The case for wearing a uniform
Mason Currey (author of Daily Rituals) on famous dudes who wore the same thing every day:
I’m thinking, of course, of wearing the exact same thing every day. This is hardly an original idea—plenty of noteworthy men have adopted a signature uniform, particularly those working in artistic fields. Stanley Kubrick owned a dozen sets of the same slouchy outfit (chinos, blue shirt, cotton jacket, sneakers), and Hitchcock’s closet was stocked with identical dark-blue suits. In 1898, the French avant-garde composer Erik Satie used a small inheritance to purchase a dozen identical chestnut-colored velvet suits (with the same number of matching bowler hats). In the late 1970s, Andy Warhol’s uniform was Levi’s 501s, a button-down shirt, a striped tie, and a navy blazer, often accessorized with a Polaroid camera around his neck. Tom Wolfe was never without a white suit; Steve Jobs had a lifetime supply of black mock turtlenecks. And that’s not even mentioning the many fashion designers who wear more or less the same thing every day.
“Wear a uniform” was #3 on my 10 things I learned on book tour list:
More via @mattthomas here and here:
“I like the idea of a personal uniform,” says Richard Haines, the fashion illustrator who sketches stylish guys on the streets of New York for his blog What I Saw Today. “Years ago, on my first trip to Europe, I noticed people would wear the same thing everyday and just changed up little pieces. It’s this mentality of having less, but owning quality.” And perhaps that’s a good a theory to have right now.
And Rick Owens via @jedsundwall:
It takes me minutes to dress—I’ve worn the same black outfit for years, like a priest. Or a prisoner.
Oh, and the president does it, too.
betzistar
