The odd jacket finally retuned to the James Bond series in Spectre after a twenty year absence. Bond has worn many odd jackets, sports coats and blazers throughout the series, but why does Bond wear odd jackets sometimes rather than suits?
What is an odd jacket? It’s a tailored jacket that is not part of a suit, simply meaning that it does not have matching trousers. A sports coat or sports jacket is an odd jacket that is worn for participation in sports—such hunting or riding—or worn for watching sports. Most sports coats aren’t made for these sports today, but they descend from this pedigree. The blazer is a specific type of sports coat, though this article will focus on non-blazer odd jackets.
Why do some jackets work on their own whilst others must always be part of a suit? It all comes down to the cloth. Formal and business-like cloths do not make effective odd jackets because odd jackets are simply not all that formal or business-like. This leaves out most worsted and smooth cloths. If it is worsted, it needs to have a large pattern or a heavy texture. Practically any tweed, cashmere, linen, cotton or silk can make a great odd jacket, so long as it doesn’t have pinstripes or chalk stripes. Pinstripes and chalk stripes are businesslike and thus do not work well for odd jackets, which are inherently unbusinesslike.
There is no difference between the cut of a suit jacket and the cut of an odd jacket. Some people prefer a softer construction for their odd jackets and more structure for their suit jackets, but it is not a rule by any means. The way one’s jacket fits and is cut is largely personal preference, but that’s the same whether the jacket is part of a suit or stands on its own. Some people like a looser fit for their odd jackets because it looks less formal or to be able to fit a jumper underneath. Any odd jacket can be a part of a suit if it has matching trousers, though most jacketings—cloths meant to be tailored into jackets—do not make up well as trousers since they won’t hold their shape or a crease. Such a suit would end up being an informal or sporty suit rather than a business suit.
For example, Roger Moore’s brown tweed suit in Moonraker that he wears for hunting with Drax is a sports suit. The jacket could easily stand on its own as a sports coat. The donegal tweed cloth is what allows this. The hacking pockets and flapped breast pocket add to the sportiness of the suit’s jacket. But even if it were detailed with straight pockets and an ordinary welt breast pocket, it could still work just as well on its own because of the sporty cloth.
Sports coats are often tweed, which is historically worn for country sports. James Bond has worn numerous tweeds, often subtly patterned or plain. Sean Connery’s brown barleycorn jacket in Goldfinger and Thunderball and Roger Moore’s brown broken twill jacket in A View to a Kill are similar subtly patterned tweeds. Sean Connery wears two tweed jackets in Diamonds Are Forever with sporty Nofolk-jacket-inspired details. In A View to a Kill, Moore also wears a plain grey twill tweed jacket. George Lazenby wears a houndstooth tweed hacking jacket in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service for equestrian sports. Though many of these jackets have sporty hacking pockets, casual patch pockets or horn buttons, it is purely the cloth that makes these proper sports coats. Bond’s last tweed jacket was Timothy Dalton’s gun club check jacket in The Living Daylights.
Bond has worn a number of warm-weather odd jackets in addition to the traditional tweeds. In Live and Let Die he wears a tan basketweave jacket whilst in New Orleans. The texture of this jacket, both in the hopsack weave and the possibly linen or silk content, makes it a great odd jacket. In The Man with the Golden Gun, Moore wears a lightweight sports coat with a large check that is inspired by traditional tweed checks. Instead of tweed it is made in a light, open, plain-weave cloth appropriate for the hot South Asian weather. In The Spy Who Loved Me, Moore wears a cotton sports coat with safari-jacket details in Egypt. In Spectre, Daniel Craig wears an unstructured brown wool, linen and silk blend jacket in Morocco.
Though the right cloth is the key to a proper odd jacket, the details can make an odd jacket special. A true sports coat should have sporty details, such as slanted hacking pockets, patch pockets, bellows pockets, deep vents, a half belt, a throat latch or swelled edges.
Buttons should complement the cloth of the jacket. Tweed jackets should have rustic horn, bone, wood or leather buttons. Lightweight odd jackets should have mother-of-pearl or corozo buttons. Smooth, plain buttons are rarely a good choice on any sports coat. However, changing the buttons on a dressy suit jacket will not make it into a sports coat. Changing the buttons only works on a solid navy jacket, when it can be turned into a blazer.
