I'm just gonna say that describing the prussian helmet with "butt plug" was diabolical but I knew exactly what you were talking about before I looked at these pictures :D
Thought you might like this short chatbot conversation about how Teddy Roosevelt saved football when it was about to be banned because he believed in the “Strenuous life” (If you get a pop-up window "inviting" you to create an account or log in, just click the "Close" button and the chat will be visible).
I work in the design industry on the west coast, and we do a lot of service for various outdoorsy brands. I'm enjoying your exploration of nostalgia, masculinity and the history of GEAR.
AOI is one of my favorite podcasts of all time, you're doing something special here and I'm so excited to follow along!
AOI seemingly covers the history of everything I’ve ever worn in my life. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve worn a military jacket or peacoat over an OCBD and chinos with penny loafers (e.g., as I type this). Can’t wait to hear the rest of the season!
History teacher here, the political cartoons you've shared here are so great and ones I haven't encountered before. Saving so much of this to pull into my classes!
So interesting that the fight for American manhood seems to have always been a thing up till this very day. What’s that all about ? Arbitration sounded like such an obvious way to settle things, I suppose unless you can’t string a sentence together and are better at heavy lifting. Thanks for a great read.
You mention the US Army adopting blue uniforms in opposition to the famous British red coats, then phasing them out, however, to this day when the US military draws symbols on maps or computer screens, friendly forces are drawn in blue and enemy forces in red. When military units conduct training, the unit taking on the role of US troops is call the 'blue force' while the unit acting as the enemy is called the 'red force'.
A major military system, designed to locate and display friendly units, is called the Blue Force Tracker. Crazy to think about it, but the name of one of the most sophisticated systems on the planet, using GPS and satellite communications for real time global command and control, has roots in 18th century fashion choices.
You mention that khaki is a sort of greenish color, but this is only partially true. Khaki derives from a Hindustani word meaning approximately 'dust colored', itself from khak, the Persian word for soil or dirt. It came into English due to the British Empire. The British created a unit of scouts to operate on the frontier of India, modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was advantageous for scouts to remain hidden, and in the arid terrain that they operated a tan/brown kahaki color was good camouflage.
The general British Army adopted khaki during colonial wars in the late 1800s. The traditional red coat was a severe liability against modern weapons as you noted, and in the open arid battlefields of Sudan and South Africa the khaki some British were familiar with from India worked well. This was the fabric that the US Army adopted during the Spanish American War; a picture of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Rider uniform shows the same color most American's associate with khaki pants (https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/theodore-roosevelt-s-rough-rider-uniform/6gEFPXcDrF81wQ?hl=en).
So why did you state that khaki is a dull greenish color? Because in modern British English that is the color 'khaki' is used for. At the turn of the 20th Century the US and British armies adopted dull uniforms, and they both picked a greenish color. The Eastern US and British Isles are far from arid, with green plants not dusty dirt making up the environment. The military establishments picked a color that worked for what they saw around them, an early example of General Littlejohn replacing what worked on the battlefield with their personal opinion. While the Spanish American War was over quickly, the Boer War in South Africa initially went poorly for the British, leading to a great deal of press scrutiny. This included the fact that red coats were replaced with khaki, and British troops from the war became known as "khakis" similar to how US troops in WWII were called "GI's." But in the days before color photos or TV, almost no one in Britain had actually seen a khaki uniform, so when the new greenish uniform was introduced around 1900 the British assumed that was khaki. In the US the green color of Army uniforms was called 'Olive Drab' and khaki retained its original color reference.
In the modern day, things have come full circle. Although green uniforms and equipment retain a strong association with the military, modern camouflage patterns focus on brown and tan to blend in to semi-arid environments that make up so much of the globe, while still retaining some green to work in vegetated areas. The US Marine Corps uses distinct green and tan camouflage for forests and deserts, but issues universal equipment such as backpacks in an solid medium brown color that works for either. It turns out that the frontier scouts 175 years ago had it right all along - the best camouflage is one that looks like dirt.
Already texting everyone I know to check out this new season. I always knew my personal style leaned heavily military, and now I have the context to describe those choices!
I've just started listening to the series because I wanted to devote some quality time to it, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm always fascinated by your writing and the way you tell such complex stories in such a simple way, without it seeming like you've written twenty-five versions of the script.
I followed the link to Crafted With Pride in hopes of purchasing work pants for my husband. It's really disheartening that domestically made garments are luxury priced for us.
Literally pumping my fist and screaming “LETS FUCKIN GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” like a large heterosexual sports fan
omg I love it
The follow up to American Ivy we were all waiting on
Amazing first episode. Excited to see what the rest of the season holds!
I'm just gonna say that describing the prussian helmet with "butt plug" was diabolical but I knew exactly what you were talking about before I looked at these pictures :D
Thought you might like this short chatbot conversation about how Teddy Roosevelt saved football when it was about to be banned because he believed in the “Strenuous life” (If you get a pop-up window "inviting" you to create an account or log in, just click the "Close" button and the chat will be visible).
