Spike's "Look"

I prefer Spike's "very Billy Idol" look in "Fool for Love," with spiked hair and safety pins clipped all over his shirt as opposed to the slicked back 'do. I pretty much always dig his look, however. I like the leather. I don't see a whole lot of people these days who stay true to classic punk style. In real life, I would probably want to hang out with him quite a bit.
 
Seems to me Spike's look really reflects how little the writers thought about the character initially - 'okay let's have this vampire couple, Sid&Nancy like. Let's have a punk dude and a goth chick. We'll flesh it all out later' (I presume that his name even is just a reflection on his haircut, a la Degrassi Junior High for anyone Canadian enough to remember that). Still, it works well. Spike the cocky punk is a great caricature, and one that luckily could be filled in and given depth to too.
 
K
Kelsey
I REMEMBER THAT. I used to watch Degrassi Junior High! The reruns on The N, though, not the original airings. =P
It's sexy! But then, I also think Billy Idol is sexy, so....

James never quite caught me the same way without the Spike getup, but his charm and wit really won me over.
 
The clothes were all ok by me (personally, I love a man in black), but what did it for me was his accent. You have no idea how many times I rewound that scene in season 4 when he told Buffy in his dream to "end [his] torment." But back to the clothing: it didn't bother me all that much. I think the only thing I didn't like were his painted nails...
 
I'm curious...does anyone know what inspired Spike's look? Like why did they choose to go with the platinum blonde hair and long black leather coat? I know they wanted a punk vampire, but did Joss and the writers have a specific idea of what they wanted Spike to look like as far as hair coloring and clothes? Did James contribute in anyway, besides choosing an accent? I'm just wondering 🙂

But, regardless, I absolutely love the finished product 😀
 
StarSlayer said:
I'm curious...does anyone know what inspired Spike's look? Like why did they choose to go with the platinum blonde hair and long black leather coat? I know they wanted a punk vampire, but did Joss and the writers have a specific idea of what they wanted Spike to look like as far as hair coloring and clothes? Did James contribute in anyway, besides choosing an accent? I'm just wondering 🙂

But, regardless, I absolutely love the finished product 😀
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Well I saw something where James said he didn't choose any of it... someone else did... and I KNOW he hated the blonde hair. I have heard him talk about how much he hated the blonde hair a lot.

I saw something else where James said when they cast him, they had no idea what the finished "polished and glamified" (James' words) Spike would look like. So I'm guessing they didn't have a specific idea of what they wanted Spike to look like.
 
zobothehobo said:
Well I saw something where James said he didn't choose any of it... someone else did... and I KNOW he hated the blonde hair. I have heard him talk about how much he hated the blonde hair a lot.
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Interesting, didn't know that. I also read somewhere or heard somewhere that he used like Sweet-and-Low to take the sting out when he bleached his hair.
 
Personally, I like it. It suits him and his personality. I get it that it's a bit...gothic and all that but if that's what he's into then, ya know. It's kind of a look I'm into myself but I'm not goth/emo or whatever, I just like the whole rocker look.

If I saw someone like him out in public...Hmm. I'd be used to it. I've seen some really weird people walking around my town. I'd probably be like 'Oh, my, god. That guy is hot". But then again, that's just me.
 
Kean said:
He looks like a human pint of Guinness! 😛

Personally, I think he looks ridiculous, and there are parts of Angel s5 where I am actually embarrassed for him! It's just so affected, doesn't feel a bit natural to me.
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There are parts of Season 5 when I'm actually embarrassed for Angel, too, especially that "latest fashion" outfit from "The Girl In Question," and the whole puppet thing, but once Spike's "look" had been established, I suppose the bleached white hair and leather trench coat just became so recognized with the character that Joss was reluctant to change it. I know that at least part of the look, the bleached hair, was quite painful for James, and actually resulted in a scalp infection at one point.

