If I may, gents, something different today.

Since it’s always a popular topic, and especially so nowadays since we’re spending more time at home watching movies, we’re going to talk about the costuming in a well-known modern classic.

Every menswear influencer on YouTube, including The Kavalier, has analyzed James Bond’s evolving style over the years, including that of his most recent portrayal by Daniel Craig.

Today, we’re going to talk about Craig’s costuming in a less-known but quite brilliant role (it’s also one of my favorites):

The English language version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Setting the scene

This film version of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling novel, directed by David Fincher and released in 2011, starts with a decades-old mystery involving a disappearance, then cuts straight to our male protagonist: journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig), who has been soundly defeated in court for libel.

Unlike the rest of the movie, he is not dressed for comfort above all else in this opening scene. He is instead sensibly dressed for court and the freezing rain of Stockholm in a suit and topcoat.

Thanks to a series of online auctions on iCollector.com, we gain a bit more insight into the film’s wardrobe than screen captures and publicity stills alone can provide. Trish Summerville, the film’s costume designer, says in an interview with Vanity Fair:

He’s a stylish man because of the job he has and who he is, but we also wanted to make his clothes comfortable so that Salander could feel that she could approach him and trust him — with big, fluffy sweaters and shirts slightly wrinkled. He’d never be starched and pressed.

To me, he does not come off as innately stylish. He seems more like the kind of person who buys things on recommendation from others or just wears whatever he feels is comfortable. There’s nothing terribly wrong with that, it’s pretty realistic for most modern men.

The variation in his wardrobe also feels true to life, consisting of several different brands and styles. His court attire is probably his best dressed moment on film. By keeping things simple and straightforward, it makes an impact. Especially as it is so different from the rest of his comfortably warm wardrobe. A suit-like sports coat, waistcoat, and untucked, wrinkled shirt with jeans are as dressed up as Blomkvist gets past his first scene. Clearly, he only dresses as formally as he’s required to or thinks he needs to be.

The Suit

The suit is mid-grey wool flannel from Prada, detailed with a two-button front, medium peak lapels, and flat-front trousers with plain hemmed bottoms. The jacket has a welted breast pocket, flapped horizontal hip pockets, and double vents in back. The buttonhole on the lapel is not immediately visible thanks to the thread matching the fabric closely, but it’s there.

There is no pick stitching on the jacket, unlike most designer suits now, because that detailing wasn’t yet de rigeur in 2010-2011. The trousers have unused belt loops and offset, single-jetted pockets. Around this time, Proper Suit (now known as Hall Madden) also favoured this style of pocket with the claim that it would not flare out so much on slim fit, flat front trousers.

The tagged size is European 50R, which roughly translates to U.S./U.K. 40R. The choice of suit is interesting, since most flannel suits are single breasted but have notch lapels due to the sportier look of the soft, napped fabric. Single breasted peak lapel suits also connote a more jaunty tone appropriate for cocktail parties. Perhaps it may have worked better for the Christmas party scene. That said, the lapels are not seen in the film and most people probably would not begrudge him wearing a single breasted peak lapel suit to court anyway.

The Shirt

The shirt is light grey cotton poplin, also from Prada, featuring a medium spread collar with a small amount of tie space and rounded single button cuffs. The collar and cuffs have bluffed edges rather than being stitched 1/16” to 1/4” away from the edge as is customary.

Some shirts, including those from brands like Ike Behar or Ben Sherman, were made like this in the 2010s for a cleaner appearance. However, the tradeoff is that the edges look less crisp as a result. The shirt has a “French” front without a placket, consistent with the minimalist aesthetic. There are also likely to be no shoulder pleats in back. Most designer shirts have not had them since the mid-2000s. The tagged size is European 39, U.S./U.K. 15.5. The shirt is nothing terribly special, but it serves its purpose. Blomkvist seems most at home in his cozy sweaters, broken-in shirts, and distressed jeans, so I doubt he has much of a taste for double cuffs or stiff spread collars.

