Sean Connery’s four-in-hand knot
The four-in-hand tie gets its name from the method most typically used to tie it: the four-in-hand knot. James Bond more often than not uses this knot. Sean Connery uses it in his Bond films from From Russia With Love to You Only Live Twice. Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan always use it in their Bond films. Daniel Craig ties a four-in-hand knot in Casino Royale and Skyfall. The four-in-hand knot is characterised by its long, asymmetrical shape. The asymmetrical shape skews the tie over to the side, adding either a touch of character or a bit of imperfection, depending on your taste. The four-in-hand knot is the smallest of the more typical tie knots, but its size varies considerably depending on both the width and thickness of the tie. A heavier tie will produce a wider knot, whilst a wider tie will produce a longer knot.
Pierce Brosnan most likely wearing his tie in a double-four-in-hand knot.
For an even larger four-in-hand knot there is the variation called the double-four-in-hand knot—also known as the Prince Albert knot or Victoria knot—which takes the four-in-hand knot and adds an extra wrap of the wide blade around the narrow blade. It’s asymmetrical like the four-in-hand but has the major advantage of being a more secure knot. Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan likely used the double-four-in-hand knot at least occasionally.
“It was tied with a Windsor knot. Bond mistrusted anyone who tied his tie with a Windsor knot. It showed too much vanity. It was often the mark of a cad.”
-Ian Fleming (From Russia With Love, Chapter 25)
Though Ian Fleming’s Bond did not think highly of the Windsor knot, Sean Connery wore it in Dr. No and Diamonds Are Forever, as well as in the unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again. The Windsor knot is a larger knot designed to mimic the thicker four-in-hand knots worn by the Duke of Windsor. It has a wide, symmetrical appearance, and on a wider tie the knot can end up very large. George Lazenby also uses a symmetrical knot on his ties, most of which are most likely tied in the smaller Half Windsor knot. His wedding tie, however, is tied in a true Windsor knot. Many find the bulbous Windsor knot—especially when tied with a wide, thick tie—vulgar, and they find that the symmetrical shape lacks the character of the asymmetrical four-in-hand. Which knot do you prefer to use?
Sean Connery’s Windsor knot in Dr. No
There’s one mystery knot in the Bond series: the knot Daniel Craig uses in Quantum of Solace. It’s symmetrical and elongated, which would suggest that it’s a Pratt knot. However, a half-Windsor knot with a lighter-weight tie can make this type of knot. When Craig removes his tie before interrogating Mr. White, the tie has the seam facing the neck. That rules out the Pratt knot, which starts with the tie’s seam facing out. Which knot do you think is used in Quantum of Solace?
The Quantum of Solace tie knot
Though we see little of the trousers, they have a tapered leg and are pressed with a crease. Bond wears black slip-on shoes—probably the same shoes we see later when Bond puts his foot in the basin—and no socks. Goldfinger and Thunderball are the only times that Bond wears a straw hat. This pork pie hat is natural straw with a blue and white checked cotton ribbon. The hat has a telescopic crown with no pinch, and a short brim that’s turned up in back. A short brim is unusual for a straw hat since it provides little shade from the sun, but it’s part of the more typical pork pie style. To make up for the short brim, Bond wears the Wayferer-style sunglasses that we see more of later in the film.
