Mark Elliott 12/05/2024 Mark Elliott 12/05/2024

Back to the Future - Fashion

Time Travel and the fashion of the era follow hand in hand, especially for Marty McFly, (maybe not so much for Doc Brown !) …..

So we look into the fashion in 1985, 2015, 1955, and 1885 !

The clothing and accessories that people wear are a distinctive part of the popular culture. Clothing styles change not only with the time period, but also communicate one's social class and occupation. Those who don't dress appropriately are often viewed as outcasts or rebels, or at the very least, odd and out-of-place, so Marty McFly's clothing proved to be an endless source of embarrassment for him during his adventures, in spite of Dr. Emmett Brown's attempts to be prepared.

They generally had three options when they traveled from one time period to another:

They purchased and changed clothes after arriving in a new time period
They tried to find appropriate clothes for their destination before traveling
They neglected to change clothes and just endured the awkwardness of attracting attention.

Note: Outfits are described here under the time periods the clothing came from, which were not necessarily when they were worn.

Back to the Future Fashion

Outfit 1: Marty McFLY

This Marty McFly outfit is probably the most iconic of them all.

Everything from the vintage wash denim jacket and faded dad jeans, to the orange puffer vest, looks as good now as it did back in ’85.

Trainers

They’re the overwhelmingly popular Nike Killshot 2 which was originally released in the ’80s and saw a surge in interest when it re-released in 2009, and subsequently in 2014 in collaboration with J.Crew.

Denim Jacket:
Quilted Vest:
Tennis Sneakers: Nike Killshot 2 (They’re the overwhelmingly popular Nike Killshot 2 which was originally released in the ’80s and saw a surge in interest when it re-released in 2009, and subsequently in 2014 in collaboration with J.Crew)
Aviator Sunglasses: RayBan
Retro Calculator Watch: Casio

Marty

"Life preserver" First day of school in 1955

Marty wore a red and gray jacket (that he took off in the school cafeteria), white shirt with light blue rectangles, brown pants, brown loafers (slip- on shoes), and had hair tonic in his hair.

"Darth Vader"

The day of the skateboard chase – Marty wore the same red and gray jacket, this time with a black shirt with red chain link pattern, brown pants and Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes.

"That zoot suit"

Marty wore a gray wool suit, a white shirt and narrow red tie, that afterwards he called a “zoot suit”. "Get yourself some 50’s clothes ... something inconspicuous!"

—Doc to Marty

Marty in his "inconspicuous" disguise.

"Something inconspicuous"– Marty chose an “inconspicuous” outfit to cover his basic outfit; he added a black felt fedora hat, black leather jacket and dark sunglasses. When Biff confronted Marty, he referred to the outfit as "that stupid disguise".
After getting to Biff's car, Marty took off his sunglasses. At the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, Biff's gang member Match wondered how he changed his clothes so fast. After being knocked down by a door as his other self ran through it, and when Biff stole back the almanac, Marty was forced to abandon the fedora, which had fallen off his head. When taking Doc back to his mansion, Marty put the jacket and Nikes by the fireplace, along with the letter, so they could dry off.

At the Delgado Mine – Marty wore the same clothes as the day of the skateboard chase, and added a tan overcoat.

Marty's 1955 western outfit

"Clint Eastwood never wore anything like this" – Doc prepared Marty to travel to 1885 with a pink and blue shirt with long, yellow fringe running along the chest, back and sleeves, under five embroidered atomic model designs on the front and back of his shoulders, a red bandana around his neck, red corduroy pants, an ornately tooled belt with golden sunburst buckle, white Nike sneakers, and carried along a white cowboy hat and boots that were too tight.

Outfit 2: Biff Tannen

Oh Biff — the mild mannered, charismatic antagonist of the Back To The Future trilogy.

Contrasting shirt tie combo, for the pants I tailored wool (herringbone) trousers. And for the shoes, black leather with white soles to complement the shade of the knit tie.

· Bomber Jacket: (alt) Grey

· Charcoal Wool Trousers

· Black Oxford Shirt

· Grey Knit Tie

· Black Minimalist Sneakers

Outfit 3: George McFly

The timid George McFly

· Harrington Jacket: ASOS

· Olive Corduroy Pants: Everlane

· Grey Oxford Shirt: Everlane

· Black Frame Eyeglasses: Warby Parker

· Navy Suede Chukka Boots: Thursday Boot Co.

Outfit 4: Emmett Lathrop ‘Doc’ Brown

Doc Brown, the effervescent inventor of the first time machine, built out of a DeLorean sports car.

Often in a state of shock and awe, Doc had some questionable outfits throughout the series.

· Khaki Trucker Jacket: Flint and Tinder (alt)

· Slim Fit Alpha Khaki: Dockers

· Stripe Polo Shirt: Amazon Essentials

· Suede Sneakers: Koio

“…your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has! Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one!”

https://www.gentlemanwithin.com/back-to-the-future-fashion/

Clothing in 1985

"C'mon, I had to change! You think I’m going back in that-- that zoot suit?"

