Club Obi Wan

This may be a silly question and it may have already been posted but I was wondering, When you're out in the Indy Jacket, do you want people to recognize it as an Indy Jacket or do you want people to think it's just a regular jacket.

Now that I own a wested, I want people to come up and ask me what kind of jacket I'm wearing. No one really does but I'm ready to give them an answer if they do.

Almost no one asks or notices. I have had compliments from some people, who have touched it, then said how soft the authentic lamb is.

I don't necessarily want people to notice. I would like people to think that it is a very nice jacket, which it definitely is, but I don't need them to identify it as an "Indy Jacket."

I prefer to have people not recognize the jacket or hat as an 'Indiana Jones costume'. I consider it more than that. It is my daily wear. I would inform anyone who is interested as to the makers..

I've gotten a number of compliments on mine but if anyone has made the Indy connection, no one's said anything. When I first got mine someone made a goofball comment about it being a Fonzie jacket. I almost always wear a hat but it isn't an Indy hat. I just think people don't notice the details. I once wore a Navy G-1 instead of my usual Wested and a girl I work with everyday asked me why I decided to put that fur collar on my jacket.

I've had only one comment on my jacket. I was standing in line trying to get a cup of coffee one morning before class. A guy standing next to me said, "I like your jacket and bag." I said, "Thanks." And that was it. Honestly, thats all the comment I want.

So many years have now gone by, that the leather jacket worn with a fedora...ANY leather jacket, that is, has become pretty common place. Folks just don't recognize one from another anymore...with the exception that the 'Indy' jacket has side adjustment straps. Otherwise, they all look the same to the onlooker.

I posted this recently, but I was standing in line in Wal-Mart and just looked around at the other lines. I counted no fewer than 4 other guys dressed in fedoras and leather jackets...none Indy correct, but none the less, the 'look' was definitely apparent, and no one even noticed but me.

So, my answer to your question, in my case, is a resounding NO.

Regards! Michaelson

anyone who would recognise it as 'the jacket' would be an indy fan that appreciates it, and those who dont generally just think it's a good looking jacket.

I think it's win win. Unless you wear it with a fedora that is =P And think of it this way - if someone was walking down the street wearing a jacket from some other movie or a pair of pants chances are you wouldnt recognise it as from a certain movie - though it may seem familiar. Unless you're a big fan of the certain movie or if you'd just seen it.

Assuming it's a fairly plain sorta item. If you go around wearing gandalf's hat - that might be a bit noticable.

The Indy jacket is unique but it is so close to flight jackets in most peoples eyes that they will normally not recognise it. It might be familiar but most will not pinpoint it. With a felt hat, that's a different matter!

Other jackets are more easily recognised, ie. The Lethal Weapon and the War of the Worlds but maybe that would be because of the stripes on both.

But it is all good, the people who recognise it for what it is are usually the one who will appreciate it. And those who don't just see a nice jacket.

[color=darkred][quote]The Indy jacket is unique but it is so close to flight jackets in most peoples eyes that they will normally not recognise it. It might be familiar but most will not pinpoint it.[/quote][/color]

I know I mistook the A2 Bomber for the Indy jacket for a long time. I could never figure out why it was close to the real thing but not quite there. Thankfully I found this site.

Now I want everyone I know who has an A2 or some kind of distressed leather jacket to get a Wested. I just feel they need one in their collection.

All you need to remember is that a costume is something you wear for a show or a production, and clothingor Indygear is something that is practical, tough as nails and ultimately way cooler than "off the rack" clothing you can get at a mall.
I love my gear and a few people have picked it out as Indy gear, but it is always followed up with "great looking jacket" or "like your vintage hat". I actually had two women who worked in a hat store oogle and examine my beaver AB - it was a high end hat shop and the owner (one of the women) explained to the other how a truly vintage beaver hat was made. SHe actually mistook the AB for a real period hat....Now THAT was COOL!!!

I like the idea that nobody has any clue that the coat I wear is an "Indy" coat. As self-proclaimed know-it-all fans we like to pride ourselves on the fact that we know oh so much about Indy's attire and whatnot, but I'll go right ahead and say that before I bought one of these coats myself, I also never would've been able to identify a stranger's jacket as being a replica of Indy's.

In the mind of the collective public, Indy wore a stock bomber jacket that was all banged up. Nobody remembers details. To prove my point, find a buddy who wears a typical distressed leather jacket. Have them sit down with you and a third friend and watch any one of the three Indy films. After the credits are done rolling, have your friend don his coat and you don your "official" Indy jacket. Let the third friend point to which they think is the Indy replica. I'll wager they point to your department-store-leather-wearing pal.

This is what I love. I can wear my coat in public without any fear whatsoever of the dreaded "HEY INDY!" cries from strangers. This is not possible with the fedora, hence it stays at home. But the jacket is great in that it completely flies under the public's ridicule radar.

I've had a grand total of one person recognize it. It was on my way to the Comic Con on the trolley. Someone sent to cover the con for an out of state news service asked me: "Is that a Wested?" I just said: "Yeah."

That was pretty much it.

