Vitals

Jack Davenport as James Spencer, aka “Lancelot”, smooth British agent

Argentina, Winter 2014

Film: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Release Date: January 29, 2015
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Costume Designer: Arianne Phillips

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

James Spencer, aka “Lancelot” (Jack Davenport), is introduced to audiences in the manner one would expect of a story’s hero. He transitions between dry wit and superhuman agility as he deftly takes out a room full of assassins in his attempt to rescue Professor James Arnold (Mark Hamill) from his kidnappers.

The vignette concludes with a Lancelot in the traditional pose of an action hero, gun up and smirking while on bended knee… only to (spoiler alert!) fall victim to the deadly blade of aptly named assassin Gazelle (Sofia Boutella). Of course, it’s hardly that much of a spoiler as the search for Lancelot’s replacement is what drives much of the plot of Kingsman: The Secret Service.

What’d He Wear?

Lancelot’s style – in this scene, at least – differs greatly from the traditional double-breasted city suits commonly associated with Kingsman agents. If Galahad and Eggsy were the epitome of double-breasted city style, then Lancelot epitomizes the concept of a country suit with his natty three-piece suit of earth-toned 17 oz. Scottish woolen tweed suiting with a single-breasted jacket and matching waistcoat and trousers. The suiting is mustard gold with a large-scale overcheck created by green vertical stripes and blue horizontal stripes that intersect to create a square windowpane grid. The bronze satin lining is printed with a black equestrian motif.

Bespoke firm Martin Nicholls London of Savile Row cut and made the suits for major characters like Galahad, Eggsy, and Arthur, but I received a comment from BAMF Style reader “Norty” (see comments section below) confirming that Lancelot’s suit was made by British heritage brand Cordings in their house check tweed,

Single-breasted lounge suit jackets are a rare sight among Kingsman agents. Lancelot’s jacket has notch lapels with swelled edges that roll to a three-button front that he wears open. The jacket is shaped with darts and has roped sleeveheads, a single back vent, and the same functional four-button “surgeon’s cuffs,” so named for their rumored origins among battlefield surgeons who wanted to roll up their sleeves rather than remove their jacket before an operation.

The bright red silk pocket square in Lancelot’s welted breast pocket creates a bold statement, and the hip pockets are flapped and slanted in addition to the ticket pocket on the right side.

Lancelot’s single-breasted waistcoat also has notch lapels with swelled edges. He correctly wears the lowest of the five buttons undone over the notched bottom. The waistcoat has four welted pockets.

Lancelot’s flat front suit trousers are the most similar in style to the items worn by his fellow Kingsman agents. Devoid of belt loops, the waistband is clean save for the slide buckle tabs on the right and left to adjust the fit around the waist. The trousers have “quarter top” pockets along each side seam curving toward the waistband, and there is a single jetted back pocket on the right that closes through a button. The bottoms are plain-hemmed with no cuffs.

Neither oxfords nor brogues are the footwear of choice for Lancelot on this mission, instead opting for a pair of derby-laced cap-toe boots in cognac brown calf leather. Renowned English shoemaker George Cleverley provided footwear for many of the film’s principals, but I’m not sure if these boots are also Cleverley items.

Another English legacy brand that contributed its wares to Kingsman agents is Turnbull & Asser, though again Lancelot appears to stick to Cordings. Lancelot’s 100% cotton twill shirt with a blue, green, and lavender tattersall check on a white ground appears to be the “Green Purple Medium Tattersall Shirt” still available from the Cordings site. The shirt has an unfused semi-spread collar, front placket, button cuffs, and a breast pocket on the left side that goes unseen due to the waistcoat.

Lancelot wears a bottle green grenadine silk tie that brings together the colors present in the suit and shirt. Drake’s contributed ties and pocket squares to the production of Kingsman: The Secret Service, and this woven high-twist silk tie still available on their site would be a fine match for Lancelot’s on-screen neckwear. However, the high likelihood of it being yet another Cordings product indicates this green knit tie, made from Italian silk, as your best candidate for channeling the Lancelot look.

