 1/4″ and Sean Connery-style cocktail cuffs. The blue grenadine tie is bespoke from Sam Hober, and in trying to replicate the grenadine ties from the early Sean Connery Bond films it is made without tipping. The tie is made of ‘Prometeo’ silk grenadine from Seteria Bianchi using the more pronounced side of the weave.
I kept both outfits in a Bondian blue-and-white colour scheme, which gives the article a consistent visual identity.
In the article, I also speak about the influence an autographed photo of Roger Moore had on my when I was growing up, and Chuck had the idea for me to bring the photo to my photoshoot.
Be sure to check out the full article in Sarto magazine.
Salut Matt! I really loved the ensembles that you chose to wear with these photos. The dinner suit looks very marvelous! I remember you had mentioned that you had it custom made for your wedding a few years ago. The gauntlet cuffs on the jacket looks prestige. Also, I have a black dinner jacket with gauntlet cuffs. I believe they make a dinner jacket look absolutely handsome.
I love the Anthony Sinclair business suit as well. I like how you stuck with the idea of having the blue suit with the white shirt. This also brings a call back to the literary Bond.
I loved the combination of your choice, and I congratulate you on your great legacy. Next thing we know, you will be on the cover of GQ magazine. Keep up the great work, and maybe you can become the custom designer for the Bond films. I would love to see how to would dress Mr. Bond.
My very best,
Bill
Bravo Matt..amazing photos and as the song says “he wears it well”…there is a lovely nostalgic feel to the photos and the choices are spot on.
Now there is a vacancy for a new Bond…look no more ..we found him!
All the best from across the pond!
regards Max
Looking fantastic!
I never had a chance to wear a tuxedo or a dinner jacket thus I was mainly focused on the suit, which is wonderful. Yet don’t you think the jacket should’ve been a bit shorter ? The look is very classical. Now it’s just my opinion.
Keep doing you excellent job.
Regards
I’m not into the bum-freezer look. I’m a traditionalist, and I like my jackets to be long enough to cover my seat. I’m not especially tall, so I don’t want my jackets to be any longer than that. If the jackets were any shorter I would consider them too short.
Completely agree!
Length looks great to me.
Outstanding suit choices, marvelous! It’s also incredible what a professional photographer can do, definitely ‘big screen’ quality. Add a slimmer dinner suit bow tie and you’re magically transported to your club at ‘Les Ambassadeurs’ in London. Bravo!
Thank you! I had a difficult time deciding between this bow tie and my pointed Mason & Sons bow tie. I have a few narrow ones, but I don’t think they suit me all that well.
Matt,
Congratulations! Fantastic news, and great article. Thanks for all that you do for us.
Very respectfully,
Steve
Matt, smart turnouts! Did you wear different shoes with the suit? If so, I’m curious to know what you chose. The all-blue palette also struck me as reminiscent of Kamal Khan’s outfit in the Southeby’s scene in Octopussy.
Yes, I wore the same shoes with both outfits. Yes, it is similar to Kamal’s look, which I love!
Well done Matt! I must say that the two suits that you decided to go with could not be more Bondain than this. It was a wise choice of you to go with the classic midnight blue tuxedo because as you said it gives a nice call back to Sean Connery’s tuxedo. Also, that blue suit is my favorite look to a business suit!
Keep up the good work!
Matt, simply perfect. your gauntlets look much better than tom ford’s in nttd and the t&a shirt looks so good that it would be nice to give us more pictures of the collar and of the cuff folded and unfolded
cheers
Matt,
I echo all of the prior positive comments. You and clothes look excellent and “Bondian.” Congratulations on the feature.
Hi Matt,
Congratulations. The photos are outstanding, I appreciate the vintage vibe. Your attention to detail of the outfits you have chosen really comes across and yet you look so comfortable.
Likewise. Allow me to echo previous comments. Your ensembles all look amazing. You actually look better, more at ease in your clothes, and more Bond than Daniel Craig ever did.
Best Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
Thank you for the kind words! I credit the great photographer Mitchell Vito Helson and creative director Chuck Pollard with helping me to feel at ease.
This is way better than GQ. In all honesty with all my heart.
I keep feeling as if he’s channeled Marlon Brando … https://www.theplace2.ru/archive/marlon_brando/img/marlonbrandomj096ft.jpg
Thanks! People have been comparing me to Brando for the past 15 years!