Indy's "costume"

Raiders90

Well-known member
I know his leather jacket and fedora thing is iconic, or at least was in the 80s and 90s, but does anyone else feel that the concept of Indy wearing what is basically a costume take away from the grit and realism of the character? I mean we talk about how Raiders is gritty and such, but a costume is sort of superhero-ish, isn't it?

I'm not saying that the fedora and leather jacket should've been ditched in sequels, but did it have to be the EXACT SAME OUTFIT over a 20+ year span (from Temple to Skull)? Especially when Last Crusade shows us that Indy is essentially cosplaying as an earlier adventurer?

I just think that some variation to the outfits should've been done every film. It would've made Indy a little less superhero-esque and a little more gritty. Even James Bond changes outfits between films.
 

seasider

Active member
I'll have to rewatch the movies but I know there some subtle changes to Indy's costume throughout the movies. The most famous one is in Last Crusade, they had Indy sporting a tie with the jacket and fedora. Temple of Doom, we had a sleeveless Indy brandishing a sword. In KOTCS, we saw Indy with the leather jacket but you did see him wear it a lot less and his fedora had a more thicker heavier brim look to it.
 

Major West

Member
It's not actually the 'exact' same outfit. The jacket was different in every movie. The shirt was slightly different in every movie. Indy's gear/clothes is basically military gear and everyday work clothes and quite practical for what somebody like Indy would wear. Quite the opposite of taking away from the grit of the character and not a superhero costume at all, sorry I have to laugh at that suggestion. If you think of it as gear, not costume, then it makes sense that in the time period he's wearing practical hard wearing military adapted clothes for his adventure work. In a modern day setting Indy might have a bit more variation in his adventure clothes, because there's a lot more available these days, tactical gear etc. but his very samey adventure clothes are perfectly reasonable for time period. The 'look' of the character is based on adventurer characters before who all wore similar gear.
 
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Drones33

New member
Raiders112390 said:
I know his leather jacket and fedora thing is iconic, or at least was in the 80s and 90s, but does anyone else feel that the concept of Indy wearing what is basically a costume take away from the grit and realism of the character? I mean we talk about how Raiders is gritty and such, but a costume is sort of superhero-ish, isn't it?

I'm not saying that the fedora and leather jacket should've been ditched in sequels, but did it have to be the EXACT SAME OUTFIT over a 20+ year span (from Temple to Skull)? Especially when Last Crusade shows us that Indy is essentially cosplaying as an earlier adventurer?

I just think that some variation to the outfits should've been done every film. It would've made Indy a little less superhero-esque and a little more gritty. Even James Bond changes outfits between films.

How does the Last Crusade show us that Indy is cosplaying as an earlier adventurer?
It’s hardly a costume, in the super-Hero context that you suggest. If you do a little research you’ll see that Indy’s ‘look’; the hat, the short, fitted leather jacket, loose fitting trousers and work boots, is a very common one in the U.S. during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. (Check out ‘Indy Gear’, Aero Leathers or the Bill Kelso mfg websites.)
It’s also true to say... and this will become more apparent to you when you have a few more years under your belt... that as we get older, and we develop our own personal tastes, we tend to find a ‘look’ we’re comfortable with and stick to it, or at least variations of the overall style. For example, I’ve worn a black polo neck sweater, brown leather jacket and jeans since about 1986. Not all the time of course, and not the SAME jacket, polo neck and jeans, but the overall ‘look’ is one I’m comfortable with and Ive unintentionally kept it pretty consistent for the last 30 years. It’s kind of become part of who I am.
And so I must disagree with you. I believe a man can have a go-to ensemble that he wears for certain specific activities, whether that be a trek through the South American jungle, or a trip to the pub.
 

emtiem

Well-known member
I think it’s a reasonable point really; in Crystal Skull he gets his clothes presumably incinerated at the beginning after the nuke goes off, but luckily he has at home another pair of the exact same trousers, an identical shirt, identical hat, identical bag at home...! :D It’s an iconic outfit so they couldn’t change it really, but it’s a fair point that his look probably should have altered between films a bit more. Look at Han Solo: iconic look but actually quite different every time we see him.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I think it has more to do with the old influences of the character. I kind of like the fact that Indy has a certain "look" that doesn't really change through the years. There's something iconic and endearing about it, even though it's doubtful that someone would stick to that exact same style for decades.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Major West said:
It's not actually the 'exact' same outfit. The jacket was different in every movie. The shirt was slightly different in every movie. Indy's gear/clothes is basically military gear and everyday work clothes and quite practical for what somebody like Indy would wear. Quite the opposite of taking away from the grit of the character and not a superhero costume at all, sorry I have to laugh at that suggestion. If you think of it as gear, not costume, then it makes sense that in the time period he's wearing practical hard wearing military adapted clothes for his adventure work. In a modern day setting Indy might have a bit more variation in his adventure clothes, because there's a lot more available these days, tactical gear etc. but his very samey adventure clothes are perfectly reasonable for time period. The 'look' of the character is based on adventurer characters before who all wore similar gear.

