Original article published 27 October 2010
I am in the process of rewriting and republishing old articles about James Bond’s outfits that are in need of a refresh and expansion. All former comments are preserved below.
For country pursuits, none of James Bond’s outfits are as iconic as the tweed hacking jacket and heavy cavalry twill trousers from Anthony Sinclair that Sean Connery wears in Goldfinger as he tails the titular villain’s Rolls-Royce through the Swiss Alps in a gadget-laden silver birch Aston Martin DB5. Connery’s cool and relaxed portrayal of James Bond while driving the perfect car in a beautiful setting contributes to this being one of the seminal looks of the Bond series.
This outfit did not originate with Goldfinger or even with James Bond. Like with most of the tailoring in Goldfinger, it was initially made for Sean Connery’s wardrobe as Anthony Richmond in Woman of Straw, likely with plans to reuse it for Goldfinger. The hacking jacket and cavalry twill trousers are traditional British country garments, which fit in perfectly with Woman of Straw‘s mainly British countryside setting. The brown tones throughout the outfit that reflect the rustic surroundings are an essential part of the classic country look. In Woman of Straw he wears the jacket and trousers with the same beige waistcoat he wears with his brown houndstooth suit at the office in Goldfinger. The heavy waistcoat is likewise a country item, but when combined with the hacking jacket the whole look is far more anachronistic and stodgy. For Goldfinger the omission of the waistcoat updates the look considerably.
The jacket is made of tweed in a fine brown and beige barleycorn weave, in a medium-heavy weight (for tweed) between 14 and 18 ounces. Though Connery often wears lightweight suits in his Bond films, this is one of his heavier outfits, well-suited to both the settings and weather at the golf club in England and across the Swiss Alps. The tweed’s small and simple pattern and muted colour scheme give this jacket a more modern look than the average tweed, making it particularly well-suited to James Bond. This tweed’s version of the barleycorn weave is a variation on the hopsack weave that forms a pattern of upward-pointing arrows. It’s also know as bell celtic or bell hopsack because the pattern resembles a bell shape.
The button-two hacking jacket is made in Anthony Sinclair’s usual cut for Sean Connery—soft shoulders, roped sleeve heads, a slightly draped chest and a gently suppressed waist with a low button stance. The cut is overall quite full but the heavy tweed provides an elegant drape so the jacket has a dramatic but elegant silhouette. The lapels are narrow to follow contemporary fashions, and they have a particularly pronounced roll down to the waist button, which is likely due to a combination of the structure and the heavy cloth.
Three important details define this jacket as hacking jacket—a jacket that is designed for pleasure horseback riding. The first is the appropriate cloth, which is traditionally a tough and heavy tweed that holds up to wear on horseback and keeps the wearer warm outdoors. The second is ‘hacking pockets’, which are slanted hips pockets that are easier to access on horseback than straight pockets. They have flaps to keep items from falling out of the pockets while riding. A smaller, slanted ticket pocket is a often found in addition to the standard hacking pockets, which is also present on Bond’s hacking jacket. The flaps on these pockets are especially narrow to coordinate with the width of the lapels. The third detail is a deep single vent at the rear, which allows the jacket’s skirt to drape neatly on either side of a horse.
The jacket is also detailed with Sinclair’s typical details—a welt breast pocket and four buttons on each cuff. The jacket’s buttons are made of medium brown polished horn to match the colour of the jacket.
Bond wears his hacking jacket with fawn-coloured wool cavalry twill trousers. Cavalry twill is a heavy tricotine-type cloth with natural stretch characterised by a steeply angled double rib. The cavalry twill is about 18 ounces so it approximately matches the weight of the jacket. The weight means that trousers are comfortable outdoors in cool and windy weather and drape extremely well, and such a heavy cloth could make up into a good topcoat. The trousers are detailed with frogmouth pockets, which are accessed from the top rather than the sides to allow easy access on horseback. The side seams are wide, flat-felled seams for extra durability and additional sturdiness. The waistband has an extension and fastens with a hidden hook-and-bar closure, and it uses Daks-style buttoned side-adjusters at the sides to tighten the waist. The legs are narrow and straight while the bottoms have a plain hem with a steep guardsman slant so they cover as much shoe as possible with as little break as possible.
