In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service George Lazenby takes the black and white Prince of Wales check suit that Sean Connery often wore and adds a blue overcheck. The black and white check pattern part is slightly off from a typical Glen Urquhart check. The overall large check is taller than it is wide, as it typically is, but the finer horizontal lines are emphasised. The cloth is most likely woven in an even twill like the standard Prince of Wales check is. One interesting thing that tailor Dimi Major does is he rotates the cloth 180 degrees on adjacent panels. This can be seen by looking at the horizontal stripe sections in the pattern. On the lapels a white stripe in on top, on the front body panels a black stripe is on top and on the sleeves a white stripe is on top again. Some tailors match their checks this way instead of the more logical way of matching them in all the same direction.
The illustration below is the closest I can come up with to figuring out the atypical check pattern. Click the image to enlarge:
The button two suit jacket has soft shoulders, a clean chest and a close cut overall, with a slightly shorter jacket length, though not as short as what is fashionable today. The cut is in line with the current fashions of then and now, though unlike today’s fashionable suits this suit does not look shrunken. The jacket is detailed with three button cuffs, steeply angled hacking pockets with a ticket pocket and double vents. The front edges of the pockets are more rounded than the way most tailors make them for extra flair. The double vents are deep and have an outward flare. The suit’s buttons are made of dark grey horn. The trousers have a darted front and narrow, straight legs. This suit is full of late 1960’s English flair and is the most fashionable suit Lazenby wears in the film. It is the most fashionably-dressed we’ll see Bond until Roger Moore gets settled in the role.
The sky blue shirt made by Frank Foster picks up the blue windowpane in the suit. The shirt has a point collar and single-button cuffs. The navy knitted tie has a soft, dull look with slight pilling that would suggest wool as opposed to the standard silk. Lazenby ties it in a half windsor knot. The shoes are black.
Actually Matt, you’re more on point than you think, The trend is now going towards a wider lapel like on this suit — very much mirroring what happened in the late ’60s. Tom Ford’s influence is starting to be felt in that regard. He also tends toward an English-style nipped waist as this coat has. The shrunken suits don’t have much life left in them. In a few years time, everyone will wonder what the hell they were thinking and Indochino will be hawking 4″ notch lapels and disco flares.
Overall, I’d actually wear this suit. It still looks pretty good today, notwithstanding the fit issues around the collar.
I think you were about a decade premature with this prediction but now that it’s 2022 I think the emerging trends are proving you right…
Great look. Lazenby’s suits I never had a particular aspiration to but I do think he was definitely well dressed for the character had a feel for the image that accompanied it which was, perhaps, more innate than Connery. In my opinion, he carried the clothing even better than his predecessor.
“The cut is in line with the current fashions of then and now, though unlike today’s fashionable suits this suit does not look shrunken”. Good point which illustrates the distinction between fashion with a heritage of tailoring and so called “tailoring” with a fashion focus. This is why Lazenby. Connery, Moore and Brosnan’s suiting will, for the most part, always look good.
The overall feeling I’m getting from Lazenby’s suits is that they are a style that I could go for today (I’m 27). I like his slightly shorter jackets and overall fit, without looking like I’m about to uncomfortably burst out.
Dear Matt,
Another favorite of mine.
By coincidence, as I had to dress up a bit today, I chose my Prince-of-Wales suit with light blue shirt and navy knitted tie with precisely that look in mind before even looking at your blog.
Best regards,
This might just be my favorite suit in the entire series – it looks just as good today as it did 43 years ago!
Dear Matt,
I think we have at least 2 suits there. On the top photograph (the effects shot from inside the Rolls), the suit does not have the 180° degree opposition of adjacent panels and the pattern on the lapel is not at the same height as on the close-up.
Wouldn’t the cream suit with its 1-button cuffs or the powder blue with its swelled edges and high darts and identical cuff detail qualify as most fashionable suit for 1969? Or perhaps you meant fashionable for both 1969 and 2012 if that is possible.
Best regards and keep the good work,
It does look like there are two different suits. Perhaps even more were made. All of the two-piece suits in that film were quite fashionable fashionable, yet they don’t look so dated.
You are most likely right, it is two suits. I guess the top one were used on location in Bern while the latter were used in Pinewood Studios a few months later/before. The time gap between the takes could explain it, but not justify the “blooper”.
Still a very nice suit. Fitted, but night Craig-tight.
How would you say this compares to the similar suit in From Russia with Love? It is my favorite and I really like the look of a black and white check from a distance, but it seems like too much contrast up close. Does this material ever show up as a gray and black instead?
