The Case for Uniforms

[Faust]

Hello all - I wanted to share my new article about wearing a personal uniform. Enjoy and discuss.



Last winter I found myself wearing the same thing over and over again, literally. Every time I had to run out of the house in the blistering New York cold and a mixture of slush and snow, I reached for my Rick Owens down parka and side-zip boots with a creeper sole, into which I tucked the pant legs of a pair of black jeans. When the New York fashion week came in February, I could not care less for being seen in the same clothes day after day. It was an outfit I felt at ease with, knowing that it looked good and felt comfortable. I saw no reason to change it up.

I am not the only one. Rick Owens himself is no stranger to wearing the same thing on daily basis. In an article for Harper’s Bazaar last year he said, “I like sticking with a decision: I have a stack of identical crisp black shorts, a stack of identical soft black T-shirts, and a stack of identical black cashmere turtlenecks.”

What makes some people don a uniform? For one, there is certain ease in it, both aesthetic and psychological. Rather than laziness – a uniform is an exercise in rigor – it bespeaks unfussiness. You know what looks good and you know what you want. It underscores your sense of self by saying that you are comfortable in your own skin and you don’t have to shed it, snakelike. It’s pragmatic, one less thing to think about in our overcomplicated, fast-paced world.

When I asked Owens about the philosophy behind his dressing habits, he said, “How you dress is the first step in presenting yourself as who you want to be. I want to be logical, polite, slightly formal, conscious of other people’s priorities. I used to enjoy being flamboyant and extreme. Now it seems even more extreme to stick to a decision and repeat it forever. I always refer to Jean Michel Frank having forty grey identical suits in his closet. It’s very attractive when someone knows himself like that.” Owens went on to add, “Also, I only used to have myself to create for. Now I have a bigger stage and am creative with myself in a more profound way by going to the gym and controlling the way my body looks. I haven’t dismissed the idea of dressing, but I don’t need to change moods – I know the mood I want.”

continue to the full piece below

http://www.sz-mag.com/news/2014/08/the-case-for-uniforms/

[DudleyGray]

I (predictably?) have a lot to say on this after my failed attempt at a uniform wardrobe, but I'm very interested in what others think about this. Great article, nonetheless.

[apathy!]

Agree with pretty much everything. Especially like the idea of people spending a lot of money on a handful of nice pieces.

It is fun, though, to dress up (or down) sometimes.


edit:

I think the most attractive thing is the idea that there is one set of clothes in existence that fits what you want the best.

[upsilonkng]

great article, in my daily habits i actually wear the same thing every single day during the day and something different and nice at night if i go out, but as long as there's sun i literally wear the same drkshdw pod shorts, white long tank and roshe's everyday. at night i wear the stuff i end up selling but usually that's in a holding pattern as well, i switch between almost always just 2 pairs of pants, one pair of shoes even if i have 4 or 5 pairs and one leather while i change the tops in different layers of rick tanks and bbs shirts. I love it, though i obviously change more than rick who wears the same thing for like 4 seasons which i think is a little wacky.
ps thom brown's suit looks pretty awful, i'd kill myself and the tailor if that's what i had to wear for a season.

[Shucks]

so, some quick thoughts on this...


adjective
1. remaining the same in all cases and at all times; unchanging in form or character.
2. denoting a garment forming part of a person's uniform.

noun
1. the distinctive clothing worn by members of the same organization or body or by children attending certain schools.
2. a code word representing the letter U, used in radio communication.

verb
1. make uniform.


do i wear a uniform? i'm not sure. there are definitely things that change in what i wear, related to form/character. then again, there are some constants. do i wear clothing which is distinctive and worn by members of an organization/body? also not sure. there are (tons of) people wearing exactly the same things that i feel absolutely zero affiliation with, other than that we have chosen to wear the same things. then again, there are many who wear the same things, with a very similar mindset and belief-system to myself. in no way do i kid myself in thinking i am unique in my choices, nor is that a big priority when chosing what to wear. actually, i would be stupid to wear what i wear, then, since it goes against the ambition of 'inclusiveness' and commercial approach of the brand i support the most.

