Secret Fashion; Spies, Clothing and the Art of Blending In
When asked to imagine a spy, what springs to mind for you? Perhaps it’s the classic trench coat and newspaper, or maybe you’re more of a 007 fan. But one thing is for certain, we think we have a pretty good idea of espionage disguises from the countless portrayals in books, films, TV and theatre productions in Western media. Whilst characters like James Bond tend to take the approach of ‘hiding’ in plain sight with a sharp suit and martini in hand, how much do we really know about the costumes and disguises used in 20th Century espionage?
Costumes and disguises have been used for centuries for a number of reasons. You may already know that Josephine Baker and Mata Hari both worked in espionage because their public facing careers lent them natural connections with politically significant people across the globe. Some reading this article may also know about Christian ‘Kit’ Cavanagh disguising herself as a male soldier to participate in King William III and the Duke of Marlborough’s 17th Century campaigns. Or, that the distinguished 19th Century army surgeon Dr James Barry was discovered to be female upon their death.[i] In fact, according to various sources there were so many women determined to dress as soldiers in the British Civil Wars of 1639 – 1651 that King Charles I issued a proclamation to “Lett no woman presume to counterfeit her sex by wearing mans apparall under payne of the severest punishment.”[ii] With women disguising themselves to join the army, or act as doctors, it is important to note that some may well have chosen this lifestyle as a way to officially transition gender, rather than dressing to function outside the expectations of an historically patriarchal society. However, the suggestion of women disguising themselves so effectively, simply because they seemed to be above suspicion, is something that would be a recurring theme throughout the 20th Century.
Photographic print of Josephine Baker performing at the Folies Bergère, c. 1926 by Ostrorog, Stanislaw Julian Ignacy. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Dr James Barry ‘An Army Surgeon’s Career’, article dated 1910 found in Dr James Barry’s personal file. Catalogue ref: WO 25/3910 The National Archives.
King Charles I, 1631 by Daniel Mytens. NPG 1246 National Portrait Gallery.
Early Spy-Craft
The early stages of modern British ‘spy-craft’ grew out of the Secret Service Bureau, which formed in 1909. Two officers, Captain Vernon Kell and Commander Mansfield Cumming worked together as the only members of staff. As their work grew, so did their staff and they soon realised they needed to divide into two separate organisations.[iii], [iv] Kell became the head of MI5 (working within Britain), whilst Cumming took the lead at MI6 (international affairs). Cumming carried a swordstick on his missions, wrote exclusively in green ink and found espionage to be such “capital sport” that he tried to persuade some friends to join in too.[v] In the early days of MI6 his disguises where purchased using money from his own pocket – from theatrical costumiers![vi]
Willie Clarkson, a costumier to the West End theatres, was one such supplier to MI6 providing all manner of garments, makeup and prosthetics. His shop on Wardour street, just a stone’s throw from where a host of fabric shops still trade to this day, enabled him to provide disguises for all manner of productions, parties and even hoaxes. When a young Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury Group friends infiltrated a Royal Navy ship posing as an Abyssinian Prince and his delegates, it was Clarkson who provided the costumes.[vii] Even Queen Victoria and her family were known to source costumes from his business for their private theatre plays and events.[viii] In a strange twist of fate, having provided costumes for the British Secret Service agents and hoaxes infiltrating the military, Clarkson’s death under suspicious circumstances provided yet another contact with those involved with clandestine business. His autopsy was conducted by none other than Sir Bernard Spilsbury, a key figure in the WW2 Operation Mincemeat deception where a body washing ashore, dressed to look like a British Officer carrying confidential documents, managed to fool the enemy into changing their military tactics.[ix]
A portrait of Sir Mansfield Cumming in full dress uniform (date unknown). English Heritage.
Virginia Woolf (Left) and the Bloomsbury Group, 1910, Lafayette. The New Yorker. It should be noted that the 'Dreadnought Hoax' is very much an historical act that reflects certain viewpoints, attitudes and stereotypes which we would not condone in this day and age, but it remains as a tool for learning.
Willie Clarkson, 1931, by Bassano Ltd. National Portrait Gallery.
