The Indiana Jones Shirt

shirt header


Crystal Skull shirt highlight image

The Indiana Jones shirt is based on a typical safari-style shirt. Its distinctive feature is two vertical strips running from the shoulders to the bottom of the shirt tails and continued over both breast pockets. A common debate regards the original shirt color. Surviving samples of the original shirts seem to be darker in reality than they appear on screen. Most fans look for an off-white “stone” color for their replicas. The original shirts, however, may have been more of a “tan” or “natural” color. The shirt varied little from film to film, the only notable difference being the darker buttons in Temple of Doom and Last Crusade. Originally designed by Andreas Dometakis for the films, this shirt was once one of the hardest pieces of gear to find.


Before he passed, Noel Howard offered a lightweight shirt in a fabric and color boasted to be identical to the original. Nowadays, however, there are several companies that replicate this shirt accurately. Wested Leather produces a similar shirt in a lighter shade to match the “screen seen” color. Magnoli Clothiers offers a tailor-made shirt in the same style with several color options. Other vendors include Karolian Dry Goods and Azuma. The most economic choice for a screen accurate shirt is What Price Glory, though the sizing can be a bit tricky.


Many mass-produced “close enough” options have been made over the years by such companies as L.L. Bean, Orvis, Cabelas, and Tilly Endurables. Other intrepid fans have even produced their own accurate copies by buying two “close enough” shirts and using the cloth from one to add vertical pleats to the other.

RotLA shirt


Slight variations in color and details can be seen in shots of the shirt through the films

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders shirt front
Front
Raiders shirt back
Back
Raiders shirt epaulettes
Epaulettes
Raiders shirt cuff
Cuffs
Raiders shirt next to white
While many often think Indy’s shirt is white, you can see the contrast when shown with the pure white color of Marion’s blouse.


Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Temple of Doom shirt front
Front
Temple of Doom shirt back
Back
Temple of Doom shirt epaulettes
Epaulettes
Temple of Doom shirt and tie
Indy’s shirt shown here with bow tie and dinner jacket.
Temple of Doom shirt torn up
Indy’s Shirt once the going gets tough.
Temple of Doom shirt back
Back
(Notice how the shirt being wet shows off how thin the material actually is.)


Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: (note that in the film, Indy never has his jacket off while wearing his “adventure” shirt)

Last Crusade shirt front
Front
Last Crusade shirt behind the scenes epaulettes
Epaulettes
Last Crusade shirt with tie
Dressed up for meeting Dad. Last Crusade had Indy wearing a black Irish poplin tie for a while with his “adventure” gear.
Last Crusade shirt under white jacket
Shown here once again contrasting with pure white.


Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 

Indy returns to action in Crystal Skull with images of his shirt being most prominent through the opening of the film. The shirt debuts in a bit of rough condition—possibly from the previous off-screen adventure, or from being kidnapped by the Russians. It bears a rip on the right shoulder seam. The shirt carries on the tradition of the first three movies, with the exception being that it goes back to lighter buttons found on the Raiders shirt. A departure from Temple of Doom and Last Crusade’s darker buttons.

Epaulettes
Shirt front
Shirt front and sleeve (notice the lighter buttons).
Cuffs
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shirt front
Indy (and his shirt) swinging back into action.
Looking for shelter (notice the torn seam).


Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Indy actually had two types of his adventure shirt in Dial of Destiny. In the 1944 scenes, he wore the classic-look shirt with pleats running from the shoulders, through the pockets and down the front.

Dial of Destiny 1944 shirt epaulettes
Epaulettes and pleats
Dial of Destiny 1944 shirt pleats
Pleats
Dial of Destiny 1944 shirt front
A full look at the classic-cut shirt.
Dial of Destiny 1944 shirt shoulder
Another close-up highlighting the shirt.

For the 1969 era, Indy changes up his look a bit, sporting a similar shirt to the classic look, but without the pleats running from the shoulder down the front. The pleats do still appear on the pockets

Dial of Destiny 1969 shirt front
Front of 1969 shirt showing no pleats.
Dial of Destiny 1969 shirt highlighted
Front highlighted
Dial of Destiny 1969 shirt shoulder
Close up of buttons and pocket flap.
Dial of Destiny 1969 shirt left shoulder
Epaulettes
Dial of Destiny 1969 shirt front
Shirt front
Dial of Destiny 1969 shirt lit