As Long as the Collars and Cuffs Match, Bond Finds Himself Suitably Dressed for the 1970s
James Bond: Sean Connery
Director: Guy Hamilton
Wardrobe supervisors: Elsa Fennell and Ted Tetrick
Tailoring: Anthony Sinclair
Shirts and ties: Turnbull & Asser
Footwear: John Lobb St James’s
Overview
Diamonds Are Forever presents the largest tailored wardrobe of the entire Bond series. Despite the primary Las Vegas location, Bond maintains his quintessentially dressed-up look there and almost everywhere else in the film. For the first time he often looks overdressed, and this film established overdressing as being important to the character’s look. Connery’s weight gain might be a reason why he’s mainly dressed in tailored clothes, which can help him look more fit than casual shirts, jackets or knitwear. Connery is back as Bond and he needs to look his best. Unfortunately, he does not always look as good as he should have.
Formal Wear
Diamonds Are Forever has an unusual count of three dinner jackets. The Living Daylights is the only other Bond film to match it, but while all three jackets are black in that film, they each stand out in a different colour in Diamonds Are Forever.
The first dinner jacket is a classic ivory wool, paired with midnight blue trousers. It looks superb on Connery, and it is classically styled with self-faced lapels and mother-of-pearl buttons. The medium-width peaked lapels look more balanced on Connery than the narrower ones in Goldfinger do and look more timeless than the rest of the lapels in the film. Its slanted pockets with flaps are the only detail that breaks from tradition, and the pocket flaps look especially clunky on an otherwise traditional and elegant dinner jacket.
The black dinner suit is much too flamboyant for Bond, with its wavy burgundy and black facings on both the notched lapels and the collar. The pockets are slanted with flaps, and the flaps have black satin facings. The design is too non-traditional and too busy for Bond. Lazenby did the peacock look better by bringing the flashiness to the shirt rather than the dinner jacket. At least Connery’s dinner suit maintains tradition with a single button on the front and in the classic design of the darted-front trousers.
What might be a more significant issue than the style of the dinner suit is how he wears it. He’s puts it on to scale the outside of the Whyte House in an attempt to uncover the mystery behind Willard Whyte. While he wants to look appropriately dressed to meet Willard Whyte, it’s not the most appropriate outfit for the mission. It’s the first instance of James Bond dressing like a comic book version of the character.
Bond wears with the same Turnbull & Asser shirt with both the black and ivory dinner jackets. The shirt is beautifully designed with a wide spread collar, pleated front and double cuffs. The shirt is made of a fine white-on-white stripe for additional flash, but the stripe is simpler than the one in Goldfinger and doesn’t compete with the pleats. Though the shirt is well done, it does not make up for the issues in the dinner suit’s design.
The bow ties with the black and ivory dinner jackets are much wider than any of Bond’s bow ties before to complement the width of the lapels, but the width isn’t excessive. However, Connery looks better in a narrower bow tie.
A navy velvet shawl-collar dinner jacket from the film’s final scene is understated for a velvet dinner jacket and a perfect choice for Bond. This is a sophisticated way to shake up Bond’s black tie style without breaking from tradition. The light blue shirt is beautifully done, but it is a touch too peacock for Bond. The bow tie is a more traditional butterfly without being excessively wide, and as a result it looks much better on Connery.
Lounge Suits
Have the 1970s ruined the line of Mr Bond’s suit? While Anthony Sinclair’s ‘Conduit Cut’ from the 1960s continues, albeit slightly—and maybe unintentionally—trimmer than before, the details have been given a 1970s treatment. The lapels are considerably wider and are now around 4 inches wide. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think they look bad, especially because Connery is not a small man. The lapels are slightly wide, but not overly so.
The depth of the pocket flaps, however, takes the 1970s trends too far. The pocket flaps have been widened to balance the wider lapels, but they did not need to be as wide as they are. Making matters wore is the ticket pocket included on two suits, which unflatteringly bulks up the waist. Connery’s waist is thicker than before, and these wide pocket flaps don’t help it.
