JAMES BOND’S SUIT
by William Phips
A new Bond films comes out, on average, every two a half years and each time I’m reminded that they’re basically un-[spoiler]-able. There really isn’t anything anyone can say about the plot that will make me more or less likely to see the film since the narrative arc has been pretty well fixed since 1962. Yet, in that time, we’ve collectively paid* the GDP of Mongolia to watch Bond be Bond. Sure, the girls (or middle-aged women), the cars and the beaches help but a big part of what makes Bond so very watchable is his suit.
Saying James Bond’s suit is like saying Theseus’s ship or Pocahontas’s river or a Clinton’s deeply-held beliefs - they’re always changing. Six men have worn Bond’s suit in twenty five movies over half a century. (And I’m not even counting the intentionally jokey David Niven / Woody Allen version of Casino Royale.) In that time, just about everything about Bond’s look has changed. The tailoring ranges from the sublime slightly drapey, soft-shouldered jackets made by Anthony Sinclair for From Russia With Love to the very 70s flared trousers Cyril Castle made for Live and Let Die to the Tom Ford suits that Daniel Craig is now poured into.
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