I like the change to script for the wording but do think it looks a bit generic baseball. Also the “O” looks too much like the Orioles’ “O”.
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
10 January 2011
03 January 2011
Sixties Seventies
Sixties Seventies is a gorgeous collection of models from that era sporting miniskirts, bellbottoms, boots, and more. (via)
10 November 2010
17 September 2010
30 June 2010
Temporary Costumes
Sometimes I think they redesign iconic characters just so, years later, you’re rereading a book and think, “oh yeah, they did that dumb thing for a while”. Morrison had to deal with electric blue Superman in the first bit of his JLA. Civil War has the Iron Spidey suit in it. Now Wonder Woman.
23 November 2009
After Six
Put This On links to a fashion-based 30 Rock joke. The setup and payoff of this gag make up one of my favorite understated jokes on the show. It highlights the mayhem of Liz’s life and the nature of Jack’s character perfectly.
14 October 2009
Brooks Brothers Limited Edition Mad Men Suit
“Brooks Brothers said that the hand-finished, American-made suit is made from gray sharkskin fabric and its two-button jacket features narrow lapels, diagonal pockets and side vents.”—New York Times’s Arts Beat
11 May 2009
Star Trek Fashion Smackdown
Loved the retro-chic uniforms in the new film. One gripe: there’s no apparent rank insignia on them. On the original series stripes on the cuffs served this purpose.
29 January 2009
White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code - NYTimes.com
White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code - NYTimes.com
On President Obama’s Oval Office dress code and routine.
27 June 2008
23 May 2008
Femtroopers - Featured on BuzzFeed
Femtroopers: Hot girls who dress up like Storm Troopers…Pics: The Contoured Breast Plates are Especially Hot
04 December 2007
Buzz Rickson MA-1
I’ve read Pattern Recognition, but never heard about the black Buzz Rickson MA-1 jacket. Apparently, like the Red Swingline Stapler in Office Space, they never came in black, but the company is now making them.
12 October 2007
A Brief History of Captain America's Costume
Upon yesterday’s unveiling of the new Captain America’s costume, I remarked that most of the great iconic superhero costumes belong to DC. While Marvel has lots of great characters, few of them display the same design flair found in DC characters like Superman, Batman, Hawkman, The Flash, or Green Lantern. Primary colors, chest symbols. These are the staples of superhero costume design. None of the X-Men, in my opinion, have this sort of classic image. Spider-Man does, The Incredible Hulk, with his bare chest and purple pants does, and Captain America does. Designed by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon in 1941, Captain America’s look has remained virtually unchanged ever since (though Steve Rogers has at times worn other costumes). The stars and stripes perfectly capture who he is.
Original Design
Here’s the “Cap punches Hitler” Jack Kirby cover to Captain America 1, courtesy Wikipedia:
Over time his mask grew into a cowl covering his neck, and the shield went from triangle to circle. Here’s Kirby’s famous cover to Avengers 4 (IBID):
John Cassaday’s cover to Captain America volume 4 number 1 plays up the “iconic” take (IBID):
One interesting thing I learned recently about Cap’s costume comes from Marvel editor Tom Brevoort. Stan Lee had a rule regarding how it was drawn:
The stripe directly below the center star on Captain Ameica’s [sic] costume is red. This was the way Cap’s costume was approached for the longest time— though, again, certain artists in recent years have done it differently. Similarly, Captain America was the one Marvel character who possessed a cleft chin.
Cassaday breaks that rule above.
Ultimate Captain America
In March 2002, Marvel launched a book called The Ultimates. Part of their new “Ultimate” line, it featured a re-imagining of the Avengers, now cast as a government-sponsored superteam designed to combat the rising threat of supervillainy. Ultimate Captain America is here depicted as more of a soldier than a superhero. He’s often seen carrying a gun and substitutes his mask for a helmet. Designed by Bryan Hitch, his costume has a kevlar look to it rather than the chainmail design, his belt includes pouches for weapons and supplies, his boots are no longer cuffed, and his mask doesn’t have wings on it. Here’s Hitch’s cover to The Ultimates 11:
Ultimate Cap is sometimes drawn wearing olive drab pants instead of his combat uniform.
