Uniforms for the dedicated

It was an experiment so stealthy that no one, not even in this day of relentless social media scrutiny, managed to notice.

For an entire year, Karl Stefanovic sported the same blue suit while presenting the Today show in Australia. The news anchor, angered by a culture of sexism wherein female colleagues are constantly pilloried for their wardrobe choices while men are largely exempt from criticism, decided to illustrate his frustration.

“I’ve worn the same suit on air for a year — except for a couple of times because of circumstance — to make a point,” Stefanovic revealed. True enough, 12 months ticked by without a ripple; not one complaint was registered. The well-worn suit jacket and trousers, a cheap Burberry knockoff the co-host bought in London, has been sold on eBay for A$6,500 ($5,570).

UNPROGRESSIVE TAILORING

“In the United Kingdom,” according to British style blogger and journalist Charlie Porter, “power of men is moving towards an utter rejection of fashion or style.” In a recent entry, he cites politicians such as David Cameron, Ed Milliband and Nigel Farage and their use of intentionally unprogressive tailoring.

Even Prince William wasn’t spared; the banality of the suit he wore to meet Singapore president Tony Tan Keng Yam in October (“Possibly the worst example of contemporary male power tailoring yet”) did not elude Porter’s gaze. “To appear ‘straight-talking’ to the electorate, you have to dress with mediocrity… because any sense of style would cause suspicion.”

INHERENT QUIRKS

At first, I assumed that looking deliberately unsharp might be the latest public relations tactic contrived by political advisers. But the rigid dichotomy highlighted by Stefanovic — that “women are judged much more harshly and keenly for… what they wear. I’m judged… on how I do my job” — seems to have long been the norm, even before 21st century feminism became a hot-button topic.

I’ve been pondering the interconnectedness of outward appearances and power — perceived or otherwise — as I arrive at another turning point in my media career. I’m set to leave the rigor of the newsroom, where I’ve been cozily ensconced for the last few years, to return to the chaos of magazine publishing where I first cut my teeth a decade ago. It’s a shift that, while not completely new, has me considering the sartorial quirks inherent in either.

On the one hand, the world of news journalism calls for items of clothing so safe they could only possibly offend in their innocuity: blue shirts, gray suits, quiet checks, dark jeans. This standard male journalist outfit epitomizes what writer Amy Larocca articulated in New York magazine in 2007: that men’s fashion, at its core, is conservative. “Because too much fashion on a man just isn’t, when it comes down to it, masculine enough for most men.”

On the other, the world of niche magazines allows for greater self-expression in terms of dress and, in fact, encourages idiosyncrasy. Once again I’ll be in the company of interesting individuals who think excessively about what they’re going to wear — and what our readers would want to wear — and find the exercise enormously restful.   

FAN OF RESTRAINT

When I started out in the industry as a wide-eyed 21-year-old, I was exactly like them. I asserted my sartorial independence to reflect shifts in social trends or appetite: Chuck Bass prepster today, Skins nu-raver tomorrow, God-knows-what next week. As I grew wiser, however, I found myself seduced by the status quo and its trademark hues: gray, black, navy, khaki and white. I now look like a Monocle magazine devotee, a proud fan of Tod’s and restraint.

Perhaps it would be wise for me to take a cue from fashion designers. Despite turning out an endless cycle of new collections to meet the demands of both consumers and retailers, they seem to wear variations of the same outfit, sometimes for years on end. Yohji Yamamoto, in his dark, drapey jackets, always seems to look like the sage pilgrim grandfather we never had. Tom Ford, meanwhile, has a habit of unfastening the top three buttons on his shirts to let his chest hair do the talking.

FLATTERING PIECES

In her 2011 autobiography Bossypants, Tina Fey offered this nugget: “A wise friend once told me, ‘Don’t wear what fashion designers tell you to wear. Wear what they wear.’ His point being that most designers, no matter what they throw onto the runway, favor simple, flattering pieces for themselves.”        

At my new job — which will, plausibly, bring me even closer to the front row of fashion — I intend to stick to my uniform of unimaginative chambray shirts and anodyne Adidas Stan Smiths. Fortunately I’m old enough to know what looks good on me. But more important, unlike my early twentysomething self, I’m now mature enough not to care if people notice what I’m wearing or not.

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