Most of you guys know that I am a huge Star Wars fan.  So much of the non-art and books in my room are accouterments from that franchise. Here’s the kicker— it’s not really my favorite movie [series]. Yes, I may love analyzing its score and I do keep up with the latest releases (other than Andor, nothing has been good), but that’s not the same thing as it being my favorite movie, something I can throw on and watch from start to finish. I don’t even wish I could be Luke, Anakin, or Han. The real answer lies right on my Letterboxd (which you should follow btw): it’s Indiana Jones.

Indy (I’m talking about all of the films) simply has a special place in my heart. I can’t recall the first time I watched (nor which one I started with), but I do know that it was very early on. My Lolo and Lola owned Temple of Doom on VHS and I remember watching it from beginning to end every time I was dropped off at their house. This was a contrast to Star Wars, where I’d skip to the space battles; Indy always kept my full attention.

There was just something so endearing about Indy to me. He wasn’t a straightforward hero like Luke nor was he a scoundrel like Han; Indy also wasn’t perpetually suave like James Bond. Indy was human. He was multifaceted and able to balance different lives (and aesthetics) with ease. Complexity was a big part of him. Indy can be smart and quite stupid. He made ploys as he went along. Sometimes they fail and sometimes they succeed, but he keeps going. 

This realistic depiction of heroic optimism is even echoed in John Williams’s theme for the character.  Yes, the overall sound is a send up to the score of old film serials, but there is character found within the notes themselves. Both the A and B Themes have intervals that go up and come down, expressing Indy’s own character and antics, contrasting the bombastic and ubermensch attitude of Star Wars and Superman. Indy feels real both as a character and as a piece of music, which only increased my fondness for him. 

Of course, it goes without saying that my infatuation with Indiana Jones extends to his style. He’s considered to have one of the most iconic film costumes of all time, not just because the movies were popular but because his outfit is just that good. With his mix of milsurp-esque pieces and a civilian dress fedora, it somehow just makes sense for a grave robber tenured professor of archeology. Even if the outfit and its details aren’t exactly to period spec, it still communicates a lot about his character, being a natural extension of his swagger and personality just as much as Harrison Ford’s acting and John Williams’s two themes. 

Despite acknowledging all of that, Indy was never the reason I got into vintage or menswear in general. That honor belonged to Tintin, Great Gatsby, Dapper Day, and countless Apparel Arts illustrations. However, I won’t deny that Indy wasn’t on my mind. I liked the fact that he had made a look into his own and what’s more, able to wear other garments just as easily. And above all else, he was able to wear a fedora incredibly well.  I wanted that vibe for myself, to be able to capture some of that ease and charisma in my own dress.   In that way, it was Indy’s attitude that perhaps had the biggest effect on me. I just didn’t realize it until recently, when I made it a point to finally discuss Indiana Jones in depth on the pod and blog. 

And so here we are. This blog post is meant to be part honorarium and part reflection on my experience with Indiana Jones and his iconic wardrobe. To be clear, this was written based on my own experience as a an amateur vintage collector and general watcher of these films. I am biased in my own taste and I also don’t know everything! If you’re interested in a true guide or breakdown of the specific pieces of his costume, please check out IndyGear.Net— they’re the true Jones-heads.  I also bet that a few of these superfans will find a lot wrong with this blog post and to them I’m sorry. But I also really wanted to write this and canonize my love of Indy on my blog!

Also note the following:

• Raiders of the Lost Ark = ROTLA
• Temple of Doom = TOD
• The Last Crusade = TLC
• Kingdom of the Crystal Skull = KOTCS
• Dial of Destiny = DOD

Let’s first talk about his the quintessential Indy Look, his Adventurer Attire. And for the purposes of this blog post, I’m only going to talk about the clothes and not the gear (gun, whip, holster, bag).  At first glance he looks vaguely militaristic, being quite similar to what an WWII US Airman would wear thanks to the use of a leather jacket worn with a khaki shirt and brown pants. However, the closer we get, the more we can see that this isn’t the trappings of a true military man, at least one that isn’t currently enlisted.

