Oh, I do love this ridiculous episode! Jean-Luc’s fashion choices are So On Point!
We start with what I like to call “Pretending Not To Care”. The outfit is in line with Jean-Luc’s aesthetic. And is also a great example of color variance in lighting – I kinda love it here with the contrast between the harsh and artificial ship’s lighting while on the planet it’s warm.
The wrap shirt has the same silhouette on display in “Starship Mine” but is made in a quilted linen, in a pretty dull color, and paired with those awful yoga pants. Jean-Luc is being forced into this vacation and he’s playing up his indifference for Riker and Troi. I know this because as soon as he’s on the planet he drops into full on vacation mode.
Jean-Luc’s (infamous) swimsuit is about as far away from his uniform as he can get. It’s barely there. It’s satin. It’s pastel pink and aqua. It shows Jean-Luc is entirely comfortable with his body and himself. And those pockets are just amazing. Oversized pockets are not enough, the future requires asymmetric oversized pockets where one can fit your horga’hn and the other can fit your collected works of Shakespeare or whatever other light reading you want to bring to the pleasure planet. I also must draw attention to the Vorgons and the fact that their hands are made of oven mitts. And are the shiny bits supposed to be part of their clothes or part of their body… are they wearing clothes? I think so? But I also really can’t tell.
Anyway, my favourite outfit and part of this (RIDICULOUS) episode is Jean-Luc and Vash’s ode to Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood.
Picard really comes alive on this vacation once he has a time travel treasure hunt to engage with and that it comes with a ballsy pseudo-criminal flirt makes it all the more fun. Jean-Luc’s archaeologic dig outfit is possibly the most Jean-Luc thing he ever wears.
It’s a wrap shirt that shows off his chest. It highlights both his rough and tumble aesthetic (with the linen blouse) and his romantic aristocrat aesthetic (with the silky white undershirt). And he’s dressed to the task – reminder that he’s on record as saying if he wasn’t a starship captain he’d be an archaeologist – but with his own personal flair. And Vash is dressed to match so it’s True Love.
His last look is a redux of the first but upgraded because now he cares. Here the blouse is silk, and the quilting adds volume, and it’s a softer green. He’s relaxed and he’s romantic.