Star Trek civilian clothes

FaxModem1 · Post by **FaxModem1** » 2008-05-03 02:00pm

I was watching the DS9 episode "Blaze of Glory", and realized I really like Eddington's jacket. I started to wonder about the costume department at ST. Besides that one little gem, most of the civilian clothes, to me at least, have looked hideous.

Is this because the clothes are supposed to be 'future-y' or what? What is the reason that there clothes look so bad? (for proof, look at Neelix)

Does anyone know why the costumes look so bad, or is it because they were trying to make fashions that would be oh so different 400 years from now, such as how our clothes are so different from the Renaissance.

Examples:
Smiley's civvies. The Maquis clothes that were shown on Caretaker, Jake Sisko's jumpsuits or whatever the hell they were.

PS, if anyone does know where I can get something like Eddington's jacket. PM me.

Swindle1984 · Post by **Swindle1984** » 2008-05-03 02:12pm

A lot of the civilians I saw in TNG, at least onboard the Enterprise, seemed to wear pajamas similar to Starfleet uniforms, actually.

The Maquis' clothing always seemed different from what we saw on earth, which wouldn't be worth commenting on if Star Trek didn't have every single member of every species share the exact same taste (or lack thereof) in fashion. Dash Rendar especially stood out.

Anguirus · Post by **Anguirus** » 2008-05-03 03:45pm

They were probably trying to make the uniforms look good in comparison.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2008-05-03 04:39pm

Swindle1984 wrote:A lot of the civilians I saw in TNG, at least onboard the Enterprise, seemed to wear pajamas similar to Starfleet uniforms, actually.

'nuff said.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-05-03 05:23pm

Is this because the clothes are supposed to be 'future-y' or what? What is the reason that there clothes look so bad? (for proof, look at Neelix)

I think it's mostly the future-y look they were trying to do on a budget, combined with the unfortunate element that TNG embraced the worst of 80's fashion which was then copied by later series.

DS9's civvie clothes were generally not that bad; it's just hard to dress people in casual outifts that aren't immediately recognisable as 1998's fall season.

Swindle1984 · Post by **Swindle1984** » 2008-05-04 02:04pm

Darth Servo wrote:
Swindle1984 wrote:A lot of the civilians I saw in TNG, at least onboard the Enterprise, seemed to wear pajamas similar to Starfleet uniforms, actually.

'nuff said.

I'll go with the one that doesn't show off Brent Spiner's nipples.

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2008-05-04 02:47pm

what about the Kirk Era civi clothes? they didn't look too bad

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-05-04 03:04pm

Isolder74 wrote:what about the Kirk Era civi clothes? they didn't look too bad

Yeah. Sure.

Themightytom · Post by **Themightytom** » 2008-05-06 04:13pm

Bounty wrote:
Yeah. Sure.

Eh thats because Chekov's A Tool.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2008-05-06 08:39pm

Well at the very least it looks something like real clothing and not damn jogging suits or exercise clothes.

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2008-05-06 09:14pm

You know, there was the episode where Troi, Data and O'Brien were possessed by alien entities called "Power Play". I remember doing a double take when one of the extras, who got out of the way of a main character running through a corridor, wore what seemed to be a shirt tucked into a pants with regular belt. I saw it on its first run on TV and still remember it to this day.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2008-05-11 06:47pm

Well, I couldn't find any shots matching the one Old-P mentions but Keiko seems reasonably dressed in Power Play:

Image

Whats the verdict on some of the extras from that episode.

Keiko and unnamed female

Guy on the left?

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2008-05-11 08:31pm

There's a line from the Runaway Bride Dr Who Christmas Special that sums up one of the key problems I have with most trek clothing.

"Pockets!!!"

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2008-05-11 09:48pm

I wonder if the severe blandness of all StarTrek clothing is the result of pressure to conform. Their clothing looks the same way their rooms do. Absurdly clean, bland, muted colors, and all decoration is extremely spartan. It looks like the Happy Socialism Stick brained them.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2008-05-11 10:21pm

Gil Hamilton wrote:I wonder if the severe blandness of all StarTrek clothing is the result of pressure to conform. Their clothing looks the same way their rooms do. Absurdly clean, bland, muted colors, and all decoration is extremely spartan. It looks like the Happy Socialism Stick brained them.

Compared to the wide variety of colours and styles in TOS civilian dress, TNG presents us with a very dull and conformist universe where civilian dress is concerned. Says a lot about the culture.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-05-12 12:45am

Keevan_Colton wrote:There's a line from the Runaway Bride Dr Who Christmas Special that sums up one of the key problems I have with most trek clothing.

"Pockets!!!"

The need for pockets was lost. Note that they not even seem to possess coin purses suspended from the waist. Presumably "cutpurses" are out of any means of employ.

What else do they carry? Don't really need money, so no wallets. Lint seems non-existent, so again, no need for pockets.

No one seems to have a personal communication device outside of Starfleet. No one has any private vehicles, so it's not like you need to carry keys. Doors are mostly locked electronically, so again, no house keys.

If you have nothing to carry, then there is no point in having a pocket, aside from the few people who seem to actually engage in some sort of pocket-necessitating business.

