Planet Money (NPR)

Episode: "Strange Threadfellows: How the U.S. Military Shaped What We All Wear"

Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Alexi Horowitz Ghazi
Main Guest: Avery Trufelman (Articles of Interest)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Planet Money dives deep into how the U.S. military has profoundly influenced the clothing we wear—well beyond the obvious camouflage prints. Host Alexi Horowitz Ghazi teams up with fashion podcast host Avery Trufelman to untangle surprising connections between military innovation, the outdoor gear industry, and fashion trends from WWII surplus to the racks at Banana Republic. Together, they walk through NYC, explore the history of army field jackets, and uncover how modern gear brands are still intertwined with military contracts today.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Spotting the Military’s Imprint on Everyday Clothing

• Urban Birding... for Fashion (00:21–05:00)

  • Alexi and Avery take a “bird-watching” stroll through Soho, not for rare birds, but for rare military-inspired fashion.
  • Avery points out camo pants, Alpha Industries stores, synthetic down parkas, and even Velcro and plastic cord locks—all with military lineage.
  • Quote – Avery (03:53): “It's every thing you wear. It's literally everything you're wearing. Alexi. Like, it's your jacket, it's your khaki pants, it's your beanie cap, it's the layers, it's everything you're wearing.”

• Military Influence Goes Beyond Obvious Styles

  • Many performance fabrics, design elements (Velcro, layering systems), and even the concept of synthetic down trace their origins to military R&D.

2. The Historical Roots: WWII and the Army Surplus Boom

• From Copycats to Innovators (07:05–13:00)

  • Early US military uniforms mimicked European styles; WWII demanded innovation for diverse climates and mass mobilization.
  • Key Figure: George Doriot (Harvard, founder of venture capital) leads a scientific push for better military gear.
  • Lab Innovations: Collaboration with outdoorsmen and outdoor brands; invention of copper mannequin “Chauncey” for testing.
  • Breakthrough: The M43 field jacket introduces systematized “layering” for performance; a modular solution for various climates.
  • Quote – Avery (11:05): “This game-changing jacket and jacket system is called the M43...every company now makes a version of it.”

• Aftermath: Surplus Floods the Market (13:26–17:18)

  • WWII ends abruptly, leaving warehouses of unused gear: “16 million pounds of surplus clothing,” says Avery (13:48).
  • The War Assets Administration sells off millions of items, birthing a boom in army/navy surplus stores.
  • Quote – Avery (15:20): “After World War II, I would say there was a generation that just saw it as...the place to get underwear and... jeans and socks.”
  • Outdoor companies like REI pad inventory and grow on the back of easy-to-get surplus stock.

3. The Surplus Aesthetic: From Protest to Mainstream

• Vietnam War, Counterculture, Yuppies (17:21–24:33)

  • The next generation M65 jacket, with features like Velcro and stowaway hoods, crosses from soldier to protester to fashion item.
  • Anti-war icons (John Lennon, Jane Fonda) popularize the look; boutiques remix the surplus for style.
  • Patricia and Mel Ziegler's Story: Artists-turned-entrepreneurs invent Banana Republic by modding surplus finds for retail (“We had $1,500...this was a substantial investment.” – Patricia, 20:54).
  • Societal Shift: The ‘army-navy surplus’ style becomes mainstreamed, especially with Banana Republic’s rise under Gap ownership.
  • Quote – Charles McFarlane (22:48): “The students who were wearing field jackets in the 1960s grew up... and they became conventional bourgeoisie, but they kept... their penchant for surplus field jackets.”

• End of the Surplus Era

  • The end of the draft and smaller armies mean less surplus. Modern military clothing becomes “made to order”—no more vast leftovers for civilian stores.
  • Quote – Avery (24:33): “Surplus comes from big, massive militaries with lots of cheap excess sloshing around. The end of the draft led to a smaller, tighter army that can be accounted for.”

