4 Ways to Wear the James Bond Linen Blazer
At Iconic Alternatives, we try to focus on affordable clothing that will help us get the Bond style we want without emptying our wallets. So it doesn’t make a whole lot of financial sense to invest in a piece and then only use it with one “screen accurate” look. Versatility is the name of the game. That’s where our “4 Ways to Wear It” series comes in: we take one piece of iconic Bond clothing and combine it with other affordable 007 inspired alternatives to extend our wardrobe and get the most bang for our buck.
When we look at the stats for our little site here, the post for alternatives for the Brunello Cucinelli Linen Blazer from SPECTRE is number one. Obviously something about Bond’s look out there in the Moroccan desert appealed to folks, and I’ve no doubt more than a few of us now have a mid-brown linen sport coat hanging in our closets.
So, how do we get the most out of our light weight blazers? Combining them with other affordable, Bond inspired pieces can help us take the linen sport coat from spring to fall with little difficulty. For our examples below we used the Cremieux Henry Linen Blazer, on sale now at Dillard’s for $125.00, but you can find other alternatives in this post. We also shared links to posts with affordable alternatives for the other pieces in each look, just in case you’re not crazy about what we used.
The Screen Accurate Look
Options
Shirt: Saks 5th Avenue Slim-Fit French Cuff Cotton Dress Shirt, on sale for $39.99. Alternative for the Tom Ford shirt.
Tie: Chipp Neckwear Rust Grenadine Tie, available for $55.00. Alternative for the Tom Ford Knit Tie.
Pants: Esprit Basic Chinos in grey, priced at £29.00. Alternatives for the Brunello Cucinelli Chinos.
Belt: Entourage ‘Good Vibe’ Reversible Braided Leather Belt, available at Overstock.com for $20.99. Alternative for the Brunello Cucinelli woven leather belt.
Boots: Bass Planos in Suede Taupe, on sale at Lord & Taylor for $89.99/£65.55. Alternatives for the J.Crew Kenton Boots.
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Clubmasters, on sale for $112.50 at FramesDirect.com. Alternatives for the Tom Ford Henry.
Not much to say about the SA look that hasn’t already been said. I think the key to successfully pulling together this outfit is finding the right shade of pants to tone with the jacket you own, rather than worrying too much about getting a perfect color match for the Brunello Cucinelli chinos. On screen those things went from dark taupe to light taupe depending on the lighting and the filters used. The tie is a grenadine, but it’ll have some texture and it’s a great color match at a reasonable price (thanks to AJB007 forum member Obi Sean Kenobi for suggesting this one!). As for the shirt: find one with French cuffs that works for you, but still expect to get it tailored for a truly trim fit. And those Bass Planos? Get them while you can; they’re sold out almost everywhere but Lord & Taylor still have almost a complete size run left.
The Spring Look
Options
Shirt: Saks 5th Avenue Slim-Fit Solid Linen and Cotton Dress Shirt in Light Pink, on sale for $39.99. Alternative for the Connery Bond Pink linen shirt from You Only Live Twice and/or the Lazenby Bond pink dress shirt from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Jeans: Levi’s 511 in Rigid Dragon at Amazon U.S. for $36.97 to $54.99 or at Amazon UK for £65.00. Alternatives for the 7 For All Mankind jeans from Quantum of Solace.
Belt: Dents Plaited Strap Leather Belt at Amazon U.S. for $60.95, plus $2.50 shipping. Alternative for the Brunello Cucinelli woven leather belt.
Boots: Testoni BASIC Beatles Peru Calf Boot, on sale for $184.99 at 6pm.com. Alternatives for the R.M. Williams Chelsea Boots.
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Aviators in Silver/Crystal Polarized Blue, on sale at FramesDirect.com for $150.00. Alternatives for the Tom Ford Markos from Skyfall or Tom Ford FT108s from Quantum of Solace.
