Is Indygear a costume?

Antone · Post by **Antone** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:53 pm

Agent5-

I think one of the greatest things about this site is that we now have several items that were merely costume pieces for the film, but have now been improved for everyday use by the gearheads. How many other movies can boast having multiple clothing makers producing "as good or better than the original" gear?

Pitfall-

I completely agree about the practicality of hats with brims. Just this morning I was made to regret not wearing my AB when the rain started coming down in sheets; the more time passes the more I wonder why more people don't wear brimmed hats!

Wide brimmed hats never totally died out; go to any rural area/western state and you'll see that the folks who work outside wear brimmed hats. I started wearing my old Akubra a decade ago, simply because I lived in a very snowy area. Later I started wearing fedoras instead, since I preferred the look of them, but a good hat is a good hat and no less practical for being an Indy style block.

Antone

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:51 am

I don't think anymore about my Wested or FS being a 'costume' jacket than I do when I'm wearing my A-2 as dressing up in a piece of Air Force uniform, or 'playing' military.

But if you bought that A-2 from a specific company based on a movie you watched (including a few patches) would it be different? Or if you bought several items that a particular character in that movie wore. Specifically the star of that movie.

There are exeptions to every rule, and Michaelson, you are that. I mean that in a good way

It is my opinion that virtually everyone who came here to acquire the gear, bought a costume. Mostly, because we love the way it looked. Why do I say that? Some people only put the gear on a mannequin or other display. Others will only wear certain combinations for fear that it would look as if they are dressed as Indy. But to come here to specifically buy the gear (and in many cases, as someone pointed out - distress it so it looks even more like Indy - we are trying to replicate the look of a fictional character in a movie series.

This is not a bad thing and I am probably more guilty than most as I have multiple pices of the same gear and would love it if it looked like exactly like the gear that Indiana Jones wore.

It is difficult to take such a world reknowned famous look and try to make it your own. It will only work if those around you have never seen the movies. What I have tried to do is change pieces of the gear to reflect my personality. Do this and you wind up at square one again. Different jacket, different hat, different bag. Isn't this where I started before I found all the original stuff? And people still say you look like Indy

Where is the "beating a dead horse icon? Oh here it is..

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 1:54 pm

The bottom line is, that I am old and I don't care what anyone thinks of what I do or wear, and if they give me too much grief about it, I will take my shotgun and stop by Michaelson's house and see if he wants to go with me.

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:23 pm

If Greg will move over and hold our cups of coffee....I'm your man, Buff!

Oh, Rick, it's been a while since anyone has said I looked like 'Indy'. They seem to think I look like a 'cowboy'!

Regards! Michaelson

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:14 pm

Michaelson wrote:Oh, Rick, it's been a while since anyone has said I looked like 'Indy'. They seem to think I look like a 'cowboy'!

Oh, my mistake, so you are wearing a cowboy costume, then...

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:24 pm

Yep.....me and Roy Rogers....though he actually dressed like ME! 8-[

Regards! Michaelson

G-MANN · Post by **G-MANN** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:39 pm

I have had the cowboy remark a few times too. Once a Garth Brooks reference.
Although being in Chicago, I get the Gangster remark more.

ratta tat tat

Cheers,
G-MANN

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:41 pm

In my case, considering old Roy was from my home town, I can understand the confusion....

Regards! Michaelson

G-MANN · Post by **G-MANN** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:07 pm

Michaelson wrote:In my case, considering old Roy was from my home town, I can understand the confusion....

Regards! Michaelson

That I can understand but there are not a lot of cowboys here in the middle of Chicago

Cheers,
G-MANN

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:10 pm

I see your point....but bear in mind, there weren't/aren't many cowboys in Portsmouth, Ohio, either. That's why old Roy went West!

Regards! Michaelson

JEEP · Post by **JEEP** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:42 pm

Interesting subject - being rather new to this hobby I have never actually given it much thought.

As a student of archaeology I can say, that among most of the other archaeology students i know it is considered, to be rather cool, although somewhat eccentric, to wear Indy- or Indy-ish gear - and is looked upon as a sign that the wearer has got a healthy amount of self-irony.

