# When was this archetypal "scientist" outfit ever worn, and by whom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2008, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992 "2008-06-15T08:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/1 "2008-06-15T08:36:45Z")
The white shirt/coat kind of straight jacket looking outfit in the cover labeled [“Donovan’s Brian”.](http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.29397534.jpg) IIRC I’ve seen this on a few sci-fi covers, but who ever wore this “scientist” garb in real life? What period is it from? Although the view is obstructed I believe it buttons along the the side, not the front in most cases. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/2 "2008-06-15T08:44:24Z")
[Another example](http://www.breadontoast.com/writings1.php?n=writings&a=116) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/3 "2008-06-15T10:55:13Z")
**Astro** –cool images. How did you find that? ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/4 "2008-06-15T11:03:48Z")
I’ve known pharmacists who wore that sort of outfit. Uniforms seem to be out of style these days. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/5 "2008-06-15T11:07:27Z")
It’s been a long time ago, but I think military hospital corpsmen wore shirts like that in the late 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/6 "2008-06-15T11:30:14Z")
Loony bin attendants in the movies wore similar … shirts? jackets? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/7 "2008-06-15T11:47:08Z")
Don’t dentists wear something similar, too? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/8 "2008-06-15T12:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] … shirts? jackets? [/QUOTE] Smocks, I would guess. Or coats. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/9 "2008-06-15T15:29:53Z")
[QUOTE=astro] The white shirt/coat kind of straight jacket looking outfit in the cover labeled [“Donovan’s Brian”.](http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.29397534.jpg) IIRC I’ve seen this on a few sci-fi covers, but who ever wore this “scientist” garb in real life? What period is it from? Although the view is obstructed I believe it buttons along the the side, not the front in most cases. [/QUOTE] Is he a scientist, or a doctor? That kind of shirt, with short sleeves, high collar, and side buttons, is often seen on hospital doctors in early films. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/10 "2008-06-15T16:34:38Z")
I believe chemists wore these in the lab, in the 60’s. I worked with a woman who graduated university with a Chemistry degree during that period. She told me that Dow Chemical had interviewed her but she didn’t want to be a “white-coated laboratory chemist”. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/11 "2008-06-15T16:50:21Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] I believe chemists wore these in the lab, in the 60’s. [/QUOTE] As a chemist from the early '70s, I would like to clarify. Your co-worker was right about the white coats, but they were different from the illustration. Lab workers did (and some still do) wear a white “lab coat”. It’s a long, overcoat-like smock, usually with lapels and a single line of white plastic buttons. They were made out of cotton or a blend. When I started in college, my professors either wore white or light blue. They probably come in all sorts of colors now! I _never_ saw a chemist, biologist, or other scientist wear the high-collar short sleeve shirt shown in the illustration. I do not clearly remember seeing doctors wearing them. I do remember seeing pharmacists and dentists wearing them. But no scientists. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/12 "2008-06-15T17:17:25Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] I believe chemists wore these in the lab, in the 60’s. [/QUOTE] Coincidentally, my father was a chemist who worked in a lab in the 60’s. And didn’t wear an outfit anything like that picture. He did wear a lab coat, which was basically a long jacket that you put on over your day clothes to protect them from noxious chemicals or stains. Also goggles, but they looked like the goggles you might wear in a wood shop. And probably gloves, but I don’t remember what those looked like. The outfit in the picture does look like something a chemist (of a more bygone era than the 60’s) might wear. The collar and offset buttons on the jacket looks vaguely German to me. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/13 "2008-06-15T17:18:32Z")
[QUOTE=633squadron] short sleeve shirt shown in the illustration [/QUOTE] Are we looking at the same picture? I see long sleeves. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/14 "2008-06-15T17:19:44Z")
Besides in “Donovan’s Brain,” Lew Ayers wore those same white tunics with the buttons along ths shoulder in his Dr. Kildaire movies. Another movie full of guys swanning around in them is [Men in White](http://www.henrybwalthall.com/wGable.jpg) from 1934 with Clark Gable. [Of course, for really cool historical doctor’s uniforms, this one is hard to beat](http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/assets/images/auto_generated_images/a_grev_medico1_w.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/15 "2008-06-15T17:24:04Z")
[QUOTE=633squadron] As a chemist from the early '70s, I would like to clarify. [/QUOTE] Ah, thanks for the clarification. (You too **squeegee** ). ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/16 "2008-06-15T17:39:00Z")
[QUOTE=633squadron] I do remember seeing […] dentists wearing them. [/QUOTE] Apparently [dentists](http://www.dudley.nhs.uk/sections/services/details.asp?id=315) still do wear them. Note the offset buttons. Also [here](http://www.workinstyle.com/wis-uniforms-magazine/images/dentistry.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/17 "2008-06-15T17:41:09Z")
If you are referring to [Lab Coats](http://www.staruniforms.com/fashion_seal_lab_coat_and_protective_apparel.shtml) (basically a white smock with pockets) at NIH they are [still worn today](http://dohs.ors.od.nih.gov/pdf/Rappahannock%20Goodwill%20Pricing.pdf) … They are required today in many laboratory circumstances in the U.S. [link](http://www.research.umn.edu/communications/publications/rno/02-22-08.html#3) \*Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) site visitors toured the University campuses February 18-21, 2008. This visit is a good reminder that lab coats are strongly encouraged as routine equipment for all laboratory workers and are required when working with radioactive materials, biologically-derived toxins, Biosafety Level II organisms, carcinogens, reproductive toxins, substances which have a high degree of acute toxicity, any substance on the OSHA PEL list carrying a “skin” notation, animals in the lab, and while performing survival surgery. Laboratory gloves, lab coats, and scrubs are not to be worn in public spaces such as hallways, elevators, or cafeterias. The use of personal protective equipment aides in inhibiting the transmission of disease to humans, as well as preventing animal diseases from being carried back and forth between animal housing areas. Rooms with protective clothing requirements include: nonhuman primate rooms, SPF rodent rooms, and biohazard rooms.\* ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/18 "2008-06-15T18:06:07Z")
[QUOTE=jimmmy] If you are referring to [Lab Coats](http://www.staruniforms.com/fashion_seal_lab_coat_and_protective_apparel.shtml) (basically a white smock with pockets) at NIH they are [still worn today](http://dohs.ors.od.nih.gov/pdf/Rappahannock%20Goodwill%20Pricing.pdf) … [/QUOTE] See **633squadron** ’s post above. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/19 "2008-06-15T18:10:22Z")
The OP is not referring to simple lab coats. It’s referring to a double-breasted, close-fitting tunic with stand-up collar, not the loose-fitting, frock-length overcoat with folded lapels. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992/20 "2008-06-15T20:03:17Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] See **633squadron** ’s post above. [/QUOTE] I did see it and and am not sure how it is relevant to my post nor why you would call my attention to it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-this-archetypal-scientist-outfit-ever-worn-and-by-whom/452992.md?page=2)