Dressing for spring can be … awkward. That’s why I went with a linen/cotton blend shirt in pink; the subtle texture of the fabric gives it a casual feel to balance out the more formal collar, while the color lets people know that you know that warm weather is coming. The dark wash of the jeans works with the more formal aspects of the shirt, and a pair of well-conditioned, rubber sole Chelsea boots will help keep your feet dry in case of spring showers. Yes, the Chelsea boots are from a different Craig movie, but early film Bond did wear black ankle boots … and how that’s relevant, I’m not exactly sure. All I know is the boots work with this outfit, so I’m going with ’em.
The Summer Look
Options
Shirt: Uniqlo Premium Linen Long-Sleeve Shirt in 60 Light Blue for $29.90. Alternative for the Orlebar Brown Linen Shirt from SPECTRE.
Jeans: Esprit Non-Stretch Five Pocket Jeans in Pale Khaki, for £45.00. Alternatives for the Levi’s STA-PREST 306 jeans from the Haiti scenes in Quantum of Solace.
Belt: Perry Ellis Woven Elastic Leather-Trim Belt, on sale for $17.99. Also available at Lord & Taylor for £14.39.
Boots: Clark’s Bushacre 2 Desert Boots in Wheat Suede, for about $75.00 at Amazon U.S. or in Brown Cola Suede for £53.20 to £109.90 on Amazon UK. Alternatives for the Zara desert boots from Skyfall.
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban New Wayfarers in Tortoise/Green, on sale for $105.00 at FramesDirect.com. Alternatives for the Tom Ford Snowdons FT0237s with the Havana 52N frames and the grey lenses.
Bag: Men’s Messanger Bag in Khaki, $27.98 on ebay. Alternative for the Belstaff 554 Colonial Messenger Bag.
This one is a no-brainer: basically just mix up a bunch of stuff from recent Bond movie scenes set in warmer climates to get the look. We have the blazer and light blue linen shirt from Morocco (SPECTRE), the pale beige jeans from Haiti (Quantum of Solace), the light brown desert boots from the “Enjoying Death” beach (Skyfall), and the belt from … from … honestly, I couldn’t find a Bond belt that would work here, so I just threw in this one. The tortoise Wayfayer style sunglasses just seemed to fit the more casual feel of this outfit.
The Fall Look
Options
Shirt (not shown): Calibrate Trim Fit Dress Shirt in White, available at Nordstrom for $59.50.
Sweater: Forever21 Men’s Lightweight V-Neck Sweater in Burgundy for £11.50 or $6.99 on their U.S. site. Alternative for the Connery Bond burgundy v-neck from Goldfinger.
Jeans: Levi’s Men’s 508 Regular Tapered Denim Jean in British Khaki, on sale at Amazon U.S. for $49.99. Alternatives for the Levi’s STA-PREST 306 jeans from Quantum of Solace.
Belt: Dents Plaited Leather Belt for £35.00. Alternative for the Brunello Cucinelli woven leather belt.
Shoes: Herring Bromley Monk Shoe in Mahogany Calf for or
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Clubmasters, on sale for $112.50 at FramesDirect.com. Alternatives for the Tom Ford Henry.
Latico Leathers Cabin Duffel, on sale for $163.99 at ebags.com. Alternative for the Brunello Cucinelli Travel Bag from SPECTRE.
Linen is usually considered a warmer weather fabric, so if we’re going to pair it with a sweater, it’s better to go with a lightweight cotton or cotton/linen blend. There’s also the risk that this outfit could creep into “older gentleman” territory unless the fit of everything is spot on. I would seriously consider keeping the cut of the shirt and sweater very trim and wearing the jeans with minimal to no break so the lines stay clean and up-to-date. Another way to keep it from getting too stuffy would be to wear a light grey t-shirt (Casino Royale) under the sweater instead of the white dress shirt. If you put it together right way, this could be a great late September/early October, going-out-for-drinks-and-dinner-with-other-adult-friends look. The bag’s just there ‘cuz it looks cool.
Got some favorite ways to mix and match your Bond clothing? Leave suggestions in the comments below! Or, if you’re feeling really sociable, you can email us a picture at [email protected] and we’ll post it in our Gallery!