—Marty

Basic outfit –

During most of his adventures, except when he changed clothes in 1955 and 1885, Marty wore Guess blue jeans with black 3/4" suspenders, a red t-shirt, lavender ("purple") Calvin Klein underpants, and white Nike Bruin shoes with red swoosh and backtab

(no word Nike on them until he visited 1885) with gray socks (changed to white socks when he visited 2015).

School outfit –

From Friday before school through his first day in 1955, Marty added a Guess Marciano two-tone blue denim jacket with an "Art in Revolution" button, a Fender P-Bass pin and a white checked Shah Safara shirt to his basic outfit.
He accessorized this with a Casio CA50W digital watch on his left wrist, a silver Aiwa model HS-P02 Walkman, and mirrored Zeiss aviator sunglasses with a sweatguard in the morning.
"Life preserver" – From the evening at Twin Pines Mall through his first day in 1955, Marty added a dark orange Class-5 bubble down vest to his school outfit.
Tales From Space – Doc gave Marty a yellow full-length radiation suit for protection when loading the plutonium. Due to the similarity of his outfit to that of a space alien on a comic book cover, his outfit scared the Peabody family and an elderly couple driving past Lyon Estates in 1955.
"Darth Vader" – Marty wore the yellow full-body radiation suit, a hair dryer from Doc Brown's suitcase tucked into a belt, and held his Aiwa portable stereo cassette player.

Doc Brown

"Devo outfit" – Doc wore a white full-length radiation suit, over a green print shirt, white undershirt, black pants and orange Nike Vandal high-top shoes. He also had a watch on his left arm, and digital stopwatch on a lanyard around his neck.
Train shirt – While in 2015, Doc changed back to 1985-style clothing, a yellow Hawaiian shirt with a cartoon train pattern and brown cargo pants, expecting to return Marty, Jennifer and Einstein back home right away.

Jennifer "Hey Mom, nice pants" -

Jennifer wears a blue vest over a white shirt and has pink flower pants.

Other distinctive clothing of 1985

§ Dave wore a uniform for his job as a Burger King restaurant server.

§ George owned a suede jacket.

§ Biff wore a green warm-up outfit on Saturday; a purple warm-up outfit on Sunday.

Clothing in 1955

Biff

"Biff" - On Saturday, Biff wore a red short-sleeve pullover shirt.

School - At school, Biff wore blue jeans and a shirt with a checked red and white pattern.

For the rest of the week, Biff wore a grey jacket, a white T- shirt and black pants. He added a black shirt and a white tie for the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.

Lorraine

"You’re so ... thin" –

On Saturday, November 5, Lorraine wore a pink and purple plaid dress which had a rounded collar, a matching belt around the waist, and a pink bow at the neck. She also wore white socks.

School –

At school, Lorraine wore a blue blouse with a silver brooch and a purple pencil skirt. She also wore her hair in a bun.

"I think you'd look better wearing nothing at all"

On Saturday, November 12 at Ruth's Frock Shop, Lorraine wore a pink knitted sweater, saddle shoes and a novelty black cotton giraffe-print circle skirt which Biff lifted up to expose her panties once outside the shop.

"Well, lookee what we have here"

At the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, Lorraine wore a pink strapless dress, bought with Babs at Ruth’s Frock Shop, which she covered with a white sweater. When she leaned over in the car, Biff was able to see down the front of her dress.

Doc

On Saturday evening, Doc wore a silver robe with black lapels, white shirt, and white knit tie, and dark pants. During the rest of the week, he wore a long white laboratory coat, and put on a pair of green safety goggles when demonstrating the clock tower model. The following Saturday, as he tried to connect the electrical cable, Doc was wearing shoes with Velcro closures that had not yet been invented,[5] although he might have found them in his future counterpart's suitcase.

Other distinctive clothing of 1955

§ Milton Baines wore a coonskin cap, popularized by Disney’s Davy Crockett films.

Clothing in 2015

"First, you have to get out and change clothes."

—Doc to Marty upon arrival in 2015

Doc in his 2015 yellow coat.

Doc Brown

* Marty in his future son's outfit.

"Marty, you’ve got to come back with me"

Doc appeared in Marty’s driveway wearing a long yellow coat, a red shirt with Japanese symbols (no undershirt), silver wraparound glasses with internal video display, and a plastic transparent necktie.

Train shirt – (See: 1985 Doc Brown)

Marty

"You're the spitting image of your future son" –

* Marty Jr.’s outfit and Marty’s disguise consisted of an auto-adjusting and auto-drying jacket (though Marty Jr.'s jacket was broken on the left sleeve), blue jeans worn inside-out (Marty only turned his pockets out), white socks, white Nike MAG power-lacing shoes and a color-shifting lenticular baseball cap.

Marty Jr. wore a white t-shirt with a logo featuring a plus and minus sign. 47-year-old Marty wore a brown business suit over a light brown shirt and brown and yellow multiple ties with rising sun motifs.

Biff

Biff's outfit consisted of a red quarter zip sweatshirt and black, white and green plaid pants.

Griff

Griff's outfit consisted of a helmet with sharp metal spikes, a black-ribbed light green jacket over a black chainmail shirt, black pants and black boots adorned with a sharp metallic rhinoceros-like horn.

