“Bond’s face and hands were of a light brown tint, his black hair, brightly oiled, was cut and neatly combed in a short fringe that reached halfway down his forehead, and the outer corners of his eyebrows had been carefully shaved so that they now slanted upwards. He was dressed, like so many of the other travellers, in a white cotton shirt buttoned at the wrists and a cheap, knitted silk, black tie exactly centred with a rolled gold pin. His ready-made black trousers, held up by a cheap black plastic belt, were rather loose in the fork, because Japanese behinds are inclined to hang low, but the black plastic sandals and dark blue nylon socks were exactly the right size. A much-used overnight bag of Japan Air Lines was slung over his shoulder, and this contained a change of shirt, singlet, pants and socks, Shinsei cigarettes, and some cheap Japanese toilet articles. In his pockets were a comb, a cheap, used wallet containing some five thousand yen in small denomination notes, and a stout pocket knife which, by Japanese law, had a blade not more than two inches long.” (Chapter 9)
Bond is now Taro Todoroki. The black tie of kitted silk is the only part of this outfit that we generally associate with Bond’s wardrobe. According to Fleming, the rest is all characteristic of a Japanese traveller.
A “shirt buttoned at the wrists” : shall we understand with a button-cuff ? Therefore, does it imply unlike Bond’s usual shirts, that could sport a french cuff ? Still, we can assume it merely refers to a long-sleeve shirt that seem to be so rare with Bond’s lounge suits.
I’d like to have your opinion, Matt, on the literary Bond’s cuff style.
That means a standard long-sleeve, button cuff shirt. Elsewhere Fleming specified short-sleeves for Bond with his suits, as he often wore himself.