THE QATSPY® Quapaw Aviation Tactical Sportswear Performance Yukon Outfitter Company
THE QATSPY® Flight Operation Center Collection
By: Charles W. Boatright
Inspiration for Indiana Jones’ Leather Jacket/Khakis– Was the 1931 A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket that was Worn by the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII
If there is one thing that draws audiences to the Indiana Jones Movies more than the suspense-filled, archeological adventures of Indiana Jones searching for historical artifacts and escaping danger, it is Indy’s classic outfit. We all know Indiana Jones’ iconic outfit that consisted of The leather jacket, fedora, and Chino khakis pants/shirt and bullwhip. The 1890’s and 1930’s brought us some of the most enduring and most iconic classics that actually defined fashions for decades, even in today’s standards.
Indiana Jones’ outfit was well established in military tradition and history that endures as classic icons that has defined fashions for generations, that has even endures today as a fashion standard. You can’t go wrong wearing the classic Chino khaki pants, button-down Oxford shirt, and the classic itself, The A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket, with that fedora to top off your attire. Of course, the tie is always optional, based on your situation. I can’t agree more with the Late Coach Mike Leach’s (The Pirate) assessment with neck ties; ‘They should have gone the way of the powdered wigs.’
Let’s Look at Indy’s Classic Chino Khaki Pants First
The Term Khakis Origin
Khaki describes the color of the fabric and not the cotton fabric itself that came from China. Khaki was derived from a Hindu word that means soil-colored or sand color. The first military corps that influenced the need for a camouflage color, that later became the term khaki, was in 1846 in India. British-Indian Army still wore the red wool coats with white trousers that hearkens back to General Cromwell era that made it a perfect target in skirmishes, especial after 1884.
With the advent of two developments made it essential for wearing camouflage instead of red wool coats and white trousers. The first development was rifling, or groves in barrels developed in 1520, but wasn’t used on a large scale until after the American Civil War. This improved infantry’s accuracy over longer distances. The second development was smokeless gunpowder that was developed in 1884. Black powder caused the fog of war to envelop the battlefield from rifles and canon fire that obscured the view of the battlefield.
An unit commander, Henry Lumsden, that lead the Corps of Scouts, in 1846, noticed how his Indian infantrymen wore cotton trousers that they had dyed with a mixture of tea and native soil that allowed their uniforms to blend in with their surroundings. The color of this dye mixture was described by the Hindu word ‘Khaki’. In 1848, the khaki color uniforms became the standard issue uniform of the British and later of the U.S. Military leading up to the Spanish-American War in 1989. This is what we in the military as noncoms called Military Intelligence, because it only took high command two years to figure out that khaki color uniforms had strategic significance.
The Hindu word ‘khaki’ became synonymous that was first used in the middle 1800’s as a standard to describe the cotton pants rather than just the color. Coupled the khaki pants with a button-down Oxford shirt that I’m wearing in the above photograph, you are ready for business and/or for leisure wear in almost any situation.
The Majority of what Indiana Jones wore was heavily influenced by both the British and U.S Militaries dating back to the 1890’s with the khakis and to the 1930’s with the iconic leather jacket. We can’t even imagine Indiana Jones without his leather jacket, fedora, and Chino khaki pants. Now for the word Chino to find out when and where the term Chino was first coined.
The Origins of the Term Chino
During the Spanish-American War, the American solders referred to their khakis pants as ‘Chino’ because of where the fabric was from, China. The term Chino was of French origins for China. Thus the name Chino stuck for describing where the fabric was imported for the khaki pants that is a major part of my wardrobe, as well.
You can dress either up or down by wearing the very same button-down Oxford shirt and khaki Chino pants for almost if not for almost any occasion. You NEVER have to be concerned if your khaki Chino pants will clash with your shirt or jacket you’re wearing with khaki Chino. The Button-down Oxford Shirt and Khaki Chinos and The A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket, that I’m wearing, are a safe bet to have in your wardrobe for any/all occasions, except in the instance of a black tie and tux affair.
