Original article published 17 October 2012
I am in the process of rewriting and republishing old articles about James Bond’s outfits that are in need of a refresh and expansion. All former comments are preserved below.
For a night at the camp in From Russia with Love, Bond changed into a dark grey flannel two-piece suit from his black and white Glen Urquhart check suit that he wore during the day. Bond and Kerim Bey are both overdressed for dinner at the camp, dressing as the outsiders that they are. Kerim Bey’s light tan suit has a casual look for the occasion, while Bond’s darker flannel suit likewise looks relaxed but is more business-like. The dark colour allows Bond to blend in with the camp at night and not draw attention to himself despite being a true outsider.
This suit is made of a heavy woollen flannel, likely around 15-16 oz, so it’s a traditional English suiting. It’s dark grey, likely a shade lighter than charcoal, but the exact colour is difficult to determine because Bond only wears this suit at night. It looks like charcoal on screen because the lighting is dim. The shade is highly versatile, but it looks especially good at night because it’s a fairly dark colour.
The dark grey flannel suit is the ultimate Sean Connery-Bond suit, and in the 1960s Bond could wear it without it making any sort of statement. A grey flannel suit was established as Bond’s daily uniform in Dr. No, and its reappearance in From Russia with Love solidifies it as Bond’s uniform rather than the lightweight dark blue suit that was Bond’s uniform in Ian Fleming’s novels. The details of the suit are identical except for the hip pockets—the From Russia with Love suit adds flaps to former suit’s jetted pockets. Many of the finer points of the suit differ, such as the shade of grey (though it could just be the result of different lighting), the button stance, the width and gorge of the lapels, and the trouser rise, but ultimately these two suits could pass as the same suit if we pretend that Bond had his pocket flaps tucked in with the Dr. No suit. The dark grey flannel suit returns in three-piece variations in Goldfinger and Thunderball, and Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan all wears their own versions of it in their Bond films.
The suit has Anthony Sinclair’s typical cut. The jacket has two buttons in a low stance, soft shoulders with roped sleeve heads, a little drape in the chest, a nipped waist and a close skirt. The front has open lower front quarters that are slightly rounded at the bottom. The jacket is detailed with double vents, straight hip pockets with flaps and four buttons on each cuff. The jacket’s buttons are charcoal grey polyester.
The suit trousers have double forward pleats, a trim leg with turn-ups, on-seam side pockets and one rear jetted pocket on the right. The waistband has an extension with a hidden hook and bar closure and ‘Daks tops’ side adjusters with an elasticised tab on each side that fastens to one of three buttons. The suit trousers’ buttons are dark grey with a matte finish.
The pale blue cotton poplin shirt—likely of Sea Island cotton—from Turnbull & Asser matches most of the shirts that Sean Connery wears in Dr. No and From Russia with Love. It has a spread collar, two-button cocktail cuffs, a narrow front placket, shoulder pleats and two darts at the small of the back. Despite its full cut, the shirt is bespoke. The bespoke fit provides a perfect fit not only in the collar size but also in the collar position, the shoulder and yoke width, the front/back balance, the sleeve length and the cuff size. A traditionally perfect fit in a shirt was not about following the body’s every curve. The shirt is slightly damaged in the fight and Vida (Aliza Gur) repairs it with a needle and thread.
The tie is a narrow—approximately 7.5 cm wide—navy silk grenadine from Turnbull & Asser without tipping and is tied in a four-in-hand knot. At the beginning of the evening Bond starts out with a white linen handkerchief folded in his breast pocket but removes it to wipe his hands. He later puts it back in.
In a not-unusual continuity error for the early Bond films, Bond wears two pairs of shoes with this suit. He wears his usual black three-eyelet cap-toe derbys when at the camp, and he wears black slip-ons that he easily slides off when he returns to his hotel. While the lace-up derby is a more traditionally appropriate shoe to wear with a suit, the slip-ons have a trim silhouette that still looks good with the suit. He wears black mid-calf socks with a burgundy band around the ankle near the top of the sock.
When Bond returns to his hotel suite after his stay at the camp, he unceremoniously removes his clothes. He slips off his shoes, loosens his tie, drops his suit jacket on the back of a chair and throws his holster on a sofa. Then he yanks off his tie and tosses it on top of the suit jacket. He gently unbuttons his shirt but throws it to the bathroom floor where it first flies into a doorknob. Finally he drops suit trousers on the bathroom floor.