4. Today’s Military–Outdoor Gear Industrial Complex

• Outdoors Brands: Hidden Military Contractors (27:03–29:44)

  • Many beloved brands are also military suppliers: Arc'teryx, Patagonia (via offshoots), Gore-Tex, Danner, Vibram, Outdoor Research, etc.
  • Companies are reticent to publicize their military business. (“They bury it on their website a little bit. You have to dig around…” – Avery, 28:12)

• Outdoor Research: Embracing the Military Side (29:44–34:31)

  • Avery visits Kat Shea (VP Design, Outdoor Research) in Seattle, where civilian and military gear are openly designed and manufactured side by side.
  • Quote – Kat Shea (30:07): “You’re putting these kids out there into the harshest environments; you have to protect them. And we are incredibly transparent about this part of our business and really proud of it.”
  • Government contracts help subsidize domestic manufacturing and create crossover innovations; for instance, gloves designed for special forces turn up in civilian lines.
  • Business Model: Tactical side may be ~20% of business but provides stability and manufacturing resilience (e.g., during the pandemic, having US-based factories meant no layoffs).

• The Ongoing Crossover

  • Design features and tech innovations intended for soldiers frequently migrate into mass-market gear and vice versa.
  • Quote – Avery (34:31): “Outdoor research might literally produce the same jacket in two different colors, one for special ops and one for the outdoor industry. This connection... is unavoidable. It's glaring. It's everywhere.”

5. The Broader Realization: The Military’s Thread in All Our Lives

• Personal Reflections & Societal Implications (34:50–37:52)

  • Avery’s reporting journey starts with an anti-war stance but ends in an appreciation—and an unease—about how universal military-influenced clothing has become.
  • Quote – Avery (36:13): “A lot of companies contract with the military or try to. Clothing is just the tip of the spear... I'm so much more connected to the military than I thought.”
  • Wrestling with complicity and taste: “I started wearing camouflage, and I started wearing combat boots.” (36:49)
  • Ultimately, the episode speaks to how the line between civilian life and military innovation is not just blurry—it’s woven into the fabric of daily life.

• A Thoughtful Conclusion

  • Avery: “These institutions also belong to me and I have a say in them. And they are also for me. And they're part of, like, my long shared history as an American. I have something to say about them, too.” (37:19)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “It's everything. It's every thing you wear. It's literally everything you're wearing. Alexi.” – Avery Trufelman (03:53)
• “This game changing jacket and jacket system is called the M43. ... every company now makes a version of it. It is so classic.” – Avery (11:05)
• “We all bought clothes at the Army Navy store... It was cheap.” – G. Bruce Boyer (15:12)
• “The students who were wearing field jackets in the 1960s grew up... but they kept their penchant for surplus field jackets.” – Charles McFarlane (22:48)
• “[Outdoor Research]—We are incredibly transparent about this part of our business and proud of it... there's a tab that says tactical, and you can just click it. It says, ‘Same outdoors, different mission.’” – Kat Shea (30:07)
• “A lot of companies contract with the military or try to. Clothing is just the tip of the spear. ... I'm so much more connected to the military than I thought.” – Avery (36:13)
• “These institutions also belong to me and I have a say in them. And they're part of my long shared history as an American.” – Avery (37:19)
• “And these camo sweatpants are pretty sick.” – Alexi (37:50)

Structure of the Episode (Key Segments)

• 00:21–05:00: Urban "birding" for military-influenced fashion in Soho
• 07:05–13:00: WWII innovation and the creation of the field jacket/layering
• 13:26–17:18: WWII surplus and the dawn of surplus stores/outdoor industry
• 17:21–24:33: Vietnam, counterculture, and the Banana Republic story
• 27:03–29:44: Modern brands as military contractors
• 29:44–34:31: Outdoor Research and the military/outdoor gear business model
• 34:50–38:15: Personal and societal implications, final reflections

Tone & Takeaway

Planet Money blends curiosity, historical investigation, and a touch of self-aware humor. The conversation is rich with stories, firsthand reporting, and candid admission of how even self-proclaimed “anti-war” civilians end up sporting military-derived styles. Listeners come away with a new lens for scrutinizing every puffy jacket, Velcro strap, and performance fleece on the street—wondering just how much of what we wear started on the battlefield.