Layer Cake’s Dark Blue Pinstripe Jacket
Daniel Craig in Layer Cake (2004).
Vitals
Daniel Craig as an unnamed London drug dealer (but we can call him “XXXX”)
London, Summer 2004
Film: Layer Cake
Release Date: October 1, 2004
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Costume Designer: Stephanie Collie
Background
As I mentioned in the last Layer Cake post, this British crime drama (some could call it a black comedy) was seen as Daniel Craig’s “audition tape” for the role of Bond. He was a sharply-dressed, sympathetically violent, and stoic Londoner who differed from Bond only by being a gangster instead of a secret agent. Also, Dan’s Layer Cake character was also much better about protecting his name than Bond.
His staple outfit was a very non-Bond t-shirt and jeans, although he did suit up from time to time. Towards the end of the film, Craig’s character arranges a sting to punish the lower thugs and appease the bosses. This restoration of social order in the underworld gives the title its meaning. As the boss, played by an excessively tanned Michael Gambon, states:
Welcome to the layer cake.
What’d He Wear?
For the film’s denouement, Dan’s casual look consists of a navy blue pinstripe jacket and jeans. Based on the worsted material and the cut of the single-breasted jacket, we can deduce that it has been orphaned from a suit. The two-button jacket has notch lapels, deep double vents, and flapped hip pockets but no breast pocket. The four-button cuffs appear to be functional “surgeon’s cuffs”, so named for their apocryphal origins on the coats of battlefield doctors.
I like to make it look like Dan is yelling at himself.
When not wearing a T-shirt instead, Dan wears a white cotton long-sleeved shirt that takes plenty of abuse due to the action-based nature of these scenes. The spread collar closes at the neck with two buttons as do the barrel cuffs.
Dan’s shirt gets more and more rumpled as he gets more agitated throughout the day.
Unlike much of his casual wear in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, Dan matches his belt and shoe leather. Holding his jeans up is a thick dark brown leather belt with edge stitching and a large brass rounded square two-prong buckle.
Dan wears his Layer Cake character’s signature chestnut brown leather R.M. Williams “Henley” Chelsea boots with brown elastic side gussets and black soles. He appears to wear them with black socks.
A pair of versatile leather boots like these are good for both casualwear and dressier attire.
Dan’s accessories are a pair of sunglasses and his wristwatch. The glasses are either dark brown or black plastic with dark lenses with what appears to be the Persol logo on the sides. His watch, possibly a Rolex Datejust, is stainless with a black dial and bezel.
What do we think, gang? Persol?
How to Get the Look
Dan sports a couple different looks in Layer Cake, mostly variations of a jacket, shirt, jeans, and boots. This one combines blues and browns to look good and sharp without betraying the “no brown in town” rule to which some Britons still adhere:
- Navy blue pinstripe single-breasted 2-button suit jacket with notch lapels, flapped straight hip pockets, 4-button “surgeon’s cuffs” and double rear vents
- White cotton long-sleeve shirt with 2-button spread collar, front placket, and 2-button barrel cuffs
- Medium-dark wash blue denim jeans
- Dark brown leather R.M. Williams “Henley” Chelsea boots with brown elastic side gussets
- Black socks
- Dark brown thick leather belt with a rounded square brass double-prong buckle
- Rolex Datejust wristwatch with a round stainless case and black dial
- Persol black wraparound sunglasses with dark lenses
XXXX also swaps out the white shirt for a light gray t-shirt, which was a better fit with his leather jacket.
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
Everyone wants to walk through a door marked “private.” Therefore, have a good reason to be affluent.
Speaking of London-based criminals – you should watch London Boulevard. While the movie itself far from revelation, main character wears some sharp suits (especially the blue one), and movie soundtrack is awesome.
I’ll definitely need to check it out! Thanks for the recommendation!
This jacket is actually a suit jacket and not a sports coat. Sports coats never have pinstripes. At the time, it was very fashionable to wear a suit jacket with jeans. It still kind of is, but well-dressed men know better.
I’ve been noticing it is a character trademark on Justified; the lead character has about three or four suits and often orphans the jackets with his jeans. I am probably more forgiving of this look, but I don’t disagree that it can be very sloppy. Thanks for clearing up the suit vs. sport jacket question; I think my perspective has been clouded by seeing a number of designers in recent years coming out with sport coats utilizing traditional suit patterns, which wasn’t done even ten years ago.
You have a very refined sense of style, Matt. When and how do you wear jeans?
Well, I don’t wear jeans at all! But if you’re going to wear jeans with a jacket, Robert Redford showed how it’s done in Three Days of the Condor. It works because the jacket is very informal. A business-like suit jacket with jeans just doesn’t work for me because of the clash of formality. But I can see how the clash of formality might appeal to some people. I’ve never seen Justified, but I’ve always admired Timothy Olyphant’s hair!
Much appreciate the feedback! Redford in Condor was actually one of the reasons I started this blog, and it was one of my first posts. The idea of a suit jacket (or even a sport coat) with jeans was unappealing to me a few years ago, but I have a job that inspires casual dress and I’m appreciating the benefits of experimenting with similar looks.
And, yes, Olyphant has an excellent head of hair!
His jacket is technically not a sports coat more a blazer or it looks like the jacket off a suit he has paired with jeans for a more casual look.
Thanks, Ryan! Sadly, this post is one of a number of my earlier posts that could use a heavy revisionary eye. The nice thing about this blog is the amount I learn from watching and chatting with smart sartorial minds like yours; the downside is that my early posts suffer from this lack of knowledge!
I know this look has polarized some. I’ve attempted it myself a few times with a more dressed-down white shirt and an ’80s-era Haggar “Magic Stretch” suit coat that I picked up at Goodwill. Despite what the sartorial purists say, I like it. Comfortable and good enough for a night out with friends.
Yeah agreed, I first thought it was a sports coat or blazer originally but someone pointed out to me that a pinstriped jacket has to be a suit jacket because of the pinstripe and the material.
I assumed sports coat since we never see this suit’s trousers anywhere else in the film. Many fashion houses now sell pinstripe “sport coats” that are made from wool suiting, but I’ve discovered that this is a modern, trendy fad that butts heads with the traditional, accepted definition of a sports coat.
The more we talk about it, the more I want to get back and start doing some revising!
I reckon if we talked to the costume designer and mr Daniel Craig as well, we would find out that the navy pinstripe jacket and rust coloured striped jacket were just Blazers that had no suit pants. A post on the cool rust coloured jacket and jeans should be your next post I reckon.
I wonder the same thing, Ryan. I’m hesitant to classify the jackets any definite way until getting some sort of confirmation (which may never come!) I’ve got the scenes featuring the rust pinstripe coat screencapped, so now it’s just a matter of me getting it onto a page here. Perhaps I’ll bump the schedule thanks to your suggestion! Might be a good way to open the discussion to fellow sartorialists.
The jackets shoulders are padded not natural, but on the natural shoulder line.