Bringing it All Together

The tie is black in a narrow, not skinny, shape which is contemporary from 2011 to today. It could be the same black tie worn by Mikael in the Christmas party scene, given the similar colour scheme to his clothes there. However, the matte finish suggests something with even less sheen than ribbed silk, like wool suiting. The influence of Thom Browne was still being felt at that time, with a number of designers and fashion brands copying the look of ties made from worsted wool. The tie is knotted in a four-in-hand knot — anything larger or more symmetrical would feel out of character. He quickly loses the tie upon entering the offices of his magazine, Millennium, where he and Erika’s staff “try not to regard him as a dead-man-walking, but aren’t entirely successful” according to the script.

Rather than the black cap toe oxfords anyone else might wear with a suit, he is wearing the same V-front chukka boots from Crockett & Jones worn in the Christmas party scene as confirmed by costume tags. They are the “Tetbury” model in black wax calf and are still sold today. Daniel Craig has also worn the brand in Skyfall, Spectre, and the upcoming No Time To Die. They have studded, Dainite brand rubber soles and a chiseled plain toe. The 348 last is sleek and looks perfectly appropriate with a suit. There are only two eyelets for laces, which enhance the streamlined look. This pair of footwear would definitely have both Connery-Bond and Craig-Bond’s approval. They are also a smart choice for wet pavement by Mikael Blomkvist in-character and by Trish Summerville as costume designer, who likely chose them so that any leather soled shoes wouldn’t get ruined shooting in the rain over the course of several takes.

The charcoal herringbone wool topcoat he wears is from Yves Saint Laurent, in a basic button three front with wide notch lapels. The coat has a slanted welt breast pocket, horizontal wide-flapped pockets to match the lapels, and a long single vent in back. The cuff button arrangement is something I’ve never seen before, three buttons and a button tab hidden underneath the vent at the end. (Thanks to this AJB007 thread for the closer look.) This is around the time that topcoats began to shrink in length, but thankfully it hits just above the knee and not mid-thigh like many of them have been. This makes it both warmer and more flattering. The coat continues to be worn throughout the film with other, far more casual outfits such as the aforementioned sports coat and jeans.

DRESSED fOR sUCCESS?

Sadly, Blomkvist does not open his umbrella immediately upon going outside, leaving his topcoat to get drenched. Perhaps a raincoat with a removable warmer would have been a better choice. But keeping his clothes dry is the least of his concerns at the moment, as he owes over 600,000 SEK — about 67,244 USD — in damages. He dourly orders a coffee, sandwich, and pack of cigarettes — a filthy habit he had kicked until now. The shirt’s light grey colour is not the business standard of whites or pastels, but it does reflect his mood and may have been chosen for how it looks in the lighting of the film’s Stockholm opening. Nearly his entire outfit is shades of grey here and at the Christmas party, where he’s clad in a charcoal three piece suit with an appropriately darker grey shirt. It’s unlikely to mean anything as literal as him operating in shades of grey, but it reads well on screen and works character-wise.

cONCLUSION

It’s interesting to see even in 2020 that his outfit has not dated badly in the nine years since the film’s release. It still looks modern and relevant thanks to the simple style and colour choices. It also dates better than the shrunken suits Craig would wear a year later in Skyfall, which already look passé a mere eight years later. Good fit will always date film costumes favourably, whether or not there are individual elements that date it to the time it was filmed.

So tell me gents: was this at all interesting? Do you enjoy discussions on menswear in film as much as I do? If so, which films would you like me to discuss? How about some lesser-known ones?

Let me know down in the comments or reach out to me on Instagram or Twitter.

Giselle is a menswear expert and freelance writer who gained an interest in dressing well upon re-watching James Bond movies, researching what makes him so stylish, and later engaging with others in online spaces to learn more. She has written about tailored clothing for over a decade through her blog, Nouveau Vintage, after being inspired by others to share her passion.