There's Browncoats and then there's Browncoats...

[Kaylee]

So has there ever been any attempt to explain why the coat Mal wears through Firefly and Serenity is different than we see the Independents wearing in the flashback war scenes?

The implication in The Train Job bar scene seems to be that it was a leftover from the war, but then we see even Mal wearing the ol' sackcloth model in the flashback scenes.

Since the "original unaired pilot" was missing the battle scenes, and the only other war flashback I can remember was the late-filmed The Message - I assume that the coat we see Mal wearing in the series was what the Browncoats were originally intended to be wearing, but when it came time to film some battle scenes making a mess of 'em was prohibitively expensive.

Or am I just misreading things terribly?

 

[KitSmasher]

Maybe the one Mal wears in most of the series is a dress uniform coat? The ones in the battle scenes could be some kind of BDU style combat uniform.

 

[DavidS]

like picards suede coat he wears sometimes?

 

[Patattack]

I always thought that Mal's current suede browncoat is just a coat that he happens to like, and it's brown to show his continued belief in the Independents' cause. After all, Mal's war buddy (I forget his name) who was with YoSaffBridge wore a brown coat, but it was different from Mal's as well as the uniform coats shown in the flashbacks.

 

[Quinn Merrick]

I always thought that Mal's current suede browncoat is just a coat that he happens to like, and it's brown to show his continued belief in the Independents' cause. After all, Mal's war buddy (I forget his name) who was with YoSaffBridge wore a brown coat, but it was different from Mal's as well as the uniform coats shown in the flashbacks.

Not a bad thought.

I always took it as there wasn't any standard issue coat at all. You just wore brown and that's how they knew who's side you were on. Because, not every "browncoat" actually wore a brown coat, but they always wore mostly (if not all) brown clothing (shirt, pants etc). I just figured the Independents weren't exactly well funded or a super organized bunch so why would they waste time with uniforms and coats and dress uniforms and so forth when there's a war to be fought gorram it. In my head it played out "pick up a gun and put on something brown, there's fightin to be done"

 

[SmilingOtter]

That makes sense. The high-ranking officers might have had honest-to-Buddha brown uniforms, but the typical soldier made do with what he/she could scrounge up. Rather like the Confederates...

 

[Zeppo]

The Independent Army had very specific uniforms, shown in both the pilot and in The Message.

There were two styles that we saw, and these were illustrated by what Mal and Zoe were seen wearing.

Mal:

Consists of undershirt, red vest, tan pants (with stripe), boots, overcoat, scarf and gloves.

After the war he continued to wear the pants a boots. I believe that his sidearm was also something we wore during the war.

Zoe:

Consists of tan pants with stripe, boots, undershirt, under tunic, red vest, chainmail sleeves, scarf

Every independent soldier from Tracy to Bendis were shown wearing some variation of that same uniform. Many of them also wore a tan helmet with a brown stripe on it. For the most part, they were also shown carrying an H&K G36 rifle.

The coat Mal wears during the series is basically just a brown leather coat that he liked. He and Zoe kept true to their allegiances by continuing to wear a lot of brown.

So far as I know, there was never any intention for Mal's coat to have been part of his military uniform, as we saw both his uniform and the coat in the pilot for the series.

 

[Raffles]

I was always of the idea that the Independents were of the same ilk as the confederate army. i.e. if you are an officer and need a uniform or an item of equipment then you had it made or bought whatever was available. The british army did this at the start of ww1, soldiers would be issued with their kit and uniform but officers would have their tailor use stock patterns and have them made to measure in a variety of fabrics and cuts whils their equipment was usually bought from the best manufacturers.

This all said I think Mal said it best - "It was on sale...":lol

 

[Jumpin Jax]

I was always of the idea that the Independents were of the same ilk as the confederate army. i.e. if you are an officer and need a uniform or an item of equipment then you had it made or bought whatever was available. The british army did this at the start of ww1, soldiers would be issued with their kit and uniform but officers would have their tailor use stock patterns and have them made to measure in a variety of fabrics and cuts whils their equipment was usually bought from the best manufacturers.

This all said I think Mal said it best - "It was on sale...":lol

Here in our verse it was blue and gray. Easy enough, just like not seeing men in blue south of Dixie, you wouldn't normally see a brown coat in an Alliance world. Except for Mal, on Alliance day :lol

 

[HouseAtreides]

I always thought it was the formal version of the uniform or one he got later "surplus" like an officer's coat or something.

Yes, rather like Picard's suede coat over the grey tunic. Or a dress uniform.

 

[Zeppo]

I've always believed (and have no reason not to) that it's just a brown coat that Mal bought somewhere because he liked it, and that it has no relation whatsoever to the war.