The cashmere turtle-neck may sound like an unlikely contender on many a man’s Christmas wish list, but thanks to “Bond power” it’s sure to be one of those gifts to give this year.
Daniel Craig, or should I say James Bond, wears an N. Peal dark charcoal grey sweater in the latest instalment of the Bond saga, Spectre, which opens in cinemas next Friday.
He’s also seen in the action hero kit on official posters released ahead of the highly-anticipated film, which is said to have cost more than $300 million (R4.2 billion) to make.
Product placement is nothing new to the series as the man who seduces women and crashes cars has wide-spread universal appeal.
Affluent men with money want to drive what he’s driving, wear what he’s wearing and drink what he’s drinking.
There are numerous sites devoted to Bond-phernalia.
At 007.com you can buy anything from remote control Aston Martins to luxury poker sets.
At www.shop.007.com, you can buy the Spectre Octopus Ring, first seen in From Russia with Love in 1963, and updated for the latest 007.
The beautifully-crafted silver ring is uniquely presented, emerging from the signature gun barrel graphic, displayed with its very own certificate of provenance. Other sites to troll include www.jamesbondlifestyle.com and www.thebondexperience.com
Some pieces are too distinctive to miss, such as Bond’s many timepieces.
Among them is the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Master Co-Axial, said to be worn in the opening sequence, shot in Mexico and in the scenes shot on the Thames River in London.
There are plenty of Tom Ford suits and tuxedos to drool over; my eye caught a bomber jacket he is said to wear in the movie.
The bomber jacket from Tom Ford has been expertly crafted in Italy and boasts a contrast design with front down-filled quilted panelling alongside luxurious wool knitted sleeves. It is apparently selling fast at Harrods and Selfridges.
M (Ralph Fiennes) and Bill Tanner (Rory Kinnear) carry a J. Crew Abingdon Weekender Bag, made in waxed cotton canvas with a burnished leather trim and brass-finish hardware, in Spectre, that is also to die another day for.
And if you’re really bonkers about Bond, you can’t not have the Tom Ford Snowdon shades.
Needless to say, all the prices online are in pounds.