The suit trousers take after George Lazenby’s with a darted front—pleats were completely outdated in 1971—and a trim leg. The leg is tapered, as Bond still wasn’t hip enough for the highly fashionable flared legs. For since the 2010s, these trousers have been more fashionable than Connery’s 1960s suit trousers. The very 1970s jacket distracts from the relatively timeless look of the trousers.
Diamonds Are Forever matches From Russia with Love‘s number of suits at seven, but Diamonds Are Forever has more variety in the suits with only three of them in grey, all recalling suits he wore previously. The first suit that fully appears on screen is Connery’s trusty grey flannel for his meeting with M, but this time its in a slightly lighter shade than before. It’s a beautiful and interesting shade with significant mottling. This suit has both slanted hacking pockets and a ticket pocket. 1971 was still in the early days when these pockets would be appropriate for city suits, and seeing them on Connery’s Bond here is a bit jarring. Roger Moore did it better by just having slanted pockets without the ticket pocket. His grenadine tie with this suit is a unique amethyst colour that is no longer produced. It pairs beautifully with this suit and brings a special touch to this outfit.
This outfit also introduces us to the standard shirt in Diamonds Are Forever: cream poplin. It’s not a new shirt to Bond, but while cream was previously an occasional shirt for Bond it is now paired with almost every suit in the film. The 1970s trend towards warm colours is probably why this has replaced the light blue shirt. Like before, the Turnbull & Asser shirts in this film have a spread collar—now scaled up slightly to balance the wider lapels and frequently worn without collar stays—and two-button cocktail cuffs. Connery fastens only the first button of his cocktail cuffs throughout the film, allowing them to roll back elegantly over the second button. The cuff’s unique design makes this possible.
His first suit abroad is a black and white glen hopsack check, similar to his glen check suit from Goldfinger. Until this time, Bond has frequently chosen glen check suits for his travels, but this would be Bond’s last glen check suit for 24 years. The slanted pockets with a ticket pocket are more appropriate on this suit than on the previous one, but their larger sizes makes them look overwhelming.
He goes full-on funeral for the next suit with a black worsted flannel three-piece. The suit is too heavy for the desert, especially in a three-piece, but it looks good. The weight makes sense from a character perspective, because if Bond is going to have one black suit for funerals, it would probably be one suitable for England’s weather. This is Connery’s only black suit in the Bond series, so it’s an unusual look on him, but in this context it is appropriate. It has straight pockets to make it look more serious, which was a good choice. The black ribbed tie from Turnbull & Asser provides an interesting change from Connery’s usual grenadine ties without breaking too far from the character’s established look, and he wears it again with the next suit.
A light grey tropical wool suit defines Bond’s look for the Las Vegas action, and it recalls the light grey suit from Dr. No. While a beige or tan suit would have blended in better with the desert and with 1970s trends, light grey maintains Bond’s classic cool colour palette while still not looking out of place in the desert. It means that he pops a little more from his surroundings on screen. It has slanted pockets without a ticket pocket, helping Connery look a little trimmer than on his earlier grey suits.
The ecru suit in linen or a linen and silk blend is one of the weakest looks of the film. He starts off the film in this suit, though not much of it is visible in the scene. It later returns when Bond rescues Willard Whyte in Palm Springs. The suit jacket is too snug on Connery, and it’s made worse by him fastening the bottom button. He made it through a few Bond films without committing this faux pas, but he did it again at the worst time. He removes the suit jacket shortly after putting it on, possibly because of the heat. More likely it’s so he wouldn’t have to battle and swim with Bambi and Thumper while wearing the jacket. Whatever the reason, it’s good that he didn’t have the shrunken jacket on for more than a brief moment.
The suit itself is very nice conceptually, particularly as it blends in perfectly with the Palm Springs surroundings. It’s a resort suit for a change, contrasting with Connery’s usual business suit and occasional country suit looks. It’s similar to Lazenby’s ecru suit in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service but has swelled edges and three patch pockets for a more relaxed look. It’s a shame the suit wasn’t worn better.
