Grey isn’t a very popular colour for linen, which is often found in its natural ecru colour. When not natural, other earth tones, white and blue are still far more popular than grey linen. But this grey linen suit made by Brioni is quite appropriate for Bond’s arrival in the Bahamas in Casino Royale. The suit coat has a button three front, four buttons on the cuffs, a single vent and flapped pockets, cut with straight shoulders and roped sleeve heads.
The unusual thing about this suit is the peaked lapels, which is a first for Bond on a single-breasted suit. Peaked lapels typically are not found on single-breasted coats outside of formalwear. Another name for peaked lapels is double-breasted lapels, and that’s because they are the standard for double-breasted coats. The trousers have a darted front and turn-ups. The legs are also full-cut, which has many benefits with linen. Because linen has the tendency to wrinkle more than any other cloth, a tighter leg will only cause more wrinkles. A full leg also wears cooler than a tight leg.
Bond’s sport shirt is white with fancy self patterns, alternating track stripes with large and small chains on a white open plain-weave. The shirt has shorts sleeves, shoulder straps, a placket front, back darts and a large, two-button spread collar. Bond wears dark brown suede two-eyelet derby shoes and commits the faux pas of wearing a black leather belt with brown shoes. The belt should always match the shoes. The sunglasses are from Persol, model 2244.
I had assumed the maker was Brioni like every other suit of his in this movie. It would tend to explain the long rise, full cut trousers. Certainly, the shoulders are strong enough to be theirs.
While I realize the reason is to keep cool, the fact that he dumps off his suit coat almost immediately and is wearing a short sleeved shirt underneath looks a little sloppy. They could have at least had him in long sleeves that were rolled up by the time he got to the hotel.
Then again, it serves the purpose of having him confused for the staff by that Goldfinger-lookalike. I’m almost certain he was a nod to the character… the accent, choice of attire and vehicle colour…
I don’t get the impression of Brioni with this suit. The biggest reason I question if this is Brioni is that the breast pocket is straight across and Brioni breast pockets always have a slant. But it’s not out of the question that it’s Brioni. The blue linen suit in the black and white scene really doesn’t look like Brioni.
Will you post a blog about the blue linen suit bond wears in the bathroom fight scene?
Actually the goldfinger look alike you stated, in my opinion, looks alot like Zarkofsky from Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough…just saying.
Zukovsky, you mean?
The reason I say Auric Goldfinger is because of his clothing having accents of gold and the gold coloured SUV which Bond uses as a distraction.
I never really got the idea of lined linen jackets. As long as the jacket is not unlined, linen is useless.
Not really, it matters what the lining is. If it’s viscose or Rayon then it breathes very well (Hawaiian shirts are made from Rayon) and helps with the drape too. Half or quarter-lined is an option for summer.
Hi all,
I agree that it looks sloppy. I remember reading a interview with Linda (Lindy) Hemming who was responsible for the clothing in CR in which she stated that Bond had not quite gotten the hang of how to dress yet. This was said to fit in with the reboot and Bond getting his 00-status and so on. For example, Vesper getting Bond his first proper evening wear. This may be a reason to why he is dressed in this questionable attire. A consequence may also be that the beginning of CR may not be as good as other parts of the canon when imitating Bonds style. But, of course, if you like it you like it.
Nice, cool look. The black with brown is either sloppy if unintentional or just dumb if intentional – the idea that a 38 year old man can put together this obviously expensive and climate-proper outfit, but mix black with brown because “he isn’t the Bond we know” is a dumb marketing hook that detracts from the excellent script and movie that Casino Royale is. The jacket looks vaguely ill-fitting but that is a perfectionist’s complaint. Nevertheless, the ensemble is nicely elegant, quite perfect, even overdressed, for The One and Only Ocean Club. I find no problem with the short-sleeves in this one instance – it looks good, and, having just returned from the Ocean Club not long ago, I didn’t see anyone wearing long sleeves (or jackets) given the climate. Another nice outfit from Casino Royale.
Perhaps Bond was trying to match his belt strap with his Omega sea master planet ocean watch strap being that it too is also black. If that was the case he should’ve worn black derby’s instead. Or just went with a brown belt. I agree, the belt should’ve matched.
Jacket is rather well made, but chosen exactly one number too big – notice the misaligned cuffs and shoulders. It’s definitelly a hint to audience, as is a short sleeve shirt and belt/shoes mismatch.
The black with brown is an unfortunate oversight. He does it again in Quantum of Solace.
Apart from this faux pas, I like this ensemble– linen suits are a great way to remain cool in a warmer climate. Quite appropriate for the Bahamas. I’m not sure who made the suit, the shoulders do suggest Brioni, but it’s really anyone’s guess. I do remember reading somewhere that he wears a Diesel shirt here, but don’t take my word for it!
Overall I am fond of most of the clothes in Casino Royale.
It is a mystery why Brosnan did the same mistake in The World wearing black with brown. It may be possible that Craig wanted to match his black rubber strap with the belt, but it seems rather far fetched.
Maybe it’s just me, but even though the trousers sit at the natural waist – as they should – the trouser legs look particularly ill-fitting.
It just has the look of something that could have been pulled off the rack at any half-decent retailer.
-Kurt
The trousers may look ill fitting because of how long they are as opposed to the full cut. The large amount of break looks bad and smacks of buying pre-hemmed suit separates in the same inseam as one wears on their jeans. It’s a mistake many young people make when buying an inexpensive suit for the first time.
In addition to my previous comment:
Peaked lapels on SB suits were quite popular in the 1970’s. There has been a bit of a resurgence in the style recently; I dare say this is an example of it.
Regardless, it looks almost as if these peaked lapels were made by filling in the gorge from a notch lapel template, for they sit ridiculously high up.
