Original article published 19 August 2011
I am in the process of rewriting and republishing old articles about James Bond’s outfits that need a refresh and expansion. All former comments are preserved below.
In Die Another Day, James Bond asks his hotel in Hong Kong to send up his tailor, and he receives a spread of Brioni-branded suits, shirts and ties. A tan suit and a dark blue striped shirt are laid out on the bed, given pride of place amongst the clothes in the scene. Bond wears these clothes a few scenes later in Cuba. Costume designer Lindy Hemming created one of Bond’s most relaxed tailored outfits of the entire series, perfectly suited to Cuba’s tropical weather and casual setting. It’s a tailored resort outfit that is still stylish and easy to wear two decades later.
The dark tan suit from Brioni is made of medium-weight linen, likely an Italian linen since it lacks the crispness of Irish linen. It’s woven in a plain weave so it breathes well for comfort in Cuba’s hot, humid weather. The cloth could make the suit’s jacket and trousers work just as well for separates as they do together.
The jacket has Brioni’s classic Roman cut with straight padded shoulders and roped sleeve heads, a clean chest and a longer overall length. This suit shows how the cloth is more important than cut when it comes to a suit’s formality. While fashion since the 2010s has favoured removing structure from informal tailoring, this suit shows how structure can still be stylish and attractive when dressing down. Pierce Brosnan’s figure benefits from the jacket’s structured shoulders, and the linen cloth keeps the suit’s appearance relaxed and informal. The shoulders are built up, but the jacket’s construction is overall soft and light, at least compared to a traditional English jacket.
This is one of Pierce Brosnan’s few button-two suits in the Bond films. While button-three suits were still in fashion in 2002, they were strongly associated with the 1990s, and the button-two jacket was fresh once again. Bond still wore button-three suits in the new millennium, mixing up the styles for Die Another Day. This jacket places the buttons in a medium stance in relation to Brosnan’s body, but it’s high in relation to the jacket’s overall length, as buttoning points were moving up at the time. He wears the jacket open for a more relaxed look and to stay cooler in the heat. The jacket is detailed with double vents at the rear, sporty swelled edges, straight flapped pockets and four buttons on the cuffs. The buttons are tan corozo nut.
The suit trousers have a darted front and medium-width tapered legs finished with turn-ups. The trousers have belt loops. The suit overall has a classic cut and fit, but the sleeves are too long. Some people have the sleeves made longer on a linen jacket to account for the length being taken up when the sleeves wrinkle, but wrinkling causes very little change in length.
Bond encounters a sprinkler system and the suit gets drenched. Some linen shrinks when wet, which is what happens to this suit. Both the jacket and trousers are noticeably shorter after Bond has been soaked, giving the suit a cropped 2010s look that unintentionally foreshadows what Bond would be wearing a decade later. However, the shrinkage causes the formerly too-long sleeves to be the perfect length.
This outfit provides a new interpretation of Pierce Brosnan’s pale linen suit and dark blue shirt from the previous film, The World Is Not Enough. The shirt from Brioni is dark blue linen with stripes in what may be white and light brown. Dark shirts should be avoided with most suits, especially if it’s a shirt to wear with a tie, but here the dark shirt is effective because both the suit and shirt are appropriately casual. The shirt has a one-piece collar, which appears to grow out from the facings inside the shirt. Unlike a camp collar, this collar stands up and folds over itself, so it plays well with a jacket. The collar points sit inside the jacket on the left side and outside the jacket on the right side consistently throughout the scene, which looks like a mistake. It may have been a mistake when they started filming, but they may have had to stick with the mistake for continuity purposes. The shirt also has a plain front and long sleeves with button cuffs.
Brosnan’s shoes are tan suede hand-sewn Venetian slip-ons (loafers) with perforated quarters. Venetian silp-ons have an apron toe with a plain vamp. Brosnan’s are made by Stemar in Italy, and they’re a better choice for Cuba’s hot weather than Brosnan’s usual heavy Church’s shoes. With their lightweight sole and perforated quarters, they are breathable and keep the wearer cool. A pair of these shoes signed by Pierce Brosnan was sold at Heritage Auctions on the 23rd of August in 2014. Bond wears no socks with these shoes, which are designed to be worn this way.
The belt is dark brown, complementing the outfit without needing to match the shoes.
Now Pay Attention
| SUIT | |
| Tailor | Brioni |
| Fabric | Tan linen |
| JACKET | |
| Front buttons | 2, medum-high stance |
| Lapels | Medium notch with swelled edges |
| Shoulder | Straight with roped sleeve heads |
| Breast pocket | Welt |
| Hip pockets | Straight with flaps |
| Vents | 2 |
| Cuff buttons | 4 |
| TROUSERS | |
| Front | Darted |
| Support | Dark brown belt |
| Front/side pockets | Unseen |
| Rise | Medium |
| Leg | Tapered medium width |
| Hem | Turn-ups |
| SHIRT | |
| Shirtmaker | Brioni |
| Fabric | Dark blue with stripes |
| Collar | One-piece |
| Cuff | Button |
| Front | Plain |
| SHOES | |
| Shoemaker | Stemar |
| Style | Tan Venetian loafers |
Is this the one that shrunk so much with all the water in some of the action scenes that the trousers almost become capri pants in some of the final outdoor scenes? :)
Still like it, though, the screengrab with it hanging open isn't the most flattering in terms of fit.