/Jakob

Indiana Jerry · Post by **Indiana Jerry** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:17 pm

Jakob Elbæk E. Pedersen wrote:... is looked upon as a sign that the wearer has got a healthy amount of self-irony.

hahaha...very good point. Got to give them credit for that.

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:45 pm

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:39 pm Post subject:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have had the cowboy remark a few times too. Once a Garth Brooks reference.
Although being in Chicago, I get the Gangster remark more.

ratta tat tat

I get the cowboy remarks all the time aswell but, what I don't understand is the top hat comments.

agent5 · Post by **agent5** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 11:52 pm

Agent5-

I think one of the greatest things about this site is that we now have several items that were merely costume pieces for the film, but have now been improved for everyday use by the gearheads.

*cough* ...ummm...*cough*...that's what I said...*cough*...

However, over the years some of the costume has been altered for everyday use so we can enjoy the best of both worlds if we want to.

Renderking Fisk · Post by **Renderking Fisk** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:03 am

Pitfall, Rusty, Hemingway, Shanghi, and all the other retro-centrics who first came to IndyGear because Jones fans have always known where to get the best fedoras…

For me it was all about trying to reproduce the look and feel of THAT ERA and not just trying to look like Jones. I can’t enjoy a good vintage classic movie that I’m watching in the living room if I don’t have a perfect fedora (Adventurebilt, Akubra, Art Fawcett Vintage Silluette) in my home office, and I’m feel naked from the neck up with out it when I leave the house. I don’t understand it, I don’t get it, I can’t make sense of it. I’m just enjoying it now that I’ve admitted to the fact that this is the way it is. (I’m not the one with the problem, modern society does.)

I’m not trying to look just like Jones, any more then I’m trying to dress like either Eliot Ness or Geogre Stone from “The Untouchables,” Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon,” Or Michael Sullivan in “Road To Perdition.” I want the look and feel to be my own.

Couple that with the fact that I’ve hated mens fashion (pronounced “Fascism”) since the end of the 1980’s.

Gater · Post by **Gater** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:28 am

well, my take on this thread may seem kinda odd, yet funny. Today, I went out to do 'end of the month banking' and had on my Fed-D, Wested cowhide, khakis, Cabelas (with undershirt

) LC colour web belt and Ruggeds, and did not feel that I was in 'costume'. In fact, the only time I feel 'in costume' is when I wear my proper MBA outfit (shirt/pants) and, naturally, the gunbelt and whip/holster combo.

The MBA stuff is on my wall, on display, and despite how often I go out in the Wested shirt/pants or don the MrsDeadlock Indy shirt (GAWD I love that shirt!!) it doesn't feel costumey...only the MBA stuff does. perhaps it's a mental identification with 'authenticity'? or the feel of the shirt material, I dunno. But this is the only time I wear gear and it's a costume to me.

Antone · Post by **Antone** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:44 am

Renderking Fisk wrote:Pitfall, Rusty, Hemingway, Shanghi, and all the other retro-centrics who first came to IndyGear because Jones fans have always known where to get the best fedoras…

Well said! I got my first brimmed hat for practicality, but I got my first fedora because it went well with my first trenchcoat (which is another underappreciated piece of "retro" menswear...)

Agent5-

Yeah, I saw that part, was just agreeing with you

Antone

Rusty Jones · Post by **Rusty Jones** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:32 pm

Antone wrote:
Renderking Fisk wrote:Pitfall, Rusty, Hemingway, Shanghi, and all the other retro-centrics who first came to IndyGear because Jones fans have always known where to get the best fedoras…
Well said! I got my first brimmed hat for practicality, but I got my first fedora because it went well with my first trenchcoat (which is another underappreciated piece of "retro" menswear...)

Agent5-

Yeah, I saw that part, was just agreeing with you

Antone

I got my first trench coat cause it went good with my (single) fedora at the time... I really was into Indy gear for a long long time as a small kid but only the budgetest of the budget gear... (mom's fanny pack/purse made for an MKVII... I didn’t know what the bag was called)... Before I got into Indy gear in the more "modern" days of my life, I was very into prohibition era mobster clothing... Am I the only one who dug Tom Hanks' hat in Road to Perdition? There were a lot of cool vintage clothes in that movie, if I remember correctly…

cokewithvanilla · Post by **cokewithvanilla** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:52 pm

I think gear becomes a costume when you buy the gear because Indiana Jones wore it, then you wear more than one piece at a time.