We don’t see if Lancelot has the issued Cutler & Gross glasses that his fellow agents wear, but he does wear the standard gold signet ring embossed with the Kingsman crest on his left pinky in addition to his Bremont luxury watch. Bremont developed its “Kingsman” range of three luxury watches that would be worn by characters in the film, including the Bremont Kingsman Special Edition Rose Gold, a modified version of “the wonderfully over-engineered” Bremont World Timer (ALT1-WT) chronograph worn on an embossed brown calfskin leather strap with a rose gold single-pin buckle.

The modified caliber 13 ¼” BE-54AE automatic chronometer has an 18-karat rose gold 43mm case with an internally rotating bi-directional bezel with global time zones to keep Kingsman agents on schedule for missions around the world. The white metal finished dial has three sub-dials at 6:00, 9:00, and 12:00 with the “Kingsman” emblem proudly emblazoned on the latter. The dial also has a date window at 3:00 and Bremont’s signature SuperLumiNova® coated hands. You can learn more about the Bremont Kingsman Special Edition Rose Gold from the Bremont site.

Of note for some may be Lancelot’s “severed half-body”, currently being auctioned by Prop Store. The body, made of silicone, is intensely detailed and costumed in, according to the description, “a green tweed three-piece suit, white plaid shirt, and a single beige sock.”

What to Imbibe

Professor Arnold’s kidnappers may be brutal criminals, but they appropriately demonstrate a soft spot for Dalmore 1962 single malt Scotch.

“Honestly, this whisky… it’s amazing. You will shit,” says his captor. The goons never get to try any, of course, as Lancelot interrupts the party before it is even served. And, once the unfortunate server arrives, Lancelot dispatches him with a single shot and catches the glass before the tray hits the ground:

Ah, 1962 Dalmore. It’d be a sin to spill any.

At least Lancelot is able to enjoy a sip before Gazelle slices him in half. (It’s worth noting that she, too, makes the effort to grab Lancelot’s glass from him before his crumpling halves would send the glass and the contents to the ground.)

The Gun

Although they represent the best of English traditions – from their clothing to their manners – Kingsman agents are issued unique custom handguns based on the very Russian Tokarev TT-30 semi-automatic pistol. The design comes from Cohort Film Services, which “refinished and reblued” six original TT-30 pistols, according to IMFDB.

In addition to modifications to the frames, hammers, slides, and grips, the pistol was fitted with an underbarrel shotgun attachment for extra lethality and a unique profile fitting for Kingsman agents for its blend of a classic aesthetic with modern innovation.

How to Get the Look

Lancelot counters his fellow Kingsman agents’ impeccable double-breasted city suits by sporting the ideal countrified tweed suit with just the right amount of panache befitting a sophisticated secret agent.

• Mustard-gold (with green/blue windowpane) tweed tailored suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets and right-side ticket pocket, functional 4-button cuffs, and single vent
  • Single-breasted 5-button waistcoat with notch lapels, four welted pockets, and notched bottom
  • Flat front suit trousers with extended hidden hook-and-eye closure squared waist tab, buckle-strap side adjuster tabs, “quarter top” side pockets, button-through right back pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White tattersall-checked cotton twill shirt with semi-spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Bottle green knitted silk tie
• Red silk pocket square
• Cognac-brown calf leather derby-laced cap-toe boots
• Beige cotton lisle socks
• Gold signet pinky ring
• Bremont Kingsman Special Edition Rose Gold automatic chronometer with 18-karat rose gold 43mm case, white dial (with 3 sub-dials and 3:00 date window), and brown embossed calfskin leather strap

With the confirmation that this is the house check tweed from Cordings, you may still be able to find the jacket, waistcoat, and trousers available from their site.

Assuming the shirt and tie are also Cordings, you’d be wise to check out their “Green Purple Medium Tattersall” shirt and green heavy silk knitted tie.

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

I suppose asking to borrow a cup of sugar is a step too far.