Previously we discussed the woven grenadine tie, something unrelated to the tie that we will look at now. The knitted tie is tube of knitted silk with a straight hem at the bottom. The tie is made with neither folds nor a lining like a regular tie is. To many they resemble a sock, especially when they are made in cotton or wool. Knitted ties are more casual and rustic than ordinary ties, and though Bond sometimes wears his with formal city suits, they’re more appropriate with tweed and the like.
The literary Bond preferred black knitted silk ties, but they can also be seen on Sean Connery in Goldfinger in black, navy and brown with both suits and sports coats in worsted, flannel and tweed. Connery also wears a navy knitted silk tie in You Only Live Twice with a navy worsted suit. George Lazenby’s Bond was also quite fond of knit ties, almost always wearing one in red or navy with his city suits. Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan more appropriately wear knitted ties with tweed suits in Moonraker and The World Is Not Enough, respectively, and Timothy Dalton wears a knitted tie with a gun club check sports coat in The Living Daylights.
Daniel Craig brought back the knitted tie to the Bond series with a rust-brown silk tie in Spectre. Whilst knitted ties ordinarily have straight ends, this tie from Tom Ford has the wide blade is knitted with a pointed end. The narrow blade still has a straight end. Craig wears this tie with a light brown sports coat made of wool, linen and silk and khaki chinos.
This is a superb website. I have the 'Dressed to Kill' book and highly recommend it. In fact one of the authors gave it to a friend of mine, a book editor in NYC, and she passed it on to me. I look forward to additional posts. Well done.
they are very useful to have and can go with pretty much everything. If you get one with a pointed end (as opposed to the square end) it enhances the use considerably and allows wear with even the most formal of suits. I recommend Howard Yont, they carry these lovely creations!!!
http://www.howardyount.com/collections/knit-ties
Silk knit ties are awesome and quite versatile. I have two. I have another knit that is wool. Contrary to their reputation with sartorialists, it keeps its shape just fine, but is definitely more appropriate for fall or winter. Just wish I could find some that have the tight weave and small knot that Connery's did.
I would love to see Craig in a silk knit tie, but they are having problems with the franchise right now and the next movie is on hold indefinitely. It's their fault for killing it with the mediocre "Quantum of Solace." Until then, you can see him in action as Bond once again in the "Goldeneye" Wii remake, which I've read is actually quite good.
There has been something of a revival in silk ties recently, along with the Mod-inspired skinny look – which has re-awakened an interest in knitted silk ties in the UK. From what I have seen from internet searches, there is a good selection of fairly closely knitted in crochet style (like in the photo above) as well as jersey knit in solid, stripe and patterns of all colours. And at fairly reasonable prices.
The range of knitted ties in wool is not so great, but some of the finer wool knits or weaves allow for a smaller, tighter knot to be tied. Have a look at http://www.woodsofshropshire.co.uk or http://www.moodysworldwide.com – not all JB in style, but good for ideas.
Sorry, I meant tight KNIT. :)
The mediocre Quantum of Solace has nothing to do with the delay, it's all about MGM's problems. They're all working to have the movie released in November 2012. It would be nice to see Bond with a knit or grenadine tie again. The last time Bond wore a knit tie was in The World Is Not Enough, worn in cold Scotland with a tweed suit. The ideal situation for a knit tie.
"Every actor playing Bond except Daniel Craig has worn a knit tie at least once."
When did Pierce Brosnan wear a knit tie in the Bond films?
Brosnan wore a knit tie in the Scotland castle scenes in The World is Not Enough.
Ah, thanks, Matt. I apologize that I didn't notice you mentioned it in a previous comment as well.
I recently bought a black silk knit tie (with square end) from a seller on eBay for £16 (. I love the feel of it and the satisfying scrunch sound it makes when you tighten the knot. With a half-Windsor, you get a pleasingly shaped knot, not too big and nicely symmetrical.
As a fan of the early Bond style and a secondary school Art teacher I only wear knitted ties. Most students have never seen them before they meet me. It’s rather good to expand their style horizons. Ebay has plenty but you need to make sure that they’re not too narrow.
Hey Matt, i found one light midle blue knited tie. It is probably in poliéster, as it is a little thick. Do you think bond could use such a tie? I was thinking about using it with my navy worsted herrinbone, for a more bondian look
Bond wouldn’t wear a polyester tie.
Ok. But what about the color and the weave?
Knitted ties are very Bondian. The colour isn’t something Bond has worn in a knitted tie, but if the colour looks good on you it’s close enough.
I got it. Thank you very much Matt
Dear Matt, regarding silk knit ties, I read elsewhere online that there are two ways of manufacture, and one is more expensive. The latter manufacture is for example practiced by a German firm I believed called Ascot in a city where there seems to be several silk knit tie producers. I often wondered why the price discrepancy was so diverse – either about £30 like Walker Slater or Schropshires, etc. or at least £90 +.
I’ve found a fantastic range of knitted/silk ties at this store based in Leeds. Great service too!
https://www.tiesplanet.com/search/knitted-ties
Hi Matt hopefully you see this message, I recently bought a silk knit tie and was disappointed to find the look and texture were very different to the ties worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger.
After some research and looking at high quality black and white images from the filming of Goldfinger, am I correct in thinking the ties Connery wore were crunchy knit silk ties as opposed to more modern round knit ties?
Hi Jay, you can find many different types of knitted ties with different textures. I find that knitted ties from high-end brands like Turnbull & Asser and Charvet come close to the Goldfinger look. The ones that Mason & Sons sell are fairly close too. I also have a nice one from Benson & Clegg.
I’m glad it’s not just me, I bought a cheap silk knit tie a couple years back and I was disappointed in the texture as well. It was shiny, for lack of a better word. And because it was so smooth it wouldn’t produce a good shaped knot, since it would slide around inside of itself and kind of fall out. I can’t justify spending hundreds on a casual tie to get a good quality one like Matt suggests, so I either stick with grenadine or buy wool knit ties.
I bought my first knitted tie in 2006 at a Brooks Brothers outlet store for $15. It wasn’t one of the made-for-outlet products either. While it was well-worth the cost, it lacks the texture we seek. My Mason & Sons knitted tie seen here is well worth the cost, and it’s not as much as a Turnbull & Asser or Charvet knitted tie. But of all my knitted ties, my Turnbull & Asser and older Polo Ralph Lauren and Luciano Barbera knits come closest to the Goldfinger tie. The Polo Ralph Lauren tie was a very reasonable price, and I think their current ones look the same, albeit at a much higher price than I paid for mine (but still fair). https://www.ralphlauren.com/men-accessories-ties-pocket-squares/knit-silk-tie/0042921064.html?utm_source=CSE&utm_medium=GooglePLA_456882166494_9575855202_96863033885&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn9CgBhDjARIsAD15h0CGzixm_FVsErm551AvGLNBnmy3Vj3iMH7letVKRon_ofV12pBEAUYaApu5EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Matt, that reminds me, I bought mine at J. Crew on the tail-end of 2016 at the same price, too.
Will probably wear it to work tomorrow. The nostalgia that comes with it is something else.
Matt, how accurate would you say the Magnoli Clothiers’ replica is to Connery’s screen-used knit ties? https://www.magnoliclothiers.com/connery-tie-ties-p-214.html
It doesn’t look close, but I don’t think it’s bad.