I don't think one item alone qualifies as a costume, but when you match two items that one person wore in a movie... thats pretty much a costume.

It also depends on your reason for purchasing/wearing the piece of clothing... did you buy these items because of indiana jones, or did you buy them because you liked them.

if indiana jones never came out, you could wear full dress and it wouldn't be a costume... but since its there, and you have to know something about the movie to match any two pieces... two or more is a costume

thats just my opinion

John

Captain D · Post by **Captain D** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:30 pm

I agree, it may become a "costume" when all of the complete gear is on (holster, whip, ect..). I've often worn my shirt, pants, jacket, gloves, boots, and sometimes the MKV II bag out in public many times and I never received any odd looks or anyone referring to me as "Indy." They are simply good pieces of clothing in general. I do admit, I don't wear the fedora as often as I would like to, but I try to as much as I can

. I think a lot of the times, when people just see the fedora, they automatically think "Indiana Jones" even without all of the other gear on.

I agree with ya there Buff, that who cares what others may think. Only, I disagree that you are "old,"

.

Kindest Regards,
Captain D

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:34 pm

The bottom line is, that I am old and I don't care what anyone thinks of what I do or wear, and if they give me too much grief about it, I will take my shotgun and stop by Michaelson's house and see if he wants to go with me.

just saw this. I'll go with you.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:06 am

Three issues:
1. You guys that are re-iterating that it is good, high-quality gear are missing the point. That is irrelevant. We know it is good stuff. Costumes do not have to be cheap and flimsy. I am proud of the quality of all my gear.

2. Stating that you do not get weird looks from anyone is not a good measure of anything. Weird looks from people do not make the decision about whether your clothing is considered a costume, only that it was recognized as such.

3. The "I do not care what people think" camp is also avoiding the question- somewhat defensively at that. The question is not whether you care what people think, but whether the gear is considered a costume.

I think this is a great topic. I love hearing all the different views. Keep 'em coming

Capt_Zak · Post by **Capt_Zak** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:27 am

I don't really consider khaki/sepia trousers, a stone/khaki long sleeve shirt, Aldens, and even the Wested a costume. They are clothes that people are wearing and will be wearing for a long time. Besides, khakis and a button down shirt are standard dress on "Casual Friday". I Have even been noticing more and more fedoras here in and around Chicago. I hope like #### that the fedora comes back because it is just CLASSY.

Now, the second you put on the gunbelt, whip, and your holster, it's a costume. But a cool costume none the less.

I would rather see everyone in Indy Gear (pistol & all), than the baggy @#$% they call clothing now. I hope this whole "thug" look has passed by the time my son (who is 9) starts his teenage rebelion. I just can't figure out when the "I just rolled out of bed" look bacame popular.

:

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:53 am

rick 5150, question for you or anyone else who wants to jump in on. If someone who is a football fan buys a football jersey does this make it a costume when he wears it arond town?

G-MANN · Post by **G-MANN** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:00 am

jpenman wrote:rick 5150, question for you or anyone else who wants to jump in on. If someone who is a football fan buys a football jersey does this make it a costume when he wears it arond town?

That is a darn good point. Same with a baseball cap and jersey.
Cheers,
G-MANN

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:58 am

jpenman wrote:rick 5150, question for you or anyone else who wants to jump in on. If someone who is a football fan buys a football jersey does this make it a costume when he wears it arond town?

Sure, unless he is a football player. That was addressed a bit here Or you can argue it is only a costume if you wear the helmet and shoulder pads.

People have made this comparison here before. Somebody wearing a baseball cap asks somebody wearing a fedora and Wested, "Who do you think you are, Indiana Jones?" and that person would come back with, "No, who do you think you are, Roger Clemens - or insert the name of your favorite baseball player.

Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:02 pm

jpenman wrote:
The bottom line is, that I am old and I don't care what anyone thinks of what I do or wear, and if they give me too much grief about it, I will take my shotgun and stop by Michaelson's house and see if he wants to go with me.

just saw this. I'll go with you.

Buff... we'll need a bigger vehicle.

Regards! Michaelson

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:28 pm

Okay, Michaelson. I'll bring my truck.

Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:33 pm

As they say in my neck of the woods....

"Thar ya go!"

Regards! Michaelson

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:00 pm

so if I"m a Giants fan and wear a Giants ball cap. I think most people would view me as a giants fan. If I wear a giants jersey and ball cap I'm still a fan but maybe pushing it a little bit. start to add on from there and it's starts looking like a cosumte to me ( I have worn both at times). I think this would be the same Indygear) starting with the hat , then the jacket. there's a fine line. I can see both sides on this but does it really matter. If it makes you happy , who cares.
I just saw some kid ( teenage) wearing long trenchcoat ( down to his ankle's ) and a with baggy shorts with a t-shirt that I couldn't make out what it said. His hair was in a big fan. He had earings in everyplace possible. He look very out of place , so it this a costume?

Post by **Mike** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:07 pm

Giants fan?!!

OK... two weeks suspension.

... and thanks to everyone for keeping this civil. It's nice to not have to moderate... much.

Indakin · Post by **Indakin** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:07 pm

my feeling about collecting and wearing my indy gear, or collecting and wearing my SW anakin ep3, is that my love for doing this is no differnent than any sports fan or some kid who spends all his money on his car. ITs whatever makes u happy in life and thats whats important. I do feel out of place wearing my fedora around still, especailly on campus. I would have no issue with it if i wear in another country on vacation, or exploring some ancient ruins, or even in europe i wouldnt care. But in america i just dont feel completly comfortable wearing it. I wear my fedora in my car all the time, but i take it off when i get out. I have started to wear my indy chinos and huskers all the time now though, because they are very comfortable and dont look as out of place. Ill eventually start using my MKVII more too, but i dont really ahve alot to carry in it right now.

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:09 pm

I wasn't trying to avoid the question by stating that I am old and don't care what people think. I had already stated my opinion on the matter. I was half way making a joke and being somewhat honest at the same time. I AM old and I really DON'T care.

When I say this, I really mean that when I was younger, I was influenced more by peer pressure and what others thought than I am today. I think this a normal part of maturity. I also think that as you go through life, you realize that you can't please everyone and that everyone is not going to like what you decide to wear. You then begin to feel more like just wearing whatever makes you happy. I think you still feel like you would want people to accept what you wear, but it is just not as important as it used to be.

You may also have decided that you want to have some individualism and stand out from the crowd. This could also be a part of the individual person's makeup or a part of that person's maturing process that devealops as he becomes more self confident.

When referring to a sports jersey as a costume I don't think it is. Even in that professional sport, that jersey or cap is not a costume, it is a uniform. Actors wear costumes, athletes wear uniforms. I think when someone wears that jersey, it is the same as me wearing IndyGear. He is not that athlete, just as I am not Indiana Jones. I just don't think that sports apparel should be referred to as a costume, unless they were wearing the athletic uniform as a costume to go to a halloween party or something similar.

I know that I am just arguing semantics here, but this may explain why it seems to be more accepted to wear someone else's "uniform", than it is to wear someone else's "costume". Really, I see no difference in that guy that walks down the street wearing Michael Jordan's jersey, than I do someone walking down the street dressed as Indiana Jones. But, the Michael Jordan jersey is totally accepted attire, while Indiana Jones' costume is often made fun of or laughed at.

In some inner city locations, it is actually dangerous to wear some athletes' jersey or other item of sports apparel as it makes you a very likely target to become a robbery victim, as those items are in such demand that some people will go to that extreme to obtain them. But, in these same areas, in a movie character's costume, you may be laughed at or even the victim of an assault. But, in both cases, the person was wearing a piece of apparel that was made famous by someone else.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:29 pm

so if I"m a Giants fan and wear a Giants ball cap. I think most people would view me as a giants fan. If I wear a giants jersey and ball cap I'm still a fan but maybe pushing it a little bit. start to add on from there and it's starts looking like a cosumte to me ( I have worn both at times).

