# Why do the characters in BBT wear so many layers?



## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

The more I watch, the more it starts to bug me.

Each of the main characters has a "formula" to their outfits (which makes perfect sense as it's an easy way to establish the character) but each one wears really an extraordinary number of layers for people living in So. Cal. (and keep in mind that my 6th grader wears his fleecy jacket pretty much 24x7). This is what seems to be the "norm" for each character when they are indoors and not dressed for any unusual situation.

Sheldon: geeky t-shirt over a long-sleeve tee

Leonard: t-shirt, fleece hoodie over that, military style jacket over that

Howard: button shirt (either a dated polo or woven with buttons) or occasionally a sweater over a turtleneck---and for all the jokes they make about him wearing a dickey (and he clearly does sometimes), there have been several occasions where the collar on the undershirt matched sleeves of a long-sleeve shirt visible under a short-sleeved shirt

Raj: poly-blend collared shirt with sweater/sweatervest over it and a Member's Only-style jacket (or other similar 70's/80's styled jacket) over that

Amy: being a girl, she mixes it up a bit more, but it usually involves at least a collared shirt with an undershirt and a sweater over that, as well as a skirt with tights

Bernadette: the LEAST layered of the regulars (excepting Penny), she usually wears a twinset (sweater with matching shell) or a a woven shirt with a cardi or sweatervest over it

Penny: amazingly, the only regular who almost never layers (though she does seem to wander around in what appears to be sleepwear a significant amount of the time, though I think this is a phenomenon in recent seasons more than early in the show)

Why? Just....why?

I could kinda see it if Leonard/Raj always wore the same jacket over a bunch of different outfits, but they each seem to have a dozen similar jackets (seriously, I've seen Leonard wearing jackets that are nigh identical but VERY different colors, so it's clearly not just one jacket). I like the dickey thing with Howard but why does he ALWAYS wear long sleeves? In thinking about it, you don't see ANYONE's arms except Bernadette and Penny. Why?? 

I'm pretty sure we've (my family and friends) nailed the nerd chic look (which is to say, completely lacking in chic) for decades and I don't recall it involving nearly so many articles of clothing. Heck, most nerds I know tend to wear the minimum amount to do the job because assembling more is just not worth the effort relative to other things they could be doing. So, um....why?


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Just a thought, but perhaps at least for the guys the added layers of clothing make the person inside appear by comparison that much smaller, which probably helps to add to the "pencil-necked geek" look.

As for Amy, her wardrobe is partially influenced by her religious beliefs and their call for modest attire.


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

Leonard looks like a homeless guy.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

AFF wears adult onesies to address her religious issues. She's talked about it.

I've wondered it a bit about the others. Nerds tend to cover up more, I guess.


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## markp99 (Mar 21, 2002)

Polcamilla said:


> Penny: amazingly, the only regular who almost never layers (though she does seem to wander around in what appears to be sleepwear a significant amount of the time, though I think this is a phenomenon in recent seasons more than early in the show)


A special thanks to BBT wardrobe dept!


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

YCantAngieRead said:


> AFF wears adult onesies to address her religious issues. She's talked about it.
> 
> I've wondered it a bit about the others. Nerds tend to cover up more, I guess.


AFF's religious issues or Mayim Bialik's religious issues? I know MB is Jewish but I don't know what flavor of Judaism she is.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

It's MB's beliefs, and her flavor is "Roll your own".


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## Kylep (Feb 14, 2003)

It's probably just kept cold in the Studio.

Although I will add that when I go visit our site in Jacksonville I'm always taken aback by how heavy they dress, even with coats that seem better suited for an Iowa winter. If I start talking about bringing one of them up to Iowa in winter they truly start to freak out.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

Hank said:


> It's MB's beliefs, and her flavor is "Roll your own".


See....that makes perfect sense for me. If one of the actors has special needs that necessitate a certain wardrobe, then it should be part of the character. I guess what baffles me is they ALL seem so covered up....and not even in a "modest apparel" sort of way, just....lots of clothing.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Kylep said:


> It's probably just kept cold in the Studio.


With all the lights, even with the transition to LED lighting, (edit: not to mention all the variety of other equipment, not to mention tons of warm bodies) it still gets quite hot on a sound stage. I'm sure they cool it as best as they can, but I doubt it ever gets "cold." (Plus, when filming, ventilation generally gets shut down to avoid the noise being picked up by the microphones. HVAC blowers are loud.)

I'm going to stick with my answer above.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Polcamilla said:


> See....that makes perfect sense for me. If one of the actors has special needs that necessitate a certain wardrobe, then it should be part of the character. I guess what baffles me is they ALL seem so covered up....and not even in a "modest apparel" sort of way, just....lots of clothing.


MB's. She practices modesty and talks about wearing an "adult onesie" somewhere when she was talking about going to a red carpet event.

She is seriously, seriously lucky to have found a role where they can write in her modest clothing standards. I'm torn between "that's really awesome" and "if you want to keep up those standards, maybe acting isn't the best career choice." But shoot, at this point, if she never wanted to work again, she'd probably make enough from residuals to live simply the rest of her life. So there's that.