Wartime Espionage
The period of 1914 – 1954 saw two World Wars and a huge rise in political tension in between them. The need for disguises and ways to conceal information became vital to the war effort. The recent Spies, Lies and Deception exhibition at the Imperial War Museum displayed all manner of military tactics used to deceive and misdirect one’s enemy.[x] This ranged from faux trees in the WW1 ‘No Man’s Land’ that concealed viewing posts, to papier mâché soldier heads drawing attention away from where real soldiers might be gathering. My favourite item may be the rubber footprint overshoes soldiers wore over their boots which made it harder to track their arrival on European beaches – they were called ‘sneakers’, if you’ll pardon the pun.[xi] But there were many other textiles related items to grab the attention of a visiting dress history enthusiast. The use of garment makers, as with the early years of the British Secret Service, was vital for producing counterfeit clothing labels in bulk for agents to wear overseas.[xii], [xiii] Others scoured Jewish synagogues and rag trade garments for authentic European clothing labels to stitch into newly made clothing.[xiv] These feel like such minute details, but you wouldn’t want something as mundane as an English clothes label to be the reason you got caught.
MI9, a branch of the Secret Service in WW2, even developed a whole system of uniforms which were designed to transform from a military jacket to a regular double breasted jacket with a few simple steps so agents could vanish into a crowd.[xv] The correct garments, particularly uniforms, could make or break whether a military campaign was successful. Operation Greif, a German tactic to disguise commandos as American soldiers became a small, but surprisingly successful to cause a little chaos. Whilst actually small in number the soldiers involved managed to achieve various things, such as sending an entire regiment in the wrong direction by posing as traffic checkpoint officers! It should be noted that not all the successes attributed to them are necessarily true, but that doesn’t make their tale any less interesting.[xvi]
Counterfeit Labels made in SOE workshops, c.1940-1945, photo taken in the Spies, Lies and Deception exhibition. Imperial War Museum.
Overshoes, Decoy 'Sneakers': SOE, c.1940-1945. Imperial War Museum.
The M.I.9 suit disguise, c.1940-1945. Imperial War Museum.
Cold War Deceptions
Technology moved quickly at the end of WW2 as society shifted from military warfare to the ongoing political tension of the Cold War. Many people think that some of the technology and spy gadgets we see in film from this period are as a result of the real espionage developments, but the reality is quite different. The prop and costume departments for motion pictures may have been very surprised to learn that Jonna Mendez, a former Chief of Disguise for the CIA, soon learnt to stay up to date with the latest spy films like James Bond and Mission Impossible because her agents often came to her asking for gadgets and disguises they saw on TV. To make matters worse, it soon became apparent that the KGB agents were also watching these films assuming that America already had these things and they wanted them too![xvii]
Disguises work best by adding visual elements to the agent, rather than trying to take them away. Facial hair, wigs and glasses can be added to change a face, gravel in a shoe would change the style of walking and for the voice, a retainer with differently shaped teeth or gums can make all the difference. Women’s role in Cold War espionage, as mentioned earlier in this article, developed particularly well because they were statistically less likely to be suspected than men. Changing a physical description at speed was relatively simple – make-up, hair and garments can be applied to anyone with a little practice. But, elements like facial can be added to a woman’s face and controlled, where a man typically has the simple daily challenge of facial hair re-growing halfway through a clandestine encounter and potentially jeopardising his safety.[xviii]
Hiding in plain sight is the ultimate goal of espionage. Plenty of concealed devices, such as tiny cameras, microphones, transmitters and weapons were successfully hidden in buttons, pens and even a working lipstick case. One poor agent even discovered he was being bugged when his shoes returned from the cobbler with an enemy transmitter concealed in the heel.[xix] In the late 1980’s Jonna Mendez and her husband Tony (another former Chief of Disguise) conducted a dramatic demonstration of their successes with latex masks. President Bush Sr had a meeting with various senior CIA members of staff and a couple of secretaries… or so he thought. Midway through the meeting Jonna removed the mask she was wearing and revealed her true face, surprising everyone in the process![xx] Blending disguise with technology the CIA developed wireless headphones so agents could listen into the KGB radio chatter, potentially from the people tailing them. These were modelled and painted to match the agent’s own ears exactly so they could listen all day without being detected.[xxi], [xxii]
Misdirection also became a vital part of the safety, and potential escape, of undercover agents. Case officers had disguise kits full of wigs, makeup and small prosthetics.[xxiii] The small toy ‘Jack in a Box’ developed a whole new purpose when agents needed a way to evade capture. A life-sized pop up ‘agent replacement’ hidden in a briefcase could be deployed in a moving car at a moment’s notice. This would, at the opportune moment when driving round a corner, allow an agent to leap out and escape and waste some enemy time whilst they continued to follow what looked like the agent in the backseat of a car.[xxiv]
Tony Mendez’s disguise kit and sketches, US (CIA), 1970s–1980s. Spy Museum.
Lipstick pistol (replica), USSR (KGB), 1960s. Spy Museum.
Shoe with Heel Transmitter, 1960s, Eastern Europe. Spy Museum.
