Any Do's & Don'ts in military clothing?

[Fifty150]

Military clothing, for a lot of us, has never been a fashion item.

I see fashion designers using military elements like epaulettes. Just recently, in a boutique, my girlfriend pointed out a rack of jackets that looked exactly like M-65 field jackets. And of course, the cargo pant is nothing more than a civilian glorified set of BDU's.

As a kid, some guys got surplus gear because the surplus shop was the only place their folks could afford to shop at. Other guys had brothers, cousins, dads, uncles, et cetera, who might have given you something after they got a new item issued. Then as I got older, guys always brought back items from the service. Typically, if I guy went into boot camp as a skinny kid, he might go up a size after they fed him 3,500 calories a day. Then those size large jackets and such would be given to a buddy, since he now needed an XL.

Over the years, as my weight went up and down. I've given away a ton of good quality uniforms that I couldn't fit anymore. Field coats, flight jackets, and even Gore-Tex ECWCS. A lot of that stuff was in mint condition.

I can see trying to find bargains from a surplus shop. But I can't see paying top dollar from a couture boutique for something with a military "look".

 

[Kristofer]

I can see trying to find bargains from a surplus shop. But I can't see paying top dollar from a couture boutique for something with a military "look".

I couldn't agree more with you!

 

[scottyrocks]

Now, there I really do have to draw a line. No grown man has any business wearing short trousers, for any reason.

Just for the record, I disagree.

 

[ButteMT61]

Just for the record, I disagree.

If he's talking about guys wearing "capri" pants, I'm on his side. Just not a manly look...

 

[GoodTimesGone]

I'm guessing in Britain short trousers are associated with young boys? I heard one of the Beatles comment on a t.v. program "When I was a lad in short pants". Here in the midwestern part of the states the majority of guys are wearing cargo shorts in the summer. Not me, however. I don't get to the pool very much anymore and my legs are wayyy too white. I personally don't prefer the look of shorts anyway. I got a kick out of that Angus Young comment.
For myself I have a couple basic rules about wearing military clothing. 1.I love khaki, but I don't wear khaki shirts and chinos at the same time. I usually wear jeans with my cotton air corps shirt. With khaki chinos it's a nice button shirt when I'm going to work and on a day off in the summer I sometimes wear a t-shirt. 2.I don't wear my patched a-2s or g-1s with chinos or it looks too much like I'm in uniform. If I'm going to work, church or a semi-formal occasion I wear plain a-2s. The patched jackets I wear with jeans on a day off.

 

[Spitfire]

I have a Irvin jacket, a pair of RAF 1936 pattern flying boots, a RAF Battledress jacket (Came with pilot wings, DFC ribbon and squadron Leader stripes)
- and even a RAF officers cap.
I also have a RAF leather flying helmet with goggles.
And although I love all of it, I NEVER EVER wear it all together. Would make me look like a moron.
And I never, ever wear the officers cap or the helmet/goggles - except on photos!

 

[nicholasb]

Interesting thread. I think there is a world of difference between full military uniform and say an element of clothing like a jacket.

Guys do wear shorts here in the UK too. Not me, I consider them okay for the beach but from my personal choice, I agree with Edward.

 

[Davy Crockett]

I would never wear an Irvin Jacket with Shorts!

 

[Seawolf]

Now, there I really do have to draw a line. No grown man has any business wearing short trousers, for any reason.

Apparently you've never lived in Washington, DC! You would be likely to find a reason everyday

 

[Spitfire]

I would never wear an Irvin Jacket with Shorts!

But flying boots are ok.

 

[Davy Crockett]

And they look dammed good! I bet the guy in the middle has cold feet though!

 

[Fifty150]

I would never wear an Irvin Jacket with Shorts!

Not unless you're jumping a shark like Fonzie. Ayyyeee!!!!

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Mmm, no.

