Archie wearing the same clothes in almost every episode - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Neutronman67 · 05-01-2013, 07:22 AM

Why was archie bunker wearing the same clothes over and over again for all 9 seasons of the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWb5fMPvSXs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHJYAWThx3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b125NDff49A

Hughsgirl · 05-01-2013, 10:06 AM

Archie was from the Great Depression age where they had to work hard for every thing they got - which was never enough. I can't recall the episode, but Edith was fixing a pair of Archie's socks when Gloria asked her mother why she didn't just throw them away and buy new socks. Archie piped up and told her that the new generation was about waste instead of fixing what still could be fixed. I doubt those were his exact words but it was along the same lines and I feel he made a good point. Edith could sew - or "darn" them, so why spend money on something that could be fixed?

shotzette · 05-01-2013, 10:33 AM

I liked the fact that Archie wore pretty much the same clothes in each episode. He was a blue collar guy living in a changing world during the 1970s gas crisis and accelerating inflation. It wouldn't make sense for this guy to have a closet full of clothes.

Also, most of the episodes took place when he was going to or getting home from work. Most guys of his era had their specific "uniform" for work.

Frump · 05-01-2013, 11:08 AM

Yeah those were work clothes, he had suits and things when the situation called for them

Neutronman67 · 05-02-2013, 02:07 AM

Archie never seemed like the workaholic kinda guy he was always home drinking beer and watching TV or complaining with his wife for no reason lol

Hughsgirl · 05-09-2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neutronman67

Archie never seemed like the workaholic kinda guy he was always home drinking beer and watching TV or complaining with his wife for no reason lol

Um, I beg to differ. He may not have been a workaholic but the guy had two jobs at one point. Driving Munson's cab and the factory as a foreman - and than later he opened the tavern. If you don't think it's hard work to be a foreman and run your own business than you have no sense. Archie had very strong work ethics as opposed to that know it all, lazy meathead. We see him at home mostly because he's coming home from work and because the show is based on the silly family life of his and dealing with that liberal piece of crap son in law, whiney ass daughter and dingbat wife.

Neutronman67 · 05-11-2013, 09:53 AM

Archie was a hard working guy he should have bought himself some up to date clothes for himself instead of wearing the same thing in each episode lol

Harry the Hat · 07-05-2013, 01:28 AM

Archie worked a blue collar job and essentially wore the same clothes every day. He may have had 4 or 5 white shirts and dark pants that all looked the same but that was not unusual back then. I watched my grandfather go off to work and come home from his factory job the same way for years. That's how people dressed. When he got home he took off his work shirt and walked around in his T-shirt until he went to sleep.

If you grew up in that era you would know that most people wore things until they were almost threadbare. Socks were darned. Anything that ripped was stitched back up. People maybe had a chest of drawers and a small closet that all of the clothes they owned fit in. I grew up in a house where my parents shared a closet that nowadays I couldn't fit one-quarter of my clothes in. There wasn't a lot of extras in middle to lower-middle class America in those days. People were far more thrifty than today. Shopping was out of necessity not recreation. A lot of shows depict that era like everybody was dressed in the latest fashions and were super hip. That wasn't the reality of the era. Archie was the rule not the exception.

TVFactFan · 07-05-2013, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry the Hat

Archie worked a blue collar job and essentially wore the same clothes every day. He may have had 4 or 5 white shirts and dark pants that all looked the same but that was not unusual back then. I watched my grandfather go off to work and come home from his factory job the same way for years. That's how people dressed. When he got home he took off his work shirt and walked around in his T-shirt until he went to sleep.

If you grew up in that era you would know that most people wore things until they were almost threadbare. Socks were darned. Anything that ripped was stitched back up. People maybe had a chest of drawers and a small closet that all of the clothes they owned fit in. I grew up in a house where my parents shared a closet that nowadays I couldn't fit one-quarter of my clothes in. There wasn't a lot of extras in middle to lower-middle class America in those days. People were far more thrifty than today. Shopping was out of necessity not recreation. A lot of shows depict that era like everybody was dressed in the latest fashions and were super hip. That wasn't the reality of the era. Archie was the rule not the exception.

Want to welcome you to the site but you probably don't know that the person who started this thread was a little slow and no longer on the site.

But I hope to have some discussions with you about the show because I was very intrigued by your post. Again welcome to the boards and hope you stick around

Harry the Hat · 07-05-2013, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Want to welcome you to the site but you probably don't know that the person who started this thread was a little slow and no longer on the site.

But I hope to have some discussions with you about the show because I was very intrigued by your post. Again welcome to the boards and hope you stick around

Thanks.

