Marty McFly Safari Shirt - Back to the Future

[TheNickFox]

I'm having difficulty finding your pattern beyond the one sold by "risu" on Spoonflower. Please help?
Also interested in a shirt pattern, from whomever generates one first.

Thanks to all.

I'm not currently selling the fabric. I want to make sure it's perfect first. (And there are still small tweaks I'm thinking of making)

If I ever open it up, I'll post in the junkyard.
MitasTouch: I don't have any progress. I'm hoping to have a Muslim sloper started by next week. And my buttons are in customs right now. (They were a tough find) So, I'll make sure to post when I have progress.

-Nick

 

[TheNickFox]

Small update:

My buttons came in, and I think these are the closest we're going to find in a modern button. Thoughts?



-Nick

 

[VilleLeskinen]

I think the buttons on the screen used were flat, judging by this photo posted earlier by Lyon Estates:

 

[Risu]

It looks like they do have a dip in the center, but yea, the rim should be flat.

 

[TheNickFox]

I think the buttons on the screen used were flat, judging by this photo posted earlier by Lyon Estates:

View attachment 458248

It looks like they do have a dip in the center, but yea, the rim should be flat.

Hmmm, good catch. Well...I'm not above sculpting my own and molding and casting them. If I'm going for perfection, why not go all the way? These are the closest buttons currently commercially available, so the next choice is to go completely custom.

Maybe I'll see if I can somehow use these for a base. This is why I love tossing these up for the community. The more eyes the better!

Thanks, guys!

-Nick

 

[VilleLeskinen]

What's would you say is diameter on the button? I would assume that I'd be easy find the correct one in store. But if not, I could check out a vintage store here to see if I can find something close.

 

[MitasTouch]

I found this online. So now we know for a fact that there will be no legal troubles. Same hash line design.

Any updates TheNickFox?

 

[TheNickFox]

Sadly not. Business is, well, busy. And it's not slowing down.

Not a bad problem to have, except when it comes to making time for hobbies. haha

-Nick

 

[KaanE]

What about designing the buttons with 3D and getting them 3D Printed? They won't be expensive, yet they would be accurate. I mean printing them with a nice Shapeways material, not PVC from a homemade printer.

 

[Marty Eastwood]

I can vouch that Shah Safari did indeed make the shirt Marty wore in the movie... the reason I know this is because in the fall of 1985, after watching the movie several times at the theaters, I decided to go out and purchase this shirt. I bought one at Sharpstown Mall in Houston, TX sometime in the fall of 1985. Being a sophomore in High School, I didn't have much money, so I literally had to roll change in order to scrape up enough cash to buy it. After walking to the mall to purchase it, I realized I was short $2.00 and had to rush back home to get another couple of bucks and go right back to buy it. It had a different tag than the replica ones that came out in 2010... it was grey lettering spelling Shah Safari on a large white section of cotton.. the font was much larger and bolder than the tags on the replica shirt. This shirt was one of my prized possessions back then, and I would get it dry-cleaned. And that is how I lost it a few years later.. when the dry-cleaners returned it (along with about 4 other shirts) to someone else. I did get my first drivers license picture wearing that shirt though. And somewhere I have other pictures of me wearing it. It looked exactly like the one in the movie.. the shade of the pattern was lighter on the original shirt than is on the remakes. I believe the grid was a hair smaller also. I was so bummed when I lost that shirt.. and today even more so. I did get one of the 2010 remakes, though. Also, the original shirt I bought was a long sleeved one.. I just assumed that in the movie they cut the sleeves off for whatever reason. Either that or they made both a short sleeved and long sleeved version of this shirt. I bought the shirt around Thanksgiving time in 1985, so stores were mainly selling long sleeves then. I wish I could remember the name of the store.. it wasn't a big chain store or major mall-anchor store.. I had looked for the shirt in those places first without success. It was some small store like "Oak Tree" or something like that which was on the 2nd floor of Sharpstown Mall in Houston in late 1985.

 

[VilleLeskinen]

Could you post pictures of your shirt?

 

[Marty Eastwood]

I will add pictures once I find them.. I'm going to Burbank in October so I really hope I can find my original drivers license just for the heck of it.. I did find this shirt recently from JCPenney which is "similar" and is on clearance for $14.99 right now..

It is made by St. John's Bay... I am always on the lookout for similar looking shirts, and I wear this one occasionally... but the background is light-blue, not white, and it is made like a dress shirt with only one pocket..

 

[BTTF Forum]

I found this online. So now we know for a fact that there will be no legal troubles. Same hash line design.

