Yesterday was Global James Bond Day, and for this special occasion cashmere brand N.Peal launched a 007 cashmere collection featuring many items and outfits inspired by clothes that James Bond has worn throughout the entire Bond series, ranging from Goldfinger to Spectre. N.Peal was kind enough to gift me a number of items from this collection of their choice. To the launch of this collection at their Madison Avenue store in New York City, I wore an N.Peal-curated outfit that was inspired by the suit, contrasting waistcoat and knitted tie that Sean Connery wears in the M’s office scene in Goldfinger.
This outfit was chosen for me because it is the only formal type of outfit that is part of the collection, which is mainly focused on Bond’s sportier looks. As this blog is mostly focused on tailored clothing, this look is quite fitting for me to review.
N.Peal’s outfit is loosely inspired by the outfit that Sean Connery wears in Goldfinger, and of all the outfits in the collection this one is furthest from the look of the original. I do not say this as criticism because N.Peal is not a tailoring brand, and I applaud them for trying to take a classic Bond suit and tie look and make it in a way that fits with their knitwear brand. So much of Bond’s style is about tailored clothing, at least it was before Daniel Craig introduced many inspired casual looks to Bond, and I think that it was a brilliant idea for N.Peal to try to bring one of Bond’s tailored looks to this collection.
The Milano Jacket
The main piece of the outfit is N.Peal’s Milano jacket in navy in 100% cashmere, and as N.Peal fans may know this is an item that was already part of their collection. It’s an unstructured knit jacket that is made in the form of a tailored jacket, and it is made in a heavy but not chunky knit that looks very smooth and elegant. This is without a doubt the most luxurious piece in N.Peal’s 007 collection.
There are four buttons down the front, starting at the top of the chest. It has a Revere collar that stands up. It can be worn with all the buttons done up or it can be worn with the third button done up and the collar and revers folded over so it resembles a suit jacket. But it can also be worn open. I mostly wore it open for the day, and I like the way it frames the tie and waistcoat when worn open. When wearing it open it stayed firm and did not sag or droop down, as many cardigans do. Though this is knit and unstructured, it is much more of a jacket than a cardigan.
The original jacket in Goldfinger is a brown houndstooth check, not navy, but there could possibly be some blue in the weave of Connery’s suit. This jacket is more versatile in navy than if it were brown, and I appreciate this change because I prefer wearing navy jackets over brown.
The jacket is detailed with open patch pockets and a welt breast pocket in the manner of a tailored jacket. You may be thinking, “the original jacket in Goldfinger had hacking pockets and a ticket pocket”. But as this is a piece of knitwear and not a hacking jacket, hacking pockets would be out of place. This jacket has to be first and foremost a functional and sensible piece of knitwear, and that it is. The welt breast pocket is a very nice touch, and I think it’s fun to be able to be able to wear a pocket square in a sportier item like this. But I found the pocket to be too shallow and had a difficult time getting my Goldfinger-style white linen pocket square with a pointed fold to fit. A small pocket square in a straight fold or a puff would work best. I have many small pocket squares that slip down inside other jacket pockets that would be perfect with this jacket.
The cuffs are detailed with four buttons. The buttonhole at the end is functional for those who like to show off a working cuff. It also allows the cuff to fold back nicely if the sleeve is too long. The other four buttonholes are nonfunctional, and the first buttonhole is contrasting in red. The jacket’s buttons are dark brown horn. The sleeves are very fitted, and thus I was not able to wear a Goldfinger-style double cuff shirt underneath and wore a shirt with cocktail cuffs instead. But this is for the best as fitted sleeve on knitwear look much neater than loose sleeves.
One of my favourite details on the jacket is the double vents in the back. It really helps it to feel even more like a tailored jacket. The Goldfinger suit jacket has only a single vent, but because this jacket has only side seams and no centre back seam, the choice to vent the sides is obvious.
I am wearing a size small in the jacket, and I have a 38-inch chest. I prefer a closer fit in my knitwear, hence my choice for a size small. I am on the border of a small and a medium in this jacket, as the vents do not stay closed over my hips when I button the jacket. I like the way the jacket fits through the rest of the body. I have a size small chest and waist and a size medium seat, so overall a size small worked better for me.
