I have noticed this, too... one thing I notice is the *fit* being wrong. Especially on female uniforms - on the shows, the women always fill the uniforms out, where in RL women fans tend to wear uniforms that look baggy on them.
Wearing a Starfleet Uniform in public
- Thread starter Cmdr Sho
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I have noticed this, too... one thing I notice is the *fit* being wrong. Especially on female uniforms - on the shows, the women always fill the uniforms out, where in RL women fans tend to wear uniforms that look baggy on them.
^Ya, I've noticed the fit often being wrong, too. I much prefer it when the uniform is properly filled out. 
I'm going to guess it's because Starfleet uniforms are cheap to make and they likely make a lot of them, like a Spider-Man Halloween costume that comes with a rubber mask. People that want to dress up as a Klingon or Borg will not want to half-ass it, they will go to meticulous detail to get it right, otherwise they may not even look close to the real thing. But a cheap Starfleet uniform still conveys the idea of "Starfleet Officer".
Again, these are things I could never do. It's not my cup of tea to dress up like that. Years ago I used to get angry at people that dressed up, because yes I did think they were ruining Trek for everyone else as another poster noted. I did think they were contributing to the image of bizzare outcasts, showing up to jury duty in costume and such,...then I realized that folks like this that dress up and go to conventions are the bread and butter of what keeps Star Trek going and churning. We wouldn't have a Star Trek without this core dedicated fanbase. Power to all that want to do it.
My social life was already pretty much zero when I was growing up and into Star Trek, there was no way in hell I was going to add on top of it all by strutting around downtown in a Star Trek uniform..... maybe on Halloween, but that'd be it.
Some people have no issues and just don't care.... all the power to them, it's their life.... but I personally never had an interest in strolling around acting like I belong in the show or something.
And I do know what you mean about the crappy uniforms, I think Voyager sorta poked fun at them in that episode of the impostor Voyager crew that was conning different planets..... their uniforms reminded me so much of the uniforms one would buy off ebay.
All I know is that if I was planning on wearing a uniform out in public, I'd make it myself so I can ensure it is as accurate as I think it should be..... so I can make sure the right materials and positioning of things are correct.
That and you'd have a custom one of a kind uniform. But I don't have the time for that sorta stuff.
That's right, just like Garak in my avatar, I have many talents, one of which is fabric and making clothes.... though it's been a while and I am probably a bit rusty.
Some people have no issues and just don't care.... all the power to them, it's their life.... but I personally never had an interest in strolling around acting like I belong in the show or something.
And I do know what you mean about the crappy uniforms, I think Voyager sorta poked fun at them in that episode of the impostor Voyager crew that was conning different planets..... their uniforms reminded me so much of the uniforms one would buy off ebay.
All I know is that if I was planning on wearing a uniform out in public, I'd make it myself so I can ensure it is as accurate as I think it should be..... so I can make sure the right materials and positioning of things are correct.
That and you'd have a custom one of a kind uniform. But I don't have the time for that sorta stuff.
That's right, just like Garak in my avatar, I have many talents, one of which is fabric and making clothes.... though it's been a while and I am probably a bit rusty.
Nice av, BTW.
Personally, I am of the opinion that dressing up in a uniform should be confined to events where costumes are appropriate: trick-or-treating AT THE APPROPRIATE AGE (I did this once when I was little), costume parties, and conventions. These are times when the normal rules of society do not apply. But out in public...I don't think so.
Personally, I am of the opinion that dressing up in a uniform should be confined to events where costumes are appropriate: trick-or-treating AT THE APPROPRIATE AGE (I did this once when I was little), costume parties, and conventions. These are times when the normal rules of society do not apply. But out in public...I don't think so.
I've always wanted to buy a nice tailored Starfleet uniform. I thought about it this year and wearing it to my brother's Halloween party since Star Trek is popular once again. But he ended up not having a party this year so nothing ever came of it. Maybe next year.
As for wearing it in public? More power to ya. There isn't a rule book stating that you can't. Sure some people may respond to it negatively. But I wouldn't give a crap.
As for wearing it in public? More power to ya. There isn't a rule book stating that you can't. Sure some people may respond to it negatively. But I wouldn't give a crap.