The other significant issue with this outfit is the pink tie. Pink is simply not Bond’s colour for ties. The short ‘kipper’ length of the tie is a bigger problem, made worse by Connery’s Windsor knot choice. This tie is usually considered the low point of the film’s fashions, and perhaps the lowest of all of Connery’s fashions as Bond. The tie itself looks boring in a smooth silk, and it would be been better in a more interesting weave like the grenadine and the ribbed weaves on the film’s other ties.
The suit that takes Bond through the film’s climactic battle is more exciting than the scene itself. It’s a three-piece suit in navy worsted flannel with blue chalk stripes. Connery wears it in the classic Bondian manner with a light blue shirt and a navy grenadine tie. Sadly Blofeld’s men tear the shoulder, but at least he apologised. Even Blofeld recognises that it’s a special outfit.
However, this one of a few outfits in the film that makes no sense in context. Bond is dressed for business in London, but he’s taking on Blofeld on an oil rig. The suit would have kept Bond warm on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean, but a more casual outfit could have done the same. A turtleneck and harrington or bomber jacket would have been a far more appropriate choice. But Connery in his increased girth would not have looked as good as he did in a three-piece suit.
The final suit in a film is hardly seen on screen, and it’s one of the most unique of the series. It’s a sporty suit in air force blue detailed like the ecru suit with swelled edges and three patch pockets. It’s the perfect choice for setting off on a cruise, and it’s a shame there is only one shot of the suit in the film.
Sports Coats
Connery wears three sports coats in this film, a number only matched by The Man with the Golden Gun and A View to a Kill. In this review they get their own heading because they’ve become a much more significant part of Bond’s style in the 1970s.
For the majority of the film’s pre-title sequence, Bond wears a dark brown herringbone tweed half-Norfolk jacket. This jacket is both old-fashioned and fashionably 1970s. I appreciate it when fashion revives older styles. It introduces the button-three jacket to Connery’s Bond and has fun sporty details like deep double vents, patch hip pockets with flaps and bellows for a larger capacity, a bastardisation of an Ulster collar and a half-belt at the back waist. Connery wears it with a black button-front knit shirt and black trousers that are probably from the black worsted flannel suit. I appreciate how this look is dressed down as much as possible while still being tailored. It’s still something that can be worn today.
When Bond travels to Amsterdam, he revives his classic patch-pocket blazer from Dr. No and Thunderball, only this time it has much wider lapels to bring it into the 1970s. He even wears it again with a light blue shirt and a navy grenadine tie. However, he makes the unfortunate choice to pair it with very dark trousers. They sometimes look black, but they are probably a dark shade of charcoal grey because they don’t look completely flat. He should have used the grey flannel suit’s trousers instead.
The final sports coat is another half-Norfolk in a tan, black and red plaid tweed. Brown flannel trousers and a tan roll neck complete the outfit’s warm 1970s colour scheme, Bond’s only true such offender in the film. Both the colour and the bold pattern seem out of place on Bond, especially Connery’s Bond. Bond wears this outfit in Las Vegas, where one might think it would be too warm, but it’s perfect for winter nights. The outfit follows the same theme as the herringbone tweed from earlier, but while the former was perfect for Bond, this one is a failure.
Casual Attire
James Bond may have a casual attitude throughout the film, but he only wears one casual outfit. For a very short scene, Connery wears a mottled cream and beige ribbed terrycloth shirt with a pair of ecru linen trousers. The trousers look like they could be from the ecru suit and are the superior half of this outfit.
Orlebar Brown’s recreation of the shirt has given the public the opportunity to reappraise this shirt in a more positive manner. The shirt’s style places it firmly in the 1970s, thanks to its unbalanced oversized collar and its mottled tan colouring. Had it been solid tan or navy blue, it would have looked much better. The shirt otherwise looks good on Connery because the fit is flattering.
Other Characters
Burt Saxby’s navy 1960s peaked-lapel suit reminds us that the previous decade was frequently a more stylish one. Most of the characters in the film have fully embraced the 1970s’ new styles, with excessive width and earth tones, but Saxby’s style still looks current in the 2020s.