This suit has a much closer and more rakish cut compared to Connery’s suits, and if the cloth didn’t have the overcheck that part would be very similar. Daniel Craig will be wearing a grey and black Glen Urquhart check suit in Skyfall, and that cloth is not as bold. You’ll find this pattern in a wide variety of colours. You’ll also find the pattern in a variety of scales, so it won’t always look as bold as it does here.
I love this one, been looking forward to it. I think Lazenby’s clothes, apart from the ruffled shirts, have aged very well and I’ve always considered this his definitive suit. This is how to do the close-fitting but not too tight look. The cut reminds me a little of Richard James’ suits. Here Bond is well-dressed without being overly ostentatious. Properly fitting Glen check will always be a classic.
Richard James would be great for future Bond movies ,in my opinion.
Great suit. Too bad there is an slight issue with the collar – just like the suit Lazenby wore for the 007 casting : the collar was ‘too short’. Anyway, this one was claimed to be a Sinclair suit, and the PoW is a Major suit. Apparently, Lazenby’s neck was particular :)
Does the problem lie with the suit collar or with the shirt collar? The suit looks perfect to me, but the collar is a little small…
The shirt collar needs to be adjusted but the real problem is with the jacket’s collar.
Lazenby somewhat foreshadows the sartorial direction the series was heading, seeing his suits have far more “flash” than Connery’s. That said, I have always admired this particular style of flaring the “skirt” of the jacket. Is this something that has to be done at the construction of the suit, or can it be added in alterations?
I don’t think the skirt can be altered to be more flared. The vents are flared out, unlike anything you’ll find in most ready-to-wear.
Belatedly, as Jason suggests above, one of your periodic comparison posts with this and another Glen Plaid??
Hi Matt,
Is that the same suit GL wears to buy the ring? I love that scene with the dissolve, and the DBS…
No, that’s a light blue suit: https://www.bondsuits.com/light-blue-suit/
I have a jacket that seems to fit perfectly except it produces a pronounced collar gap, like the one Lazenby, is demonstrating here. The lines of the suit otherwise seem clean, sitting smoothly along the back and chest. The suit is comfortable and was made with my measurements. What could have gone wrong?
There’s a lot that measurements cannot account for. Lazenby doesn’t have a collar gap here, he just doesn’t have the jacket on well. It looks fine in other shots. A collar gap can happen if the back is too tight, but it usually happens if the front/back balance of the jacket is off. Sometimes the collar can be shortened to fix this.
Thank you for your response. It is all very mysterious to me.
I think this could be the most underrated suit in the series. Perhaps a bit of the credit also owes to Lazenby, who had an ideal frame for suits.
I agree with Joshua!
Lazenby’s wardrobe is one of the best of the whole series. When it comes to ’60 style you always get something timeless, as opposed to ’70s and ’80s, and Craig’s Tom Ford “leggins ‘ style” suits… Even the (according to my personal taste) fantastic Brosnan’s Brioni suits (I think that the Blue one in DAD is one of the best of the whole series too) are still beautiful today but not 100% “timeless” as ’60s ones.
This said, Matt, I’m a big fan of your site and you do a fantastic job (I’m the one who recently pointed the white two button Moore’s tuxedo on instagram, and we both thinked it wasn’t so great), I would like to ask if you can do a post of comparison of “English/American/Italian” cuts, of How Savile Row cut differs from the general English cut, of “Neapolitan/Roman/Milanese/Florence” cuts.
This said (2), I’d like to fully understand “clean”, “lean”, “full”, “straight” when refers to chest cut, and if “straight” refers to padded/structured, when refers to shoulders.
It’d be fantastic if was possible to do with (Bond) suit images/sketch.
Thanks in advance!
Vittorio
This is one of my favorite suits in the Bond series. In fact, Lazenby wears many suits I like, and I count the Navy Herringbone 3 piece as my all time favorite of any Bond suit. My question is, would this suit be appropriate for a daytime wedding?
It would be appropriate for a guest to wear to a daytime wedding that requires lounge suits/cocktail attire. I think it is too sporty for a groom.
I had a suit made in this material back in 2000, and want to replace it. I had it tailored in Vitale Barberis Canonico Super 110s fabric. Light grey with blue overcheck. Absolutely great handle and well suited to a Sydney, Australia climate. Would you be able to advise where in 2022 I could obtain same?
Dugdale’s 7504 is a very close match for this cloth, and they are reasonably priced. While the source for Lazenby’s cloth is unknown, it’s certainly from an English mill.
https://shop.dugdalebros.com/search/product/7504-black-white-pow-with-blue-overcheck/colour/black_white_pow_with_blue_overcheck/page/4/
Huddersfield Fine Worsteds 158001 is a heavier weight with the same look.
https://shop.hfwltd.com/collection/112
Certainly a great example of a close fitting jacket. But the trousers don’t look that comfortable, especially in the thighs !