Chicago

Shopping at the Army surplus store is great, until you deal with the maddening impracticality of trying to tongue kiss through your vintage gas mask. Giving you a more practical take on militaristic fashion, Cockpit USA.

Started by an American Airpower Museum curator inspired by his personal collection of WWII-era aviation goodness, Cockpit's new summer gear conveys a style that's less vanquishing the Nazis and more knocking back some Kamikazes. Their CPT (Civilian Pilot Training) sportswear line features 100% cotton longsleeve thin-striped shirts marked with military touches like old-timey '40s-style resin buttons, chain-stitched embellishments on the shoulder, and map pockets tilted slightly inward for easier access; while the shortsleeve models sport a similar steez distinguished by a pocket flap, which is also the name for WWE's Royal Midget Rumble. They're also carrying more overtly military gear like a mechanic work shirt done in washed-out blue-gray with twin button-flapped breastpockets and a twill "DI-Shirt" (colors include olive, navy, burgundy) that replicates those that enlisted men wore from the '30s through the '50s, a time when men were men and women were men too (be glad you were born when you were).

If you can't sleep unless you're in a full-on pilot uni, they also carry leather flight jackets (some of them gussied up with pinups) made from the same material they use for current Navy and Air Force pilots, allowing you to channel your inner Maverick, and subsequently deal with the maddening impracticality of pretending to be attracted to Katie Holmes.