It is acceptable for a man of action to break some rules.
December 13, 2010 8:57 AM   Subscribe

Max Spaiser of The Suits of James Bond presents: The Template for 007. More on Dr. No costuming: 2-eyelet derby, 2-button turnback cuff, trilby.(Clothes on Film previously)
posted by shakespeherian (27 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is the fashion-nerd version of glistening hardcore pornography.
posted by The Whelk at 9:02 AM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]


Sean Connery in Dr. No: The Template For 007

OBVS!
posted by DU at 9:05 AM on December 13, 2010


This is a goldmine. I love this stuff! I'm not a fashion-nerd, but a textiles nerd. This is so up my alley it has already mugged me, and is now going through my mental wallet for extra money.
posted by strixus at 9:19 AM on December 13, 2010


I love stuff like this despite barely getting out of my bathrobe most days. My "figure" is also 21st century dumpy middle-aged American, so you could give me a wardrobe like that in Dr. No and it would look like I'm wearing shop rags...but I can dream.
posted by maxwelton at 9:25 AM on December 13, 2010


I wouldn't use Bond as a fashion template for everything. Egads.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:29 AM on December 13, 2010


Connery never wore a belt with his suits, as that would break the flow from top to bottom. But he did not wear braces (suspenders) either. Instead his trousers featured something known as ‘Daks tops’, invented by Simpsons of Piccadilly.

With Daks tops the waist is adjusted by button-tabs on each side, and these tabs are connected to an elastic band that runs through a tunnel around the back of the waist. With these tabs the waist can fit very precisely, and the elastic allows adjustment throughout the days as the waist expands and contracts. Most button side-adjusters have only two buttons on each side but Connery’s trousers have three. He also used one of the buttons on the left side of the trousers to secure his shoulder holster. Self-adjusting trousers eliminate the need for belts and braces, allowing for both lighter travel and lighter wear.


This doesn't sound very gangster...it sounds like those old folks pants with weird stretchy waistbands. No offense, but this seems like the fatal flaw in the template. Also belts can be used for tying up saucy double-agent femme fatales, fyi.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:31 AM on December 13, 2010


I hadn't noticed that the character wears such an odd cuff. Interesting. I prefer french cuffs, but that turnback number would be cool for casual wear.
posted by oddman at 9:32 AM on December 13, 2010


Shplendid post.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:38 AM on December 13, 2010 [2 favorites]


I was discussing with a friend recently of the possibility of getting a white dinner jacket (as you do) but he eventually dismissed it as 'too cruise ship'... I said I'd just be constantly worried of spilling red wine down it.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:41 AM on December 13, 2010


I hadn't noticed that the character wears such an odd cuff.

It's not a Bond rule-- you can see Craig wearing French cuffs in Casino Royale, for example.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:43 AM on December 13, 2010


And of course Lazenby wears a double-breasted suit. That guy just could not get a break.
posted by GuyZero at 9:47 AM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]


Folks into this would probably enjoy the tailor's blog The English Cut.
posted by exogenous at 9:54 AM on December 13, 2010


I'm kind of disappointed this doesn't have anything about Dr. No's costume. Because Mr. Arkham really wants that jacket.
posted by JoanArkham at 10:12 AM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]


I subscribed to that James Bond suits blog the second it showed up. I love that it's snobby about the point at which they put Bond in Italian suits.
posted by immlass at 10:14 AM on December 13, 2010


I'm kind of disappointed this doesn't have anything about Dr. No's costume. Because Mr. Arkham really wants that jacket.

It looks to be some species of Nehru jacket.
posted by reverend cuttle at 10:25 AM on December 13, 2010


and in fact, the Nehru is a central costuming staple of Bond villains.

Wow, I had no idea.
posted by reverend cuttle at 10:28 AM on December 13, 2010 [2 favorites]


In related news, man sells rare "James Bond" Rolex watch on ebay.
posted by cazoo at 10:52 AM on December 13, 2010


Wow, I couldn't imagine trying to run and jump and fight in those shoes and clothes. Perhaps Q has helped him out a bit in this.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 12:04 PM on December 13, 2010


If ever there were a man capable of standing to be fitted, that man was surely James Bond. In today's pret-a-porter world, it takes such understated refinement, and a licence to kill, to assert the requisite bearing that allows one to stand for a measurement, and says to the tailor, with neither pompousness nor false modesty: "Here I am"
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:16 PM on December 13, 2010


I'm fitted at least twice a year and had a made-to-seasure full fit done twice so are you saying I'm a superspy Ubu?

cause if I told you, I'd have to kill you
posted by The Whelk at 7:26 PM on December 13, 2010


I am not saying whether or not you are a superspy, Whelk. That is beside the point. What is important is that if clothes make the man, then the true measure of the man is the measurement of the measuring. I hope I am making myself clear. You say that you have been fitted, but it is not even necessary; almost a formality. For any tailor worth his cloth will have no need to stoop to such coarse fittings, and instead will, upon merely seeing you, begin conceptualising the true Platonic form of a floating camelhair chestpiece precisely to your exact dimensions, and taking into account all your various arcs of movement, if only he has perceived from your ability to stand, that you are such a one as can wear his creation.
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:50 PM on December 13, 2010


I remember my senior prom in high school.

With some of the Baroque monstrosities people were talking about, I decided to emulate the classic Bond "action tux" with band tie.

Got it all fitted and when I was finishing up the paperwork, I happened to notice the style number.

Give ya'all one guess what it was...
posted by Samizdata at 7:54 PM on December 13, 2010


Number one—with a bullet!
posted by kenko at 7:58 PM on December 13, 2010


No, wait, shit, it was number seven, wasn't it?
posted by kenko at 7:58 PM on December 13, 2010


Yup.

007.

Made my freakin' MONTH!

(And, ummmmm, later, after the chain disaster that was pre-prom, the previously mentioned busty girlfriend and I....well...sort of reenacted the classic Bond post-escape scenes, albeit without the tasteful cutaways...)
posted by Samizdata at 8:03 PM on December 13, 2010


God, I love this. From Bond Clothes: Grey flannel suit:

You may notice a continuity error when Bond puts on the jet pack: his cocktail cuffs become French cuffs, and when he lands he is wearing cocktail cuffs again.
posted by zippy at 8:09 PM on December 13, 2010


The navy blazer is a winner. I remember during the Bronson years they were all about the tux, which, eh.

When I think of bond, I think of Nassau, polo's, and Domino... ah Domino.
posted by sojournr at 9:33 PM on December 15, 2010


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