Clothes spotting!

[Mara]

Well, you know far more about the Avengers than I do, so I suppose this was just something I happened to spot in this particular episode:



(it's a cap from The Gladiators which I just happened to be watching a few scenes from today...)

[Timeless A-Peel]

Well, you know far more about the Avengers than I do, so I suppose this was just something I happened to spot in this particular episode:



(it's a cap from The Gladiators which I just happened to be watching a few scenes from today...)

I've been thinking on this all morning, because Betty Jackson did sound familiar, but I couldn't find any mention of her in my resources. But I've realised you're right--Betty Jackson did do some work for TNA. The reason I didn't think of it was because she never did any work for season one. She only worked on a few episodes of season 2, and always with Jillie Murphy, who still gets the main credit. This was probably something to do with French interference in Purdey's wardrobe. So I stand corrected. But the shoes Joanna has on are season one--Betty wasn't working in TNA at that point.

[Philippa]

Yeah it's funny because Betty Jackson did some of Joanna's clothes for AbFab too, and she's a close friend of Jennifer Saunders

[Mara]

So I stand corrected. But the shoes Joanna has on are season one--Betty wasn't working in TNA at that point.

Haha, that's Ok. I never noticed she wore these shoes on set, but I do assume she got to take a lot of Purdey's home, as she did with the clothes they used on AbFab as well.

I'm still not sure whether they are the same shoes or not, but speculating is always a bit of fun too, right?

[Timeless A-Peel]

So I stand corrected. But the shoes Joanna has on are season one--Betty wasn't working in TNA at that point.

Haha, that's Ok. I never noticed she wore these shoes on set, but I do assume she got to take a lot of Purdey's home, as she did with the clothes they used on AbFab as well.

I'm still not sure whether they are the same shoes or not, but speculating is always a bit of fun too, right?

Both Gareth and Joanna are wearing their characters' clothes in that picture (ditto for the picture in my signature). When they were doing promotional stuff, actors were often made to wear clothing they wore on the show for publicity purposes. I know that Gareth only actually got to keep a few of his suits, and I don't know that Joanna got to keep much of anything--maybe a few things, I've never read her say anything one way or another. A lot of Diana Rigg's clothes were given to crew members for their wives, I know that much!

[Mara]

Ah, Emma was definitely the best dressed Avenger girl: I really adore her suits and jackets. I know it was fashion back then, but it is the catsuits I find rather weird though. Purdey's wardrobe was a bit odd too, and some of the clothes she wore were really strange I think, but Joanna is one of the very few lucky women who can basically look good in anything, haha.

[Philippa]

Didn't Diana give some of her Emma Peel clothes to Rachael when she was a child, who then cut them up completely? I remember reading something about this on The Avengers forum.

[Timeless A-Peel]

Ah, Emma was definitely the best dressed Avenger girl: I really adore her suits and jackets. I know it was fashion back then, but it is the catsuits I find rather weird though. Purdey's wardrobe was a bit odd too, and some of the clothes she wore were really strange I think, but Joanna is one of the very few lucky women who can basically look good in anything, haha.

Emma and Cathy were the best dressed girls, definitely. I love all of Emma's clothes--there are hardly any outfit I don't like, even the Emmapeelers. I wouldn't go down the street in one (although I did wear one on Halloween when I dressed up as Emma! ), but for the context of the series I like them, all the different colours and trims. I actually like them better than the leather suits, but I know I'm in the minority. Emma has gorgeous suits in the early episodes, though, and all her black and white abstract Jean Varon by John Bates outfits--very sixties and amazing to look at. She also had a lot of minidresses--there's a pink one with a jacket from The Hidden Tiger that I just adore. I would happily take all of Emma's clothes. Purdey, sadly, didn't fare nearly as well--a lot of her clothes are pretty awful. I honestly have to say that Gambit had a better wardrobe. But I like her red dress from Dirtier, the black slit dress from Medium Rare, the blue short one from The Lion and the Unicorn, her pink wooly ensem and her suit from To Catch a Rat, and the red one from the start of K is for Kill. They should have put her in simpler, more tailored clothes and fewer floral patterns.

