James Bond's Guide to Summer Style
How to dress like 007 on holiday, Part 1
The most common question I get from readers is, “how should I dress in warm weather?” Because I write so much about jackets, suits, and ties, it’s a natural question. Many of these items get tossed aside in summer in favor of lighter, cooler fabrics.1
Unfortunately, most people take this to mean that summertime is inherently informal, or that there’s no way to look elegant in the heat. Over the next few weeks, I want to debunk these claims, and show how you can retain an elevated and dignified wardrobe during the summer months. We’ll begin by studying one of the best to ever do it: James Bond.
The early Bond films see 007 visit Jamaica, the Bahamas, Istanbul, Thailand, Venice, and other warm-weather, exotic locales. On each occasion, we get to see Bond (and often his enemies) shed the suit and don something more casual, though always elegant.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll take look at different ensembles James Bond wears in these hotter climates in order to give you inspiration for your own wardrobe. We’ll set aside the suits for a moment and enjoy something more casual: a secret agent on vacation, dressed to kill in more ways than one.
To kick this series off, let’s begin with a classic look from 1965’s Thunderball, in which Bond chases an international crime ring to the sandy shores of Nassau, Bahamas. If you plan on spending any time in tropical weather this summer, you can’t go wrong wearing this…
