Tagged: Turnback Cuff Shirt
Bond Style – Cream Linen Suit in Vegas (Diamonds are Forever)
Sean Connery as James Bond in Diamonds are Forever (1971).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent
Las Vegas, Spring 1971
Film: Diamonds are Forever
Release Date: December 17, 1971
Director: Guy Hamilton
Wardrobe Master: Ray Beck
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Apologies for the blog’s inactivity lately; between a friend’s wedding and spring being a very busy event season at work, it’s been difficult to find time for a fun—albeit time-consuming—sideline like BAMF Style. You didn’t expect me to miss the 00-7th of May, though?
And what’s a better way to celebrate the approaching Hallmark holiday of Mother’s Day without exploring a look from one of the most sexist films of the franchise?! (Hey, at least he wears some pink here.) Continue reading
Bond Style – Blue in Beirut (The Man with the Golden Gun)
Roger Moore as James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, British government agent
Beirut, Lebanon, Spring 1974
Film: The Man with the Golden Gun
Release Date: December 20, 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Tailor: Cyril Castle
Wardrobe Supervisor: Elsa Fennell
Background
Happy 00-7th of April!
Following a lead on the gold “007” bullet received at MI6 headquarters takes James Bond to Beirut in search of information related to deceased agent Bill Fairbanks. Naturally, this being a Bond movie, that search leads him directly into the arms of a slinky Lebanese belly dancer named Saida. Continue reading
Roger Moore as 007: The Man with the Red and Black Check Sportcoat
Roger Moore strikes a pose as James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, British government agent
Thailand, Spring 1974
Film: The Man with the Golden Gun
Release Date: December 20, 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Tailor: Cyril Castle
Wardrobe Supervisor: Elsa Fennell
Background
The Man with the Golden Gun was the first Bond movie I ever saw. Given that my first Connery Bond was Diamonds are Forever and my first theater-seen Bond was Die Another Day, it’s a miracle at all that I became the Bond enthusiast I am today after starting with these three. (Britt Ekland in a bikini in The Man with the Golden Gun may have helped keep me enthused, though.)
The film’s plot ditches the majority of Ian Fleming’s mostly-ghostwritten finale to the Bond canon, keeping only the primary villain – golden gun-wielding assassin Francisco Scaramanga – intact. The simple story of Bond infiltrating Scaramanga’s organization is replaced with a current events story that weaves in the then-contemporary energy crisis and finds Bond and Scaramanga to be instant enemies.
After some cheeky cat-and-mouse (made rendered by corny jokes, the return of Sheriff J.W. Pepper, and a slide whistle), Bond finally catches up to Scaramanga for the film’s climax on Khao Phing Kan, an island off the coast of Thailand now known as “James Bond Island” for this reason alone. Continue reading
From Russia With Love – Bond’s Istanbul Suits, Pt. 4: Glen Plaid
Sean Connery behind the scenes in Turkey during his second outing as James Bond, From Russia With Love, in 1963.
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and legendary super spy
Turkey, Spring 1963
Film: From Russia With Love
Release Date: October 10, 1963
Director: Terence Young
Costume Designer: Jocelyn Rickards
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
For the 007th of the 7th month of the year, BAMF Style is focusing on James Bond’s 7th suit worn in From Russia With Love, a black and gray Glen plaid check suit. Bond had worn a different Glen Urquhart suit earlier in the film when visiting Kerim Bey in his office, but this suit can be differentiated by details in the tailoring.
At this point in the story, Bond has finally “met” Tatiana Romanova, the enigmatic bait in SPECTRE’s plan to ruin him and smear the British Secret Service. Bond is quite certain that he has Tania right where he wants her, but his charismatic MI6 contact Kerim Bey seems sure of the opposite… Continue reading
Bond’s Gray Suit and Mustang Mach 1 in Vegas
Sean Connery on location in Las Vegas as James Bond in Diamonds are Forever (1971).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent
Las Vegas, Spring 1971
Film: Diamonds are Forever
Release Date: December 17, 1971
Director: Guy Hamilton
Wardrobe Master: Ray Beck
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Yesterday’s post discussed the first car driven by Sean Connery’s James Bond (in an action scene). Today, we’ll be looking at the last.
After making five Bond films in as many years, Sean Connery was reasonably tired of his role. Sure it made him a star, but he was an actor, and actors like roles with character development and tight dialogue rather than repetitive plots, anonymous henchmen deaths, and volcano lairs. The days of espionage thrillers laced with realism like From Russia With Love had given way to over-the-top action and cliches in You Only Live Twice. (Sir Sean and I both agree on this matter.) Continue reading
Bond’s Navy Blazer and Sunbeam Alpine in Dr. No
Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No (1962).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, suave British government agent
Jamaica, Summer 1962
Film: Dr. No
Release Date: October 5, 1962
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Master: John Brady
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Yesterday’s Car Week post focused on a man on an assignment in the Caribbean wearing a blue sport coat and slacks, speeding a sporty roadster along the coast in the early 1960s. Today’s post is going to be exactly the same thing but different.
