Whether you call them cocktail cuffs, turnback cuffs, Dr. No cuffs, casino cuffs, flow-back cuffs, milanese cuffs, neapolitan cuffs, portofino cuffs or any other name, they are one of the most uniquely Bondian elements of clothing. After a thirty-six year gap, the cuff finally returned to the Bond films in Spectre last year. With yet another cocktail cuff design—this time from Tom Ford—in the Bond films, a comparison of all of James Bond’s cocktail cuffs is in order. Enjoy the graphic below, and feel free to share it with your friends or your shirtmaker.
For my taste the angles of the Frank Foster cocktail cuffs worn by Moore in LALD and TMWTGG are a bit too steep. With regard to that the NSNA verison is far better.
Is there are large difference between Connery’s cocktail cuffs in Never Say Never Again, and Moore’s in The Persuaders?
No, the cuffs are very, very similar. Moore’s may be slightly longer. Some of Moore’s cuffs have the button-down buttonholes positioned crosswise around the cuff rather than diagonally.
These breakdowns are great Matt, I’m going to give a copy to my shirtmaker in Melbourne to make some Connery era turnbacks. A lot of shirtmakers still struggle to get them right. I’m interested to see the breakdown on Dalton’s Benjamin Simon clothes. Have you ever thought of doing it for casual jackets as well maybe or camp shirts etc. As the older casual blouson jackets are shaped very differently to modern jackets.
Great post, Matt! This is very helpful in illustrating the cut and shape of the cuffs.
One thing I noticed is that the Frank Foster designs seem more suited for a folded cuff design similar to a double cuff (French) than the soft turnback of Turnbull and Asser. In my experience the Turnbull and Asser cuff is more suitable for the softer cotton poplin and broadcloth (and sometimes Oxford and Royal Oxford) shirts than the Frank Foster design which is more suitable for heavier twill fabrics including herringbone. The twill fabrics tend to hold the fold better and maintain the shape.
The interfacing makes a bigger difference than type of cloth. My Frank Foster cocktail cuffs in poplin hold the fold perfectly. In my experience, it’s twill that doesn’t hold the fold as well, particularly when heavier.
Thanks for your reply, Matt. I get what you mean about the interfacing.
Speaking about interfacing, which sewn interfacing weight (stiff or medium) do you recommend to select when ordering a cocktail cuff shirt (I am personally planning the Sean Connery shape) from mytailor.com aka Hemrajani Brothers? I also presume the collar should be selected with the medium or stiff sewn interfacing to pair with the cocktail cuff?
I believe it’s a medium weight. You can ask them what they put in my cocktail cuffs. It’s not as still as what they put in my collars.
On the diagram of the folded, buttoned Button-Down Cocktail Cuff, it’s overlapping the opposite way as the other cuffs, as though it is a right-hand shirt cuff, while the others are left-hand.
Thanks. I reversed it so they’re all the left cuff.
Nice graphic.
Frank made a dress shirt for me a couple of years ago (stunning cloth, almost see-through). He used the Moonraker shape, with button downs. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Hi Matt. I loved the graphic on cocktail cuffs. Kudos. This comment has nothing to do with cocktail cuffs but I have been wondering if you might consider doing a piece on the contrasting wardrobe of President Obama and Republican candidate Donald Trump. There seems to be a great difference here. I can understand why you might not want to do this now but maybe after the election. I would love to know your analysis. Thanks again for all your efforts. Tony
Sorry, that’s way out of the scope of this blog. Not even the Brioni connection is enough to get me to write any more about Trump than just that.
Maybe after his funeral in a few weeks time.
Matt, I was reading an article on someone’s experience requesting a cocktail cuff shirt from deo veritas and they also posted this pic:
https://i0.wp.com/clothesonfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/James-Bond-cocktail-cuff_Sean-Connery_By-Matt-Spaiser.png
However the cuff design here attributed to you appears to have some differences to the one on the top of this page… which one is closer to the screen version?
Chris Laverty’s cuff was an earlier attempt, and Deo Veritas didn’t even cut it to my directions properly.
That is unfortunate… I had a similar mishap with my Veritas shirt order awhile back.
Do you think the ‘staggered’ button placement on the cocktail cuff (as shown in your prototype design) is ultimately not the correct one?
I don’t think it is. That’s how it is on their standard design now, which is why I copied it.