Club Obi Wan

Hello All,
I hope no one has posted anything like this before, but here goes nothing.
Has anyone ever put together or researched a "revisionist" Indy costume? What got me thinking of this was a post about the American Eagle alternative for Aldens boots posted by Fiddler_Jones (http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5060) aswell as a concept pic that has been one of my favorites since I discovered it at the raider.net (http://www.theraider.net/showimage.php? ... /mo_02.jpg , sorry, couldn't figure out how to make link.)
I had always liked the concept art, especially Indy's belt (and not so much his black jacket). My favorite gun in the series is in the Raven bar sequence; which isn't typical of the handguns he uses throughout the rest of the series. When I saw the AE boots I thought, "Maybe Indy would've had a rugged sole." It seems like that would provide better grip that the flat one on the Aldens. (Not that the Aldens aren't the Holy Grail of Indy boots. I tried some on in San Fran when I was there this summer, and nearly died when I couldn't afford them).
What if Indiana Jones had've been played by Tom Selleck? What if he had've been more like James Bond as had at one point been planned? What if...?
So basically what I wanted to put up for discussion is Indy "What If?" costumes. Does anyone have any interesting pictures, drawings, or stories about an "alternative" Dr. Jones ensemble?
I look forward to seeing what the reaction is to this idea.
Regards,
JockThePilot

Well, alot of people have innacurate gear. That's really all it would take, just use alot of the close enoughs available. I also like the belt in that picture, it's the kind I have (well, same design, mines not as durable). But I'm getting a new one soon

Jock:
Some good thoughts here. I guess in a sense all of us have a revisionist costume. One thing all of my research has proven to me is, unless you have an original costume piece you will never have an exact Indy costume. The original jacket had a silver zipper painted gold. Does anyone do this with their costume to make it an exact copy? The problem also is leather changes and suppliers change zippers and other hardware. I think that it is more about the spirit of Indy than the exact thing. This past summer I bought a MK VI gas mask bag. I have several MK 7s and actually thought this was a MK VI when I bought it. It is actually as good as or better than a MK 7, at least for me. I think it is all about making it fit who you are and how you are going to use it. I am sure Indy would do the same thing. We have to remember that the people that designed and created the costume are movie makers and costumers not adventurers.
Canada Jones

It's the nature of the beast... the "Close enough" factor.

As long as it looks good on you and exibits the spirit of adventure, you're in good shape.

That's true, most people's costumes are "revised" from the film. I guess my question more accurately would be "has anyone changed anything substanial about the details of Indy's costume on purpose to make theirs represent a different kind of Jones?"
(Also, you can't get those American Eagle boots in Canada. Booo!)
Regards,
JockThePilot

Hey Canada and Jock, where abouts are you located?

We Canadians just had a mini-summit in Toronto, and are looking at having another one in the near future.

I'm in B.C. which is about as far away as you can get from Toronto and still be in Canada.
regards,
Jock

yeah, but Jock has a plane.....

Hey if I had known I would have been there. You can tell by my 3 year delay I have been offline a while. Didn't mean to be rude. Just missed your question.
Canada

JockThePilot wrote:I'm in B.C. which is about as far away as you can get from Toronto and still be in Canada.
regards,
Jock

What part of BC? I go up there from time to time. I live in Oregon. Last couple times I was there I was out near Hope.

oh wow this was one dug up from the grave wasn't it? ...i didn't even notice that until i posted my reply

You gotta watch old Canada Jones. He turns up at the oddest times.

He's one of us REAL old timers, going clear back to Indyfan.com, so don't anyon think he's new to these halls or hobby. He's been around for a LONG time.


Always good to see you stick your head in the door, old friend!

HIGH regard! Michaelson

Michaelson:

As we were talking about today - the internet was still pretty new when I started my hunt for all things Indy and there was no eBay back then. You had to really hunt to find stuff. And there was no Michealson either or Canada Jones. We all used our real names. I do love the changes that have occured over the years. For eg. when someone responds to my posting on COWS it notifies me in my email. This way it is not years before I reply and the listing is itself a relic.

the old timer....

Yep, that's very true. I first posted under my own name for about a month before I took the moniker of 'Michaelson' back when Indyfan first came on line.

Seems a lifetime ago!

Regards! Michaelson

I think that moniker has worked out very well for you. It is such an obscure reference that only a true indy fan would appreciate it. Did you ever look to see if there were books on Archaeology by anyone named Michaelson? What if it was a woman writer?

This is great to hear - I am a BC Canada member too. I was also unaware of the mini-con in th east...

Now, back to the original question. I am doing a PhD in film and theatre history and have found a book that may address the questions that I think Jock was trying to get to. The book is about fandom and focuses primarily on the television sreies of the Next Generation. It's called Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture by Henry Jenkins. It was published in 1992 by Routledge. It's worth a look at as it addresses things like fan art and "accuracy" of costumes in a more philosophical way.

Okay....I'm gonna stop geeking out here and exit awkwardly....
Cheers
Nick

Nick:
I am also doing a PhD. Where are you doing yours and how close to being done are you? I am doing my degree at a grad school in Virginia. My dissertation is focusing on Davy Crockett - another man with a great costume. Do you know if that book you mentioned looks at Crockett or is past that?
thanks
Canada

I am doing my Phd in film and theatre history in Vancouver (UBC) - and my thesis is on the evolution of stage combat - I also just finished writing a paper on the Jedi religion and fandom.
The book only really covers current phenomena - focusing heavily on Star Trek and a bit on Star Wars with a mention on Indiana Jones. It raises some pretty interesting issues on modern day fandom.

Cheers
Nick

Thanks Nick. I looked it up on Amazon. Looks like a good one. I may be able to use some of this for my research as well. Thanks for the tip.
Canada

Well, I saw a shirt from Armani Exchange that I thought would make a pretty close-enough modern day equivalent of Indy's trademark pleated safari shirt...

that is a nice shirt! Now I want one....

how much is this shirt and does it come in different colors?

Canada Jones wrote:how much is this shirt and does it come in different colors?

http://www.armaniexchange.com/product/m ... tby=&size=

Hope this helps

pricey...pricey. close-enoughs shouldn't cost more than the authentics...no?

Thanks for posting the link. helpful. But the price - yikes - This is about what I paid for my Noel Howard shirt. I agree with Indiana G - close enoughs should not be more than the real thing. ALso, the color is way wrong - dark grey or black. too bad no lighter color.
Canada

Too bad, just 'clay' (above, which looks like taupe to me) and BLACK. If they had it in the right color, it might be an easy fix to add upper pleats...

...but redying AND putting on pleats, starting at $98? Hmm...close.

But it DOES have the closest combo of pleats and epaulettes I've seen in a while for a non-Indy-targeted shirt. It IS cotton, so it might redye...

Too bad about the snaps, though, that kind of kills it for me...the pocket vents aren't bad...but what's "contrasting material under epaulettes"? If it's a piece that isn't cotton, good luck redying that part.

All the same, I might swing by A/X and take a peek in person...

Well, considering that it's Armani, what else do you expect price wise? Anyway, I was not saying that this was going to be a cheap knock-off of Indy's gear, or even completely screen accurate (no, for that you'd have to go for Noel Howard or Andre Dometakis).... I'm saying that this is what I'd imagine to be the equivalent of modern-day Indy gear.

Ah, THAT'S why you added it to this thread. Got it.

In that case, I disagree... ...solely on the grounds that I can't see Indy wearing Armani.

Well if you have any better ideas, I'm all ears.

that's going to make it hard to get a hat to fit you.

The open-ended tangent of 'what would Indy wear now' can go around for years...and has, so I'm not going to dwell in this, but I'll toss my opinion in one last time.

Personally, I'd think he'd either be wearing gear meant for outdoor use commonly available (cabelas, et al) regardless of whether it looked like his old stuff or not, or if he was staying a bit more civilian, Eddie Bauer...but only if someone was buying it FOR him. Can't see him buying that himself, although I personally like it. Too much of a 'brand name' for his personality, in my opinion.

The only other alternative I see is mil surplus, but it's anybody's guess at that point. If you are casting him as the same age TODAY as he was then, possibly anything is not beyond possibility.