[rs525]

Of the two most famous glen check movie suits (or just movie suits in general) everybody always points to Cary Grant's suit in North by Northwest and Sean Connery's suit in Goldfinger. What I'm curious to know is which one you guys prefer and which one would be more versatile from business (a place that would accept a glen check suit) to social events? The bluish grey NxNW one, or the Goldfinger black and white one (not as a three piece suit though, sorry).

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

While I cast my vote for NXNW, I would have preferred a TNSIL option. Cary's suit was unvented, and Sean favored side vents. I am a devotee of the 3/2 sack with hook vent. As regards the fabric, I favor the more sedate glen plaid on a suit, but the bolder black and white is better in my opinion for odd trousers.

 

[Mike Petrik]

Can't decide. I'd like to have both. While a completely agree with VV's point about bolder plaids, I don't regard Connery's Goldfinger suit as bold, though Grant's NBNW suit was certainly even more subtle.

 

[rs525]

I should also clarify this is only about the fabric, not the suit details. My suit would be a typical one: 2 piece, two buttons, four button sleeves and double rear vents.

 

[rs525]

While I cast my vote for NXNW, I would have preferred a TNSIL option. Cary's suit was unvented, and Sean favored side vents. I am a devotee of the 3/2 sack with hook vent. As regards the fabric, I favor the more sedate glen plaid on a suit, but the bolder black and white is better in my opinion for odd trousers.

Forgive for being uneducated but what is TNSIL?

 

[eagle2250]

I voted for the NXNW suit, frankly because I was so distracted by Sean Connery's female costars that I never got around to noticing his suit. LOL.

 

[rs525]

For another reference, here are the closest fabrics available from Holland and Sherry (assuming they made the original fabrics used). And yes I know there are other makers out there, but these are just an example.

 

[fishert776]

Forgive for being uneducated but what is TNSIL?

Traditional Natural Shoulder Ivy League. Typically 3 button, rolled lapel to show 2 buttons, single vent on jackets, Penny Loafers, Oxford Cloth Button down shirts etc. that came out of the Ivy colleges and universities in the 50's or thereabouts.

 

[rs525]

Traditional Natural Shoulder Ivy League. Typically 3 button, rolled lapel to show 2 buttons, single vent on jackets, Penny Loafers, Oxford Cloth Button down shirts etc. that came out of the Ivy colleges and universities in the 50's or thereabouts.

Ew, no thanks.

 

[Charles Dana]

What I'm curious to know iswhich one would be more versatile from business (a place that would accept a glen check suit) to social events? The bluish grey NxNW one, or the Goldfinger black and white one?

You asked about versatility. The “North by Northwest” suit would, in my view, be “more versatile” than the “Goldfinger” suit because it’s noticeably darker than the latter.

Light-colored suits can be fine in both business and social contexts. However, darker suits are generally more versatile because they say “business” AND there’s hardly a dressy evening or day-time social occasion where they wouldn’t work. On the other hand, if you’re contemplating wearing a light-colored suit, you have to ponder whether or not you’ll fit in.

With a darker suit, you put it on and you’re good to go. Relatively speaking. A dark solid suit would be most versatile, but that wasn’t one of the choices you gave us. I stayed within your parameters. (But don’t worry—I cleaned up after myself before I left.)

 

[Dhaller]

I prefer Bond's "Goldfinger" suit for the same reason some others prefer Grant's: American vs. English tailoring.

I prefer the English look of Bond's suit.

I would agree, though, that Grant's suit is more strictly versatile.

Sometimes preference and versatility don't match up! (Probably why my daily driver is a two-seat car.)

DH

 

[Matt S]

Of the two most famous glen check movie suits (or just movie suits in general) everybody always points to Cary Grant's suit in North by Northwest and Sean Connery's suit in Goldfinger. What I'm curious to know is which one you guys prefer and which one would be more versatile from business (a place that would accept a glen check suit) to social events? The bluish grey NxNW one, or the Goldfinger black and white one (not as a three piece suit though, sorry).

I prefer Connery's fabric over Grant's for the colour. I think the overall mid-grey colour is easier to wear than air force blue. Connery's check is more subtle (though both are very subtle on screen), which makes it a little easier to wear as well. However, since Grant's suit is slightly darker, it reads as slightly more formal, and it also works better into the evening than Connery's suit does. Connery's suit is more of a strict daytime suit, as I see it.

I prefer Bond's "Goldfinger" suit for the same reason some others prefer Grant's: American vs. English tailoring.

I prefer the English look of Bond's suit.

I would agree, though, that Grant's suit is more strictly versatile.

Sometimes preference and versatility don't match up! (Probably why my daily driver is a two-seat car.)

