Club Obi Wan

Sorry to be bringing up a possible sore subject, but is it that important to look exactly like indy looks? I mean, isn't it ok to have some clothes that are close? I for one never want to be a clone of any character, but I do often want something similar....I get a chuckle when I see some of the pics of folks with indy jackets and hats and boots and whips..now for me, I love the style of the jacket, it is great, the hat is too high crowned for me and for many I see wearing it, the whip will never do..pants, well I can get great chino's in many places and shirts, well those too, the shoes, well if these are as comfortable as many say that is what would make them attractive to me...so how many of you are off to adventures where you will be climbing up rocks and rolling down hills, and squeezing through caves? For that kind of activity there are much better clothing available, try www.ibexwear.com, but if it is about being indy, well that is a different story. I will never be indy, but I may wear a jacket like his.

Some want the exact beat-up look of the gear. Others want the prestige of knowing that they own gear from the original makers of the gear from the movies. Still others like the general period look. Many want all of these items. The Indy gear is versatile and can be worn (sans whip and revolver) anywhere. Leave the fedora out and nobody will look twice. It is timeless.

I started out with a "close enough look", bought all the screen-accurate gear and then to try to individualize my look, went back to a close-enough look. So, in essence, I am right back where I started, except I own all the gear and props that I want/need. As you said, an adventurer has better choices for gear.

But it still has to look cool.

guitone wrote:Sorry to be bringing up a possible sore subject, but is it that important to look exactly like indy looks? I mean, isn't it ok to have some clothes that are close?

BLASPHEMER! :evil:

Nah, just kidding! Some of the gear looks so cool, we just HAVE to have it look the way it does in the movies! For me, some "close-enoughs" will do perfectly- My boots are not Aldens, nor is my leather jacket a Wested. Not to mention that my hat is gray, not brown. The bag is very practical for carrying items, and whipcracking can be good for the arm muscles. Just my two cents...

It's a hobby. It's something to collect and obsess over. You acquire a beautiful item: a golden idol, a lambskin Wested, a fine pair of Aldens, and it means something when you own these items, on so many different levels: an homage to a time long ago, the trancedence of owning something that you see in a movie. Most of us start with a few items: the hat, a jacket, then move onto other things, which we share with our comrades here at Indy Gear. It is an enjoyable pursuit.

As for the utility of the gear; that isn't even the issue. Gore Tex is much better suited for hiking than leather, but it doesn't have the same cache'. I don't think that anyone on this board wears Indy Gear 24/7. Personally, I tend to wear it more when I am travelling. It is the perfect travel gear.

The hats are great, pure and simple. Once you achieve the confidence to wear a fedora around there is nothing like it; it speaks volumes of who you are and where you've been. Personally, I have had some issues with minor skin cancer and a wide-brim hat was my doctor's first advice.

I think all of us have acquired certain gear items and incorportated them into our own look. For instance, I wear my Adventurebilt with my Barbour jackets and with my preppy suits and blazers for work. I wear my leather jacket over denim shirts and cargo pants. I have worn my Adventurebilt with a guayabera, a seersucker suit, and barncoats.

As to whether they are too tall, that is a matter of aesthetics and a matter for the wearer of the hat to decide. I have yet to see anyone on this board whose hat did not fit their face.

I am not sure why you say the following:

guitone wrote:I get a chuckle when I see some of the pics of folks with indy jackets and hats and goots and whips..

This is a board for dedicated fans of Indiana Jones to share these kind of pictures and I have seen some great ones. I have seen many different interpretations of the Indy Spirit by many of my friends here. I have been inspired by pictures of folks here in Morrocco, Paris, the Southern US, and San Fransisco. I have seen people posing with dinosaurs, with props from the films, and with fellow members. I have smiled admiringly; I have marvelled at the locations, but I have never been driven to chuckle at anyone.

I am constantly amazed by the lives and adventures of my fellow Gearheads.