Well Done, James
The shoes and boots, many bespoke from John Lobb Ltd of St James’s Street in London, are one of the highlights of this film’s wardrobe. They include a black cap-toe oxford with a heel counter, a black full-brogue three-eyelet derby, a light brown three-eyelet derby, a black suede strap chukka boot, a light brown strap chukka boot, a black patent leather oxford and a two-eyelet black patent leather derby. All of these shoes are exquisite and interesting choices. A stuntman wears black jodhpur boots with the brown herringbone half-Norfolk jacket, which is another appropriate choice.
Though there are no slip-on shoes, the strap chukka boots loosely pay homage to Fleming’s Bond, who ‘abhorred lace’. Most of the shoe and boot styles are unusual and feel special for Bond. Unusually for a film, they all show up on screen. It’s often difficult to get a clear look at Bond’s footwear, but not in Diamonds Are Forever. A considerable amount of money was spent on Connery’s wardrobe, and the money is all on screen.
The choices for Anthony Sinclair’s suitings are all beautiful and Bondian. The grey suitings are all welcome reruns or variations on previous Connery suits. The new black worsted flannel, navy chalk stripe, ecru linen and air force blue suitings are all perfect for Bond as well. The velvet dinner jacket is another perfect look for Bond when he has already worn a black dinner suit and ivory dinner jacket, though the ivory dinner jacket could have appropriately been repeated for the cruise scene.
Not Perfected Yet
The tie knots are one of the biggest problems with this wardrobe. Connery personally preferred the Windsor knot, which he previously used in Dr. No. While it’s not appropriate for the character per Ian Fleming’s tastes, it wasn’t so bad with the narrow ties in Dr. No. Because the ties in Diamonds Are Forever are considerably wider, the knot ends up being much too large, even for the large spread collars. The Windsor knot culminates in the short pink tie, which is partially shorter because of the Windsor knot.
Apart from the poor ecru suit, the suit fit isn’t terrible, but it could use some adjustment. Connery likely gained weight after he was fitted for his suits, and most of the suit jackets are too tight in the waist. The pulling at the waist lets down Connery’s appearance in the film.
The black dinner suit is one of the worst of the series, both due to its overly flashy design and due to its flashiness being incongruous for the character. The dinner suit is one of the most important outfits in any Bond film, and the failure to dress Bond in a good dinner suit is a significant fault in Diamonds Are Forever‘s wardrobe.
Verdict
Diamonds Are Forever gets a lot of points for the tremendous variety of tailored clothes, with 13 tailored outfits of suits, sports coats and dinner jackets. Even more outfits were tailored but unused in the film. Each outfit has a strong identity of its own, but they all work well together. The herringbone half-Norfolk jacket is a wonderful fresh addition to Bond’s wardrobe, amongst many others.
But there are some significant faults to this wardrobe. The oversized pocket flaps, the Windsor knots and the short pink tie, the ecru suit’s poor fit and fastened bottom button, very dark trousers with a navy blazer, the fancy lapels and collar on the black dinner suit, and the bold plaid jacket are all unfortunate missteps that could have been done better.
Rating: 6/10
Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? Leave your comments below.
That carnation pink necktie with its gargantuan masculinity-affirming knot and its voguish short length WILL be vindicated by a future fashion trend one day, I’m sure of it!
Subtle as a mouse with sneakers…not…
Heck yes!
I was pretty sure from a 4k copy of the film I watched that the trousers with thr navy blazer were black. I thought maybe a dark charcoal which i’ve seen in American films mostly as an attempt to dress up the blazer to the level of a full suit, almost. Al Pacino in Sea Of Love does this with a dark navy blazer and dark charcoal slacks, but in saying that there is still slight contrast. Strange to see black trousers with a navy blazer in an English film.
I think 6/10 is generous.
I do like the ecru suit, but it would have been better sans tie and needed an in-shape Connery.
The Norfolk jacket I loathe with a passion.
This … this …. and this!
