The suits from the last three Bond films, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die, were defined by the slim fit or skinny fit suit of the 2010s. This skinny suit is defined by jackets that are cropped and tight, often straining across the body and arms, with a high button stance and narrow lapels. Suit trousers have a low rise and are tight through the hips and down the entire leg, sometimes with a cropped length. The effect is a suit that looks painted on, too small or simply like it shrank in the wash. This is not a suit that follows the shape of the body, but one that constricts it and fights against it. The idea is to show off a muscular body, but no matter how tight a suit is, it can’t conform to the body the way that knitwear and leggings can.
The skinny suit first made waves on the runways in the early 2000s with Dior Homme via designer Hedi Slimane. Very tight looks started around 2003, and by the Spring 2006 runway show in 2005, the clothes looked painted on. Thom Browne also showed his shrunken suits on the runway in 2005. These designers were inspired by what people wore in underground scenes at the time. Trends in tailoring also became inspired by casual clothes, particularly the way men were wearing jeans. People had become less accustomed to wearing tailoring, so tailoring became more like the casual clothes men were used to so they’d feel more comfortable in it.
Brands and customers were slow to adopt the skinny suit because it was extreme compared to what had been in fashion for almost three decades. The skinny suit started finding its way into more stores during the Great Recession of the late ’00s as brands were looking to save money by making suits that use less fabric and would be less likely to need alterations to fit a slim man. It became mainstream in the early 2010s, and became more popular after Daniel Craig wore it in Skyfall in 2012. By the time he repeated the same fit in 2015 for Spectre, the skinny suit dominated men’s suits, and it was the only suit that was fashionable at the time. It had taken a decade for the fashion to go from the runway to when men and boys of all ages would wear the slim or skinny suit. The fits eased up slightly for No Time to Die, which was made in 2019, but Daniel Craig still preferred a snug fit over a neat fit.
The slim and skinny-fit clothes became the standard for men currently aged 30 through 60. All but maybe the youngest of this group were wearing full-cut clothes before the 2010s. They lived through the fullness of the 1980s and 90s but were on board with a change to closer fits. The youngest and most fashion-conscious of this group were the first to adopt the skinny fit in its earlier years, but Daniel Craig got almost all ages on board with the look.
Styles take time to move from the fringe to the mainstream. James Bond usually adopts fashions when they’re mainstream, and he’s typically slightly behind the latest trends. He still wears pleated suit trousers in You Only Live Twice (1967), when flat front was far more popular. He wears staid classic suits with his trimmest trousers of the 1960s in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), when bold looks with wider legs were the latest trend. He wears trim, soft-shouldered tailoring in Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill (1985), when full-cut, built-up suits were trendy. Bond, however, was on trend in other ways in these films.
Daniel Craig, however, was on top of tailoring trends and showed how Bond can legitimise a fringe fashion trend. However, he didn’t go to the extremes of the skinny suit, preferring to keep one foot in tradition. He also wore suits with three buttons in every Bond film, even though two buttons were the trend and three buttons were considered an unfashionable 1990s trend throughout the entire time he played Bond. His suit trousers almost always had turn-ups in every film, at a time when plain hems dominated men’s fashion.
The skinny suit became the suit of masculinity, and Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond undeniably had a part in it becoming so. The skinny suit brought a sexiness to the suit it never had before. Designers had attempted a sexy suit before, especially in Italy and France, but for the 21st century it meant putting a man in a suit that couldn’t contain him. Throughout the ’00s, it was trendy for women to wear clothes too small for them, and that spilled over into men’s fashion. Not only did this trend mean breaking away from the idea that a suit means conformity, it also discarded the elegance and tastefulness that also come to mind when one thinks of a suit. Sean Connery, however, looked both sexy as and elegant as James Bond in his well-fitted Anthony Sinclair suits, but the sexiness came from Connery and not from the way the suits fit him.
The tight look was widely accepted on James Bond when he wore it in Skyfall—but not by yours truly—though it would not have been accepted at the time Craig first played Bond in Casino Royale in 2006. Most men, including Bond, wore wide-leg trousers and jeans in the mid ’00s, and tight clothes were considered feminine. Men who wore tight clothes in the mid-2000s were called ‘metrosexual’ or words that shouldn’t be repeated. They wore women’s jeans to achieve the fashion-forward tight, low-rise look that wasn’t widely available for men. Their sexuality was questioned, when they were making unrelated statements with their clothes.
