Anthony Sinclair has partnered with Jantzen to reissue the Jantzen ‘Bondi Colt’ swim shorts that Sean Connery wears on numerous occasions in Thunderball in the Bahamas. This is only my opinion, but these Jantzen swim shorts are the most interesting and the most fun swimwear of the James Bond series. I’ve always considered these shorts to be the gold standard of Bond swimwear. They’re exactly the kind of swim shorts that I imagine a man with an equal enthusiasm for both water sports and style would wear. I rarely get excited about athletic wear, but these are an exception.
The new swim shorts are a mostly faithful replica of the originals but with some modern refinements and additional features. The people at Anthony Sinclair worked directly with Jantzen to replicate the original swim shorts using Jantzen’s archive. They devoted 18 months to development, showing a commitment to getting the product right. The updates to the original were done for better performance and to add the modern refinements that men expect from high-end swimwear.
The shorts are made from an eco-friendly blended fabric of, according to the Anthony Sinclair website, 40% SEAQUAL™ Recycled Polyester, made from upcycled marine and post-consumer plastic; 37% LENZING™ ECOVERO™ Viscose, responsibly sourced wood pulp with reduced water and CO₂ impact; and 23% Recycled PES, adding strength, durability, and quick-drying performance. The original were made from a cotton/nylon blend, which is not going to meet consumers’ modern performance expectations. They come in blue, pink and white. The blue and pink are both semi-solid, resembling the varied colour of the original versions. The blue has a bit of a denim-like look to it.
As pictured, the fabric arrived wrinkled, and the instructions say not to iron. I’m not so concerned with swimwear wrinkling, and I imagine the wrinkles will fall out when swimming. I’m interested to see how they perform when I do go swimming.
The embroidered ‘Diving Girl’ logo on the left leg took numerous attempts to perfect, and it had to be right because it’s one of the most identifiable marks on the Thunderball swim shorts. It’s beautifully re-created.
When another brand attempted to replicate the Thunderball swim shorts, I was disappointed that they did not include a belt or any other way to secure the waist. The belt is what makes these swim shorts stand apart from almost any other swim short. The belt on the original shorts was for decoration, not support, but there’s a hidden inner drawstring that properly cinches the waist. This is why Connery is able to wear the pink swim shorts without the belt. The new swim shorts maintain this feature, so they can be worn without the belt. With or without the belt, the shorts will be secure.
The belt is navy elastic and has a beautiful gold-toned buckle emblazoned with a Jantzen emblem. The original belt with a buckle was not worn in the film and was either replaced with a continuous belt, or the original belt was modified. I like that the belt was replicated as the original was, rather than replicated as Connery wore his. One could have a tailor remove the buckle and sew the belt in a continuous manner like Connery’s, but I am impressed with the detail on the buckle. The belt is removable and sits in wide belt loops that button down with pearlescent buttons.
The original swim shorts had a faux fly, but the updated version has a zip fly with a subtly branded Sinclair zip. The same zip is used to secure a rear pocket. On-seam side pockets were added to these swim shorts, which the originals lack. The waist closes with a popper. There’s a comfortable net lining inside. It’s fitting that tailor Anthony Sinclair would re-release these swim shorts because these are swim shorts with plenty of tailored details. Not that I usually wear swimwear outside of a swim setting, but these swim shorts make for equally stylish shorts in plenty of tropical situations, such as a casual conch chowder lunch.
The details are eye catching. If you’re not confident how you look in a swimsuit, on one hand, the details can distract from your body. On the other hand they may draw extra attention to your body. Nonetheless, I’ve chosen to do the shorts a favour by not sharing a photo of myself wearing them.
I wear a size 31, which fits me perfectly. The size guide on the Anthony Sinclair website is very helpful and accurate. I typically wear trousers sized anywhere from 30 to 33. If in doubt, go for a smaller size rather than a larger size.
These shorts are offered in the authentic short length as well as a longer, more modest length. The longer length was inspired by swim shorts that Connery wore in a photo behind the scenes in Thunderball. I opted to get the longer length as I don’t find my body suited to extremely short inseams. The authentic shorter length has been the more popular seller. In my size 31, the long length has a 8.8-inch inseam, while the short length has a 4-inch inseam. The inseam scales with waist size. The short version has two lines of stitching around the hem like on the original. The longer version adds a vent at the side of the hem.
The swim shorts come with a matching drawstring bag, not only in the same fabric but also with a drawstring that matches the one inside the shorts.
These are fairly expensive swim shorts, but they’re priced competitively against another popular James Bond swimwear brand and offer a highly unique product. I believe the price is fair considering the extensive development involved with reviving the original product, the quality of the product, and they’re made in Portugal.
In the photos, I’ve paired the swim trunks with the corresponding camp-collar shirts from Mr Fish. Connery wears white shorts with a dark blue Fred Perry polo in Thunderball, but as I don’t have that shirt I paired mine with a blue-striped camp shirt. The sunglasses with the pink shorts are Anthony Sinclair’s reissue of the Cool-Ray N135 from Thunderball. I admit that I’m no closer to being James Bond or Sean Connery with the full set of Thunderball sportswear, but I can still enjoy these items just as much as James Bond does.
See the Jantzen Bondi Colt swim short collection at Anthony Sinclair.
Read more about the Jantzen Bondi Colt swim shorts at Mason & Sons.
Seeing these makes me wish I didn’t have a crippling irrational fear of water precluding me from swimming for the last two decades! I like the white ones.
They’re stylish enough that you don’t even need to wear them in the water.
Cool review. I’m going to Hawaii in Spring… tempting.
I’m having deja vu here – did you not write these up just a few weeks ago?
There was a discussion about the swim shorts in the comments a month ago in the post about cummerbunds, at the time the shorts were first released. But this is the first time I’ve written about them.
These look great, they’ve really done justice to the originals while making some subtle improvements. The pink are my favourites and I’d go for the shorter ones. Not sure I can justify spending the best part of £200 on a pair of swim shorts though. Hopefully some come up on the second-hand market one day…
At almost $300 a pop you have to be kidding for swim shorts!
The price is on par with Hemingsworth and below the price of anything else that’s comparable. And nothing else is truly comparable if you’re looking for the Thunderball swim shorts. Orlebar Brown charges $100 more for their version, which takes shortcuts compared to these. The price considers not only the make of the product, where it’s made and what it’s made of, but also the design and development that goes into it. Developing a product like this is not simple, and it took a year and a half to get it done. With all of this considered, I think the price is extremely fair.
Come on, if you buy 3 or more you get 20% off. An offer targeting twin brothers, I am sure !
The short length at 4” is probably 2” longer than the originals worn by Connery. I don’t know why they have done this as it is clearly a departure from the original which is precisely based on the short inseam and which looks far more athletic. This puts me off straightaway from buying them. This is the same mistake Orlebar Brown made a few years ago.
This is the first Mason & Sons thing I’ve actually considered buying. Yes, the price is high, but in a funny way it matters less (though this seems counterintuitive) because we simply aren’t going to put in the same wear hours as on regular trousers, even on a dive trip.
I’ve been looking for trunks like this for about 20 years now, not even for “Bond” reasons but because I dislike the predominant looks in swimwear. I did find a company that basically nails it, about a year ago, but I lost their site in the mean time. When I find it again, I’ll post here because they were about half or one-third the price of these, so they might appeal to others.
Keep us posted!
Haven’t been able to find that site, but I found a brand that offers something comparable.
Rwenzori, which has minimalist 60s style swimming trunks with side adjusters. I’ll keep looking for that other one, but this is a great offering at $79.