James Bond wears sports coats when he is not in a formal setting or a business setting but still needs to dress like a sophisticated gentleman. He wears them for social occasions during the day and never at night. Today, sports coats can be worn in less formal business settings and for most social occasions at any time of day, though darker sports coats are better to wear at night. Odd jackets have recently seen a surge in popularity because they allow people to dress up in today’s casual society without worrying people that they will be too dressed up.
Odd jackets can more easily be dressed up or down than a suit can. Most odd jackets need a less formal shirt and tie than a suit needs. Bond usually dresses up his sports coats and often wears the same shirts with his odd jackets that he wears with his suits. These shirts are usually poplin, but Bond sometimes wears less formal shirts like oxford with a tweed jacket. Bond’s shirts have spread or point collars, though many Americans prefer a button-down collar with their sports coats. Bond’s shirts almost always have button cuffs, cocktail cuffs or tab cuffs, though Bond shows in Goldfinger that double cuffs can be appropriate with a more structured odd jacket.
Bond’s ties with his sports coats are often the same as the ties he wears with his suits, but some tend to the less formal side. Bond wears many knitted ties—silk or wool—with his sports coats, which is where knitted ties work best.
Bond sometimes dresses down his odd jackets. In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Bond wears a shirt with a stock collar and a cravat for an old-fashioned look with his tweed jacket. In Diamonds Are Forever he wears polo and polo neck jumpers with his tweeds. In Octopussy he wears a yellow dickey under his tweed jacket. Bond never dresses down his sports coats by wearing a shirt without a tie, though it is more acceptable to wear an open-neck shirt with a sports coat than it is with a business suit.
The trousers should always match the weight of the jacket. With tweed jackets, Bond wears flannel and cavalry twill wool trousers. With lightweight jackets, he wears trousers in tropical wool, gabardine wool or cotton. Cotton trousers can work with odd jackets if the jacket is less structured. This would be corduroy and moleskin for heavier jackets and gabardine and chino for lightweight jackets. The more contrast between the jacket and trousers the less formal the outfit is. However, there needs to be at least enough contrast to easily tell that jacket and trousers are not mismatched suit. Jackets with bolder patterns do not need as much contrast with the trousers.
Shoe choices with odd jackets is more varied than it is with suits. Whilst oxfords are the best choice with suits, derby shoes, slip-ons and boots can all be excellent choices with odd jackets. Bond often takes out his suede shoes and boots to wear with his odd jackets.
Excellent post! I hope to see many more odd jackets in Bond’s future!
I sometimes wear a navy-blue pinstripe single breasted suit jacket, paired with stone coloured chinos. It works well because the jacket/coat is cut for a slim fitting fashionable look, nipped in at the waist (ie not too business-like).
Well done on making this work. It often looks more Spiv than Gentleman.
The checked jacket outfit Dalton wore is perhaps the best of all its tenure as Bond. The fit is great -to my taste-, and he looks comfortable and elegant in it.
It’s certainly an underrated outfit.
It would be easier to judge the fir of Dalton’s jacket if he had bothered to button it…
Odd jackets and sports coats add an air of sophistication to less formal settings. There not as formal as a blazer even can be but they look less intimidating to people who think the moment you put on a suit your too dressed up. People these days are generally too casual, some don’t even wear a suit to a funeral or even an odd jacket.
Good points, Ryan. I know I’m opening a can of worms here but, when I see all the pictured jackets here, I really do feel Craig’s is the worst of the lot (too short, tight, the usual criticisms)although the way it’s worn in the photo is a lot to do with it. Great colour though, which suits him a lot and it’s astart I suppose, however, pictured alongside any of the rest, it’s not really at the races!
Just for fun, let’s rank the odd jackets from best to worst:
1 – Sean Connery’s barleycorn tweed hacking jacket in Goldfinger
2 – George Lazenby’s houndstooth check hacking jacket
3 – the Moonraker sports suit
4 – the grey tweed jacket in A View to a Kill
5 – the tan cotton safari-inspired sports coat in The Spy Who Loved Me
6 – the tweed jacket in Diamonds Are Forever
7 – Dalton’s gun club check sport coat
8 – Craig’s Cucinelli jacket
For the sake of completeness, I would have ranked the plaid sport coat from TMWTGG at 3.5, the other DAF tweed jacket at 6.5, and the blue herringbone from NSNA at 7.5.