Marlene

Other distinctive clothing of 2015

§ Multiple ties worn by Terry, Goldie Wilson III and Marty Sr.

Clothing in 1985A

Lorraine

Lorraine Baines McFly, aged 47, in 1985A clothing and breast implants.

"You’re so ... big" – Lorraine Baines McFly wore a black, belted pant suit with patterns of multicolored dots, and high heeled shoes. The blouse had a low neckline revealing her breast implants.

Biff

Although Biff was fabulously wealthy as a result of his cheating with the almanac in 1985A, his sense of dress was still tacky as the Biff of the original timeline. His outfits were gaudy and ugly, with gold chains and bright blue blazers, giving him the appearance of a lounge lizard. After coming out of the hot tub, Biff wore a blue bathing robe over black swim shorts.

Other distinctive clothing of 1985A

§ Biff's bodyguard Match wore a white cowboy hat.

§ Biff's goon 3-D no longer wore his nominal 3-D glasses as the 3-D movies fad had long since faded by 1985. However, unable to part with the nickname, he wore aviator sunglasses which he had custom made, the left lens to be red and the right lens to be blue.

Clothing in 1885

"You can’t wear those futuristic things in 1885. You shouldn’t even be wearing them in 1955."

—Doc Brown at the Pohatchee Drive-in

Marty

"Clint Eastwood never wore anything like this" – (See: 1955 Marty)

Marty's 1955 western outfit plus hat.

"You sure look like Seamus McFly" – Same as "Clint Eastwood never wore anything like this" (see: 1955 Marty), with a straw derby hat[6]

"Some respectable clothes and a fine hat" – Most of the week, Marty wore a long, blue workshirt, brown jeans, and a brown sarape over long underwear, with a brown flat-topped hat, and boots.[7] The outfit was very similar to the one Marty saw Clint Eastwood wearing in A Fistful of Dollars.

"Go ahead, make my day" – One morning, Marty woke up wearing his long underwear with a half-fastened drop seat, and put on his hat and gun belt to practice in front of the mirror.

Behind the scenes

1955

Bob Gale said that costume designer Deborah Scott found nearly all the clothing for the film in the studio’s wardrobe department; they didn’t have the budget for her to make many original items.[8]

Lea Thompson found the pink dress uncomfortable to wear and even more uncomfortable to dance in, and would walk around the set in the 1950s corset bra and crinoline underskirt to avoid wearing the dress, and once even shocked her mother when she visited her on the set. But despite that, she still hung on to one exemplar of the dress that was given to her, and helped out with the filming of the second movie when the original dress had been lost, and she provided it herself.[9]

The black fedora Marty wore as apart of his 'something inconspicuous' disguise was made by the Stetson hat company, especially for Michael J. Fox.[10]

2015

Costume designer Joanna Johnston said she was terrified at the prospect of designing the clothing of the future, making costumes for the cast and 150 extras from scratch, since Bob’s concept did not have a basis in anyone else’s work. For a future society in which men and women are truly equal, the clothing styles would exaggerate the difference between the sexes. She decided to use a very wide variety of fabrics in bright "but not fluorescent" colors.[11]

1885

Costume designer Joanna Johnston was already familiar with the clothing for the period, having worked on the movie Tess, but found that most of costumes that were made for the Westerns of the '40s, '50s and '60s lacked the authenticity she was looking for. After further research, she created clothing for the main characters and as many as 500 extras based on the original clothing patterns she found.[12]

Back to the Future is being cited as a key fashion inspiration, it will come as no surprise to any fans of the film or, indeed, of fashion.

So much so, in fact, that Eastpak is reissuing the original rucksack Marty travelled through time with this season, sold exclusively at Selfridges (although if you have a DeLorean, you are advised to time-travel and buy one of the 80s originals, as Eastpak is certainly not selling them now at 80s prices).

Marty rocking double denim and high-tops

Marty himself has been something of a hipster template for a while now: the double denim, the checked shirt, the high-tops. If only Marty had arrived in east London 2014 as opposed to Hill Valley 1955 (and, later, 2015 and 1885), he would have fit right in and instantly sparked a sleeveless parka revival.

As for the other characters,

Lorraine Baines (later McFly, then Tannen) has, waist up, a proper Alexa Chung look going on, with her Peter Pan collars and demure little jumpers.

Biff Tannen's sports jackets are definitely in style, for men and women, while George McFly's thick-rimmed glasses have been a fashion staple since the dawn of time (maybe alittle exaggeration there)

As for what Back to the Future fashion pieces the biggest vote has to be for Lorraine's wacky 1955 hairstyle, in which her hair zigzags across her forehead

And honestly? Yeah. The clothing is superb. It doesn’t feel costume-y or try hard like The Great Gatsby or Gangster Squad; in BTTF, the period looks are natural yet interesting, feeling cool but dated.

As this film was made in the 80s, that the period they were parodying (1950s) wasn’t that historical. It was like (literally) looking at pictures your parents wore and checking local thrift stores for clothing ideas.

This all probably contributes to why Hill Valley in 1955 feels real and not filled with some wise-cracking gangster with a down-on-his-luck shoeshine kid.