It's a great outfit. That suit would cut it today, only the turn-ups mark it out as not being 'of the current fashion', whatever that is this week. I've got a few vintage short-sleeved Hawaiian shirts with camp collars, but I don't think I've ever owned a long sleeved shirt with such a collar.
Daniel Craig wore turn-ups on all his suits in Quantum of Solace, so it's not something that dates the suits.
The suit is very elegant and I prefer the two button style to the 3 button but what ruins it for me is the shirt. Brosnan was used to the open collar shirt with his suits and it generally worked well but not so much here.
This type of shirt, with its camp collar, works better in a casual environment. I never cared for this mixing of casual and formal items of clothing and this "look" brings Brosnan's outfit perilously close to the dreaded Timothy Dalton territory!
I think turn ups have only just been revived in the last few years Matt, after their long run in the 80s and 90s. 1 out of 20 pairs of trousers available are still simple hemmed trousers.
I don't know when turn-ups were popular or not, but Brosnan and Craig wore turn-ups on their suits in all their Bond movies, whether the trousers had pleats or plain fronts. Connery wore turn-ups on all his suits except for the suits in Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever.
The jacket is too long, in my humble opinion, and it destroys the general very good look.
Looks like there’s a replica available: http://www.baronboutique.com/die_another_day_linen_suit.html
A listing that claims to be a stunt copy of Brosnan’s jacket has recently appeared on ebay. I don’t know if it’s the genuine article though.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/James-Bonds-Brioni-Linen-Blazer-from-Die-Another-Day-44L-45L-225-p2p-/140966705968
I can believe it’s genuine.
Matt, is there any other instance in which Bond wears tan or beige shoes? I don’t seem to remember any.
Longer jacket length and sleeve, mean the context that bond was running from MI6 and no time to prepare making his well-fitted suit I guess.
By the context and fitting, I thought bond got a ready-to-wear suit in the movie, even actually the suit was tailored.
In the context of the film, Bond has just gotten a few tailor-made suits in Hong Kong. While it’s not realistic, we’re supposed to believe that Bond has been perfectly tailored by his Hong Kong tailor. Any imperfections we see in the fit were not intended to be viewed that way. This suit is supposed to fit the same way the suits he wears later in the film fit, but Brosnan’s fluctuating weight accounts for the different fits.
You’re right, I DO need to buy that dark tan linen suit I’ve been considering the last three years.
Hawes and Curtis offer linen shirts with very similar one-piece collars as this and I’ve purchased two. I have to say that they look great, however the fabric itself if quite rough on the skin. It does drape nicely however, or as nicely as any linen could. I’ve had cheap thin linen that’s very soft but feels as though it’ll disintegrate if you look at it hard enough.
Good catch about that shrunken suit ! It does look pretty bad. I wonder if it was the same suit used, going through some water for a few seconds doesn’t seem that bad for linen, is it ? I really like the tan shade and it’s my favorite casual suit from the Broz era. I prefer the TWINE French blue shirt with it though, and the shoes used ruin the look a little : probably the least Bondian shoes imo.
The chukka boots would have been perfect. They are such versatile shoes. I have several pairs, and they can go with anything from jeans, chinos, a tshirt and a blouson, to a sports coat and flannels, cavalry twill trousers, linen trousers… they even work with suits as long as they are not of the dark worsted variety. I would wear dark to mid brown chukka boots with a mid grey flannel suit, grey or brown tweed suit, linen suit, etc.
Not a bad look but to me this is just an inferior version of the TWINE suit. I much prefer the lighter shade of linen and the (literally, in both cases!) saturated blue shirt. The suede mocs and brown belt here are better than brown monks and black belt in TWINE. I also quite liked the cream linen suit in GE. I have worn similar rigs myself (easy in Florida) and this sort of kit for is perfect for a summer outdoor / beach wedding.
The belt in TWINE was definitely brown.
It’s a dark brown that looks black in many shots. It’s too dark for the outfit.
Could the TWINE belt have been a dark burgundy? I know darker shades of burgundy can appear black in darker lighting.
The shrunken suit is extremely amusing considering what happened in men’s fashion following the film’s release.
From behind you could be forgiven for thinking it was the same cut as the corduroy suit from No Time to Die!
You can definitely picture Craig wearing it ! Still would have looked better than that awful undersized Cucinelli jacket…
I had never realised this suit was on the bed in Hong Kong… agree that jacket and sleeves too long but otherwise it’s a great look.