Style
The Cat is obsessed with his own superficial attractiveness and has an enormous and flamboyant wardrobe, which he couples with an obsession with his reflection and a penchant for preening. He has been described as 'a vain, preening fashion plate who resembles James Brown with fangs', and Danny John-Jules has described the character of Cat as based on a combination of Little Richard's look, James Brown's moves and Richard Pryor's facial expressions. When auditioning for the show John-Jules attended the audition in character, wearing his father's wedding suit, which he described as a "zoot suit". In order to understand the role, John-Jules studied the 1986 book Catwatching by Desmond Morris, learning, amongst other things, not to blink while in character.
In the first episode the Cat is introduced wearing a pink suit which Danny John-Jules described as feeling 'like an old Cab Calloway suit'. Concerning his character, Danny John-Jules has said 'He's probably like a little girl the first time she puts on makeup and says "Hey this stuff looks good...".'
During the first two seasons, the Cat typically dressed in various 1940s-era suits (often gray or pink, with big shoulders and pocket handkerchiefs). He would also wear Cuban-heeled shoes with most of his outfits. He would also wear suits with tailed jackets and ruffled shirts (most notably cream-colored or reddish-pink). Over the next three seasons, the Cat began wearing flashier outfits (like a tartan three-piece suit) and more leather and vinyl outfits (with boots). He also began wearing brightly coloured hats and coats- such as his zebra-print coat (later revamped to yellow and black). He began sporting more jewellery and earrings.
Starting with series 6 and on through 7, The Cat's wardrobe was drastically simplified (John-Jules jokingly speculated that this was done as a cost-saving measure). He wore a black pvc jumpsuit (often with gloves) with a limited number of coats or suits worn over it. Ironically, he spent most of series 8 either in his prison jumpsuit or his battle fatigues.
Read more about this topic: Cat (Red Dwarf)
Famous quotes containing the word style:
“I might say that what amateurs call a style is usually only the unavoidable awkwardnesses in first trying to make something that has not heretofore been made.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)
“New is a word for fools in towns who think
Style upon style in dress and thought at last
Must get somewhere.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Hemingway was a prisoner of his style. No one can talk like the characters in Hemingway except the characters in Hemingway. His style in the wildest sense finally killed him.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)