For his first day of business in Jamaica in Dr. No, James Bond dons a tropical wool or wool-and-mohair glen check suit. Lightweight suitings are more often woven in a plain weave than a standard twill weave because a plain weave breathes better. With an equal number of ends and picks per inch, a glen check in a plain weave will be half the scale of the more traditional twill-weave Glen Urquhart check. The pattern below shows the black and cream glen check that Sean Connery wears in Dr. No.
The button two jacket on Connery’s Glen check suit made by Anthony Sinclair has natural shoulders, a slightly draped chest and a nipped waist. The button stance is higher than in Connery’s subsequent Bond films and the breast pocket is placed quite low, but it effectively breaks up Connery’s height. The jacket has jetted pockets, four-button cuffs and short double vents (about 8 inches long).
The trousers have double forward pleats, elastic button tabs on the sides of the waistband and turn-ups, with a high waist and tapered leg. Bond’s full-cut, pale blue Turnbull & Asser shirt has a cutaway collar, placket front and two-button turnback cuffs. The tie is a navy blue grenadine also from Turnbull & Asser. And he wears a folded white linen handkerchief in his breast pocket.
Bond’s shoes are black calf three-eyelet cap-toe derbys on a pointed last, possibly made by bespoke shoemaker John Lobb Ltd of St. James’, London.
Now Pay Attention
| SUIT | |
| Tailor | Anthony Sinclair |
| Fabric | Black and cream plain-weave glen check, in tropical wool or wool and mohair |
| JACKET | |
| Front buttons | 2, medium stance |
| Lapels | Medium-narrow notch |
| Shoulder | Soft with roped sleeve heads |
| Breast pocket | Welt |
| Hip pockets | Straight, jetted |
| Vents | 2 |
| Cuff buttons | 4 |
| TROUSERS | |
| Front | Double forward pleats |
| Support | ‘DAKS Tops’ 3-button side-adjusters |
| Front/side pockets | On-seam |
| Rise | High |
| Leg | Tapered |
| Hem | Turn-ups |
| SHIRT | |
| Shirtmaker | Turnbull & Asser |
| Fabric | Pale blue cotton poplin |
| Collar | Cutaway |
| Cuff | 2-button cocktail cuff |
| Front | Placket |
| TIE | |
| Brand | Turnbull & Asser |
| Fabric | Navy grenadine |
| Knot | Windsor |
| SHOES | |
| Shoemaker | Possibly John Lobb Ltd. |
| Style | Black three-eyelet cap-toe derby |
| ACCESSORIES | Folded white linen pocket square |
Thanks for the post, I've been waiting for It.
I like this outfit the best, the suit especially. It's similar to the one In Goldfinger; Looks like a twill weave from the distance, but on closer inspection reveals itself as a glen check.
Here Cary Grant wore a similar one:
http://tinyurl.com/5w4g86q
Which color is this shirt in your opinion? somewhere between white & light sky blue?
Anon1, the suit in Goldfinger is woven in a hopsack weave with more picks and ends per inch than this suit is. The background of my blog is basically that pattern.
Anon2, sorry, I forgot to mention the shirt colour in the entry. It's there now. The colour is best described as pale blue.
Nice, classic look.
Do you know any good suit places that sell glen-check suits that resemble the Connery style? I know Jos A Banks does but it’s like $600-$700
The closest in America you might find to Connery’s suits would be Polo Ralph Lauren or Paul Stuart. But those cost a lot more. Jos. A. Bank suits don’t really resemble Connery’s suits at all. Jos. A. Bank is also much cheaper than $600, since their suits are just about always on sale. But they have a modern American cut, whereas the other two I mentioned have an English-influenced style with a more relaxed look like what Connery wore. In the 90’s you would have had a lot more options.
Well I did go in to a Jos A. Banks. Last month and it was a glen check pattern and the tag did say $600’s now I don’t know if it was on sale but I did not see a sale price. I’ll have to go back in and check. And yes polo Ralph Lauren and ridiculously expensive. I didn’t even bother looking at Paul Stuart’s.
Do the gorge on these lapels look a little low to anyone? Also, the collar seems to be oddly angled downward. I’ve seen a lot of suits from the 80s that had this exact styling, not so drastic as the Armani look I mean.
The gorge is somewhat steep, and it is reminiscent of what was last popular in the 80s, but it’s not as low as it typically was in the 80s.
I watched Dr. No again last night, although the first time since I started following this blog. This was my favorite lounge suit worn in the film. I’m not a huge fan of loud or prominent Glen checks. But with the plain weave dropping the scale, and then the black and cream creating less of a stark contrast than a black and white would, that combined to make this fairly subtle for a glen check, at least on film. It appears something that would be business appropriate to me.
I presume this cloth would be a close match ? Forgetting the fact there’s some mohair in it.
https://apparel.hollandandsherry.com/fr/fabric/use/suits/2819004-english-mohairs-black-and-white-glen-check
Yes, that’s the right weave.
What would be the closest Holland & Sherry cloth to this one nowadays please? Mason & Sons seem to be using this, but doesn’t seem like an accurate choice?
https://apparel.hollandandsherry.com/en/2419019-summer-in-the-city-gray-glen-check
Holland & Sherry used to have a very close fabric in English Mohairs, but unfortunately it has sold out. https://apparel.hollandandsherry.com/en/fabric/use/suits/2819004-english-mohairs-black-and-white-glen-check
The next closest cloth is in the Crispaire bunch, but it has a blue overcheck: https://apparel.hollandandsherry.com/en/fabric/use/suits/3321022-crispaire-black-and-white-prince-of-wales-check.
Standeven have a very close cloth in their Explorer bunch: https://www.standevenfabrics.co.uk/product/27024-black-white-glen-check/
The Standeven one looks great but it’s 11oz so a bit heavier for a summer suiting, was hoping to find a ~8oz one. Am surprised M&S are using the grey inaccurate one for their Dr. No suit….is this one any closer:
https://apparel.hollandandsherry.com/en/2423018-summer-in-the-city-black-and-white-glen-check-plaid
The one you found is the right colour but wrong pattern/weave. The Standeven cloth is designed for hot weather, being a high-twist wool. It will breathe better and wear cooler than a lighter twill.
Amazing, will then look to get the Standeven – thank you so much for finding essentially a perfect match :)