#dr no

SEAN CONNERY as James Bond in Dr. No (1962)

31 Days of Bond Fashion

DAY (00)7: THE SHAWL COLLAR DINNER SUIT as seen in Dr No (1962).

Google James Bond Halloween costumes, and you’ll be confronted with a slew of cheap black tuxedos. It's because of this specific suit – the first bit of clothing we ever see him in – that we associate the tuxedo with 007, and 007 with, as fashion historian Llewella Chapman remarks, "a penchant for quality, whether it be in women, cars, casinos or indeed, clothes."

In fact, James Bond's opening fashion gambit was midnight blue, featuring a single breasted jacket with a single button and two vents at the back (more ready for action than no vents, but less of a fashion faux pas than one vent). Made by either Anthony Sinclair of Conduit Street, just off Savile Row or Benson, Perry & Whitley of Cork Street, it immediately broke the rules of men’s formalwear. Bond wore no waist covering, donning neither a waistcoat nor cummerbund, which were customary at the time. Throughout the franchise, Bond only occasionally wears either. More often, he goes without, evidently preferring his suits lighter and easier to remove during action or action.

Dr. No wouldn’t be the last time Bond wore a midnight blue dinner jacket. Both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig (or rather, costume designers Lindy Hemming and Jany Temime) couldn’t resist a bit of nostalgia, calling back to Connery's immense legacy in Tomorrow Never Dies and Skyfall.