Have any of you wondered why in the world these crazy people don't wear better clothes? Why don't they wear bathing suits under their clothes? Why do they wear dresses? Why do they wear flimsy clothing that can't possibly hold up to all the wear and tear it will receive during a month? Why why why?

Surely they are not plucked out of their home in the middle of the night and forced to grab the first article of clothing they can find. Surely there is some time to put some thought into their clothing. Also, once you are in the magical holding place where all survivors gather before the trip to the island, wouldn't you always wear a bathing suit and sturdy clothes in preparation for being dumped off at some point in the very near future?

Once again it appears that we are going to be forced to look at a yet another cast in their nasty underwear. Oy vey!

I believe Tom Westman was one during Palau who always wore his swimming suit under his clothes during every photo shoot. I can't imagine the old We're Innocently Taking Your Photograph gambit could work anymore.

I also wonder about the women who come out without adequate support. I suppose I understand wanting to give the world an eyeful of your goodies, but you are going to be running and digging and, not only will that be uncomfortable, but do you really want your grandmother watching you and the Blur of Shame all season long? It's like a damn Rock of Love episode sometimes, it really is.

I've thought that if I ever was on Survivor (highly unlikely) that every article of clothing that I would bring and wear would be something that would be useful for 39 days. For underwear it would be bathing suit bottom and top. If I wore a suit to a photo shoot, it would be pants (no skirt) with a jacket and t-shirt. I would wear socks and sturdy shoes. There is no way I would even bring a dress or heels. If I would get to pick an outfit to wear for the 39 days, it would be bathing suit top and bottom, t-shirt with camp shirt on top, those pants that have the zippered legs where they can be shorts or pants, socks and good sneakers. I'd also like a light hooded jacket.

Recently expelled Carolina indicated in one of her interviews that she was FORCED to wear that little red dress by the producers. She said that she did not want to be seen in such a frilly, feminine dress because it would be uncomfortable and make her look like a helpless girl, etc. However, she apparently did not have a choice.

The producers want a lot of variety in the Survivors' clothing. If everyone were left to their own choices, everyone would make similar and sensible choices, and where is the tv value of that?

I'm sure everyone is told ahead of time to bring stuff to look nice in case they make the jury and get to dress up for Tribal Council, and the early bootees want to be comfortable in Sequesterville. Unfortunately, for the Survivors, production assistants get to snoop through EVERYTHING they brought with them, looking for smuggled matches or string, etc., and it is production that dictates how each person is dressed.

Many seasons ago, the producers could fool the Survivors with that "photo shoot" baloney, but now, I am sure that they just say..."We went through your stuff--and this is what you will be wearing!"

Yeah, and besides, they were all wearing those matching-colored outfits by pure, total and random happenstance.

Puh-leaze, it was like...so blatant they were forced to were those clothes that I'm kinda psyched to see they're still people wondering why the heck they don't always wear scout uniforms like Lill in the Pearl Islands.

And in that particular case, it's even more obvious since they did take promotional pictures right before they were put in that truck, so you might want to consider that all those jeans, robes and cow boy boots are not exactly what they wanted to wear in the first place.

For the record, you can actually see that Spencer was at first wearing a green T-shirt (see presentation video) which has since disappeared and being replaced by a long-sleeved orange shirt. I wonder if we ever gonna see it again or if they are stuck with the clothes they are wearing till the end of the game (or some visit to some traditional village were they will be given flashy clothes matching their color schemes like in Gabon).

I understand that the producer's tell them what to wear--that is the only explanation for some of the insane outfits we've seen throughout the years. I even recall Lil saying they made her wear the Scout uniform.

However, what about their unmentionables? I was horrified by the previews for next week, I don't want to see women competing in challenges in their bras and underpants. I still have night shocks when I recall Angie's body prancing around.

So, do the producers call the shots for underwear as well--because, if it were me, it would be sports undergarments all the way.

I don't believe the producers are forcing them to wear a particular outfit. To force one girl to wear a dress while the others are in shorts and/or pants is setting up someone to fail. Like others have mentioned, they even wear shabby underwear. There is no way the producers can control what underwear someone wears, even if you believe they control what outfit they wear, they can't control their choice of underwear. Again, I think the contestants just make very poor choices.

I wouldn't put anything past the producers of any reality show. They want to construct your character for the edit, and the start of that is to ensure the clothes match that character. So I'm sure they tell them what to wear, particularly on the most recent seasons. Too many people have told this in interviews for it to not be true.