Right you are, chuckle is too harsh a word...probably I do get a smile. For me I love some of the items, but to put them togehter to look like indy, well I probably would not, but I do wear a fedora, have for years and I do wear them with leather jackets and if I get an indy style one (I have a very bad one in the closet but if not for the too short sleeves it would be the one I would wear) that I have worn with my fedora's in the past.....I just don't get the whole costume part, but as a hobby, yes, I need to take the whole picture in, you are right. My hobbies are more along the lines of old bicycles and old/new guitars.....I love to wear khaki slacks and do when not working almost exclusively....I do wear hats a good portion of the time, with wool jackets, and leather jackets...I also wear caps, so for me it is more about fashion, what I like as now I see it is probably the same for the indy fans....there is just a different view of fashion. I think one of the nicest leather jackets on the market is the indy influenced ones...the look is great. Fedoras, well at last something has brought them back to some degree, a fashion that never should have died...so I will be softer in my view of the indy thing, I really like this list, it just get's a bit overboard for me at times, but that is ok, it all seems to be in good fun.

Well, there are two camps in gear collecting. One obsesses over every detail... sometimes down to the stiches and the other is in the "close enough" catagory. I think there are pros and cons to both sides. Believe me, your wallet will be a lot more full if you're one of the 'close enoughs'.

I know as a kid I was quite content with my Uncle's fedora and a jean jacket running around the woods near our cabiin playing out my 'adventures'.

There's room enough here for both camps, though I think given the nature of this being a site about the gear, you may finde more 'screen accurates'.

Mike

guitone,
Six months from now you will be posting pictures of yourself in full gear standing beside a Ford Tri-Motor grinning from ear to ear. I can see it.

It ***** you in!

I fit more in the close enough category. Yes, I have a Wested, AB, S&W HE. But I lean more toward quality close enough clothes. I buy and use my gear in a pratical manner. As far as pratical outdoor gear go, yes and no. In hot weather I find nothing more comfortable than classic all cotton bush clothes. For general hiking Indy gear is great. If you spend a lot of time in heavy underbrush like I do the leather jacket and cotton twill cloths will last along longer than this modern stuff. But when I go rock climbing the Indy gear stays home. I guess that there is a time an place for everything.

Yes, I agree with a lot of the comments here. First, this is a hobby. Second, it's a hobby that you can wear the items. So, do I wear "full gear" (with gunbelt and holster and whip) all the time? No. I do at Summits, Sci-Fi CONs, Ren Fests, etc. That's when it's a "costume." I wear different variations in daily life. I've gone almost full gear (minus gunbelt, etc) at museums, roadtrips, etc when I want pictures of me in gear at different places. Again, it's a hobby like any other. Well, maybe not like "every" other. I love Star Wars, but if you have Stormtrooper Armor, that's an outfit you probably won't wear every day. But Indygear is something that could be daily wear, in it's different stages.

I for one never want to be a clone of any character, but I do often want something similar

Hey, you answered your own question.

Minnesota Jones wrote: I've gone almost full gear (minus gunbelt, etc) at museums, roadtrips, etc when I want pictures of me in gear at different places.

MJ, I think you've touched upon another aspect of this hobby: having photographs of yourself taken wearing Gear at various interesting places. That seems to be something many of us do and I know I never get tired of seeing them, including my own.

Newbie... the other OTHER white meat.

I mean... Welcome to the madness.

guitone wrote:....I get a chuckle when I see some of the pics of folks with indy jackets and hats and goots...

My wife was talking about getting me some new goots for the Summer. I told her that they were just getting broken in and looking like they’ve been somewhere, and she said that’s the problem.

It’s too bad, because it’s so hard to find a good pair of goots. Have you tried looking them up on LL.Bean or even on Google? I defy you to find me a good pair of goots on the internet.

but if it is about being indy, well that is a different story. I will never be indy, but I may wear a jacket like his.

I get a chuckle when I think that not enough people are into the look and I'm at a loss to explain why it went out of style. I've devoted a whole website for the era and how much of the style and substance is relevent today. There's a whole undergroud culture that's obsessed with the era. (We're Everwhere... trust no one! The Truth is Out There...)