Oddly enough I’d agree completely with Dan’s ranking here and insert the brown barleycorn jacket from A View To A Kill and the briefly glimpsed sports coat from the opening of Octopussy somewhere in the mid reaches (5.5 each) for the sake of completeness.
Belated congratulations to Matt for this excellent post and I’d draw attention to 2 other sports coats worn by the Bond actors in roles outside 007 but covered on this forum before; Brosnan in “Noble House” and Moore in “The Saint”. The former wears a beautiful light brown houndstooth hacking jacket with a dark blue over check in the 2nd episode of this mini series and the latter has a terrific dark blue tweed sports coat with grey flecks in the first colour series which, in terms of colour and style would look very current.
The problem with the light brown unstructured jacket in Spectre is there is too much waist suppression and the jacket could be little longer. I don’t mind a slightly short jacket but Craig in Spectre and Skyfall are too short. The material and colour are great.
I know it’s controversial here, but I’d probably rank Craig’s jacket higher – at least ahead of Dalton’s check and Connery’s DAF tweed. The picture used in this post is probably the least flattering imagineable. It comes across much better in the film, where the relaxed cut also contrasts nicely with the more built-up Ford suits.
David,
I had forgotten about the brown barleycorn jacket from AVTAK – it is excellent – I might rank it in the top three, even though I’m not crazy about the tan shirt/yellow tie combo. This hacking jacket might be the softer-shouldered long lost brother of Connery’s iconic GF hacking jacket. The rust sport coat from OP is not bad, but the buttons are clustered too close together and the button stance is a little low for a hacking jacket – I might rank it around 6-6.5.
Bond’shirt with the hacking jacket in Goldfinger has cufflinks. But, it’s true, never again after that. The cocktail cuff in Spectre is a great idea by Craig/Ford/Temime.
Wouldn’t agree on oxfords always being the best choice for suits.
I should clarify that I mean worsted or business suits, though even in other types of suits oxfords are always one of the best choices.
Yes, one of the best choices, definitely, but not always the best.
It wasn’t until I saw the pictures side-by-side here, but I just realized that the Cucinelli jacket ensemble looks like it’s supposed to be Craig’s take on Connery’s Goldfinger barleycorn tweed jacket look. The same as his white dinner jacket with a carnation imitates Connery’s.
An outfit which I don’t think has been cover is Max Zorin’s navy double breasted odd jacket, it’s not really a blazer as it looks like it has regular buttons it really just looks like a standard double breasted suit jacket, but he pairs it with light grey slacks. Be a good future post Matt.
Sartorial improvisation. It’s the secret of genius.
Matt, first thank you for always answer my questions. It is helping me a lot and i am puting together a nice wardrobe in bond style. I would like to know if i could change the linen Summer suit for a linen Summer Odd jacket to be used with open neck shirts (just like bond do in all his linen Summer suits). Because here in Recife is almost impossible to find suits in linen. And as here is very hot, linen cloths and open neck shirts are great during the day .
Sure, that’s a fine idea.
Matt, i have a doubt: i see that bond wear Odd jakets only during the day, because is a more informal outfit. But in hot places like Jamaica, bond wears light Grey suits, that are also a day wear. How should I use an air force blue Odd jacket at night and look like James Bond?
Wear it like Bond wears his navy blazers at night, with grey trousers, a light shirt and dark tie.
The thing that annoys me is about whenever I wear a sports jacket or blazer to a social function. usually Somebody always makes the comment why are you wearing a ‘suit’ or some variation of that, when it’s pretty obvious that i’m wearing contrasting trousers to a sport coat. I recently corrected someone that that I was wearing a sports jacket not a ‘suit’, tan linen at the time and my trousers with darker tobacco brown. Have thing’s gone so far that we can’t tell the difference between a lounge suit and an odd jacket ?. Matt does this happen to yourself at all ? Have people vocabulary’s become that narrow ?
I hear this all the time. I don’t usually correct the person, unless it’s someone I feel should know the difference.
I don’t usually correct people either, but it was a person who I felt was being a bit smart and trying to infer I was over dressed. Usually most people even those with limited knowledge of men’s wear can see I’m wearing a jacket and not a suit. In the end I dress to please myself and be appropriately dressed for the occasion.