What I’ve touched on in this article includes a number of disguises, mis-directions and clever technology. One can only imagine what costume and disguise techniques are still out there lurking in the shadows with the countless modern day spies. When you initially try to research spy disguises online you will be met with a wall of websites selling dressing up costumes of the classic pop culture vision of a trench coat and newspaper mentioned at the beginning of this writing. After wading through those shopping sites it appears there is quite a lot to discover if you know where to look. However, as many disguise techniques are most likely still ‘classified information’ it leaves you wondering – perhaps you’ve walked past a spy at some point in your life and you’ll never know…
Clotho Dress Historian, August 10th, 2024.
References:
[i] A timeline of women in the Army (no date) National Army Museum. Available at: https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/timeline-women-army (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[ii] STOYLE, M. (2018), ‘Give mee a Souldier's Coat’: Female Cross-Dressing during the English Civil War. History, 103: 5-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-229X.12542
Early Spy-Craft
[iii] The establishment of the Secret Service Bureau: MI5 - the secret service (no date) Security Service MI5. Available at: https://www.mi5.gov.uk/history/mi5s-early-years/the-establishment-of-the-secret-service-bureau (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[iv] SIS – our history (no date) Secret Intelligence Service MI6. Available at: https://www.sis.gov.uk/our-history.html (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[v] Judd, A. (2000) The quest for C: Sir Mansfield Cumming and the founding of the British Secret Service. London: HarperCollins.
[vi] ANDREW, C.G., JULIUS (2022) Stars and spies: The story of intelligence operations. S.l.: VINTAGE.
[vii] McLaren, Angus. “Smoke and Mirrors: Willy Clarkson and the Role of Disguises in Inter-War England.” Journal of Social History, vol. 40, no. 3, 2007, pp. 597–618. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4491940. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024. It should be noted that the 'Dreadnought Hoax' is very much an historical act that reflects certain viewpoints, attitudes and stereotypes which we would not condone in this day and age, but it remains as a tool for learning.
[viii] Willy Clarkson: Theatrical wigmaker: Blue plaques (no date) English Heritage. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/willy-clarkson/ (Accessed: 10 August 2024). It should be noted that the 'Dreadnought Hoax' is very much an historical act that reflects certain viewpoints, attitudes and stereotypes which we would not condone in this day and age, but it remains as a tool for learning.
[ix] The War on Paper: Operation Mincemeat (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-war-on-paper-operation-mincemeat (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
Wartime Espionage
[x] Spies, lies and deception (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/spies-lies-and-deception (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xi] Overshoes, decoy ‘sneakers’: SOE (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30103004 (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xii] Fake clothing label (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30103090 (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xiii] Collection: Labels, clothing, European and Burmese (British counterfeits) (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30152608 (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xiv] SUGARMAN, MARTIN. “Two Jewish Heroines of the SOE.” Jewish Historical Studies, vol. 35, 1996, pp. 309–28. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/29779992. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
[xv] M.I.9: The ingenious secret service of the Second World War (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/mi9-the-ingenious-secret-service-of-the-second-world-war (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xvi] Kevindupuy (2023) Operation greif: German commandos sow chaos dressed in US uniforms, The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Available at: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/operation-greif-secret-mission-sow-chaos-us-army (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
Cold War Deceptions
[xvii] Staff, T.C. (2022b) Woman in disguise Podcast - Jonna Mendez, N2K CyberWire. Available at: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast/27/notes (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xviii] The Moscow Rules with CIA Spy Legend Jonna Mendez - International Spy Museum (2019) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glfruj7WjS8 (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xix] Shoe with Heel Transmitter (no date) International Spy Museum. Available at: https://www.spymuseum.org/exhibition-experiences/about-the-collection/collection-highlights/shoe-with-heel-transmitter/ (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xx] Staff, T.C. (2022) The secret history of disguises Podcast, N2K CyberWire. Available at: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast/1/notes (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xxi] Former CIA Chief of Disguise Breaks Down Cold War Spy Gadgets | WIRED (2020) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD841NmJbjM (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xxii] Former CIA Operative Explains How Spies Use Disguises | WIRED (2018) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JASUsVY5YJ8 (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xxiii] Tony Mendez Disguise Kit (no date) International Spy Museum. Available at: https://www.spymuseum.org/exhibition-experiences/about-the-collection/collection-highlights/tony-mendez-disguise-kit/ (Accessed: 10 August 2024).
[xxiv] Former CIA Chief of Disguise Breaks Down Cold War Spy Gadgets | WIRED (2020) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD841NmJbjM (Accessed: 10 August 2024).