The Carabinieri still use the old 1934 jacket that inspired the SS-uniform (although the italian jacket has better decorations),

the Air Force's tradition uniform, very similar to the RAF's was changed in the late 80s, it lost the belt, side pockets and became much darker, almost black.

The italian army still use the repubblican uniform but I noticed they are changing the colour from khaki to a dark shade of pre WWII traditional "grey-green".

I didn't know that the Carabinieri uniforms inspired thos of the SS.. well, I guess we are talking about the '30s uniforms, just after the "Baistrocchi reform" in military clothing (they were quite similar to modern ones, though)

anyway, there was a proposal some year ago to change the khaki uniforms of the Army with a pre-WWII gray-green colour;
the proposal was rebutted by the President of the Republic himself (he's the one having the last word in these things), technically because "lack of funding", but, for what they say, because the proposed uniforms were actually very ugly
(I've seen the photos and I agree!)

the official uniform of the Army is still the same: the khaki is a legacy of the co-belligerant forces of WWII receiving british and american supplies, and the new army of the democratic Italy kept this anglo-american look for a long time (Ike jackets and all);
but khaki was used in the colonies and occasionally in summer since the turning of the XX century in Italy, so it's even more "traditional" than gray-green, in a way...

I didn't notice a difference in shade, but maybe some officer is personally opting for a greener shade, who knows.

Ciao!!

 

[Edward]

I can see trying to find bargains from a surplus shop. But I can't see paying top dollar from a couture boutique for something with a military "look".

I can see it both ways.... I mean, isn't the latter what many of us here do, ultimately, in relation to flight jackets and other vintage era repros? Back in my teens I did furnish a very large proportion of my wardrobe from the local army surplus places. I do remember when I was an undergraduate in the mid nineties and "cargo trousers" became a fashion item. We were actively furious - how dare those fashion people steal our clothes! Heh. We did take a smug sort of pride in only ever wearing military spec items. Thing was, as time went on and we wanted to wear something other than green, khaki or overdyed black, we did start to see the value in a civilian item which took style queues from the military product we liked. Seems to me there's a place for both.

Just for the record, I disagree.

Well, that's the lovely thing about opinions; we an all have one, and they don't have to be the same.

I'm guessing in Britain short trousers are associated with young boys? I heard one of the Beatles comment on a t.v. program "When I was a lad in short pants". Here in the midwestern part of the states the majority of guys are wearing cargo shorts in the summer. Not me, however. I don't get to the pool very much anymore and my legs are wayyy too white. I personally don't prefer the look of shorts anyway.

That's pretty much it. At least, in earlier generations (I know my dad has talked about this) short trousers were for little boys, in many cases year-round. At sixteen, you got long trousers and became a man. I'm sure part of my own perception of them as children's wear does come down to the fact that I cannot recall my dad wearing shorts at any point during my lifetime. I lost interest in them myself after sixteen. Between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one I think I wore them about half a dozen times, each in extreme Summer heat, in the days before I became fully aware of either the health risks of exposing one's skin to the sun or, more importantly, a stylish alternative with full legs was available. Shorts are, of course, a common sight on adult males in the Summer these days, though it seems to me still much less the norm than in the USA. They certainly appear, to me, to be still something of a young man's thing this side of the Atlantic. [huh]

 

[Edward]

I would never wear an Irvin Jacket with Shorts!

Funnily enough, I've seen photos of it being done somewhere in the desert in Africa - by a guy otherwise dressed much the same as the photo above. I presume however hot it was on the ground, it still got plenty cold at the height at which they flew. I'd assume they also wore the trousers gonig up, though, or the Irvin would offer little practical advantage competing with the cold of bare legs!

Angus Young? sorry had to go there

Ha.... He's the very paradigm example that proves the rule!

