Not Bond's Clothes
CmdrAtticus
United StatesPosts: 1,102MI6 Agent
I didn't give this a lot of thought until recently, but it's curious that many members are interested in finding and buying the attire that is worn by the actor's playing Bond, yet I don't know if they think about whether or not Bond would actually wear that particular attire.
For example, there are those trying to find the leather jacket Craig wears after his Haitian fight scene in QOS and continues to wear until after the boat chase sequence. However, the jacket didn't belong to Bond - he stole it from the dead villain's hotel room because he was assuming his identity (amazing how well if fits Craig though!). I realize it's a nice jacket and that many would buy it for that very reason, but would Bond himself have bought it?
This reasoning could apply to a number of situations from the films. Craigs attire in the chase scene in the beginning of CR for example. He and another agent are on a mission in Africa at the snake/mongoose fight. Are the clothes he is wearing the type Bond would wear if he were not undercover? Since Bond is undercover a lot or pretending to be a made up character, is he wearing what he himself would wear or is he making up a disguise and wearing clothes he thinks the character he is assuming would wear? Another example is when he was pretending to be Sir Hilary Bray. There are probably members who wanted to buy the sweater or shirt or whatever Lazenby wore in OHMSS when he was playing Bray, yet this is not what Bond himself would have worn, is it? Another example - when he escapes on skis from Piz Gloria, he's wearing a blue ski suit, but it's obvious that it is an outfit he stole from the equipment room.
I could go on, but I just though it's interesting how much is written about the apparel Bond wears in the films and how many would like to own it, yet some of it is or may not even be the type Bond would actually wear.
For example, there are those trying to find the leather jacket Craig wears after his Haitian fight scene in QOS and continues to wear until after the boat chase sequence. However, the jacket didn't belong to Bond - he stole it from the dead villain's hotel room because he was assuming his identity (amazing how well if fits Craig though!). I realize it's a nice jacket and that many would buy it for that very reason, but would Bond himself have bought it?
This reasoning could apply to a number of situations from the films. Craigs attire in the chase scene in the beginning of CR for example. He and another agent are on a mission in Africa at the snake/mongoose fight. Are the clothes he is wearing the type Bond would wear if he were not undercover? Since Bond is undercover a lot or pretending to be a made up character, is he wearing what he himself would wear or is he making up a disguise and wearing clothes he thinks the character he is assuming would wear? Another example is when he was pretending to be Sir Hilary Bray. There are probably members who wanted to buy the sweater or shirt or whatever Lazenby wore in OHMSS when he was playing Bray, yet this is not what Bond himself would have worn, is it? Another example - when he escapes on skis from Piz Gloria, he's wearing a blue ski suit, but it's obvious that it is an outfit he stole from the equipment room.
I could go on, but I just though it's interesting how much is written about the apparel Bond wears in the films and how many would like to own it, yet some of it is or may not even be the type Bond would actually wear.
Comments
He seems to be a heavy follower of fashion in real life so I guess he prob co-ordinates a lot with his costume designer and has a lot of input hence even if he is out undercover / out of his Bond character he will still look cool unless he starts wearing false teeth and false ears / noses like Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films!!!
Also, I do believe Bond needs to be a 'chameleon' and blend in to his environment and wear the appropriate clothing for his work in the field. Such as lightweight linen trousers in the heat of Africa etc.
So yes there will be times when Bond has to take clothes as he's on the go so he can blend in to his surroundings, he's very much a 'to suit the occasion' type of person in my opinion.
Weeeeeelll...http://bit.ly/i0oTVY
I did write whenever possible. There are very few tasteful options for when a full disguise is required.
Sorry to harp. I know the films and books are just fantasies, yet its strange I can buy into buy into a hovercraft floating over landmines, yet seeing Bond wearing sweat inducing attire makes me take a mental pause!
job of not being noticed in a crowd. So it's true Craig is not the romantic leading idol type in the looks department, and that is what the producers were going for when they wanted to get towards a more realistic Bond. I was one of those who was taken aback when he was announced for the role (the light hair still bothers me), but his pugilistic face and acting won me over right away. I really like Dalton because though he was handsome to a degree, he did not appear to me to be your typical magazine cover handsome type. He had a dark edge to his looks that I pictured the Bond in the novels to have.
Connery also had a dark edge look, but to me he always seemed too rugged and rough in his personality to to be the type you would have seen as a former Eton alumni. Moore was the opposite for me - he was REALLY too handsome and though he may have seemed a former Eton type I could never be convinced he could be tough like Dalton or Craig. Lazenby I also liked. He leaned towards the model handsome type like Brosnan, but in many scenes there was something edgy there. The biggest problem with these actors was there height. Being six feet and over makes any man stand out in many situations (especially if they are in good shape and well dressed). It didn't help that large movie screens and framing of many of the scenes in the films even exaggerated this. Not exactly the ideal spy type. The novel Bond was just at six feet and though in good shape, it seemed the main thing that would make one notice him was the dark edge of his looks rather than being abnormally handsome.
I think that's why Fleming described him as being a bit like Hoagy Carmichael. Now HC was not bad looking but he was not by any glamour standards a cover rmodel type. Besides, it always seemed to me Fleming was really just describing himself or his brother Peter in a more ideal fashion when in came to Bond's appearance.
Yes, I think actors like Dalton and Craig fit the novel Bond closest, and would not be as noticeable in the street. I hope they will continue this trend with any future actors who take the part. As far as the clothes, I like the trend of the Craig films of having him in the professional suits when he is in corporate scenes as in when he is at headquarters or posing as a business man, but also like the modern realistic way they now show him in more casual attire in other scenes. Bond in the novels did not wear any designer flashy clothes, only well made ones, and I'm glad the films started reflecting that.
Perosnally, I am not a big fan of Craig Bond and can't wait to see who the replacement will be.
However, judging by discussions on this forum it would appear that Craig does in fact seem to wear designer flashy clothes - in fact so many people here discuss his shoes, socks, polos and so on, they not only know they brand but even the model of the shoes!