… and thus began the long slow decline in Bond’s wardrobe throughout the seventies and eighties at which point I personally lost interest in most of the films and the clothes until Dalton (films) and Brosnan (clothes) began to right the ship. I heard someone comment once that DAF should be considered a Roger Moore film not a Sean Connery film as it shades more with Moore’s tenure in terms of wardrobe, plot and dialogue! I just caught some moments of ‘Moonraker’ on TV yesterday. In late 1979 Britain had experienced the punk catalyst, the new wave explosion and the Mod revival but Moore was persevering with comically long collar points and bell bottoms, along with cringeworthy dialogue that was embarrassingly bad even in the era preceding more politically correct approaches to pop culture, and illustrates how out of step the series had become. I suppose the audience, and thus the money, was still coming in but the era of ‘Carry On Bond’ surely almost killed the canon.
Yes, Cubby steered the ship in that direction
Interesting and well written text. Are you sure the trousers with the navy blazer is black though?
I think you are right. I just found some stills I hadn’t seen before in my research, and the trousers look charcoal. Either way, they are still too dark for the blazer. I’ve corrected the review.
If Connery was tired in “You Only Live Twice”, by “Diamonds Are Forever”, he has given up. Though it didn’t take long for him to realize how much he missed being Bond (just by another decade). Even then, it looks like even the late Mr. Sinclair himself got worn out at this point, too, and simply went along, like, “Whatever…”
I have a near-clone version of the velvet dinner jacket. Would love for a Christmas where I can wear it.
The pink tie is so awful it kind of blots out the rest of the movie, altho as you note there are plenty of good suits in it. Were short ties like that in style in 1971? My dad had plenty of ties from the 70s. They were often very wide but I never remember one of a particularly short length. Even with a Windsor knot, the tie shouldn’t end up that short One other thing: I note Sean is not wearing a display handkerchief in his breast pocket with any of these suits, although these seemed to be de rigeur in the Sixties Bonds. Perhaps we could have a post on handkerchiefs and how Bond wears them(or doesn’t wear them?)
Short ties were in style in the late 1960s and early 1970s. On a larger man like Sean Connery and on an older, shorter tie, a Windsor knot will make a tie too short, but probably not this short.
This is the fourth Bond film without a pocket square. Bond stopped wearing them for a long time after Goldfinger, and even in Goldfinger they appear inconsistently. I thought I had written a post about Bond’s pocket squares, but I only wrote one regarding his puffed pocket squares in a few films and another about how to fold a pocket square square. It looks like I need to write a new post about all of the pocket squares!
A new post about all of the pocket squares would be most welcome!
In Thunderball, Bond wore a handkerchief in one of his trouser pockets
“One to show and one to blow!”
Whenever I’m wearing a suit or odd jacket I have a display handkerchief in my chest pocket and a plain white cotton one in my front trousers pocket. This may seem quaint and archaic but I think at one time was standard operating procedure. My Dad always had a cotton handkerchief in his trousers which he left on his bedroom mantelpiece alongside his wallet and pocket change every day when he came home to change.
I can’t help but wonder if, upon filming the first scene with that pink ‘kipper’ tie, if some kind of production error was what necessitated its use? Perhaps some production oversight meant that literally no neckties were on set / location that day and so some ‘dogsbody’ had to quickly source ANY tie from some local place? Surely it wasn’t as mundane a thing as ‘This tie WILL be destroyed in the pool ergo it doesn’t matter’? This pink tie might actually make for an interesting, albeit brief article in an of itself . . ?
I think along similar lines; the rest of the ties in the movie are undoubtedly T&A and match Connery’s established “look” in the role for almost a decade. The brown tie worn with the suit in the Pre Credit Sequence wasn’t to hand because this brief scene was shot in Pinewood and or/got damaged while on location. There can be no other logical reason I can see why such an odd tie was chosen other than it was purchased in some (no doubt) high class menswear outlet in Vegas, last minute. That still doesn’t explain why a better tie couldn’t have been selected, though…… Hey, it was the early 1970s; who knows what half the crew were smoking!