Despite wearing the finest clothes, he can’t be bothered to take special care when removing them, even when the shirt was just so thoughtfully repaired that morning. Bond is always ready to move on to whatever comes next, especially at the end of a rough day. Bond had come close to losing his life before he was mysteriously saved by Red Grant, and caring for his clothes was understandably not a priority. The suit was also heavily soiled during the battle at the camp, so it was in need of a cleaning and pressing in any case. While Bond appreciates his fine clothes, they also don’t have any special value to him. Clothes are meant to be worn, not babied.
Now Pay Attention
| SUIT | |
| Tailor | Anthony Sinclair |
| Fabric | Dark grey woollen flannel |
| JACKET | |
| Front buttons | 2, low stance |
| Lapels | Narrow notch |
| Shoulder | Soft with roped sleeve heads |
| Breast pocket | Welt |
| Hip pockets | Straight with flaps |
| Vents | 2 |
| Cuff buttons | 4 |
| TROUSERS | |
| Front | Double forward pleats |
| Support | ‘DAKS Tops’ 3-button side-adjusters |
| Front/side pockets | On-seam side pockets |
| Rise | High |
| Leg | Narrow, straight |
| Hem | Turn-ups |
| SHIRT | |
| Shirtmaker | Turnbull & Asser |
| Fabric | Pale blue cotton poplin |
| Collar | Spread |
| Cuff | 2-button cocktail |
| Front | Placket |
| TIE | |
| Brand | Turnbull & Asser |
| Fabric | Navy grenadine |
| Knot | Four-in-hand |
| SHOES | |
| Shoemaker | Unknown |
| Style | Black 3-eyelet cap-toe derby and black slip-on |
Classically elegant but a bit boring.
Awesome. Simplicity at its best.
This is awesome. Like the rest of Connery’s From Russia With Love suits. And I must disagree with boring – it is classic, simple, and without, say, a tie that will distract from Connery’s face.
It is surprising that he would wear flannel in a climate like Istanbul but the suit is elegant none the less.
I want to preface this by saying that I love From Russia With Love, it’s one of my favorite in the series. I also love the suits Bond wears in the film, they are timeless classics in which 007 looks well-dressed and well-tailored without being rakish or flashy. The chalk-striped flannel is a particular favorite of mine.
However, that said, I’ve always had a hard time distinguishing which suit he is wearing when; they sort of blend together– a problem I don’t have with Dr. No or Goldfinger, in which the outfits stand out from one another.
For example, is this the same suit he wears upon arrival in Istanbul? It also looks very similar to the suit he wears later aboard the Orient Express, although I believe that one was ventless. He also wears a Glen check suit a few times, not sure if there is only one of these re-used or if it’s the same one in Kerim’s office and to meet Tatiana on the boat. Do you happen to know how many suits were used in the film?
Not sure why I have a hard time with this, it is probably due to very similar hues and the uniform cuts. Still that said, I do think they all look very nice.
There are seven suits in From Russia With Love. This one differs from the other charcoal suit in the type of cloth; this one is flannel and the one for the Istanbul arrival is silk. The suit suit is also different with a single vent. The Orient Express suit isn’t as dark and is a regular worsted. There are two different Glen check suits: the first is black and white in a twill weave with a single vents and the second is black and cream in a plain weave with double vents.
I’ve long thought the suits were deliberately similar so that the audience could enjoy some variety while not having to wonder how he fit seven different suits plus changes of shirt, underwear, etc. Into one suitcase. He changes his clothes an impossible amount but that’s not rubbed I to our faces because one suit is similar enough to another
I do see where Kyle is coming from in relation to the suits in this movie. There is not anything which appears distinctive unless one looks, as you do, closely at the material etc. This is the issue with Connery’s movies and this tends to be seen as either a plus or minus point. In terms of clothing they appear somewhat monochrome. This wasn’t the case with Lazenby, Moore, Brosnan. “Diamonds are Forever” is similar in that, when one pictures the movie in ones minds eye, it seems like a lot of (mostly paler) grey suiting.