Though the trousers are just one shade lighter than his jacket, a clash between the garments’ similar colours is prevented thanks to a significant textural contrast. The smoother twill and solid-colour of the trousers juxtaposed with the rough tweed texture and two-tone pattern of the jacket makes them an excellent pair. However, the two garments pair well because the both have a pronounced texture and both are similar weights. The subtle but sophisticated tone-on-tone outfit modernises the traditional English country look so Connery looks young and current in his tweed.
In some photos taken on location, the trousers appear to be much more vibrant than the jacket, demonstrating a higher contrast between the items than what’s seen in the film. While these photos likely enhanced or exaggerated the colours, they suggest that there’s more contrast in this outfit than what’s seen in the film. The colours of these clothes can change tremendously depending on the film used and the lighting. The images from the film throughout this article have been enhanced to not only show detail but to bring the colours truer to life from the dull and warm-toned film.
Though the trousers are a similar colour to typical cotton khakis, cotton khakis or chinos are a poor pairing with a tweed jacket because their weight is a mismatch with heavy tweed and their more casual cut would be at odds with the elegantly tailored jacket. Tailored-cut trousers in heavy cottons such as moleskin and corduroy are a better pairing for a heavy tweed jacket than khakis, but they lack cavalry twill’s neat, military look that gives James Bond his elegant silhouette.
In Thunderball when James Bond is at the Shrublands health clinic in the British countryside, he wears the same jacket and trousers. It’s possible these garments were remade for Thunderball, but they appear to be exactly the same. Colour differences are most likely the result of filming mainly indoors rather in Thunderball than outdoors like in Goldfinger. Though it is a rare occasion that Bond re-wears a costume from a previous Bond film, it’s even more unusual that Bond twice wears a garment that originated from a non-Bond wardrobe. Repeating pieces across multiple Bond films provides a welcome continuity and realism to the series. The tweed jacket and cavalry twill trousers are at home at Shrublands in the British countryside, even more than they were in the Alps.
Connery wears different shirts and ties with the jacket and trousers in the two Bond films. In Goldfinger he wears a soft white shirt from Frank Foster that has faint, broken grey Dobby stripes and is made with a spread collar, a front placket and rounded double cuffs. He wears gold cufflinks, which are a bit dressy for a sporty country outfit, but since Bond is wearing the outfit for grand touring rather than hacking, the cufflinks are not out of place. In many shots the cufflinks are worn backward with the T-bar showing on the outside of the cuff. The tie in Goldfinger is a light brown silk knitted tie that is a close match to the colour of the trousers, perfectly coordinating the top and bottom halves of the outfit. The tie is tied in a four-in-hand knot and held to the shirt with a silver tie bar that is mostly hidden under the jacket. The knitted tie’s relaxed look in comparison to most other ties perfectly complements the rest of the outfit and the casual manner in which Bond wears his clothes. It also brings Bond closer to his literary origins, where he only wears silk knitted ties, albeit always in black.
In Thunderball Bond switches out the striped shirt for a solid beige shirt from Turnbull & Asser with a spread collar, front placket and two-button cocktail cuffs. The darker colour of the shirt emphasises the brown-toned country colour palette. The tie in Thunderball is a dark brown grenadine tie from Turnbull & Asser for a more refined and smarter look than the knitted tie. Bond ties it in a four-in-hand knot. Like the cufflinks in Goldfinger, the grenadine tie demonstrates a man wearing his hacking jacket for style rather than sports. Because there are more shades of brown in Thunderball outfit than the Goldfinger version, it looks busier, less modern and less refined. However, it also looks less studied and more like something one would typically see in a British country outfit.
In both films, Bond’s shoes are mid-brown suede two-eyelet derbys, a classic country shoe that’s a perfect complement for the rest of the outfit. John Lobb Ltd., who made some of Sean Connery’s James Bond shoes but not likely these shoes, calls the style ‘V-front’ because of how the quarters spread apart. The shoes are a sporty style with thick brown laces and dark brown rubber soles for better wear in the country. The soles resemble the Vibram 1715 treaded sole.
Dark brown socks, as seen in Goldfinger, complement the outfit but don’t provide the same elegant transition between the the trousers and shoes that fawn or light brown socks would.
Anthony Sinclair as run by Mason & Sons have replicated this jacket and trousers in various forms in recent years. I have their first attempt at this look, which is comprised of a chunkier, slightly darker-coloured tweed and lighter-coloured cavalry twill trousers.