Spoke with Shah Safari yesterday. Yes Sunday by internet. They are well aware of the New England Co. Shirt and had communication with them when they first started to produce them. New England shirt makes the shirt different enough that Shah is allowing it. This is by agreement. I am sorry Mitas but Shah tells me your statement is incorrect.

 

[MitasTouch]

Spoke with Shah Safari yesterday. Yes Sunday by internet. They are well aware of the New England Co. Shirt and had communication with them when they first started to produce them. New England shirt makes the shirt different enough that Shah is allowing it. This is by agreement. I am sorry Mitas but Shah tells me your statement is incorrect.

Well since their shirts right now don't have screen accurate lighter hash lines I believe that is different enough for when Nick comes out with his shirt.

 

[BTTF Forum]

Well since their shirts right now don't have screen accurate lighter hash lines I believe that is different enough for when Nick comes out with his shirt.

Then how come the shirt that Screen Used sold at auction does not have "lighter" lines. And all the photographs that were taken behind the scenes don't show lighter lines. Simple. The movie film lens filter made them appear lighter than they were. All the photos dont lie.

Whether or not Shah has an issue is up to them, but I bet they will, especially if he puts them up for sale. They had enough of an issue to have arrangements with New England Shirt.

 

[TheNickFox]

I'm still waiting on a trademark or design patent to be shown that can substantiate the claim that they have some ownership over the design.

I have personally sought it out, posting links to complete lists of their trademarks here and not one would come close to covering any aspect of this shirt. If they own it, let's see the proof as it would probably add a LOT of knowledge about the shirt in the process. So even if it means I can never offer shirts, what I could learn in the process about the shirt and its design would be priceless.

As as for the coloring, well that's a two part issue. If we see trademark or patent documentation, we might finally know what color it is and that color MAY vary from what is seen on screen. Second, it comes down to the age old debate of whether we want to represent the actual real world item, OR the item as it appears on screen. Personally, I fall into the second camp. But everyone's mileage may vary.

-Nick

 

[MitasTouch]

Then how come the shirt that Screen Used sold at auction does not have "lighter" lines. And all the photographs that were taken behind the scenes don't show lighter lines. Simple. The movie film lens filter made them appear lighter than they were. All the photos dont lie.

Whether or not Shah has an issue is up to them, but I bet they will, especially if he puts them up for sale. They had enough of an issue to have arrangements with New England Shirt.

I would like to see these behind the scenes photos where the hash lines are the exact same darkness as the available shirts. Here is a quote from Marty Eastwood, a member that has owned the real shirt from the 80s.
"It looked exactly like the one in the movie.. the shade of the pattern was lighter on the original shirt than is on the remakes"

 

[TheNickFox]

Let's just put the "The lines were darker on the real shirt, trust me" thing to rest. They are plainly not...

Shah Repro:



Screen Used:



And a behind the scenes picture for good measure:



...Pictures really don't lie.

-Nick

EDIT: I JUST noticed that Jennifer's pink jacket mirrors the construction of Marty's checked shirt. Each of its front panels is made of three pieces and the shoulder starts partway down the bicep.

 

[MitasTouch]

I think BTTF Forum is tying to justify his shirts. The research is here. The shirt from the movie and the available one now were different. There is no question. Why Shah Safari didn't recreate this for the replicas today I don't know, but at least we're getting an accurate one made. The community deserves it. Like many others, I put the community ahead of any personal gains.

 

[BTTF Forum]

I think BTTF Forum is tying to justify his shirts. The research is here. The shirt from the movie and the available one now were different. There is no question. Why Shah Safari didn't recreate this for the replicas today I don't know, but at least we're getting an accurate one made. The community deserves it. Like many others, I put the community ahead of any personal gains.

First off they are not my shirts, they are Shah Safari's shirts. Secondly you understand that they are a multi-million dollar clothing business. This is not charity. If you want to talk about personal gains, having someone rip them off to make money is a worse personal gain than a legitimate business selling their own product.


The lines were dark: Unfiltered picture clearly shows that the lines were not faded.
Or even this photo camera shot: Lines are plenty dark in this shot with out the distortion of the filtering.

100% of those that have purchased a shirt from the 2014-30th anniversary run are pleased with the shirt.

My understanding is that Shah has a copyright on the pattern, not a trademark or a patent. Not sure what the ultimate difference is but they do. I am not sure if there is an on line copyright database. I personally have and own copyrights and am not aware of a way to look those up on the web.

Mitas you were quick to have said that Shah never made the original shirt, and now you are quoting a new member that claims to have had one made by Shah back in the 80's. Interesting how that has changed. I have no doubt that he may have owned an original shirt and his story is a heart breaking one. At least we can get some acknowledgment that Shah did make the original shirt in 84.