Clearly, there is a huge difference between menswear in 1955 and 1985, but there are just things that make the 1950’s stand out when compared to other eras, but the 1950’s was a remarkably different than the 1940s.

In this post war time, you had the first inklings of true casual style. Instead of sportcoats as sportswear, you had dedicated garments like Hollywood jackets.

Shortjackets with point collars and bomber styles were extremely popular to wear when you were off work or just a youth.

Jeans and converse were the new go-to for casual pant/shoes, though a few still wore pleated

Hollywood waist gab slacks and derbies. And let’s not forget the explosion of prints (tiki and atomic) and tone-on-tone variations that made sportshirts truly “sporty”.

People today call it the Bold Look for tailoring (due to the heavy shoulder pads and dropped button stance) and Rockabilly for casual style. Either way, it’s pretty cool.

Good examples of the fun casual shirts in the 1950s.

Short jackets of all kinds were common, this time done with fun details.

Great shirts and an epic trouser to boot.

Ties in the 1950’s were more about abstract vertical designs. Some were slim, others were wide.

Leisuire jackets were all the rage.

BTTF gets all of this right, presumably by the use of true vintage (since the patterns and designs are really specific) as according to the wiki, they only used whatever was in Universal’s costume warehouse.

However, warehouses could definitely still make good reproductions! We’ll never know what is true vintage or not, but I’m leaning on the use of true vintage pieces since would only be 30 years old and wouldn’t be hard to source and get in decent condition.

Marty McFly

We all know Marty McFly’s epic 1985 look. Denim jacket on slim high waisted jeans, with a solid colored crewneck under a button up shirt; we also can’t forget the life preserver and white/red Nike Bruin sneakers. It’s a classic outfit that isn’t actually out of place today, since you could wear it at a Halloween costume or as a generic dude in LA (maybe lose one of the layers though).

That period paved the way for “non-traditional” garment mixing that ushered in the current way we approach casual style. Since this is only 15 years from the period of overalls with oxfords or puffers and military chinos, it’s no surprise that wanna-be rocker Marty McFly would also wear something as weird.

However, as we saw in the movie, he stuck out like a sore thumb when he was accidentally sent back in time to 1955. Luckily with a rich heir like Doc Brown as a friend, Marty is able to get some period accurate clothes and fit into this iteration of Hill Valley.

Marty’s first look for a new day in 1955 is a damn good one: every piece is so great. Firstly we can see the two-tone leather-gab jacket with a point collar. Two-tone jackets were popular as youth novelty wear. I’m pretty sure the one in the film is a reproduction, but if you found that as vintage it would be worth a lot.

Underneath the jacket, Marty has a block motif sportshirt that he’s rolled up his sleeves a la James Dean. Patterns like this are what make this era’s shirts so much fun.

He has white socks and penny loafers!

With the shirt, he finishes this perfect 1950’s casual-youth outfit with (presumably) pleated hollywood waist slacks that seem to be made of some silk or rayon blend. providing crunchy/shiny texture that fits in with the era’s obsession with patterns and atomic themes.

Overall, it’s a great uniform to do: sportshirt + high rise trousers + casual jacket. Marty wears the look well, with everything fitting perfectly. In fact, this vibe not only informs some of the looks you can see at Inspiration LA It may not be atomic or tiki, but alohas are certainly in full force in today’s spring/summer. Even the thin belts are coming back.

They need to make prints like this again!

When Marty gets into the epic skateboard chase, he retains the two-tone jacket but brings in a new shirt and pant combo. The shirt, now a red/blue piece with a wild diagonal stripe mixed with oversized squares is an EPIC one. Its a bold pattern, which again makes the 1950’s unique in it’s choice of casual patterns. It just has that retro appeal that I think would look great under a sportcoat, if there were just makers that had it (since a true vintage one would no doubt be expensive).

Note here that he’s now wearing some straight cut blue jeans. It’s different than his slightly acid-washed ones from the 80s, mainly in how it drapes. They’re not overly wide, but moderate, ending with a cuff. They look how I want my jeans to fit with proper drape. Again, Marty kills it.

At some point, Marty swapped his Corteze with black converse. Looks very 50’s when worn with cuffed blue jeans.

Another fun gab sportshirt that is worn untucked with a white undershirt base layer.

Note the two-tone coloring. Very 50’s.

His last major 50’s look is a sportcoat-trouser combo, worn to the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. We don’t really get a good look at the full cut or details, so we’re left wondering if this is a true 50’s jacket (or designed like it) or something from the 1980s that they tried to pass off.

The choice of odd trouser, a charcoal grey fleck Again, this was a time of exploring fabrics and cuts in the realm of tailoring, and while illustrations may keep everything clean, photographs from the era showed that the youth always had a mishmash of things. It’s probably because they didn’t have dozens of trousers to begin with.

The wide cut may be inspired by the zoot suit (Marty does reference it in the film, but zoot suits were more of a 40s thing IIRC), but he rocks it all the same.

Since you get to see it in full force (along with white socks and black two-tone derbies) while he’s playing the guitar, perhaps it’s his way of exuding that rebellious rocker chic in 1955. He certainly stood out amongst the crowd!

Doc Brown

We don’t really get to see much of Doc Brown’s attire until Marty goes to visit him in 1955; Doc is just in a white jumpsuit in the Lone Pine Mall.