I wore a (movie) Uhura uniform dress without the insignia many times this past summer, out in public, to clubs, to school, just casual. Got some compliments on it from people who didn't know it was a "costume". I'm twenty-two, is that age approprite? And since middle school I've usual worn a TNG communicator on the collars of my jackets too.
I have worn a Starfleet uniform in public many times since 1980, but I've always been dressed for an event, not because I've had a whim to wear weird, attention-getting clothes that day.
Not having a car, I've even traveled on public transport in uniform, sometimes with a group (heading for a ST movie premiere or Halloween party) and twice I have worn a uniform on a plane, alone, going to an interstate Star Trek convention, and needing to travel light, with only carry-on luggage.
Comments are almost always positive, but I cannot fathom the need to wear a Starfleet uniform just for the heck of it. They simply aren't practical for life in the 21st century. No pockets, the need for hidden zippers, no helpers to ensure the uniform is continuing to hang properly.
I have many Starfleet uniform incarnations, but if you compared any of them to an actual costume you'd find a few nits to pick. The main difference is that when you wear a uniform in public you don't have the entourage of "fluffers" that an actor making the show would have. During breaks between scenes, the wardrobe people are on hand to tug, pull and pin. The makeup people do touch-ups. The lighting person tweaks the angles of the lights to prevent weird shadows. And a studio photographer takes hundreds of photos and hopes to use just one, which he may then need to airbrush.
Why do you never see one of the actors turn up to an event in a Starfleet uniform, and stay in it all day? Because a fully tailored costume is too damned uncomfortable! For those early TNG spandex numbers, your back would ache, the undersoles of your feet would ache due to the stirrups, you couldn't sit down (because the fluffers weren't on hand), and you'd sweat like crazy - and no one would be around to hold the air blowers under your armpits.
Not to mention toilet breaks! Many Starfleet uniforms, especially authentic ones, require almost-total nudity just to go to the bathroom.
Floor costumes for a convention need to have comfort built in and, for that reason, collars are a bit looser, shoulders a bit saggier, emergency escape hatches have less-hidden zippers, and the amateur designers use fabrics that are much lighter weight (and may photograph differently to your intentions, too). And you have to maintain the same build every time you put on that particular costume. And "suck in your gut" for photos all day, which may be taken by other con goers who don't warn you when they are about to take a photo!
Commercial costumes always end up looking like they are one-size-fits-all.
Also, most of my homemade uniforms were created from sneak peaks in rare publicity stills (for then-unreleased incarnations of Star Trek). Inevitably, on premiere night, we'd discover that our uniforms had a few nits but, by then, it is too expensive to remake them, so you end up living with a few faults, fixing a few problems where you can.
"Where's my fluffer?"
ST II premiere night - and yes, my badge and belt buckle have my own variation of an insignia, assuming ST II would follow the lead set by TOS. The women have Enterprise (and Reliant) insignias. Our collars were knitted from wool the night before the premiere and the badges were made from gold-painted cardboard and plastic ice cream containers, eventually replaced a few months later by commercially-available metal versions.
Not having a car, I've even traveled on public transport in uniform, sometimes with a group (heading for a ST movie premiere or Halloween party) and twice I have worn a uniform on a plane, alone, going to an interstate Star Trek convention, and needing to travel light, with only carry-on luggage.
Comments are almost always positive, but I cannot fathom the need to wear a Starfleet uniform just for the heck of it. They simply aren't practical for life in the 21st century. No pockets, the need for hidden zippers, no helpers to ensure the uniform is continuing to hang properly.
I have many Starfleet uniform incarnations, but if you compared any of them to an actual costume you'd find a few nits to pick. The main difference is that when you wear a uniform in public you don't have the entourage of "fluffers" that an actor making the show would have. During breaks between scenes, the wardrobe people are on hand to tug, pull and pin. The makeup people do touch-ups. The lighting person tweaks the angles of the lights to prevent weird shadows. And a studio photographer takes hundreds of photos and hopes to use just one, which he may then need to airbrush.