By the way, I have ALWAYS wondered if MB's clothing needs included always wearing a skirt. She has always worn one on the show, and she wore only skirts on her episode of What Not To Wear. But she wore football pants in the superbowl ad. When I thought about it later, I kind of wished they'd found a way to fashion her a football skirt.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

YCantAngieRead said:


> By the way, I have ALWAYS wondered if MB's clothing needs included always wearing a skirt. She has always worn one on the show, and she wore only skirts on her episode of What Not To Wear. But she wore football pants in the superbowl ad. When I thought about it later, I kind of wished they'd found a way to fashion her a football skirt.


I know the Orthodox prefer women to always wear skirts. Checking a couple articles about MB and she seems to refer to herself as "modern Orthodox". I'm not sure what that means or where she draws the line in terms of attire.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> With all the lights, even with the transition to LED lighting, (edit: not to mention all the variety of other equipment, not to mention tons of warm bodies) it still gets quite hot on a sound stage. I'm sure they cool it as best as they can, but I doubt it ever gets "cold." (Plus, when filming, ventilation generally gets shut down to avoid the noise being picked up by the microphones. HVAC blowers are loud.)
> 
> I'm going to stick with my answer above.


Tell all that to David Letterman.

Besides. Right now it is 53 in Pasadena. High this week up to the lower 60s. I think they are dressed appropriately.

Average highs range from 60s to high 80s. Lows from upper 30s to high 50s. It get chilly at night and other than three summer months, highs average low 70s and lower.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

TonyD79 said:


> Tell all that to David Letterman.
> 
> Besides. Right now it is 53 in Pasadena. High this week up to the lower 60s. I think they are dressed appropriately.


Ha!! It was MUCH warmer yesterday. I went out walking the dog in short sleeves and no jacket (and I get cold easily). Today I went for a bike ride in short sleeves and didn't feel cool at all. Phone says the high was 66 but I am skeptical.

Leondard's double jacket look reminds me of a somewhat inappropriate joke about a man who wore a double-layer of prophylactics 24x7.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

TonyD79 said:


> Average highs range from 60s to high 80s. Lows from upper 30s to high 50s. It get chilly at night and other than three summer months, highs average low 70s and lower.


Besides, 95% of the time, they are INDOORS in climate-controlled circumstances (though Sheldon's "spot" reasoning alludes to the idea of opening the window to equalize the temperature, which is pretty common here---we will leave windows open for months at a time).

There are occasional scenes where they are in line for a movie or something and wearing appropriate jackets, along with the occasional scene (like Sheldon moving to a safer city in the northern part of the midwest) where someone is really bundled up for extreme weather.

I usually have a jacket on hand for the evening year round but get to wear my wool felt jacket maybe a dozen times in a year. By contrast, my GAP hoodie (comparable to Leonard's under-layer) will get thrown over my outfit each time I go out for weeks on end. I do not wear it around my house. Also, I live nearer the beach where temperatures are less extreme and generally cooler than Pasadena. I've been in Pasadena in 106°F weather when it was only in the 80's at my house.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

I googled "mayim bialik red carpet" and while her dresses tend to have long sleeves, she clearly is ok showing some leg and collarbone and wearing things that are form fitting.


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## getbak (Oct 8, 2004)

Sound stages are cold.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

The layered look is in. And by doing the layers they can exhibit their individual weird dress. 

I love all their weird and/or different outfits.

Mayim Bialik on her website said that she was disappointed because a dress she was suppose to wear for a awards (if I remember correctly ) wasn't available so she had to wear a dress that showed more arm. But I couldn't quite understand that because many of what she has worn has lots of cleavage, whole arms showing, and such. But she does usually have all or most of her arms covered and skirts below her knees. 
But I am in total support of her religious views and any resulting dress requirements. She is one of my favorite characters on TV. Maybe the outfits showing more skin were before she adopted her current views on modesty.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Nerds are scrawny and need more layers to keep warm. Even in SoCal.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

getbak said:


> Sound stages are cold.


You raise a couple of excellent points...


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

YCantAngieRead said:


> By the way, I have ALWAYS wondered if MB's clothing needs included always wearing a skirt. She has always worn one on the show, and she wore only skirts on her episode of What Not To Wear. But she wore football pants in the superbowl ad. When I thought about it later, I kind of wished they'd found a way to fashion her a football skirt.


She wore sweatpants during one of the girls "sleepovers." Penny told her to wear something comfortable and she said she had to go shopping. The next scene she was in a gray tracksuit/sweatsuit thing.

I think the layers started as they tried to give each character a unique style and over the years it has simply snowballed into almost a caricature of how each of them dress.
I also think their wardrobe lady (we saw her in the behind the scenes video) _really_ enjoys her job.
IMO it is part of the show's charm.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Kylep said:


> ...If I start talking about bringing one of them up to Iowa in winter they truly start to freak out.


Our last two winters, though, have been pretty mild....


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

busyba said:


> You raise a couple of excellent points...


Would you please get to the point, instead of *****-footing around....