The Milano Waistcoat
Under the jacket I am wearing N.Peal’s Milano waistcoat in fumo grey knit cashmere. This is the same grey as the cable knit turtleneck that Daniel Craig wears in Spectre, which is a very pale grey. The original waistcoat in Goldfinger is beige and woven, not grey and knitted, but grey is a more accessible colour and goes very nicely with the navy jacket. The waistcoat is a very fine knit cashmere with a texture similar to the jacket, but it is a lighter weight and fits comfortably under the jacket. Still, the waistcoat has a very solid feel. It is more of a waistcoat than a sleeveless cardigan because it has a more formal look and feel. There are five buttons down the front—instead of Connery’s six—and the buttons are beautiful grey mother of pearl. There are two welt pockets at the waist.
Like the jacket, the waistcoat is also a size small and fits perfectly. A waistcoat should fit snugly, as this does. It is a bit shorter than a lot of sleeveless cardigans often are, so it was not too tight to fit over my seat.
The Knitted Tie
The final piece to complete this outfit is a knitted cashmere tie in navy to match the jacket. While Connery’s knitted tie was silk and brown, this colour is more accessible and more versatile. The tie is a luxuriously dense and thick knit, with more finely knit hems on both ends and reinforced in the middle where the tie sits around the neck. The hems are square, as is typical for a knit tie. It makes a very elegant knot. I tied it in a four-in-hand knot, as Connery made his knit tie in Moneypenny’s office in Goldfinger. As it is a hefty tie, I think any larger knot will be too large.
How to Wear It
Of all the outfits in this collection, this one is the loosest interpretation of James Bond’s original outfit. This this outfit is not representative of the rest of the collection, which are more direct interpretations of the original Bond outfits. But when I donned this outfit and looked at myself in the mirror, I saw the Goldfinger look. The overall look of this outfit in my mind captures the spirit of what Sean Connery wore. And wearing it all together it inspired the confidence that I see in Sean Connery’s James Bond.
This outfit might also be one of the most wearable for me in the collection because the colours are easy to wear and the pieces are excellent in their own right. I found the entire outfit fun to wear all together, and it makes an impression, but I would probably prefer to wear the pieces separately and in my own ways. You can purchase the pieces separately.
The jacket can be dressed up with a tie as worn here, but it can also be dressed down. The jacket is essentially a more casual navy blazer, and it can be dressed up like a blazer or dressed down like a cardigan. I would most likely wear the jacket with an open-neck shirt and without the waistcoat underneath. I found both the jacket and the waistcoat together to be too warm indoors in certain places with the way much of New York uses too much heating, but I overheat easily. The jacket is something I could easily wear to my business-casual workplace. It would also work very well with any of N.Peal’s turtlenecks that are part of the Bond collection. For fans of Daniel Craig’s personal style, I could picture him wearing this jacket with only a t-shirt underneath. It makes for a good travel jacket as it is comfortable and will not wrinkle.
The waistcoat would be fantastic under a blue blazer and that’s likely how I will wear it. I have some tweed jackets that it would be very nice with as well. I do not care for wearing knitted waistcoats under suits, but some people like that and this one could work with sportier suits.
The tie, being navy, is quite versatile. It would be nice with a tweed jacket or suit—as James Bond has worn his cashmere ties in the films—or to dress down a flannel suit.
All of these pieces have a hidden 007-branded label, a classy way to brand the items to keep our dressing like James Bond hobby an inside secret. They also come with a separate N.Peal 007-branded hang tag, attached to the inside label with an easy-to-remove safety pin so we don’t need to bring a scissor close to the cashmere to remove the tags.

Thank you to N.Peal for the cardigan, to the N.Peal shop on Madison Avenue for hosting a wonderful event and to David Zaritsky and The Bond Experience for making me a part of this. And thank you to Ray Kromphold of The Bond Armory, Jay Sadowski of James Bond Classified and Jeff Wybo of James Bond Canada for taking photos of me at the N.Peal shop. The rest of the photos are by Janna Levin Spaiser.