Why do you never see one of the actors turn up to an event in a Starfleet uniform, and stay in it all day? Because a fully tailored costume is too damned uncomfortable! For those early TNG spandex numbers, your back would ache, the undersoles of your feet would ache due to the stirrups, you couldn't sit down (because the fluffers weren't on hand), and you'd sweat like crazy - and no one would be around to hold the air blowers under your armpits.
Not to mention toilet breaks! Many Starfleet uniforms, especially authentic ones, require almost-total nudity just to go to the bathroom.
Floor costumes for a convention need to have comfort built in and, for that reason, collars are a bit looser, shoulders a bit saggier, emergency escape hatches have less-hidden zippers, and the amateur designers use fabrics that are much lighter weight (and may photograph differently to your intentions, too). And you have to maintain the same build every time you put on that particular costume. And "suck in your gut" for photos all day, which may be taken by other con goers who don't warn you when they are about to take a photo!
Commercial costumes always end up looking like they are one-size-fits-all.
Also, most of my homemade uniforms were created from sneak peaks in rare publicity stills (for then-unreleased incarnations of Star Trek). Inevitably, on premiere night, we'd discover that our uniforms had a few nits but, by then, it is too expensive to remake them, so you end up living with a few faults, fixing a few problems where you can.
"Where's my fluffer?"
ST II premiere night - and yes, my badge and belt buckle have my own variation of an insignia, assuming ST II would follow the lead set by TOS. The women have Enterprise (and Reliant) insignias. Our collars were knitted from wool the night before the premiere and the badges were made from gold-painted cardboard and plastic ice cream containers, eventually replaced a few months later by commercially-available metal versions.
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I have a blue T-shirt with the science insignia (similar to McCoy's informal doctor's smock in TOS) that I wear from time to time. I also have a black T-shirt with my avatar (at left) on it (it's my "chaplains' corps" undress shirt), and that gets some wear, too. But they're just T-shirts, not really uniforms per se.
CmdrSho: What a great picture of you and your friends/family! You're very lucky to have people in your life that share your passion with you. Most of us don't know too many people that would dress in a Starfleet uniform. Don't listen to what the negative people say, whether they are in real life or even on this forum. If it makes you happy and you enjoy it, go for it. You're not hurting anyone by wearing the uniform and life is waaaay too short to worry about people who have nothing better to do than to criticize you! 
Pictures?
Seconded...
I'd say that without the Starfleet insignia, wearing the dress wouldn't bother me. That's fairly unobtrusive.
But, I do not think that making oneself look as though you just fell through a dimensional gate is a good idea--it just perpetuates the misfit image of Trek fans that so many people have.
But, I do not think that making oneself look as though you just fell through a dimensional gate is a good idea--it just perpetuates the misfit image of Trek fans that so many people have.
Well, certainly there's the practical factor of you not being actually on the TV show without the entourage of support staff, but this doesn't explain how the klingon guys get their outfits so exactly like the show.. (but it does explain why their makeup usually sucks)
I have seen some borg costumes in my time that left me curious as to how that would work. Obviously this is a comfort factor, but if people are willing to hold it in to be a Borg, then why not a starfleet uniform? Perhaps choosing the starfleet uniform indicates a certain degree of how far someone is willing to go in discomfort?
Yes it does. A Starfleet uniform, and all rank insignia, must look exactly like the TV series or movie uniform you're trying to replicate or people notice.
But there's no one Klingon outfit. Every canonical Klingon outfit is different, and if you went for a lighter colour leather, bigger shoulder pads, wrong colour pants, eight panels on the breastplate instead of seven, a silver bandolier instead of a gold one, or fingerless gloves instead of studded leather ones, you still have a recognisable Klingon uniform. Similarly, the original Borg costumes only had one item in common with each other: a black, neoprene, off-the-rack, commercial wetsuit.
To quote Kirk selling his glasses in The Voyage Home...
Is that a lot?
Maybe I'll wait for exchange rates to go back to what I consider their natural equilibrium (£1=$2) before I think of getting one. It has to happen one day.
Nardpuncher
Rear Admiral
Though you really should try a little harder to get plain black dress shoes or ankle boots. That's one thing for your costume that they do sell at most department stores.
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