Didn't Diana give some of her Emma Peel clothes to Rachael when she was a child, who then cut them up completely? I remember reading something about this on The Avengers forum.

Yes, that's true too. So some went to Diana, and most were worn by the crew members' wives. Between that and Rachel cutting them up to make costumes, it's no wonder not much seems to have survived in terms of Emma originals. Sad, isn't it?

[Philippa]

Yes it's definitely a shame. Nowadays they would've been real treasures, and they would undoubtedly go for a lot of money at auctions.

[Joris]

Sad to hear that some of Diana's original clothes became rags...
I dunno but it's as if she hadn't no respect at all for the show.
We don't do that.

[Timeless A-Peel]

Sad to hear that some of Diana's original clothes became rags...
I dunno but it's as if she hadn't no respect at all for the show.
We don't do that.

Well, I imagine she didn't have any use for them, and Rachel needed the material, so it probably didn't seem like a big deal at the time. This would have been in the eighties, when The Avengers was a long way away for her.

[Joris]

She should have given them for charity or another thing like that, selling them. But destroying them.... As if she wanted to avoid the Avengers Era. It's hurting me.

[Mara]

As if she wanted to avoid the Avengers Era. It's hurting me.

Well, I wouldn't say ''destroy'', but I could definitely relate to ''move on''. The tricky consequence of a big hit show is the fact that people will always remember you as that particular character (I think Joanna is the perfect example) and therefore might not appreciate later work.

In the end, I don't think that quite happened to neither Joanna nor Diana, but I can definitely understand they wanted to get rid of the image as an Avenger girl. Anyway - I'm going slightly off topic now, sorry.

[Mara]

Back to Joanna's favorite dress:





I loved to get a little glimpse of her home and her garden, it's exactly like she describes it in NRFS.

[Philippa]

Ooohh
I love that dress, it really suits her. And it's great to see that she wears it so often!

[Mara]

I've grown rather fond of that dress myself too. It's almost the typical Joanna outfit now, isn't it? It does look lovely on her, still. I was suprised to see that she didn't mind wearing it on screen again though.

[Joris]

I've got the whole episode, at the sudden, in my head. Remember the beginning of Catwoman, when she's walking in her garden, holding her cup.
I want to see it again !!!

Pleasure to see some pictures from the show.

[Philippa]

I just had to come here and say how much I love that dress, again

[Mara]

Jo's dress from the M&S adverts is actually in stores! Wish I'd known that before I went to England.

[Timeless A-Peel]

Jo's dress from the M&S adverts is actually in stores! Wish I'd known that before I went to England.

Yeah, you can buy all the stuff they're wearing--I want Twiggy's coat! And I love Stephen's tie.

[Mara]

Yeah, you can buy all the stuff they're wearing--I want Twiggy's coat! And I love Stephen's tie.

I know it's silly, but I just didn't realize it. I only paid attention to the lines and the cast of the ads.

I really love Twiggy's ''perfect little black dress'' and her pinky coat - they're really nice.

[Timeless A-Peel]

Yeah, you can buy all the stuff they're wearing--I want Twiggy's coat! And I love Stephen's tie.

I know it's silly, but I just didn't realize it. I only paid attention to the lines and the cast of the ads.

I really love Twiggy's ''perfect little black dress'' and her pinky coat - they're really nice.

I know--I just saw they had the little bar down the side with all the stuff. Won't let you but Joanna, Philip, and Stephen, though.

[Philippa]

Yeah, you can buy all the stuff they're wearing--I want Twiggy's coat! And I love Stephen's tie.

I know it's silly, but I just didn't realize it. I only paid attention to the lines and the cast of the ads.

I really love Twiggy's ''perfect little black dress'' and her pinky coat - they're really nice.

I know--I just saw they had the little bar down the side with all the stuff. Won't let you but Joanna, Philip, and Stephen, though.

That's a real shame, I agree

[Timeless A-Peel]

I know--I just saw they had the little bar down the side with all the stuff. Won't let you buy Joanna, Philip, and Stephen, though.

That's a real shame, I agree

Where's cloning technology when you need it, eh?