The Indy-Style Leather Jacket Origin
Nothing defines Indiana Jones more than his leather jacket, with a close second being his khakis Chinos and his fedora. The leather jacket that is Indy’s signature part of his outfit was based on the 1931 A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket that I’m are wearing in the image above. These are part of our Cockpit Collection along with the khakis chino pants, and THE QATSPY® logo button-down Oxford Shirt.
The A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket was submitted to the U.S. Army Air Corps to replace the A-1 Leather Bomber Jacket on June 09th, 1931. The A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket identified the charisma, courage, and the exploits of the U.S. Pilots and Aviators during World War II in their cockpits and walking across the tarmac. The A-2 Bomber Flight Jacket was what inspirited the Indy-Style Leather Jacket that also reflects that same character and charisma of those pilots and aviators had while flying their sorties.
The Originals A-2 Bomber Flight Jacket That Virtually Hasn’t Changed since its Introduction in 1931
The A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket that was first supplied to the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1931 has virtually not changed since its introduction in June of 1931.
The durability of The Indy’s ensemble of leather jacket, fedora, and khaki chino pants/shirt gave him the ability to crisscross continents in his exploits and was what endeared Indiana Jones’ character to us in 1981. Indy’s character style hearkens back to the classic era of the Greatest Generation and their bravery that was defined by their charisma that achieved nothing short of saving humanity from tyranny and oppression.
The Leather Jackets, khaki chino pants, flight suit, and the all important Ray Ban aviators sunglasses are all part of our Cockpit Collection that captures that same charisma of the Indiana Jones character and of the Greatest Generation’s pilots, aviators, and airborne units that worn the A-2 and G-1 Leather Bomber Jackets in the cockpit:
The THE QATSPY® A-2 Leather Bomber Jacket is so versatile that I even wear it riding my INDIAN Scout Bobber 60 Motorcycle to and from the hangar and it also serves as my Sports Jacket for all occasions.
Just to give you an idea of the Confidence, Classic style, and Comfort that either the A-2 or G-1 Leather Bomber Jacket, with the button-down Oxford Shirt and khaki Chinos can give you, in the photoshoot below, we did our Fall Fashion shoot for The Cockpit Collection in our hangar where I’m 66. I’m posing with our model, Heather who is in her early 20’s. That is the shear definition of the 4-C’s of Charisma, Confidence, Comfort, with Class that we need to represent ourselves and our business:
As the caption states- YOUR BEST FASHION STATEMENT IS YOUR HEALTH & FITNESS that captures the attention of people in business settings and casual outings. Your Health & Fitness provides you the confidence to represent your work and yourself. I was able to drop weight and inches within 6- weeks to feel better than I did in my mid-30’s. But that wasn’t all that I dropped, I dropped about 3- decades off the condition of my skin as well.
Below is THE MACS PFX-25 Health & Fitness SPA Program of how I achieve age-defying success:
For a Health & Fitness Program to be successful, we need to know what results will look like. Below, I did an AB Challenge after our photoshoot on July 14, 2023 in our hangar with blue jeans, shown with some of the T-Shirts we offer:
Indiana Jones’ Side Arm
My preference, however, is the Moses Browning’s design Model-1911 Springfield Caliber 0.38 Supper ACP Automatic COLT Pistol. The Model-1911 has been a standards in the U.S. Army since it was introduced.
Our Khaki Shirts in Short and Long Sleeves
Before I retired as a Grid Engineer after 33-years, I worked out in the field to layout routs for transmission lines across the Southeast part of the country. One of my jobs was to perform route surveying. Even 9-years after I retired, I still do survey work for friends. Below, I’m surveying a neighbors farm to prepare a Topomap of his farm. This was taken August 09th, 2023 when temperatures were in the mid 90’s with humidity to match.
This shows how versatile our khaki shirts are even in the Mississippi heat. These khaki have that comfortable and classic look that represents your confidences to others. The humidity was so high that we couldn’t even make a clear photo like I like to make. These khaki shirts are found in my Cockpit Collection. Our new design has a more slimline look.
Our New Designed Khaki Shirts
Of course you can’t be out in the sun without Ray Ban Aviators that offers 100% UV Protection for your eyes and the skin around your eyes. I been working outdoors since I was 12 years old on my grandfather dairy farm.
And a cap is always essential, We carry the Fly Tiber Cap:
