A few weeks ago, we had a discussion about Burberry’s use of Wehrmacht-esque Nazi camoflauge patterns in their winter collection and that put me back in touch with Charles McFarlane, who is one of the most well informed individuals I know on all things military uniforms. Charles is a second-year masters student in Costume Studies at NYU, whose research focuses on the intersection of military uniforms and popular fashion and the soldier as a consumer of fashion. He has also been a contributor at GQ, Put This On, Gear Patrol, Heddels, and his own substack Combat Threads.

We had the opportunity to discuss the origins of camo, some of the patterns you’d most likely want to avoid, and how to get a start in collecting and wearing military clothing in your wardrobe.

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