Hi Matt, would you be able to suggest a good collection of odd trousers to have in a man’s wardrobe to account for odd jackets, blousons, knitwear etc, and to accommodate the four seasons?
Here are some classics that I find most useful. For cool or cold weather: mid grey and charcoal flannel, fawn cavalry twill. For moderate weather: mid grey, charcoal and tan gabardine. For hot weather: light grey and tan tropical wool.
That’s great, thanks Matt!
Matt,
I have a mid-grey wool jacket that I’m pretty sure was part of a suit, but I don’t have the pants. The only reason I’m even considering wearing it with odd pants is because it has 3 patch pockets. Is this sufficient for the jacket to function as a sports coat, or will it look like an orphan suit jacket?
Thanks.
Hi Jacob,
Whether or not it will work on its own depends on the type of wool. Can you describe it better?
Matt,
Even though it’s wool, it feels silky, and from what I can read from the frayed tag, it says “ultrafine Super 110” and “high twist.”
If it’s very smooth rather than textured, it’s probably better as a suit jacket than on its own.
I am someone with a cool complexion. Which color of an odd jacket do you think Matt would better fit me, brown, dark green, or cream/khaki/tan and what color of trousers would go well with it.
Grey and blue are best on someone with a cool complexion. Browns and tans can work if they are muted with red undertones and not golden undertones.
Can a dark green odd jacket (almost dark bottle green) with dark grey trousers also work?
It could work, but it will look unusual.
Just a question Matt, what qualities do a sports suit need for the jacket to stand on its own as a sports jacket? Can the jacket from Sean Connery’s famous 3 piece suit from Goldfinger be converted/made to a sports coat?
Texture or a bold pattern is important for the jacket of a sports suit to work on its own. The Goldfinger suit has neither of that.
What would go well with a cream lightweight odd jacket with swelled edges and patch pockets?
You could wear it with tan or light grey trousers and a light blue shirt.
Would a pink shirt also work? Also what tie would go well with the light blue and pink shirt each?
I’d wear a dark blue tie with both. Knitted silk would be great.
Sorry for this late question, but what shoe color will go well with a cream lightweight unstructured cotton odd jacket with swelled edges and patch povkets, light blue or pink shirt, dark tie and light grey trousers?
I’d wear medium brown shoes with that.
Can chukka boots work?
Yes, they’re fine with a sports coat.
Than you once again Matt
What’s your opinion Matt on unstructured cotton odd jackets like tan/cream/beige? Also which body types can pull it off well?
I think they are fantastic. They look best of slimmer men because they don’t have the structure to make a figure look better.
Thanks for the info Matt and thankfully I happen to be a slim man
Sorry to ask another question Matt because I guess I can trust you the most in dressing like James Bond. I have cool grey odd jacket in a similar shade to Roger Moore’s cool grey suit in the man with the golden gun. What pair of trousers, shirt and tie could go well with it? Thanks.
I would pair it with charcoal trousers; a white, off-white or light blue shirt; and a dark blue or black tie.
Thank you so much Matt for the immediate reply. I can say that you are my favorite clothing expert especially in dressing like Bond
For all the warm weather sports coats Bond has worn excluding the one’s in Spectre and TSWLM, do they have lining in them, because I heard from someone that the lining can somrtimes take away the purpose of the open-weave. Also what lining would you recommend for a warm-weather sports coat for breathability? For hot, humid weather, the less lining the better. A buggy lining is great for that.
Most of Bond’s jackets have linings because that how English tailors do them. It helps the jackets drape better, which is more important on camera that breathability.
Matt, I have a navy like coat that looks similar to a topcoat but is fitted like a suit and sport jacket, has a long single vent, slanted pockets with no pocket flaps. Do you think this can work as a sports coat and if so what would shirt, trousers and tie would you recommend to pair with it?
So it’s a hip-length coat with a straight-cut front?
Something along the lines of Pierce Brosnan’s suit jackets from hid Bond filmswhish means slightly longer jacket though almost like a hip-length coat with a straight-cut front
It sounds like something that’s more like a casual coat than a sports coat.
What would you recommend to pair well with it
If I wanted to have an almost year round (3 season fabric) brown sport coat, what fabric would you reccomend Matt (besides possibly silk)
I would recommend hopsack worsted.
Acquired a bespoke blazer with a pagoda shoulder? I heard through the grapevine that widening of the shoulder is possible if the bespoke?
