James Bond wears a navy peacoat for the second time in the series in Skyfall, after first wearing a peacoat in the opening scene of Casino Royale. It’s surprising that Bond never wore a peacoat (also called a pea coat or p coat) before Daniel Craig took over since it’s a natural choice of casual coats for a naval man. The peacoat has six buttons on the front but Bond only fastens the middle button, it would appear because the coat is too tight to fasten the other buttons. Bond’s peacoat deviates from tradition with peak lapels rather than being able to button to the neck. There are four pockets on the front: two slash pockets on the chest and two horizontal flap pockets on the hips. Behind the collar and underneath the pocket flaps the coat is trimmed with brown leather. And rather than having the typical black plastic peacoat buttons with anchors this coat has dark brown horn buttons, which are more civilian and more elegant.
Underneath the peacoat Bond wears a white shirt with a semi-spread collar, plain front and single-button cuffs with rounded corners. The back is darted for a closer fit. The black silk tie has a texture woven with floats that somewhat mimics the look of a grenadine garza fina silk. Over the shirt and tie Bond wears a black wool V-neck jumper. Bond folds back the cuff of the jumper’s sleeve to elegantly reveal a little bit of white shirt cuff. Bond has never worn a tie with a casual outfit before, and he typically wears an open-neck shirt under his jumpers. The jumper over a tie is a very school-boy look and it appears that costume designer Jany Temime brought that look over from her work on the Harry Potter films. The shirt’s collar points sit under the jumper on one side and pop out on the other. The V is a bit too shallow to wear with a tie, since most of it is obscured. The jumper’s collar is almost like a deep crew neck rather than a V-neck. A shirt without a tie would have worked better with this jumper.
The flat-front wool trousers are in a black and light grey sharkskin weave. They are cut with a long rise to the waist and have many Savile Row-type details, like an extended waistband with a hook closure, button-tab waist adjusters, a coin pocket on the front under the waistband, and only one rear button-through pocket on the right. The black 2-eyelet chukka boots are the Crockett & Jones Tetbury model. He also wears black unlined leather gloves.
Thanks to the Bond collectors at ajb007.co.uk, the sources for all these items have been identified. The peacoat is from Billy Reid, the shirt and tie are from COS, the jumper is from John Smedley, the trousers are from Acne and the gloves are from Dents.
A great look, combining Bond’s “expected look”, with today’s fashion. And the v-neck sweater look is very “in”, so it may not just a remnant of Harry Potter. I have copied this look this past winter (such as it is in LA), and received many compliments.
I’m not certain where the schoolboy comment came from either, Matt! Plenty of grown men wear ties with v-neck jumpers.
Without a jacket it tends to be a look I associate with school boys or security guards (the ones in the building I work in wear exactly the same outfit during the winter).
I have liked this outfit since I saw the film at my local cinema. I tried to emulate it but in navy with a knitted tie and I love it although it made me feel I somewhat looked like a British cop, a ‘bobby’ which is – no coincidence – the name of the Smedley v-neck! Your comparison with security guards thus makes perfect sense!
Well then, I guess I’m a schoolboy or a security guard.
But if Bond wearing a tie when dressing down inspires more people to wear ties in any setting I’m happy about that.
Honestly, I’m glad if anything gets people to wear ties or coats these days, even Daniel Craig’s too-tight suits.
I can understand the security guard and schoolboy associations, but the shirt, tie and v-neck sweater combination made think of the British military. The British armed forces seem fond of incorporating sweaters into their uniforms. As Bond is a navy man, this was one of my favourite looks for him in the film.
I actually think the purpose of this outfit was to function as a disguise at the airport because he dons the hat to look like a driver. In other words, the look of a uniform (school boy/security guard) was created intentionally so that Bond would blend into the background.
Ah! I hadn’t thought of that. May be something worth noting in the article.
This is a very nice looking outfit and one that will not look dated for some time to come, unlike some of the looks Roger Moore sported, or even Pierce Brosnan. I like V-neck sweaters myself, I have several, including a Smedley. Its a good look for Bond.
I’m okay with the look of a sweater and pea coat with a tie. It is indeed military/naval looking and modern, yet not as overdone as his casual attire in the last two movies.
Other colours would have been more flattering besides black. All three of the suits in this film are grey, which is no mistake — they go well with his hair and complexion, even if the fit left something to be desired. Then again, black and dark navy do work well for the purpose of blending into the background at night. If this was Bond’s intention, he succeeded.
Matt, I’m curious where you got the information on the unseen details of this outfit! I wouldn’t quite call it a spread collar though, seems like something between forward point and medium spread.
In addition to the three grey suits, Bond also wears a navy suit at the end of the film.
It’s actually a very dark charcoal, so yet another grey suit.
You are right, Matt. I just checked on my blu-ray copy, which I hadn’t watched yet. I swear it looked like a dark navy back in the theatre. The colour must have been off.