i suppose the question must also be answered in a relative way - yes it is more of a uniform than for some, particularly when it comes my narrow choice of brands (brand) and avoidance of color. on the other hand, i do perhaps experiment with form more than other people. as for group affiliation, i would say that perhaps is LESS important to me, than to many people who wear uniforms (in the sense of 'standardized' clothing) less than i (and obviously also relative those who wear uniforms more...).

in fact, this double meaning itself of 'uniform' as 1) 'unchanging' and 2) 'indication of group membership' that makes "do i wear a uniform?" a very tricky question to answer...

but the reduction of choice that uniformity imposes/allows, can be very liberating, i feel. liberating in the sense that it frees up time and energy for other things that are more important to resolve for my sense of identity and my life, than what to wear. submission and freedom are sometimes not opposites.

on the other hand, having my appearance (mis)interpreted as indicating a group membership which i do not identify with, can at times feel somewhat restrictive, as i know many of us here have experienced.

[Fuuma]

It's a form of branding, see Largerfeld, Diane Pernet, Thom Browne hell even Tintin. As for Rick he doesn't really wear an uniform, about half the pics of him are in something else, I saw him in something else etc etc he just tend to stick to the same style.

[DudleyGray]

I ran into a number of unexpected stumbling blocks with the uniform. The biggest problem is that I care too much to make an impression on people. I may not care what they think of me, but I definitely care that they do at all. I have a lot of clothes for being seen in social settings, and I try to vary it up drastically from one gathering to the next. So one issue for me will be others' views of me. I'll either have to not care about my projected image or care enough to present just one thing.

Another problem I have, and this just goes for dressing in general, is that I always second guess a planned outfit. So often, I plan an outfit for a particular occasion, but I always second guess it and instead end up walking out with whatever appealed to me instinctively. It feels like such an honest way of dressing to me, and I don't want to give that up. A uniform at this point in my life would be a lifetime of second guessing my single choice, and a self-inflicted uniform without options seems disingenuous.

Also, there was practicality. A uniform has to be practical, and the pieces have to be readily available for multiples and replacements. I thought when planning it out that I would just wear my favorite things all the time, but my favorite things are hard to find multiples of, and having multiples of them would cost more than I care to spend.

At the same time, I hate that I'm a grail hunter. It consumes so much time, money, and effort. But it's an addiction. I receive the pieces in the mail, and it's bliss to wrap myself in luxurious, oddly cut and well-stitched fabrics. What I thought were impossible expectations are exceeded consistently every time I put on a grail piece. But I hate the sort of fetishizing of clothes. I hope I can one day move away from that and have clothes that I just live in, like how I viewed them when I was a kid. I think ultimately, my uniform attempt was an attempt to manage this addiction, but it's unmanageable. For now, though, I've given up on trying to manage it, and so there are still pieces out there that I want to experience.

But when nobody is looking, I just wear my jersey pods or jersey drop crotch sweats. If I'm stepping out to the store, I'll throw on a tank or tee and white trainers. So I guess I'm a lot like upsilonking in that regard. Seinfeld joked about sweats being for people that have given up on life, and I'm willing to embrace that with drop crotches when that day comes for me.

[DudleyGray]

Your approach is quite confusing, you say you "tried" "out" a uniform wardrobe, as if there is some distinct path or guideline to follow.

My life is confusing, so that much is consistent. My wardrobe has a uniformity (rorororo), but I think that is closer to a 'style' than a 'uniform.' And yes, in the end the motives weren't substantial enough and it was more the idea of it that I liked more than the thing itself. I love the idea of giving so little thought about my outward appearance that I can have a repetitive wardrobe of what I feel are the most pleasurable/comfortable items to wear on a base experience level, independent of anything else. I guess what I really love the idea of is a sort of perfect confidence.

I think your approach is too "mathematical" as if you're following some sort of formula or equation involving numbers and operations.
...
Step back a bit and let yourself enjoy what you enjoy without questioning yourself / your image or whatever too much. I feel like I've had a similar mentality as you at one point or another, and just taking a step back is something I've been trying to do so myself.
...
It's confusing because you say that you are happy with the results of this (grail) approach while at the same time guilty about it. Why? I think that's a question only you can answer.