When Marty visits him, Doc seems to wearing a variation on what we’d expect a well-to-do heir would wear at home. A pink shirt (the 1950’s loved color, if you couldn’t already tell) and a white single stripe tie are fun nods to the fact that he’s an adult, but you get the affluent charm with an epic silver dressing gown.

With a scale-esque texture and it’s moderate black satin peak lapels (echoed by the pocket piping), it definitely has that post-war fun vibe.

When Doc goes with Marty to Hill Valley High to check out Marty’s parents, Doc has on a very typical “casual man” outfit. The tiki shirt is a no brainer at this point, but note the cool gab jacket he has on.

It’s definitely some form of leisure jacket with modest lapels, patch pockets, and a fun little monogram on the patch. Jackets like this were casual but they clearly took after the classic sportcoat design; it looks smarter than simply wearing a leather jacket or gab short jacket.

Also take note of his straw fedora (I don’t think it’s technically a panama hat). Instead of the traditional black band, he instead has an abstract design as a ribbon, which was a common trend in the 1940s-1960s for straw hats. It also just makes the hat much more casual, which is one of the reasons why it’s hard to wear fedora-type hats often.

Flecked trousers. The 1950s loved fleck.

A checked asymmetrical sportshirt with a yolked pocket flap.

Look at Doc’s weird shirt! Super cool and novelty style that was popular in the late 40s-50s. Finding one today would be rare and expensive.

Doc Brown’s last outfit in 1955 is hard to make out, as he wears an balmaccan style rain coat for the climax, but his polo-style shirt deserves some recognition. Like so many other pieces we’ve seen, the shirt features a fun print, consisting of red and black squiggles.

The shirt has a contrast collar/placket and cuffs, which again fits in with many of the stylistic choices of the era. I’m not sure if I would wear it today, but more brands should definitely take a page out of the era and make something “new”!

Marty’s dad, at least this version of him, dresses like a dweeb because he is a dweeb. It’s supposed to be 1985, where RL and other mall clothes are in full swing, and yet he dresses like a caricature of a 1960’s accountant.

Short sleeve shirt, repp tie, pen pockets, and browline glasses, all contribute to it. I mean I’ve worn socks and shorts together, but I don’t think it looked this bad.

I mean, it makes sense since the film is portraying George as someone who is unlucky, who gets bullied, and gathers no respect.

A flecked short jacket.

In 1955, George McFly actually dresses pretty decently! He’s not exactly sticking out like a nerdy sore-thumb. Like Marty, he wears a few different sportshirts and short jackets, though in comparison, they’re much more plain. George could also benefit with a better fit, but it’s not terrible. At least in most cases.

What George does make a habit of doing is wearing his sportshirts fastened all the way to the top. Now this was done back in the day, but based on photos and illustrations, sport collars were definitely best worn open.

It’s a nerd thing to do that came back in the mid 2010s as the “air tie” and always results in the wearer looking “closed up”. And since George is a nervous guy with no friends or confidence, it works perfectly.

I like the checked cloth and red buttons.

In one scene, George actually wears a two-tone Hollywood Jacket! Like with Doc’s ivory jacket, these are meant to be a casual-yet-tailored approach to casual wear. You’ll see that the cut and design are similar to a chore coat’s, just with shoulder pads and “formal” cloth.

George’s brown gab short jacket has shoulder pads and is a size or two too big for him. Also see how he’s got his shirt buttoned all the way up.

An interesting cotton short jacket with a wider collar and hand warmer pockets. Very cool.

George goes all out for the dance, mainly because it’s his big moment to “save” Lorraine. A white dinner jacket and black tie is hard not to separate from James Bond (or Casablanca), and its actually the first time George wears something that fits him well. It’s still in the 1950’s aesthetic, so he has padded square shoulders, a low button stance, and closed quarters.

When we return to good ol’ modified 1985, accounting-nerd George has been replaced by a true chad version. There are no short sleeve shirts and browline shades here. Instead, he has a very 80s biz-caz outfit consisting of a moleskin blazer, vibrant red polo, and pleated slacks. It’s not bold, but since this is a “normal” outfit, it contrasts against George’s first appearance.I also love the aviators for max 80s cool.

Biff Tannen

Biff. When we first see him, his commandingly bold 70’s outfit just screams like a guy who peaked in high school and still bullies others. Which is definitely true.

It’s such a weird look that actually has some prep vibes to it, mainly with the use of a navy brass button blazer and plaid odd trousers; I think I may even see a white braided belt.

1985 Biff actually dresses rather “normal” for the era, though he stands out for his boisterous character and sheer Kingpin-like aura.

It’s all just sportshirts, white crewneck tees, and jeans, nothing to write home about. but with it just being done with jeans and sneakers, it feels boring, mainly because its an easy way to do a 1950s look. It’s easy to replicate, but don’t forget that a sportcollar makes a world of difference; a regular standing collar wouldn’t achieve the same effect.

I guess the point is that Biff is just a regular old bully, contrasting against George’s plain looks that utilize jackets and Marty’s much more interesting take on the era.

