Club Obi Wan

I'm sure this has been said many times before in so many words, but I was just thinking the other day that one of the things I like best about Indy's outfit is this: everything.

Everyone has a favorite piece of gear: Hat, jacket, whip, boots, shirt, etc. But have you noticed that while not everyone strives for a perfectly screen accurate outfit, nor does everyone freak out if they don't complete the outfit, its not an outfit that needs improving. It's not like a lot of Indy fans put the outfit together and then strive to better it. They only strive to improve on making it look more like what we see on screen (yes, yes, I know there a few exceptions to this, but in general, no). No one gets the perfectly screen accurate hat and then has an alternate made and then says, "yeah, but here's what Indy's hat should have looked like." They may wear a non-Indy hat more often day to day, but that's not my point. No one gets a screen accurate jacket, but then has a custom jacket made that alters the details and says, "this is how I wear my Indy outfit, with this improved jacket. No one says, "here's a different holster, the one he should have used." No one says, "this (other) whip would have been better suited to his style." No says, "these other boots would make this outfit look better."

Close enough gear is great, and lord knows I have a lot of it, and sure I occasionally wear it in place of my regular gear even when I am wearing the whole outfit (I was forced to at this past QM since my Aldens were malfunctioning, and luckily I brought a pair of CE boots to fill in. No one really noticed the substitution except me). But my point is that nothing Indy wears needs improving. There is no part of it that your average Indy fan doesn't like. Deborah (Nadoolman) Landis built an outfit that is so perfectly adventurous, manly, earthy, cool, and (for the most part) functional, that no one seeks to mess with it. Sure a different hat, jacket or whip, may suit us better when we aren't wearing the entire ensemble, but the entire ensemble always looks amazing just as it is on screen.

Let's face it, if Indy wore an ugly jacket, or an ugly hat, most of us would not be here, day in and day out constantly seeking to perfect our outfits, because Indy's outfit is perfect, even perfectly "imperfect", if you will.

So here's my next question, as much as we know the credit goes to GL, SS, and HF, as well as Lawrence Kasdan for creating a fanastic film and an amazing character, would we like Indy as much if his outfit wasn't so amazing? I mean, if his outfit wasn't the kind of outfit we all wish we could wear whenever we go adventuring, would we even like these movies as much? (I know the answer is yes, but you have to admit, whenever there is a scene in which Indy isn't wearing his adventuring outfit, it never seems quite right. I always feel like the movie hasn't quite started yet, or we're in like an "in-between" section of the real action.).



(this is probably my favorite all time non-screen grab of Indy).

Food for thought . . .

Daren Henry W

My nOOb opinion is that the great thing about the clothing is that one can pick any piece, many pieces, or add others and it looks classic - that is, great and timeless. HF is just about the perfect guy for the role. I'm sure others could have come close, but we'll never know what someone else would have brought to the role and look.
For me, I love it all - on someone else. I'm just not able to grow stubble so I'm out!
I like the main bits such as the trousers, shirt, and jacket. Some of you guys do well wearing it all, so for that,

DarenHenryW wrote:Let's face it, if Indy wore an ugly jacket, or an ugly hat, most of us would not be here, day in and day out constantly seeking to perfect our outfits, because Indy's outfit is perfect, even perfectly "imperfect", if you will.

Agreed !!! Especialy perfectly "imperfect".
Now, I also think we are sooo used to the outfit it is almost impossible to inagine HF wearing something else. And that's also the reason why it wouldn't look right on him, because we have always seen him like this, with his fedora, leather jacket, etc...

To know if we would like the movie as much if he was dressed differently ?
I also think the answer is yes, because the movies are amazing.
Another Indy inspired caracter I like a lot is Rick O'Connell from the Mummy movies. If you look at him, his outfit is changing all the time throughout the 3 movies, and he still looks great.
He has something special to him like Indy, maybe it's the choice of the actor, the gear, I don't know. (And like Indy he doesnt' look right without his adventure gear .)

I also think there is something special about the time those movies take place. The 20s and 30s were a great times for adventures, lost cities, etc. Mixed with the clothing and weapons that were available at that time and you can get a very unique and cool adventure look.

To put it simply: Everytime I think about adventure, the first thing that comes to my mind Is Indiana Jones, with his amazing gear.

Speaking of Rick O'Connell, I think he has a "basic" outfit, which is the white shirt with the rolled up sleeves, the khaki pants and the boots, with maybe the exception of 3 (Which I don't really like...) And when I see that outfit, I can't help but think about how it could have been influenced by Indy's gear...

Great Thread, Daren!
(and excellent references from _)


I was always a big fan of how much of Bogart's dirty, rumpled Fred C. Dobbs from TTotSM ended up in Indy's look (and attitiude - at least in RAIDERS), as well.
(But I realize I'm FAR from being the first person to make that observation!)

well look at some of the preliminary costume sketches in "THe Complete Making of." Don't know if I'd be wearing those old-timey adventure pants tucked into tall lace-up boots. But then, ya never know...

Without the hat, gunbelt and whip, Indy's outfit is well suited as everyday wear... It can blend in with the crowd. You can walk down the street and not even get a second glance... Once you put on the hat, everybody will automatically think, "It's Indiana Jones!!!"

To me, the costume was perfect the first time I laid eyes on it during the original release.

I found myself taking in the small details of all of it during its gradual reveal. I dont know if it was done purposely, but in not showing too much of Ford until the close-up after the gun-from-hand-whipping, the costume was revealed gradually, a piece at a time.

We see the hat from the back, and the rear of the jacket just after the Paramount dissolve-to-mountain, the bottom of the jacket, bag and whip when he walks toward the tree to pull the dart from it. (That scene, btw, revealed much about his demeanor. He knows what the dart means, and then disgards it non-chalantly.)

We can see the well-wornness of all the gear items. It all looks genuine, not obviously pre-distressed as it had looked in some later films.

And all through Raiders, both Jones, and his clothes, look like they had been put 'through the mill,' as is said. It always looks like perfect adventure gear. That's one reason why the look is still so iconic today.

My family and I are traveling to my wife's ancestral land of Estonia on Sunday for a three week vacation/touring/family reunion/research-for-book trip. Already packed in my CS rucksack are my Wested pants and WPG shirt. Aldens will be on my feet, a Fed4 on my head, Wested on my back and Mk7 over my shoulder.

I can agree that truthfully, there is little to Indy's gear that needs fixing. Trust me. I spend a good portion of my time trying to be a great pirate at Ren Faire's. My gear is EXTENSIVE and I realize that the tons of belts, guns, hair nick nacks, scarves, etc......that any "romanticized" pirate outfit similiar or inspired or the same as Jack Sparrows (aside from maybe the first movie) is un realistic as it ALL gets in the way, falls off, etc, etc.

Indy's is 9 times out of 10, functional. The entire outfit works well together. Sure sometimes my mrk VII will slide around and get in my way up front, or I sit on it, lol. But.....I use that ALL the time to carry things. Have been for over 10 years. In fact most friends are used to seeing it on me rain or shine no matter what I'm wearing.

Aside from the fact that Indy was CRAZY for wearing a felt fedora, and leather jacket in Cairo Heat (as I can attest by trying to wear it in Texas Heat) the gear works great and fits well together.

As well as being Iconic of ALL movie adventurers and real life ones. I JUST watched "Treasure of the Seirra Madre" and the entire time, although the hat was a C dent.....I kept thinking Bogarts hat was a great inspiration for Indy's....

About to go to Seattle for my B-day in Sept. My first thought when finding out was, "I can wear my fedora" and "I should get a pair of Aldens!"