Now Pay Attention
| JACKET | |
| Tailor | Anthony Sinclair |
| Fabric | Brown and beige barleycorn tweed |
| Front buttons | 2, low stance |
| Lapels | Narrow notch |
| Shoulder | Soft with roped sleeve heads |
| Breast pocket | Welt |
| Hip pockets | Slanted and flapped with ticket pocket |
| Vents | 1 |
| Cuff buttons | 4 |
| TROUSERS | |
| Tailor | Anthony Sinclair |
| Fabric | Fawn wool cavalry twill |
| Front | Plain |
| Support | ‘DAKS Tops’ 3-button side-adjusters |
| Front/side pockets | Frogmouth |
| Rise | High |
| Leg | Narrow, straight |
| Hem | Plain |
| SHIRT (Goldfinger) | |
| Shirtmaker | Frank Foster |
| Fabric | Soft white with a grey broken stripe |
| Collar | Spread |
| Cuff | Double |
| Front | Placket |
| TIE (Goldfinger) | |
| Brand | Unknown |
| Fabric | Light brown silk knit |
| Knot | Four-in-hand |
| SHIRT (Thunderball) | |
| Shirtmaker | Turnbull & Asser |
| Fabric | Beige poplin |
| Collar | Spread |
| Cuff | 2-button cocktail |
| Front | Placket |
| TIE (Thunderball) | |
| Brand | Turnbull & Asser |
| Fabric | Dark brown silk grenadine |
| Knot | Four-in-hand |
| SHOES | |
| Shoemaker | Unknown |
| Style | Medium brown suede two-eyelet derby |
First off, very good blog. I am glad someone did it! I admire the clothes in the early Bond films and had thought of doing a similar analysis, however your knowledge excels my own. I will be following this with interest : )
Good observation with the re-used wardrobe. I was watching Thunderball a few weeks ago and noticed that they used the same brown blazer and trousers. I'm glad – the films were released one year apart and it would be an awful waste of beautiful clothes. It makes sense that the character would keep some of the same suits. I think there was another suit carried across between Goldfinger and Thunderball – was his dark grey 3 piece at the end scene of Goldfinger the same as the one seen in the opening of Thunderball?
David C
*exceeds my own.
The dark grey flannel suits at the end of Goldfinger and beginning of Thunderball are very similar though different suits. The jackets are just about identical. The trousers in Thunderball have turn-ups whilst the trousers in Goldfinger don't. The biggest difference is in the waistcoats. The Goldfinger waistcoat is a normal 6 button with 5 to button, whereas the Thunderball waistcoat has a full 6-button front and is cut straight across the bottom.
Matt,
I believe these are not boots, but suede oxfords (or derbys, cannot tell). One can see this best in the scene were Bond briefly sits on the trunk of Tilly Masterson's car after she has run off of the road in Switzerland.
S
S, you are correct. They are derby shoes, though they are very much in the spirit of chukka boots. These shoes have typically been called chukka boots, even in Dressed to Kill: James Bond the Suited Hero. I've changed the article to reflect this.
A favorite of mine. A nice example of how to dress rather casual but still very elegant.
I prefer this style over the suit-without-a-tie look and the quite popular combination jeans and suit jacket.
This outfit still works perfectly 50 years later.
I couldn’t agree more! This outfit beats the suit-without-tie attempt at dressy casual hands down!
I’ve not seen cuff links like the ones in the second picture. It is as if they are backwards with the toggle on the front. If one were to wear a French cuff with links while horse back riding, I suppose these are a sensible choice.
https://www.bondsuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Hacking-Jacket-Barleycorn.jpg
It’s hard to tell from the film, but these cufflink probably look the same on both sides. Cufflinks back then were typically two pieces linked together with a chain, so no toggle. A cufflink of this type is easy to slide in and out of the holes. I have a very similar pair of cufflinks to these.
I too have puzzled about the cuff links before because, as has been said, the exposed part looks like the inner toggle of a traditional silver chain linked set. I can finally confirm this is the case as you can see Bond is indeed wearing his cufflinks ‘inside-out’ so to speak, in this picture of him entering his Aston Martin at Stoke Park Golf Club.
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk1/Rich5ltr/Public%20images/HackingJacket2_zps04d186b9.jpg
When re-watching Thunderball, I had to stop and look again at the (single) rear vent’s length – which has a depth that approaches that of many ’70s suits.