The details reveal that this is more “inspired”, pieces that are vaguely milspec that are cobbled together to create an outfit that is practical and expressive of an Adventurer.  It creates a more “cobbled” together look that makes him look accessible and utilitarian, which ultimately fits Indy’s persona. This makes him contrast strongly against Belloq, who wears not only an immaculate safari get up in the cold open of ROTLA but also a light summer suit in the other scenes. Indy remains himself in a well worn leather jacket, military-esque shirt and pants, and of course, a beat up fedora.

Indy’s shirt is a safari style shirt in khaki cotton, which features tonal buttons, epaulets, a point collar, two button flap chest pockets (utilitarian, though we never see him use them), and two pleats that go through the entirety of the front of the shirt (including those pockets).  Oddly enough however, Indy’s shirt in 1969 forgoes these chest pleats which may indicate that his Adventurer’s Boutique may have ceased production on that shirt. 

Overall, Indy’s shirt seems to harken to WWII officer shirts, though American ones were made of wool; it would most be closer to British army shirts, though Indy’s obviously lacks the scalloped pocket flaps and adds that front pleat. This makes the shirt feel militaristic but come off more “civilian”, making it more like the workshirts we’ve come to know, just with a few extra details.  It’s also important to note that most safari shirts of the 1930s either had a camp collar and were more designed to be overshirts (worn untucked like a jacket). In the meta, it simply looks like a shirt from the safari revival in the 70s. In the film however, it looks good and certainly shows that he is dressed for the desert.

The trousers Indy wears also seem to be modeled after WWII officers’ trousers. Not only are they made of wool twill, have scalloped flap back pockets, and a military hem, but the brown color has a slightly pinkish hue, which was a trait of actual officer trousers of the time (however, Indy’s pair aren’t as pink as true vintage ones).  The belt furthers this officer connection, as it is an officer cotton web belt in shades of brown (varies by movie) and a brass slide buckle; a sturdy and easily removable way to fasten your pants.  However, I should note that most WWII trousers were flat front and Indy’s are pleated.  Indy also doesn’t seem to wear his pants at his natural waist (sigh).  As for the boots, you could honestly mistake them for WWII combat boots but as all r/goodyearwelt aficionados know, Indy wears the Alden 405 boot, turning Indy’s military look into something a bit more military inspired and civilian. 

This civilian-meets-military aspect of Indy’s vibe is emphasized by his leather jacket, which after the fedora (which I’ll get into in a moment), is the most seminal part of Indy’s look. His leather jacket is similar to an A-2 thanks to the zip closure, point collar, hidden zipper, and the patch hip pockets with flaps. However the lack of epaulets, collar buttons, and lack of ribbing on the hems separate it from being true milsurp. This isn’t anything new, as plenty of civilian leather jackets in the 1930s and 1940s are quite similar to what Indy wears (my 40s A-2 style jacket lacks collar buttons), though in the mete-sense Indy’s jacket looks most like an 80s designer variant of an A-2. The jacket is also a bit more oversized and longer than the ones from the Golden Era, especially in the movies post ROTLA.  It’s also important to note that he seldom wears it zipped up. 

So you see, despite his overall attire being quite militaristic (especially due to the color palette), Indy is really just dressed like a regular guy, at least for the period setting of the film.  Even though this is considered an iconic look in the meta sense, Indy’s attire is reminiscent to how men dressed casually in the 1930s/1940s. It goes without saying that so much of American menswear is directly inspired by military garments, especially in the realms of workwear and casualwear, which is where Indy’s look lies. Though to be clear, it’s more of an homage than an actual period accurate look, a quality that applies to the Adventure Attire as well as in the tailoring worn by both Indy and other characters in the franchise. 

