Adam Ant, Then and now

[greenmachines]

I think the drummer may be wearing the white shirt that Adam usually wears.

 

[greenmachines]

Ha, and I was heading to bed and now jazzed up. My wife is going to be so peeved. I am slinging blame at Goldcylon,

 

[greenmachines]

As usual, the advertised, dirt cheap, Indian Head nickel ring was no where near the right size. The "nickel" portion was the size of a dime. Fake would not have bothered me but it can't pass in pictures if it isn't this very large ring, which it is not.

I will need to make my own. I already have several Indian head nickels so the rest is cosmetic. Here are pics of my attempt at cheap...

The original ring is from Bradford Exchange and is found in numerous ebay auctions....

 

[greenmachines]

But, in the same shipment was my base watch and it is exactly as pictured in the advert. I will print the pose cover picture to match the watch face size tomorrow and will load more pics after I have it attached and clearcoated. Here it is before face swap:

and the omega for comparison....

 

[joberg]

Jacket is bespoken and therefore sinched to the waist. It makes a great inverted triangle with the emphasis of the "Plastron" buttons and the decorations of the back.
No special make-up; just the grease of the white reflecting on camera.

 

[goldcylon]

Jacket is bespoken and therefore sinched to the waist. It makes a great inverted triangle with the emphasis of the "Plastron" buttons and the decorations of the back.
No special make-up; just the grease of the white reflecting on camera.

That's how it appears to me as well the white is simply reflective along with sweat beads I am sure

 

[greenmachines]

The "now" bicorn hat looks to be a handcrafted project piece and not military issue. Looks like a denim or tarp material over a wire frame (correction: I can see a plaid pattern hiding in it, so maybe a wool suit cloth)

However, I got freakishly lucky today on an ebay auction and picked up a true antique bicorn for twenty dollars.... 20. So, unless the seller backs out, I will have a crazy awesome bicorn for a "now" style outfit....

I would not be surprised when the seller refunds and closes the sale nor would I be too emotional about it as they usually range 100 to 200 and I intend to craft the stage version by hand anyway. I have had some pretty decent luck with projects like this using the Dollar Store turkey basting aluminum pans as the base and skinning over it with spray glue and cloth. It should be a one day project if I can find the correct cloth.

 

[Funky]

I can't believe this thread exists! I've been an Adam Ant fan for, what? Almost 40 years? Just saw him last year in concert in Dallas last year. He sounds exactly the same! I think I'm going to pick up that jacket...

*EDIT
Just bought one. I'll post when it gets here.
BTW, when I was a teenager, I read every single interview with Adam Ant. Watched everything that he was on. I seem to recall him commenting on his obsession with pirates and highwaymen. He said that he was obsessed with the romanticism of being a rogue, or a "well meaning bandit". The idea with all the things hanging from his belt was he wanted to give the look of him crashing a super high-end party, running at top speed through the center of it and grabbing as much stuff as he could then run out the back. He would add these things to his belt as "trophies".

 

[skiffy]

Love this thread! I was always a fan and was around in the eighties to experience the music first time around. This is as far as I was allowed to go by my wife with my tribute on our wedding day (1990) = custom tailored double-breasted cavalry jacket, tights, riding boots and a big velvet ribbon in my hair.

 

[greenmachines]

I can't believe this thread exists! I've been an Adam Ant fan for, what? Almost 40 years? Just saw him last year in concert in Dallas last year. He sounds exactly the same! I think I'm going to pick up that jacket...

*EDIT
Just bought one. I'll post when it gets here.
BTW, when I was a teenager, I read every single interview with Adam Ant. Watched everything that he was on. I seem to recall him commenting on his obsession with pirates and highwaymen. He said that he was obsessed with the romanticism of being a rogue, or a "well meaning bandit". The idea with all the things hanging from his belt was he wanted to give the look of him crashing a super high-end party, running at top speed through the center of it and grabbing as much stuff as he could then run out the back. He would add these things to his belt as "trophies".

I love the backstory you have on the charms. It reminded me of an interview I had seen with Johnny Depp.

Depp has always resembled Adam and they are often mistaken for one another in photo searches online. My most recent searches online for Will Turner (Pirates of the Caribbean) loaded quite a few for Jack Sparrow but I got sidetracked looking at Sparrow's charms and bangles and low and behold, there was Adam, mislabeled as Depp. It struck hard that Depp doesn't just resemble Adam, he very often follows close behind in rings, clothes, hats and more. His personal choice influence on the Jack Sparrow outfit was the idea of his trophies displayed as charms in his hair and on his clothes. But he takes it even further with the small ribbons tied randomly in his hair. The drunken swaying might be based on Keith Richards but the outfit certainly borrows from Adam's pirate inspired style.

 

[greenmachines]

Love this thread! I was always a fan and was around in the eighties to experience the music first time around. This is as far as I was allowed to go by my wife with my tribute on our wedding day (1990) = custom tailored double-breasted cavalry jacket, tights, riding boots and a big velvet ribbon in my hair.

First, super stoked to see you actually pulled it off with the wedding outfit. It really does look sharp. But the real win was finding a wife that had faith enough in your style. Can't say I missed that beautiful car in the photo either, very classy.

 

[greenmachines]

Keep an eye out for edits as I will post further purchase details on past posts when the item turns out to be a great match or even a dud. I will also post in time sequence as they come in (shipping). I came across a black velvet suit jacket at thrift (our local mission store) that may become the sacrificial base for the "now" version hussar jacket. I will post that if it turns out to be enough material to cobble together.