All kidding aside, plenty of the elements people know and love from James Bond films can be found in the very first movie, 1962’s Dr. No. Here, we see Bond sharply attired as he downs vodka martinis, shoots bad guys, beds exotic beauties, and gets into a car chase… all between cringe-worthy quips and double entendres. Today, I’ll be focusing on the very first James Bond “action car” seen on screen, a blue Sunbeam Alpine roadster. Continue reading
From Russia With Love – Bond’s Istanbul Suits, Pt. 3: Charcoal Flannel
Sean Connery as James Bond in From Russia With Love (1963)
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and spy
Turkey, Spring 1963
Film: From Russia With Love
Release Date: October 10, 1963
Director: Terence Young
Costume Designer: Jocelyn Rickards
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
For the 007th of May, I’ll be picking up where I left off in my examination of the From Russia With Love suits.
At this point in the film, Bond has just spent his second day in Istanbul, exploring a series of underground catacombs with Kerim Bey, the charismatic MI6 Station Chief. For that daytime excursion, he wore a Glen Urquhart suit. That evening, Kerim invites Bond to dine with him and his gypsy friends. Assuming that it’s spring (I forget how I came to this conclusion, but I like it), where the temperature in Istanbul can dip into the low-40s, Bond opts to wear something a little heavier with a flannel suit. Continue reading
From Russia With Love – Bond’s Istanbul Suits, Pt. 2: Glen Urquhart
Sean Connery as James Bond in From Russia With Love (1963).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and legendary super spy
Istanbul, Turkey, Spring 1963
Film: From Russia With Love
Release Date: October 10, 1963
Director: Terence Young
Costume Designer: Jocelyn Rickards
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
By this point in the film, Bond has spent one relatively non-eventful day and night in Istanbul. After a long day of traveling, he upgraded his room to the bridal suite (bad move, as we’ll eventually find out) and ostensibly got a fulfilling night of rest, even without a woman beside him.
The next morning, he wakes up and dons the second of the five excellent gray-tone suits he packed for Istanbul. When I first saw the film, likely on a low-quality VHS tape, I thought he wore two gray suits in Turkey – a light gray and a dark gray. Eventually, as I noticed the differing details and finally picked up the Blu-Ray (which you people have to thank for some of the more hi-res screencaps here), I noticed that these “two gray suits” were actually five very different suits. He even wears two different Glen Urquhart check suits!
The first of his Glen Urquhart check suits is worn here in a very minimalist fashion. A few days later, he pulls out his second one, which he outfits with several accessories. Continue reading
From Russia With Love – Bond’s Istanbul Suits, Pt. 1: Dupioni Silk
Happy 007th of October. If any of you plan on being 007 for Halloween, start scanning the blog and getting ideas for your tailor! (Or get lucky at the local Goodwill…)
Sean Connery as James Bond in From Russia With Love (1963).
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and legendary super spy
Istanbul, Turkey, Spring 1963
Film: From Russia With Love
Release Date: October 10, 1963
Director: Terence Young
Costume Designer: Jocelyn Rickards
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Shortly after he began his term in the Oval Office, JFK named Ian Fleming’s spy novel From Russia, With Love among his ten favorite books of all time. Looking for their follow up to the incredibly successful Dr. No, Bond producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman saw this opportunity and quickly green-lit From Russia With Love (no comma this time) as the next on-screen adaptation of Bond’s adventures and what might have been a successful, if relatively forgotten, spy film of the early 1960s turned into one of the most long-running franchises of all time. Continue reading
Bond Style – Black Tie in Thunderball
This weekend, James Bond himself – Sean Connery – turns 83. Celebrate in style with black tie and either a vodka martini or, to honor his heritage, a tumbler of single malt Scotch.
Sean Connery as James Bond in Thunderball.
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent and legendary super spy
Nassau, May 1965
Film: Thunderball
Release Date: December 29, 1965
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Designer: Anthony Mendleson
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
For the first time in three years, James Bond spends the majority of the film in beach attire, from swimming trunks to casual shirts and linen slacks. Reasonably so, too, as the warm climate of the Bahamas doesn’t really demand a three-piece flannel suit and tie.
However, we are still given a glimpse of the Bond we all know and love when he rolls into the Nassau casino suited up in a snazzy midnight blue tuxedo. Continue reading
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