It seems that is the common consensus. But I view it as each piece of the gear is part of the make up of the entire "costume." It does not matter whether it is worn with anything else or as an ensemble. It does not physically transform into something else, so what makes it no longer a costume piece?

Most say that the more you add, the more it resembles Indy's outfit and it seems to be the thought process that once it is recognized as such, then it somehow magically becomes a costume.

I just saw some kid ( teenage) wearing long trenchcoat ( down to his ankle's ) and a with baggy shorts with a t-shirt that I couldn't make out what it said. His hair was in a big fan. He had earings in everyplace possible. He look very out of place , so it this a costume?

Is he emulating someone else's look? Just being different, does not make his attire a costume. A freak show from the sound of it, but not a costume. At least the baseball analogy has people who are dressing like real live people. Dressing like Indy looks cool, but you cannot escape the fact that we are trying to emulate the look of a fictitional character.

We can all say, it is part of the way we dress, or that others have dressed that way - not just Indy. But in the end we have to remember we are on an Indiana Jones forum. There is not any doubt in my mind why anyone here is wearing a feodra and a leather jacket. I do it because it looks cool. Others recognize my look as on similar to Indiana Jones because they recognize the costume he wore in the movies.

Just because we changed the word to "gear" does not change that we are replicating Indy's costume.

It just sounds better.

Check this out:.

cos·tume n.
1. A style of dress, including garments, accessories, and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period, or people.

2. An outfit or a disguise worn on Mardi Gras, Halloween, or similar occasions.

3. A set of clothes appropriate for a particular occasion or season.

Here is more:

4: unusual or period attire not characteristic of or appropriate to the time and place;

5: the attire characteristic of a country or a time or a social class;

I think Indygear can fit every one of these definitions.

Minnesota Jones · Post by **Minnesota Jones** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:33 pm

Sitting here at my desk at work I have a Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary...

cos*tume - 'kas,tum - ,tyum - n: clothing

So if costume=clothing, then yup, I wear costumes daily...

Great topic people. And I also thank everyone for being civil.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:43 pm

Bufflehead Jones wrote: I was half way making a joke and being somewhat honest at the same time. I AM old and I really DON'T care.

I am not sure if this was supposed to be intentionally funny, but it cracked me up. Thanks!

When referring to a sports jersey as a costume I don't think it is. Even in that professional sport, that jersey or cap is not a costume, it is a uniform. Actors wear costumes, athletes wear uniforms.

You are right. It is semantics. You are correct in that assessment above. Atheletes wear uniforms. But what about the guy on the street who is not an athlete? I feel that when we dress up trying to emulate others that it is considered a costume.

Great topic people. And I also thank everyone for being civil.

No reason not to be. I find it refreshing to see a topic that hasn't been beat to death yet. Well, now it is.

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:03 pm

Rick,

Even when I am teaching, I use humor. I think it makes people pay attention and also they learn more as they tend to remember it better because the learning experience was made fun. Some times with dry subjects, it is hard to do. I think I have a good sense of humor, and I like to joke around a lot.

As far as COW, I often wonder what you guys think as it is typed instead of spoken and quite often, if I make a serious post, the last line is usually off the wall or funny. You guys look at my whole post and probably wonder if I was serious or just trying to pull your leg.

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:23 pm

I thought you were trying to pull my finger. Seriously.

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:29 pm

No, I was trying to take my wallet back. Your dang finger just got in the way.

Indiana Jerry · Post by **Indiana Jerry** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:39 pm

rick5150 wrote:4: unusual or period attire not characteristic of or appropriate to the time and place;

This is the point many of us tried to make way back in this thread. Without the parts that are 'not characteristic of or appropriate to the time and place', it isn't a costume. (Put on the whip and holster at the grocery store, it's a costume.)

That's the nice thing about dictionaries...all the broad, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting definitions. I choose that one.

Note that this means on a day in the office that I NEED my whip and they EXPECT it, it's not a costume piece...