I printed a few watch faces today and gloss coated one with packing tape and applied it to my base watch. Here is round one. If it is passable for pictures, it may be my first finished piece but will likely take a few rounds of printing yet.

and the original for comparison:

The downside, of course, is that it will be 10:08 forever.....

 

[JamesM242]

Your test photo looks convincing to me! I would not have guessed it was a 'sticker' face.

 

[Moviefreak]

Keep an eye out for edits as I will post further purchase details on past posts when the item turns out to be a great match or even a dud. I will also post in time sequence as they come in (shipping). I came across a black velvet suit jacket at thrift (our local mission store) that may become the sacrificial base for the "now" version hussar jacket. I will post that if it turns out to be enough material to cobble together.

I printed a few watch faces today and gloss coated one with packing tape and applied it to my base watch. Here is round one. If it is passable for pictures, it may be my first finished piece but will likely take a few rounds of printing yet.

View attachment 1726098

and the original for comparison:

View attachment 1726101


The downside, of course, is that it will be 10:08 forever.....

Photoshop out the hands from the sticker, and then use real working hands.

 

[greenmachines]

Photoshop out the hands from the sticker, and then use real working hands.

I hadn't gotten brave enough to open the case yet. This sticker is on the outside of the watch but I think that you have given me my after photoshoot plan for an upgrade. Once I get my "Now" poses taken, I will go back to this watch and get the tools to pop it open and redo the face for real with working parts.

 

[goldcylon]

The "now" bicorn hat looks to be a craft project and not military issue. Looks like a denim or tarp material over a wire frame (correction: I can see a plaid pattern hiding in it, so maybe a wool suit cloth)

View attachment 1725973

However, I got freakishly lucky today on an ebay auction and picked up a true antique bicorn for twenty dollars.... 20. So, unless the seller backs out, I will have a crazy awesome bicorn for a "now" style outfit....

View attachment 1725980

I would not be surprised when the seller refunds and closes the sale nor would I be too emotional about it as they usually range 100 to 200 and I intend to craft the stage version by hand anyway. I have had some pretty decent luck with projects like this using the Dollar Store turkey basting aluminum pans as the base and skinning over it with spray glue and cloth. It should be a one day project if I can find the correct cloth.

Your hat looks better. However Adam is still in form with a large seal a feather adornment. It looks like a simple bolt wool and a metal frame. However I will admit I bet Adams hat "breathes" better and he appreciates that on stage.

 

[goldcylon]

Keep an eye out for edits as I will post further purchase details on past posts when the item turns out to be a great match or even a dud. I will also post in time sequence as they come in (shipping). I came across a black velvet suit jacket at thrift (our local mission store) that may become the sacrificial base for the "now" version hussar jacket. I will post that if it turns out to be enough material to cobble together.

I printed a few watch faces today and gloss coated one with packing tape and applied it to my base watch. Here is round one. If it is passable for pictures, it may be my first finished piece but will likely take a few rounds of printing yet.

View attachment 1726098

and the original for comparison:

View attachment 1726101


The downside, of course, is that it will be 10:08 forever.....

And... correct twice a day. Reprint it to a signifcant time and date in your life. Birth of a child or marriage like every LED clock in the X-Files was.... as 11:21 was Chris Carters wife's birthday.

 

[goldcylon]

Love it.

So, two issues arise here and many others are resolved. First, the coat I found, actually all of them, have the farthest row of buttons close to the next row. This distance changes only a little in these replica coats.

Seeing his original, moving and close up, confirms my earlier nagging doubts that the buttons are nearly equidistant between the first, second and third on each side (sharing the middle set of course). Making the decorative differences between each button, nearly the same distance. At the top, about 3 inches, equally from one button to the next.

On the replicas, that I found, they are about 1.5 to 2 inches from the outside buttons to the next inward but then a large jump of 4 to 5 inches to the middle. For finishing within my lifetime, I will either settle or order a custom coat......grrrrr.

The second discovery is that the pattern on the back is not the same as the replicas. I will need to do some screen caps to be sure.

However, seeing it in motion and zooming in and out, give great visual caculation estimates for jacket length and fit. Much more a waist hugging line than most replicas. More like a matador fit than a marching band fit. Thoughts?

I agree on the feathers. Will be an easy match and an excuse to go through my mom's craft collection. I guarantee she has all of them.

So question to this thread: Would you agree that the video exposes the inclusion of reflectives in the white bar face paint or is it just a specific angle reflecting on true grease paint? I lean toward thinking it must contain a good portion of glass bead grains or similar. Comments?

In my 185 pounds current state of the union, I will not be bare chesting it. So I wil also be looking for any really good pics of the white shirt he normally wears with this jacket, or the black for that matter. I have several possibles waiting to be ordered. I will load my inspiration pics for his poses with full shirts showing and then my possibles.

I still love seeing real jam session recordings vs today's completely lab grown overdubs. The edge and grit is there in his work but so is the talent. With new bands, I question how many years they were already mostly A.I. or synth voices..

So NOT autotune everything these days.....

 

[goldcylon]

Ha, and I was heading to bed and now jazzed up. My wife is going to be so peeved. I am slinging blame at Goldcylon,

Accepted !

 

[greenmachines]

Found amother great "now" picture, actually an art print.