Apparently you've never lived in Washington, DC! You would be likely to find a reason everyday

I actually spent a week in Washington in June just past. I didn't feel any need for short trousers myself, though it did strike me that never anywhere else in the world have I seen quite so many adult men in short trousers at one time. I'm talking men of all ages here, not just twenty-somethings still living their teenage years. These men did appear to be almost exclusively American, fwiw, so perhaps it is a cultural thing. [huh]

 

[tonypaj]

Funnily enough, I've seen photos of it being done somewhere in the desert in Africa - by a guy otherwise dressed much the same as the photo above. I presume however hot it was on the ground, it still got plenty cold at the height at which they flew. I'd assume they also wore the trousers gonig up, though, or the Irvin would offer little practical advantage competing with the cold of bare legs!



Ha.... He's the very paradigm example that proves the rule!



I actually spent a week in Washington in June just past. I didn't feel any need for short trousers myself, though it did strike me that never anywhere else in the world have I seen quite so many adult men in short trousers at one time. I'm talking men of all ages here, not just twenty-somethings still living their teenage years. These men did appear to be almost exclusively American, fwiw, so perhaps it is a cultural thing. [huh]

I lived in DC three years, it was rather hot and humid during summers, it is a bloody swamp to begin with, and I never wore short trousers, not even for a round of golf. I agree with you, it is for kids...

Regarding military clothing, having done my military service for my country, I do not wear aything with badges or anything that would identify one as part of a particular unit. Generic things I do not mind, like if you get an old G-1 with USN stamped, that is fine with me. Without any markings, it's just clothes for me.

 

[green papaya]

if your a young college kid a M65 looks stylish

but for older people I think it looks kind of odd wearing military clothing for style, it makes you look like an old veteran wearing your old uniform

like the old guy wearing a army field jacket pan handling on the side of the road

 

[Grayland]

if your a young college kid a M65 looks stylish

but for older people I think it looks kind of odd wearing military clothing for style, it makes you look like an old veteran wearing your old uniform

like the old guy wearing a army field jacket pan handling on the side of the road

I agree. I served in the Army from 82-85 and I would feel strange wearing a field jacket. My favorite piece of my old Army gear? My poncho liner which makes a fantastic blanket.

 

[Jack Burton]

I wore an M-65 as a teen that was given to me by a Staff Sgt. who was a friend of the family. I thought it was functional and looked cool. Aside from engaging in some outdoor activities, I can't see why a grown man would wear one in public. Then again, I'd never wear sweatpants in public either.

IMO, the A-2 jacket is one of the few pieces of military garb you can actually wear to an office.

 

[Edward]

if your a young college kid a M65 looks stylish

but for older people I think it looks kind of odd wearing military clothing for style, it makes you look like an old veteran wearing your old uniform

like the old guy wearing a army field jacket pan handling on the side of the road

Funny how fashion and culture changes. I remember when I started wearing clothes out of army surplus shops, I was about fourteen or so, this would have been .... 1989. Deeply unfashionable to the mainstream at the time (which was, naturally to me, part of the appeal). I remember my dad explaining to me that his generation found it confusing we'd choose to dress in that sort of stuff as to his generation it was something "poor people who couls afford anything else" would buy. Served me well over the years, though - I've had some fantastic stuff that was way ahead, in quality terms, of high street items costing several times as much. One of the very best was a c1960s West German Naval peacoat that sold for twenty quid. Still have one of those somewhere, though it might be too small by now.... I remember back in the 80s racks and racks of what I now believe to have been M65s. Never owned one myself, but they were probably genuine Vietnam era issue, many the original green, some overdyed black (always a popular option at the time, especially for those of us whose parents were rather cautious about us looking too (para)military).

I agree. I served in the Army from 82-85 and I would feel strange wearing a field jacket. My favorite piece of my old Army gear? My poncho liner which makes a fantastic blanket.

Everyone I've ever known who was military has been the same. I can understand that: nobody who works in a uniform in any other occupation would be that keen, I imagine, to wear it in day to day life. That's to say nothing of those who in uniform had some less than pleasant experiences of which they would rather not be reminded.