What's the deal with Army Jackets?

Discussion in 'Hippies' started by Reverand JC, Apr 11, 2011.

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  1. Reverand JC

    Reverand JC Willy Fuckin' Wonka

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    I've been around Hippies all of my life and I've noticed alot of them wearing Army Jackets even if they didn't serve. I was just wondering why. I know that Tommy Chong wore one in all of the old Cheech and Chong movies to hide the fact that he was a buff bodybuilder type but was wondering about alot of the others that I have seen.

    Stay Brown,
    Rev J
     
    Reverand JC, Apr 11, 2011
    #1
  3. wa bluska wica

    wa bluska wica Pedestrian

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    cheap, un-flashy, well-made

    wear the uniform of the enemy to confuse him?
     
    wa bluska wica, Apr 11, 2011
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  5. yarapario

    yarapario Village Elder

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    Yep that sounds exactly like it...I wore mine for years after I got out because it was good utility and a sort of backhanded fuck you to the military for a long hair beared type to be wearing it.
     
    yarapario, Apr 11, 2011
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  7. yarapario

    yarapario Village Elder

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    Follow up thought...just got mine out of the closet and tried it on...still in great shape after 40 plus years and still fits...maybe gettin drafted was worth it...in a pigs ass.
     
    yarapario, Apr 11, 2011
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  9. tanasi

    tanasi Member

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    they have big pockets,for shopping.

    a G.I. field jacket the is not properly cared for was a slap in the face of the establishment.

    when being discharged you were allowed to keep your boots and your field jacket.

    after a while it was because everyone else was wearing one they bought from apex or army surplus.

    that's's the picture in my memory anyhow.
     
    tanasi, Apr 11, 2011
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  11. newo

    newo Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Hippies wore it to mock the military. An army jacket with a peace sign sewn onto it rocked!
     
    newo, Apr 11, 2011
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  13. darkstar~co!

    darkstar~co! Member

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    mines damn durable, i can do everything it it, and i still look slightly presentable
     
    darkstar~co!, Apr 11, 2011
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  15. lunarverse

    lunarverse The Living End

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    That's how I always took it.
     
    lunarverse, Apr 11, 2011
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  17. Oz!

    Oz! Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    people rarely steal army jackets...... the fishtail parker was always my fave :sunny:
     
    Oz!, Apr 11, 2011
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  19. yarapario

    yarapario Village Elder

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    Uhh whats a fishtail parker? I knew a guy who had a Boattail Auburn but thats a car.
     
    yarapario, Apr 11, 2011
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  21. deleted

    deleted Visitor

    I used to use them for camo in the woods, but thats like Vietnam era. .. Now I use Shemagh's .. true Taliban soldier style..
     
    deleted, Apr 11, 2011
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  23. Oz!

    Oz! Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    it's the big warm 1950's american military coat, beloved by Mods in the 60's (uk)

    http://www.fishtailparkas.com/
     
    Oz!, Apr 11, 2011
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  25. SpacemanSpiff

    SpacemanSpiff Visitor

    I just always figured it was because theyre cheap at the surplus stores
     
    SpacemanSpiff, Apr 11, 2011
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  27. knotdirty

    knotdirty Over the Rainbow

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    I have a few of them that my dad got when he was in the marines. I've been wearing them since 7th grade, they're still in pretty good shape. Sturdy jackets.
     
    knotdirty, Apr 11, 2011
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  29. Reverand JC

    Reverand JC Willy Fuckin' Wonka

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    Reminds me of Quadraphenia. It just needs a big Bullseye on the back. Perfect for rocking the customized Vespa.

    Stay Brown,
    Rev J
     
    Reverand JC, Apr 11, 2011
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  31. newo

    newo Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    I believe it was the Vietnam Veterans Against The War that popularized the style. They'd attend anti-war rallies in their old uniforms customized with peace symbols and pot leaves and other hippies picked up on it.
     
    newo, Apr 12, 2011
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  33. OlderWaterBrother

    OlderWaterBrother May you drink deeply Lifetime Supporter

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    I can't speak for everybody but the old Army Jackets with the pointed collar and no zippered in hood, were one of the most comfortable jackets I've ever worn and would still be wearing if I could find one. But the new ones with the rounded collar and zippered in hood, you couldn't pay me enough to wear one.
     
    OlderWaterBrother, Apr 15, 2011
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  35. skip

    skip Founder Administrator

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    This was one reason. The others have been mentioned, they were cheap, durable, easily found in Army/Navy stores where returning veterans would sell theirs for a few bucks (many returning Vietnam Vets came back addicted to heroin and would sell the jackets off their backs for a fix).

    Also there was a guy named Country Joe who appeared at a little concert called Woodstock, looking like this... I'd say he had a lot to do with the "fad", singing his "fixing-to-die-rag".

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Not only was it a slap in the face of the establishment for hippies to wear military gear, it was also a way of showing SOLIDARITY with those in Vietnam who were our friends, brothers or other family members.

    Those who think hippies hated the soldiers were wrong. It was the right wing trying to paint hippies as commies and unamerican that made people think that. We did not like conscription. None of us wanted to be drafted into a war. Those that volunteered were given shit, for sure, as was ROTC, which was on every college campus. And we did protest the draft, by picketing and blocking recruitment offices, and the places where they went to be inducted. That was the big extent of protests directed at soldiers. The idea that hippies hung out at airports to give returning soldiers shit is a BIG LIE. More likely we were there welcoming our friends and kinsmen home at last, and hopefully not in a casket.

    I can tell you that not one Vietnam Vet I know came back the same person who left...

    BTW, another fad got started at Woodstock when a couple of musicians named John Sebastian and Joe Cocker came on stage with tie-dye clothing.

    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
    skip, Apr 16, 2011
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  37. Reverand JC

    Reverand JC Willy Fuckin' Wonka

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    ^^Also Country Joe is a Vet.

    Stay Brown,
    Rev J
     
    Reverand JC, Apr 16, 2011
    #19
  39. skip

    skip Founder Administrator

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    I was just reflecting that hippies ire was not directed at soldiers who were seen as victims of the "system". The ire was directed at the system which included the governments (not just the national one), the military/industrial complex that profited from war, including banks which got bombed now and then.

    And what have we got here today? Pretty much the same thing, American blood seeping into oil rich sands, big corporations profiting big time from it, and banks ripping us all off one way or another.

    NOTHING HAS CHANGED, HAS IT?     In what, 40 years we are still mired in the same system that sees each one of us as a disposable consumer slave to be exploited then left to die without adequate care or respect.

    What kind of world will be left for our grandchildren?

    I miss my "army jacket." It kept me warm when I was trippin' out in the snow.
     
    skip, Apr 16, 2011
    #20
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