Biff’s jacket of choice is a bomber style one that has black contrasting collar and cuffs. Can’t you see how popular two-tone clothing was in those days? Like Marty’s leather jacket, this one also ends around the waist, but instead of it just being a plain bomber design, Biff’s jacket has decorative front pleating. Don’t ask why, it’s just for show.

Like with the shirt patterns, I wish we also had more vintage-inspired jackets like this!

A black shirt and bold tie? I guess stereotypical prom style was a thing even in 1955.

Others

Strickland has a bowtie and suit, but if you look closely, the suit is very 80s with wide shoulders, open notch and low buttoning point.

In 1955, he has a suit that clearly has more weight and features a fun shadow stripe, a common thing for vintage suits.

Ivy style isn’t really in the film other than the committee deciding on the band. 80s ivy is just like 70s ivy tbh: just a more exaggerated and bold version of 60s ivy.

Goldie Wilson also wears a bar motif sportshirt, though with the wide collar, it might be from the 40’s. That makes sense, since he might not have access to current fashions.

Lorraine’s dad wears a car coat (an overcoat with a shorter length). He has a fedora, which gives him an “adult” look. Not sure if the trouser fit is right though.

As can be expected, Lorraine’s dad has a gab sportshirt. The shorter collar points and higher buttoning point is period accurate to the 1950s.

So much great stuff here, from the faded, cuffed denim and saddle shoes to the absolutely epic novelty knitwear. I’m very glad that the youth have a variety of style!

Striped shirts are what kids wore back then, not flat caps, plus-fours, and suspenders.

Biff’s gang all have variations on casual style. Is that a knit tee I see? Wish we could see the ribbing!

More variety in style here and it all looks period. Love the kid’s pastel blue pleated pants, the red sweater, and what I think is a Cub Scout uniform. Check out that tiny brimmed hat!

Marvin Berry and the Starlighters all wear 50’s silk dinner jackets with their quintessential square shoulders and low button stance. Instead of bowties, they have matching continental bow ties.

Great short jacket.

Conclusion

BTTF is a great example of a movie that makes 1950’s clothing seem accessible and easy. There isn’t a big focus on tailoring, which probably makes it much more palatable. Instead, we see casual 50’s, rockabilly-esque style, which informs a lot of the heritage-Americana that is so easy for guys to wear. Sportshirts and cuffed jeans should get you through the most of it.

The real way to make it interesting is by checking out how Marty does it. Instead of plain shirts, he wore fun patterns that made his attire stand out among the others. It might be vintage and dated, but I certainly love the personality they bring to an outfit, especially since today you can refine it by wearing with loafers or a sportcoat instead of on its own.

Bonus points for those epic two-tone jackets (or leather jackets in general). I’m not sure if the world is ready for the return of hollywood jackets, but after the rise of chore coats and safaris, maybe there’s room for it.

Overall, I think a lot of guys who are searching for a more interesting way to dress can take some cues from this. BTTF did a great job and since it didn’t go too crazy (note the lack of flat caps, which if included would just be inaccurate), it comes off as classic and actually wearable.

I love this movie and I hope you enjoyed this dive into the costuming

Always a pleasure,

Ethan M. Wong

https://streetxsprezza.wordpress.com/2020/06/21/the-menswear-in-back-to-the-future-1985/

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Ghostbuster - Ecto 1

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/3/31/ghostbusters-ecto-1

Cars of Back to the Future

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/2/10/the-cars-of-back-to-the-future-55-

Back to the Future Fashion

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/2/19/back-to-the-future-fashion-te2yx

Ariel Leader

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/2/17/ariel-leader

Back to the Future - Hill Valley History

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/2/2/hill-valley-history-jxrr4

Back to the Future Gadgets and Trends we have in 2021

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/2/10/34-back-to-the-future-gadgets-and-trends

Doc Browns Biography and the History of his DeLorean Time Machine

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/1/26/doc-browns-biography-amp-history-of-the-time-machine

Marty McFly Biography also featuring Biff, George, Jennifer, Loranine

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/2/2/biography-marty-mcfly-michael-j-fox-biff-george-jennifer-loranine

Back to the Future - Hill Valley History

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/2/2/hill-valley-history

Back to the Future - Detailed storyline

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/1/24/back-to-the-future-detailed-storyline-

Back to the Future - How to generate 1.21 Giggawatts / Jiggawatts with Mr Fusion

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/1/25/great-scott-how-to-generate-121-giggawatts-jiggawatts-mr-fusion-

What is a Fat Bike ? And where did the idea of Fat Bikes come from ?

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/1/10/fat-bike-what-is-a-fat-bike-history

The Time Paradox explained - Back to the Future

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/1/16/time-paradox-explained-back-to-the-future

The Sinclair C5

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2021/1/9/sinclair-c5-

Mini Jeep Mini Review

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/minicoolsterjeepreview

Hoverboards - Back to the Future

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2020/12/13/hoverboards-

How does the Time Machine work - Back to the Future

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2020/11/22/how-does-the-time-machine-work

The DeLorean Motor Company - What did it fail ? Or did it ?

