By Nicholas Mosquera / Mens Vogue

Ursula Andress and Sean Connery in Dr. No (1962)
Put any old beachgoer on St. Barts or Ibiza in a skintight, powder-blue cabana suit, and Ms. Andress probably wouldn't pay him any mind. Squeeze Mr. Connery's suave Bond into this number, though, and some beach-blanket bingo is inevitable.



Sean Connery and Cec Linder in Goldfinger (1964)
In only the third film, Bond has already dispatched country club attire with as much ruthlessness as he would a Soviet spy. Here he dons a terry cloth romper. Women swooned, presumably, just out of frame.



Sean Connery and Claudine Auger in Thunderball (1965)
Connery's gingham shirt — a fixture in the collections from Bottega Veneta and other houses this year — is unlikely to ever be unstylish. Those almost invisible swim trunks, however, are a testament to how much more modest beachwear has become since the swinging sixties.



George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
A male model — he was Europe's Marlboro Man — Lazenby got himself the Bond job by visiting Connery's tailor, wearing a Rolex, and showing up to casting meetings in an Aston Martin. No wonder he's sometimes considered the most stylish 007 ever. Not coincidentally, he holds the record for most women bedded by Bond in one evening: eight.



Maud Adams, Roger Moore, and Britt Ekland in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Golden gun or golden complexion? Under the reign of Roger Moore, the Bond gadgets — and plots — became increasingly cartoonish. (Flying car? Fake nipple? Clown disguise? Check, check, and check.) Still, this George Hamilton–bronzed Bond imbued the franchise with a classic European style, thanks to Savile Row tailors Cyril Castle and, later, Douglas Hayward.

 

Richard Kiel (back to camera), Barbara Bach, and Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
A typical night on the town for 007. The oversize lapels and bell-bottomed slacks show that not even James Bond was immune to Saturday Night Fever.



Roger Moore and Christopher Walken in A View to a Kill (1985)
In his last and rather forgettable appearance as Bond, Moore was upstaged by a villainous Christopher Walken — at least in terms of their riding suits. Upon Moore's departure, Bond would enter almost a decade of sartorial doldrums.



Timothy Dalton in License to Kill (1989)
During Dalton's brief, two-film stint, the decade of excess indeed took its toll on Bond's wardrobe department . (Note the unfortunate peak collar-and-ascot combo.) Lindy Hemming, costume designer for Casino Royale, was quoted by the Times of London earlier this year comparing Dalton's unmatching-blazer-and-slacks look to that of an off-duty policeman.



Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Brosnan's debut as 007 in Goldeneye the year before brought with it a relationship with Italian fashion house Brioni — the first film in which Bond strayed from his London roots. Curiously, as 007's watch- and carmakers became ever more shameless about product placement, no mention of Brioni is made in the film and no money reportedly changed hands. A return to classic, restrained fashion, indeed.

 

Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006).
Bond entered uncharted waters when Craig appeared in his less-than-roomy La Perla trunks carrying the muscle mass of all his predecessors combined. It's this image — rather than Caterina Murino riding her steed bareback along the beach, or Eva Green dazzling in all her scenes — that encapsulated the new Bond ethos: more lethal than lithe.



Daniel Craig in Quantum Of Solace (2008)
Craig continues to butch up the Bond mystique. Bloodied, battered, and dressed down, he's closer to Mad Max than Mr. Connery. It could also be the first time the secret agent gets away with wearing jeans on the job.



Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko in Quantum of Solace (2008)
It's a little worse for the wear, but a Tom Ford suit can stand up to a lot more than a spot of international espionage. Craig's tenure coincided with the switch from Italian tailoring to Mr. Ford's, a shift that mirrored the character's unapologetically masculine turn. Of course, the Soviet-born Ms. Kurylenko (a model, naturally) helps make the man as well.

 

Daniel Craig all the way.... Not that Bond reflects anything in reality, at least they got the look right.

 

Great post DJ

 

I love James Bond...have seen EVERY pic at least four times. Recently Daniel Craig was quoted as saying the world is ready for a "black 007". Not being racist in ANY way shape or form, but I disagree with the idea of making the "007" Bond a black character.

The "007" moniker is used to identify a specific agent, akin to a person's name, therefore as the character's general racial/ethnic identity has already been determined I think changing it would undermine the character.

I think if that is a direction the producers want to go in, they should create another agent character. This new
"00?"character could be used in tandem with "007" in an episode(s) that uses both agents, or they could separately focus on this new character.

Again NOT saying someone of another ethnic group could not protray a British special agent and be a believable character, just saying that the developement of "007" over the life of the franchise has created certain constraints. Remember "007" has had an entire life history created over the life of the series; his marriage, the death of his wife etc.


Just my 2c.

 

BlackBull, post a high res pic of your avatar for us!

 

No, I totally agree, it's like making Shaft white. It's just not the character.

Cool post DJ, it's awesome looking at the Dalton fashion styles after watching QoS.

 

 

agreed, I found it offensive that they cast Daniel Craig a blonde!