Shirting matters

[schwammy]

With the California lockdown now entering month 4 and not a lot going on, I find myself returning to my Indygear roots. It's an exercise in double nostalgia now (or perhaps triple nostalgia?) -- nostalgia for the joyful hours I used to spend on this site in the early 2000s, a time when I was being nostalgic for a movie I had loved when I was 11, a film which was itself nostalgic for the 1930s. There is nowhere near the traffic on here that there was 20 years ago, but it's still fun to see some familiar faces arguing over the same old points.

Surprisingly, I haven't had an Indy hat for years, so I've ordered a Streets of Cairo hat from Advintage and am in talks with Steele & Jones for a second one. I still have a pair of Noel Howard trousers and the Alden boots I bought from another gearhead (the long-since banned Austin Powers) back in 2000, and I have just recently purchased two Raiders shirts - one from Magnoli and one from What Price Glory. I like the What Price Glory shirt but have a few nitpicks - button color is too light, shirt color might be a bit dark (but pretty close), and the sleeves have a gauntlet button that I don't think was on the film shirt. I've talked about Magnoli's shirt in another post.

I haven't purchased a Wested shirt and probably won't - the pockets look huge to me (though this can actually be a desirable feature if you want to put your glasses in your pocket). And the button color is too light. I stated earlier that the Wested shirt looked like it had too many buttons, and I guess I was right; I just never took the time to count the buttons on the screen-used Raiders shirt (see photo).

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/ ... 6b642ecb72

It was in fact a six-button shirt. This jibes with what I know about, say Brooks Brothers button-down shirts, which today have seven buttons but prior to the 1970s had six buttons. It would appear that the only maker who gets this detail right is the elusive Azuma. Azuma also seems to be the only one who gets the color of the buttons right. The buttons appear to be sort of olive green.

Thoughts?

[Dalexs]

Well, first off, welcome back! Its been quite a long time.
And yes, there are still plenty of familiar old faces around here.

I still have my original NH shirt, and a few too many washing and dye jobs, I will admin, it is a bit snug.

But you're right on about Azuma's shirt.
I recently got one of his raiders shirts, and its a phenomenal shirt, and even nice fabric, which has always been a problem too.


Dalexs

[Michaelson]

Well, first off, welcome back! Its been quite a long time.
And yes, there are still plenty of familiar old faces around here.

Dalexs

Watch it.

Regards! Michaelson

[schwammy]

Thanks, Dalexs. Good to see you, too. Yes, I remember following your instructions to un-dye and re-dye my Noel Howard shirt, which sadly fell apart years ago. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the man who first suggested 'The Turn?' That seems to be a taken-for-granted fact now, but as I recall it was a pretty revolutionary idea.

[Michaelson]

I thought that was Rundquist.

Regards! M

[Dalexs]

Not me.. but did the whole ribbon replacement thing a number of years ago.

[schwammy]

Living in southern California, which is basically a desert, the Raiders shirt is the only piece of gear that I really wear on a regular basis, especially in the summertime. And with very little to do in this very unusual year, my near-lifelong quest for the perfect Raiders shirt has taken on a life of its own.

I was lucky enough to be on the alert for Azuma's recent run, and though I was a few hours too late to get one in my actual size, I did snag a couple in the next size up. Well, they arrived in the mail today, and I am happy to report that this quest, for me at least, has come to a very satisfying conclusion.

A quick review:
Fabric: Very lightweight cotton - the lightest I've seen since MBA. This is an important detail if you live a warm climate. After all, the Raiders shirts were presumably tailored with desert / tropical climates in mind (Tunisia, Hawaii). Fabric wrinkles up nicely after a single spin in the washer.
Color: Spot on. Color has never been never a deal-breaker for me. Until the advent of this forum, I had always assumed Indy's shirt was basically white. But super dark tan / khaki colors don't look great against my high-contrast complexion. This color strikes a nice balance.
Fit: I wear a 16.5 but ordered a 17.5 because I was late to the party and that was the only size left, so of course it's going to be big on me. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though. You can move in it without fear of tearing something. Washing in hot water or running through the dryer can help shrink it down a bit. And I'll reserve my actual size on the third run, which apparently is in the works.
Details: Soft collar, cuffs, & pocket flaps. Epaulettes are spot on!
Buttons: Screen-accurate darker olive/khaki buttons. Six buttons instead of seven (my personal nitpick, but, again, 6 is screen-accurate). A spare button is included with each shirt, which is good, because one shirt arrived without a right sleeve button. Easy fix.
Pockets: Placement seems just right. Pocket size is good. Left pocket has a pen compartment with a vertical line of stitching separating it from the rest of the pocket - a detail I just noticed the other day on a photo of one of the few surviving Raiders shirts, but apparently Azuma spotted it too!
Label: Perfect. Love the 'Eastern Costume' label. That's an elegant touch.
Price: Total price, including shipping from Taipei and California's ruinously high sales tax, was about $97.00. Which, if you dollar-cost-average it out over the 40 years I've been looking for this shirt, comes out to about $2 per year per shirt. Ha!

In short, it is a thrill to have, at long last, an entirely accurate reproduction of this iconic shirt.
Thanks, Azuma!

[DeWayne]

I'm so glad I have my NH shirts still. One of which, I don't think I've ever even worn. It's still in its' M.B.A. bag. I've been having a lot of nostalgia for the early 2000's as well. I think the internet was a fun place back then. Good to see a familiar name.

[Kokopelli]

I’m right there with you.... Indy gear and the hobby in general fell by the wayside for me, due to ‘life’ kicking me in the backside.
With the state of the world as it currently is, plus I turn 50 this year has me feeling nostalgic for lack of a better term, when finding that ‘just right’ piece of gear was something to be celebrated.

The one thing I have never had, in all my Indy gear adventures is a proper shirt.
I think it’s time to remedy that.

[Nosirrah]

To me, the upside of being an Indy fan is that the gear actually exists in the real world. As opposed to being, say, a Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers geek. You don't have to wait for 10/31 (RIP, Hallowe'en, 2020) or ComiCon to get your Jones on.
Nowhere is this more true than the shirt, and the boots. Both are great field gear that work in an everyday setting. The bullwhip and the revolver are admittedly problematic.

[McFly]

The bullwhip and the revolver are admittedly problematic.

You don't take your bullwhip to the grocery store? I've noticed since doing this that the lines have been much shorter.