Figured I was safe bringing forward a thread that was only a few months old. One never knows. This is quite the unique forum. So many sub-forums for so many different shows, eras, etc that's it's a bit overwhelming to get a feel for who's who. So I jumped in with both feet instead.

TVFactFan · 07-05-2013, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry the Hat

Thanks.

Figured I was safe bringing forward a thread that was only a few months old. One never knows. This is quite the unique forum. So many sub-forums for so many different shows, eras, etc that's it's a bit overwhelming to get a feel for who's who. So I jumped in with both feet instead.

What other sitcoms are you a fan of from the 1970-79 era besides All in the Family?

Harry the Hat · 07-05-2013, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

What other sitcoms are you a fan of from the 1970-79 era besides All in the Family?

The 70's is right in my wheelhouse. Besides All in the Family... MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, Taxi, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Partridge Family, and Carol Burnett Show come to mind. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch.

TVFactFan · 07-05-2013, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry the Hat

The 70's is right in my wheelhouse. Besides All in the Family... MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, Taxi, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Partridge Family, and Carol Burnett Show come to mind. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch.

Well I like Rhoda, Bob Newhart, the Jeffersons, Alice, Happy Days, and Sanford and Son

Feel free to add to any of my old threads by going to the search box of this forum and putting in TVFactFan

DJM77 · 07-05-2013, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Want to welcome you to the site but you probably don't know that the person who started this thread was a little slow and no longer on the site.

It looks like he posted some new threads today.

TVFactFan · 07-05-2013, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM77

It looks like he posted some new threads today.

He doesn't post on the 70's sitcoms boards anymore because I chased his a$$ off of them

He now just post on Family Matters and Boy Meets Worldl

05-01-2013, 07:22 AM	#1
Neutronman67 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 23, 2013 Location: Sarasota Posts: 2,538	Archie wearing the same clothes in almost every episode Why was archie bunker wearing the same clothes over and over again for all 9 seasons of the show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWb5fMPvSXs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHJYAWThx3M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b125NDff49A

05-01-2013, 11:08 AM	#4
Frump Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 06, 2003 Location: McMinnville Posts: 1,206	Yeah those were work clothes, he had suits and things when the situation called for them
	__________________ Frump

05-01-2013, 10:06 AM	#2
Hughsgirl Member Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 22, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 804	Archie was from the Great Depression age where they had to work hard for every thing they got - which was never enough. I can't recall the episode, but Edith was fixing a pair of Archie's socks when Gloria asked her mother why she didn't just throw them away and buy new socks. Archie piped up and told her that the new generation was about waste instead of fixing what still could be fixed. I doubt those were his exact words but it was along the same lines and I feel he made a good point. Edith could sew - or "darn" them, so why spend money on something that could be fixed?

05-01-2013, 10:33 AM	#3
shotzette Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 1,782	I liked the fact that Archie wore pretty much the same clothes in each episode. He was a blue collar guy living in a changing world during the 1970s gas crisis and accelerating inflation. It wouldn't make sense for this guy to have a closet full of clothes. Also, most of the episodes took place when he was going to or getting home from work. Most guys of his era had their specific "uniform" for work.

05-02-2013, 02:07 AM	#5
Neutronman67 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 23, 2013 Location: Sarasota Posts: 2,538	Archie never seemed like the workaholic kinda guy he was always home drinking beer and watching TV or complaining with his wife for no reason lol

05-11-2013, 09:53 AM	#7
Neutronman67 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 23, 2013 Location: Sarasota Posts: 2,538	Archie was a hard working guy he should have bought himself some up to date clothes for himself instead of wearing the same thing in each episode lol

07-05-2013, 01:28 AM	#8
Harry the Hat Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 05, 2013 Posts: 14	Archie worked a blue collar job and essentially wore the same clothes every day. He may have had 4 or 5 white shirts and dark pants that all looked the same but that was not unusual back then. I watched my grandfather go off to work and come home from his factory job the same way for years. That's how people dressed. When he got home he took off his work shirt and walked around in his T-shirt until he went to sleep. If you grew up in that era you would know that most people wore things until they were almost threadbare. Socks were darned. Anything that ripped was stitched back up. People maybe had a chest of drawers and a small closet that all of the clothes they owned fit in. I grew up in a house where my parents shared a closet that nowadays I couldn't fit one-quarter of my clothes in. There wasn't a lot of extras in middle to lower-middle class America in those days. People were far more thrifty than today. Shopping was out of necessity not recreation. A lot of shows depict that era like everybody was dressed in the latest fashions and were super hip. That wasn't the reality of the era. Archie was the rule not the exception.