Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we'll discuss the 11 rules of dressing like James Bond. James
Bond is one of the world's most famous fictional characters. His style is
admired, copied, and adored by men around the world. Even though there are entire
blogs and channels dedicated to the style of James Bond, it's not that easy
to copy his look because on the one hand, you need a lot of dough, on the other hand,
you may not look like James Bond. Just because an outfit works well for
007, doesn't mean it will work well for you,
and your style, and your surroundings. At the Gentleman's Gazette, we think it
makes more sense to figure out what style rules Bond abides by and then use
those to adapt them to your unique situations rather than just copying him
to the tee. 007 has been on film since 1962 when Sean Connery
embodied Bond in Doctor No. Bond is now entering his seventh decade at Hollywood
and as you can imagine, his style has changed quite a bit throughout the years.
Bond has worn everything from dinner jackets to traditional tuxedos, Scottish
Highland dress, formal morning dress, as well as one-piece ski suits in yellow, as
well as tropical shirts. While James bond was a fan of disguises, which luckily the
current one is not really a fan of anymore, instead he has developed a
sartorial reputation that shows him as being effortlessly dapper at all times,
always prepared for the situation, and dress appropriately. And of course, Bond
has worn many bad outfits and admiring them or imitating them is just not
stylish at all. For example, in the 1970s, it was, in general, a really dark era for
classic men's style and fashion and that was also true for Bond. Ian Fleming's
literary James Bond was not nearly as stylish as he is made out to be today. To
learn more about that, please check out this in-depth guide here. Of course, over
the course of two dozens of Bond films, different costume designers and
choreoographers have changed the way he looked. On top of that, product placements play a
much bigger role today than they used to be 40 years ago.
So just because Bond now drinks Heineken and shaves with a Gillette, doesn't mean
that you should. If you want to learn more why a Gillette is simply not cutting it, check out this
video here. Daniel Craig has been playing Bond since 2006 and he definitely has
brought him in to a new era of Bond style. Even though we think it's
impossible to distill James Bond style down to one single concept, we came up
with 11 rules that we think he lives by. Number one, he respects the power and
style of clothes. Obviously, Bond is an intense character who's more a man of
action rather than words. As such, his clothes are an important part of who he
is and how he wants to be perceived. In the 2006 Casino Royale movie, we can see that
Bond utilizes his clothes as a tool. In the opening scene, he wears a tropical
shirt whereas later in the movies, Vesper comments on his disdain for the suit and
later on, he changes his dinner jacket for a traditional tuxedo. By the end of the movie,
Bond is embracing the power of clothes, wearing a three-piece suit for his final
show of power. There's no real purpose for this outfit
other than showing that Bond has fully grasped the power of clothes and his new
identity. Bond fully understands that great clothes, especially more formal ones such
as a suit, add to his air of competence and authority. He fully understands that
he's not going to earn respect or elicit fear if he's dressed like the average
American suburban dad. Two, Bond knows exactly what works for him and he sticks
with it. What does that mean? Well, he expects his garments to perform and so
he doesn't use cheap substitutes. He also keeps his color palette somewhat limited
to keep a harmonious look that is somewhat of a signature for him. Three,
Bond's style never overshadows him. The same is true for you, the clothes
shouldn't be wearing you, you should be wearing your clothes.