Funny that you should say that. I was raised by a mathematician and feel that I've been plagued by overthinking my entire life. But I was also raised by an artist, so by nature, I'm very 'feel'-oriented and image conscious, so there's a lot of inner conflict there. Although I've been pushing myself just to live as I feel these days, sometimes I'm wary of that. Academics love to instill (or infect with?) the habit of questioning everything, after all.

I view my grail mentality as a symptom of something deeper, a materialistic coping mechanism for emotional discomfort or maybe feelings of inadequecy. I enjoy the clothes greatly, but I'd love even more to enjoy them but not to feel the need for them.

[Shucks]

you'd think an article such as this would generate more discussion in a place such as this.

but then again, as faust and i've both realized, most people are just consumers of products AND information, not producers...

fuuma agreed. good point. repetition can definitely be identity work.

ryanhast way to regurgitate mine and fuuma's posts... how about building on them instead?

dudleygray maybe try wearing your fetishized items more often? give them a beating, take the preciousness out of them. i sleep in some of my stuff sometimes (cause let's face it, it's basically pajamas anyway) and might wear it the next day... do that enough to a garment, and it stops being precious and makes it hard to be self-conscious when u wear it, cause ur so used to it.

[Faust]

you'd think an article such as this would generate more discussion in a place such as this.

but then again, as faust and i've both realized, most people are just consumers of products AND information, not producers...

Sadly this seems to be the case. I've gotten more reaction on my Facebook page than here. Sad.

fuuma agreed. good point. repetition can definitely be identity work.

ryanhast way to regurgitate mine and fuuma's posts... how about building on them instead?

It can be, but it doesn't have to be. But to a cynic everything is marketing today simply because everything could potentially be marketing.

[cjbreed]

i wonder if i should finally get a facebook

[zamb]

i wonder if i should finally get a facebook

Yes,
but I wish there was a way to disable the Video Function on it, too much garbage there............

Will say my piece on the whole issue of uniforms soon

[cjbreed]

will you be my friend zam?

[ryanhast]

I will try this again.
From my perspective.

Last winter I wore a similar outfit 4 days out of the week. A Plokhov blazer, I would swap between black RO pants & black Plokhov pants and an RO t-shirt. On Fridays I would wear the same Sruli Recht sweater with black Lost and Found Sarouels. I liked not having to think about what to wear...well, actually that depended on some things.

I noticed when I was overwhelmed or stressed at work, having this pattern was awesome. If life in general was "easy" I found myself sometimes uninspired.

That being said, if I had the money to buy enough of the exact same outfit, and then also have the option to change that up every 6 months if I felt like it, I think I would probably go for it.

In my mind a uniform=expensive upfront cost. Not as cheap as adding a new piece here and there, or replacing a worn out piece.

What happens if they stop making the exact shirt you have 5 of? Do you then have to buy all new shirts to create a new uniform?

I feel like if you are designer you have an easier time pulling this off, since you can just manufacture the exact thing you want when you want it.

[DudleyGray]

Now that the weather is cooling off, I'll definitely be wearing my grails into the ground until they're just 'my clothes that I love' instead of 'my clothes that I'm afraid to love.' Although, the only time I sleep in clothes is if I'm couch surfing.

One thing that I did love but hasn't really been touched on much in this thread is the anticonsumerist side of it. It was something that was nurtured inside of me with the uniform attempt that I wasn't at all expecting, and suddenly I care about things like environmental impact, waste, human suffering, etc. like I did in my younger days. I hadn't given it much thought before but just the act of attempting a uniform somehow reignited that side of me. I tend to romanticize anticonsumerism and the social issues it addresses. I see it as something beautifully rebellious if one can actually live it. So that's a nice thing to have taken away from the uniform attempt.

With the exception of clothes, I generally buy very few things. I have some leisure activities I need to buy things for, but other than that, I don't care about A/V, computers/tablets/phones, cars, property, or whatever lifestyle/status symbols are usually consumed. I actually hate having 'things,' it's just so much clutter in my house and it clutters my mind. Maybe what I really need is the opposite, an empty house stuffed with clothes, just a big walk-in closet.