Turnbull & Asser Bond Dress Shirt Display
The Bond Vivant
SeendPosts: 1,326MI6 Agent
Thought that I'd post a lovely little display of dress shirts that Turnbull & Asser have on display at their outfitters on Bury Street. Always a pleasure to see Steven Quin on hand to give you the inside track on all things Bond:
Hope they are of interest.
Laters,
Blair
Hope they are of interest.
Laters,
Blair
Comments
It wasn't that long ago when T&A were quite reticent to trade on their association with Bond. Nice to see them embracing it within the past few years.
Had a chance recently to chat with the bespoke manager at T&A NY, who is an absolute first rate guy and as big a fan of Bond (and certainly all related matters sartorially) as most of us here.
I especially love the Lazenby style shirt on the right.
When you see the beauty of Lazenby's dress shirts up close (though I've never see the exact shirts, only roughly similar ones like this) they are beautiful works.
Interesting to see none of the shirts use studs (like the TF Skyfall) - I thought studs were quite traditional but may be I'm wrong!
Correct, Peppermill. Studs are traditional for stiff-fronted shirts (like for white tie) and marcella-front shirts. Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough and Daniel Craig in Skyfall wear shirts with a marcella bib, collar and cuffs. This is a more formal style than the pleated shirt because it can be starched and takes studs. The pleated shirt was invented as a soft, unstarched alternative. It has a spread collar instead of stiff (wing) collar, it has soft double cuffs instead of stiff single cuffs, and it has a soft pleated front instead of a starched front. Some (mostly Americans) wear the pleated shirt with studs, but Bond (Connery, Moore and others) wears his with normal buttons as shown here. Bond's marcella shirt is a combination of the stiff and soft styles, and it can take studs or button (but I think it's better with studs). It's possible that some or all of the shirts here can take studs. It's common for the shirts to come with a button strip that can be used instead of studs.
I feel like this display is to promote Turnbull & Asser's range more than it is to show their heritage with Bond. I doubt even Fleming would have worn a polka dotted cummerbund. Spotted bow ties are not for black tie, and cummerbunds are not worn with lounge suits.
Lovely display, wish I could afford items like that!
Matt's right of course. I have a polka dot day wear scarf.
To me the cummerbund would be tempting as the "one coloured accessory" rule option for black tie.
Classic + done well = style
'individual' + 'character' = big miss
I'd say the quality is equal, depending on the fabrics as both have different levels of fabrics. The style and construction are very, very different. Turnbull & Asser is classic English design and construction whilst Tom Ford goes more for Italian design and construction with his shirts. One method is not objectively better than the other. I can elaborate more or point you to articles on my blog if you want to know more detail.
Mind you GL had a lot more ruffle.
Yes.
They readily admit that they made shirts for Craig (shirt), Brozza and Connery. But I've never known them to say they made shirts for the others (in the role at least). And I've never known them to state they made the Goldfinger shirts, in fact they told me they did not, and that they didn't make Lazenby's, Moore's or Dalton's (and Brozza in GE). A few sales staff may not know (or care about the details, actor to actor), but T&A as a whole, I've never felt they mislead at all. I think it's more down to reporters, journalists urban myths and internet chinese whispers more than T&A.
You don't have to tell me who made Bond's shirts. I know which are T&A for certain (and they didn't make Brosnan's regular shirts for DAD as many - but not them - claim). I believe there are photos of Connery in Goldfinger in their book that was released this year, but I'll have to check when I get home. Robert Gillotte has told me that the false statement of T&A making shirts for all the Bond actors has come from them, but their archives don't go back far enough for that. The oldest patterns they could show me were Connery's for NSNA. I spoke with Frank Foster for hours, though I don't I believe everything he said either. Foster takes credit for inventing the cocktail cuff for Dr. No, but the only shirts that I'm certain are Foster's are Anthony Dawson's. I think Foster might have done Connery's shirts for Goldfinger, but he only told me DN and NSNA.
Yes. He wore them in all of his Bond films except for Goldfinger.