History Main / StillWearingTheOldColors

* The nationalistic anthems of [[UsefulNotes/South Africa South African]] singer Bok van Blerk, such as "Afrikanerhart" and "De La Rey", celebrate and memorialise UsefulNotes/TheSecondBoerWar as if it were still in living recent memory. This illustrates that for many South Africans, the war with the British is still a lingering grievance enshrined in family history and a part of [[AmoralAfrikaner Afrikaner]] culture and identity.

* When Pink Diamond reforms after Yellow Diamond poofs her in ''Fanfic/{{Fractures}}'', she reforms as her true self, but wearing her Rose Quartz white dress as a form of defiance.

* In ''Series/{{ObiWanKenobi}}'' Obi-Wan encounters a Clone veteran from the Clone War asking for spare change, still wearing his armor, abeit more tattered and ragged.

* Gaichû from ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: Hong Kong'' still wears his Red Samurai armour, which makes sense since he's already on their 'kill' list anyway for being a ghoul and the armour is one of the best available in the Sixth World.
* The Sneaking Suit from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' feature the [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater FOX Unit]] logo on the shoulder, even though Big Boss had left the unit and the United States military years ago. In ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain The Phantom Pain]]'', the Sneaking Suit becomes a double example of this, as in addition to the FOX Unit logo on one shoulder, it also has the [[spoiler:MSF logo, even though in the aftermath of ''Ground Zeroes'' MSF's home base is destroyed and the force disbanded]]. The upgraded Sneaking Suits do not feature any old logos, notably.
* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', players are not beholden to wear the current uniforms of the 25th Century Starfleet. When players begin, they can don the Starfleet uniforms of the franchise post-''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' and players can purchase uniforms from all other eras, thus it's not uncommon to see other player characters running around in the blue jumpsuits of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', the gold Command shirts of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', the turtlenecks of the post-''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' era and beyond.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has an [[BadassArmy Imperial Legion]] quest which tasks you with hunting down a DangerousDeserter who is now in the employ of a witch. Said deserter is still wearing his Legion armor when you find him.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', one of the armor sets Link can wear is the Soldier's armor, the same outfit worn by the army of the Kingdom of Hyrule that has been destroyed for a century. There's also Link's Champion's Tunic, one of a series of light blue NonUniformUniform pieces worn by him and the other Champions who were killed in the Great Calamity. The Champion's Tunic is a complex example in that while the Champions have been gone for a century, [[OldRetainer Impa]] and the other LongLived characters who remember them still think that the group still lives on to an extent so long as Link is around to finish their goal of defeating Calamity Ganon. [[spoiler:Zelda also ends up getting back her own Champion outfit in the GoldenEnding as she and Link work to rebuild Hyrule.]]
* The Huntsman from ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' still clings to "the Old World ways" of hunting. He refuses to use scoutflies or the Slinger, and he wears a battered old pattern Rathian Blademaster armour with a full-cover helmet that conceals his face, along with a sash displaying the First Fleet's marking. He's like a walking MythologyGag to player characters from the previous games, and despite his obsolete equipment his sheer skill and experience make him one of the greatest hunters in Astera. He is a good source of advice for going into assignments giving tips on how to fight monsters, and at one point in the story [[spoiler:he fends off an attacking Nergigante and saves the protagonist.]]
* Paxton Fettel's outfit in the third ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.]]'' still has the Replica emblem on the chest. In this case, Paxton is [[OurGhostsAreDifferent some sort of phantom]] by the time of the third game, so he may be stuck in the appearance he had in his death, since he also still has the rather prominent [[BoomHeadshot head wound the Point Man delivered to him]] in the first game.
* In ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', you can encounter René Arnoux, an old veteran from the long-since disbanded royal army. He longs for the old days where the monarchy was in change, however, and as such still wears his old, somewhat garish royal uniform -- a canary-yellow and sky-blue jacket with orange trousers. Hardly camo, as the PlayerCharacter's partner, Kim, notes.
** [[spoiler:In both contrast and comparison to René, Iosef Dros, one of the few surviving original Communists, is still wearing his old, gray combat fatigues from the Communist militia.]]
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Yuri's Revenge'': Yuri keeps wearing his Soviet uniform (complete with a hammer-and-sickle emblem on the collar) even after splitting from the Soviets and forming his own (not particularly Communist) faction that seeks world domination. What glimpses we see of other members of his faction suggest that this is also true for his clones, but not for anyone else in it.
* In ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'', both [[CommieNazis Ivan Serov's regime in Komi]] and [[DefectorFromDecadence Sverdlovsk]] maintain the trappings of the former Soviet Union despite the former being a fascist dictatorship in all but name and the latter being a non-ideological military junta run by Red Army officers.
* Even after being turned into a lich, Pious Augustus of ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' never changes out of his centurion armor (though it's burnt black over the centuries).