J

P.S. Today I wore my fedora around the office just for kicks. No jacket, just jeans, a shirt, and my fedora, for part of the morning. I was in a mood. And since it was completely inappropriate, yes, I was 'in costume', even though it was just the hat. $\:D/$

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:42 pm

rick5150

Just because we changed the word to "gear" does not change that we are replicating Indy's costume. It just sounds better.

like I said before I agree with you about it beeing a costume and thanked you for being the voice of reason. I just made me think a bitt when I saw this teenager....................... oh no I'm thinking again.

Giants fan?!!

OK... two weeks suspension.

thems fighting words.

Shawnkara · Post by **Shawnkara** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 3:22 am

Costume or clothing? Hmm... OK, here's a new angle....

I think it depends on far removed the Indy outfit or Indy "look" is from anything else you would normally wear. For those of you that dig the vintage look, or just prefer slacks to jeans and button-ups to other types of shirts, it's not a costume.
For someone like me, it's SO TOTALLY a costume

I ONLY wear jeans and simple pull-over shirts. My look is about comfort and simplicity, without looking like a juvenile slob. I'm 33, after all. I hate slacks and button shirts. And I often jokingly refer to a suit as an "###hole costume". Even in my years of retail, long ago, when I wore slacks with a shirt and tie I NEVER got used to it! I actually just kept my work clothes at the store, changed when I got there, and changed back when I clocked out. The only Indy items I wear normally are my boots and my Wested, with my standard well-worn jeans and some type of loose, stretchy pull-over shirt. No, I'm not lazy or a slob. I just feel that ANY fashion, modern or vintage, that goes beyond necessity is pretentious. I think over the years I've sorta developed a Jedi's fashion sense without realizing it

I know a lot of people here feel most at home in slacks and button-ups. And these clothes are even normal by today's fashion. So the Indy stuff is not at all out of character, or that far off from what they would wear even if they weren't into gear. But to me anything of that sort feels like a costume, because it's out of character for me. So, it's all what you like and depends on your own perception.
As far as Fedoras, I wish I could wear them. But I have really long hair and you wouldn't believe how silly the two look together

I look like that pro poker player dude from Texas

I think some people like Indy because they like the look, while others ONLY like the look because they like Indy. I definately fall into the second group.
Oh, and as far as sports jerseys..... IT'S A COSTUME, guys. Especially when it has the OTHER guy's name across the back

Post by **Jens** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:34 am

Ah Shawankara, that's a good point. I thought how to explain my point of view properly, but you did it better, than I could have done it.

In my eyes, "my" Indy Gear is no costume per se, but as it is called "Gear". I wear shirts every day and prefer wool-trousers over jeans; and I dug that "Aviation" look (the jacket) time before I got interested in Indys Gear.

So, in my opinion, you made a good point!

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:50 pm

Shawnkara,

You made some good points and took a look at this from a different perspective. It makes good sense, though.

I still find it interesting that so many people today see the wearing of a sports jersey with someone else's name on it, as totally acceptable, and the wearing of a movie characters costume or "gear", as being weird. I think they are so similar but yet seem to be perceived so differently. I don't understand why.

Indiana Jerry · Post by **Indiana Jerry** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:30 pm

Well, let's just keep at it then, so it seems more commonplace, shall we?

Renderking Fisk · Post by **Renderking Fisk** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:41 pm

rick5150 wrote:Three issues:

Three Answers...

rick5150 wrote:1. You guys that are re-iterating that it is good, high-quality gear are missing the point. That is irrelevant. We know it is good stuff. Costumes do not have to be cheap and flimsy. I am proud of the quality of all my gear.

I'm also proud of the fact that this group got together and encourged vendors to make better products. We’re not just “Costume” wearers, we’re consumers of everyday wear.

I don’t regard “IndyGear” as a costume because it was supposed to be the embodyment of what men actually wore back then, to embody that spirit and boil it all down to it’s best essense.

rick5150 wrote:2. Stating that you do not get weird looks from anyone is not a good measure of anything. Weird looks from people do not make the decision about whether your clothing is considered a costume, only that it was recognized as such.

