Original article published 21 February 2011
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.
Timothy Dalton wears his first lounge suit of the series to the office for meeting with Moneypenny and Q in The Living Daylights. The suit is a dark grey herringbone-weave three-piece, a traditional business suit for London. The herringbone weave results in a subtle but stylish stripe effect, but there’s little contrast in the herringbone to emphasise the pattern. This makes for a smarter suit than one with a bold, high-contrast herringbone pattern. The cloth is likely a worsted flannel, as it’s fairly heavy and looks like it has a milled finish. Bond previously wore a two-piece grey herringbone suit in You Only Live Twice, but this one is slightly darker and heavier to make it more appropriate for London business dress. The waistcoat dresses it up a notch as well.
According to the book Fashioning James Bond: Costume, Gender and Identity in the World of 007 by Llewella Chapman, this suit was made by Benjamin Simon of Leeds, who also made the previously identified gun club check jacket at the safe house and the tan suit in Tangier. The cut and style matches across the three items.
Thee suit is ready-to-wear, a first for James Bond. Bond had always worn bespoke suits in the past—usually with a perfect fit—but Timothy Dalton desired ready-to-wear tailoring. The general look for Dalton’s suits follows Bond’s looks from earlier films, particularly the traditional English tailoring that Sean Connery wore as Bond in the 1960s, but the bespoke intricacies in terms of both fit and detail are not present in Dalton’s suits.
The suit has a full and relaxed fit, taking after the popular Italian suits of the day, but this suit was purchased a size too large to achieve this fashionable look. Though The Living Daylights is the fourth Bond film of the 1980s, this suit is Bond’s first that follows the full-fitting trends of the 1980s. Roger Moore’s suits in his three films from the 1980s never had large shoulders or full cuts, both of which were highly fashionable by the time of Octopussy and commonplace by the time of A View to a Kill. Despite the full fit of Dalton’s suit, its cut, details and overall style are thoroughly British, following the classic definition of a British suit rather than an Italian one. Alongside the relaxed Italian trends, the 1980s also saw a reactionary revival of classic tailoring, resembling tailoring from the 1930s through the 1950s. This suit is part of the fashion for more traditional looks, but worn in a way that resembles the Italian trends.
The suit jacket has two buttons on front in a low stance, three buttons on the cuffs, double vents and straight, flapped hip pockets. The shoulders are heavily padded, straight and extended, and they are punctuated with roped sleeve heads. The lapels are a medium width with a medium gorge. The buttons are medium grey with a horn look, likely faux horn as the colour is not one that typically appears in real horn. The lining is dark grey. The fit lacks any finesse, with little shape to the waist, too much fullness in the back, too much length at the sleeves, and a collar that sits too low at the back of the neck.
The flap to the left hip pocket is partially tucked in, something Timothy Dalton likely did on purpose to make the clothes look more lived-in. It’s reflective of how rumpled the entire suit is, which was clearly on purpose. There’s a loose thread extending from the pocket, possibly the thread that originally basted the pocket closed when it came from the factory. Though Dalton was known to remove shoulder padding from his suits to make them look more relaxed, that was not a modification he did to this suit.
The way Dalton’s Bond wears his suits is a distinct break from how the previous on-screen Bonds wore their suits—with the military neatness that’s usually expected from a naval commander. Despite Dalton’s modifications to make his suits look more relaxed, he never looked as relaxed in his suits as the previous Bond actors did in their perfectly tailored bespoke suits. A good cut and fit makes one look more comfortable and more natural in a suit than a suit that looks casually worn. Dalton wears this jacket unbuttoned, which is appropriate with a three-piece suit, but he wears it unbuttoned purely to look slouchier. It’s another touch that makes the suit look relaxed, compared with making the wearer look more relaxed in his suit. Because this is not a bespoke-quality suit, the jacket does not drape neatly when unbuttoned like Bond’s bespoke jackets do, which makes this suit look even more unkempt.
The waistcoat has six buttons down the front, with the bottom button left undone per tradition, and two welt pockets. Like the jacket, the waistcoat is oversized and has too much fullness at the front for the strap at the back to neatly suppress. The trousers have a classic British cut with double forward pleats and full, tapered legs. The trousers may have been worn with a belt hidden under the waistcoat, a faux pas that was common in the 1980s, especially with ready-to-wear suits. He could be wearing braces, something he was not averse to with his evening wear.