Many people were convinced that the skinny suit would be the new normal going forward, despite history always proving otherwise. Fashions never last. If there’s one reason above all others that the skinny suit wouldn’t last, it’s that it’s too impractical. It’s too tight to be comfortable. The tightness causes extra wear on the clothes. People grow tired of wearing impractical clothes.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the mid 2020s, Daniel Craig has let go of this trend and instead follows what both young men and fashion-forward men of all ages are wearing: full-cut suits. No trend lasts forever, and new trends arise for many reasons. Young people don’t want to dress like their parents. The fashion industry forces new trends so people will replace outdated clothes. Fashion designers want to create something new to make their own mark on the fashion industry. Many consumers get bored with old looks and want the latest thing.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe skinny suit may no longer be the latest thing, but it hasn’t yet left the stage. Many brands are holding onto it, either because they’re behind the trends, their customers are behind the trends or because the style is much cheaper to produce than the baggy trend. Today’s trendy full cuts use considerably more fabric and are thus more expensive to produce. Some brands give customers the option of a slim or skinny cut and a full cut. The skinny fit is still the definition of masculinity for a generation of men, including many men who would have bullied and ridiculed those who wore a skinny fit prior to the 2010s.
The skinny suit has been on its way out since it hit peak saturation a decade ago, fading away as slowly as it arrived. Those interested in fashion tend to not want what’s mainstream. The skinny suit was the suit of the 2010s, and now we’re more than halfway through the 2020s. There’s no single trend that defines the suit of the 2020s. So far, the decade has seen a combination of leftover skinny suits, a revival of 1980s slouchy suits and a prevalence of unstructured suits in various fits. One of these looks will likely continue into the future as the rest fade away. Hopefully the slim and skinny suits will fade away, and this is the last I will need to mention them.
A fitting end to the poorly fitting suit.
May it rest in peace, and take a very very long rest.
I’m interested to see where trends take us next. I’m all for a fuller cut but I don’t like the unstructured shoulder that’s currently out there. I unfortunately fell victim when I received the suit I was to be married in from my usual mtm suitmaker, only to find that they’d forgotten all the padding. When I raised it they said they’d updated their construction to follow fashion trends. I told them I wouldn’t have purchased the suit if I’d known and had them remake it, and they informed me it would be the last time they would ever make a suit with shoulder padding. I informed them it’s the last time I’d ask them to make a suit.
Dress like Craig Bond starter pack:
Overly tight fit ☑
Triangle of shame ☑
Low rise trousers ☑
Over-sized thick dive watch ☑
Collar gap ☑
There’s more, but the great thing is you can achieve the above even on a budget.
Don’t forget relentless hands in pockets. Please for the love of all that’s holy someone tell him how bad this looks.
If he’s going to keep his hands in his pockets, he could at least wear double vents. (That’s another thing to add to the starter pack – single vents on dinner jackets.)
The single vents on most of Craig’s suits are very odd because double vents have been the only trendy kind of vents for the last 20 years.
Unfortunately for him this collar gap trend has carried on until today ! I am happy Casino Royale and QOS didn’t feature suits having this problem.
I don’t see the problem of putting hands in your pockets, as long as your trousers (and presumably jacket) are well cut. Grant does it regularly during NBN, it looks fine to my eye. As long as you are comfortable in your clothes and have clothes fitting you well (which are two different things even though they’re quite related), you can put your hands in whichever pockets you like, imo -see King Charles who often puts hands in his jacket’s pockets : I don’t think it looks that bad. Of course, wearing bespoke helps…
Few of us – I include neither myself nor Daniel Craig amongst that few – look good in a tight suit.
I will not mourn their passing.
While it’s true that Craig’s Bond suits may have all been three-button, most of them were cut to make the top button and button hole either invisible or all but invisible and were to all intents and purposes two-button suits in my eyes. I don’t even know why tailors bother to cut suits in this style. I even had a lengthy argument with a mate of mine who was convinced that all Craig’s suits were two button such is the pointlessness of this particular (largely invisible) feature.
Anyway I add my voice of dissent to those who are happy to see sausage skin suits in the rear view mirror. Unfortunately the vagaries of fashion being what they are I’m expecting the pendulum to swing too far the other way with the advent of triple pleated baggy trousers and off-the-shoulder suit jackets. The concept of ‘happy medium’ seems to be largely lost to those at the helm of driving fashion.
The top of three buttons is still visible in Casino Royale and Skyfall, as well as in the needlecord suit in No Time to Die (when the lapel was design to roll through the top button).
I’m hoping that in the new era of full cuts, the happy medium will be accepted. I’m puzzled when people have criticised my closely fitted jackets for being baggy because they’re not pulling across the body.
Like it or not, the three-roll-two style has been around for a century now. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but doesn’t need to be. The wearers who want such details will enjoy it, like a full canvas construction. I personally notice and appreciate when a jacket is cut like this, as I did all those years ago spotting it in Quantum of Solace. As I recall, and Matt can correct me here if I’m wrong, it basically came about from three button jackets that had a soft inner canvas which allowed the lapels to roll to the middle button. So, tailors started cutting them this way on purpose upon request from customers. It’s kind of like how the Duke of Windsor let his lapels roll down to the bottom button on his soft-structured Anderson & Sheppard suits.
Thanks for the background. I wore my three-role-two blue herringbone Donegal tweed from Oliver Wicks just this chilly morning. It fits my full chest and shoulders with the right drape and makes my slimmer waist and hips look proportional.
