The Advantages of Braces

Posted on 1 March 2013 by Matt Spaiser

Navy and green stripe braces with black leather ends, blue barathea braces with white goatskin ends, and printed silk braces with tan leather ends.

Not many people wear braces anymore. Sometimes called suspenders in America, braces are the most secure way to hold up one’s trousers. When wearing braces, your trousers stay at the same height all day long. They never sag, which can happen all too often with a belt or side adjusters. With a three-piece suit they also prevent a bit of shirt from showing underneath the waistcoat, like we see with Sean Connery in his fight scenes. If you’re worried about braces showing, nobody will ever know when you’re wearing a three-piece suit. They will also always be hidden when wearing a double-breasted suit. Another great advantage is that trousers can be worn a bit looser than with a belt, which is especially helpful to people who have health problems caused by too tight trousers. Braces require a higher-than-currently-fashionable trouser rise to work properly. Braces allow trousers to hang elegantly from the waist and can be a bit awkward on low-rise trousers.

Barathea braces are great for year-round wear and wool boxcloth braces are great for winter. Striped grosgrain braces can be worn whenever a regimental striped tie is appropriate, and fancy printed silks are great for almost any occasion. Since braces aren’t meant to be seen, you can really wear any braces you want to. You can pick your braces as you pick your lining, to match or to contrast. But the leather ends, like a belt, should match the shoes. That is unless the ends are white goatskin, which goes with everything. Proper braces button on, not clip on, and are preferably not elastic in the front. Braces do, however, always have elastic in the back. If that elastic wears out—and if the braces are properly cared for the elastic will wear out before the front parts do—it can be replaced.

Ralph Fiennes in Skyfall wearing navy fleur de lys braces and attached to tabs in the back of his trousers.

Braces and a belt should never be worn together since they are achieving the same goal, so it’s okay to wear your trousers with empty belt loops if you’re wearing braces. It’s better to not have belt loops if you’re wearing braces, but side adjusters are best if you want the option to not wear the trousers with braces. For trousers only worn with braces they can be cut with a “braces back” that is higher than in the front. For a similar effect, cloth tabs can be sewn into the back so the braces attach higher in the back than in the front, but they can be tucked away for when not wearing braces. Ralph Fiennes wears such a style in Skyfall. Buttons for braces are typically found inside the waistband on trousers with belt loops or side adjusters. On trousers just meant for braces the front buttons are often put on the outside for additional comfort.

Daniel Craig in Casino Royale wearing white silk moiré braces with black tie.

James Bond has worn braces with black tie in four films: The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Casino Royale and Skyfall. In Daniel Craig’s Bond films he wears white moiré braces with braided ends, traditional for eveningwear. Timothy Dalton wears white braces as well, but in The Living Daylights we clearly see that they clip on. Clip-on braces don’t attach to the trousers in as many places as button-on braces, meaning the trousers won’t drape as well and won’t be as secure. Clip-on braces can also potentially damage the cloth of the trousers. If Dalton were wearing a cummerbund it would hide the unsightly clips from view when the jacket is open. Some people believe there is a rule that a cummerbund and braces should not be worn together, thinking that it’s the same as wearing a belt and braces. But there is no such rule. Whilst a belt holds up one’s trousers, a cummerbund does not. It’s there to cover the waist, just as an evening waistcoat does. Whilst Bond has only worn white braces with black tie, black is equally acceptable.

Do you ever wear braces?

Left to right: White silk moiré braces and ivory silk fleur de lys braces, both for evening wear.

Morning Dress Mistake

Posted on 9 December 2011 by Matt Spaiser

For Felix Leiter’s wedding in Licence to Kill, the wedding party wears morning dress. Presumably Felix rented the morning dress because it follows few conventions of morning dress; something better should be expected of Bond. After all, Bond wore an excellent example of morning dress in A View to a Kill only four years earlier. This morning coat is better cut than the suits in the film and isn’t a relic of the 1980′s. However, there are a few problems with fit: the collar stands away from the neck and the back just looks sloppy overall. It is properly cut with a 1-button front that cuts away to the tails in the back. It includes a waist seam, proper of body coats. Other details include peak lapels, a breast pocket—which not all morning coats have—and 3-button cuffs. The buttons are grey plastic. However, there is one big problem with this morning coat: the colour. A morning coat that is part of a suit can be mid to light grey like Roger Moore’s morning suit is. But when it’s part of the more traditional and more formal morning dress, it should only be black or dark grey. The mid grey of Dalton’s morning coat isn’t formal enough to match the formality of the rest of the outfit. The choice of a mid grey coat may have to do with the hot weather of Key West, but in that case a morning suit would have been a better choice.

The trousers are in the traditional striped pattern in black and grey. The not so traditional part comes in the double reverse-pleat cut. Early morning wear always had flat-front trousers, as that was the style at the time. In the early 20th century when men started wearing pleated trousers, the trousers had forward pleats, and that still remains the standard in English tailoring. Reverse pleats are more relaxed than forward pleats and are not as traditional on morning wear. The dove grey waistcoat has a 5-button front, with all buttons fastened, and the shanked buttons are stainless steel. The waistcoat has two single-jetted pockets.