The Weird looks I get are from people who are also wearing “Costumes,” the mall-rats and Emenem-wannabees who live out in the suburbs and try’n to be “Street.” Which is ironic because the urban sub-culture that created that “Street” look did so because the last thing they wanted to do was look “Suburban.”

rick5150 wrote:3. The "I do not care what people think" camp is also avoiding the question- somewhat defensively at that. The question is not whether you care what people think, but whether the gear is considered a costume.

Die-Hard Vintage Aficionados and IndyGearheads come in three flavors, the renegades, the orphans, and the movie junkies. All of us have one thing in common to a lesser or greater degree: Modern fashion is dead to us.

I really don’t care anymore what people outside our cyber community think anymore, because I had been betrayed too many times by the fashion (pronounced “Facsism”) Industry trying to tell me that to be successful in life and with woman, I need to buy “those” clothes. Only to have “those” clothes made obsolete with “those other” clothes the next season.

jpenman wrote:rick 5150, question for you or anyone else who wants to jump in on. If someone who is a football fan buys a football jersey does this make it a costume when he wears it arond town?

My answer would be yes… if “IndyGear” is a costume, then wearing your favorate player’s jersey is also a costum.

For me, I really don’t care as much as I used to. People wear their favorate players jersey because they either want to be more like those players, cheer for them, or actually “be” them. It depends on the individual.

Some wear IndyGear because they want to show their support for the movies, others do so because it embodies a by-gone era. Similar reasons hold true for sports fans.

Bufflehead Jones wrote:Okay, Michaelson. I'll bring my truck.

Bring the bus… or a boat for those over-seas.

To couple on to what Indakin said… It’s only a costume if it’s something that has only been worn by people in the movies. Before “A New Hope,” Darth Vader’s outfit had never been seen before. You couldn’t open up an issue of “Tyrants Quarterly” and flip through the pages to see what new helmets and resporator masks were in style back then… “Oh, The Sith Line is trying to bring back Sammiri Helmets, how gosh!” Or see that Black is the New Black… or that Leather and Iron was going to set a new fashion trend…

On the other hand, men and some women WERE wearing fedoras once upon a time. And before “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” there were some essentric and charasmatic people who wore fedoras.

Bufflehead Jones wrote:When I say this, I really mean that when I was younger, I was influenced more by peer pressure and what others thought than I am today. I think this a normal part of maturity. I also think that as you go through life, you realize that you can't please everyone and that everyone is not going to like what you decide to wear. You then begin to feel more like just wearing whatever makes you happy. I think you still feel like you would want people to accept what you wear, but it is just not as important as it used to be.

Don’t want to alarm you, but there’s an element of “Peer Pressure” here, too. We all presure each other to get better gear all the time. There are even fashion trends here… anyone remember “The Gary White”?

Last Crusader wrote:
But as soon as Peter slaps the "Memphis Belle" artwork on them, you have a movie costume.

But the the Memphis Belle crew actually wore their A-2 with the Memphis Belle nose-art on it. The jackets appearing in the movie are authentic replicas of existing jackets. I think you cannot call all clothes that are seen in movies a costume when they existed before.

Exactly… if it’s an article of clothing that someone wore with in the past 200 years, it’s not a costume.

Indiana Jerry · Post by **Indiana Jerry** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:57 pm

Wow...Ren, I don't always agree w/ some of your views, but I have to tip my hat to you...you nailed this one as far as I'm concerned.

Nothing to add.

J

Renderking Fisk · Post by **Renderking Fisk** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:19 pm

Indiana Jerry wrote:Wow...Ren, I don't always agree w/ some of your views, but I have to tip my hat to you...you nailed this one as far as I'm concerned.

Nothing to add.

J

I could write forever on this subject and I don't know if I would ever get tired of it. But for now, I've exausted the material.

Hemingway Jones · Post by **Hemingway Jones** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:43 pm

It boils down to this, dear friends:

To dress yourself, is to put your clothes on.

To costume yourself, is to put someone else's clothes on.

Are you putting Indy's clothes on, or your own?

Or someone else's, but that's a whole other story...

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:49 pm

bink and Jerry probably shouldn't answer that...

Is Indygear a costume?

hat

indy

Is Indy gear a costume?

indy

Re: indy

Re: indy

Re: indy

hat

indy