Uniform Essay

by Wayne Montana

Many years ago I found a US military jungle jacket from the Vietnam War at a thrift shop. It quickly became one of my favorite jackets.  Every time I would wear it people would always comment on how slick it was and some would ask if it was an army surplus or a “fashion” piece. It has what I like most in my clothing, it’s made out of a rugged material, fits me great, and has a bunch of cool small details. Some of my favorite details the jacket has: great expandable angled pockets, hidden buttons (both on the pockets and the front), a small collar, and goes down a little bit lower than my waist.

As much as I love this jacket it was always in the back of my mind that I wished it was a brighter color and had matching pants. If only I could find one I would be be super bad. When this project was brought up to me it was the first thing that jumped into my mind. While thinking about getting the matching jacket and pants suit together I kept thinking about 70′s era Jamaican and African musicians and the fashion ideas of the Clash. Both eras of musicians had a similar army surplus/rough around the edges vibe which I always admired. The idea of a more tailored brightly colored suit was then solidified in my brain.

Bio Wayne Montana has been around the way in Chicago for over 25 years. He moved to Chicago at the end of 1988 from New York and got involved in the music scene right away. As a bass player, guitar player, synth player, recording and mixing engineer, dog owner, fisherman, Deejay, and a cook, he has tried his best to make the things around him change in positive way, not always an easy task.