For once I have to disagree with David; when I think of DAF I remember the plaid sportcoat, the cream linen suit, the navy blazer, etc. If one overlooks the wide lapels and pocket flaps, DAF has something to satisfy every sartorial taste.
Respectfully,
Dan
i didnt realize that Connery didnt wear a pocket square with this outfit..
He does wear one, but it’s merely seen. We have a look at it when he is asked to join the Gypsy people for dinner, with Kerim Bey, then it disappears, then we see it again in the Krilencu murder sequence.
Matt,
I’m hoping to get som FRWL-style suits made, and I’m trying summarise the style. What might you add to or alter about this description, by camparison with “typical” modern suits?
“The shoulders are cut fairly broad, but are natural; they’re well supported but not built up with padding. There is a fair amount of wadding in the sleeveheads, though. The upper sleeves are generously cut, but the cuffs are narrow.
“The jacket’s waist is a few inches lower than on most modern suits, and the jacket is slightly shorter than traditionally cut suits, but not short like some modern “slim fit” fashion suits. Button stance is lowered to match the waist, and the buttons are closely spaced.
“Lapels are narrow, and the seam where the collar meets the lapels (which some people call the gorge) is a little lower than on most modern suits.
“There is a generous amount of ease in the chest, and although the waist has some suppression, it isn’t tightly fitted. The skirt has very little flare.
“Trousers have a higher rise and are tapered to narrow bottoms. They are without belt loops but have side button adjusters.”
What else?
I haven’t mentioned too much about the trousers because my own preference is for flat fronts without turn-ups; I’m not looking to have a replica James Bond costume made. Nor is this intended to be a forensic analysis of Sean Connery’s suits: I’ve noticed, for example, on the Dr. No suits in particular, that the entire forearms are cut very close. Any stretching action, like throwing a punch or even just picking up the attache case in the hotel lobby in FRWL, causes the sleeve to bind around the forearm and stay there. This appears to have been an aspect of Anthony Sinclair’s cut – you can see that his own sleeves are cut this way on the picture of him fitting Sean Connery for the silk suit – but it’s not something that I want to replicate.
Make sure the armholes are small and high, to allow the most movement. If you’re going to be true to Connery’s jacket style, the pleated trousers balance that. If you insist on flat front trousers don’t go for such a full chest. Then you end up with something like this: https://www.bondsuits.com/?p=1604
Matt, thanks for your reply. Point taken about the pleats. In fairness to Roger Moore, though, I think that the “Bender the Robot” look is at least partly due to the fact that he’s frozen in the act of breaking stride to step around a flower bed. Sir Roger always was a little bit “thick through”, though – you can see it even in the infamous knitwear model pictures – and his Saint era suits weren’t flattering in that respect. They look great in medium close-ups, though, and probably looked better in real life, where we don’t tend to scrutinize people in long shots, than on screen.
Do you know where I can find a pale blue poplin shirt that is not T &A?
Thanks
Pretty much any English shirt retailer should have one, though you’ll most likely find something closer to sky blue. For some reason, solid poplin isn’t as popular in America. But I do have a pale blue poplin shirt from Ike Behar.
Is this the same suit from dr.no?
is gray flannel and charcoal flannel the same thing?
No, this is a different, darker suit.
About those socks: J. Press sells English-made socks with a narrow band at the top, red for black socks, bright blue for navy, etc., so you don’t wind up with mis-matched socks. I suppose it’s impossible to know if they’re from the same source as Connery’s, but wearing them does give a Bondish feeling.
I always thought this band was actually a piece of cloth hanging on the sock, maybe a fringe from a carpet, towel, or the Gipsy girl’s dress…
Love the updated details, Matt! The higher resolution screenshot when Connery slips off his shoes has me looking forward to updated, expanded articles on Connery’s shoes. Does the toe shape on the slip-on match the derbies he wears elsewhere in the film? I recall a couple of promotional photograph of Connery and Bianchi with a similar toe shape, but I wasn’t sure if they were screen worn shoes or not:
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/31b808_8552a42716e44b8e8da98471004f6e6a~mv2_d_2126_2103_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_640,h_633,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/31b808_8552a42716e44b8e8da98471004f6e6a~mv2_d_2126_2103_s_2.jpg
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/31b808_93c39882a6594f9eb4e00d259da54ca1~mv2_d_1417_1407_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_640,h_635,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/31b808_93c39882a6594f9eb4e00d259da54ca1~mv2_d_1417_1407_s_2.jpg
Other photos from promotional photoshoots from the film have Connery wearing derbies with shorter less elongated toes, that seem more similar to his Dr. No shoes. Maybe he wore the older pair(s) in those shots?