In the photos here I am wearing the three N.Peal pieces with a white herringbone shirt from Frank Foster and dark grey serge trousers from Polo Ralph Lauren, supported with Albert Thurston braces.
This whole Connery thing is getting boring.
That’s fine if you believe that, but it did form the basis for what we consider “Bond style” these days. Would you be more inclined towards a colorful Moore or Brosnan styled collection?
I think n.peal should go with a collection that celebrates its own individuality rather than making replicas or near replicas.
You can only re invent the wheel so many times. So obviously companies before this have made so called Bond inspired clothes before but is this collection different because of the licensing? Is that what we are paying for?
This collection is not making exact replicas, though some do come very close. But they are celebrating what they themselves do in this collection because many of the pieces in this 007 collection are already from N.Peal’s collection, some just in new colourways to look more like the Bond items. They have long been selling knit jackets, waistcoats, crew neck jumpers, v-neck jumpers, polos, turtlenecks, etc. So this is a collection that celebrates what N.Peal do best as well as the brand’s love of Bond. It’s a brand that Bond has worn in two films as well as one that fits the overall Bond aesthetic. With N.Peal’s 007 collection you’re only paying a $10 markup for the licensing. The regular prices probably go up every year by more than that.
More Doctor Who than Dr. No…
I don’t see anything Doctor Who about this…?
There’s a hint of TV movie Seventh Doctor about the ensemble.
Not seeing it, Dent.
I actually love the Connery stuff. It never gets old as it’s essentially at the core of everything Bond, every Bond since Connery has given a tip of the hat or nod back to his style.
Even Dalton?
Most definitely, Saul. There’s so much Connery-style inspiration in The Living Daylights.
Apart from him wearing a knit tie in Moonraker and a grenadine tie of a colour never worn by Connery in FYEO, I don’t see any nods back to Connery from Moore. His style was very much his own and far different to the monochrome Connery look which so many seem to find so (mystifyingly) wonderful……
David, I agree re: the monochrome look. Connery actually looked his best when he created some contrast between his suit and his tie. His many grey glen check suits always looked best with a navy tie, while I was never too crazy about the many outfits in which he (almost) matched his tie to his suit, as in the Fort Knox scene in GF or his first one-on-one meeting with M in TB (and don’t get me started on the shoes that he wears with that brown suit/brown tie ensemble!) I must confess, however, that I have a soft spot for the hacking jacket/ twill trousers combo in both GF and TB – it must be the academic in me!
I can totally see that N.Peal took inspiration from the Orlebar Brown collection and how much of an impact that made. The ensemble looks great on you!
Though I can’t remember… when did Bond ever wear a cashmere tie?
He wears one in Scotland in The World Is Not Enough.
This outfit looks more like something that the current Craig-era Q would wear in a Bond movie to me than something Bond himself would wear.
Good thing for N.Peal, Q’s look is very trendy! But ultimately, how trendy or traditional these pieces look is down to how you wear the.
Q must be paid very well…!
Again it’s balancing the “obviously cosplay look” and the “invisible cosplay look” that makes wearing Bond clothes so interesting, while elegance comes naturally.
The tie in Goldfinger is actually a dark, bottle green.
Have you seen it in person? On screen it looks more brown.
Those pieces do look nice. How soft is the cashmere and where is each piece made?
The cashmere is very soft and substantial, and all the pieces are made in China.
Hi matt
I would love to know your thoughts on the pieces being made in China? In terms of quality and craftsmanship?
I must say it’s a huge negative for me
The quality and craftsmanship is excellent. Some of the makers in China know what they are doing these days, and N.Peal uses one of them. These days, country of origin cannot always determine quality.
I am sure that one can find good craftsmanship in China, but I, for one, have moral qualms about subsidizing their economy in any way if I can avoid it!
What really turned me off was n.peal making the lazenby shirt into a beach going shirt.
What outfit that dalton wore in his tenure as bond gives the biggest tribute to connery?
