Tagged: Plaid Suit

James Bond’s Iconic Glen Plaid Goldfinger Suit

I hope you all had a very pleasant Kentucky Derby weekend this past Saturday. Just in time for the 00-7th of May, here is…

Sean Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger.

Sean Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger (1964).

Vitals

Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and legendary super spy

Fort Knox, Kentucky, Fall 1964

Film: Goldfinger
Release Date: September 18, 1964
Director: Guy Hamilton
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Wardrobe Supervisor: Elsa Fennell

Background

One of my favorite suits of all time is the iconic three-piece worn by Sean Connery as Bond during the Fort Knox sequence in Goldfinger and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this.

Prior to this, Bond had always looked sharp and well-dressed in his suits and dinner jackets. However, Goldfinger set the gold (ha, ha) standard for Bond as a style ICON.

Interestingly, the entire time Bond is wearing his most iconic suit, he is actually Goldfinger’s prisoner. He is taken captive and, nicely enough, given his own clothes to change into. Bond chooses his finest suit, this three-piece glen plaid tropical weave, perhaps to put Goldfinger off guard? Or maybe he just really is that refined? Either way, it beats the orange jumpsuit.

Like all of Connery’s suits, credit must be given to his usual Bond tailor Anthony Sinclair, who had created Connery’s iconic look – the “Conduit Cut” – with the input of Dr. No director Terence Young. Continue reading →

Paul Newman’s Brown Glen Plaid Suit in The Sting

January 26 would have been the 88th birthday of award-winning actor, director, race car driver, salad dressing mogul, and all-around great guy Paul Newman. To pay tribute to one of the greatest American entertainers, BAMF Style presents Newman from one of his greatest scenes ever in one of the greatest movies ever.

Paul Newman as Henry Gondorff in The Sting.

Paul Newman as Henry Gondorff in The Sting (1973).

Vitals

Paul Newman as Henry Gondorff, alias “Shaw”, ex-grifter getting back into the “big con”

Chicago, September 1936

Film: The Sting
Release Date: December 25, 1973
Director: George Roy Hill
Costume Designer: Edith Head

Background

The Sting, directed by George Roy Hill, has long been one of my favorite films and likely began my interest in the sartorial arts, as discussed in an earlier post focusing on Robert Redford’s character, Johnny Hooker. The characters run the gamut of 1930s fashion, from skid row to black tie, assisted with the expert eye and hands of costumer Edith Head, who won an Academy Award for her work on the film.

This sequence contains one of my favorite scenes in movie history, greatly due to Newman’s performance as con man Henry Gondorff showing up “drunk” at a poker game where he meets and subsequently out-cheats his mark. Continue reading →

Cary Grant’s Suit in North by Northwest

Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill in North by Northwest (1959).

Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill in North by Northwest (1959).

Vitals

Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, Madison Avenue ad man mistaken for an international spy

New York City, Fall 1958

Film: North by Northwest
Release Date: July 28, 1959
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Tailor: Arthur Lyons of Kilgour, French & Stanbury
Wardrobe Credit: Harry Kress

Background

North by Northwest is famous for being one of the best thrillers and espionage films of all time, but it has also received plenty of accolades as the greatest “suit movie” due to the sharply-tailored gray-blue Glen plaid suit that Cary Grant wears throughout the film. In August 2015, Esquire gave it the top spot on its Greatest Suits in Film list… which also included several other heroes you’ll see on the pages of BAMF Style.

The suit even inspired a short story from writer Todd McEwen, retelling North by Northwest from the perspective of Grant’s tailored suit and shining a light on just how important costuming was to the film. The story is naturally titled “Cary Grant’s Suit”.
Continue reading →