I just wish clothes that *fit* were in fashion, be they full cut or trim. The fit of Daniel Craig’s suits in 2006 and 2008 are still my platonic ideal. They are not too skinny, like Skyfall, or too full, like Licence to Kill. Both of those movies showed why extremes don’t date very well.
I’d argue that too full is far better than skinny but obviously neither is ideal (though I’d defer to the too full if I had to accept one of either trend – weight gain is inevitable and a suit needs future-proofing).
I imagine it comes as no surprise to regulars of this blog that fashions always eventually change, often heading for extremes. So while I am pleased that we have seen movement away from skinny suits, I am worried about where the pendulum will swing to next.
Therefore, though the skinny trend may be ending, I don’t think it will be wise for everyone to cut their cloth to this year’s billowing fashions. Rumples from bagginess are just as unappealing as creasing from tightness. Good style will always have an element of clean fit regardless if the cut is full or trim – think Connery, Moore’s Hayward suits, and Brosnan in TWINE. .
As a gentleman whose physique does not lend itself to skinny or slim fit clothing, I rejoice in the demise of the skinny suit. All I want is a regular fit suit.
Agreed. Glad to see the backside of skinny suits, too-short jackets with single vents, wrinkles… and the Craig era.
Sayonara.
While I don’t disagree regarding Connery’s sexiness and what it could do for any wardrobe, the Conduit Cut is an undeniably sexy tailoring.
It didn’t look particularly sexy on Anthony Sinclair himself. It’s excellent tailoring that brings out the best in Connery.
Craig really did start strong and fast out of the gate both cinematically and sartorially only to tumble well before the finish. Such a shame that he deferred to a very unfortunate trend, a misfortune only exacerbated by the use of such qualify fabrics and labels, such a waste . . . nor will I forgive David Tennant for dressing ‘Doctor Who’ in that hopelessly convoluted ensemble with the four button Gap cotton suit (though fans and ‘cosplayers’ still adore the look) . . . End of a very lamentable era I’d say.
If I recall correctly, only Tennant’s jacket had a tight fit, the trousers were a fairly classic width. In the mid-2010s, they’d have been called baggy.
Funny, I often see his suit described as being reminiscent of the 1930s. In fairness, it does have a belted back and a flapped breast pocket (classic 30s details), but other than that, it’s the complete opposite of 1930s tailoring. In fact, just about everything about it screams mid-2000s.
Whovian here! Part of the reason for the tight jacket is because they were using limited fabric, they literally just bought any of those Gap trousers they could get their hands on since the fabric couldn’t be sourced anymore. The jackets are made up from pieces of various trousers that weren’t Tennant’s size. Later on, after creating some blue suits for his second season, they created their own brown fabric and made more duplicates. As far as tight jackets go, I’ve definitely seen worse from the mid-2000s until now. You’re right that only the pocket and back details resemble 1930s tailoring trends, but that was the exact influence cited by the costume designer.
He looks like he might have had his ears “tailored”, so to speak!
Matt,in your opinion there is a correlation between the skinny look and the the rediscovery of 1960s in media,films and TV show?
Maybe it’s not a coincidence that the skinny suit went parallel to movies as “Down with love”, “Catch Me If You Can”,”A Single man” (of Tom Ford) and TV series as “Mad Men”,Pan Am”,”The playboy club” and others products.
The look of Bond/Craig, while skinny, winks the Bond/Connery look of 60s.
So,Matt,in your opinion this 60s renaissance of 00 and 2010s years have their share of “guilt” in the triumph of skinny look?
Yes, and I think the rediscovery of 1960s is what helped take the skinny suit mainstream. The skinny suit didn’t start as a 1960s revival, but it became a caricature of the 1960s suit.
The herringbone suit in this post might be the first truly Bond-like garment I’ve seen Craig in. If he had dressed like that in his films I would excuse most things (except Blofeld being his brother).
Strange, given it looks pretty different to anything any Bond has worn in the past.
It’s definitely more Kingsman than James Bond, but a nice suit regardless. It fits him neatly without being tight. I think it’s mostly the fabric that doesn’t feel like James Bond. Roger Moore wore a few double breasted suits, albeit with flat front, plain-hemmed trousers.
Not especially.
It’s a properly cut English suit, double breasted as often preferred by naval men. Herringbone, nailhead, and other weaves are absolutely staples of the well tailored British man (look at the late HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who has a very novel Bond like background—partly foreign aristocrat, WWII naval hero, even some degree Scottish upbringing).
Connery didn’t wear them, but he also didn’t wear the ultra smooth worsteds often favoured by newer Bonds.
Actually one of the workarounds people often do today to get the classic tailored look with lighter cloth is to choose books like Dugdale Royal Classics with have texture (whether from weave or milling).
I mostly meant the two-tone herringbone flannel isn’t something you’d see Bond in very often.
(I was replying to Liam there.)
Thank God. Now I’ll finally look like I was ahead of the fashion curve