I do believe the toe shape is similar. It’s a common toe shape for English shoes in the 1960s.
You mentioned yourself Connery was wearing 7.5 cm wide ties in Dr. No, Matt. Aren’t the ties in FRWL slimmer, matching the lapels ?
The ties don’t look that skinny to me. I don’t think they’re narrower than 7 cm.
Did it become narrower in Thunderball or do you think the tie width stayed the same from FRWL to YOLT ? And how wide were the Goldfinger ties ? Thanks !
I think they may have become narrower in Thunderball. The Goldfinger ties are probably about 6 cm wide.
That sounds about right. I have a few knitted ties around that width from when they came back in fashion in the mid-2000s.
When did Dalton wear a dark grey flannel suit?
It’s in The Living Daylights: https://www.bondsuits.com/bratislava-grey-flannel-suit-navy-coat-living-daylights/
Thanks. For some reason I thought that suit was a mid grey.
To be fair, most of the clothing in TLD is pretty forgettable due to it being off-the-rack with a merely okay fit. The only real standout is the “tactical” dinner suit, which would have been even better if it was bespoke.
It’s from Bermans & Nathans, so it’s possible it could be bespoke, but not at the level of Savile Row.
Ah, good catch. Either way it’s my favourite clothing piece of the film.
Being quite pedantic on wearing only mid-calf lisle or wool socks with suits (either Pantherella, Gamarelli or Kimono Paris), I am always appaled at Bond’s poor choice of socks there or in other instances.
The full-cut shirt and pleated pants look more modern right now than anything Craig wore during his tenure – love it!
Great to see it make a comeback!
Yes, thankfully! The sausage skins look comically bad now. Unfortunately it is already pushing towards the overly baggy look as an extreme reaction to what had been the trend but hoping for another period where classically timeless proportions are more the norm. I would also say it’s getting close if not already there to Roger Moore’s flared trousers (while not to my taste) are more ’in’ that what Craig wore!
I know what you mean, though I think it’s mainly the big name fashion houses that are pushing the more extreme look in the other direction. I don’t think it has taken hold yet in the mainstream. The average person on a budget (shopping at say Charles Tyrwhitt for example) is still getting a suit or shirt that follows 2010s slim fit trends.
Ed, things are overall pretty tame from what I’m seeing from Gen Z. My friend, who is in their early 20s, recently borrowed a tie from me when we went to a wedding where I was a bridesmaid. They wore a semi-fitted, not tight or billowy, dress shirt and straight leg trousers. I think the kids are alright.
Yes, I agree treadstone, that the baggy look does seem to be in the designer/celebrity world rather than mainstream. That’s encouraging Giselle in terms of younger generations wearing a more balanced fit. The worst offenders of the slim fit thing now seem to be the over 50s who were years late coming to the trend, mostly too out of shape to be wearing it and frankly should always have had more sense.
Matt, thanks for the update. What about an article on tie width throughout the series?
This suit has a nice flair to it.
Well, from this angle, things are shaping up nicely. A nice crisp T & A sea island sky blue cocktail cuffed shirt with a navy silk grenadine tie, black John Lobb bespoke shoes, and a beautiful dark gry flannel suit. This really is the quintessential 007/30 Assault Unit Uniform…
The shoes are most likely not from John Lobb. Their records don’t show Connery going there until later in the 1960s.
Interesting. Would it be possible to elaborate a bit further on their records? Surely, Bond wore bespoke shoes with a secret heel compartment in Goldfinger (1964). It is a well known fact that John Lobb (1829-1895) originally made boots with secret hollow heel compartments for gold diggers in Australia.
Jonathan Lobb told me they have a record of a boot from 1969 and no records of the Goldfinger shoes, but he wasn’t able to divulge much more.
Interesting. Is there any info out there to suggest who may have made Connery’s shoes in the early movies if they weren’t John Lobb bespoke?
I haven’t found any information about who made them.
For me Bond and Kerim’s suits both contrast in tones. That said I do like them.