I came across some interesting info in a new book -- Holly George-Warren's "Cowboy: How Hollywood Invented the Wild West" (Readers' Digest, 2002). I didn't buy it, so I won't quote verbatim, but here's a brief synopsis of what I learned. I believe it was around page 125 if anyone's interested.
It seems that artificially distressing film costumes started sometime in the 20s. (Actually, film costumes themselves started in the 20s. Before that, most actors wore their own clothing.) Directors of silent Westerns wanted the look they'd seen in Wild West shows and pulp novels, even though these weren't very accurate portrayals of what real cowboys wore. The gaudy Hollywood costumes with sequins and fringe hit their peak with actors like Tom Mix, who wore a hat with a SEVEN-inch crown (the original ten-gallon hat). Harry Carey was among the first of the silent film cowboys to shy away from such unrealistic outfits, striving for a more authentic look. A big part of it was making sure the clothes looked lived-in.
Harry Carey went on to be a major influence on John Wayne, who developed a rather unique method for weathering his costumes. Whenever he'd get his wardrobe for a new western, the Duke would give the clothes to his kids and they'd all go to Catalina Island on his boat. The kids would wad up the clothes and tie them in a bundle with ropes, drop them in the water, and let them hang them off the pier for the weekend. This was usually enough to approximate the look of real worn-out wrangler duds.
The book went on to say that whenever Wayne did a John Ford film, he'd get eight sets of the same shirts and pants, each distressed to increasing levels of wear. The crew used fuller's earth, sandpaper, and even the occasional BLOWTORCH to achieve the desired effect. (Hey, ask Rabittooth how he distressed his jacket sometime!)
Here's the part I thought some Michaelson U. dropouts might find useful: MINERAL OIL was used to give felt hats artificial sweat stains. Yes, it seems that now you too can create that 100% accurate Marhala Bar fedora you've always coveted.
The party of the first part shall be held blameless for any and all damages arising from other parties destoying their gear via any of the aforementioned methods.
Salt water, John Wayne, and how to make sweat stains
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Re: Salt water, John Wayne, and how to make sweat stains
LOL. I thought the post was interesting but I especially liked that last part.schwammy wrote:The party of the first part shall be held blameless for any and all damages arising from other parties destoying their gear via any of the aforementioned methods.
I.J.
Apropos the mineral oil -- I got to thinking about it, and I'm not sure it would work for the Raiders look after all. My guess is the 'sweat stains' created with mineral oil would be DARKER than the rest of the hat. On the Raiders hat, it looks like the sweat stains are LIGHTER than the rest of the hat. Perhaps I'll obtain some mineral oil and try a little experiment on one of my Optimo swatches. [evil scientist cackle]