Funny this thread came up. A few weeks ago on the RPF, there was a thread about which role Harrison Ford will be most remembered for. Han Solo vs Indiana Jones. I said Jones, b/c if you walk into a mall with a Han Solo costume, 100% accurate, no one will recognize(well, maybe the die hard fans, but that's it). Walk into the same mall with any fedora and any leather jacket with 10% accuracy and you'll automatically be recognized as Indiana Jones.

Me personally, no one has ever recognized my jacket as an Indiana Jones jacket. I get plenty of compliments about the jacket and some suprised looks when I tell them "some guy in England made it for me", but that's about it. I believe my sister is the only person who recognizes it as an Indiana Jones jacket. And I actually had to tell her about it, b/c she was like, "that looks familiar".

Just go around with a crazed look, wildly yelling, "Prepare to meet Kali..." You'll get plenty of recognition.

I can wear the jacket and boots anywhere anytime as part of my daily attire, slacks or jeans (and prefer it that way) but as soon as I put on the hat, I get "hey Indy" and people whistling the theme and that makes me self-conscious and uncomfortable, like I am in costume. I'd rather someone say nice jacket and have no clue.

And Havana, I have gotten the Fonzie thing too and also, look here comes Tom Cruise.

Life is too short to live it for the satisfaction of other people. I only have about 60 years left and I'm not going to waste them making sure I dress and act the way everyone thinks I should. WEAR your hats!!! CARRY your whips!! Let your freak flag fly. Your telling me you are going to take fashion advice from people who have been conditioned since the day they were born to NOT stand out or be different? Next time you hear, "HEY INDY!" yell back, "BAAAAA!" (Thats a sheep noise, not the Scrooge noise) I have a Stetson that I wear whenever I feel like it. I'm not trying to provoke people or anything, but if they have a problem with my hat because it doesnt say NY, or Nascar...
That is THEIR problem, not mine. If I get a strange look because of my jacket because it doesnt have Taz and Tweety embroidered on the back, once again, not my problem. And if people think your aldens look different, (shudder), because they lack a 'swoosh', how is that my problem? :evil:

Doug C

If was to ever wear the hat and jacket to work I'd never live it down.

We just pick on each other that way.

These people are big Napolean Dynamite fans if that helps you to understand.

"Just go around with a crazed look, wildly yelling, "Prepare to meet Kali..." You'll get plenty of recognition."

Havana, I did that without the jacket. I was just down in Charleston for a Conferance.

Anyways, I could care less what people think about what I'm wearing. I just want to share the knowledge of the jacket around. But I'm not going to be all in their face about it, I'm not going to to go up to a stranger and ask "Do you want to know what kind of jacket I have on?" Ok maybe one or two people but that's it.

Obiwampa wrote:Your telling me you are going to take fashion advice from people who have been conditioned since the day they were born to NOT stand out or be different?

I see your point, but honestly, and I mean this with all due respect, dressing like Indiana Jones isn't really "being different" either, it's still basically copying the attire of somebody else, which is ultimately no different than what the "sheep" do. Granted, folks in Indy hats are in the extreme minority, but they're still not being "individuals." Just because a guy wearing an Indy hat might be the only one doing so in his city, he's still copying someone else. For the notion of "letting your freak flag fly" a person would have to come up with something entirely their own. Sure, you'll get plenty of Indy fans claiming to have "worn fedoras for years, way before Indy came out," and whatever, maybe they did. But the vast majority of us would never have cared less about fedoras if it hadn't have been for Indy. So wearing an Indy hat is no different than wearing a Yankees cap, or a NASCAR cap. It's not our own look.

That being said, I still applaud those brave enough to wear the hats in public. I myself just refuse to put up with the ridicule that accompanies it. And it's not a matter of being afraid or scared to live my life, I just don't feel like putting up with the inevitable chuckles, points and hecklers. It's not worth it to me. If fedoras ever came back in style, sure, I'd wear one. I'd love it. But until then, my fedora's staying at home.

But like I said, that's why I love the jacket so much. Nobody has a clue that I'm dressing like the movie hero I grew up on, and that's fine by me.

You make some interesting points SkyChief. However, my theory is why buy it if your not gonna use it. Now I don't mean I go around in full gear everyday. In fact I rarely have it all on together. I wear my Wested and Aldens almost daily. The fedora usually comes out for days on the trail or with a suit every now and then. Some gear I don't even plan to purchase. As an example I have no earthly need for a bullwhip. I have a Filson shoulder bag that I've been carrying around for the best part of 10 years. Its an old friend that I couldn't even think of replacing with a mkVII. I guess I've kinda got my own look that I'm happy with.

So I guess its to each his own. Some of us like to have screen accurate collections. Some of us like to incorporate the "look" into our everyday lives in subtle ways. And some of us wear the gear everyday. I say cool, do what you feel comfortable with!

J_Weaver wrote:You make some interesting points SkyChief. However, my theory is why buy it if your not gonna use it.

