Costume Variation Gone Too Far?

[qoSagh]

I think this topic may eventually cross away from costuming, so I put it here. With the advent of sites like iFilm & YouTube and the ability to put videos on websites, I have noticed the vast variations in Klingon uniforms that are out there. No I know that too a certain extend personal taste is always a factor, but I see more and more folks roleplaying at being part of a military unit yet no two members having any similarity in uniform. The other trend I have noticed is the vaguely TOS / Militia style.

I know making a TOS uniform is hard, as I have posted elsewhere on these forums, I would dearly love to find a pair of those pants, but I have also noticed a lot of folks not even trying. There appears to be a faction of If it is metallic, any color at all, it must be TOS. The who thing is topped off more and more often with a black beret with a Klignon pin on it. Aside from one idiom in KGT I have never found any references to Klingons wearing hats, yet many fans have adopted this custom.

I am finding many new costume/uniform pieces that are out there now, that if the conventions & fandom scene were the way it was 15 years ago, I would snap up in a heartbeat. With all these resources I find it interesting that at least the fans I see are getting less and less Klingon looking as time goes on.

One video I saw was a local news reporter interviewing a group of Klingons and there were few if any ridges. Now with the advent of Cyber-fandom, it could be argued that ridges do not the Klingon make, however there is a difference between sitting here in front of the computer and going out live to represent the larger Empire as a whole.

[Abbot Nej vIt]

Interesting points.

I know for K.L.A.W. 4th Fleet, (As I have often posted elsewhere), we have a general guideline that states: "If it looks Klingon, it is Klingon".

I think that as much as anything there are at least four main reasons we have done this:

1) At the time that our HB was written, there were few costumers out there making uniforms to order. (That number improved, and then later declined again).

2) In an effort to actively recruit new members, we saw the need to allow some flexibility in terms of "What" could be called Klingon. And again, without a "Centralized" source for uniforms, few quartermasters were making the same exact stuff anyway.

3) This reduced the number of would-be-Feddy Klingons who want to wear their SF uniform with a ridge. In other words, the Pajamas are NOT Klingon and we are NOT a Feddy sub-group.

4) Even amongst the various Star Trek films and series, we have seen wide ranges of different "Styles" of Klingon uniform. Some of which were difficult to identify as being necessarily military. Lursa and B'Etor are two prime examples, not to mention the son of Durass, Toral. Dax wore some sort of Klingon Armour and she was not Imperial Military. And of course we have seen a wide variety of Civilian Klingons over the years as well.


There are likely other good reasons also, but arbitrarily I offer those listed above. Since that time however, there has been more discussion (At least amongst a few members), about the idea of trying to get everyone a little more "In uniform", or at least encourage those members of a given chapter to be uniformed.

For myself, my first uniform was so poorly constructed, that I refused to wear it, in fact I returned it for a refund. My second I had custom made by an Armourer who specialized in leather work, so that was very "Unique". And I have worn a variety of make-shift robes and the like since then. Currently I am in negotiations with a seamstress in our club, to build a more conventional suit of armour. Even that however, is bound to be different than that of my peers.

In short, with the exception of the truly ugly uniforms sanctioned by paramount in the mid-nineties, there really have been no "One-Stop-Resources" that fit everyones budget. Personally I'd love to see my whole club look like we had the same tailor, I just don't see it happening...

I know of two things to have proven true over the years however, (Especially true for "Groups"), and they are;

1) Most people who win costume contests while wearing Klingon uniforms, tend to have Armor and make-up that looks like it came right out of the shows.

And,

2) When public interests are looking for "Klingons", such as for promotional events and the like, they usually approach/ utilize those who are in good make-up and are dressed in more traditional Klingon gear.

maj! {Good}...

[Kehlan]

I have to say that I have not found this to be a problem here in England.  Most Klingons I know all have very similar uniforms, based on the show and very military in style.  Most of them have been made by the people wearing them and they have put alot of effort into making themas authentic as posssible.

I agree that if you are going to call it a uniform then there should be at least some uniformity but there is also alot of room for klingon civilian or off duty wear out there as well.

Kehlan

[qoSagh]

The one costume contest I won wearing a Klingon uniform, I had on a kind of strange mix of TOS and TNG uniform. But that is one of the advantages of the qaptaQ vestments, few people realize what is underneath the cloak.

But that being said, I know of one club that is now defunct that decided to make Battle Armor out of Corduroy (it looked as bad as it sounds) but they did not have anything even close to a pattern. The end result was something that looked like Picard's grey vest he wore in Generations. I have seen TOSish metallic tank tops in Red, Blue or Green that just somehow always look like the costumer missed the point. Some of these ideas would strain that rule of "If it looks Klingon, it is Klingon"

I do applaud anyone who makes their own uniform, and to tell the truth some of the well done variations are outstanding. But some variations either make one wonder was was going through the head of the costumer or make you want to just run away screaming like a feddie.

An interesting aside is I was looking at a fanclub from another type of fandom that is big on costuming. They require you to have a high quality authentic costume before applying for membership. While I think that is a bit excessive, it is interesting to see that they are a large international organization who's members seem to comply with such rule. I don't think that would work in most of Klindom, but it is an interesting concept.

[Abbot Nej vIt]

I believe that I am familiar with the group in question... And it does seem that their "Empire" is overshadowing our own these days...

I have attempted to contact them a few times out of curiosity... Because it seems like something of a catch 22... You can not join the club without a quality uniform, yet you can not purchase any of their goods unless you are a member... I have not had much of a response over the years and various attempts to ask about that stuff... But I think that it is a licencing issue, since they can not sell items for profit, which is how their group gets around the issues that plague our own Fandom...

Regardless, they are very impressive when they gather at cons and so on, and almost to a person I've never seen a bad uniform in their group.

maj! {Good}...

[qoSagh]

Yes that would be them. I have met (and partied with) some of their members at Conventions for a few years. I recently found out they were opening up a branch in my state. I do think that because of some of their restrictions, I will not be joining them however. I agree that they are an impressive lot, but it seems that one can not become one of them unless you are already one of them.

[SoplaHtaHwI']

Drawing on my own experiences here, all I know is that "we of the Khemorex" do not call it a uniform. Although the club has its roots in Scotland, the main body of it is German. We all know about Germany and uniforms. Because of the inherent danger of the public eye (I have witnessed this myself during a qepHom) mistaking the fascination with Klingons for right-wing sympathies, Khemorex Klinzhai the club makes it a point that a Klingon costume should never look exactly like another.

* a qepHom is a "small, insignificant" language meeting. qep means "meeting", -Hom means "insignificant, small".