via Specimen ModelsStitch After Stitch: Michael Williams tours Isaia’s Napoli factory, one handmade buttonhole at a time. [A Continuous Lean]
The Secret Agent: A few style tips from the James Bonds of the world. First, you’re going to need an underwater car. [Esquire]
Ring a Ding Ding: A thoughtful look back at Sinatra’s 60s work, for anyone who’s ever felt behind the times. [A.V. Club]
The Leather Men: A tour of Tanner Goods Portland headquarters. So, so much leather. [Cool Hunting]
via Oh Snaps CarlosDr. Yes: Scientists have located the perfect suit. As you might expect, it is worn by Sean Connery in Dr. No. [Clothes on Film]
The Thinking Man’s Swimsuit Edition: Abe Sauer praises the women of the Title IX catalog. [The Hairpin]
Please Please Please Stop Talking: A lesson on the benefit of saying less, courtesy of a sore throat. [The 99%]
The Sounds of Well-Dressed America: Billy Reid and Josh from Street Etiquette stop by NPR for a winter style guide. [Put This On]
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via BehanceHitting the Books: In honor of collegiate weather, the RL chaps take a tour through the newly renovated New York Public Library in Bryant Park. [Rugby Blog]
The Car Makes the Man: On Friday, Sotheby’s is auctioning off James Bond’s Goldfinger-era Aston Martin, tire-destroying hubcaps and all. It’s poised to become the most expensive film vehicle ever sold at auction…but don’t let that stop you. [Word of Mouth]
Good and Evil in New Orleans: The true story of Banksy and his nemesis, the Gray Ghost, in a struggle to control the empty walls of New Orleans. [Web Urbanist]
The Modern Fairy Tale: I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there, I’ll tell you how Werner Herzog saved Joaquin Phoenix’s life by pulling him from a gasoline-soaked car wreck. [Movieline]
James Bond has faced down quite a lot—highlights include solar powered ray guns, a squad of brainwashed, agriculture-destroying ingénues, and Yaphet Kotto—but the world of international finance may have been more than he could handle. With Mr. Bond’s parent studio MGM buried under nearly $4 billion in debt, the 23rd Bond movie has been put on indefinite hiatus. Which is a shame, because it sounded kind of awesome, and Daniel Craig was on quite a roll.
Of course, knowing Hollywood, it’s hard to say how long this will last, but for now things look pretty grim. Count us as shaken.
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James Bond seems to be having a bit of trouble with the ladies.
His latest failed conquest is Megan Fox, who just turned down a Bond Girl part in the 23rd Bond film in favor of a potential leading role elsewhere, but she’s just the latest in a long line of women too good for Sir James. Frieda Pinto passed on the same part, and the list of Craig-era would-be Bond girls also includes larger names like Sienna Miller, Charlize Theron and Rachel McAdams. Maybe the old boy’s losing his knack?
Something tells us Sean Connery never had this problem. But maybe Roger Moore…
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Film sets are pretty hectic places, so it’s always remarkable when a bit of self-possessed style slips through. And as you might have guessed, Mr. Bond is involved…
These snaps (via NotCot) come from behind the scenes of the last two Bond movies, and find Mr. Craig at his most McQueen-ish. Of course, the odd pair of aviators don’t hurt…and neither does the Baracuta-style jacket.
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Much like the classical corpus, the world’s supply of James Bond memorabilia requires constant attention to keep it preserved for future generations. Fortunately, these treasures have finally found a home.
A British collector named Peter Nelson has taken it upon himself (via Gizmodo)to catalog as much of 007’s gadgetry as possible, including Goldeneye’s Soviet tank, a handful of Aston Martins, and the titular golden gun. (And yes, for the curious, he did learn to drive the tank.)
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A recent British survey has unearthed a dour but somehow unsurprising statistic: nearly a third of the women who have slept with James Bond have died shortly afterwards.
Usually within 90 minutes.
It’s unnerving news for any man, but it gives the whole Bond oeuvre (yes, we said it) a new tone. If we were in his brogues, we’d be a bit more nervous about the eventual fate of the latest comely recruit. Of course, this does put the volume of martini consumption in perspective.
The spy business is starting to seem downright unsafe.
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Passing the Bar: Our favorite Israeli supermodel has inexplicable difficulty getting into the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. [NYPost]
Biden, Joe Biden: Omega watches are just one more thing James Bond and our Vice President have in common. [Luxist]
Solid Gold: Speedo is standing by Michael Phelps after Kellogg’s dropped him over the bong-laden snapshots. Doritos should jump on this. [The Cut]
Elementary: The Times is not happy about the state of Sherlock, but anyone who refers to “The Real Sherlock Holmes” with a straight face has earned a link or two. [The Moment]
Comic books have been growing steadily more legitimate since the 70s, but while writers like Alan Moore and Frank Miller have stumbled into mainstream recognition, comic book artists not named R. Crumb are still mostly viewed as doodlers with a voyeuristic streak.
