utility is all well and good but sometimes one has the urge to be really damn natty. occasionaly that conincides with fashion.
OK, a nice tweed set and yellow or crimson cravat I can go for...
The Fashion Thing.
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OK, a nice tweed set and yellow or crimson cravat I can go for...
got you, that could be natty right enough - teamed up with some spankin brogues.
i've always fancied a proper zoot suit (http://www.expresssuits.com/servlet/Detail?no=54) with the hat and spatz to go with it. not necessarily bushcrafty but handy when you leave the woods to head into town.
got you, that could be natty right enough - teamed up with some spankin brogues.
i've always fancied a proper zoot suit (http://www.expresssuits.com/servlet/Detail?no=54) with the hat and spatz to go with it. not necessarily bushcrafty but handy when you leave the woods to head into town.
That suit just needs a violin case to go with it.
got you, that could be natty right enough - teamed up with some spankin brogues.
i've always fancied a proper zoot suit (http://www.expresssuits.com/servlet/Detail?no=54) with the hat and spatz to go with it. not necessarily bushcrafty but handy when you leave the woods to head into town.
When are we meetin'?
and whit toun are we hittin'
Something told me that this thread would get quite a response!
Nobody likes to be labelled a "victim of fashion", "i'm an individual" yada yada yada ...........
The truth being that there isn't actually a great deal of selection in outdoor wear by the time you have decided what you need. we all need similar clothing because we all have the same requirements of that clothing. When those demands are the same then in the vast majority of cases the outcome will be the same or at least very similar. We all want a hard wearing, waterproof and low profile jacket so we all tend to end up with an olive green ventile smock or something similar as its the best for the job and suits our requirements.
I like to buy "Gucci Kit" and i'll admit that, It doesnt only apply to bushcraft gear but with the majority of things i buy. Maybe it stems from my childhood?? Who knows? Who cares?
I just like good stuff whether it be fashionable or not! It just so happens that Ray Mears seems to copy whatever i buy!
Dan
Nobody likes to be labelled a "victim of fashion", "i'm an individual" yada yada yada ...........
The truth being that there isn't actually a great deal of selection in outdoor wear by the time you have decided what you need. we all need similar clothing because we all have the same requirements of that clothing. When those demands are the same then in the vast majority of cases the outcome will be the same or at least very similar. We all want a hard wearing, waterproof and low profile jacket so we all tend to end up with an olive green ventile smock or something similar as its the best for the job and suits our requirements.
I like to buy "Gucci Kit" and i'll admit that, It doesnt only apply to bushcraft gear but with the majority of things i buy. Maybe it stems from my childhood?? Who knows? Who cares?
I just like good stuff whether it be fashionable or not! It just so happens that Ray Mears seems to copy whatever i buy!
Dan
NO WAY! I find my leather hat works well in rain or shine. It also squashes flat into my pocket, hold berries or kindling and fans my face or my fire!
A broad-brimmed felt-fur hat (like my Akubra
) is a total white elephant, bought before I realised what a hat has to do I feel like a bit of wannabe cowboy if I wear it in town (but as others have said -who cares!)
forestwalker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I think like you that is the reason for my choice of colours, I tend towards much brighter colours when I'm in my living history kit interestingly enough.
...
And what's wrong with baggies I might ask....
Nothing (some of my best friends, yada, yada). Unless you are going through some wet scrub or thorny stuff. I actually have a color problem in historical dress; I still want to dress "subdued", and that is not on unless you were dead broke (most of the time periods).
The odd thing is that although I had done loads of film work before, I felt like a fish out of water because I wasn't in kit.
It is your "stage persona". And you probably felt like you had forgotten to get dressed, being where others were in kit and you weren't.
Hats are nice. I prefer felt, warmer and sheds water very vell. But slightly complex in dense scrubbery.
For the northern forest I have not tried a garment that is better then an early medieval hood (i.e. no <mumble> feet tails). Deep enough to hide from the mosquitos in if you are resting/sleeping, easy to adjust, nothing to loose, an instant place to tuck the odd root or piece of spruce root. One winter I even saw a couple of Sami reindeer herders on snowmobiles. They were wearing hoods that, except for the very Sami color pattern, was perfectly acceptable in a reenactment situation.
I always take a hat 'cos I wear glasses as has been explaned above.
Otherwise I always wear clothes with pockets - lots of pockets. In summer I wear shorts (with lots of pockets) and t-shirts, any overclothes that are needed (in rucksack) are green, brown or black. I like black in winter - it soaks up the warmth of the sun.
Why - because they are friendly colours. we live in the northern temperate zones and these are natural familiar colours, They are colours which combine well - trees, shrubs, plants and animals prove it - who are we to argue? Also from the aesthetics point of view, it is easier and cheaper to make up different combinations of clothes if they all follow the same basic colour scheme.
If you dress in bright reds and yellows you may be the centre of attraction for insects in search of flowers - even if only temporarily.
Finally, banal as it sounds, it's a statement which tell people roughly what you are doing in the forests.
If a person runs past you in jeans or a suit, you assume he is in a hurry (or being chased?) - if they're wearing a track suit or shorts/vest they are joggers - easy isn't it? If you wear a suit and a beige raincoat in the forest you are obviously a spy going to a secret meeting or dead letter box
A little story about clothing. I went to a meeting in Pennsylvania in winter and we were told that it was a ski resort and that we could do some skiing in the evening since it would be lit. So we turned up prepared for skiing and skiied in the evening. However the guy from Japan was not a skier so clearly he did did not come prepared to ski.
However he changed his mind - hired a pair of skis and started teaching himself on the slopes. That was a sight neither I nor my colleagues will ever forget - this japanese guy skiing slowly down the slope in his suit, shirt and tie!