Anyway, you can find plenty of photos of men in the Golden Era wearing clothes quite similar to Indy:  whether its other film characters or regular guys WPA photos, you can see men out and about wearing leather jackets, work shirts with pockets, twill trousers, and boots.  Granted it may not be in pseudo-military colors like Indy does, but people have always worn the basic formula of Indy’s look. It’s just a great way to dress casually in the vein of the 1930s-1950s! 

However, even though this can be considered “regular clothes”, the look is certainly elevated to the status of a military uniform or superhero costume for Indy. It is what he wears and changes into when he’s out on an adventure. Indiana Jones wears the same exact thing (and it’s implied to be the exact same garments) for over 30 years of adventures!  And to think Indy ripped off the vibe from a rather well dressed grave robber he met in 1912, who honestly looked just a tad more period accurate than Indy. 

And on that note from Garth, its time to talk about what is probably the most iconic piece from Jones’s wardrobe that I believe only reinforces his status as a regular human:  the Fedora. 

Hats are practical things to bring on an adventure. But fedoras aren’t exactly the traditional first choice. Generally speaking (and disregarding cowboy/workwear versions), fedoras are a “formal” item, or at least considered daywear or business wear (it’s not formal in terms of evening wear or black tie). Yes, men have worn them with both suits and jeans, but they aren’t exactly what an archaeologist in the field would wear. If old period photos are anything to go on, such a person would be found in a camp hat (like a mountie hat), bush hat, or a pith helmet.  In that way, Indy’s beloved fedora grounds him, adding to the absurdity that is his life. And that’s the appeal! 

Its use against pseudo-military garments certainly creates an interesting (and ultimately iconic) juxtaposition, serving to emphasize more of that 1940s “everyman” vibe while being a practical garment for use in the field. With these two facets, it’s impossible to separate the fedora from Indy’s look, as it’s an imperative component of the “Indiana Jones uniform”.  This isn’t simply expressed in how it’s featured and framed in camera as a “hero character” in its own right but in how Indy himself treats it in universe. Even when his leather jacket is nowhere to be seen and his shirt is shredded to hell, Indy will always wear his brown fedora. Hell, he even wears it when he’s not in his adventuring look (at school, traveling to Venice, and getting married).  I just love it, both as a fashion accessory and as an “abstract” concept. 

The appeal of the fedora for me is two-fold. Firstly, the hat just adds so much character to Indy’s look. Not only is it practical, but it’s done in a way that isn’t too utilitarian. The fedora’s inclusion against the milsurp vibes of his leather jacket, shirt, and pants makes Indy look more “civilian”, showing that he is a regular guy and not a special agent. This is helped by the fact that the combination of a fedora and leather jacket was incredibly commonplace in the 1930s-1950s, as the fedora was simply the hat you wore with everything. It’s not unlike a ball cap or bucket hat for Indy, which only contributes to how natural it looks on him. That easy-going attitude is certainly carried in how much he puts his fedora through; he loves it, but he isn’t afraid to wear it. In that way, the fedora is truly an extension of his character that builds up the idea of Jones while grounding him, showing that he’s just a regular guy. He wears the hat, it doesn’t wear him.

The other aspect is simply due to the physical drama and intrigue it provides him. It would be one thing for a globe-trotting archaeologist to wear a khaki shirt and leather jacket with his hair blowing in the wind. The fedora adds something. A fedora is quite literally composed of various geometries, each one adding to the silhouette of Indy as a person and as a cinematography subject. In the case of the latter, the effect of the hat is certainly played with through various camera angles and lighting effects.  And if we get even more meta, most action heroes in the late 70s and 80s had already eschewed overly dramatic looks, let alone hats. Dirty Harry and Han Solo didn’t wear hats, but Indiana Jones did. That’s what made him special. 