In Fiji, there's a different side (much of this is from memory, so forgive mistakes) - Yau Man in an interview said that the contestants each supplied the production team with two or three outfits they could wear, and the production team chose from those, making sure there was a variety of colours and that they were distinct enough. For example, none of Alex's shirts were acceptable, so they provided him with a new one - that ugly, ill-fitting green vest.

And yes, it's totally unfair. But that's Survivor. It's a TV show, not a sport.

I recall lots of snippets about the contstants commenting on the producers making them wear certain things. I have a vague recollection of Guatemala Brian saying he was really embarrassed about wearing that wife-beater t-shirt.

Also, I went back and looked at some of the cast photos since the first Pearl Islands twist, and either the whole cast looks pretty sensible, or there are at least more than one person who looks ill-equipped. China comes to mind, with those unfortunate outfits worn by the wrestler girl and Sherea.

I just now grasped this. This year each tribe is wearing certain colors. Ohhhh why didn't they do this years ago? This is wonderful. It helps us determine which tribe we are looking at especially during the first episodes when we don't have a clue who is who.

Isn't that what the buffs are for? Although, I admit I didn't notice them really wearing them as shirts or other clothing so much this first episode.

I don't find the buffs to be helpful at all. They all wear the buffs in so many different places that it's impossible to notice when they are in a competition. Some of the men wear them as headbands or wristbands, and they aren't always easy to see.

This is the first year they've worn different colored shirts. This will also make it easier to tell who is who when the tribes start moving around as they always do, even before the big merge.

I miss the Australia season, when everyone was wearing sensible outdoorsy clothing, and had a jacket for when it got cold. I mean, they're still in tropical areas, so we don't have to worry about missing out that treasured bikini-shot, but can't they just let them wear decent clothes? It'll get plenty tattered in a few weeks. I feel really bad for all the women stuck in dresses. (though Taj might be okay -- hers looked long and fairly comfortable)



Well, the further we get into any season the more people start wearing the clothes of the snuffed. I remember in All-Stars I had a lot of fun tracking Shii-Ann's purple shirt, Richard's Newport hat, and Kathy's green fleece.

I would think that contestants still have some control over their wardrobe just by bringing certain types of clothes. If you have to bring a dress, fine, bring one that provides some cover, support, movement and not the frilly red dress you'd hate to be forced to wear.

Same with the swimsuits. I can't believe some of the women (Candace) wore such skimpy bikinis. You know you'll have to do some swimming challenges. Unless its your goal to show off your blurred body, wear a one piece, or at least a tankini/sports bra that provides some support. I can't imagine how one could do any sort of action when one's boobs are flapping about.

Where exactly did they get these bathing suits they were all wearing tonight? Did everyone pack a bag with extra clothes?

In other seasons, we've seen the cast receive bathing suits or sneakers before a physical challenge that they can then keep for the rest of the game. The producers probably just skipped that scene this year and went straight to the challenge without putting in a 5 second clip of everyone saying, "Ooooh, bathing suit!"

Anyone notice that most of the guys boxers look similar but in different colors? The only one with different underpants seems to be Tyson so far, but that's maybe just because jalapao's guys' are more visible at this point.

It just struck me as odd that in most seasons guy's underwear was mostly form-fitting but the boxers are ruling this season.

This was particularly noticeable in the China series. The opening hook there is "the game is on in the clothes you're wearing", and they made a big deal about it, to the point of showcasing Jamie saying "I've got no bra", etc, etc. She wound up wearing her dress until it fell apart. It wasn't too long before it seemed like everybody had the same sort of boy-short boxers on, and the suspicion was that most people's underwear (which they were running around in - Amanda was blurred the whole season - just was not ok for the camera.

So while watching TAR last night and seeing all the women wearing sports bras during the "cultural" run, I started wondering why women on Survivor don't wear/bring sports bras with them on the show. Particularly knowing that TPTB love to "strand" people in their good clothes and since TPTB also select those clothes to "strand" the players in, I would think that the women would at least wear a sports bra so they have some support/decent covering when they have to take off their frilly dress. Or does TPTB also select the contestants' underclothes? In which case, why not just only bring sports bras?

But I do agree with others that after 14 seasons, I'm over seeing people in various stages of disheveled, falling apart clothing that tends to favor men far more than women (especially when women in dresses without pockets have to give their immunity idol to a man because he has pockets - as most pants do). Just let them wear decent outfits, long/short sleeve shirt, shorts, pants. It doesn't detract from the drama of the game, certainly didn't take anything away from S2. Its not like the contestants still won't appreciate wearing a nice clean robe for the reward challenge on the 20th day of wearing the same couple of outfits without a shower or laundry.