* Some of the hunters you can get in ''VideoGame/HuntShowdown'' wear Union or Confederate uniforms that are still in good condition despite the game being over three decades since the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar.

* Isaac [=McDougal=] in ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'' is still wearing his Amestrian Army uniform. Given that most of his issues stem from what he did in Ishbal under Amestrian orders [[spoiler:and from discovering that Amestris's problems [[AncientConspiracy go far deeper than mere bloodlust on the part of the leadership]]]], this is understandable. He repeatedly tries to get other soldiers--Kimblee, Roy, Armstrong--onto his side as well.

* The Seven Ghosts in ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' donned black skintight attires instead of their old, fancier Claymore uniforms after deserting from the Organization. However, before the battle against [[spoiler:Priscilla and Cassandra]] in Rabona, they once again put on their old gear. Helen even lampshades the nostalgic feeling that overcomes them at that moment. This gesture becomes even more interesting if you consider that [[spoiler:the Organization no longer exists at that point, toppled by none other than the Ghosts themselves]].
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Zechs Marquise continues to wear his [=OZ=] uniform, with a red military dinner jacket, white pants, and black boots, ''long'' after he leaves/is forcibly ejected from the organization, partially representing his love/hate relationship with [[VitriolicBestBuds Vitriolic Best Bud]] Trieze Khushrunada and partially being unable to reconcile his own morals with those of Trieze and his faction. He only leaves it behind when he finally takes over as the White Fang leader and finds an organization he can mold to his own ideals.
* In ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'', the Imperial admiral Willibald Joachim von Merkatz and his adjutant Bernhard von Schneider continue to wear their Goldenbaum era uniforms even after [[spoiler: their defection to the Free Planets Alliance following the defeat of the Lippstadt Alliance in the Imperial Civil War]].

* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': One of the early antagonists of the series, The Colonel, as well as his subordinates, were once members of the Red Berets, an elite military unit before the nuclear war that destroyed civilization. They still wear their old uniforms and adhers to military discipline, and are one of the very few characters in the franchise that wears recognizable modern clothes that aren't either in tatters or some variation of PostApunkalypticArmor. This despite the fact that The Colonel has nothing but contempt for his former leaders, and instead believes that the survival of himself and his men was ordained by God, and intends to build a new society of supermen by using enslaved women as broodmares, and killing anyone they consider weak.
* Downplayed in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Chapter 270 takes place in a BlandNameProduct version of ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and Gigako's player skin is shown to be wearing the Shuchi'in school uniform despite having graduated at the end of the previous school year. For bonus points, the skins of the two people she was playing with (both of which are current students) are wearing regular clothing and the chapter takes place over summer vactaion when no one would be wearing their uniforms anyway.

* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s classic yellow costume is a holdover from his days in Department H.
* In many continuities, [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]'s Robin costume is based off of (or just plain ''is'') the costume he wore when performing with Haly's Circus.
* Comicbook/RedSkull's costume is generally depicted as having heavy SS influences long after the Red Skull abandoned the Nazi party in favor of HYDRA.
* ''ComicBook/JoeBarTeam'': Jean-Raoul traded in his Kawazaki for a Suzuki during the TimeSkip between album one and two, but still wears the same Kawasaki-green leathers.
* ''ComicBook/TheHauntedTank'':
** The titular tank flies a Confederate flag instead of an American one, because it has the ghost of a Confederate general haunting it.
** In one story the crew is ambushed by a [[TheRemnant German tank troop from the last war]]. They've been hiding out in the countryside for so long they don't even know their fight ended almost 30 years ago. Jeb notes their worn, tattered uniforms, and contrasts their spotless tank that never fired a shot or been fired on.
* In ''ComicBook/JudgeColt'', Tall Bear is a former ArmyScout who served under General UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant at Shiloh and Chickamauga who still wears his Union army tunic and kepi.
* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'', Soundwave is still wearing his Decepticon insignia even while openly working with Optimus Prime. According to him, he perceives himself as TheOnlyBeliever remaining, as he never gave up on the cause: if the ideals of the cause require him to work with Autobots, so be it.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Film/ForrestGump meets some anti-Vietnam activists who mostly wear their old uniforms, but made into {{Non Uniform Uniform}}s. Forrest, by contrast, wears his full US Army service dress uniform.

* In ''Film/TheSearchers'', Creator/JohnWayne's character Ethan Edwards is first seen wearing a Confederate Army jacket years after the war ended.

** ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'': While he doesn't wear his old uniform, Immortan Joe, the BigBad of ''Fury Road'', still wears the medals he earned as Colonel Joe Moore of the Australian Armed Forces, with supplementary materials revealing that he earned them partaking in the Resource Wars and Water Wars that preceeded TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. He doesn't seem to grasp the irony of wearing military honors despite being both a deserter and a war criminal.