Then I remembered it is a jacket for riding, after all. Wonder what the excuse was for when deep vents became the norm?
-Kurt
Anthony Sinclair has made a RTW reproduction of the iconic Cavalry Twill trousers: http://www.anthonysinclair.com/Great_Strides_s/1818.htm
Matt, do you think this is an accurate replica? The colour and the side adjusters (no DAKS?) seem odd to me. On any event, this is interesting because it can meant a fresh RTW reproduction series from the revived Anthony Sinclair brand
You’re right that the colour is off. They look too light, though in the close-up photos the colour looks a little better. The side-adjusters on those trousers are not seen in either Goldfinger or Thunderball, so we don’t know what kind they are. They are most likely the same Daks tops as the suit trousers, but David Mason took the liberty of using a slide-buckle side-adjusters. I find that the slide buckle-type adjusters are more effective than Daks tops, which may have been the reason why they were used.
I just re-watched the scenes in Goldfinger in which Bond wears this hacking jacket – it’s pure perfection! The outfit is casually elegant, and the structured, ever-so-slightly military cut of the jacket emphasizes the youthful Connery’s athletic build. For the life of me I can’t figure out why anybody would find hacking jackets “old-mannish”!
It’s not a regular tweed jacket? It does indeed have slanted pockets, a ticket pocket and a long single vent, but I always thought a true hacking jacket had a 3 button front and a short lapel?
The original hacking jackets had three or four buttons, but so did the original lounge suits. If a lounge suit can have two buttons, so can a hacking jacket.
Did Sean Connery’s khaki cavalry twill trousers from the Switzerland scenes have ‘open-lapped’ seams or ‘closed-lapped’ seams? From the pictures and themovie it looks ‘closed’, but seems like Anthony Sinclair makes an ‘open’ one in their Sean and Daniel trousers: http://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/news/anthony-sinclair-launches-trouser-project-commemorate-centenary-aston-martin
Thanks,
Hi Matt,
Big fan, excellent website.
This outfit is one of many favourites of mine. Sean in his 007 role is a big inspiration for my style.
I’m trying to get a jacket of mine that is as similar to this as possible. I’ve been searching around for suitable barleycorn tweed cloths in order to have one made.
Can you advise what sort of weight I should be looking at to match Sean’s?
Cheers,
NavyGrenadine
Thanks for reading! Connery’s tweed is around 16oz/500g. It’s a typical weight for a tweed, but very heavy compared to what most people are used to wearing today.
Hello Matt,
I recently discovered this site and am using it to help me build on my own wardrobe. Thank you for sharing so much of your research and knowledge!
I guess this is more of a general fashion question, but I’ve always been told not to pair a jacket and trousers that are very similar in color but different, as it would look mismatched. Is this advise correct or is the above wardrobe choice acceptable because of the same pattern between the two?
Thanks so much,
Rob
Hi Rob,
The key is to avoid the look of a mismatched suit between your jacket and trousers. High contrast in colour is an easier way to avoid that mismatched look, but in Connery’s outfit he is able to pair together two items that are similar in colour for two reasons:
1. The patterns of the jacket and trousers are very different. The jacket is a barleycorn pattern while the trousers are solid.
2. The textures of the jacket and trousers are very different. The jacket is a fuzzy, rough and dull tweed while the trousers are a smooth ribbed twill with a bit of sheen.
What are the same are the colour family and the weights of the two items. Items in the same colour family can create harmony as well as a more formal look. Even if the colours are similar, for the reasons above there is not a mismatch. The jacket and trousers need to be similar in weight otherwise you have a different kind of mismatch.
Although different in details (vents and pockets), I thought the Rock pulled off a fairly Bondian look in Skyscraper with his brown tweed jacket. Arnold also wore a very similar jacket in kindergarten cop, from memory. So this jacket has a good action hero pedigree in my opinion…
Tweed is a strong fabric, so it can be a good look for an action hero. Clint Eastwood wore a tweed jacket and flannel trousers in the “Do I feel lucky” scene from the first “Dirty Harry,” which fits both the Bay Area setting and Harry’s style of police work.
Hi Matt, I recently discovered that Bond wore a tie bar with this suit like he did in Marnie from the same year. Here is a link to it: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmB00UJFlff/
Greetings from Germany
Christian
Yes, the tie bar is visible in the film when he is talking with Goldfinger in front of the Rolls Royce.