What’s funny however, is that Indy isn’t even all that special for wearing a fedora. After all, this is the 1930s-1950s, where people wore fedoras all the time. You can see that so plainly on the other characters as pals, villains, and extras alike wear fedoras themselves. But even though wearing a fedora isn’t exactly noteworthy, there is something inherent to the hat itself, even if it is just a beat up brown fedora. 

The hat itself is a humble brown (or “sable”, if we go from the manufacturer’s listing) felt fedora which features a center bash, a deep pinch (well depending on the movie), a tonal, dark brown ribbon, and a snapped down front brim. Again, its important to note that this is meant to be a normal fedora. It’s not meant to be casual or too sporty; the only “casual” aspect is the fact that it is brown, which is less formal than grey or black fedoras. In terms of a general silhouette, Indy’s hat looks like a fedora from the late 30s or early 40s, with its medium brim width and slightly taller crown (though we all know it technically was made in the 80s). I say “generally” because it does not look like it’s the same one he received from Garth in 1917 as well and my descriptor only really applies to post-ROTLA fedoras.

In particular, the hat in ROTLA seems to defy hat conventions, just based on the absolutely wonky shape it has. It’s incredibly tall with high ridges, has a deep center pinch (look how tight it is) as well as a very wide brim that snaps down and swoops around him (almost looking like a tall crown cowboy hat). In some scenes, you can tell the hat also has a “turn”, where the crown and brim are slightly offset, making for a “crooked” appearance in close ups. That’s most apparent in the Cairo scenes which in my opinion is the worst looking hat in the entire series. These inherent elements added with the wear and tear it gets during the events of the film only adds to the character of Indy’s hat. A lot of fans love it for this unconventional shape and often go the route of bespoke in order to achieve the details of the ROTLA hat.  Adventurebilt Hats was founded this way and ascended into canon when they were contracted to make the prop hats for KOTCS!

That isn’t to say that the hats in the other films aren’t a little bit odd as well. There are various brim and crown shapes, snap angles, as well as ribbon damage throughout the films that make for a hat that isn’t necessarily something I’d own and wear myself. This also evidence that different prop hats were used not only from movie to movie but for different scenes as well. There’s also the fact that Herbert Johnson, the manufacturer who worked on the original trilogy and DOD was rumored to have lost the  hat block used in ROTLA, which made the rest of the hats different. However, you could also argue that the filmmakers (and Harrison Ford) simply got the Poet (the Herbert Johnson model for Indy) and shaped it based on how they were feeling for each movie. After all, in universe, Indy’s fedora gets beaten to hell, presumably necessitating a deep clean and re-blocking after each adventure he undertakes.   

But that being said, the Sable fedora isn’t Indy’s only fedora. No, he also owns a grey fedora (which seems to be the same base model as the ROTLA one just not fucked up), which he wears when he’s not adventuring around and stopping Nazis from gaining occult power. This Clipper Fedora is proof that Indy and his style  is much more than just “Adventurer core”. 

What makes Indy even more endearing to me and elevates him to a fashion icon is the fact that he isn’t only found in his adventurer gear. He is not simply a cartoon character who wears the same thing all the time. Indiana Jones contains multitudes. He’s knowledgeable in antiquities and can hold his own in a fist fight. He can have a fancy dinner and swing a whip. And Indy can wear a beat-up leather jacket and boots…and a tweed suit and bow tie. 

This contrast played as short a gag after ROTLA’s cold open, when we suddenly cut to Indy teaching a room full of students in a 3PC tweed suit— an ivy-trad look that contrasts quite sharply from what we just saw him in during the Peru sequence. We learn that he’s a professor and he looks like one, from the brown tweed to the tortoiseshell glasses.  His flecked suit has patch pockets and even a pleated back, matching the “sporty” that were popular as non-business wear in the 1930s. The kicker is that he looks extremely comfortable; Indy isn’t itching to clock out and put on his leather jacket and boots. But the “professor looks” isn’t the extent of his non-adventuring attire.