It was Orlebar Brown who made Lazenby’s dress shirt into a beach shirt. N.Peal is a cashmere brand, and they’re making his knitwear and a few other pieces out of knit cashmere.
Dalton was the first Bond after Connery to wear a shawl-collar dinner suit. He wore a grey herringbone suit like Connery. He wore a sports coat and trousers in a low-contrast combination like Connery, with a knitted tie. And he brought back the plain, dark tie to Bond. Moore is the Bond who strayed further from Connery’s style.
I don’t think dalton did that as a nod to Connery but rather did it to be inline with the character. Whether or not connery wore pieces similar to Connerys i still think dalton would have worn those pieces. From what I understand he did have some input in his wardrobe.
Thank you for clarifying about the lazenby shirt. As for the china thing, Its not my shot of whiskey especially when its Bond related. But again I’m not familiar with Chinese construction as of yet .
I think this sort of post is interesting and I’m glad the Zaritsky fellow is involving the blog with these events. I hope there are more to come.
Do you have any photos of the collar and revers folded over, to look more like a jacket than a cardigan? Also do you have a link to the collection? I looked on N. Peal’s website and all I found was a few pieces from Spectre.
I unfortunately did not get a decent photo of myself with the revers folded over, but Peter Brooker has some on the From Tailors with Love site:
https://fromtailorswithlove.co.uk/n-peal-release-the-james-bond-cashmere-collection-goldfinger-review
N.Peal will be launching this collection on their website in 10 days: https://www.npeal.com/us/007-sign-up/
Hi matt
I would love to hear you opinions on products that are made in China’ for me it’s a negative and never a mark of quality when I see made in China on the label. The N peal website goes to great lengths to highlight that they can trace their cashmere back to the herder in Mongolia but it completely omits any detail about the county of manufacture’ i understand why no company wants to highlight their products are made in China.
Love to hear your opinions?
Kind regards
They don’t highlight that their clothes are made in China because many people like you automatically think it means poor quality. But in reality it is no different than being made anywhere else in the world. China is now a place where brands can go for high-quality production, especially when plenty of clothing production in Europe is of poor quality. There are good and bad things made in China, which is true for any part of the world.
If that’s the case, do you think suits from suit supply should be considered by Bond fans?
If their suits fit you and are flattering, then why not? They have some decent cuts and some bad cuts. Some people look good in their suits and some can’t wear any of their cuts.
Thanks for the reply matt
Of course the quality of some Chinese made clothing is of high standard the John varvatos suede racer is a fine example.
But for many people like me a British heritage company that also manufacturers it’s products in Britain adds something special’ Crockett & jones, John Smedley Etc would you agree?
Kind regards
It’s definitely very special to manufacture in Britain. Smedley has its own factory, but there are few, if any, other knitwear factories left in Britain.
Matt, there at least 40 other knitwear factories in the UK-not all luxury or high end (or internationally famous), but all good quality.
Lazenby recently commented and liked one of Bond Experience’s posts about this collection… also he recently was sporting the TND hamburg tie. Nice to see him really embracing his connection with Bond.
Anders Frejdh (Lazenby’s manager) was at the N.Peal event in London. He likely had a hand in choosing Lazenby’s tie.
I really do not like it….just not a good look.
I love the outfit as it is quite accessible to people. It is a casual-formal outfit, the jacket is very well made, even if it isn’t a traditional sports coat style. Another great article Matt.
China actually has one of the oldest clothing traditions in the world – at the most luxurious levels too. And the Hong Kong tailor is justifiably famous for doing amazing things with limited resources. It’s totally legitimate not to economically support a government that you don’t agree with, but “Made in China” is not a guarantee of low quality either.
This whole Orlebar Brown or N. Peal “Bond collections” are only for marketing purposes. They put 007 emblem on their products to increase sales. What bothers me is that the make near replicas for almost the price of originals. Anyone can get Bond clothing near replicas or clothes in Bond style at almost any clothing stores for more reasonable prices. The Milano jacket posted here looks something like I owned few years ago bought from Takko Fashion store, but mine was in grey colour and costed 20 euro.