There's subtle changes yes. But outside of keeping a leather-type jacket and a fedora, I think it would've been more realistic to shake his outfit up from film to film more often. Look at the way Fedora's outfit differs from Indy's - something of a change like that. You still have the same basic look but it is different in noticeable ways - IE, the leather jacket is cut visibly different, he wears a mandarin collared shirt, etc.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Drones33 said:
How does the Last Crusade show us that Indy is cosplaying as an earlier adventurer?
It’s hardly a costume, in the super-Hero context that you suggest. If you do a little research you’ll see that Indy’s ‘look’; the hat, the short, fitted leather jacket, loose fitting trousers and work boots, is a very common one in the U.S. during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. (Check out ‘Indy Gear’, Aero Leathers or the Bill Kelso mfg websites.)
It’s also true to say... and this will become more apparent to you when you have a few more years under your belt... that as we get older, and we develop our own personal tastes, we tend to find a ‘look’ we’re comfortable with and stick to it, or at least variations of the overall style. For example, I’ve worn a black polo neck sweater, brown leather jacket and jeans since about 1986. Not all the time of course, and not the SAME jacket, polo neck and jeans, but the overall ‘look’ is one I’m comfortable with and Ive unintentionally kept it pretty consistent for the last 30 years. It’s kind of become part of who I am.
And so I must disagree with you. I believe a man can have a go-to ensemble that he wears for certain specific activities, whether that be a trek through the South American jungle, or a trip to the pub.

LC shows us he basically copied every essential element of his style from Fedora. What did Fedora wear? Fedora. Leather jacket. Collared shirt. Khaki-esque pants. What does Indy wer?

I'm 27. So I get having a "look." You eventually stop experimenting and settle into something that works. But even within that rubric you wear different stuff. You change things up radically. My drawer for example has 60s style polo shirts, my closet has some button downs, and the bulk of my wear are graphic t-shirts.

The most essential parts of a man's look, that tend not to change once a man passes his mid 30s or so are hair - head and facial. But I think a person's sense of aesthetic style, clothes etc, can vary wildly within a certain rubric.

Let's say I was an adventurer. I would wear, after a few treks, SIMILAR, clothes - but to have what would seem to the untrained eye the same stuff? I mean we're die hard fans - we notice the subtle differences in the jacket or the shape of the fedora - most don't.

Consider his wear in some of the YIJC episodes. It's got the basic look that, from afar looks like Indy - Fedora, dark jacket, sometimes khaki type pants - but enough variation that it doesn't look like a costume.

XCK7f


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Randy_Flagg

Well-known member
Raiders112390 said:
I know his leather jacket and fedora thing is iconic, or at least was in the 80s and 90s, but does anyone else feel that the concept of Indy wearing what is basically a costume take away from the grit and realism of the character?
Indy's supposed to be realistic?
I always saw him very much as a stylized fictional character, intended more as homage to the old serials than as a realistic guy. And as such, having a "costume" works for him.
 

TheFedora

Active member
Randy_Flagg said:
Indy's supposed to be realistic?
I always saw him very much as a stylized fictional character, intended more as homage to the old serials than as a realistic guy. And as such, having a "costume" works for him.

As I believe several people here have said. Indy in Raiders is very much a homage to the old "pulp" serials of the '30s-'40s, and so the way he's dressed isn't far off to how the adventurers in these stories would have.
 

Major West

Member
It's basically 'field gear', field clothes, and it's his own stuff. It's a lot more realistic that a tough adventurer from the 1930s doesn't have a vast wardrobe full of differing adventure style clothing. He might occasionally replace an item when it was worn out (boots etc.) but he'd probably get the same boots again. The boot choice was actually Fords preference for those Alden boots because he wore them in real life. If you want an example of how his field gear look was adapted and a bit different look at the young Indy episode Mystery of the Blues. Ford Indy throws in some winter clothing into his usual field clothes. Which does show that he adapts gear for the climate, but most of the movies were all set in mild or hot locations. Sometimes the action takes place and he's wearing his everyday suits (Last Crusade, Crystal Skull).

In Raiders you actually see him packing the suitcase. There's only room for the jacket, pants, whip, gun, shoulder bag and a few other items. Makes sense the way it is.
 
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