I think 6/10 is a fair appraisal Matt. I pretty much agree with all your likes/dislikes. With the exception of the pink kipper tie I enjoy the slightly greater variety in the ties in DAF. I love the amethyst grenadine and think the fleeting (continuity issue) appearance of a mid blue tie worn with the navy blazer before Bond enters Tiffany Case’s apartment works better with it than the navy grenadine worn inside the apartment, although I still wish Connery’s Bond would have chosen the LALD Royal Navy regimental tie with his Blazers at least once; it would have fitted his Bond perfectly. He does come close in NSNA. The fit issues with the suits in DAF are minor in my opinion and even the ecru suit is nowhere near as poorly fitting as Mr Craig’s eyesores post 2012.
Agreed on the amethyst which is a beauty especially with the grey suit and ecru shirt.
There are differences in the fit issues between Craig and the Scotsman. For Craig, they are deliberate choices (good or not) by the costume designers and actor. It is an artistic decision. For Connery it is a deliberate choice by the actor not to give a damn about his weight and waistline during the shooting of the film. That is perhaps why Saltzman was so insistant Moore lose some weight before LALD.
I’m no fan of Craig as Bond so I appreciate my bias in that regard but I’ll take a slightly out of shape Sean Connery who was still a naturally big framed tall man over a naturally small framed man who looks like he’s been eating steroids for breakfast every morning. I’m not saying that’s the case and I’m sure a lot of hard training was involved but that is the end result look in my opinion, it’s not a look I care for and his artistic choices do nothing to better it, he has all the elegance of a breeze block in my opinion. I appreciate many like him, his style and portrayal though so horses for courses.
I sometimes take the surreal assumption that Connery sent a chubby balding Scottish look-alike for the film (as he would also do for Zardoz) as the actor we see is nowhere near the man that played in FRWL. As for comic book-Bond, the white dinner jacket under wetsuit in GF could be considered as a first occurrence, also directed by Guy Hamilton.
If I remember right, the movie does provide a token explanation for why Bond is wearing a 3-piece at Blofeld’s oil rig – he’s posing as a safety inspector. It’s pretty pointless, though – Blofeld naturally recognizes him right away, and Bond would know an outfit like that would get shredded.
“Good morning, gentlemen, ACME pollution inspection. We’re cleaning up the world, we thought this was a suitable starting point”.
Clothing aside, this movie features a lot of funny lines and I like Connery’s performance even though he is older and a bit heavier.
“Thank you very much. I was just out walking my rat, and I seem to have lost my way!”
Are the suites still from Savile Row London? I totally agree and was surprised how many different suite outfits he had in this movie! I also agree the pink tie wasn’t Bond like and seemed silly. Thanks
Yes, they are from the same tailor who made Connery’s suits in the 1960s. As I mentioned here, Anthony Sinclair is the tailor, and he was located just off Savile Row.
I’d been looking forward to this one, tbh!
I’m probably in the minority in that I like Connery’s wardrobe here, fare more than any of his other Bond movies. IT doesn’t appear to be just one grey suit after another even though there are still a number of grey’s in the movie.
To get the pink tie issue out of the way, I’d just say that this is a mistake which I can’t believe anyone would defend. Apart from it’s size and length it’s a colour which doesn’t particularly match the suit that well and my only theory is it was purchased, last minute, on location because the brown tie which he wore with it in the (blink and you’ll miss it) portion of the pre-credit sequence was no longer at hand. It’s a bizarre choice because it deviates in colour and style from ANYTHING Connery had worn as neckwear as Bond either before or in this movie ( the amethyst tie was a departure but only in terms of shade and the brown tie is hardly seen and he had worn brown before).
I hadn’t really noticed the black trousers with the blazer before and assumed they were charcoal and a shade darker than his Dr No and Thunderball versions. I don’t really understand why a big budget movie needs to reuse suit trousers with odd jackets rather than just produce a separate trouser for the particular ensemble as they have done many other times. Odd.
