Somerset’s Grey Pick-and-Pick Suit in From Russia with Love

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Grey-Semi-Solid-Suit

In From Russia With Love, James Bond uses the named David Somerset for his international travel on the Orient Express. For the trip he wears a mid grey suit in Connery Bond’s typical button two cut by Anthony Sinclair. The suit is not solid grey but it’s a light grey and charcoal grey pick-and-pick (also known as sharkskin), which it woven in an even twill weave and alternates the yarns dark and light in both the warp and weft of the cloth. It has hints of blue and brown in it, which are mottled in the grey yarns.

dark-grey-pick-and-pick-sharkskin-weave

The suit coat has a full, draped chest and narrow notched lapels that gently roll down to the low top button. The shoulders are natural with roped sleeve heads. The coat has four-button cuffs, jetted pockets and no vents at the back. The sleek vent-less look may have been chosen for the helicopter chase scene so that the back of the coat wouldn’t be flapping about with all the running around. In the similar and inspirational crop dusting scene in North By Northwest, Cary Grant also wears a non-vented suit.

Grey-Semi-Solid-Suit-2

The trousers have Connery’s typical double forward pleats, side button-tabs and tapered legs with turn-ups. The pale blue poplin shirt is made by Turnbull & Asser and features their classic spread collar, a front placket and two-button turnback cuffs. Connery wears his typical navy blue grenadine tie, which is tied in a four-in-hand knot, and folded white linen pocket square typical of the early Bond film. His shoes are black three-eyelet derbys with a cap-toe design.

Grey-Semi-Solid-Suit-3

When we first see James Bond in this suit he is carrying a black and white herringbone overcoat. All we can see of this coat besides the close-up shot of the cloth is that it’s about knee-length and that is has a fly front, peaked lapels and a breast pocket welt. The fly front means that it is a single-breasted coat, despite having peaked lapels. The James Bond 007 Facebook page posted a behind-the scenes shot of Connery wearing this coat, which confirms the style of the coat that I was able to decipher from the little we see of the coat in the film.

Grey-Semi-Solid-Suit-Herringbone-Overcoat

See the cloth of both the coat and the suit jacket in the image below.

Grey-Semi-Solid-Suit-4

40 COMMENTS

  1. Matt,

    Thanks for covering this suit. This has long been one of my favorites – the prototypical Connery look (minus the double vents). The post was, as they all are, very informative. Keep up the great work. I look forward to further updates. Best, Christian.

  2. Connery is the best dressed Bond by far. His look dates the least (despite the cut) because they put him in timeless colour combinations and didn't make him stand out as fashionable.

    What part is the top picture from? I don't remember him standing up and pointing his PPK at either Red or Tatyana. Admittedly, my memory of the movie is somewhat fuzzy.

  3. I definitely need to watch the movie again…

    By the way, I love the soft look Connery's collars and cuffs have in these movies. Fusing could never look that good.

  4. This is my second favourite Connery suit after the Navy herringbone in Goldfinger. Good work Matt. Can I make a request? How about an appraisal of Red Grant's suit? It seems like he is a less polished shadow of Bond (as many villains are); he drinks red wine with fish and does not look as tidy. I would be interested to see the odd villain (or friend) piece. For instance Kronstein's midnight blue dinner jacket for playing chess…

    David.

  5. I am having a hard time in distinguishing some shades of grey, Matt. Would you call this a dark grey suit, and the pick-and-pick suit in TWINE a medium grey one, or would you consider both to be dark grey ? Or else ? Thanks !

  6. Is there anyway you could do a post on what bond is carrying in his briefcase when he pulls out the ppk? The shot last for around five seconds. It’s the scene where is about to have dinner with grant.

    • What type of watch were you planning to pair the strap with? The one Connery wears is a Rolex ref. 6538 if I’m not mistaken.

  7. Probably the same as connery does. However it does not mean I incorporate my own choices in the straps. An example of that would be the gruen.

  8. Hello Matt, hope you are well. I enjoyed this post and it got me thinking. I like for my collar to reach under my jacket so that the end does not show when it is buttoned up. Of course this is affected by the construction of the collar (I wear a spread collar with 3″ length points and roughly 5″ spread). However I wonder about the impact of the shape of the jacket itself. When buttoned up the jacket creates an “upside-down” isosceles triangle and I imagine that if that is narrower that also helps keep the collar points under the jacket. What are the rules surrounding this triangle, and am I right to say that Connery’s conduit cut suits had a particularly narrow one?

  9. If Holland and Sherry made the original fabric and the weight looks to be about 9 oz., Would you say their gray sharkskin fabric 6420031 or 6420030 both in their Perennial Classics is the closest? Or maybe their respective counterparts in the Target collection?

    • I think Target 7418052 is a better choice for the little bit of extra weight. They have many sharkskins throughout different collections that are worth looking at. Intercity 6021061 and Classic Worsted 6519048 are fantastic choices too.

    • That’s one of the closest. They have a dark grey sharskin in so many different weights, and it’s impossible to know exactly what weight Connery’s suit is. Target is a reliable choice.

  10. Hey Matt, the Target 7418052 for this Sharkskin is out of stock, do you know please the next closest that Holland & Sherry do please? Or another British supplier please?

      • Thank you Matt, will go for this Intercity one then as a kind all seasons suit – out of interest what’s the reason you’d put this Intercity 6021060 as more accurate than say the Cape Horn, 6621022, which is 11Oz, is it due to the 1% cashmere? (I imagine this means it’s also not as hard-hard-wearing over time).

      • From Cape Horn, 6621021 is probably a little closer. I don’t find that cashmere has any benefits in a suit, only downsides. 1% cashmere probably won’t have much of an effect, though.

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