Matt. I love this look and one of my Bondian favorites. I’m not looking to dress exactly like Bond but I do model my style in a very similar fashion. Will single or double pleats work just as well with the hacking jacket here? I also thoroughly enjoy your podcast. Thanks. Russ
Sure, you can wear quite a few different things with the hacking jacket, and pleated trousers would go just fine with it.
Hi Matt, I am just wondering what situation you would find yourself wearing or need to wear a tweed jacket? Also can tweed jacket have a paddock style cut.
A tweed jacket is great in cool weather when you want to wear nice jacket without looking too dressed up. The paddock style is great for tweed.
Matt,
Are there any brands that produce replicas of this jacket? I was able to find one online, but the weight of the jacket and color didn’t appear to be correct. Great article and terrific material on Bond’s wardrobe. Glad I’m not the only fanatic.
See my review of Mason & Sons jacket: https://www.bondsuits.com/mason-and-sons-barleycorn-hacking-jacket-and-cavalry-twill-trousers/
The weight and colour are both very close to the original. I recommend having it special ordered with a lower button stance to get it closer to the original.
Matt, besides Masons and sons, is there any other brand you would recommend that offer ready to wear cavalry twill trousers ? The Masons model looks a bit too beige to my eye. Thanks !
Mason & Sons now offer a darker cavalry twill trouser. Cordings offers cavalry trousers, but overall you won’t find something as close to Goldfinger as what Mason & Sons offer.
Hello Matt, a small point re. the trousers: it’s a Military slant (higher at front, lower at back – up to an inch or so in margin achieved by making a V shaped insert at the front inner fold to allow for a smooth fabric lay). The Guardsman’s hem runs from inner to outer seam (side to side not front to back), forming an upside-down U shape. It is to facilitate a smooth shape and straight drop over the Guardsmen’s long dress boots. Thanks again for such a great site.
Hello Jo, I’ve always seen the two terms interchangeably.
How deep would the vents have been on this jacket?
I believe it would have been 12-13 inches long.
What do you think is anachronistic about the Woman of Straw outfit ? Seems a rather tasteful look to me, and the jacket and trousers help making it look more modern. A pair of tweed trousers and a checked tweed jacket would have made a very different impression.
The three odd pieces give an old-fashioned look. There’s just too much going on. Had he worn a tweed jacket with trousers of a different tweed, he’d simply be poorly dressed rather than anachronistic.
I have to admit, I love both versions of the outfit but will give a slight edge to the Thunderball shirt because the colour and cocktail cuffs go slightly better with it. Otherwise, I much prefer the light brown knitted tie. As I discussed with Matt recently, I would love it if Anthony Sinclair had women’s tailoring because a feminine version of this jacket and trousers would be perfect for me!
I agree. The white shirt, even with the stripes, clashes a lot with the all brown outfit. Although the Goldfinger ensemble is good, I think the Thunderball version is much better. The darker tie helps keeping the outfit Bondian… whatever that means hahah
I’m not saying it’s bad or anything, the soft white still looks less conspicuous with brown than bright white does.
Interesting reactions to the different combinations. They all look good of course so it’s a matter of detail. I don’t like the look of ecru shirts normally but the white shirt seems a bit stark against all the earth tones. I like the way the lighter tie is a near match for the strides.
Before Craig, Bond was very seldom seen in cufflinks. That business with the cufflinks being reversed always struck me as odd – is this a wardrobe malfunction to be blamed on the costume or props department or did Connery show his sartorial ignorance by putting the cufflinks on backwards?
That’s incorrect, as Brosnan wore cufflinks with nearly all his suits throughout four movies.
I think the cufflink gaffe may have just been them trying to stretch the wardrobe a little further.
I actually like the cream/ecru/ivory dress shirts with the Earth tones. The white is too stark with the Earth tones, as you said, Rod.
The pink and sky blue dress shirts work best with the Earth tones, in my opinion. Light purple dress shirts also look good with Earth tones, but I’m all around not a fan of other light colored dress shirts that are neither off white nor white.
Hi Matt,
I’m really loving the additional writing and updating you’ve been doing for your articles, and the addition of the ‘Now Pay Attention’ details at the end make things simpler and easier to work out for those wanting to maybe get some tailor made clothes.
Really brilliant!
Is the grenadine worn with the jacket a chocolate brown shade, or is chocolate a darker shade of brown ?
The grenadine is chocolate brown.