Well, the suit was hardly there in the film, and when the colour is so dark it’s not easy to tell. In Bond on Set there is no hint of navy at all.
Hi In From Russia With Love Connery takes a speed boat and dons a pea coat and cap he finds on board to disguise himself.
That’s a single-breasted coat, so it’s not a pea coat.
It’s a little odd that the shirt and tie were provided by a different outfitter when Ford provided the rest and in a differing style too. I like v necks also and have a couple of Smedley’s but, for me, they work better without a tie. Regarding John Smedley, I think (but of course this is difficult to prove conclusively) that they may have been the providers of the polo/roll necks that Moore wore in his movies as I have had some of these in both merino wool and cotton and their overall appearance is very similar. I always liked them for their quality as the roll neck would stay tight wash after wash but their wool versions, in recent years, don’t do this so well anymore. Smedley’s told me they had changed the wool used in their polo/roll necks to a finer knit and the equipment in the production was different which resulted in a sloppier fitting neck. Anyway, their other sweaters are still excellent.
PS, I find it amusing the way other contributors are able to declare with such authority what will or will not look dated for the future.
Nice post-script, David.
Okay… I can’t tell if I missed the bit at the end or if Matt edited the article. Either way I feel a little dumb for asking where he got the info on this outfit now.
That’s okay Jovan. That bit has been there since the article went up. The people at ajb007.co.uk are dedicated collectors, though the source of the clothing is less important to me than the style itself.
So it was! Ah geez. :D
Yes, I like this outfit, and will probably emulate it for work this Friday. Sadly enough, I work in a very casual environment, so even this set will stand out as somewhat overdressed.
Interesting to see that everybody agree about that outfit. I must admit this one doesn’t make me dream at all. It’s way too trendy for me, Bond dresses like a student. Or even worse : like the new Q… I just like the idea of wearing shirt+tie+jumper, like Craig did in some TV shows, but the slim black tie, the small and fashion shirt collar and the trousers that looked like a second skin… Not for me !
The collar points look normal in length to me. And as discussed above, the point was to look like a limo driver.
You got a point there, I forgot the “driver look” that was intended. But in that case, I think he could have worn a dark double-breasted suit… like some driver in Casino Royale. In that case, since he’s supposed to be a driver, even a black DB suit. Much more stylish I think !
This, is a very neat, subdued rig, and Bond was probably the best dressed driver in Shanghai that night. Props to Matt for calling it a jumper rather than a sweater. Jumper is an old RN term for the woollen pullover tunics issued to ratings. Just one quibble:- Bond has his shirt cuffs buttoned under the sweater cuffs of the “Bobby” jumper. (He does the same thing in GOLDENEYE, if memory serves.) I can’t see the point of this, besides proving that he can afford a long sleeved shirt. The Dents gloves were well chosen. I’ve owned 2-3 pairs, and the leather they use ages beautifully.
Mark, I don’t understand what you mean. Why wouldn’t he have his shirt cuffs buttoned? What does this have to do with showing that it’s a long sleeved shirt?
A sweater cuff is designed to seal onto the wrist to keep cold air out. A buttoned shirt cuff underneath defeats this purpose, and requires Bond to sweep back both cuffs to view his watch. It just seems neater and simpler to fold back the shirt cuffs before donning the jumper.
I have never seen anyone fold back their shirt cuffs underneath a sweater before. Showing shirt cuff, especially wearing a tie, looks nice.
Considering the eventuality (…) of buying these trousers, I checked the Acne website. The trousers seem to have a very low rise, regarding the pictures of the item and of the mannequin. Are you shure they have a long rise, Matt ? After all, we barely see them in the movie.
Based on the measurements they give the rise is longer than today’s typical rise. It’s not long for the tall models, but it should be long enough to sit up at Daniel Craig’s waist. There’s no way to see how they sit on Daniel Craig’s body since the top of the trousers is covered by the jumper.
I’ve been wanting to replicate this look events on campus or nights out . I have the sweater, the trousers, the tie, the shirt, which are all things very easy to come by and 85% in my wardrobe already, but I’m stuck with the jacket. I’ve been on the search for a good jacket to cover the winter months, and of course a well-tailored navy blue pea coat has drawn my attention as my Duffle Coat from last year is unlined and the winter in the city was pretty brutal. Is the pea coat bond is wearing really Navy? I always thought it was a deep charcoal, but likely from the lighting. My more casual attire during Winter has more color in it than here, so if I could knock out two birds with one stone by rocking a deep navy Pea Coat with this look, that’d be awesome. If not, I was going to buy a cheaper Zara trench coat in black or charcoal for my own variation the look. Any advice would be appreciated!!
Yes, Bond’s pea coat is indeed navy.
Matt do you think the navy pea coat clashes with the black jumper and black tie? Or as it’s a casual outfit it’s not so bad?
They clash, but I think that outerwear doesn’t need to perfectly coordinate with what’s underneath.