Ha! When I first read this I thought "jalapao's guys" was a euphemism for Tyson's nether regions.

This has gotten a little bit of play this year, how women are at an unfair disadvantage in being able to hide the HII when they find it because they don't have pockets in their clothes, which are usually dresses or skirts selected by the producers, whereas the men, who are wearing pants, do have such pockets. It virtually forces the women to make an alliance with a man to hide the idol, bringing up the whole issue as to who "owns" or "has the rights to" the idol. The only other solution for a woman is to always carry a bag around with them all the time, which would be a bit obvious.

So either they need to make the idol even smaller so that a woman could hide it amongst their underclothes, or allow the women to also wear pants (or shorts) with pockets.

I don't think the clothes that the women wear put them at a disadvantage as far as the II is concerned. You don't have to put it in a pocket. You can wrap it up tightly in a scrap of fabric and stuff it in the bottom of your bag. Also, not all pants have pockets that button or zip closed, like Stephen's do. So Stephen's clothes just happened to be particularly well suited to hiding something, but that's not immediately true of all the mens' clothes.

I'm not sure exactly why Taj decided to let Stephen hold onto the idol. Based on her choices with regards to telling JT about it, I wonder if she did it purposefully to earn trust with Stephen. But there were definitely ways for her to conceal the idol without giving it to him. Her actions later where she basically just left it sitting in the top of a bag indicate that maybe Taj just isn't a very good hider.

Maybe, but that means the woman has to carry the scrap of fabric (and where do they get that from, especially if they are "stranded" with only the clothes on their back?) with them when they search for the idol, then try to hide it in their hands or somehow as they bring it back to camp to hide it in their bags and hope that no one happens to notice them carrying something. I suppose instead they could hide it somewhere away from camp, but again, when they go to get it for TC, they somehow have to get it from the hiding spot to the camp/bag without anyone seeing it. Going off into the woods with your bag could be suspicious.

Also, leaving the idol in one's bag is risky. When James had the two idols hidden in his pants in his bag, they were found. Anyone can search your bag, but no one is being patted down and having their person searched. At least with the idols that big, both men and women would be at the same risk, since one couldn't hide the China idol in their pants pocket.

Just seems that when the idol is 'just small enough' to hide in a pocket, men are at an advantage over women, because they tend to have pockets more often than women. So even it up somehow. Either make it big enough so no one can put it in a pocket, small enough so it can be hidden in one's underclothes or easily within one's hand, or make sure the women also get 'stranded' in clothes with pockets.

Hmmm. I see what you're saying, and I agree that there seems to be some discrepancy in the clothes the contestants are given, according to gender. Douche, for instance, seems to have numerous "outfits" that he can change in and out of, whereas Erinn has worn that business casual navy blouse every day.

And I'm not opposed to being a little more even in the way this stuff is distributed.

However, I'm wary of attempting to manufacture an even playing field when it comes to something as centrally strategic as the idol.

Fabric and other items do seem to be available around camp. During the last season, I read that Sugar tore apart a bunch of burlap sacks and other fabric items that were located around camp and made them into an entire wardrobe (and that her tribemates were annoyed because she did this without asking).

This season, I know at least the beans came in sacks.

There's no guarantee that just because one of the men started out the show in a pair of pants with pockets, that he will be wearing those pants if/when he finds the idol. It's not like they give the guys cargo shorts. More often then get suit pants or khakis, which aren't terribly comfortable for wearing around camp and impractical in the challenges.

As for hiding the idol in a bag, that's where Taj/Stephen's idol is currently. It's in Stephen's pants, in a bag.

When Joe found the fake idol, Taj said she could clearly see the lump in his pants (hardy har) when he returned to camp. So having pockets doesn't necessarily do the guys any more good than the women when it comes to concealment. Taj could probably conceal something under her dress, which at least has a loose flowey skirt, at least long enough to transport it back to camp. The guys wouldn't have that option.

I guess what I'm saying is that "hiding the idol" is as much a part of the game as using the idol, and that I like that people come into it with a variety of different tools at their disposal. I also think that a creative and careful contestant will find a way to conceal it regardless of gender or the clothes given to them at the outset.

And all this is premised on the idea that Taj was forced to give her idol to Stephen because he had pants with pockets. I'm unconvinced. If Taj had wanted to keep it for herself, she should have figured out a way to do so. It's entirely possible that Taj gave the idol to Stephen so that she could say "I don't have the idol" when asked. In which case, Taj did a fine job of hiding the idol, thinking beyond merely where it was to who possessed it, in a way that could benefit her.