Dalton wears the outfit in a mostly Bondian tonal palette, with everything other than the suit in black or white. The shirt is white poplin in the traditional Jermyn Street style. It has a classic English semi-spread collar with a medium height, a medium point length and a lot of tie space; rounded one-button cuffs; and a front placket with 3/8-inch stitching. The tie is solid black silk satin with a subtle pattern of printed oblong teal shapes, the only break from the tonal colour palette. He ties it in a four-in-hand knot, but in a loose way that doesn’t cover the top of the collar band. This could be the result of the collar having a little too much tie space, but it reflects the way he wears his suit. Black shoes, likely a trim loafer, complete the outfit with a classic Bond touch.
Now Pay Attention
| SUIT | |
| Tailor | Benjamin Simon |
| Fabric | Dark grey herringbone worsted flannel |
| JACKET | |
| Front buttons | 2, low stance, grey faux horn |
| Lapels | Medium notch |
| Shoulder | Straight and padded with roped sleeve heads |
| Breast pocket | Welt |
| Hip pockets | Straight, flap |
| Vents | 2 |
| Cuff buttons | 3 |
| WAISTCOAT | |
| Front buttons | 6 |
| Lapels | None |
| Pockets | 2 Welt |
| TROUSERS | |
| Front | Double forward pleats |
| Support | Unknown |
| Front/side pockets | Unknown |
| Rise | High |
| Leg | Full, tapered |
| Hem | Most likely plain |
| SHIRT | |
| Shirtmaker | Unknown |
| Fabric | White cotton poplin |
| Collar | Semi-spread |
| Cuff | 1-button rounded |
| Front | Placket |
| TIE | |
| Brand | Unknown |
| Fabric | Black silk with teal shapes |
| Knot | Four-in-hand |
| SHOES | |
| Shoemaker | Unknown |
| Style | Black slip-on |
What is a barrel cuff?
Barrel cuffs are regular button cuffs.
Not a bad ensemble. The fit is like that of the pinstripe suit from later on, but not too shabby at all. And he leaves the bottom button of the waiscoat unbuttoned! See, Dalton wasn't quite the sartorial-illiterate that he is bagged as… :-)
The tie here is listed as black, but on my mointor it actually looks like a very dark green… huh?
It looks black on my screens, but dark green is the reason why many people prefer midnight blue dinner suits to black. That's how black suits can often look under certain lighting. But I'm not seeing any hint of that green.
Me, neither.
How many buttons are on the cuffs?
There are 3 buttons on the cuffs.
Sorry, I meant to ask how many buttons were on the shirt
Do you mean how many are on the shirt cuff? I believe only one. It will be easier to tell once the series is released on Blu-ray later this year.
This was one of the better Dalton suits in my opinion. The boxy-fit of the suit is perhaps the most dated aspect, but that was the order of the day. In fact, despite being “off the pegs” this reminds me more of a Brosnan suit, and the ensemble probably would have worked all the way through the 1990’s.
Matt what is the gorge like on this suit? It is hard to see. Also does the suit have any waist suppression at all?
The gorge is plainly visible in the second and third pictures in the article. It’s slightly low and slightly steep, but not like it would be in Licence to Kill. There’s a fair amount of waist suppression.
I think the suit looks considerably more classic then his License To Kill suits. Interesting that there is a fair amount of waist suppression as many suits in the late 1980’s didn’t have much at all.
A dramatic silhouette with big shoulders and a suppressed waist, reminiscent of 1940s style, was popular in the 1980s. It was in the late 80s and 90s that waist suppression went away.
Interesting as you pointed out that this is indeed the first suit in the series that is ready-to-wear which is worn by James Bond. I know in the film the two piece suits are worn with a belt but do you think the three piece suits are as well? Also, I was wondering if we see the shoes Bond wears with this outfit?
This suit deserved more screentime. Dalton looks pretty comfortable in it.
Armani had really taken hold of contemporary film fashion so pretty much every costume designer which to that look as a touch point. Armani was doing a better fit than Dalton’s here but i’d assume they were made to measure or heavily altered. Michael Keaton’s Armani suits in Batman (1989) had a neat full fit, though they had the padded broad shoulders and relaxed fit of the era.
