Casino Royale: Bond’s Leather Jacket in Miami
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006).
Vitals
Daniel Craig as James Bond, British government secret agent
Miami, July 9, 2006
Film: Casino Royale
Release Date: November 14, 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming
Background
This bitter winter weather has many level-headed folks here in the Northeast U.S. hopping a flight down to Florida where the weather is sunny and warm, the women are tan and beautiful, and the serial killers only kill other serial killers. Casino Royale gives James Bond his first return to Miami since Goldfinger, and luckily he leaves the blue terrycloth playsuit behind this time.
It’s been a few months since this blog has checked in with Mr. Bond, and I hope that his post will portend a much warmer 00-7th of March for those of us dealing with this frigid cold!
What’d He Wear?
Bond’s leather jacket, t-shirt, and trousers in Miami has become one of the most popular outfits from the recent era. Matt Spaiser nicely covered it with a well-researched post on The Suits of James Bond, which includes a snippet of an interview with costumer Lindy Hemming.
I’ll shatter any illusions right now – Bond wears a Giorgio Armani leather jacket that originally cost around $4,000… and that’s not including the customization that the production received so that the close fit flattered Daniel Craig’s physique. However, it’s still an excellent jacket and worth keeping in mind while shopping for your next leather. (Also, Armani lowered the price for the Casino Royale production to about 400 euros each, so maybe there’s hope… of course, they made a batch of 25 or so for the film so they probably didn’t mind making a bit of a price cut.)
Despite many mistaking it for black due to the dark lighting of the sequence, Bond’s leather jacket is undoubtedly dark brown. The wool standing drape collar is also dark brown.
There are four box-pleated pockets on the front that close with a snapped flap – two on the chest and two directly below it that end just above the waistline. Bond’s jacket closes with a double zipper down the front, allowing it to be partially unzipped at the bottom. The cuffs are plain with no buttons or snaps.
Due to the jacket’s popularity, inexpensive versions have also been produced and sold by FilmJackets.com for $199 and Magnoli Clothiers for $385. I have no firsthand experience with either jacket or retailer, but Magnoli’s lambskin version – yes, the more expensive of the two – appears to be the superior product due to the reviews and variety of colors versus FilmJackets.com’s only (incorrect) option of black. Still, this is not an endorsement as I have never seen, felt, or worn either jacket.
Underneath, Bond wears a much simpler item of clothing, a gray melange crew neck short-sleeve t-shirt in long staple Egyptian cotton. This t-shirt, custom-made by Sunspel for Casino Royale and now part of its “Riviera” line, was custom designed with a shorter fit “for increased movement- perfect for Bond’s ‘active’ lifestyle”, according to the site (where it is still available for $90).
Daniel Craig wears the same t-shirt later in Casino Royale when arriving in Venice with Vesper, both on its own and layered under a blue long-sleeve polo (also by Sunspel). Yins should also check out James Bond Lifestyle’s great breakdown of the Sunspel shirts from Casino Royale.
Since Bond’s impromptu Miami trip interrupts a bout of sexy time with Solange, he doesn’t change his pants. His shirt was already half off, so he may as well put on something better for a possible chase, but he wears the same mink brown linen Ted Baker trousers worn with the black button-down shirt during the Bahamas poker game. These flat front trousers have slanted side pockets and a single rear patch pocket on the right.
Bond finds himself in yet another relatable everyday situation.
The trousers, marketed by Ted Baker as the “Larked” model, have since been discontinued but a similar straight-leg model with plain-hemmed bottoms is still available from Ted Baker’s site with the “Deerchi” model. Unfortunately for the most dedicated buyer, Ted Baker is not manufacturing linen pants as of March 2015, so the mixed cotton Deerchi will have to do.
Although he wasn’t wearing a belt at the poker game, Bond realizes some action may be afoot and wears a dark brown leather belt with a squared steel single-claw buckle when he heads to Miami.
Bond’s belt is best seen just before he uses the 007 equivalent of a Jedi mind trick to turn Dimitrios’ own knife back on him.
Casino Royale is notorious (at least in the sartorially-focused community) for numerous violations of the matching belt and shoes rule, but this isn’t the place to invoke it as:
a) I’m not totally sure that the shoes are black.
2) I’m not totally sure that the belt isn’t black, for that matter.
c) It’s just a movie.
Bond’s shoes are a point of contention for some, as they are not seen frequently during this sequence. A brief shot of him slamming on the brakes in the gas truck shows what looks like a pair of black leather cap toe bluchers, not the most practical shoe for the “active lifestyle” referred to by Sunspel. Bond also wears a pair of light gray cotton socks.