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2020/11/22/whydiddeloreanmotorcompanyfail

The DeLorean Motor Company - History

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/2020/11/22/deloreanmotorcompany

The Flux Capacitor - Back to the Future

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/fluxcapacitor

Is Time Travel Possible ? And what would it take ? Back to the Future

https://www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk/blogtothefuture/istimetravelpossible

External links

§ https://backtothepredictions.com/category/fashion/

§ https://backtothepredictions.com/category/fashion/clothing/

§ https://backtothepredictions.com/tag/clothing/

§ https://backtothepredictions.com/tag/fashion/

References

1. ↑ http://www.bttf.com/forums BTTF.com Message Board

2. ↑ http://www.bttf.com/forums BTTF.com Message Board

3. ↑ http://www.bttf.com/forums/topic.php?tp=38901-I+FOUND+IT%21+This+is+like+finding+the+holy+grail...+I+have+found+the+Marty+McFLy+Vest%21%21%21#

4. ↑ BTTF III novel, p. 38, 39

5. ↑ Velcro 50th Anniversary : Timeline, see "1985".

6. ↑ BTTF III novel, p. 73

7. ↑ BTTF III novel, p. 98, p. 205

8. ↑ Feature Commentary with Bob Gale and Neil Canton, Part I, at about 1:10.

9. ↑ Gaines, Caseen, We Don't Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future trilogy, p. unknown

10. ↑ http://www.icollector.com/Back-To-The-Future-2-Marty-s-Something-Inconspicuous-Fedora-Michael-J-Fox_i20788290

11. ↑ Klastorin, Michael, and Sally Hibbin, Back to the Future: The Official Book of the Complete Movie Trilogy, p. 71-72.

12. ↑ Klastorin, Michael, and Sally Hibbin, Back to the Future: The Official Book of the Complete Movie Trilogy, p. 60-61.

www.sandstoneproductions.co.uk

Mark Elliott 02/05/2024 Mark Elliott 02/05/2024

Back to the Future Fashion

They generally had three options when they traveled from one time period to another:

They purchased and changed clothes after arriving in a new time period
They tried to find appropriate clothes for their destination before traveling
They neglected to change clothes and just endured the awkwardness of attracting attention.

Note: Outfits are described here under the time periods the clothing came from, which were not necessarily when they were worn.

Back to the Future Fashion

Outfit 1: Marty McFLY

This Marty McFly outfit is probably the most iconic of them all.

Everything from the vintage wash denim jacket and faded dad jeans, to the orange puffer vest, looks as good now as it did back in ’85.

Trainers

Denim Jacket:
Quilted Vest:
Tennis Sneakers: Nike Killshot 2 (They’re the overwhelmingly popular Nike Killshot 2 which was originally released in the ’80s and saw a surge in interest when it re-released in 2009, and subsequently in 2014 in collaboration with J.Crew)
Aviator Sunglasses: RayBan
Retro Calculator Watch: Casio

Marty

"Life preserver" First day of school in 1955

Marty wore a red and gray jacket (that he took off in the school cafeteria), white shirt with light blue rectangles, brown pants, brown loafers (slip- on shoes), and had hair tonic in his hair.

"Darth Vader"

The day of the skateboard chase – Marty wore the same red and gray jacket, this time with a black shirt with red chain link pattern, brown pants and Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes.

"That zoot suit"

Marty wore a gray wool suit, a white shirt and narrow red tie, that afterwards he called a “zoot suit”. "Get yourself some 50’s clothes ... something inconspicuous!"

—Doc to Marty

Marty in his "inconspicuous" disguise.

"Something inconspicuous"– Marty chose an “inconspicuous” outfit to cover his basic outfit; he added a black felt fedora hat, black leather jacket and dark sunglasses. When Biff confronted Marty, he referred to the outfit as "that stupid disguise".
After getting to Biff's car, Marty took off his sunglasses. At the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, Biff's gang member Match wondered how he changed his clothes so fast. After being knocked down by a door as his other self ran through it, and when Biff stole back the almanac, Marty was forced to abandon the fedora, which had fallen off his head. When taking Doc back to his mansion, Marty put the jacket and Nikes by the fireplace, along with the letter, so they could dry off.

At the Delgado Mine – Marty wore the same clothes as the day of the skateboard chase, and added a tan overcoat.

Marty's 1955 western outfit

"Clint Eastwood never wore anything like this" – Doc prepared Marty to travel to 1885 with a pink and blue shirt with long, yellow fringe running along the chest, back and sleeves, under five embroidered atomic model designs on the front and back of his shoulders, a red bandana around his neck, red corduroy pants, an ornately tooled belt with golden sunburst buckle, white Nike sneakers, and carried along a white cowboy hat and boots that were too tight.

Outfit 2: Biff Tannen

Oh Biff — the mild mannered, charismatic antagonist of the Back To The Future trilogy.

Contrasting shirt tie combo, for the pants I tailored wool (herringbone) trousers. And for the shoes, black leather with white soles to complement the shade of the knit tie.

· Bomber Jacket: (alt) Grey

· Charcoal Wool Trousers

· Black Oxford Shirt

· Grey Knit Tie

· Black Minimalist Sneakers

Outfit 3: George McFly

The timid George McFly

· Harrington Jacket: ASOS

· Olive Corduroy Pants: Everlane

· Grey Oxford Shirt: Everlane

· Black Frame Eyeglasses: Warby Parker

· Navy Suede Chukka Boots: Thursday Boot Co.

