One of the great items in Indiana Jones’ wardrobe is his shirt. Sure, it doesn’t have the cool factor of his leather jacket or the style of his fedora, but this basic safari shirt, with its distinctive extra rows of fabric that run through the front pockets is still unmistakably Indiana Jones to his fans around the globe.
When someone is putting together an Indiana Jones cosplay, or just picking up Indy-related items to wear as unrelated pieces of clothing, however, the shirt can be easy to overlook. While some will go with a “close enough” shirt – as there’s no shortage of safari/outdoors type shirts on the market – the options for a dedicated replica shirt are relatively few, and you will absolutely spend some serious coin on them.
For example (and I will be doing this comparison in Australian dollars as my local currency):
Wested: AUD$127, plus postage
What Price Glory: AUD$100, plus postage
Magnoli Clothiers: AUD$130, plus postage (this is for the OTR shirt; custom shirts are AUD$250)
Todd’s Costumes: AUD$135, plus postage
TheCostumeBase: AUD$80, plus postage
But what if I told you the shirt in the image at the top of this post was only AUD$35, plus postage? True story. A vendor on AliExpress is knocking out these shirts for between AUD$31 and AUD$36 depending on the size ordered. The fabric is 100% polyester, which is going to be where some of the cost saving is, versus poly/cotton and all-cotton versions of the shirt available elsewhere, however, it also makes for a very light – but tough wearing – shirt that won’t crease up as easily as pure cotton.
(And before anyone asks, the shirt in the image came directly from the shipping pouch. It hadn’t been washed, ironed, or messed with in any way before being put on. Even the epaulettes aren’t buttoned.)
For the trainspotters, I freely concede the shirt isn’t 100% screen accurate – just look at the cut of those pockets – but when you weigh up how often you want to wear it, with whether the cut of the pockets are that meaningful to you (especially when hidden under your jacket most of the time), versus the price… well, this could be a shirt worth picking up, while they’re still kicking around on the site.
At less than half the price of TheCostumeBase – which isn’t regarded as a brilliant shirt by any means – and less than a third the price of other shirts, can you afford to not have one in your kitbag? Especially as a light, “summer shirt”, it might be a handy back-up to have around. In terms of sizing, I was pleasantly surprised by the shirts being true to their chart (unlike so many other clothing options coming out of China where 5XL fits a very small man), and found the XXL to fit my 48″ chest with some room to move. The arms aren’t overly long, either. All told, for AUD$35 this was too good a shirt to not buy myself.
At the end of the day, your mileage will vary. You might want a shirt that you are going to wear every week and prefer it to be in a heavier fabric, preferably all-cotton. Fair play to you. You might want it in other colours and think Magnoli Clothiers AUD$250 custom shirts are a steal. I can see how that would work for you. And so on. Everyone’s different. Everyone’s needs are different. I just thought this shirt was so out of left-field as a proposition – and I never see them really getting mentioned online perhaps for that reason – that it should at least be known as an option for Indy fans and cosplayers alike.