When Daniel Craig’s James Bond is at home in Spectre he lounges in an intricately striped robe while looking through a box of personal effects recovered from the Skyfall house. Very little is seen of this robe, especially because Bond wears it in his dimly lit flat.
This robe is primarily orange-brown in colour, like a burnt sienna. The stripes are vertical on the body but crosswise around the sleeves instead of the usual lengthwise. The robe is very long, extending below the knee. It has long sleeves and a shawl collar, and there do not appear to be pockets or a belt.
Blair Ballard, who has spoken with costume Jany Temime about this robe, said that Temime purchased the robe in a Turkish shop in Pimlico, London, and it’s a one-off.
kadd at AJB007 presented a theory in 2014 that the robe is a type of garment worn in Uzbekistan such as a Bekasab or Chapan, which are worn in many neighboring countries in Cental Asia as well. These robes are often made of heavy cotton and silk blends and are worn as coats, not as dressing gowns.
While James Bond usually wears British-style loungewear, made of luxurious Sea Island cotton or silk, we can only guess that the character would have purchased this abroad on one of his missions. Bond may not wear this as a coat like people in Asia do, but it serves Bond well as a dressing gown to wear at home.
Interesting post! Any idea on where to purchase a good quality robe/dressing gown that will look traditional, without making the wearer appear pretentious. I’m not quite ready yet to dress like some English duke in his family estate.
Why are you concerned about ‘appearing pretentious’? Who will even see you in a dressing gown?
Without meaning any disrespect to I.T., I concur with Rod the Mod. Dressing like some English duke in his family estate is a fine ambition in life. Why not enjoy oneself?
This struck me as realistic. My father and grandfather were career officers in the British Army, and they would wear comfortable outfits picked up in the Middle East to lounge at home.
Having worked in Turkey and the Gulf, I do the same now.
This isn’t how they are worn by people in Asia, but it is exactly how British public school (private schools to Americans) educated military officers wear them.
That is also the origin of the pajamas.
And finally It is a nod to the tunic/robe/caftan Bond wears in Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale back in 1952, said to have been found in Hong Kong.