Well, we’re doing our part (with a little help from Mr. Spear).
Phil Noto cut his teeth (and, presumably, earns a living) in the comic world doing art for titles like *Wonder Woman*, *Hellboy*, and the cult series *Jonah Hex*, but he also churns out oil paintings with surprising wit. He may not be ready for Sotheby’s just yet, but any man who devotes an entire canvas to depicting Bond and Goldfinger on the golf course has our vote.
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Speaking of the movies, the most recent Bond outing recently brought our attention to an entirely new kind of director: the Kansas City graphics firm MK12.
You may have seen their work before in the titles of The Kite Runner or detailing Will Ferrell’s humdrum existence in Stranger than Fiction (both from Quantum director Marc Forster), but the opening titles of a Bond film are iconic enough to be any animation worker’s dream job. Add in a desert setting and Jack White and Alicia Keys’ fantastic title song, and you’ve got one of the best intros in the series.
Well played, gentlemen.
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Dressing Down: The Gray Lady dissects Obama’s casual style…and somehow comes away with Jerry Seinfeld. [NYTimes]
Language Arts: A quick tour of Bond’s best sex puns. Plenty O’Toole, sadly, is absent. [Gawker]
High Occupancy Lane: A guide to having sex in small cars. Ah, to be seventeen again. [Treehugger]
Croc Hunter: It took a worldwide recession and the collapse of half a dozen major financial institutions, but crocs are finally over. It was worth it.
[Reuters]
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The paparazzi get a bad rap, but as long as they’re on the side of chivalry, it’s not all bad. Take, for instance, this latest infraction by our own Daniel Craig, captured by the intrepid photogs of the Sun.
A brief lesson, if we may: A little rain never hurt anyone, but leaving your lady to soak may cause irreparable damage, as Mr. Craig is surely discovering now.
You never saw Roger Moore doing this sort of thing.
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As we know all too well, it can be hard to get attention on the internet. But tacking a James Bond fan fiction in front of everything you write is the blogging equivalent of driving a snowmobile down a mountain with one hand while using the other hand to shoot the bad guys who are chasing you in faster snowmobiles until you drive off a cliff and unfurl your Union Jack parachute while they all crash and explode on the rocks below.
In other words, it’s risky.
Onlyknives.com was recently graced with a post on a do-it-yourself knife wallet, introduced by a 400 word vignette starring Mr. Bond himself. The funniest part is how much it reminds us of actual ad copy. Didn’t we see this on an Amiga poster somewhere?
Named “A Quantum of Mini-Tools,” the story chronicles Bond’s love for his Slimline Wallet and the raw sensual magnetism of said wallet. We would have preferred “The Wallet Who Loved Me” or “The Man with the Golden Wallet,” but nobody’s perfect.
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The internet is atwitter lately over one aspect of the Bond movies you might have overlooked: the architecture.
The UK *Guardian*’s in-house pontificator Steve Rose takes some time out from the usual culture warring to point out all the lovely hideouts the Bond villains have set up—usually with the help of an unnamed post-modern architect or two. It’s quite an education, even if most of those lovely concrete angles are in ruins by the end of the film.
Bonds of Affection: An early look at the many women of Bond. [Deadlicious]
Constant Vigilance is Required: The forces of acid wash are rising in the east. [The Cut]
The Muscles from Brussels: The enduring wisdom of Mr. Jean-Claude Van Damme. [Vulture]
In Tatters: After a long life of searching, we have finally discovered what tattersall plaid is. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
There are many ways to wear a cardigan. For the Italian premiere of a film you may have heard of, the esteemed Mr. Craig opted for the big collar/big tie route. It’s a good choice, since Italy is silk country and more is still better in Rome. He keeps the cardigan tactically slim instead of opting for the grandpa look, and ends up with a thoroughly adult outfit.
Also, it helps if you look like you’re ready to kick someone in the face.
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All the Smiling Faces: Subway lover Patrick Moberg summarizes the nation’s forty-four presidents. Now that we look at it, a lot of them had pretty sweet mustaches. [Patrick Moberg]
Warren Peace: You can never have too many Warren Beatty appreciations. [AskMen]
We Be Villain: A talk with the new Bond villain. [Anthem]
How the Other Half Lives: Interior design expands into music, creating the playlist industry. Some day, this may be considered an actual job. [NYTimes]
The Bond movies have been overstuffed with product placement from the very beginning, even when they were shilling for products that didn’t exist like the ejecto-seat or the razor hat. It makes sense, since the Bond market tends to be interested in fast cars, sharp suits, shiny phones and the like. But we didn’t expect them to expand into the world of matching drapes.