The trench coat was Spike's trademark, and was shown in Season 7 to actually be essential to his own self image, at least "the old Spike, the Spike who almost killed me when we first met" needed it, and when Buffy made it clear that she needed that old Spike, the coat came back. I think that it is significant, however, that that original coat was replaced in Season 5. Granted, it was replaced by a near identical copy (with 10 spares hanging in the closet) but, despite the similarity to the old coat, it was new and improved, just like Spike, with his new and improved soul, was as well.

Those are the things that make Spike Spike, just like the battered fedora, leather jacket, and bullwhip made Indiana Jones who he was. Change any of that, and you change the character. Change the character, and you've LOST the character. That's exactly what happened to Angel and his crew in Season 5. They had developed their "look" over the previous seasons. Having Angel suddenly tuck in his shirt tail and wear a tie would have destroyed his image, just like cleaning Wes up would have destroyed his. The only major changes in "looks" in Season 5 (Gunn's and Fred's) resulted in a major change for the former and a total loss for the latter.

Both Angel and Spike had established their "look" well before that last season, and any major change presented the risk of losing a part of the character.

Now, if you really want to feel embarrassed by a character's wardrobe, there's always Lorne...
 
I absolutely loved his look in Fool for love, it really suits his character. It's the kinda guy I'd be hanging out with. I go for the doc marten/leather jacket (not trench) look myself. But yeah, not liking the slicked back blonde hair too much.
 
He has many looks during his life and unlife, from dorky to punk, and he looks from cute to hot. I love him in all looks!
 
He is just the hottest person ever. If I saw someone like him walking down the street, I'd probably hit a streetlamp or something or I'd just come to a halt and drool all over myself. Okay, I'm not the biggest fan of the duster and his hair looks better when it's curly, but man, he is HOT. I find the bleached hair and the tight black shirts way sexy. Spike's appearance is definitely not overdone or anything. It's just perfect with a touch of bad-boy image. Or maybe a whole lot of bad-boy image. I'll just stick to hot and perfect.
 
P
prophecygrrl
lol, me too
I think sometimes the jacket does end up wearing him. I'd say midway through season six is when it felt stale. Now that the original is gone maybe they'll ditch that and have him go back to what he was wearing in seven. The right jean jacket can make almost any guy look butch, me included. Not that I need help because...ME STRONG LIKE BULL...okay that's my Xander moment for the day.
 
P
prophecygrrl
LOL, gotta give you karma for the "Xander moment"!
I love Spike's look... It's his trademark, and it works for the character. I do, however, prefer his 80's punk look. For me it seems more modern than this slick-backed hair and the spiky hair was suuuuuuper hot on him. Plus, when you hear the name Spike, wouldn't you think he should have spiky hair?? I think, though, it would have been weird if both Spike AND Angel had spiky hair. LOL
 
I love Spike's look. I didn't like it at first cause I just didn't really understand any of it, but as the seasons went on it just felt so familiar and fitting. And for the most part, it's very consistent but it still fits all the different aspects of Spike. That's pretty awesome. 😀
 
Love the entire look from top to bottom lol. In high school and a few years after, I was very punk rock myself and I still typically hang around fellow rockers even though my clothing style has changed a bit. I used to scare people in school. I found it rather funny. 😀
 
Okay I have a question for you. There are some freaks out there (including me!!) that think Spike looks hot even when he has his vamp face on. Do you find him hot even with all the wrinklies, fangs and demon like face? Or is it just me?
 
E
EvilBuffy
It is totally not just you.
wickedtiger86
wickedtiger86
Srsly. Not just you. :)
Chosen Enemy said:
Okay I have a question for you. There are some freaks out there (including me!!) that think Spike looks hot even when he has his vamp face on. Do you find him hot even with all the wrinklies, fangs and demon like face? Or is it just me?
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....it's not just you. Vamp-face on and all, he's still hot. Because with his vamp face, his levels of badass-ery rises.
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I can say this even as a guy; his voice sounds sexier when he's got the bumpies on.
 
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