One may laugh at people dressing for their hobbies - but it can be even funnier when they don't!
Otherwise I always wear clothes with pockets - lots of pockets. In summer I wear shorts (with lots of pockets) and t-shirts, any overclothes that are needed (in rucksack) are green, brown or black. I like black in winter - it soaks up the warmth of the sun.
Why - because they are friendly colours. we live in the northern temperate zones and these are natural familiar colours, They are colours which combine well - trees, shrubs, plants and animals prove it - who are we to argue? Also from the aesthetics point of view, it is easier and cheaper to make up different combinations of clothes if they all follow the same basic colour scheme.
If you dress in bright reds and yellows you may be the centre of attraction for insects in search of flowers - even if only temporarily.
Finally, banal as it sounds, it's a statement which tell people roughly what you are doing in the forests.
If a person runs past you in jeans or a suit, you assume he is in a hurry (or being chased?) - if they're wearing a track suit or shorts/vest they are joggers - easy isn't it? If you wear a suit and a beige raincoat in the forest you are obviously a spy going to a secret meeting or dead letter box
A little story about clothing. I went to a meeting in Pennsylvania in winter and we were told that it was a ski resort and that we could do some skiing in the evening since it would be lit. So we turned up prepared for skiing and skiied in the evening. However the guy from Japan was not a skier so clearly he did did not come prepared to ski.
However he changed his mind - hired a pair of skis and started teaching himself on the slopes. That was a sight neither I nor my colleagues will ever forget - this japanese guy skiing slowly down the slope in his suit, shirt and tie!
One may laugh at people dressing for their hobbies - but it can be even funnier when they don't!
For me the key is comfort , we spend time working , sitting, walking etc it may be sunny
( just never when I go out ) or it may be raining, so wool is good, as is ventile, etc
In reality does it matter if you are comfy warm and dry and out enjoying yourself
( just never when I go out ) or it may be raining, so wool is good, as is ventile, etc
In reality does it matter if you are comfy warm and dry and out enjoying yourself
Man,you guys should go to a major "Trad" archery event over here. There are more Fred Bear clones that you could poke with a stick.
Jon R.
Jon R.
I've always had a hard time understanding why the lime green polyester leisure suit never caught on for bushcraft. 
I've always had a hard time understanding why the lime green polyester leisure suit never caught on for bushcraft.
Are you suggesting ther is something wrong with my lime green polyester leisure suit
Anything goes as far as im concerned, but........... 2 things i cant abide, Barmha type hats or anything in DPM or camo.
Paul
Paul
Snip> I just like good stuff whether it be fashionable or not! It just so happens that Ray Mears seems to copy whatever i buy!
I have just the same problem....
Snip> A broad-brimmed felt-fur hat (like my Akubra
I feel like a bit of wannabe cowboy if I wear it in town (but as others have said -who cares!)
I didn't get on with felt either back when I tried one.
Oddly enough, I get less comment when I'm wearing a hat than without.
If I'm not wearing a hat the chavs all reckon I'm a hippy and fair game, if I'm wearing a hat I don't think they can rub enough brain cells together to work out what I am, so they don't even try to be smart.
About the only hood I do ever use is a waxed leather hood and mantle, lined with wool that I use with a cloak if it's really raining hard on a Viking camp.
If you can keep you shoulders dry you'd be amazed how much difference that makes to the rest of your gear.
I tend to think the same, I can't be bothered working out what goes with what when I fall out of bed in the morning, but if it's all earth tones I don't even have to think about it.
I seem to remember some great genius or other had a wardrobe full of the same clothes, so he never had to waste any thought on what to wear in the morning. Can't remember who it was though so I guess my brains just not in the same league
Are you suggesting ther is something wrong with my lime green polyester leisure suit
Not at all. I'm thinking you could be a trend setter!
alot of it will be based on what is practical. you don't see manny buscrafters wearing jeans, because they are horrible when they get wet.
bright coulors tend to put alot of us off, because they grate with the "living in harmony with nature" ethos of buscrafting.
within that you then have individual aspecs such as budget and personal preferance. for example I tend towards army surplus gear and stuff sold by places such as millets, mainly eurohike, peter storm and craghoppers because the fact of the matter is I can't afford stuff made by karrimoor or berghaus. others may be able to.
finaly you have the avialablity of products that fit within these constraints.
you will often see similar effects taking place with any activity that attracts a certain type of person, either in jobs (eg builders tend to dress in a simmlar way) and activities (eg climbing). manufacturers will often look at gear allready used for an activity, and make gear that is simmilar to that, because that is what the people taking part in that activity appear to be drawn to.
bright coulors tend to put alot of us off, because they grate with the "living in harmony with nature" ethos of buscrafting.
within that you then have individual aspecs such as budget and personal preferance. for example I tend towards army surplus gear and stuff sold by places such as millets, mainly eurohike, peter storm and craghoppers because the fact of the matter is I can't afford stuff made by karrimoor or berghaus. others may be able to.
finaly you have the avialablity of products that fit within these constraints.
you will often see similar effects taking place with any activity that attracts a certain type of person, either in jobs (eg builders tend to dress in a simmlar way) and activities (eg climbing). manufacturers will often look at gear allready used for an activity, and make gear that is simmilar to that, because that is what the people taking part in that activity appear to be drawn to.
forestwalker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Whereas I love my akubra, or my home felted all wool slouch. Both have their own style (if one want to use the word style so casually as to refer to the slouch as having style), and both will shed ran like tin roofs. Horses for courses, I suppose.
I know, I've spent enought time using my wool slouch as rainwear. Unwashed wool cloak and wool slouch works fine as well in viking camps.
In the taiga mosquito season the hood is nice, since it minimizes exposure.
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