That means the clothes shouldn't be so bold that they overshadow your
personality. Bond has understood that and he keeps it simple. Bond sticks with muted
colors, white shirts, subtle patterns, and nothing is overdone. Obviously, his style
is deliberately not flashy at all. Four, Bond moves with the times but leans into
classics. Fashion has changed radically since 1962 and every Bond has found a
way to move with the fashions. Roger Moore wore a safari suit and flared
pants in the 1970s, Pierce Brosnan's Brioni suits and jackets lean more into
the looser fit of the 90s versus Daniel Craig in the 2000s used Tom Ford suits
with a slimmer and trimmer silhouette. So even though Bond goes with the time,
certain elements like the classic suit are always part of his repertoire. The
same is true for you, you don't have to buy period garments but you can buy
items that you can wear now or 20 or 30 years from now because they're subtle in
the pattern and they're not flashy and you can just wear them all the time. Now, that
being said, you don't have to stick to bones color palette and if you're into
clothes and you like to play with colors, you can certainly explore a little more,
all that matters is that you find something that works for you. For example,
I'm a clotheshorse and I have all kinds of different patterns and colors in my
wardrobe but when I wear them, I try to do so
sparingly and not everything at once. No matter what your style is, you should
never look like you're trying too hard and it's exactly what James Bond is good
at. Six, functional wear doesn't mean it has to be athleisure. Bond is always on
the run yet you never see him in Lululemon pants. He' still manages to be
double O agent despite wearing the clothes he chose which are more in a
foreign side. Now, Bond sometimes chases terrorists in a suit and Oxfords, I am, by
no means, suggesting that you should wear a suit to the gym or go fishing. At the
same time, please understand that just because you do something that is
functional, doesn't mean you have to resort to athleisure wear. In the same vein, you don't want always have to wear sneakers, a well-fitting pair of leather dress
shoes will do the job and they look stylish too. Number seven, know the style
rules and then break them as they suit you. Bond definitely breaks certain style
rules and we don't suggest you make all of them but still, knowing what it is and
then intentionally deciding not to follow it is much better than not having
a clue in the first place. For example, Bond wears knit ties with
formal dark suits. 20 years ago, people would have maybe thought of that as
being incorrect but in this day and age, it's ok to add a more casual tie with
more texture to the otherwise classic business suit. By the way, for a selection
of excellent silk knit ties, please head over here. On the other hand, the new
Bond sometimes wears a three-piece suit with a belt which is obviously wrong
because it makes your vest bunch up in the front so a pair of suspenders or
side adjusters in your pants are preferable. Personally, I think it's just
the costume designer who doesn't pay attention but at the end of the day, it still
reflects the Bond style. For example, look at Bond's watch selection, he pretty much
wears sport watches exclusively even with his tuxedo. Now, that decision is not
so much driven by his style, I think, rather than the product placement and if
companies pay a lot and their best sellers are sports watches, that's what they
want bond to wear. That being said, his status as a special agent makes it more
suitable for him to wear a sports watch that needs to perform at all times. He
also wears a lot of black on black which makes his character recede sometimes
into a background which again, for his role and be advantageous but in general,
black and menswear is one of the most overrated colors and I explained why in
this video here. On occasion, Bond also skips the waistcoat with a single
breasted tuxedo which is not the norm even though more and more people are doing
it in Hollywood these days. It doesn't mean it favors your look simply because
an exposed waistband just looks unfinished. Style number eight, dress for
the occasion. Bond is typically well attired. He wears a tuxedo when it calls
for it, he wears a suit when he shows up at MI6, and he wears a down jacket and
boots when it's cold outside. Understanding your surroundings and
the purpose of your clothes always help you to dress through a right level,
depending on your occasion. Number nine, the basics will always look good whether
it's a pair of dark denim, a dark suit, a white shirt, a white pocket square or a
knit tie, these are all staples in your wardrobe that you can combine with lots
of different outfits and they work for Bond and they will work for you too.
Why? Well, all these are classics that have stood the test of time, they have
been around for a while and they will be around for a while and Bond fully
embraces that. Rule number ten, when in doubt, wear a jacket. I would say that
Bond, more often than not, wears a jacket, whether it's a suit jacket, a
blazer, a sport coat, a safari jacket or maybe a down jacket. He just wears
something because it pulls his looks together and he's more complete that way.
Finally, last but not least, James Bond embraces the suit. In 2020, the suit is in
many ways dying as a requirement in the workplace and people don't have to wear
the suit anymore. At the same time, James Bond chooses to
wear it because it gives him dignity, authority, and competence. Bond chooses to
wear the suit because it's the classic hyper masculine garment that
communicates power and authority, at the same time, I believe he wears it because
it makes him feel good and respected. Now, the same is true for you. If you like the
way suits make you feel and be perceived, then by all means, go ahead and wear them
even though people around you may not wear them anymore.
So in a nutshell, rather than copying the style of James Bond or relying on
product placements that pay a ton of money to be featured in a film, it's better to
take those concepts and apply them to your unique situation so you look the
part so you're confident and you feel your best.
In today's video I am wearing a typically Bond inspired outfit it is a dark suit I
chose a navy one you could choose a gray one I have a white shirt with barrel
cuffs no cufflinks and a prince of wales check
tie in a dark pattern so it's just very muted but overall it provides enough
contrast it looks elegant with my white linen pocket square from Fort Belvedere
which you can find here just like the tie even though James Bond now wears
slim fit suit pants they don't work for me because I have bigger thighs and so I
have pleated pants with cuffs at the same time I'm going with the sleek
black whole cut oxfords that James Bond would wear with a suit
no broguing no eccentric or excessive detail just clean pure lines