Now, if you want to discuss the fact that they appear to have sent Sierra out into the Brazilian highlands in a long t-shirt and no way to adequately cover her ass, I'm all for examining the sexist way in which the contestants are outfitted. :)

One thing that also bothers me about the 'stranding contestants in their picture day clothes chosen by the producers' is the number of times women are wearing dresses or tops that are strapless or have spaghetti straps and are clearly not wearing a bra. Just because a woman has that kind of dress or top and wants to wear it now and again doesn't mean they want to go 39 days bra-less. Also may cut down on the amount of blurring necessary.

I agree -- it is ridiculous to force a woman to not wear a bra for an extended period of time. Unless, of course, they are enhanced & I think they don't need a bra after that? Anyway, I also have a problem with 1) how some of the contestants appear to be embarrassed by their lack of clothing, & 2) how the lack of clothing or the easiness at which what clothing there is will fall off affects some of the challenges. I've noticed this particularly for the women -- they'll be swimming or crawling or the like & have to constantly grab at or hold their tops to keep them from falling off & it affects their play. What's worse is that they can't keep it from happening & they find themselves exposed to their teammates & on national television.

The problem with that is that it would probably happen more or less whatever they wore, unless they were all given elasticated waistbands. As they lose weight, the bits of your body that keep clothes up (hips, shoulders, boobs) are going to get smaller.

That is true. Erinn said she never took off her bikini top but she had to retie it a million times because she breasts kept shrinking.

I get the whole: OMG let's really strand them angle. I do. But it would be nice to actually let them wear "normal" clothes. Not clothes that will provide extra "comfort" ie: long sleeves, but at least a bra and underwear that fits (ie: no thongs or boy short shorts), and maybe some cap sleeves.

also - I would really hope that by this time no one wears their favourite outfit. LOL

I've suggested in the past that they have some sort of "Treasure Hunt" option for each tribe that gives them a chance to find a box of random clothing. But not necessarily stuff like cargo pants/shorts and such. It would be a hoot to see what they could come up with using old prom dresses, jeans from the 80s, Halloween costume bits and the like. At least it would be entertaining. For me.

And yeah, they should get proper undies (bra and panties/shorts) as part of their basic gear just the same as they usually have tennis shoes.

I rather like the "stranded in your business clothes" thing, just for the aesthetics of it, but it very much annoys me that while tennis shoes are almost always considered a "must-provide" because of the challenges, supportive garments for the women never are. It really does highlight for me the gender biases of the producers. Seriously, asking a larger woman to try to compete in an athletic competition without decent support is even more absurd than asking people to compete in inappropriate footware. Yet the contestants always seem to be provided with appropriate shoes, no matter what they've got on their feet at the "stranding." They're never provided with their sports bras.

I actually think giving out tennis shoes is more of a benefit for the women. Speaking as a male, doing something athletic in dress shoes wouldn't be all that difficult. Boots might be harder, but I don't think many of the Survivor guys would have them on for the photo op, except for a JT type. But most women would likely be wearing heels or sandals, which would make things much, much harder for them than anything most of the men could be wearing.

I wonder if there's also a legal/medical reason for them providing people with shoes. You're more likely to injure yourself running through the woods in dress shoes (or barefoot) than in tennis shoes. And as uncomfortable or painful as it might be to run around in ill-fitting undergarments, it's not going to hobble you.

What really bugs me, is that the production decides what people wear.

What I wonder is, if like, say you really don't have anything sexy "OMG i can't believe she wore that!!" clothes (or he, if you are a guy)... does CBS take you shopping? LOL like for me, I would be wearing my best dressed everyday clothes (really nice jeans, a nice stretch shirt, a sweater) and that's probably what i would be stranded in.... most women are in dresses and business suits... odd.

I know production tells the contestants what to wear but why was Yasmin wearing high heels?

I miss the clothing choices of Australia. Everyone started out in basic khaki outdoors wear (long shorts or slacks) with a short-sleeved shirt and a long-sleeved shirt. They also each had a bathing suit of their choice, and a heavy jacket for when the temperature changed. Everyone had a hat of some kind, and they also brought sunglasses.

The stranded in your clothes thing is too old. Also, it gives a very unfair advantage to the guys in business suits. They have long pants, flat shoes, a shirt, and a long-sleeved jacket for when it's cold outside. I don't think it's that funny to watch a woman who just got stranded in a skirt, heels, sleeveless blouse, and no bra try to compete in the elements when she is already at a significant disadvantage when it comes to something as completely basic as staying warm or avoiding bug bites.