The London Lounge

I watched an old bond film at the weekend, The Man with the Golden Gun, surprisingly entertaining. Moore was immaculately turned out, with some classic tailoring on display. Who was his tailor back then, anyone know?

Cyril Castle?

Yes, Cyril Castle.

Read all about all the suits in Man with the Golden Gun and all the other Bonds on this excellent blog:

http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/?cat=44

BB

bond_and_beyond wrote:Yes, Cyril Castle.

Read all about all the suits in Man with the Golden Gun and all the other Bonds on this excellent blog:

http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/?cat=44

BB

Thank you. Fascinating stuff.

Scot wrote: Moore was immaculately turned out, with some classic tailoring on display.

It depends on what you call "classic tailoring". From the waist up the immaculate Mr. Moore looks the part. But from the waist down (tight thighs, flared bottoms) he looks like a period piece to me (quite fashionable...anchored in the 70´s). What do you think?

hectorm wrote:

Scot wrote: Moore was immaculately turned out, with some classic tailoring on display.

It depends on what you call "classic tailoring". From the waist up the immaculate Mr. Moore looks the part. But from the waist down (tight thighs, flared bottoms) he looks like a period piece to me (quite fashionable...anchored in the 70´s). What do you think?

It gets better with his movies in the 80s, see For Your Eyes Only and View to a Kill for instance.

BB

Moore does look a little like a prisoner of the 1970s. More of a problem, though, is that he came on board just as the Bond franchise was just exploding. So we had had to tolerate the World Famous Secret Agent traipsing around in perfect clothing, making sure that his trousers were perfectly creased and that his shirts were utterly unstained as he went climbing up the fire escape, gun in hand. Mustn't dislodge the tie!

Ironically, Roger Moore was Ian Fleming's original choice for Bond, when he had thought of the spy as a fairly generic upper-class civil servant (like himself). Connery put a somewhat different outsider-ish spin on the character, while keeping the some of the trappings of small-time gentry-- the Chelsea flat, the (very) few luxuries afforded on a small private income. The tailored clothes were just what one wore to work. By the time Moore got hold of the role, things had changed beyond recognition. Not to mention that Moore himself was getting into middle age.

I believe Cyril Castle was the tailer for the early Bond films with Roger Moore but later it was Dougie Hayward, not sure when or why the change.

For answer to these questions I suggest reading the blog linked to above. Amazing amount of research has gone into it, and it covers (literally) every outfit worn by Bond in any of the films.

BB

AndyM wrote:I believe Cyril Castle was the tailer for the early Bond films with Roger Moore but later it was Dougie Hayward, not sure when or why the change.

bond_and_beyond wrote:For answer to these questions I suggest reading the blog linked to above. Amazing amount of research has gone into it, and it covers (literally) every outfit worn by Bond in any of the films.

BB

Matt Spaiser here, from The Suits of James Bond. Though I have addressed in my blog when Moore changed tailors, I haven't discussed why the change. To break down the when:

Cyril Castle: 1962-75, from The Saint, Moore's first two Bond films plus other films in the era

Angelo Vitucci: 1976-1980, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker and few non-Bond films

Douglas Hayward: 1981-2012, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and A View to a KIll, and he continued to use Hayward's firm a few years after the tailor's death

I don't entirely know all the reasons for the changes in tailor, but here's what I know. Moore's tailors for his films were also his personal tailors. From pictures and television appearances at the time he was Bond, he wore mostly his Bond suits in public appearances. Moore stopped using Castle when he became a tax exile. Moore's wife was Italian and he started using an Italian tailor named Angelo Vitucci. The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker were both partially made in Italy, and Moore made an Italian film at the time called Street People. I believe he started using Hayward personally at that time as well since he mentioned he started using Hayward in the mid 70s. I haven't seen any film or pictorial evidence of Moore in Hayward suits before the 1980s. Hayward travelled to where Moore lived outside of the UK. The whole time he was Bond, and starting earlier around 1968, Moore's shirt came from Frank Foster. Foster does not and never did travel to see clients. Foster told me he wouldn't even go across the street to meet with Orson Welles!

Great detailed follow up, Matt. And welcome to the LL.

hectorm wrote:Great detailed follow up, Matt. And welcome to the LL.

Thanks for the welcome!