DH

I'd choose Connery's suit for the style 100% of the time, but both of the suits are English. Regardless of the Kilgour, French & Stanbury vs Quintino question, Grant's suit still looks English. Grant's jacket is a different cut and style than Connery's. Grant's has the stronger shoulders usually associated with English tailoring, while Connery's suit has hardly any shoulder padding. The detailing on Connery's glen check suit is what we normally associate with English tailoring, though Connery also frequently wore ventless suits with jetted pockets in his Bond films just like Grant did. The trousers are the same style.

While I cast my vote for NXNW, I would have preferred a TNSIL option. Cary's suit was unvented, and Sean favored side vents. I am a devotee of the 3/2 sack with hook vent. As regards the fabric, I favor the more sedate glen plaid on a suit, but the bolder black and white is better in my opinion for odd trousers.

Despite Connery's check being in black and white, the scale is so fine that you almost need a magnifying glass to see the check. There's nothing bold about the check at all. Grant's check is bolder due to the colour and slightly larger (but still very fine) scale.

 

[fishert776]

Ew, no thanks.

You probably need to stay away from the Trad forum in that case.

 

[Matt S]

The great thing about these two cloths is that they can both be equally British or Trad. If I understand it right, any classic British cloth is also Trad.

 

[rs525]

Uh leejustix I think you may have posted in the wrong thread. That post has nothing to do with what we're talking about.

 

[Concordia]

Thornhill’s is really very fine— as it should be, since its ability to hold up over a week is a neglected sun plot of the film.
The more subdued check also makes it work well for Manhattan in the work week, which would not necessarily have been the case with Bond’s.

 

[user-name]

Of the two most famous glen check movie suits (or just movie suits in general) everybody always points to Cary Grant's suit in North by Northwest and Sean Connery's suit in Goldfinger. What I'm curious to know is which one you guys prefer and which one would be more versatile from business (a place that would accept a glen check suit) to social events? The bluish grey NxNW one, or the Goldfinger black and white one (not as a three piece suit though, sorry).

I've always thought Carey Grant looked excellent in that well tailored suit. Alas that is a bygone era, along with the elegant dining-car on the train.

 

[drpeter]

In recent months, I've been re-reading all of the Bond books in the original "canon", the ones written by Fleming, that is. I have not finished every single one yet, There are a couple more remaining. But I can't recollect a single instance in the novels where Bond actually wears a suit that is a Prince of Wales check. He does wear a "battered black-and-white dogtooth" from time to time, but otherwise most of the suits Bond wears belong to the dark blue tropical worsted variety, his standard uniform combined with white or cream silk shirts, black silk knitted ties and black leather moccasin shoes or sandals. In fact he (or Fleming, perhaps) has almost a fetish for dark blue tropical worsted suits. Obviously, the movies decided to branch out quite a bit when it came to outfitting the film Bonds. @Matt S is the expert here in our forums on Bond suits, so he could probably comment on all this.

 

[Charles Dana]

In recent months, I've been re-reading all of the Bond books in the original "canon", the ones written by Fleming, that is. I have not finished every single one yet, There are a couple more remaining. But I can't recollect a single instance in the novels where Bond actually wears a suit that is a Prince of Wales check….Obviously, the movies decided to branch out quite a bit when it came to outfitting the film Bonds. @Matt S is the expert here in our forums on Bond suits, so he could probably comment on all this.

Funny you should mention that. Matt addressed this very issue in detail in the latest edition of his “Bond Suits” blog. Check it out. It’s a good read, as are all of his articles.

 

[drpeter]

Funny you should mention that. Matt addressed this very issue in detail in the latest edition of his “Bond Suits” blog. Check it out. It’s a good read, as are all of his articles.

Surprising! I was indeed checking out this question yesterday on the web, but did not find any reference to this specific question in any of the websites I read, including some material from Matt's blog.

I agree with you. I know the Bond Suits blog, I own Matt's book on the general subject which came out last year, and I am not sure how I missed what you point out. I shall go back and check it again. Thank you for pointing this out.

 

[drpeter]

^^
I did check out Matt's blog and the Aug 15 lead entry is indeed related to the issue I raised. So all credit to Matt (and again, to Charles for pointing this out to me). Although Matt does not menton the POW check suit of Goldfinger fame, he does mention the difference between book and film Bonds. In this connection, although obvious, it is worth pointing out that in the very visual film medium, Bond's clothes are far more salient on a frame by frame basis, compared to the written narrative of the books, where his clothes are mentioned but then the narrative moves on. This visual salience may have led the wardrobe designers for the films to pay closer attention to what Bond was wearing in each scene and episode, and how that related to the impact of the scene.

One other possibility that occurred to me as I read through the blog: Perhaps Fleming often specified tropical worsted for Bond because he himself would have felt more comfortable in this material. Fleming generally wore half-sleeve shirts with his suits, so perhaps he had less tolerance for clothes that were warmer, like a flannel suit. And as Matt himself mentions somewhere (I think) in a different blog entry, Fleming dressed Bond pretty much the way he dressed himself, except for the black silk knitted tie replacing his own bow ties.