31 Days of Bond Fashion
DAY 14: THE TERRYCLOTH ROBE as seen in Goldfinger (1964).
James Bond is held up the world over as a paragon of masculinity and gentlemanly style, and each Bond has his signature wardrobe piece. Roger Moore had the safari jacket, Pierce Brosnan had his overcoats, Daniel Craig had his knitwear, and Connery? Perhaps because of his background in bodybuilding, he loved wearing little more than a towel. His most memorable towelled resort outfit â even more memorable than his towel skirt in Thunderball â was this blue terrycloth playsuit.Â
The outfit, which is widely considered Bondâs first fashion faux pas, might have come down to an error in communication. The script called rather ambiguously for âcombination robe-trousersâ for the scene, but the costume department interpreted it as this: a belted onesie with a camp collar and three-quarter zip that took its shape from a jumpsuit. Underneath, and visible because of the playsuitâs very short shorts, Bond wore a pair of blue swimming trunks. The trunks were outshone by the playsuit and some other very famous blue swim shorts in the franchise decades later.Â
Playsuits were typically worn by women at the time and the outfit hints at a few themes related to gender and sexuality across the franchise: dress and undress, the popularity of towelling in 1960s clothing, and Bond as an object, more Bond Girl than Bond.Â
While the playsuit isn't considered Bond's most fashionable look, it has proved popular enough for Orlebar Brown to make a replica, albeit with slightly longer shorts. It's priced at ÂŁ395.
Sources: Fashioning James Bond: Costume, Gender and Identity in the World of 007, Bond Suits.