Is there any truth to this? The shoulders are a bit tight but do not look distorted.
It is possible that a bespoke jacket could be let out at the shoulder, but there probably won’t be structure to let out. You would likely need a bespoke tailor to do the work, if it is possible. A regular alterations tailor will not be able to do this kind of work.
Matt, I would appreciate your help about an outfit I will be wearing soon for a date in the evening. It’s a medium to light grey Princes of Wales flannel (pattern quite similar to Connery’s suit in FRWL when spying the Russian embassy), rather thick, which I intend to pair with solid navy blue suit trousers. I know solid grey trousers would work much better but the only solid grey trousers I have are way too lightweight and won’t work with the jacket. Plus they are rather slim while the jacket is full cut. So I have to wear the navy trousers which are heavier and cut fuller.
I wondered what kind of shoes, shirt and tie you would pair with this outfit. I thought black oxfords and a white solid shirt since they both have a rather neutral color, but I would welcome any suggestions. Also what color tie would work the best ? I was thinking everything except blue because it can draw the attention to my trousers instead of my face ?
If that may help, I have a rather winter complexion, blue eyes, pale skin, dark brown hair, and tall and slim. I hope that helps !
And I will probably be wearing a navy Chesterfield coat too if the weather is cold. Many thanks in advance !
Black shoes and a white shirt sounds good. I think a blue tie could work well to help draw attention away from the trousers.
What era of Bonds dress sense do you find the most attractive ?
Overall, I think the 1960s is the most attractive, but there are wonderful parts of every era.
Hello Matt, I’d like to ask your opinion, if Fresco is an appropriate fabric for a sports coat. Some menswear forums have said that Fresco is an excellent fabric for a sports coat for the warmer weather because of it’s airy and open weave and its interesting texture. Would you say Fresco is too “suit-like” or crisp for a sports coat or can it appropriate for one?
I think fresco is more of a suit fabric. It works well for a blue blazer, but it’s not quite textured enough to work for a sports coat.
Just to confirm, a Navy Wool Hopsack Blazer in a three season weight would not work with linen trousers or cotton gabardine trousers and a Grey Wool Herringbone Tweed Sport Coat would not work with wool gabardine and corduroy pants, am I right?
The wool hopsack blazer could work fairly well with both. These days three-season-weight jackets are light enough to work for summer trousers. A wool herringbone tweed jacket can pair well with wool gabardine trousers if the wool is heavy enough. Most gabardine today is very lightweight and doesn’t work well with tweed. Whipcord would be a better choice for a similar look. Corduroy trousers go very well with tweed jackets, particularly the heavier kind.
And what about Wool Flannel and Cavalry twill with said hopsack blazer in cold weather? Doable or too much contrast between the two pieces?
I think those can work too. My hopsack blazer meets the same description as yours does, and I find it to be extremely versatile. That said, my serge blazer goes better with these heavier trousers.
I’m trying to decide whether for a cold weather tweed sports coat I would want it in medium grey, oatmeal, or taupe color. I would think taupe (sort of a mix between brown and gray) would be best for every cold weather trouser I would wear. The trousers in question are medium gray, charcoal and dark brown wool flannels, fawn and beige wool cavalry twill, and dark brown, beige, and tan corduroy/moleskin. Let me know what any of you think.
Between a worsted hopsack fabric (light to medium weight) or a wool/linen/silk blend fabric, what would be most versatile and durable as a sport coat for 3-4 season or year round use? (I’m considering adding a medium grey sport coat in the near future, one to last me a long time)
Wool hopsack would be better than something with linen and silk. Linen turns it into a warm-weather jacket, and silk can make it prone to spotting in the rain.
If I wanted a sport coat/odd jacket in a black and white or black and grey in worsted wool, how good/ effective would a pattern in herringbone, houndstooth, shepherd’s check, and/or barleycorn be as a worsted sport coat for 3-4 seasonal wear?
(I would guess that a larger herringbone pattern and the shepherd’s check would be most effective as worsted sport coats, though your input would be much appreciated.)
They can all work as sports coats, but the fabric has to be right with a certain texture so it doesn’t look like a suiting. See HFW’s Worsted Alsport range, which is probably what you’re looking for. It’s good for 3 seasons. https://www.hfwltd.com/collection/41