Enola Straight · Post by **Enola Straight** » 2008-05-12 11:15am

In the ep. where the Romulans kidnap and brainwash Geordi, his uniform had a pocket, from which he pulls out a really small phaser.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2008-05-12 01:14pm

FSTargetDrone wrote:
Keevan_Colton wrote:There's a line from the Runaway Bride Dr Who Christmas Special that sums up one of the key problems I have with most trek clothing.

"Pockets!!!"
The need for pockets was lost. Note that they not even seem to possess coin purses suspended from the waist. Presumably "cutpurses" are out of any means of employ.

What else do they carry? Don't really need money, so no wallets. Lint seems non-existent, so again, no need for pockets.

No one seems to have a personal communication device outside of Starfleet. No one has any private vehicles, so it's not like you need to carry keys. Doors are mostly locked electronically, so again, no house keys.

If you have nothing to carry, then there is no point in having a pocket, aside from the few people who seem to actually engage in some sort of pocket-necessitating business.

Reminds me of a line from Blish's Spock Must Die in which Scotty is cursing the designer who thought it'd be a cute idea to design a uniform "with nae pockets".

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2008-05-12 02:54pm

FSTargetDrone wrote:If you have nothing to carry, then there is no point in having a pocket, aside from the few people who seem to actually engage in some sort of pocket-necessitating business.

Yeah, no need to collect samples on all those scientific away missions. One should always assume they have a cart right next to them, their tricorder is always functioning properly or they can beam the sample up to the ship immediately.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-05-12 11:50pm

I'd forgotten about the phaser pocket mentioned above by Enola Straight.

Are normal hand phasers ever seen holstered?

Darth Servo wrote:Yeah, no need to collect samples on all those scientific away missions. One should always assume they have a cart right next to them, their tricorder is always functioning properly or they can beam the sample up to the ship immediately.

Anyway, since you mentioned tricorders, they do seem to have "holsters" for the tricorders, don't they?

Well, not always, but I'm sure I've seen them before. However, I am not sure that qualifies as a pocket-like enclosure, as it is rather specialized, meant to hold only a tricorder and nothing else. It's pocket-related, at any rate.

I do recall a rucksack- or backpack-type container used by Picard and Vash in "Captain's Holiday." Also, it would technically be pocket-related, I suppose, but since it's not actually part of the clothing, it may not qualify.

Clearly, further study regarding Starfleet and its lack of pockets fleet-wide is in order.

Addendum:

I just noticed that Memory Alpha's entry for the "Captain's Holiday" episode describes Picard as wearing clothes with pockets:

Picard finds two Vorgons in his room when he returns. They claim to be a security team from the 27th century looking for the Tox Uthat, an artifact sought after by criminals in their time. Picard says he knows about the legend, and the Vorgons say that history in the future indicates that Picard will find the Tox Uthat while he is on the planet. Picard says that he hasn't found the artifact yet, and the Vorgons want to know what will happen if he does. Picard simply says that he knows it belongs in the future, and the Vorgons transport out of his room. Just as the Vorgons leave, Picard reaches into his pocket and finds the disk.

However, he is not wearing Starfleet-issue clothing. Thus, we have more searching to do. We are left with the mini phaser pocket at present.

Sonnenburg · Post by **Sonnenburg** » 2008-05-13 08:09am

Bounty wrote:
Isolder74 wrote:what about the Kirk Era civi clothes? they didn't look too bad
Yeah. Sure.

Looks like a pilgrim version of Mr. Rogers.

FSTargetDrone wrote:The need for pockets was lost.

No one wants to take a granola bar with them in case they're hungry? No one has a handkerchief? No one has a private recorder for their thoughts or observations while they're out and about? No one has a comb?

Ryushikaze · Post by **Ryushikaze** » 2008-05-13 09:47am

Sonnenburg wrote:
Bounty wrote:
Isolder74 wrote:what about the Kirk Era civi clothes? they didn't look too bad
Yeah. Sure.

Looks like a pilgrim version of Mr. Rogers.

Only in the collar. The pointless brown patches on the sleeve and belly scream 'Look at me, I'm SPACEY!', so Space Pilgrim Mr. Rogers.

Of course, now I've got a little scenario playing in my head of Chekov singing it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and basically doing the Mr. Rogers format from his station on the bridge.

And yes, Engineering is the land of make believe, and Scotty is its king.

Swindle1984 · Post by **Swindle1984** » 2008-05-13 10:36am

The only time I can recall pockets on TNG uniforms is whenever a Type I phaser needs to be toted around concealed; otherwise, it's the holsters for the Type II and the tricorder.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-05-13 10:39am

Darth Servo wrote:Well, I couldn't find any shots matching the one Old-P mentions but Keiko seems reasonably dressed in Power Play:

Image

Whats the verdict on some of the extras from that episode.

Keiko and unnamed female

Guy on the left?

Dude, they look like the women from that polygamist cult that they just busted in Texas.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2008-05-13 11:09am

FSTargetDrone wrote:I'd forgotten about the phaser pocket mentioned above by Enola Straight.

Are normal hand phasers ever seen holstered?

IIRC during TNG phasers tended to just be stuck on the uniform, basically with velcro but it wasn't supposed to be that in universe.