Indy gets to wear a rather normal 1930s outfit in ROTLA: a navy blue DB suit (which looks surprisingly period) with a white shirt and red medallion tie (which is oddly in a Windsor knot, which wasn’t worn until the mid to late 40s). I have to emphasize the normal aspect here: this isn’t adventurer gear nor is it ivy-trad, he’s just a regular guy. A regular guy with a strong sense of POV for each specific Occasion! 

Looking over this, these costuming choices make Indiana into a man who has a distinct look for each activity in his life. We’ve already discussed his adventurer look, but when he’s a professor, he dresses ivy-trad with 3PC suits, and tortoiseshell glasses. This is played up in TLC and KOTCS, where he adds a foulard bow tie to the mix, and [unfortunately] downplayed in Dial where he wears a simple sack suit and plain tie.  Of course I also can’t forget his cobbled-together professor look for the dinner scene in TOD where Indy wears a tweed jacket and bowtie with his adventure base: the safari shirt and officer pinks. 

When he’s traveling or getting married (aka not in school or directly in an adventure), he wears nice clothes. A navy DB in ROTLA to fly to Cairo as well as to debrief with government officials. A grey or taupe SB suit when he heads to Venice in TLC. In KOTCS, we get to see Indy in a 50’s flecked and patch-pocketed odd jacket and polka dot tie (complete with the grey fedora again) when he boards a train. He actually wears fleck again when he gets married later in the film (in the form of a full cream suit) as well as during a flashback in DOD, where he wears a beige flecked cream odd jacket with chambray shirt and dark brown tie. For these looks, he’s even seen with his trusty brown fedora. 

Of course, I can’t forget the white peak lapel dinner jacket worn at the cold open of TOD. The whole sequence is a bit of a send up of Old Hollywood, from the dance number (which doesn’t make sense considering the architectural layout of the room), the tommy gun toting gangster, and classic car chase to of course, Indy’s black tie attire. He looks exceedingly dashing in the look, which is honestly rather normal 30s evening wear but of course played up in the meta considering similar looks in Casablanca or Goldfinger. I guess it makes sense that Indy would later work in the OSS! 

What all of this also tells me is that Indy seems to keep up with the fashions of his time. Most people did to an extent (especially prior to the emergence of vintage as a subculture), but you’d expect someone who has kept the same fedora, let alone overall adventuring look for 30 years to approach his regular attire in the same way.  Nope— Indy wears a belt back in the 30s, atomic fleck in the mid 50s, and a swelled-edge sack suit in the late 60s, all items that were quite in vogue during each of those periods. 

I find it just amazing that such an iconic character with a trademarked look is able to wear other garments with aplomb! It’s almost as if Indy knows that he can pull off a bow tie and tweed suit. It never feels frumpy as everything fits him quite well; nothing is sagging below his natural waist, which can’t be said for his pinks trousers. This also only seems to play up the effect that his adventuring attire has, turning it into a bit of a superhero’s uniform. When he changes into the brown fedora, A-2, and Alden 405s, you know that Indy is ready to go. 

Conclusion

Overall, my love of Indiana Jones is rooted in the same reason why I love John Williams’s iconic theme for the character: expression. So much information about Indy’s personality and history is communicated through his clothes, whether it’s his utilitarian adventuring persona with his beat up fedora and leather jacket or his adherence to Occasion (or prowess in compartmentalization) with his collection of ivy-trad tailoring and grey fedora. None of it feels pretentious— Harrison Ford makes Indy look quite natural in all of it. This aspect of being at ease across disparate aesthetics is why I am drawn to Indiana Jones. It’s certainly something to strive for in your own style. 

It’s not necessarily about copying the specific looks either. As much as the Adventurer Attire is iconic, its something I don’t find myself wearing (outside of this blog post that is). No, for me, it’s about finding the Indiana Jones attitude. Even if I wear a brown fedora and a leather jacket, I try to give it my own POV spin to make it me and not just a cosplay. That could be through the use of a camp collar shirt or even a sweater vest and tie; I’d even trade the brown trousers for flannels or even jeans. I’d also wear derbies, Danners, or cowboy boots than Alden 405s. 

