MovieChat Forums > Will & Grace (1998) Discussion > Will & Jack's clothing

Will & Jack's clothing

posted 10 years ago by Treg1980
13 replies | jump to latest

What were they thinking with dressing Will, but especially Jack? I'm a gay guy and sorry, but the way Jack was dressed most of the times was far from hip or trendy for a gay guy especially for a extravagant guy like Jack. He should have walked around in tight shirts, skinny jeans or anything like it. But no he walked around in shirts, blazers, pants guys in their 40's and 50's wear and criticized Will's clothes?

I don't know, maybe Jack's wardrobe was popular among gay guys in their early 30's back then in the US? But here in Europe it wasn't back then and it sure isn't now.

Also, Jack is VERY obsessed with his hair, yet he had one of the most boring haircuts I've ever seen on a gay guy. Sorry, but dressing and styling Jack was totally a mised opportunity.

[–] fiero-49251 10 years ago

ITA! Both dressed about as boring as any straight redneck, nothing special or outstanding; esp. their hair! It was not representative of any era I lived! I dressed more extravagantly and "out" going to work at a bank! Had on some tight black pants/knee-high boots and some customer service broad complimented me on my arse! lol!

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[–] Treg1980 9 years ago

And for the record, not every gay man dressed/dresses like a flamboyant, label loving fashion victim. Some of us like timeless, classic styles

Of course that's very true, but the way Jack was portrayed he should have dressed like... well... like he came right out of Madonna's Vogue video or something like that. Guys like Jack don't dress the way he did. As you said, the oversized shirts and vests?? He dressed like a middle aged man without real taste.

[–] Gothish 9 years ago

I agree, I thought Will dressed very nice. He often wore form-fitting clothing, and really nice sweaters and t shirts. I also liked his hair and thought it was much nicer and "hipper' than most straight guys' hair. I never much liked Jack's style.

"Two gin and Frescas"
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[–] tttttoner 9 years ago

It's like the wardrobe person went to the database and selected "Generic 32-46 year old male" and dressed Will and Jack in whatever fits this description after a shopping trip to Sears.

They had Jack wearing cargo shorts FFS. I know it was the 90's to early 2000's, but no gay man back then would be caught dead in those things.

[–] ElvenKing4 9 years ago

That's how people dressed at that time in America

[–] krowdhc 9 years ago

I always assumed they dressed him like that on purpose to broaden the show's appeal to people who wouldn't ordinarily watch a gay comedy. Jack already had such a big personality, I thought they felt like they couldn't push their luck. They had to try to reach as much of the Friends demographic, which was enormous, as possible so they may have made some sacrifices.

[–] fiero-49251 9 years ago

Well it never drew me in; watching every once in a while! I can only take so much of the show for some reason! In my day, a SHOWTIME series from 30 years ago was more provocative; "BROTHERS!" Only one character dressed the stereotype; a bejeweled baseball cap and glove to play the game for instance! lol! I have no idea why that came to mind! I wonder why it never caught on in syndication! It barely last a season trying to go mainstream!

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_(TV_series) - "Brothers"

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[–] tyshimah3 9 years ago

Great point! Makes perfect sense.
Hmm... and their fashion choices never bothered me.
But with Jack's khaki pants, I remember him saying that he didn't know whether they were in or out, but he bought like 40 pairs with Will's credit card. Or something like that. lol.

"Do you even remember what you came here to find?"

[–] Schleiben28 9 years ago

Will's clothing was very Banana Republic, while Jack looked like he shopped at The Gap. Also, since Jack was a flamboyant New York queen of a gay man who loved showtunes, this was very accurate of the times in the late 90s NY gay scene.

[–] fiero-49251 9 years ago

Coincidently, they're closing 75 Ban. Rep./Gap stores around the world; stock down 30% due to online sales and Forever 21 I guess! ;-/

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[–] dabukaba 8 years ago

Well first off I always saw Jack's character as flamboyant, as in stereotypically gay in mannerisms and talk (not that there's anything wrong with that obviously) whereas Will wasn't stereotypical in mannerisms or talk (well rarely with talk and never in a way like Jack). So I know Jack's wardrobe didn't play off the stereotype like the rest of his character did, but here's my take:

Remember how Jack (and Karen) was very much into antiques and antique pawn shows? Well this would include "vintage" Americana items. So I always thought his clothes and hair looked trying to emulate the circa 1950's and '60's -- think about it, the checkered collared shirts, the V-neck wool sweater vests, the khakis, the formal shoes -- all just worn at his apartment. There's nothing stereotypically "gay" about it, but the only thing I can think of is that he's dressed trying to emulate the years when men (and women) were always dressed classy, relatively formally, unlike 1998/now with guys in T-shirts and sloppy with backwards baseball caps. So it's elegant
in its own way, just not whatsoever trendy, and on purpose, it's like going against the current and wearing what any guy his age would have worn in the conservative days
of 1955 or 1965. It's a statement, if you will. I'd recommend watching movies or TV shows from circa mid-'60's going all the way back to about 1930 to see what I mean.

on purpose,