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/65b910a8-c138-40b8-a664-dfadeff72e6f
I work in the design industry on the west coast, and we do a lot of service for various outdoorsy brands. I'm enjoying your exploration of nostalgia, masculinity and the history of GEAR.
AOI is one of my favorite podcasts of all time, you're doing something special here and I'm so excited to follow along!
AOI seemingly covers the history of everything I’ve ever worn in my life. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve worn a military jacket or peacoat over an OCBD and chinos with penny loafers (e.g., as I type this). Can’t wait to hear the rest of the season!
History teacher here, the political cartoons you've shared here are so great and ones I haven't encountered before. Saving so much of this to pull into my classes!
Many of them are from Fighting for American Manhood by Kristin Hoganson! She has many many more!!!!
So interesting that the fight for American manhood seems to have always been a thing up till this very day. What’s that all about ? Arbitration sounded like such an obvious way to settle things, I suppose unless you can’t string a sentence together and are better at heavy lifting. Thanks for a great read.
You mention the US Army adopting blue uniforms in opposition to the famous British red coats, then phasing them out, however, to this day when the US military draws symbols on maps or computer screens, friendly forces are drawn in blue and enemy forces in red. When military units conduct training, the unit taking on the role of US troops is call the 'blue force' while the unit acting as the enemy is called the 'red force'.
A major military system, designed to locate and display friendly units, is called the Blue Force Tracker. Crazy to think about it, but the name of one of the most sophisticated systems on the planet, using GPS and satellite communications for real time global command and control, has roots in 18th century fashion choices.
You mention that khaki is a sort of greenish color, but this is only partially true. Khaki derives from a Hindustani word meaning approximately 'dust colored', itself from khak, the Persian word for soil or dirt. It came into English due to the British Empire. The British created a unit of scouts to operate on the frontier of India, modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was advantageous for scouts to remain hidden, and in the arid terrain that they operated a tan/brown kahaki color was good camouflage.
The general British Army adopted khaki during colonial wars in the late 1800s. The traditional red coat was a severe liability against modern weapons as you noted, and in the open arid battlefields of Sudan and South Africa the khaki some British were familiar with from India worked well. This was the fabric that the US Army adopted during the Spanish American War; a picture of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Rider uniform shows the same color most American's associate with khaki pants (https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/theodore-roosevelt-s-rough-rider-uniform/6gEFPXcDrF81wQ?hl=en).
So why did you state that khaki is a dull greenish color? Because in modern British English that is the color 'khaki' is used for. At the turn of the 20th Century the US and British armies adopted dull uniforms, and they both picked a greenish color. The Eastern US and British Isles are far from arid, with green plants not dusty dirt making up the environment. The military establishments picked a color that worked for what they saw around them, an early example of General Littlejohn replacing what worked on the battlefield with their personal opinion. While the Spanish American War was over quickly, the Boer War in South Africa initially went poorly for the British, leading to a great deal of press scrutiny. This included the fact that red coats were replaced with khaki, and British troops from the war became known as "khakis" similar to how US troops in WWII were called "GI's." But in the days before color photos or TV, almost no one in Britain had actually seen a khaki uniform, so when the new greenish uniform was introduced around 1900 the British assumed that was khaki. In the US the green color of Army uniforms was called 'Olive Drab' and khaki retained its original color reference.
In the modern day, things have come full circle. Although green uniforms and equipment retain a strong association with the military, modern camouflage patterns focus on brown and tan to blend in to semi-arid environments that make up so much of the globe, while still retaining some green to work in vegetated areas. The US Marine Corps uses distinct green and tan camouflage for forests and deserts, but issues universal equipment such as backpacks in an solid medium brown color that works for either. It turns out that the frontier scouts 175 years ago had it right all along - the best camouflage is one that looks like dirt.
Friends! What are you wearing to listen to the first episode? Are we doing casual or dressy Patagonia fleece??
I went trench coat which kinda fits I think
Already texting everyone I know to check out this new season. I always knew my personal style leaned heavily military, and now I have the context to describe those choices!
i am so pumped!
Maravilla de serie.
Avery,
I've just started listening to the series because I wanted to devote some quality time to it, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm always fascinated by your writing and the way you tell such complex stories in such a simple way, without it seeming like you've written twenty-five versions of the script.
It's wonderful.
Thank you so so much
Greetings friend, your posts appear on my feed often, and I thought I ought to drop a comment, to say how interesting I think they are.
I thought you might enjoy one of my articles, pertaining to some strange aspects of Londons history:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jordannuttall/p/questionable-english-architecture?r=4f55i2&utm_medium=ios
I followed the link to Crafted With Pride in hopes of purchasing work pants for my husband. It's really disheartening that domestically made garments are luxury priced for us.
oh yes made in america is EXPENSIVE. I’ll get into this later in the series but like… gloves for soldiers cost $200 each.
It’s a lot