The evening wear choices of the ivory Dj and dinner suit are indeed odd in the context they’re seen. Would anyone wear an ivory DJ in Las Vegas in 1971? A mobster perhaps and with a group of his compatriots, similarly dressed, is the only occasion I can conceive. Here it just looks like Connery has to be seen wearing iconic Bond pieces and they have been shoehorned lazily in to the movie, perhaps to make up for their absence in YOLT, to nail Connery as being back in HIS role and I suppose, for the fun of it. Despite it’s critics, I do find DAF a fun romp which, despite Connery’s “phone it in” performance and it’s kitsch atmosphere is very entertaining.
The plaid jacket and polo neck are also odd in terms of the location they’re supposed to being worn. I know the sequence was filmed on set in Pinewood but it is supposed to be Nevada. Again, I guess it’s such a fleeting scene that the viewer isn’t expected to engage too much with the climate of where Bond is at this point. IT would have been better to have put him back in the light grey suit for this scene but, whatever (the logical reaction for a lot of DAF’s content!)……..
I like the wider lapels FAR more than the 1960’s wardrobe he had before this and I don’t mind the pocket flaps though I can see why they jar on the eye if examined.
We have the first of two consecutive movie’s which end with Bond been seen heading off with the girl in an unusual suit which is only briefly seen and while the silk suit in LALD does get a fleeting but proper display the airforce blue suit here is, as you say, shamefully underused. Someone did post a still from the movie which showed Connery wearing it closer up but I can’t recall where i saw this now.
He is, as you say, overdressed in the movie and I think this is, again, to cement the Bond image even if the locales don’t match for this. I do wonder what the wardrobe would have been like had Connery taken the offered £3 million from Cubby and Harry and returned for the following movie and how it would have deviated from what Roger wore.
I think Diamonds are Forever is a very underrated Connery film, yes its very goofy but thats what makes it as you suggest. But I also think Connery’s acting is much better than You Only Live Twice, even though he is out of shape. Maybe he rediscovered the passion after briefly being ousted by Lazenby. You and Matt have touched on the theme of being overdressed. When in Rome (Las Vegas) as they say. So yes Connery/Bond is overdressed. I’m sure Roger’s Bond would have found a more tasteful way of doing it, as he’s the better dresser, but that slight lack of taste in DAF’s Bond is strangely in keeping with the setting…
I think Connery was much happier on the set of this movie for a number of reasons; he knew it was his curtain call and he was being indulged no end by Harry and Cubby who just wanted him back at all costs and were prepared to do everything possible to please him. A fat paycheck with a clause that if the movie ran over filming (as the previous ones had frequently done) he’d be recompensed. He was given time to indulge his passion for golf during scheduled filming breaks designed to allow this. Nice location with a beautiful climate. He even indulged himself with BOTH female co-stars according to several accounts. There was very little for the notoriously prickly Sean to dislike, this time round.
I tend to agree, I like more than I dislike about this film. The unfortunate thing is that almost every outfit has great things about it, and almost always one bad thing. I want to love the ecru suit, assuming they lost the brown tie as you suggest I wish they had just done something bold (for the time) and gone with no tie, instead of the pink one. I think the most successful outfit in the film is the navy three-piece, it looks terrific on Connery. So much so I don’t even care that it makes no sense for him to be wearing it.
These overviews of a whole films wardrobe were a fantastic idea, Matt. They are superbly done and add a new dimension to the blog, which I already love. Thank you.
“…the failure to dress Bond in a good dinner suit…” thats a harsh comment Matt, especially as you praised the other dinner jackets in the film, this just sounds like you are condeming all the dinner jackets in the film, and the others are as you say, very good. In fact the black dinner jacket you so decry is probably is probably no worse than some of Craig’s shrunken suits. I would much rather wear that over the top black dinner jacket than the hideous pink tie, badly fitted ecru suit later in the film, which as you say, is extremely poor form.
In fact I would wear the black dinner jacket and its silly pocket lapels (though not Connery’s even more dire hairpiece) and the fit than any of Craig’s pieces
As an aside, I noticed, as you also gave You Only Live Twice a 6/10, which film has the better fashion? Or maybe that could prompt another article…
I would choose Diamonds Are Forever over You Only Live Twice because Diamonds Are Forever has more good pieces.
