Category Archives: Never Say Never Again

Never Say Never Again: V-Neck and Polo

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Grey-V-Neck

In Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery briefly wears a mid-grey merino wool V-neck jumper over a polo shirt. The polo is a yellow and light blue horizontal stripe, with a ribbed light blue collar. Connery wears it with two buttons open and the collar outside the jumper’s. We don’t see the trousers worn with this outfit, but the khaki jeans he wears in the following scene may have also been worn here. The summer colours on the polo are fitting for the Mediterranean, though not as Bond-like as the blue polo in the original film, Thunderball. When on a boat, dressing in layers is always helpful since the jumper can be removed if the weather gets too warm.

Grey-V-Neck-2

Turnbull & Asser Shirt Patterns

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Turnbull & Asser Jermyn Street

Turnbull & Asser’s main shop at 71-72 Jermyn Street

Whilst visiting Turnbull & Asser in July, employee Steven Quin brought some James Bond shirt patterns out of the archive to show me. Though they didn’t have Daniel Craig’s pattern on hand, they had two other Bond actors’ patterns.

Pierce Brosnan Shirt Pattern

Pierce Brosnan’s Pattern

Above is Pierce Brosnan’s pattern, showing the body and various collars. Though not shown in the picture, also included in Brosnan’s pattern envelope was a cocktail cuff pattern, in the same style as Connery’s cocktail cuff. They said Brosnan had a cocktail cuff shirt made for his personal wardrobe, though he didn’t wear one in any of his Bond films. Most of his shirts in the Bond films had Turnbull & Asser’s standard double cuffs

Sean Connery Shirt Pattern

Sean Connery’s Pattern

Though Turnbull & Asser no longer has Sean Connery’s pattern from the 1960s, they were able to show me his pattern from 1982, which would have been made for Never Say Never Again. Above you can see the button-down cocktail cuff pattern on the bottom right. Above the cuff are a collar band and two different collar patterns, the lower one being very similar to the Classic Turnbull & Asser collar. The upper collar was the one used mostly in the film, though the lower one may have been used as well.

And pictured below, in a corner at the bespoke shop, is a James Bond wall featuring three of the Bond ties that can still be purchased. Beneath the ties are two signed photos.

Turnbull & Asser Bond Ties

Never Say Never Again: Dinner Suit

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Never Say Never Again - Dinner Suit

Sean Connery wears a well-cut black, notch-lapel, button one dinner jacket in Never Say Never Again. For such a grand occasion peak lapels should be in order, but Bond isn’t usually one for being the most formally-dressed in the room. Nevertheless, he still is far better dressed than Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer). Largo dresses similar to the original, played by Adolfo Celi, in a white double-breasted dinner jacket, but wears a black shirt and has none of the elegance of the original villain’s clothing. Back to Connery’s clothing, the dinner jacket is tailored with natural shoulder and has jetted pockets, double vents and 3-button cuffs. The buttons are black horn. The dinner suit’s trousers have a flat front and a satin stripe down the side.

Never Say Never Again - Dinner Suit

with the Turnbul & Asser shirt

Connery’s shirt has a spread collar, placket with onyx studs, and single-button cocktail cuffs that button down. The shirt is made by Turnbull & Asser, though he wears a Frank Foster shirt in at least one shot. The Frank Foster shirt can be identified by its narrower placket with stitching close together down the middle. Foster is the inventor of the button-down cocktail cuff that we see here, first worn by Roger Moore in an episode of The Saint. The bow tie is black satin in a classic thistle shape, and Connery wears no waist-covering. The shoes are black derbys that appear to be well-polished calf leather and not patent.

Never Say Never Again - Dinner Suit

with the Frank Foster Shirt

Never Say Never Again: Blue Blazer

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Sean Connery wears a single-breasted blue blazer in a number of his Bond films and carries the blazer over to Never Say Never Again. This blazer is cut and detailed exactly like the suit jackets in the film, with natural shoulders, a 2-button front, 3-button cuffs, flapped pockets and double vents. The jacket relies solely on its polished brass buttons to define it as a blazer. It appears dressier than the blazers Connery wore in the Bond series, which were further differentiated from suit jackets with patch pockets and swelled edges.