Minnesota Jones wrote: I do at Summits, Sci-Fi CONs, Ren Fests, etc.

What do you folks do? Hang around and read my rants and critique the site? Sheesh... the presure's on I guess.

Funny post, Ren.

guitone, This is Ren's way of saying welcome to the club.

Pyr.

guitone wrote:
....I get a chuckle when I see some of the pics of folks with indy jackets and hats and goots...

My wife was talking about getting me some new goots for the Summer.

I love this kind of humor...

Most people here do not take it seriously. It is a hobby- a compulsive, obsessive hobby, but a hobby none the less. It is a collection of items that represent an era when people dressed like that as well as a collection of replicas from some of the best that the movies has to offer. As far as people dressing up as Indy: it is a way for one to step out of one's self for a brief time before returning to the mundaness of everyday life. Most of the people who don the gear are just ordinary, average people that perhaps like to imagine what it would be like to have some kind of adventerous Indy-like experience without getiing killed and then return to the safety of everyday life. That's one of the reasons why we go to movies: to forget about life for a while, and why Indy appeals to us so much! Just a thought.

Renderking Fisk wrote: It’s too bad, because it’s so hard to find a good pair of goots.

Yep... especially screen-accurate ones...

guitone wrote:Sorry to be bringing up a possible sore subject, but is it that important to look exactly like indy looks?

For some, yes. For others, no.

For some, it's the thrill of the chase and finding the real sources for material. That's a hobby in itself.

For others, 'close enough is good enough' and that's fine too.

You might feel that the screen-accurate brigade sometimes puts down stuff that's 'near enough' - and that's probably a fair comment. Sometimes when someone finds somethign that looks pretty good, a scree-accurate person will decry it. You shouldn't take it personally, however, as it's horses for courses in this big hobby.

Hey, I'm still looking for screen accurate Indy socks!

bink

That has been bothering me all week! I need screen-accurate socks! I don't care if they cost 200 bucks a pair! :evil:

OK, I'm convinced, it is screen accurate or I'm not buying it.

Uhhh... then I got an extra pair I can sell you... umm, yeah. 8-[

bink

Check is on the way.

Im in no way screen accurate but I do like the look. I do wear the fedora on most occasions {except when Im out woodworking, my wife hates it when I get sawdust all over}. I wear my bag to work, and get called Indy a lot. No leather jacket {yet} but I do wear a tankers jacket with a set of Battlestar Galactica wings pinned to my chest.Its just the look that I like.

thunderquack wrote: ...but I do wear a tankers jacket with a set of Battlestar Galactica wings pinned to my chest.Its just the look that I like.

See, if that works for you and you like the way you look, go for it. There was a time when "Close Enough" and those were good times.

In some ways, the collecting of Indy gear reminds me of the classic car world. In some quarters of the car world, there are people who can't sleep at night knowing that one of the dash knobs on their 55 Chevy is actually a replacement from a 56. To these people, acquisition and authenticity are sources of thrills and ever present challenges. It's a quest mentality. When they acquire that which they seek, they feel like they've found a little treasure. To each his own. For me, the eyes on the prize mentality can destory all the fun. Sometimes you just have to "let it go." Didn't Indy3 teach us all a little lesson about this? I live for the experience rather than the acquisition. Capturing the spirit or feeling of the original is just as satisfying to me. When I'm cruising through the countryside in my 57 Chevy sedan and feeling all nostalgic, is the experience lessened any by the fact that my engine was actually taken from a 72 Nova? Not for me, it isn't. When I put on that Wested (regardless of whatever I'm wearing with it), I feel a little bit of that excitement and wonder that the Indy films brought to me as a child. It lifts me up a little which is a nice feeling. I still wear my own style hat, whatever pants are clean and Justin Roper boots. I'm not Harrison Ford. I'm not Indiana Jones but I feel like I've got something special. I'm in the club. It's a great club to be in.

Well said, Havana. Really well said.