Join Essential Style for Men as Luigi takes his 6 month journey trying to become his favorite super spy. Image from Burke/Triolo Productions/Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock.

James Bond is the man.

Our hope here at ESM is that all our readers love all the James Bond movies.  So much so, in fact, that they want to become him.

I love James Bond (in the platonic dude kind of way) and always fancy myself James Bond when I am wearing a suit, drinking a martini, or driving a nice car.

So I thought to myself: why not take this bitch to the next level and really try to “become Bond”? 

What would it really take to make it happen?

I know what you're thinking and I don't care! We're going to do it anyway! Image from http://obamapacman.com/2011/03/james-bond-daniel-craig-ipad/.

So we did a little bit of research and found a list of things that made up the James Bond character (since it’s 2011 we picked the Daniel Craig version) on the James Bond Wiki page:

• Blond, short hair
• 5’10″
• In extremely good shape
• Scottish heritage
• Royal Naval Reserve Commander
• MI-6 secret agent
• MI-6 bankroll
• Wears Tom Ford suits
• Expert in hand-to-hand combat
• Expert marksman
• Expert swordsman (80′s and 90′s version)
• Expert in evasive driving
• Expert in Baccarat and Poker
• Expert ballroom dancer
• Drives an Aston Marin DBS
• Awesome with the ladies
• Killed 2 people to get double O status
• Can do any imaginable physical activity with ease
• And much, much more

So obviously there were things that I can’t do, such as get a license to kill or become a commander in the British Royal Navy.

But if you think about it, there are things a person can do to get as close to the dream as possible.  Here are some ideas we came up with:

• Get in shape in a short amount of time by doing p90x
• Take ballroom dance classes
• Take evasive driving classes
• Get a few nice suits
• In my case, getting a haircut
• Taking classes on how to handle a firearm
• Renting an Aston Martin for a day

So over the next 6 months, I am going to try to fit everything I can (on a budget of course) to try and become my favorite super spy, James Bond.

I know it’s crazy, but it gives me a perfect excuse to try and do all these things I have always wanted to try anyway. 

Furthermore, I know I am going to have a blast..

Additionally, with the opening of the latest installment in the James Bond franchise Skyfall coming out next year, the timing is going to be perfect. 

I should be pretty close to done with my 6 month journey.

And who knows?  If this works out, our next article series can be titled “Becoming the Most Interesting Man in the World in a Year“.

Why not, right?

Finally, if any of our readers have any suggestions on what you think I should try out, let us know!!!

Special thanks to Brian Mauleon (http://www.myspace.com/brianmauleonmusic) for the track used in our video.

“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better. Stronger. Faster.”

I hate the term “makeover”. It’s been overused, overplayed and something I would rather not use for ESM. Instead, we will use the term “remake” and will prove the second movie can be better than the first.

Our first candidate is “John” from Los Angeles.  He’s a partner/part-owner of a multi-million dollar web design firm established in 1999.  Recently, he has been promoted to a board member position and now has a lot of free time on his hands. 

Check the baggy jeans and the Birkenstocks.

Despite his professional success, his style has been carried over from his college years where his clothes were too baggy and too big.  He still wears Birkenstocks.  He sometimes wear “Affliction”-style shirts.

We think it’s time to do a remake.

We accompanied John to Century City, a Los Angeles-based mall with some high end boutiques.  Our first stop was Bloomingdales, where we had an appointment with a personal shopper.

After a slight aneurysm from the high prices associated with Bloomingdales, we moved to a more cost-effective venue.  Of course, we suggested one of our go-to places: Zara.

Jacket by Zara. Sunglasses by Ray-Ban.

It took a while for John to appreciate the gear, but once he looked around and tried on a few clothes he was hooked.  We threw together some fly gear that looked good on John and you can check out the results below:

Coat, sweater and scarf from Zara. Boots from Banana Republic.

Sunglasses from Chrome Hearts.

Once he bought almost everything in the store, we needed to tie it all together with some boots from Banana Republic.  Fortunately for him, the shoes he picked were on sale for $49 from $149.

Watch by Panerai.

As a side note, not only is John working on his style, he is also working on remaking himself and taking steps for self improvement – like reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  According to him, he’s taking this time to make proactive changes in his life.  It’s a paradigm shift for the better.

Word. Mission complete.

Peacoat from Nordstrom.

Sweater from Zara.