Outfit 4: Emmett Lathrop ‘Doc’ Brown

Doc Brown, the effervescent inventor of the first time machine, built out of a DeLorean sports car.

Often in a state of shock and awe, Doc had some questionable outfits throughout the series.

· Khaki Trucker Jacket: Flint and Tinder (alt)

· Slim Fit Alpha Khaki: Dockers

· Stripe Polo Shirt: Amazon Essentials

· Suede Sneakers: Koio

“…your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has! Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one!”

https://www.gentlemanwithin.com/back-to-the-future-fashion/

Clothing in 1985

"C'mon, I had to change! You think I’m going back in that-- that zoot suit?"

—Marty

Basic outfit –

During most of his adventures, except when he changed clothes in 1955 and 1885, Marty wore Guess blue jeans with black 3/4" suspenders, a red t-shirt, lavender ("purple") Calvin Klein underpants, and white Nike Bruin shoes with red swoosh and backtab

(no word Nike on them until he visited 1885) with gray socks (changed to white socks when he visited 2015).

School outfit –

From Friday before school through his first day in 1955, Marty added a Guess Marciano two-tone blue denim jacket with an "Art in Revolution" button, a Fender P-Bass pin and a white checked Shah Safara shirt to his basic outfit.
He accessorized this with a Casio CA50W digital watch on his left wrist, a silver Aiwa model HS-P02 Walkman, and mirrored Zeiss aviator sunglasses with a sweatguard in the morning.
"Life preserver" – From the evening at Twin Pines Mall through his first day in 1955, Marty added a dark orange Class-5 bubble down vest to his school outfit.
Tales From Space – Doc gave Marty a yellow full-length radiation suit for protection when loading the plutonium. Due to the similarity of his outfit to that of a space alien on a comic book cover, his outfit scared the Peabody family and an elderly couple driving past Lyon Estates in 1955.
"Darth Vader" – Marty wore the yellow full-body radiation suit, a hair dryer from Doc Brown's suitcase tucked into a belt, and held his Aiwa portable stereo cassette player.

Doc Brown

"Devo outfit" – Doc wore a white full-length radiation suit, over a green print shirt, white undershirt, black pants and orange Nike Vandal high-top shoes. He also had a watch on his left arm, and digital stopwatch on a lanyard around his neck.
Train shirt – While in 2015, Doc changed back to 1985-style clothing, a yellow Hawaiian shirt with a cartoon train pattern and brown cargo pants, expecting to return Marty, Jennifer and Einstein back home right away.

Jennifer "Hey Mom, nice pants" -

Jennifer wears a blue vest over a white shirt and has pink flower pants.

Other distinctive clothing of 1985

§ Dave wore a uniform for his job as a Burger King restaurant server.

§ George owned a suede jacket.

§ Biff wore a green warm-up outfit on Saturday; a purple warm-up outfit on Sunday.

Clothing in 1955

Biff

"Biff" - On Saturday, Biff wore a red short-sleeve pullover shirt.

School - At school, Biff wore blue jeans and a shirt with a checked red and white pattern.

For the rest of the week, Biff wore a grey jacket, a white T- shirt and black pants. He added a black shirt and a white tie for the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.

Lorraine

"You’re so ... thin" –

On Saturday, November 5, Lorraine wore a pink and purple plaid dress which had a rounded collar, a matching belt around the waist, and a pink bow at the neck. She also wore white socks.

School –

At school, Lorraine wore a blue blouse with a silver brooch and a purple pencil skirt. She also wore her hair in a bun.

"I think you'd look better wearing nothing at all"

On Saturday, November 12 at Ruth's Frock Shop, Lorraine wore a pink knitted sweater, saddle shoes and a novelty black cotton giraffe-print circle skirt which Biff lifted up to expose her panties once outside the shop.

"Well, lookee what we have here"

At the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, Lorraine wore a pink strapless dress, bought with Babs at Ruth’s Frock Shop, which she covered with a white sweater. When she leaned over in the car, Biff was able to see down the front of her dress.

Doc

On Saturday evening, Doc wore a silver robe with black lapels, white shirt, and white knit tie, and dark pants. During the rest of the week, he wore a long white laboratory coat, and put on a pair of green safety goggles when demonstrating the clock tower model. The following Saturday, as he tried to connect the electrical cable, Doc was wearing shoes with Velcro closures that had not yet been invented,[5] although he might have found them in his future counterpart's suitcase.

Other distinctive clothing of 1955

§ Milton Baines wore a coonskin cap, popularized by Disney’s Davy Crockett films.

Clothing in 2015

"First, you have to get out and change clothes."

—Doc to Marty upon arrival in 2015

Doc in his 2015 yellow coat.

Doc Brown

* Marty in his future son's outfit.

"Marty, you’ve got to come back with me"

Doc appeared in Marty’s driveway wearing a long yellow coat, a red shirt with Japanese symbols (no undershirt), silver wraparound glasses with internal video display, and a plastic transparent necktie.