Good point. But if a movie buff buys a replica of Dirty Harry's gun it doesn't mean he has to use it, right? Although this Indy stuff can actually be worn and used, it's still, to put it bluntly, a collection of movie props. For me, that's the role that the hat and bullwhip play in my life. They sit together on a table under an Indiana Jones poster. But I completely get where you're coming from. It's a great theory.

J_Weaver wrote:So I guess its to each his own. Some of us like to have screen accurate collections. Some of us like to incorporate the "look" into our everyday lives in subtle ways. And some of us wear the gear everyday. I say cool, do what you feel comfortable with!

Very well said. Everybody buys this stuff for different reasons.

I will tell you what though, when YOU spot ANOTHER wested (like Radar) its like finding a lost brother in the woods !

Hey Got Maul, I would love to spot another wested. I know there are alot in the Los Angeles area by just looking at the posts. I wish I was in town the weekend of the QM summit but still thats a controlled environment. I have yet to bump into another bretheren or sisterthren in the woods.

Ha ha - I just had someone make a Fonzie comment as well this morning. All the more surprising because I'm in London. I didn't know Happy Days was big over here.

At first I didn't know what he was on about... A stranger comes up, says "Ayyyyyyyy" and has his arms open.

I thought that perhaps he mistook me for someone else and he wanted a hug... I started to back up and make my way towards the tube carriage's door.

He finally said "its the Fonz". Whew!

Ha ha ha - you're a comic genius mate.

Oh well... there are some odd people in this world.

Indiana_Tone wrote:If it's spotted as an Indy jacket, that's fine - hasn't happened yet. With the fedora and the jacket on, it's more difficult to avoid. The jacket by itself hardly draws a second look or any odd stares at all.

I'm surprised when you're wearing your jacket, hat, and screen-accurate stubble that no one's come up asking if you were Ford's younger brother.

its happened ONCE here in chicago, it was unmistakeable (because of the sliders ) but never caught up with him..

I think it happened to Agent5 too ..not sure.

It's not worth it to me. If fedoras ever came back in style, sure, I'd wear one. I'd love it. But until then, my fedora's staying at home.

See, that's what I'm talking about. You are NOT doing something you want to because the millions of average Joe's out there say "no way, your only acceptable if you shop at Old Navy, just like me." I wear what I want, when I want. That goes not only for a few of my Indy items, but for everything else I wear. I have a gigantic green army parka that I wear in the cold, and everyone hates it but me. I even wrote 'The Who' on the back to make it more Mod. I've been wearing dark framed little nerd glasses since waaay before that look was 'in'. And I have an "Impeach Bush" shirt that I know for a fact 51% of the country HATES.

For the notion of "letting your freak flag fly" a person would have to come up with something entirely their own.

I do that every day. And it feels great. I dont care about chucklers, pointers, or hecklers. I laugh to myself every time I see someone in one of those fake Old Navy t-shirts. The ones that look like the person wearing it got it at some surfing festival, or some cool Italian restaraunt no-one's ever heard of. Only they didnt get it there. They got it at the Old Navy down the street. How sad is their life that they want to LOOK like they have done things and been places, but the only place they've really been is a corporate run retail outlet at the local mall.
As for Indy's gear, I, and I think I speak for a large percentage of us here, just want the 'feel', not the EXACT look. I want it to 'feel' like 1936 when I wear that stuff. But what I also want, besides things that have the 'feel', are things that are also practical and well made. I wanted a well made hat that had the best 'feel' and at a price that would'nt kill me. (This was before the AB), So I got a Stetson Sovereign. If Indy had been real, I like to think he would have been wearing a Stetson. He was American after all, not British(HJ). A little reshaping later, and I have a perfect LC hat. I wanted a jacket that would stand up to the toughest punishment I could dish out, so after much research and thought, I decided on the FS. If I wanted to be like everyone else here, it appears I would have to buy a Wested. I dont even own a bag, holster, boots, whip, or a pistol. I buy the pieces I want, when I want. (And when I can afford them ) It is all up to you as an individual. Maybe I'm doing something all these other guys are doing, (even though I, and I'm sure many others, were doing it way before we had even heard of the internet), but we are still, like you said, an extreme minority. I'd rather be part of a small minority, than part of a large majority.

More power to you, Obiwampa.

On a side note, I was able to recognize my quotes in your post, but other people might not. The forum has that handy "Quote" button in the top right corner of each post. It's a great resourse to use when paraphrasing someone.

Ohh, I wear my jacket when ever possible , but if a total stranger tried to make me into a Fonzy joke, I'd probably spit in his eye, literally! sorry..

Doug C

On a side note, I was able to recognize my quotes in your post, but other people might not. The forum has that handy "Quote" button in the top right corner of each post. It's a great resourse to use when paraphrasing someone.

Thanks! BTW I like your cool SkyChief logo. I wish I had the free time to whip up sweet stuff like that.

I've been noticeing many Indyish leather jackets lately, minus the flap on the back and correct pockets, so except for those details that make it an Indy jacket they really aren't too out of the ordinary at the moment.

IndyDoc, I have been seeing alot of indy style jackets as well. I was almost tempted to pick one up at Target. They have a pretty good looking brown leather jacket for $99.00 but I decided not to.