Bond hits the brakes to try and avoid becoming a terrorist. Secret agents sure walk a fine line.
While his shoes may not be very appropriate for an action scene, his sporty Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean “Big Size” 2900.50.91 perfectly fits the bill with its scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and large black rubber diver’s strap. This Omega has a stainless steel case and black dial.
Bond’s Omega is best seen in this sequence as he grapples with Dimitrios’ knife to save his life. (Rhyme.)
Once he starts dressing up in his suits and tuxedo, he swaps out the Planet Ocean for the more formal Seamaster Professional Diver.
How to Get the Look
Bond’s attire for the Miami chase is very stylish yet utilitarian, but it’s a shame to see such a beautiful jacket get ruined. It’s a whole different kind of shame to know that the production team was able to afford 25 of them while I’d have to sell my car – and someone else’s – before I would be able to pick up an Armani leather jacket.
ELLIPSIS.
- Dark brown leather zip-front waist-length Giorgio Armani jacket with wool standing collar, four box-pleated front pockets with snap-closed flaps, and plain cuffs
- Gray melange cotton short-sleeve crew neck Sunspel “Riviera” t-shirt
- Mink brown linen flat front Ted Baker “Larked” trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, right rear patch pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Dark brown leather belt with squared steel single-claw buckle
- Black leather cap-toe bluchers
- Light gray cotton socks
- Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean “Big Size” 2900.50.91 on a large black rubber strap
Iconic Alternatives has a great rundown of affordable options to channel elements of this and many other 007 outfits, such as the Armani leather jacket and Ted Baker trousers.
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Buy the film.
The Quote
Solange: You like married women… don’t you, James?
Bond: It keeps things simple.
And then, of course, things get a whole lot less simple for poor Bond.
Footnotes
This costume card (as seen on Amazon) from James Bond in Motion proves the color (and material) of each garment, showing the leather jacket, the long staple Egyptian cotton of the t-shirt, and the plain weave linen of the trousers.
I like most Mr. Bond in formal. specially Midnight Blue Tuxedo is my favorite.
Bond certainly knows how to make a dinner jacket look good! For a neat breakdown of all of his formalwear, check out Matt Spaiser’s infographic he created for his excellent blog The Suits of James Bond: http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/50-years-james-bond-black-tie-inforgraphic/.
I like Mr. Bond
I sense that this isn’t the time nor the place to discuss the merits of Moonraker.
If you’re a Moonraker fan, feel free to chat it up! I’ve only done one Moonraker post so far, but there’s no denying that it has some of Roger Moore’s sharpest suits in the series.
To address the leather jacket issue. I have the Magnoli look-a-like and it is very well made. Also, Magnoli have you provide measurements to them, so the jacket is custom made for you, and at that price that’s a very rare concept.
Mine has held up exveptionally well, despite being one of my favorite fall/winter coats to wear. It is a perfect replica, and arrived in a timely fashIon, though it traveled across the planet.
I would recommend Magnoli’s products of any range as I have five and all are high quality and produced from excellent materials. The Armani replica I bought is lambskin by the way and is buttery soft and has been since I received it. Also, Magnoli has dealt with me perfectly in the customer service realm, should that have been a concern for others
It is amazingly fortuitous that Magnoli seems to now exist to solely produce high quality, low volume James Bond replica merchandise for the most insane Bond fans, like me, who have set out to wear what a fictional literary and film character wears on film. The entire idea of such a hobby is still so far outside the fantasy of anything I might have considered growing up.
I started life on a farm in the Appalachians, served in the military, the intelligence community and finished my working life as an internet engineer. Belueve me, only the last work I did provided me with the kind of financial wherewithal to collect these items, drive around in one of the most luxurious, yet fast Mercedes Benz AMG vehicles ever made and still have my own shooting range and custom make long distance rifles that I prefer to shoot. Every other position I evet filled was strictly about doing my duty and serving my country.
I thoroughly enjoy this site, find the research and writing to be spot on and a lot of fun to read. If jyou’ve read this much of what I’ve written here, you must feel similarly.
I hope the rest of you stay safe and keep your families safe in this time of a deadly, worldwide, pandemic which has now claimed the lives of nearly one million people in this country.
Some popular celebrity leather jackets include Marlon Brando’s iconic “Perfecto” jacket, worn in the movie “The Wild One,” James Dean’s red bomber jacket in “Rebel Without a Cause,” and Michael Jackson’s red leather “Thriller” jacket.
Some popular celebrity leather jackets include Marlon Brando’s iconic “Perfecto” jacket, worn in the movie “The Wild One,” James Dean’s red bomber jacket in “Rebel Without a Cause,” and Michael Jackson’s red leather “Thriller” jacket.