Fashion Police

cpoulos62

I noticed that in CR, a number of times Bond has paired a black belt with brown leather or suede shoes. Isn't this considered a fashion error? I was told that belts and shoes color should always match. What are your thoughts?

Nightshooter

I only noticed this once - and that was in the black and white scene where it didn't matter. What did I miss?

cpoulos62

I believe he wore a black belt with brown shoes in the Madagascar chase and the Bahamas arrival.

Nightshooter

Bahamas arrival is truly too hard to see if the belt is black or cordovan, as for the Madagascar chase, the shoes are definitely brown, don't remember about the belt, will have to check.

Clarky

cpoulos62 wrote:

I noticed that in CR, a number of times Bond has paired a black belt with brown leather or suede shoes. Isn't this considered a fashion error? I was told that belts and shoes color should always match. What are your thoughts?

In the Madagascar scene Bond had a harness belt of so his gun wouldn't pull down his drawstring linen pants. This is a fairly common thing to do in undercover work. You'll note that those trousers didn't have belt loops. And those harness belts generally only come in black.

The Bahama scene it difficult to tell. The belt may have also been chocolate brown. The Bluray folks could answer this better.

However, the is one Bond outfit that to me was a glaring example of this problem. In The World is Not Enough. Pierce in the while linen suit has a black belt on with tan monk straps. That one shouldn't have happened.

Apocrypha23

On the subject, I remember from the novels that Bond would typically wear black shoes with a navy blue suit. I was recently cited by the self-proclaimed Fashion Police in my office for this faux pas... if it even is one. Has anyone else heard this and if so, what could possibly be wrong with matching blue and black?

brio

Never heard of that, black shoes are more than suitable with a navy suit. Brown shoes would never have been worn with a 'city' suit when Fleming wrote Bond but nowadays it's accepted and looks quite smart, the Italians for one nearly always wear brown shoes with navy suits.

Don't ever wear brown shoes with black though! Never, ever!

Bill Tanner

Apocrypha23 wrote:

On the subject, I remember from the novels that Bond would typically wear black shoes with a navy blue suit. I was recently cited by the self-proclaimed Fashion Police in my office for this faux pas... if it even is one. Has anyone else heard this and if so, what could possibly be wrong with matching blue and black?

I've heard this a lot over the years, but what on earth would you wear with a navy suit... there are very few navy shoes on the market.

Lit-Bond often flouted the rules: wearing short-sleeved shirts or sandals with a suit, anyone?

There are a lot of so-called rules but these days it's often best to look around you, see what you perceive other people are getting-away with and decide whether that's a look that works for you. For instance, I've seen lots of men pairing brown shoes with a navy suit, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, but I've never thought it's something that works for me.

And to spice up the mix, I'll throw in another 'rule': never wear a shirt that's darker than your jacket or tie.

Bill Tanner

Apocrypha23 wrote:

On the subject, I remember from the novels that Bond would typically wear black shoes with a navy blue suit. I was recently cited by the self-proclaimed Fashion Police in my office for this faux pas... if it even is one. Has anyone else heard this and if so, what could possibly be wrong with matching blue and black?

I've heard this a lot over the years, but what on earth would you wear with a navy suit... there are very few navy shoes on the market.

Lit-Bond often flouted the rules: wearing short-sleeved shirts or sandals with a suit, anyone?

There are a lot of so-called rules but these days it's often best to look around you, see what you perceive other people are getting-away with and decide whether that's a look that works for you. For instance, I've seen lots of men pairing brown shoes with a navy suit, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, but I've never thought it's something that works for me.

And to spice up the mix, I'll throw in another 'rule': never wear a shirt that's darker than your jacket or tie.

Kittlemeier

There was an article by Tom Junod called My Father's Fashion Tips years ago in GQ and I believe reprinted in Esquire.

Anyway, it was about Junod's stylish but quirky dad and his rules of dressing. If I recall correctly he said black dress shoes were for morticians and gangsters. Specifically, black dress shoes with navy blue were for policemen. This discussion just jogged that memory.

He had some odd ideas but the pics of him from his day he was definitely the most stylish guy in the room. Very Sean Connery(who was mentioned for his socks being too short and his calf showing in an interview). If you get the chance the article was reprinted in a book called Our Fathers by Steven L Shepherd.

ke02eww

if in doubt, I check the gospel...

http://www.amazon.com/Dressed-Kill-James-Bond-Suited/dp/2080136186/ref=pd_bbs_9/102-7445135-9670506?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181848205&sr=8-9