Before the open-neck shirt with tailoring became popular, there was another way men wore their suits and jackets without a tie. In the 1960s men started replacing their ties and shirts with turtlenecks—also called roll necks or polo necks—in order to get away from the tie. This counterculture look never went fully mainstream, but it stayed in the background of menswear for about 30 years. The turtleneck has one significant advantage with tailoring over the tie-less, open-neck shirt: it looks neater. There’s no empty space where you expect a tie to be, there’s no unbuttoned collar to flap arou ..read more

My wardrobe was desperately in need of two items to complete one of my favourite James Bond looks: a new double-breasted blazer and pale-beige wool trousers. When New York City tailor Alan David Custom invited me to try out their tailoring, I immediately knew that I wanted them to this looks that I so desired. I was also excited to be experiencing the work of a tailor in my own city. While there is a significance to wearing Bond brands, they are not necessary for one to dress like James Bond. Many Bond tailoring brands, particularly at the bespoke level, are out of reach for many people, whet ..read more

Sean Connery wears a black-and-white glen check suit in Dr. No. The combination of black and white is an essential part of James Bond’s look. The dinner jacket is Bond’s signature look, and that’s black and white. Sometimes the black is midnight blue and the white is off white, but it’s the same effect. The dramatic contrast between black and white contributes of the elegance of James Bond’s style, and that contrast can often be found within the weave of a single garment. Sean Connery wears a black-and-white Glen Urquhart check suit in From Russia With Love. Pedro Armendáriz is wearing a grey ..read more

Death is a way of life for James Bond, so it’s no surprise that he finds himself frequently attending funerals. Funerals are unfortunate events for all of us, but it’s important to know how to dress respectfully for one. For Bond, a funeral means wearing a dark suit and tie. When dressing for a funeral, respect is key. In Western culture, a suit and tie is the primary garment a man wears for showing respect. Other cultures may have different customs for funerals and mourning. A suit and tie is not the only outfit one can wear to show respect at a funeral, but it is usually a reliable choice ..read more

James Bond is most associated with having two buttons on his suit jackets because it is what Sean Connery almost always wears in his Bond films. Daniel Craig’s Bond, on the other hand, almost always has three buttons on his suit jackets. For over a century people have debated whether a suit jacket is better with two buttons or three buttons. Which side does James Bond take? Like most men, Bond follows trends while also considering societal norms. But which of the two styles truly defines Bond’s sartorial identity? The Styles A lounge coat, the the type of jacket that a suit has, most commonly ..read more

The ways James Bond’s suits fit over the last six decades say more about fashion trends and personal style preferences—of Bond actors, costume designers, tailors and directors—than they say about the character. Fit has historically often changed as fashions update, and James Bond frequently demonstrates the changing times in his fits. The number one goal of Bond’s fits has always been to look current and fashionable. His fits have routinely tried to convey that Bond is up-to-date and relevant, which means that what constitutes a modern fit is always changing. Sometimes when we look back on a ..read more

The spring tailored wardrobe is full of fun and fascinating possibilities. Spring offers many useful items for three-season wear as well as a number of more unusual options. While this season has plenty of overlap with the autumn wardrobe because the temperatures are similar, spring clothes tend to be lighter and brighter by comparison. Some spring outfits even look summery, but the cloths may be less breathable than those used for summer suits. 1. Black or Midnight Blue Mohair Dinner Suit The mohair dinner suit is one of Bond’s favourites throughout the series, as it has a formal-looking she ..read more

Daniel Craig is famous for the tight-fitting suits he wore as James Bond, but his fits weren’t always that way. Changes in fashion, changes in suitmakers and changes in costume designers brought variation in the ways that Craig’s suits fit throughout his tenure as Bond. The fits define the suit styles that Daniel Craig wears more than any other aspect of the silhouettes. Casino Royale (2006) When Daniel Craig began his tenure as James Bond, he inherited both the costume design, Lindy Hemming, and suitmaker, Brioni, who worked on Pierce Brosnan’s four Bond films. Brioni made four suits plus a ..read more

Grey is James Bond’s preferred suit colour, but he does not discriminate when it comes to the shade of grey. His wardrobes includes suits that range from the darkest charcoal grey to pale silver grey. Grey wool cloths are rarely a flat grey and are made of yarns twisted in a mélange of shades of grey, black and/or white. Without the variegation grey cloths would look boring and flat, but instead they have depth and liveliness. Grey linens, and sometimes cottons, are also often made with the same mélange colouring, but grey silk usually has a flat colouring and relies on the character of the s ..read more

Timothy Dalton told Garth Pearce in 1989 of the colour Bond should wear, ‘He’s got a naval background, so he needs a strong, simple colour like dark blue.’ ‘Dark blue’, with no further descriptors, is Bond’s suit colour of choice in the Ian Fleming novels. While grey has been James Bond’s default suit colour on screen, blue suits take second place. Most of Bond’s blue suits keep within the navy family, but sometimes Bond breaks away from the standard shades for more adventurous looks. The navy family, from dark navy to light ‘French’ navy are always reliable suit and blazer choices, while oth ..read more