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

For Sheldon, the layered tee shirt look fits. I have many friends that do that, and I am currently in the middle of a Star Trek convention and see that. Heck, I do that.

For Leonard, I wondered if one reason may be to cover tattoos or muscles that the actor has and Leonard doesn't.

Raj looks like he is wearing left over clothing from That 70's Show.

Howard I never really got other than what could be for all of them- some signature clothing style that makes it easier for the wardrobe staff to clothe them.

As for Amy, Bernadette and Penny, well, Bernadette's outfits just seem to be so nondescript and blaise that I don't even notice them, Penny's seem to be extremes, either sweats or hot dresses and Amy's actually look mostly okay for being a geeky neurosurgeon. She never has really had a reason to care abotu what she wore, so she wore what was comfortable to her.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

I only have one question. How is a BBT thread staying on topic this long?


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

Only because there is no specific episode to discuss!


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## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

LoadStar said:


> With all the lights, even with the transition to LED lighting, (edit: not to mention all the variety of other equipment, not to mention tons of warm bodies) it still gets quite hot on a sound stage. I'm sure they cool it as best as they can, but I doubt it ever gets "cold." (Plus, when filming, ventilation generally gets shut down to avoid the noise being picked up by the microphones. HVAC blowers are loud.)
> 
> I'm going to stick with my answer above.


I don't know the difference between a tv sound stage and a tv studio but guests on Craig Ferguson often comment on how freezing cold it is. I've seen him give a female guest his coat.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

27 posts and no one has commented on it being so they can give a "multi-layered performance"

we're slipping folks..


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

Polcamilla said:


> Penny: amazingly, the only regular who almost never layers (though she does seem to wander around in what appears to be sleepwear a significant amount of the time, though I think this is a phenomenon in recent seasons more than early in the show)


It's because she's turned into a sloppy, dirty drunk.


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## BetaMark (Jan 24, 2008)

Hank said:


> It's MB's beliefs, and her flavor is "Roll your own".


And here I thought Wardrobe was just down-dressing her to make her look more nerdy.

What a shame. In more revealing outfits she's a hottie.


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

busyba said:


> You raise a couple of excellent points...


Well she did anyway.


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## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

They are in good shape for nerds. In order to have an adequately off-putting layer of nerd B.O. they have to fake it with clothes that make them sweat profusely.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

busyba said:


> Nerds are scrawny and need more layers to keep warm. Even in SoCal.


And they don't like the sun. Except Raj, who comes pre-tanned.


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

Kylep said:


> Although I will add that when I go visit our site in Jacksonville I'm always taken aback by how heavy they dress, even with coats that seem better suited for an Iowa winter. If I start talking about bringing one of them up to Iowa in winter they truly start to freak out.


[Jacksonville hijack]
The coats may be bulky, but that doesn't mean they are warm. I didn't own a wool coat, hat, or gloves until I moved to California. Everything in the stores was acrylic.
[/Jacksonville hijack]


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

TAsunder said:


> They are in good shape for nerds. In order to have an adequately off-putting layer of nerd B.O. they have to fake it with clothes that make them sweat profusely.


Leonard keeps getting more and more ridiculously jacked


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

Cold on the set. Gotta cover the nips.

Total opposite of what they did on Friends.


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

Jesda said:


> Cold on the set. Gotta cover the nips.
> 
> Total opposite of what they did on Friends.


Or Reggie on becker.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

BetaMark said:


> What a shame. In more revealing outfits she's a hottie.


As someone whose religion strongly encourages modest dress, I can state that this is true of a significant number of women whose religions impact their dress. My understanding is that for women who wear burkas that their uncovered appearance is viewed as something special kept only for their husbands.


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## Polcamilla (Nov 7, 2001)

TAsunder said:


> They are in good shape for nerds. In order to have an adequately off-putting layer of nerd B.O. they have to fake it with clothes that make them sweat profusely.


As it happens, I saw an early episode last night where Leonard was only wearing a button-down shirt with an undershirt. No jacket in sight. It was actually kind of distracting realizing that he's pretty darned toned!

I really don't have a problem with Sheldon's formula and agree it's a pretty common geek look. Howard's too (in a "my mommy still dresses me" kind of way). And Raj's look would be fine too if the various pieces were options and combined together in different ways for an ongoing dated look. Poor guy looks like he's doing a Bollywood version of Heidi wearing it all at once. I noticed yesterday that he also wears an undershirt beneath the button-down, so has four layers.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

From what I just saw on a commercial, this topic will turn on its head next episode.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Bob Coxner said:


> I don't know the difference between a tv sound stage and a tv studio but guests on Craig Ferguson often comment on how freezing cold it is.


That must be Letterman's (Ferguson's boss) influence. (Yes, I know the Letterman thing was already mentioned in the thread.)


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Jesda said:


> Cold on the set. Gotta cover the nips.
> 
> Total opposite of what they did on Friends.


Reportedly, Jennifer Aniston is _always_ like that.


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## veruca salt (Jun 30, 2007)

I've heard that Leonard's bulky clothes are because of Johnny Galecki's bulky body. They need to cover up his buff-ness.


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