MAKE LOVE NOT WAR

This is the story of a set of garments rooted deeply in both conformity and counter culture. 

First a little background on the garments themselves. 

The utility shirt and its counterpart the utility trouser were introduced in 1952 to replace the World War II era HBT (herringbone twill) uniform. The utility uniform, or as soldiers would refer to them, "fatigues", are constructed from a 8.5 oz cotton sateen in the shade of olive green no. 7, from which they get the name most commonly used today - OG107.

There were three basic models for the OG-107 Cotton Sateen Utility Uniform that feature slight variations in design and material.

The "Type I" (1952-1963) featured dark brown dish style buttons, a sleeve with no buttons and just a simple hem at the cuff, and two buttoned rectangular chest pockets. During this era the uniform was sized in groups (small, medium, and large).

The "Type II" (1963-1964) features only one significant variation from the "Type I", that being clipping of the pocket flaps on the shirt.

The "Type III" (1964-1989) was the longest issued version of the OG-107 Utility uniform, featuring a pointed pocket flap and buttoned cuffs at the wrist. The buttons were also changed to the standard dull green plastic. The uniform also adopted the true measurement sizing style - the shirts now marked by neck size and sleeve length. In 1975 the utility uniform switched from a 100% cotton construction to a 50/50 poly/cotton blend - this version was referred to as the OG-507.

Now back to the culture. "We are the unwilling. Led by the unqualified. Doing the unnecessary. For the ungrateful." A quote often found etched into American GI Zippos, perfectly echos the sentiment of the soldiers who found themselves caught up in the American war in Vietnam.