Hell, my own brown fedora isn’t meant to be a replication of Indy’s Poet. It was just meant to be based on what I envisioned as my brown hat. As a result, my brown Wellema has a tapered “C”-crown and is a tad shorter in height and width. In that way, it’s more directly inspired by true vintage hats in the late 30s and early 40s. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that the inspiration is still present.  Not only does it have a sable-esque color, but the dark brown ribbon was an intentional choice! I love this damn thing. It’s certainly not as fucked up as Indy’s, but I’m trying to get there— even when most of my adventures consist of trips to the boba shop (sometimes theres rain in the California winter). So even if I wear my brown fedora with non-Indy items, its my hope that I still exude a similar attitude of ease. 

I think it goes without saying that Indiana Jones contributed very early on to my own love of fedoras as well as how I’ve strived to make it a part of what it means to “dress like Ethan”. While Indy isn’t the only source of fedora inspo in my archive, it is his attitude and ease in not just wearing a fedora is something to glean when I wear it myself. It’s all about finding the balance between wearing it intentionally and simply being so at ease with it that you forget that it’s on your noggin. It’s never the hat for the hats sake, but to have something that “just makes sense” with your outfit. And perhaps this is something to apply not just to our favorite hats that some might find bold or dandy in the modern day, but to every garment that is present in our closets.

Honestly, this aspect of having a strong attachment to a particular garment is a major reason why I admire Indy. In a world where we are free to move from aesthetic to aesthetic, it is nice that Indy is consistent and sticks to what he likes. This is especially shown in how he treats his fedora. It’s not just an accessory to a superhero costume, it is a part of him. He loves his fedora. The hat functions as a security blanket in the best way possible, adding even more humanity to a guy who doesn’t even have a plan half the time.   It even grows and ages like Indy himself— Cultural Patina indeed! 

This is even quite literally invoked in the meta, since his hat does change from movie to movie. And despite the protests of Indy super-fans, Jones largely retains the same vibe in each one, at least to me. In that way, I don’t believe that there is a truly definitive Indiana Jones fedora.  Instead, there is only taste, attitude, and love. That is what makes something “right” for us. And when we find such a garment, we should wear the hell out of it just like Indy. It could be a suit, a tie, or even a leather jacket and fedora. 

-end of blog post-

All that said, I also encourage you to listen to the podcast episode above, because I think it’s such a fun time! You can literally hear the excitement in our voices as we finally get to talk about one of our favorite movie characters of all time. We evaluate the attire and get into the details as best we can, bringing it back to the themes of expression and vintage menswear, which is our bread and butter. 

Again, if the nitty gritty you want, I heavily recommend you hop on over to IndyGear which goes into the exact details and differences from each item. My blog post was meant to be more about vibes and my experiences as a vintage collector rather than an Indy cosplayer.

Now enjoy some photos and our own analysis of Indiana Jones’s attire! 

Postscript: Now that I think about it, there is also a bunch of expression and character based dressing that can be found in the other characters in the Indiana Jones franchise. I may have to make a part two for this blog and pod in order to properly cover it! 

Podcast Outline

• 4:19 – Intro
• 8:23 – Our Experience with Indiana Jones
• 24:56 – Indiana Jones as a Costume
• 51:32 – Indy’s Hat
• 1:01:07 – Accuracy
• 1:10:55 – Suits & Alternate Outfits
• 1:25:19 – The Score of Indiana Jones
• 1:32:26 – Wrap-up

Don’t forget to support us on Patreon to get some extra content and access to our exclusive Discord. Oh and don’t forget, we do a podcast every two weeks!

Buh-bye!

Ethan M. Wong (follow me on IG)| StyleandDirection

The Podcast is produced by MJ.

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