Though Roger Moore often dresses flamboyantly as Lord Brett Sinclair in his early 1970s television show The Persuaders, not all of his clothes are entirely adventurous or fashion-forward. One of Moore’s more conservative pieces of clothing in The Persuaders is a charcoal track-stripe three-piece suit, which he wears in eight episodes. The track stripes are pairs of white or light grey pinstripes, spaced close together. Roger Moore designed his clothes for The Persuaders, and for this one he kept the cloth more conservative. Cyril Castle, Moore’s tailor for The Saint and his first two James Bond films, made the suit.
This cut of this suit is similar to Roger Moore’s suits in The Saint, but the jacket has been updated from the 1960s with wider, more balanced lapels and a higher button stance that gives the suit jacket a timeless look. The jacket has a very British cut with softly padded shoulders, a full chest and a nipped waist. The front buttons three with a medium low stance that has a balanced and flattering look on Roger Moore’s figure. The jacket is detailed with three buttons on the cuffs, slanted pockets and a single vent.
The suit’s waistcoat has six buttons with five to button. The bottom of the front edge starts to curve away above the bottom button, thus the bottom button and buttonhole do not line up. The waistcoat also has notched lapels and two welt pockets.
Moore wears a gold chain from one waistcoat pocket to the other. This should mean that Moore has a pocket watch in one waistcoat pocket and a fob in the other, but Moore is wearing a gold wristwatch. Either Moore has both a wristwatch and a pocket watch, or the waistcoat’s chain is purely decorative.
The suit’s trousers are made by Cyril Castle’s trouser maker at the time, Richard Paine. They have jetted cross pocket on the front, and a dart centred on the front of each side cuts through the pocket. There is a button-through pocket on either side in the back. The trousers have a narrow straight leg, following 1960s fashion. Though Moore often dresses flamboyantly in The Persuaders, he wouldn’t adopt the flared looks that became popular in the late 60s until Live and Let Die. The trousers also have belt loops, but Moore doesn’t wear a belt, and the waistcoat keeps the belt loops covered. The trouser waist fits well enough that a belt is not needed.
Moore’s lilac poplin shirt, made by Frank Foster, has a spread collar, a plain front and button-down cocktail cuffs that fasten with a single button. Lilac shirts are very versatile, and the colour flatters Moore’s warm complexion. The tie is navy with sets of wide cream, champagne and gold stripes, and it is tied in a four-in-hand knot. The shoes are black monk shoes with an apron front.
Great review Matt,
are there any plans on reviewing these special neckties Daniel Wilde wears in the second picture? He and Lord Sinclair both wear these often throughout the series and I wondered what it may be called. It looks like a cravat, but is tied in a classic knot. So help is appreciated.
A surprisingly conservative look for The Persuaders! Now if only he could have gotten a haircut…
Quite a few of the suits were actually conservative in the series; it was more the casual wear and accoutrements. On this and regarding this post, I would respectfully dissent from Matt’s view that the lilac shirt suits Moore (at least an untanned Moore as we see here!). In fact, for me, I feel the colour makes him very washed out looking as the 2nd last still shows. Lilac would seem to suit men of a very dark skin hue the best…
A beautifully cut suit. The slightly wider lapels correct the imbalanced look that Moore’s jackets as The Saint sometimes have.
Yes!
Personally I like narrow-ish lapels but watching early episodes of The Saint, RM’s lapels look skinny to the point of being out of balance with his broad chest.
On this suit I think it looks perfect for a three-button.