Are Bond's clothes really practical for his line of work?
perdogg
Posts: 432MI6 Agent
Please do not get me wrong, I love the clothing in the James Bond movies and I know that Bond is also about style. I would love to afford at least one of the suits and the shoes are spectacular, especially the Islay's.
However, are they really practical? If you were sent to a Instanbul hotel room to recover a stolen drive, would you wear a $4000 suit and a pair of Tetburys?
50 years ago, men used to wear suits to work but If saw a guy wearing a $4000 suit with an earpierce I am going to know he is some sort of law enforcement officier.
I thought the action clothing in Casino Royale and Shanghai sequence were more practical.
However, are they really practical? If you were sent to a Instanbul hotel room to recover a stolen drive, would you wear a $4000 suit and a pair of Tetburys?
50 years ago, men used to wear suits to work but If saw a guy wearing a $4000 suit with an earpierce I am going to know he is some sort of law enforcement officier.
I thought the action clothing in Casino Royale and Shanghai sequence were more practical.
"And if I told you that I'm from the Ministry of Defence?" James Bond - The Property of a Lady
Comments
-Mr Arlington Beech
I agree that Dalton and Craig, and to a lesser extent Connery, tend to dress most practically in the field. Actually, one of the things I like about the Craig Era is Bond's embrace of stylish casual clothes.
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One thing's for sure, Moore in a powder blue leisure suit and white tank top is a big no-no.
Later also seen in the OP PTS and all inspired by Connery-Bond in the GF PTS!
the skippers always used to moan you lads with your rolexs
and Omegas if they get broke (they never did),on night duty
i would wear Levis C and j suede chukkas and a black/white HUTCH
jacket as in Starsky and ,day time 2 pc suit C+J shoes Jermyn st shirt tie
hanky top pocket (never looked like plod) i was once famousley put in the drivers cab
of a central line tube train and the driver was told take this man to where ever he wants to go
the diver was flabbergasted at his new passenger, your not the police
not with that suit shoes rolex ect so it was done and probably still is
Though the film opens with Bond entering the hotel to get the hard drive, we dont really know if that was his original destination. He could have been sent to Istanbul to meet with the head of the Istanbul section initially to try to figure out the location of the drive and or he could have had an equally formal meeting with some other goverment, security people in a situation that would have seemed totally proper to have been in a suit (embassy, expensive hotel, government office, etc). This would not have been shown as it wasn't necessary for the audience and would not be the slam opening you need for an action film. The hotel emergency could have arisen during this meeting or shortly after, requiring him to go directly there to investigate, giving him no time to change into more suitable action attire.
If the job calls for a suit, and money is no object, then why not wear a great one.
I take a fair amount of flack from my team mates when I wear a $800 Hugo Boss suit and a Kenneth Cole tie during VIP protection duties. They drop $125 at Tip Top Tailors for the cheapest suit they can find and wear a clip-on tie, yes... a clip-on tie. But that's not my bag.
I also wear my Rolex. Again, lots of flack. But, when I was on SWAT I wore it on hundreds of missions and it never broke, depite massive amounts of abuse and countless hours on the firearms range. Plus, it's insured.
You only live once, why not do it with some style? Isn't that what our favourite character is doing...
Bond has never been inconspicious - who would walk into a nightclub in South America or a Las Vegas casino wearing a white dinner jacket.
Craig's Bond has dressed more for the occassion than any of his predecessors but he is still James Bond and Bond wears suits and ties for most occassions.
Vesper said something along the lines of 'You wear that suit because thats how you imagine human being dress'.
what??!!
you speak out of context sir! X-(
Sir Rog wore some of the best ensembles in the series. More 'adventureous'? sure! but it added a great element of style and fun to his movies. Anyways, he never ventured into 'what were they thinking?!' territory.
The era of Sir Rog was influenced by a somewhat more extravant style, but compared to the contemporary flair, you can argue that Moore's suits and style were also conservative as they are now. (well, actually i never thought I'd see Bond in a button down shirt, that's ULTRA conservative bordering on nerdiness but anyways...)
Just as he strangles the girl with her Bikini top.
Actually, you could argue that this ensemble was all the more 'practical' so as to facilitate a quick retreat. Recall how he had to high-tail it from Max's lab to escape and avoid being found out, this after tangling with some guards.
Afterwards he runs out into the country then highjumps off an undetaching bridge onto the castle then jumps into bed and quickly sheds said Tracksuit just in time to be manhandled by Mayday.
tough to see Rog do all this in his typical suit.
About the practical aspects of the job in the life of book Bond, in Risico while Bond is at the beach jogging a distance of over a mile to get away from some thugs, he gets hot, removes his tie and stuffs it in his pocket; sounds practical but it’s interesting how he visits the beach while dressed in his usual way in the first place, in a suit but I guess that would have been a normal sight back then.
When Bond was first adapted for the screen the director, Terrence Young was largely instrumental in translating the stylish world of the books (if not Bond’s said “pedestrian” wardrobe) into a modern and novel version of the British gentleman. The suits, which interestingly were more smart and economically stylish vs. fancy and flamboyant, were a significant form of branding that identified and set Bond apart from the pack, and it continues to this day.
Agreed, it’s all about style. However, Craig's extreme dressing down even though it was to better (pardon the pun), suit the occasion, reflected a more plausible agent in the real world, all that just made him more like Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt and therefore doing that too much is not good. The rational for Bond’s grungy look at the start of CR was the Bond Begins premise, but it continued in QoS with the jeans and made me think that’s how it would be going forward, but thankfully it changed in SF.
In QoS when Bond did wear a suit during the interrogation of Mr. White, he visibly stood out from the other Service agents in terms of style, but in SF he had that security personnel vibe even while suited, especially with the earpiece. In the book, The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne underwent surgery to effect non-remarkable features that would allow his face to be forgotten in a crowd, literally a blunt instrument with a purpose. If James Bond is to become a “practical” agent to suit reality, then he can continue dressing that way, but if he’s to continue being James Bond, the wardrobe is part of the package.
Though Lazenby and Connery had a taste of the era, Moore had to "survive" during the fashion excesses of the 70's and his wardrobe IMO was a respectable interpretation of the time. After MR, however, he did use more practical dress to a dramatic extent, though the 70's suits gave such a lasting impression despite of the relaxed dressing; that's actually a good commentary about him in terms of lasting impressions of his tenure as Bond.