The shirt and dress cravat are even less traditional. The shirt has an attached wing collar, a fine-pleated bib and double cuffs. More appropriate since the 20th century is a spread or cutaway collar, though a wing collar is still acceptable. The collar should be detachable, especially a wing collar. With a turn-down collar the tie should be a four-in-hand, though the dress cravat is standard with a wing collar. Bond’s dress cravat has grey, black and white stripes. The problem with Bond’s cravat is that it is a clip-on (with a clasp in plain sight in the back) and not self-tied. Bond’s shoes are black cap-toe lace-ups. The outfit is completed with a light grey top hat and white carnation worn in the left lapel buttonhole.

Black Pyjamas

Posted on 27 November 2011 by Matt Spaiser

In Licence to Kill, Bond wakes up in Sanchez’s compound wearing black pyjamas. They could be Sanchez’s own pyjamas lent to Bond or just extras he keeps around for guests. They are made from silk or a cotton blend in a black self-stripe. The top has 4 white (probably mother-of-pearl) buttons down the front and a camp collar. There are large pleats behind the shoulders for extra movement and comfort. The top is mid-hip length. Since pyjama style hasn’t changed much over the years, this outfit is one of the least offensive of the film.

A Farewell to Arms

Posted on 11 September 2011 by Matt Spaiser

Bond is brought to the Earnest Hemingway House in Key West, Florida in Licence to Kill wearing a baggy, casual outfit. The jacket is probably made of some synthetic material and is too large, most notable in the shoulders, which results in the sleeves being too long. The jacket has a 4-button front, has pockets on both sides and is constructed with a yoke in the back of the shoulders like a shirt. Bond wears the jacket open and turns back the top to show the revers.

The white shirt has a plain front and a flapped chest pocket on each side. Also, notice how the shirt puffs out; it gives the impression that Timothy Dalton has a pot belly. Bond wears beige chinos with triple reverse pleats that give the trousers an unnecessary bagginess. A brown leather belt holds up the trousers, and Bond’s shoes are navy canvas slip-ons with a white rubber sole.

Baggy Clothes

Posted on 2 July 2011 by Matt Spaiser

Everything Bond wears in Licence to Kill has a loose cut. The dark blue shirt worn here is too big by today’s standards. The shirt has a button-front with two chest pockets. The yoke extends down the front to the pockets, where it acts like a large pocket flap that closes with buttons. Bond keeps a pair of sunglasses in his left breast pocket. Bond’s blue trousers have triple reverse pleats, slanted side pockets and two rear pockets. He wears a black belt and black shoes.

Black Tie: Bond Gets It Wrong

Posted on 25 May 2011 by Matt Spaiser

Most of the time the only black tie rule that Bond typically breaks is forgoing a waist-covering, such as a waistcoat or cummerbund. In Licence to Kill he remembers the cummerbund, but overall the outfit looks like a rental. Whether or not you approve of notch lapels on a dinner jacket these are atrocious, and the satin on the revers accentuates the low 1989 gorge. The low button-stance isn’t nearly as bad as the fact that there are two buttons. A single-breasted dinner jacket should never have more than one button, any more is unacceptable. Only can a double-breasted dinner jacket have more than one button on the front.

The rest of the details are fine: jetted pockets, 3-button cuffs and no vents. As for the cut, it is a size too large, the shoulders have too much padding and are too wide, the sleeves are too long and the jacket fits too large through the body. This cut is typical of late 80s fashion and contributes to Licence to Kill being sartorially the worst film of the series.

Bond’s trousers have double reverse pleats and a silk braid down the leg. They are worn with white braces. Bond’s shirt has a fancy striped bib and a placket front with four onyx studs (the only time Bond wears onyx studs), an undersized spread collar and double cuffs. Bond’s silk barathea bow tie is cut in a narrow batwing shape. Bond’s shoes are black patent slip-ons.

The 1989 Charcoal Suit

Posted on 25 February 2011 by Matt Spaiser

As much as I’d like to skip over Licence to Kill, this blog wouldn’t be complete without writing about this sartorial failure of a Bond film. The suit coat is characteristic of what was popular in the late 80s/early 90s: heavily-padded shoulders, loose cut, extra-low gorge, low 2-button front, and vent-less back. This combination makes for a terribly outdated style, the opposite of what people look for today in their tailored clothing, and this suit was most likely bought off-the-rack. The only part of the suit coat that doesn’t scream 1989 are the 3-button cuffs and flapped pockets.

The trousers are typical of the era, with double reverse pleats and worn with a belt. This is the first time in the series Bond wears reverse pleats, showing the first major influence of Italian style in Bond’s clothing. The suit fabric is charcoal grey in a tropical weave. Bond’s blue pinpoint shirt has a point collar with edge stitching, rounded 1-button cuff and a chest pocket. It’s pretty much a typical American shirt bought off-the-rack. The belt, socks and low-vamp slip-ons are all black. The low-vamp slips-ons were also a popular American item in the 80s.

And Bond has forgotten his tie. The suit-without-a-tie look is popular right now but it’s not something that Bond much goes for, and at least in Quantum of Solace Bond always started out with a tie when wearing a suit. The Key West weather makes the lack of tie understandable, but a lighter-coloured suit would be more appropriate for the warm-weather, tie-less look. Responsible for the terrible style in Licence to Kill is costume designer Jodie Tillen. Some of you probably like the tie-less look, but the cut of the suit is unforgivable.

Which do you think is worse: Timothy Dalton in 1989 or Roger Moore and his wide lapels and bell-bottoms in 1979?

The Suits of James Bond

Category Archives: Licence to Kill