So the concept for the uniform was based on the idea of what would a Ghostbuster would wear to a formal occasion? Charity dinner, parade, medal ceremony at city hall, etc.
Although the ghostbusters are private, the concept was that they were city servants like police, fire, and paramedics. These services all have their work uniforms and gear (for the ghostbusters this would be the flight suit and pack) but they also have their dress uniforms. And again, although they are not military, they regular uniform draws from a lot of military items, so I thought that was a good place to start.
The base uniform is a German airforce officer uniform with a grey tunic and dark pants from armynavydeals.ca. There is no real significance to the origin of the uniform other than I liked the cut and the colour to it. They were called “the boys in grey” (although it always looked tan to me) and the GB2 suit was blue, so I thought the blue/grey look was appropriate and that the other colours would pop. I’m a 38R jacket and 30W pant, so that’s what I ordered and it fit perfectly with no alteration, so if you’re getting your own know your sizes.
Right sleeve: I wanted to leave this arm fairly undecorated compared to the other, so it has the BC patch (city, state, region, whatever) centred about one inch down from the shoulder seam. Also, on the cuff I have the Proton Charging patch, which is smaller than your standard patch. The idea here was something like detachments, or training course patches since I’ve worked with PC a lot. Something good here is if someone had patches of the Xbox game achievement logos or something.
Left sleeve: Here is a little more decorated. In the same position on the shoulder I have the Maple Leaf patch (National patch, for those of you that have them). Around the shoulder is the caution stripe lanyard, which can be made with black and yellow paracord, and the tutorial on how to braid it is here. Since my tunic came without epaulettes I used small safety pins to keep it in place. On the left cuff are two black and red patches with three marks each. These signify years of service or something, but I just wanted something there and thought that the black and red picked up on the GB logo. Paracord and those red bars can be found easily on eBay or your local surplus store. Tutorial for the lanyard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8gH5ngIrZ8
Top right pocket: Above here is a simple black and white military style name tag which you can get at a place like Things Engraved. I went in with a fine tipped pen to make the lettering red. http://www.thingsengraved.ca/Product/RedirectedLink/000196--x
Top left pocket: Above here is a ribbon bar. Now these are real US medals, but I didn’t choose them for any real significance, just that the idea of a Ghostbuster earning medals was a neat idea. I may replace these with something custom in the future. Above that is a proton pack pin. This is meant to be a qualification, like a pilot’s wings. I simply trimmed down a pack from one of the RGB figures, painted it, and added pin backings.
Lapels: Two small GB logo pins I got off eBay, here. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ghostbusters-No-Ghosts-Movie-Logo-Enamel-Metal-Pin-1-w-Military-Style-Clutch-/370841602123?
Shirt is from eBay, really cheap. I opted for a medium and it fits well, though a little short in the arms. I ended up rolling up the sleeves anyway. I also put gold captains bars on the collar (also from armynavydeals, but I think something like this is common for surplus stores), I know that Ghostbusters didn’t have rank, but with multiple franchises worldwide, would they? Cops do after all. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3mu-Mens-Fashion-Designer-Military-Slim-Dress-Shirts-Tops-Western-S-M-L-XL-8001-/220866183801?pt=US_CSA_MC_Shirts&var&hash=item336ca68279&_uhb=1#ht_21142wt_1216
Tie from eBay, easy, cheap. Yellow and black for the tie and shirt again tying in the caution stripe vibe. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-Casual-Slim-Plain-Mens-Solid-Skinny-Neck-Party-wedding-Tie-Silk-Necktie-SK-/200811454665?pt=US_Mens_Ties&var=500091952998&hash=item2ec14ba0c9&_uhb=1#ht_5374wt_914
Pants, I added a yellow ribbon down each leg to continue the caution stripe theme, but also to take a little inspiration from RCMP pants. This is got from our local fabric and craft store.
Boots are just my regular combat boots polished. I bloused the pant legs since they were a little short, and also since that is how I wear the cuffs on my flight suit.
So there you have it! All the details and links on how to do your own (I am not selling any of these items, these are just where I sourced my bits). If this becomes popular I’d be really interested to see how people get creative with other pins/patches/ranks/insignia etc. I ended up going pretty basic with mine for now, but it achieved a look I really liked.
Thanks for your interest!