* ''Film/TheHatefulEight'': Major Marquis Warren of the Union army and General Sanford Smithers of the Confederate army both continue to wear their colors after the war had ended. They find out they fought on opposite sides of the same battle. Naturally they don't get along too well.
* In the sequel to ''Film/{{Descendants}}'', the four Villain Kids continue to use the colour schemes associated with their villainous parents, despite having firmly rejected their evil ways at the end of the first movie. Mal is mostly purple with some black and green, Evie is blue with some red, Jay is red with some yellow, and Carlos is black, white, and red. There are some exceptions, such as Mal trying to dress more like a traditional princess because of [[spoiler: her relationship with King Ben]], but these colour schemes remain closely associated with the characters, regardless of their newfound heroism.
* In ''Film/DeadAgainInTombstone'', Col. Jackson Boomer and several members of his gang are still wearing their old Confederate uniforms.
* ''Film/ForcedVengeance''. The hero played by Creator/ChuckNorris puts on his old Airborne dress uniform to take on the bad guys.
* In ''Film/{{Hardcase}}'', Jack Rutherford is wearing an old U.S. Cavalry shirt, and what might be an old cavalry hat (although battered beyond all recognition). Booker Llewellyn, one of Simon's [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenaries]] is wearing U.S. Army artillery trousers.
* In ''Film/KamenRiderReiwaTheFirstGeneration'', Fuwa and Yua's resistance outfits are made out of the remnants of their [=A.I.M.S.=] fatigues.
* In ''Film/TheManFromColorado'', many of the miners continue to wear parts of their Union uniforms as day-to-day wear after their discharge.

* Teddy, one of Devlin's outlaws, is dressed in a Confederate uniform in ''Film/GhostTown1988''.
* In ''Film/GhostRock'', Killin' Jim Jackson is wearing a US Cavalry tunic with sergeants' stripes, implying he may be a DangerousDeserter.
* Captain Wishbone Cutter spends all of ''Film/TheShadowOfChikara'' in his old Confederate uniform.
* In ''Film/OneFootInHell'', Dan Keats is still wearing wearing his Confederate lieutenant's uniform, despite the war being over for years. It is implied he may not own any other clothes.
* ''Film/TheSeaChase'' (1955) is about a German captain who tries to get his ship back home from Australia after World War 2 breaks out. However he's always been anti-Nazi so when an Allied warship finally corners him [[DefiantToTheEnd he runs up the German Imperial flag]] instead of the Nazi one.
* In ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', prior to the climatic showdown with Hela Thor presents Brunnhilde with a suit of Valkyrie armor and Dragonfang, the sword she wielded as a Valkyrie. She puts them both to good use in the movie's final battle.
* ''Film/InvitationToAGunfighter'', Matt Weaver arrives back in town still wearing his Confederate uniform, which does not endear him to the rest of the locals. Several Union veterans in town still wear their kepis and other parts of their uniforms.

* ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'': In ''Sharpe's Waterloo'', Sharpe wears his usual uniform despite being repeatedly ordered to change into a newer one. Carried over in the TV adaptation.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' Mance Rayder, the king of the tribes beyond the Wall was once one of the Night's Watch. His life was once saved by a wildling woman who mended his torn cloak with swatches of red silk; the most precious item she owned. When his superiors insisted that his cloak be replaced because of the patches and stitches' non-regulation color, he deserted. Beyond the Wall, he wears the cloak in memory.

* After their liberation on Hades in ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Echoes of Honor]]'', most of the military prisoners have their uniforms recreated, including those from nations that were conquered decades ago, making them effectively [[CustomUniform unique]].
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', Commander Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch has [[TurnInYourBadge turned in his badge]] a couple times, usually on principle after refusing to obey a command he feels is repugnant. At no point does it occur to him that this is any reason to stop wearing battered Watch-issue chainmail, breastplate, and helmet. (It also doesn't occur to him that there's any reason to stop investigating crimes and arresting people.)

* In Eric Overmyer's play ''Native Speech'', Vietnam vet Belly Up still wears his army jacket.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** In ''Videogame/MassEffect2'', [[PlayerCharacter Commander Shepard]] wears armor embossed with the Alliance N7 logo (a military vocation code designating him/her a top-proficiency special forces soldier) despite (as Shepard personally admits) technically no longer being a member of the Alliance military.
** In ''Videogame/MassEffect3'', now back in the Alliance and having left Cerberus, Shepard can do the reverse and wear some of their Cerberus armor from the 2nd game.
** The Phoenix Vanguard and Adapt characters in multiplayer both wear their Cerberus armor after defecting to the Alliance. Possibly justified in that their laser whips appear to be built into them.
** ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda:'' Much like Shepard, Alec Ryder continues wearing armor with an N7 on it despite no longer being alliance, and with even less leeway than they had, having been forcibly discharged.

