To begin, let's take a look at the actual fabric of the
Enterprise-era Starfleet jumpsuit (hereafter called the "ENT jumpsuit").
that the ENT jumpsuit fabric was blue denim, but the fabric was used "inside out" - that is, that the "wrong side" of the fabric was used on the exterior of the jumpsuit, and the "right side" of the fabric was used on the interior?
As you may be aware, denim is a woven fabric that possesses a strong diagonal weave, similar to that of a twill or gabardine.
However, on the underside ("wrong side") of the denim, the diagonal weave is typically nowhere near as strong.
That said, if you look closely at the following close-up auction photos of screen-used ENT jumpsuits, you will see that the exterior of the jumpsuit is, in fact, the "wrong side" of the denim!
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| Archer ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Travis ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Travis ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Reed ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Reed ENT jumpsuit auction photo (from 3x8 "Twilight") |
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| Trip ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Trip ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Hoshi ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Hoshi ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Hoshi ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Hoshi ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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This was not merely the practice for "hero uniforms," as supporting characters' and extras/background jumpsuits all appear to have been made with the "wrong side" of the fabric on the exterior as well:
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| Crewman Cutler ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| ENT jumpsuit (male) auction photo |
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| ENT jumpsuit (female) auction photo |
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| ENT jumpsuit (female) auction photo |
The difference between the "right side" and "wrong side" of the denim is easiest to observe when both sides are visible, such as on these auction photos of Lieutenant Reed's and Crewman Cutler's distressed uniforms; note how the denim visible underneath possesses the stronger weave typical of the "right side" of denim.
On the Reed jumpsuit, the "right side" visible is the underside of the front facing, and on Crewman Cutler's, it's the shoulder reinforcement's seam allowance.
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| Reed ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
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| Crewman Cutler ENT jumpsuit auction photo |
As mentioned in our preliminary notes/acknowledgements, "Lynsioux" was kind enough to photograph her screen-used ENT jumpsuit and allow us to use the her photos in our analysis, so we'd like to thank her here again and acknowledge her contribution.
Note that when her ENT jumpsuit is inside out, the shoulder/sleeve seam allowances (which are pressed open) lack the characteristically strong diagonal weave of denim, whereas the underside of the jumpsuit possesses it, clearly implying the exterior of the jumpsuit is the "wrong side" of the denim and the interior of the jumpsuit is the "right side":
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| "Lynsioux" photo of screen-used ENT jumpsuit |
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| "Lynsioux" photo of screen-used ENT jumpsuit |
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| "Lynsioux" photo of screen-used ENT jumpsuit |
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| "Lynsioux" photo of screen-used ENT jumpsuit |
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| "Lynsioux" photo of screen-used ENT jumpsuit |
Not to belabor the point, but here are some additional examples of a screen-used Travis Mayweather ENT jumpsuit, photographed and shared by Gerald Gurian of the
Star Trek Prop, Costume, and Auction Authority, and who was also generous enough to allow us to use his photos in this analysis. (Thank you, Gerald!)
Note how much stronger the diagonal ("right side") denim weave is on the back interior of the jumpsuit.
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| STPCAA photo of Travis Mayweather screen-used ENT jumpsuit |
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| STPCAA photo of Travis Mayweather screen-used ENT jumpsuit |
The exterior fabric detail of the denim jumpsuits was occasionally visible on screen.
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| 1x5 "Unexpected" |
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| 2x19 "Judgment" |
While it's really anyone's best guess, we believe the denim was used "inside out" in the manner it was because The Powers That Be wanted a uniform that appeared to be a solid color without any strong fabric detail (similar to the deep, deep blacks on the TNG, VOY, and DS9/NEM-era Starfleet uniforms, which were mostly superfine wool gabardine), but denim also provided a toughness and durability which made the uniforms more practically useful than some of the other uniforms seen previously in the Star Trek franchise.
However, denim obviously possesses a much stronger diagonal weave than superfine wool gabardine, but on the "wrong side," the effect is generally more subdued and "muted" with a softer look to it.
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| ENT, 1x4 "Strange New World" |
In fact, sometimes one probably wouldn't even assume the ENT jumpsuits were denim at all, so lacking was the distinctive diagonal weave!
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| ENT, 4x16 "Divergence" |
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| ENT, 4x17 "Bound" |
It could just be our imagination (we've spent many, many, many hours staring at these uniforms), but the "wrong side" of the denim actually seemed to look slightly different on camera than what one might expect to see from, say, blue jeans - a subtle difference, but a present one, nevertheless:
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| ENT, 1x4 "Strange New World" |
PREVIOUS:
Analysis, preface
that the ENT jumpsuit fabric was blue denim, but the fabric was used "inside out" - that is, that the "wrong side" of the fabric was used on the exterior of the jumpsuit, and the "right side" of the fabric was used on the interior?
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