Sean Connery and Denise Perrier in Diamonds are Forever (1971)
Vitals
Sean Connery as James Bond, British government agent
French Riviera, Spring 1971
Film: Diamonds are Forever
Release Date: December 17, 1971
Director: Guy Hamilton
Wardrobe Master: Ray Beck
Tailor: Anthony Sinclair
Background
Born 94 years ago today on August 25, 1930, Sir Sean Connery rose to stardom as the first actor to play James Bond in the official EON Productions series, from Dr. No (1962) through Diamonds are Forever (1971).
Connery first retired from the role after You Only Live Twice (1967), resulting in Australian actor George Lazenby’s sole shot in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). After Lazenby too hung up 007’s shoulder holster, Connery was persuaded back for one last official performance as Ian Fleming’s iconic secret agent, commanding a record-setting $1.25 million salary to return as Commander Bond… which he then donated in its entirety to the Scottish International Education Trust.
Despite the somber ending of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service that set Bond out for revenge, Diamonds are Forever began a lighter era for the series as the stories diverged from Fleming’s source material with an increased emphasis on comedic elements and spectacle.
After a few faceless vignettes in exotic locales like Cai-Cai-Cairo, Connery’s Bond makes his long-anticipated on-screen reappearance during the pre-credits sequence of Diamonds are Forever, striding down onto the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc’s stunning beach in Cap d’Antibes, where he makes his iconic introduction (“Bond, James Bond”) to Marie, an even more stunning bikini-clad brunette portrayed by Denise Perrier, the French-born Miss World 1953.
Marie: Is there something I can do for you?
Bond: Yes, as a matter of fact, there is… there is something I’d like you to get off your chest.
…he declares, before quite literally ripping off her bikini top and wrapping it around her neck while demanding to know where he can find his arch-nemesis, Ernest Stavro Blofeld. It’s only a brief scene, but a memorable—if hardly progressive—one, but it’s enough to suggest that we may be seeing an appropriately angry James Bond who will stop at nothing to avenge the death of his newlywed wife at the end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
But just a few mud pies later, Bond seems to have settled back into the life of a bachelor and card-carrying member of the Playboy Club, demonstrating his knowledge of sherry and women’s hair colors.
What’d He Wear?
It fits the vibe of Diamonds are Forever that the first time we fully see Sean Connery returning as James Bond, he does so not in a tuxedo or a tailored suit… but a terrycloth shirt. (Yes, we see parts of his cream linen suit in Japan and a tuxedo in Cairo… but it isn’t until this scene that we can be sure we’re seeing Connery’s Bond in the flesh.)
Made from a terry cloth toweling fabric that Matt Spaiser describes as “mottled cream and beige” in his excellent analysis on Bond Suits, the short-sleeved shirt has four large white-trimmed dark-brown sew-through buttons up the front placket to a fashionably long-pointed one-piece collar that lays flat over Connery’s chest. Each covered with a single-button pointed flap, the two box-pleated chest pockets add a military-like symmetry that makes the leisurely style more authoritative, aligned with Bond’s commanding presence as well as the safari-inspired fashions of the era.
The short set-in sleeves have wide reinforced ends that taper up to a point, echoing the pointed yoke across the back of the shirt. A box pleat extends down from the pointed center of the yoke to the shirt’s straight hem.
Quite a way to make someone’s acquaintance.
As its densely piled loops are excellent at absorbing water, terrycloth had been a predominant cotton for towels for decades before it became popularized as a leisurewear fabric through the 1950s and ’60s, as sported by Alain Delon in Plein soleil (1960) to Elliott Gould in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), not to mention Connery himself wearing Bond’s infamous baby-blue terrycloth “playsuit” in Goldfinger (1964).
I’ll admit I had initially been hard on this shirt, but I attribute that to a mix of the problematic context of the scene and external pressures to be hard on 1970s fashions. BAMF Style readers may recognize that I’ve been championing terrycloth for a few years now, welcoming its recent renaissance with several shirts in my own collection from Busbee McQuade, California Cowboy, Dandy Del Mar, and OAS, though the revived popularity of toweling fabric has resulted in even budget-oriented, less specialized outfitters like Target now offering terrycloth menswear.
Orlebar Brown is another brand leading the terrycloth revival, specifically linking it to the world of James Bond with its officially branded 007 Collection that has included an array of terrycloth shirts, including a “matchstick”-colored terry cotton two-pocket camp shirt inspired by Connery’s introduction in Diamonds are Forever.
Note the distinctively looped terry toweling fabric.
Barefoot and without either his gold dress watch or one of his Rolex Submariner divers, the rest of Bond’s simple costume for this scene consists of cream-colored trousers with a self-supporting waistband, on-seam side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms. Matt Spaiser suggests may be the darted-front trousers from the aforementioned cream linen suit he wears in other scenes.
Guy Hamilton directs Connery and Perrier. (Photo sourced from Thunderballs archive at thunderballs007.org.)
How to Get the Look
Sean Connery and Denise Perrier in Diamonds are Forever (1971)
The distinctive details of 007’s terrycloth shirt elevate Sean Connery’s beach look above a simple shirt and slacks, though you could complete the style with more summer staples from James Bond’s warm-weather wardrobe like espadrilles and a dive watch on a NATO strap.
- Cream-and-beige mottled terrycloth toweling short-sleeved sport shirt with long-pointed one-piece collar, two box-pleated chest pockets (with pointed button-down flaps), and pointed back yoke with center box pleat
- Cream linen darted-front trousers with “DAKS top” 3-button tab side adjusters, on-seam side pockets, button-through back right pocket, and plain-hemmed bottoms
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
There is something I’d like you to get off your chest.
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