Connery wears medium-dark grey flat front trousers with angled side pockets, and his belt and shoes are black. Connery wears this outfit twice in the film, with a different shirt and repp striped tie each time. The shirts are made by Turnbull & Asser or Frank Foster and have a spread collar and 1-button, button-down cocktail cuffs. The first is pale blue and the second is a slightly darker and more saturated sky blue. The first tie is navy with burgundy and pale yellow stripes, though the navy is warmer than the blazer’s cool navy and clashes. The second tie is has larger gold and burgundy stripes on a lighter navy with a cooler tone that’s much more agreeable with the blazer.

Button-Down Cocktail Cuff

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Though never seen in the Bond films, both Sean Connery and Roger Moore wore Frank Foster’s shirts with his unique button-down cocktail cuffs. Moore wears the cuff throughout The Persuaders and Connery wears it in Never Say Never Again, for which Frank Foster and Turnbull & Asser both made shirts with this cuff. The earliest appearance of this cuff is in Vendetta for the Saint, the only time Roger Moore wears the cuff in The Saint. The cuff is worn with sports coats, suits and even black tie. Unlike the regular 2-button cocktail cuff, this cuff only fastens around the wrist with a single button and pivots on the button. Two small buttons hold down the rounded corners of the cuff like a button-down collar.

Like a button-down collar, the button-down cuff should have a gentle roll. Thus, the cuff needs to be made with a soft interlining and should never be pressed with a fold. Below is what the cuff looks like unbuttoned and unfolded:

Never Say Never Again: Blue Herringbone Tweed

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In Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery wears one of the most versatile sports coats, a navy and grey herringbone tweed sports coat. More common is a black and grey or black and white herringbone tweed but changing out the black with navy opens up different colour matching combinations. Connery brings out the navy in this sports coat with a navy tie. The 2-button sports coat is cut with a natural shoulder and roped sleevehead. The sports coat has double vents, slanted pockets, swelled edges and 3-button cuffs.

The navy and grey herringbone is one of the most versatile patterns for a sports coat.

Connery wears this sports coat twice in the film. The first time is with a grey poloneck and taupe trousers. The second is with a sky blue poplin shirt, navy tie and dark grey flat-front trousers. The shirt is made by Turnbull & Asser or Frank Foster with a spread collar and button-down cocktail cuffs. The tie is tied in a Windsor knot. Connery’s shoes are black lace-ups.

Never Say Never Again: Cream Suit

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The only time Sean Connery wore a cream suit in the James Bond series was a linen cream suit in Diamonds Are Forever.  Connery wore a cream suit again in Never Say Never Again, this time better put together. It’s a 2-button suit in gabardine wool, cut the same as the grey suit he wears earlier in the film. The suit has double vents, flapped pockets and 3-button cuffs.

The flat front suit trousers have slanted side pockets and one rear button-through (unbuttoned) pocket on the right. Connery wears the suit with a light brown belt and shoes. The Turnbull & Asser shirt is light blue with a spread collar, 1-button button-down turnback cuffs, a placket front and a darted back. Connery wears a light grey textured tie with thin, wide-spaced blue stripes.

Never Say Never Again: Dark Grey Suit

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Occasionally I’ll be sourcing material outside the Bond series, from both related films and television programmes. For Sean Connery’s return to the role of James Bond in the unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again, the wardrobe was inspired by his original Bond films. The first suit of the film is a dark grey mini-herringbone. The style very similar to Douglas Hayward’s suits made for Roger Moore at the time, with it’s low 2-button front and high gorge. The shoulders are narrow and soft, following the natural shoulder line, and the sleeveheads are roped. The chest is clean and the waist is suppressed. The details of the jacket include 3-button cuffs, flapped pockets and double vents. The pick-stitching on the lapels and collar are especially noticeable on the suits in this film, though you won’t see it if you’re not looking for it. The trousers of this suit aren’t really seen and all I can tell is that they are flat front like the trousers in the rest of the film. I don’t know if Connery returned to Anthony Sinclair for this film, but I suspect another tailor was used.


The shirts for Never Say Never Again were made by Turnbull & Asser and Frank Foster. Frank Foster made shirts for both Roger Moore and George Lazenby. The shirts in the film have a spread collar and button-down turnback cuffs, a speciality of Frank Foster which I will look at more closely at a later date. The shirt worn with this suit is pale blue. Connery wears a plain black tie tied with the dreaded Windsor knot. Bond’s clothes in the film are English enough despite its American direction.