I like this suit but it makes me appreciate Roger’s immaculate tailoring so much more.
Back in 2011 we thought this (really quite good, and restrained for the time) fit was the worst it would get for Bond in ready-to-wear, then 2012’s Daniel Slimane came knocking…
I think we mostly thought that about the suits in Licence to Kill!
Unless my eyes are playing tricks, I believe there is a pattern on that tie. The last picture shows it best, that little blue eye thing in the top right quadrant of the knot. It looks like it could be a bit of filmgrain or a lens flare, but then swear I can make it out on the previous pictures too, consistently in the same spot. Then it appears on a couple of other spots on the tie too. Am I going mad or can anyone else see it?
Great eye! I thought it was just some reflection, but when I look closely I can see it elsewhere.
It had been long time, there was the discussion about the necktie is black or dark green. Now, it’s defined as “black silk with teal shapes” as precise as it looks!
It’s a damn shame that 1. the suit was sized up unnecessarily and 2. they didn’t use bespoke to begin with. I was always under the impression that they didn’t have time, with Dalton taking over after Brosnan was called back for Remington Steele. But considering how bespoke houses can turn around things quickly for movie productions (sometimes at the expense of a perfect fit, like we see with one of Taron Edgerton’s suits in Kingsman) and the information that Dalton pushed for ready made… well, I’m just bummed now. He looks great in suits and even better when they fit him well.
Agreed it’s a shame considering that Dalton did look quite good in a suit.
I think part of the issue may relate to Dalton’s interpretation of the character and a desire to “get back to Fleming”. At a press conference he emphasized how Bond was a man who lived in constant danger and could be killed at any time. I believe Dalton took this and thought a man like that either would be more worried with things other than clothes and/or would not have the time for bespoke nor live long enough to bother with it.
But Book Bond did enjoy fine things, less so because they were expensive but because he appreciated quality. And his attitude seemed to be that because he could die at any time he should enjoy things and basically spend the money he had because there was no point in saving it. Not to mention book Bond directly recalls visiting his “first expensive tailor” indicating that he does in fact care about this sort of thing.
Yeah, this is one aspect of the character I don’t agree with Dalton on. Plus, the glamour is part of the point. He looks immaculate, but it’s hiding a lot of pain and insecurity. But it also proves that Bond actors had wardrobe input dating back decades, for better or worse.
It’s especially baffling because Bond owns multiple dinner suits in this movie, and he upgrades the champagne in Koskov’s gift basket on his own initiative. In other words, typical Bond behavior that doesn’t really square with Dalton’s desire to wear untailored off-the-rack suits.
I always pegged Moore’s 80’s ties at 3-3.25″, but Dalton’s look somewhat narrower here — your thoughts?
I think Moore’s ties were slightly wider, around 3.5″. Dalton’s tie is likely around the same, based on the size of the knot.
I kind of understand the realism that Dalton’s Bond strived for – by the ‘80’s modestly priced suits were now attempting to integrate their affordability with a greater degree of quality so it makes some sense that a stoutly hardened bloke like Bond would embrace that compromise. It’s all contingent on what line Bond would walk between luxury and practicality in his civilian habiliments, though I certainly don’t see him as accepting any such concession with his naval gear. I don’t think that this trait would work particularly well with any other iteration of Bond (except maybe Craig who went with ‘luxury’ but with too much deference to particularly lamentable fashion tends in those pencil-skinny silhouettes), but I think that Dalton largely succeeds here.
Contributing to the slouchy fit of the suit jacket, the fourth picture exposes some egregious front-back balance issues that no bespoke tailor worth his crust would have allowed out of the shop.
It’s too bad because at first blush this is an appropriately Bondian entry but examination of the details shows misfire after misfire and Dalton’s well-intentioned desire to inject some realism into the canon ends up falling flat in this case.
About front-back balance, I think Dalton could improve it little by fastening button of jacket.
Furthermore, the picture is just a screenshot of the movie and he (and his suit) is moving in the picture. I bet we can’t see true front-back balance with that one screenshot.
Also, I might think that Dalton had something heavy in his hip pockets to… inject… some realism…? lol
I agree that is very difficult to judge the balance based on one photo, especially when the jacket is bunched from just having stood up. However, based on the way the jacket drapes when unbuttoned shows that the balance is off. Fastening the button has no effect on the balance based.