* Chris Redfield does this in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica''. Oddly, while it's a uniform for his old, disbanded organization, it's a new design. [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental materials]] explained that it was supposed to be the standardized S.T.A.R.S. uniform they would have adopted had the unit not been disbanded, and Chris took the only prototype with him when he left Raccoon City.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has the Death Knights who tend to keep their old gear they got while still aligned with the Lich King for a while, and with Transmogrification quite a few choose to make it their permanent look even at higher levels.
* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', neither Roxas nor Xion ditch their Organization XIII coats after they quit the Organization. Lea also continues to wear the coat in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]''. In this case, it's justified, as the outfit is designed to protect the wearer from darkness; several other non-Organization characters wear them as well. That being said, Lea continues to wear his in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' after being given a new outfit with the same function, citing that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"; the implications are that he's clinging to it while he starts to remember Xion. [[spoiler:The three of them finally ditch the cloaks in the aftermath of the battle at the Keyblade Graveyard.]]

* ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'':
** Craig Boone and Manny Vargas still wear their 1st Recon berets despite having left the army a while ago (And why wouldn't they? It gives a fantastic bonus). Also, completing Boone's companion quest grants him a unique military armor with the colors of the New California Republic, which he'll wear regardless of the faction the player joins.
** Ranger Andy, who lives in the town of Novac along with Boone and Manny, was an NCR Ranger until an injury forced him to retire. He still wears his Ranger armor and hat, day in and day out; it's pretty clear that he hasn't let go of the past.
** Ulysses, in a sense. While he is ''far'' too young to remember the United States of America, he still holds their ideals closer to his heart than any other loyalties, and wears "the Old World Flag on his back."
** Father Elijah, who still has the looks of (and attempts to compose himself like) a Brotherhood of Steel elder as he used to be, complete with robes and gauss rifle. By the time the Courier meets him in the Sierra Madre, he's too far gone to ever be reconciled with the Brotherhood.
* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'':
** The game gives you quite a few opportunities to do this. A male SoleSurvivor who was an Army veteran before the bombs fell, can go around wearing Army fatigues or Military fatigues (a lighter green version) even though the US military doesn’t exist anymore. You can wear Brotherhood of Steel uniforms, Railroad Heavy coats or Institute white uniforms even after having destroyed those factions. You can even wear Children of Atom robes after having nuked them.
** The ex-Minuteman Clint still wears a Militia hat and Minuteman uniform after having defected to the Gunners.
** In a random encounter, you can meet an ex-Brotherhood Scribe who is still wearing his uniform even though he doesn’t like that faction any more.
* A subtle example in ''VideoGame/WingCommander IV: The Price of Freedom'': While the personnel of the Terran Confederation Navy and Space Forces wear spiffy new uniforms, the [[HomeGuard Border Worlds Militia]], [[spoiler: including our heroes after they defect from Confed]], wear the Confed uniforms from ''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger''.

* Jin Kisaragi continues to wear his NOL Colonel uniform in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma'', despite having defected from that organization at the end of ''VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift''.
* In Creator/ElectronicArts's sports games, you can make teams take to the field in old uniforms, including those of the clubs' previous incarnations (e.g. The New Jersey Devils playing in the colors of the Colorado Rockies).

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': After defecting to the Rebellion, Adora still wears her Horde uniform. She eventually gets rid of the Horde logo on it so people don't mistake her for an enemy.
** [[spoiler: Similarly, Scorpia keeps wearing her Horde uniform after her HeelFaceTurn but removes her Force Captain badge and the Horde insignia on the back.]]

* Sports teams often times will bring out alternates based upon former teams in that city.

* The [[UsefulNotes/{{Basketball}} Toronto Raptors]] have, on occassion, taken to wearing the old blue and white uniforms of the Toronto Huskies.

* Downplayed in ''Manga/KaguyaSamLoveIsWar''. Chapter 270 takes place in a BlandNameProduct version of ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and Gigako's player skin is shown to be wearing the Shuchi'in school uniform despite having graduated at the end of the previous school year. For bonus points, the skins of the two people she was playing with (both of which are current students) are wearing regular clothing and the chapter takes place over summer vactaion when no one would be wearing their uniforms anyway.

* In ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', the Imperial admiral Willibald Joachim von Merkatz and his adjutant Bernhard von Schneider continue to wear their Goldenbaum era uniforms even after [[spoiler: their defection to the Free Planets Alliance following the defeat of the Lippstadt Alliance in the Imperial Civil War]].

* ''Series/TheExpanse'': After the survivors of the ''Canterbury'' get picked up by a Martian battleship, Alex adopts a Martian uniform since he used to serve as a pilot in the Martian military before he joined the Belters. The crew of the ''Rocinante'' no longer hold allegiance to any particular faction, but it's helpful if there's ever any need for a FalseFlagOperation.