Fair enough, I would agree with that. But still, a good potential future article for films tied with the same rating…
I would agree with most of Matt’s criticisms as well as praises for the film. The wide lapels on Connery doesn’t look bad since as Matt accurately says, Connery is a big man, though the wide flaps don’t look so good and is especially unflattering on Connery’s heavier figure. I would also think that whilst they are a classic English detail today, the choice of a ticket pocket adds unnecessary bulk to the waist. The bold plaid sport coat, pink tie, poor fit on the ecru suit and the bold black dinner suit are also poor choices especially considering the conservative dresser Connery’s Bond is. And even if there’s nothing wrong per se with a cream shirt, it doesn’t look so good on Connery’s winter complexion and he would look much better in a white shirt.
On the other hand I think the film also has a nice selection of suits and tailored pieces. The Brown Herringbone Jacket, the Grey Flannel suit, the Navy Blazer, the Black suit, the Light Grey tropical wool suit, and the Navy Striped suit, and the Navy velvet jacket look pretty good in my eye and look really good on Connery in the film. Even the bespoke shoes themselves are wonderfully showcased in the film whilst a variety on textures of the solid tie (excluding the pink tie) add a nice variety to the wardrobe. Overall as others have pointed out, the film has many wonderful pieces but alas there are also poor choices that haven’t aged well.
With regards to the very dark trousers (either dark charcoal or black) paired with a Navy Blazer, I decided to check out some production stills on them and found these:
https://www.thunderballs.org/diamondsareforeverproductionstills?lightbox=dataItem-jzn7vja01
https://www.thunderballs.org/diamondsareforeverproductionstills?lightbox=dataItem-kb1exy4k4
https://www.thunderballs.org/diamondsareforeverproductionstills?lightbox=dataItem-kb1exy4l4
From the looks of it, the first pic looks very close to black but the last pic looks more charcoal/dark grey to me. In any event the medium grey trousers from the flannel suit would have been a superior choice with the blazer.
I also found this still which appears to look like the the cap-toe oxford shoes being paired with the blazer:
https://www.thunderballs.org/diamondsareforeverproductionstills?lightbox=dataItem-kb1exy4l
I found these recent additions to Thunderballs shortly after I published the review. There weren’t there when I wrote the review a little while ago. I think these photos (and a few others) confirm that the trousers are charcoal rather than black.
It does look like a cap toe seam there.
This one looks to me like it nails the trousers as charcoal; https://www.thunderballs.org/diamondsareforeverproductionstills?lightbox=dataItem-jk5v0aig
I wonder if these could be different trousers than when he meets Tiffany, possibly the trousers from the grey flannel suit.
Considering that there are plenty of black and white images of Connery’s blazer when meeting Tiffany Case (where the trousers look dark and almost black), it does seem likely to be a lot lighter in color and much more similar to the grey flannel suit in David’s image. The contrast of the medium grey trousers I think looks much better than the very dark charcoal trousers he sports when meeting Tiffany Case (even if the latter case is much closer and similar to how Connery wears it Dr. No and Thunderball albeit in dark grey rather than charcoal and compliment the blazer better)
https://www.thunderballs.org/diamondsareforeverproductionstills?lightbox=dataItem-l3dll0dp1
Here’s the one I was thinking about and remembered seeing, with the air force blue suit. Shame its B&W
A better shot of the trousers of the air force blue suit
https://www.thunderballs.org/diamondsareforeverproductionstills?lightbox=dataItem-l3dll0dp5
True. The flannel trousers are possible, especially as the scene looks “off duty”. it looks like the ferry port where he boards the hovercraft. The blazer first appears in this scene though, from memory, I don’t think the trousers are visible on film in these scenes.
Since I was curious to learn more about these (ugly) kipper ties I looked over at Wikipedia. It seems someone got it wrong since Connery’s navy blazer with his usual grenadine tie is a “A Michael Fish ensemble”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fish_(fashion_designer) – scroll down to the Gallery to see it.
The pink tie should’ve been black or navy and done in a four in hand knot rather than a half or full windsor whichever it was. Bond also made the mistake of fastening the lower button on the jacket so it wasn’t a paddock cut.