In honour of Sean Connery’s 84th birthday earlier this week, let’s look at a glen check suit he wears in Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie that’s quite befitting for James Bond. The lightweight black and white glen check cloth is in a hopsack weave, and it’s very similar to the cloth of the glen check suit that Connery wears in Goldfinger. However, the two-and-two—or puppytooth—section of the glen check has a smaller repeat. The cloth is approximated in the diagram below.
The button three suit jacket has narrow lapels that roll through the top button but not down to the middle button. The jacket is cut with a full chest, straight shoulders on the natural shoulder line and roped sleeve heads, and it has no vent, three buttons on the cuffs and pockets with very narrow flaps. The buttons are grey horn, as opposed to the grey plastic buttons that are on Sean Connery’s worsted Anthony Sinclair suits for Bond. Not much of the trousers can be seen, but they most likely follow the other suit trousers in the film and have double forward pleats, turn-ups and button-tab side-adjusters.
The white shirt—it looks cream, but I suspect that’s due to the way the film is treated because all of the colours have been warmed—has a spread collar, rounded single-button cuffs and a placket stitched close to the centre like on Frank Foster’s shirts. The narrow black repp tie—which isn’t as interesting as the textured dark grenadine ties Sean Connery often wears as Bond—anchors the overall light-coloured outfit by giving the outfit the necessary contrast to flatter Connery’s cool, high-contrast complexion. Because the tie is so narrow, it’s difficult to tell if the symmetrical knot he is using a Windsor or Half Windsor knot. Connery secures his tie with a tie bar that is mostly obscured by his jacket, slightly angled downward and placed about an inch below the jacket’s top button.
This is my favourite “Marnie suit” – very much in line with the look of the early Bond movies. Thanks for pointing out that it’s in fact a glencheck pattern – I always thought it was sharkskin.
Matt, one question: While dealing all the time with the suits of Bond and Hitchcock movies, I had to think of another outfit which appeared in a spy movie: The suit James Mason was wearing during his first scene in “North by Northwest” (as Vandam). Perhaps you could do a post covering that? I thought so because you have already examined Cary Grant’s NBNW suit.
And there’s even a slight connection between this blog and Mason because he was approached by Broccoli and Saltzman to play the part of James Bond in Dr. No. In fact, he was one the first actors which came to their mind.
It’s quite late to do so, but I warmly second that suggestion about covering Mason’s three-piece suit in North by Northwest !
I think this is fantastic. I prefer what looks to me like this slightly darker grey to the Goldfinger suit. Connery looks fantastic at this time period.
Interesting movie, if not the misunderstood masterpiece some try hard to make it out to be. I believe Hitchcock’s last, stylized movie. Hollywood films would change dramatically over the next few years, and even Bond and the Master of Suspense would be pushed hard to keep up.
Is from Anthony Sinclair?
I think not,but which is the tailor of “Marnie suit”?
It doesn’t look like Sinclair, but it’s not so much different either. Since it’s an American film I would assume the tailor is American.
In Hollywood?
Maybe Quintino or Schmitt & Galluppo (i don’t think Sy Devore).
Who know !
The credits on the IMBd site state that James Linn supervised the mens costumes. In comparison, Edith Head supervised the wardrobe for the female stars, Tippi Hedren and Dianne Baker.
I think the creator of Connery’s wardrobe is lost to time. It is most likely that it was done in-house at the studio.
Mark E. Seitelman
http://www.seitelman.com
I can’t tell, does the lapel lack a buttonhole like his other suits (and many men’s suits from this period)?
Right. Just like all of the other suits in Marnie, this one also lacks a buttonhole in the lapel.
Matt is this Glen check darker than the Goldfinger three piece Glen check ? Looks about the same tone. Don Draper wore similar Glen checks in the early seasons of Mad Men.
It’s slightly darker than the three-piece suit in Goldfinger.