The New Captain America
Captain America volume 5, written by Ed Brubaker and penciled by Steve Epting, has been one of the finest runs on the series in its 65 year history. This series featured the shocking death of Steve Rogers in number 25. Since then, the book has followed Cap’s supporting cast as they investigate and deal with his death. In 34, a new character will take up the mantle, wearing a new costume designed by Alex Ross. Brubaker hasn’t said who it will be, but the look of the costume portends a rougher, more militant Cap, possibly similar to the version seen in The Ultimates. The new version incorporates a chrome finish, lots of black, and adds a triangular motif to the character’s chest reminiscent of the original shield carried by Rogers. Here is Ross’s cover to Captain America 34, from Marvel’s PR site:
And here is the cover to the same issue drawn by regular series artist Epting:
Here are some sketches by Ross:
It’s actually a pretty good design, but it feels like pulling on the Lone Ranger’s mask, the original Kirby/Simon costume being so perfect. The bright top set against the dark bottom is a striking contrast, but could end up looking top-heavy. We’ll have to see how it looks in the book to really be able to tell. I do like the visual of this new Cap with a pistol in one hand and a shield in the other. There’s some stuff from Brubaker and Ross in the above-linked article on Marvel.com, and Newsarama has posted an interview as well.
Bucky Barnes
Captain America, in his World War II stories, had a sidekick named Bucky Barnes. Bucky’s costume is no where near as memorable as his mentor’s, but it was a nice contrast to Cap’s, using blue and red but containing no white nor any symbols. Bucky didn’t appear much after the mid-50s, and in Avengers it was announced retroactively that he had been killed at the end of WWII. Sixty- five years later it would inspire one of Marvel’s best new character designs, and Bucky himself would be brought back to life. Here is the classic Bucky, as drawn by Eric Wright on the cover of the Captain America 65th Anniversary Special (via Wikipedia):
Brubaker and Epting brought Bucky back to life as the Winter Soldier a few years ago, revealed to have been brainwashed and forced to work as an assassin since his apparent death. His look isn’t anything terribly fresh, but he’s designed to look badass and stealthy, and the design accomplishes this nicely. He retains the domino mask from his original outfit, picks up a bionic arm with a Russian star on it, and carries large rifles (IBID):
In 2005, to great confusion from the fans, Marvel announced a new titled called Young Avengers. It seemed to be a very DC Comics idea: a team of seeming sidekicks dressed like established characters. In execution, however, defied expectations and was one of Marvel’s best books of the year. Patriot, the leader of the group, appeared to be styled after Captain America and Bucky Barnes, though his actual origin is tied to the Truth: Red, White, and Black miniseries which revealed that the US Army had experimented on black soldiers before turning Steve Rogers into Captain America. Patriot is the grandson of the only surviving member of these experiments. Here Jim Cheung’s cover to Young Avengers Special 1:
I absolutely love Cheung’s design. Patriot’s costume invokes some of Bucky’s image, namely the jacket and domino mask, but has an embossed diamond pattern that recalls the chainmail on Captain America’s uniform. Patriot carries Captain America’s original shield, and also uses throwing stars. Sadly writer Allan Heinberg has been too busy with his day job writing television to do another run on Young Avengers.
11 October 2007
New Costume for Captain America
Marvel has unveiled a new costume for Captain America designed by Alex Ross, set to debut in number 34. It will be someone new wearing the costume. An easy guess would be Bucky Barnes, but I’m kind of hoping for a new character entirely, Kyle Rayner style. As for the costume, I’m not wild about it. The black fits the darker concept of him carrying a gun like a soldier, but Captain America’s costume was one of the truly great, iconic costumes, most of which are worn by DC characters. I’m very glad he kept the round shield, but I wouldn’t have been sad to see the cuffed boots go.
Here’s an interview with designed Alex Ross and Cap writer Ed Brubaker.
14 September 2007
Femtroopers
Buzzfeed has a little roundup of links to stories about girls who dress up as sexy Star Wars stormtroopers, which led me to SFGate’s In defense of those dudes who dress up like Stormtroopers. A lot of work goes in these costumes, and while that doesn’t make them any harder to ridicule, it does make them a little easier to respect, says author Peter Hartlaub. I’ve spent some time with some massive dorks in my day, and there’s a neat, somewhat liberating openness at the bottom of the barrel.
19 March 2007
20 February 2007
Eight Women Who Look Better Bald Than Britney
Eight Women Who Look Better Bald Than Britney
Winona Ryder should also be on this list.
07 December 2006
Fashion Incident
Four people, including the First Lady, showed up at the White House Christmas party in the same dress.
30 October 2006
Popular Adult Costume Choices
“Witch” is an astounding winner, I’m guessing that’s always the case, then this year it’s pirates and vampires.
Every Woman Wants a Harley Quinn Costume For Halloween
Every Woman Wants a Harley Quinn Costume For Halloween
Apparently Harley costumes sell out before Supergirl and Wonder Woman in some stores.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)