T'Pol's Clothing

[Aikiweezie]

All these DEEP conversations about Religion and Meditation and Vulcannes left me wanting for something shallow.

T'Pol's clothes.

The few times we see her in civvies ahe is always in shades of pink, red or purple. Except for T'Les do we even get to see other Vulcan women in civvies? Do you think her clothes are the norm for women of her time or just an appempt to make her stand out some way or show off her figure?


Discuss.


By the way, I find her clothes to be very feminine and I would wear them myself.

[Alelou]

Show. Off. Her. Figure.

Especially since she seems to be the only Vulcan female in the entire series to wear skin-tight outfits when she's out of uniform.

But she was probably onto something, because I've never understood the Vulcan robes on Ent. They look way too hot for a desert planet. On Earth -- okay -- maybe they were always freezing there. Maybe in space, too. And yes, desert peoples do tend to cover up, and for good reason -- but not in heavy layers including something that looks like leather, which wouldn't make sense for vegetarians, or vinyl, which is just tacky.

I really liked her red shirt when she came back after Home. A lot of the other stuff struck me as making her look a little too much like an adult trying to look like a teenager. But again, maybe that was because she seemed so intent on eschewing the grown-ups' robes.

Her wedding dress was very pretty.

I do think she generally had more fashion sense than Trip.

[Silverbullet]

Does this include what she wore in Carbon Creek? I Mean Jolene Aka T'Pol, aka T'Mir

[Rigil Kent]

Show. Off. Her. Figure.

Well, that's the meta explanation.

My personal "in universe" explanation is that her choice in clothing was another indication that, compared to other Vulcans, she was a little ... off. Sure, they could admire aesthetically pleasing colors, but it seemed like most of them wouldn't be caught dead in anything that bright. T'Pol, on the other hand, started wearing bright "look at me" colors as soon as she told the VHC to get stuffed, although based on her PJs seen in earlier seasons, she was likely secretly wearing those colors to begin with. I thought it was intended (in addition to highlight Jolene's most awesome curves) to show that T'Pol was a rebel who didn't want to toe the party line and be a dull as dirt, run of the mill Vulcan. She wanted to live life rather than just experience it, and her taste in clothing with their bright, primary colors was a sign of that.

Plus? I blame her dad. And her desire to screw with Trip's head 'cause he was drawn to shiny things.

Especially since she seems to be the only Vulcan female in the entire series to wear skin-tight outfits when she's out of uniform.

That's part of a long-running experiment she has been conducting about whether its true that human males can trip over their tongues.

Heh. "Trip" over their tongues.

And yes, desert peoples do tend to cover up, and for good reason -- but not in heavy layers including something that looks like leather, which wouldn't make sense for vegetarians, or vinyl, which is just tacky.

Well nobody can accuse the Vulcans of having good fashion taste. I mean, look at that godawful carpet suit they put T'Pol in during seasons 1 and 2. I swear, her great grandmother, T'Mir, had a better uniform than Polly did.

I do think she generally had more fashion sense than Trip.

Heh. I actually liked his fashion sense because it was so bad. It reminded me of a cousin of mine who wears those kinds of atrocious shirts and seems to think they make him look sexy.

[pdsldl]

Were her civvies Vulcan or is it possible she acquired them on Earth or maybe while aboard Enterprise and styled more like the other female crewmembers. I thought during home that her clothed didn't seem Vulcan like her uniforms once she joined Starfleet.

[Aikiweezie]

Does this include what she wore in Carbon Creek? I Mean Jolene Aka T'Pol, aka T'Mir

Nope. Just T'Pol.

One thing all her tops have in common is the collar. Not sure what you call that but it has an Asian look to it. I'm guessing those are "Vulcan" clothes. Unless she did a lot of shopping in San Francisco's "Chinatown."

[My personal "in universe" explanation is that her choice in clothing was another indication that, compared to other Vulcans, she was a little ... off. Sure, they could admire aesthetically pleasing colors, but it seemed like most of them wouldn't be caught dead in anything that bright. T'Pol, on the other hand, started wearing bright "look at me" colors as soon as she told the VHC to get stuffed, although based on her PJs seen in earlier seasons, she was likely secretly wearing those colors to begin with. I thought it was intended (in addition to highlight Jolene's most awesome curves) to show that T'Pol was a rebel who didn't want to toe the party line and be a dull as dirt, run of the mill Vulcan. She wanted to live life rather than just experience it, and her taste in clothing with their bright, primary colors was a sign of that.

That's what I think, too.

[crystalswolf]

Well, I think the colors were chosen to compliment her skin tone. I noticed the dramatic change in JB's make-up (and hair & brows) in S3 and it worked well. As for the clothes, I just always thought along the same lines as Pdsldl but I figured her closeted fascination with human things started with T'Mir's purse but she slowly step out in the open each season.

[honeybee]

I definitely think T'Pol herself had a flair for aesthetically pleasing clothes - and that she dressed more dramatically and in bolder colors than most Vulcans. She's been diplomat and a spy and scientist and been to many other Minshara class planets, where I can see her picking up clothes or materials with which to make clothes. Think of a woman who is a world traveler - the colors and fabrics and some of the styles might be different from her home - but she's still going to be drawn to styles that she's comfortable with. So, she might wear form fitting, bright colored civvies - but she styles them in a way that is influenced by her Vulcan culture.

I think in my stories, I've had her reference pinking up fabric and clothes during her travels.

[Alelou]

That's part of a long-running experiment she has been conducting about whether its true that human males can trip over their tongues.

LOL. I like that theory.

[JadziaKathryn]

Rigil makes good points. I do wonder, though - T'Pau was another rebel and she wasn't wearing such clothing. Then again, she was in hiding, which can really crimp one's clothing options.

[WarpGirl]

3 words... Vulcans Appreciate Beauty! Personally, I thought that the Vulcan clothes in ENT were mostly tragic except for T'Pol's. Compare V'Lar's outfit, with T'Pau and Amanda's in TOS, or Perrin's in TNG. Compare Soval's with Sarek's in TOS... The way I see it, the Rommies corrupting the VHC had Vulcan society in such a deadlock that individualism was all but dead. T'Pol got out of the VHC and it ressurected her individuality.

That said, her fake tan was gross. And she wore way too much purple, in the wrong shades.

[Asso]

That said, her fake tan was gross. And she wore way too much purple, in the wrong shades.

Uh?

[Aquarius]

Um, I think that "fake tan" was meant to give T'Pol the complexion of a desert dweller, while giving her a greenish hue due to the color of her blood, the way we glow pink. It isn't meant to look healthy or normal by human standards.

One more reminder that Vulcans aren't just humans with pointed ears.

[honeybee]

They tinged that bronzer with just enough green to make her a little alien while still looking attractive.

Not exactly sure what "the wrong shade" is but I thought JB looked lovely in purples and pinks, which is probably why so many of her civilian clothes were in those colors. Also, from the very beginning - many of the Vulcans had purple accented clothes - such a a V'Lar - which I think were supposed to evoke the colors of the Vulcan sky. I think that color scheme was also fashionable in the early 2000s, if I recall. I recall having a dress or two in those colors myself.

[Rigil Kent]

I liked the makeup they gave her in season 3 and 4 (except when they screwed up her eyebrows in season 3.) And I thought she looked awesome in "Home" (albeit, a little sickly thanks to the flu that Jolene was suffering from at the time.)