Case in point: Had this jacket been made with notched lapels, the gorge would have been rather high up, but tastefully fashionable. On the other hand, the same gorge height combined with the peaked lapels creates an upward visual line that should be balanced with a slightly lower gorge height.
Mind you, I’m no fan of low gorges – and I also happen to like SB’s with peaked lapels – but these lapels are a bit too edgy to be tasteful.
-Kurt
The suit jacket does not fit at all. It’s too big on the shoulders, long n the sleeves and full in the chest. The trousers look good to me even with the full break. Short sleeves, not a fan especially this particularly with the shoulder pieces on and the awful pattern. Obviously black and brown goes with out saying. Love the shoes. They look like church’s Chetwynd in suede. I’m guessing church’s but probably john lobb as they provided the black lace-ups
The shoulders fit fine, they are just a wider style. Church’s was not involved with Casino Royale, and they didn’t make any derby shoes in this style. The John Lobb Tamar, which was made at that time, is the closest to these shoes.
I can’t see up close enough to know if the shoes are an oxford or derby style lace.
Do you have a link to a close-up of the shoe you suggested previously, the Tamar?
I replaced the last image with one that better shoes that the shoes are derbies. Actually, if the John Lobb Sandon was made at that time, it would be a better match with its more chiselled toe.
Is it the one and only time Bond wore a single-breasted, peaked lapels suit ? I mean, excluding dinner suits and morning wear outfits.
It’s the first one. Bond wear be wearing another in Spectre.
So it occurs to me after having read your recent article on what the literary Bond wore that this outfit is as close as the screen version ever gets — in that he wears a short-sleeve shirt with a suit. Has anyone ever drawn this connection? From the sound of it, this choice was probably more just to reflect the climate, or to somehow connote Bond as not being on top of his game yet, but the fact that this was an unfashionable quirk that Fleming himself had that he passed onto his Bond makes me wonder if this wasn’t perhaps a subtle nod to the literary Bond. Casino Royale was certainly packed with other references.
The linen suit in the pre-title sequence is more like what Fleming’s Bond wore because it’s navy. You can see it here: https://www.bondsuits.com/navy-linen-suit/
There are a few outfits throughout the series that come a bit closer to Fleming, though Bond wears proper shirts with them.
Dear Matt
Is it usual to cut the sleeves of a linen suit coat a little longer, to make allowance for the inevitable creasing?
Also, would tailoring the coat to fit closely to the body be a mistake, as I imagine the general rule with linen is to cut the coat a little looser to wear cooler? I wear my coats buttoned and prefer a closer fit, with a slight flair to the skirt, to accentuate a slim waist. Is this silhouette considered inappropriate with linen?
There’s no need to make the sleeves longer. Creasing will have a negligible effect on sleeve length. The sleeves on this suit jacket are too long regardless.
A close fit is not inappropriate, but a suit with a bit of wiggle room will feel cooler since it’s not right up against your body. It’s up to what you feel most comfortable in. Trousers don’t need to be as wide as what Daniel Craig is wearing here to have the same effect, but they shouldn’t be as narrow as the Skyfall trousers to be as cool as they could possibly be.
Dear Matt
I believe, in the olden days, woollen flannel was considered a cool fabric for summer suiting. Cricket whites are still referred to as “flannels” today, and long flannel trousers were worn by tennis players in the 1930s, such as Fred Perry.
I imagine linen is the coolest to wear, but I would be interested to know if you would consider woollen flannel a cool fabric? Personally, I find it very light, and not good for winter wear.
Woolen flannel is certainly not a cool fabric because air not so much passes through the dense nap. All of my woolen flannel is very heavy, so I don’t have any that would be appropriate for summer. It’s excellent for winter when it’s in a heavier weight of 13-16 oz. In lighter weights, woolen flannel is not particularly sturdy. Even the white flannels of the 1930s were heavy by today’s standards. It’s generally not a light cloth. Worsted flannel can more often be found in lighter weights, and it holds up much better.
I think the idea with flannel as a summer cloth is two fold. Firstly, English summers are often cool – that’s why cricketers wear woolen jumpers, after all. Second, I understand that the flannel cloth is supposed to wick sweat away, giving the wearer the feeling that he isn’t as hot as perhaps he is. That said, I can’t imagine wanting to wear flannel, as opposed to lighter cloths, in summer.
Personally, although I like linen in the summer, I tend to think that a light wool with a more open weave is often cooler.
Is the shirt here linen as well? It looks like it to my eye…
What company is the white shirt?
The shirt was made by a costumer especially for the film. It is not from a company.
Interesting. I surprisingly like that shirt and was wondering for the longest time. I assume they made the similar shirt for the beginning of the film.
Matt , do you have experience with Cotton Linen blend suits ? What are their advantages / Disadvantages ?
And where can l find one ?
Holland And Sherry doesn’t carry the Fabric , and Anderson and Sheppard don’t make suits in this fabric either. They all either stock pure linen or linen-wool or linen-silk.
I have some cotton/linen blend trousers, and they are softer and wrinkle less than pure linen. Cotton wears more quickly than linen, and I don’t recommend getting a suit made of it. Pure linen and linen/silk are superior.
Thank you , Matt. What brand are your trousers ?
Mine are Bloomingdales’ brand.
Matt , l found this Linen Cotton blend Suit from Perry Ellis
https://www.perryellis.com/big-tall-tan-linen-twill-suit/4ahj4650_270.html?cgid=pelinenshop
Does it look good quality to you ?
Also , are the trousers of a good enough rise and fit to be worn with Braces , or are they too low ? I understand that they are flat front unlike my favored double forward pleated trousers , but since it’s the only one l can find , l am willing to compromise.
No, it’s not good quality. Cotton doesn’t wear as well as most other common suitings, so it’s not common to find it.