The Fashion Guide to The Avengers

John Steed in Series 5 (1967–8) Page 3

Grey 3-piece suit

He wears a grey single-breasted 3-piece suit. The cut is modish Sixties — the jacket is fastened with three hard buttons, the skirt has two long vents and the waistcoat has lapels. The two waist pockets are slanted flap pockets and the breast pocket is slit with a hem. This suit twice caused a continuity error, with wardrobe mixing it up with its near-identical twin with triangular pockets.

Worn in:

• The Fear Merchants : white shirt, electric blue tie and matching handkerchief, black bowler hat and umbrella
• Escape in Time : white shirt, electric blue tie (no handkerchief), black bowler hat and umbrella
• The Bird Who Knew Too Much : [continuity error] light brown shirt, gold tie
• The Living Dead : [continuity error] white shirt, gold tie
• Never, Never Say Die : white shirt, blue tie
• Something Nasty in the Nursery : cream shirt, blue tie and matching handkerchief (at one point, the waistcoat has no lapels — probably another continuity error)

Pale grey double-breasted suit

Steed’s only double-breasted suit for series 5 is a dandified excess. Tailored in exquisite pigeon grey, this double breasted suit has an over-exaggerated skirt, flared widely at the hips coupled with a sharply tailored waist to accentuate the manly figure. The jacket has a peak collar, the upper part of which is felted, and the waist sports two slanted flap pockets. There is no breast pocket and the four button are superbly matched in colour to the cloth. The back of the skirt has two long vents. A pale grey bowler hat and umbrella and matching grey suede Chelsea boots complete the look.

Worn with:

• Escape in Time : grey tie with white spots, white shirt
• The See-Through Man : pale pink shirt, dark grey tie with white spots
• The Bird Who Knew Too Much : grey tie with white spots, white shirt
• The Hidden Tiger : dark brown paisley cravat, white shirt
• The Correct Way to Kill : pale grey cravat, white shirt, grey Russian fur hat
• Epic : pale grey gloves, pale grey cravat, white shirt

Georgian costume

He wears the costume of a Georgian nobleman — grey knee-length coat with pale grey frogs and piping, velvet collar and cuffs, and purple lining; a lacey frilled white shirt, cream brocaded waistcoat with silver buttons, tight black hose and silver-buckled black shoes.

Worn in:

• Escape in Time

Navy single-breasted suit

He wears a single-breasted navy suit with turned back, piped cuffs and a notch collar. The waist and cuff are held by a single hard button and the skirt has a long vent for movement; the jacket appears to have no external pockets at all. The suit comes with a choice of waistcoats, with piped lapels or without, both with six hard buttons.

Worn with:

• Escape in Time : white shirt, thin navy silk tie, black bowler hat and umbrella, black Chelsea boots — initially with the waistcoat with lapels, he changes it before they go out.
• Return of the Cybernauts : white shirt, navy/silver arrowhead patterned tie, waistcoat with lapels, black Chelsea boots

Light grey suit with triangluar pockets

He wears a single-breasted pale grey suit with notch collar. The jacket has a lined slit breast pocket, and two flap waist pockets; the top of the flap is slanted but the edge is cut square, making the flaps triangluar. The jacket is fastened with three hard grey buttons and the skirt has two vents, the waistcoat appears to have eight hard buttons, but some pictures seem to suggest six.
This suit appeared in about a quarter of the episodes of series 5. Wardrobe ocassionally confused this suit with another grey suit with slanted flap pockets, resulting in continuity errors.

Worn in:

• The See-Through Man : blue shirt, copper tie
• The See-Through Man : light brown shirt with faint grey check, brass tie, black bowler hat and umbrella, boots
• The See-Through Man : light brown shirt with faint grey check, pale gold tie, black bowler hat and umbrella, boots
• The Bird Who Knew Too Much : light brown shirt, brass tie, black bowler hat and umbrella, boots (briefly mixed up with the slanted pocket suit)
• The Winged Avenger : pale blue shirt, pale gold tie
• The Living Dead : pale blue shirt, pale gold tie (ocassionally replaced by the slanted pocket suit), black bowler hat and uumbrella, the hat breifly has a miner’s lamp attached to it
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station : white shirt, green with white spot tie & matching handkerchief, pale tan bowler
• Return of the Cybernauts : tan shirt, pale gold tie, brass handkerchief
• Return of the Cybernauts : tan shirt, brass tie & match handkerchief

Charcoal overcoat

He wears a thigh-length single-breasted charcoal chalk striped overcoat with notch collar. It has square slit pockets on the waist, and additional gentleman’s pocket on the righthand side; there is a long vent in the skirt.

Worn with:

• The See-Through Man : grey gloves and bowler hat, matching umbrella and Chelsea boots; the rest of the outfit is his double-breasted suit with a dark grey tie with white spot