Apparently we were mistaken. The interior design gurus at Wallpaper have an extended Q&A with Quantum of Solace’s set decorator detailing Bond’s Bolivian bed in *Quantum of Solace*. It’s a custom job from B&B Italia, made larger so it would be easier to shoot.
We always heard he favored bespoke.
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Some are born with accessories, some acquire accessories, and some have accessories thrust upon them.
Mr. Craig may not have been thinking of spicing up his tuxedo when he injured himself, but it couldn’t have worked out better. It may throw his bowtie a bit off-center, but it was well worth it.
With the Oscars just five months off, it may be time for George Clooney to start planning a discreet but manly boating accident.
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With all our attention to the new James Bond, we may have overlooked the old one. The 1967’s loveably ramshackle *Casino Royale* is getting a belated 40th Anniversary Edition, giving you a chance to check out the film that almost killed the franchise.
Shared between five auteur-minded directors and even more diva-minded stars, *Casino Royale* is pretty much the disaster you would expect, but as disasters go, it’s pretty fantastic. Abandoned by Peter Sellers halfway through production, the movie ping-pongs between a sinister Orson Welles, David Niven trying his best to add a shred of dignity to the proceedings, and Woody Allen doing his best to turn everything into a proto-Austin Powers sex farce.
In short, it was ripe for a remake.
Product placement is nothing new to the James Bond movies, but we were pleased to hear that the new film is going to feature a whole lot of one of America’s most prominent designers.
Of course, Daniel Craig is already on record as being much-impressed with Tom Ford, but apparently he’s got a bit more clout these days, which means we’ll be seeing less Brioni and a lot less of those miniscule swimming trunks from *Casino Royale*. (Something tells us Roger Moore didn’t have to put up with that sort of thing…)
It’s rare to see a choice like this made by the star and not the marketing or wardrobe department, but it looks like Mr. Craig is moving up in the world. After all, what’s the point in having an acting gig if you can’t use it to score a good suit every now and then?
Let’s just hope he can keep them clean.
Political endorsements come and go, but the most important one by far comes from England’s most globe-trotting, martini-sipping secret agent. Yes, we’re talking about the Bond endorsement.
Making the press rounds for *Quantum of Solace*, Daniel Craig has said that Obama would make a better Bond because he could “look the enemy in the eye and go toe-to-toe with them,” which we assume means he’s spry enough to chase some guy doing parkour. As for McCain, Craig says he’s more M material. “There is, come to think of it, a kind of Judi Dench quality to McCain.”
But he always seemed a little soft on SPECTRE.
Yoga Flame!: Olivia Munn makes good Halloween choices. [Complex]
Tailor the Storm: Don’t weep for Savile Row…they’ve seen worse times. [Luxist]
Un-Donnish Behavior: Our beloved Don Cornelius has been taken in on domestic assault charges. If the soul train led you to this point, what good was it? [Gawker]
The Haters Are Always With Us: Bond faces his most diabolical enemy yet: early reviewers. [BlackBook]
*Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.*
We’ve expounded before on the extreme appeal of La Perla lingerie, which while eschewing the erotic theatrics of Agent Provocateur nonetheless manages to push all the right buttons. Their underthings, such as the flapper-esque concoction shown here snapped by our fearless lensman at a recent display of La Perla wares in NYC, seem calculated to appeal to sex-starved socialites and other such admirable creatures.
We were not aware however that the company also made the alarmingly snug swim trunks Daniel Craig sported in his debut as James Bond. Apparently he has refused to ever put them on again. Wise choice, old boy; some things are just not meant to have crossover appeal.
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Style: some people have it, and some neighborhoods really have it. To show you what we mean, we’ve partnered with Cadillac to present Style Shifters—a five-part, in-depth look at what the hippest gents in some of the country’s coolest neighborhoods are wearing now. Our intrepid photographers have roamed the streets in search of the most stylish guys around. Herewith, a few photos of what they found...
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is home to some of the country’s best bars and coolest restaurants—and, of course, some of the best menswear shops in the world. Naturally, you’ll find more than a few stylish individuals perched outside those locations (and no, not all of them are Billyburg hipsters). See what we mean below...
Style. The Mission’s got it. Union Square’s got it. But each of them goes about having it in a different way—the Mission rocking a more bohemian coffee shop vibe, Union Square hosting some of the best higher-fashion shops (and shoppers) on the West Coast. We rounded up a few of the most stylish folks from both. Have yourself a gander below…
Forget everything you know about Miami style. Today’s Miamian is more LeBron James than Crockett and Tubbs—as you’ll soon see in our next edition of Style Shifters…
