Why I Wear the Same Clothes Every Day
When I tell people that I only wear white t-shirts and jeans, most people think I’m kidding, speaking in hyperbole, exaggerating, etc. Rather, the statement holds true most of the time in the Summer, and all of the time in the cooler months.
Still don’t understand?
Every piece of clothing you see there is Banana Republic. I’ve tried other clothes, they just don’t fit as well, last as long, or look as good on me. The dark jeans? They’re tailored.
What we have here, from left to right:
- 2 pair of older-style boot cut jeans.
- 5 pair of straight leg, dark wash jeans.
- 9 basic crew white t-shirts.
- 4 polo shirts, 3 different kinds. One of the kind, if they still made them, I’d buy 5 of them and be done with it.
- 3 kinds of long-sleeve white shirts.
For shorts, I finally found a pair I like at American Eagle, and bought 4 pair. I have 12 pair of Puma crew socks, and 8 pair of white Hanes boxer briefs.
Aside from that, I have some “custom clothing” for things like working out, climbing, etc. I’ll go ahead and put my suits and jackets in the “custom clothing” category…but all that is Banana Republic as well.
WHY???
It’s quite simple, and useful, really:
I used to buy a lot of clothes. That took up space in my mind, so I freed up that space by getting rid of the clothes.
Since I pretty much only buy clothes from Banana Republic:
- I can ignore any and all other clothing advertising.
- I get deals by intentionally waiting for sales.
- By signing up for their mailing list, I never have to waste space in my head “remembering to look for sales,” they come to me…that’s when I know it’s time to buy clothes.
A Question of Style
Some people argue that dressing like this eliminates style from my wardrobe, holding the position that variety reinforces style.
I disagree.
I believe that this reinforces a different interpretation of style: My interpretation.
I used to buy a lot of clothes. I was a “clothes horse,” if you will. I know what looks good, and what doesn’t. I generally have a more refined sense of style than the average man.
This is why I wear Banana Republic. Not for the brand name, but because the clothes fit well and look like how I want clothes to look on me. I’ve tried other brands of jeans, shirts, jackets, suits, etc. I’ve tried it all. Banana Republic is what works for me.
Efficiency
Wearing clothes with this kind of strategy is incredibly efficient. I’ve been doing this, strictly, for over 6 months, and loosely for 2 months leading up to it. It may not seem like it would free up your mind much, but it does…it’s certainly a few less things to worry about.
I never wake up in the morning, wondering what I’m going to wear. I put on my clothes, I’m done, and I immediately get to work without going through the psychological waffling that comes with being image conscious…
“It’s dreary today, I’m going to wear gray.”
“It’s sunny out today, I’m going to wear brighter colors.”
If you think that doesn’t happen at some level, start recording the kind of weather each day and the colors that people in your office (men and women) are wearing. I guarantee you’ll find a correlation.
Plus, this lets me live out of 2 suitcases for a year. I won’t ever have to worry about my clothes going out of style or me being tired of any of them that may be of a certain style. If something gets ruined, it’s a minor hiccup – Banana Republic isn’t hard to find and these are some of their classic clothes they’ll be making for quite a while.
Gentleman: You Just Look Good
I may know that I have a decent sense of style. And I also know that most women have a much better sense of style than I do.
This Esquire survey further reinforces that jeans and a white tshirt does, in fact, look good.
So, I think that’s about it about that.
Men can successfully pull this off. However, women may be knowingly sabotaging themselves (in the area of dating/attraction) if they were to adopt this fashion style. A guy can get away with looking boring (same clothes all the time) to a greater degree than a woman can. This is because a woman’s attraction triggers are based on a man’s personality/behavior. A man’s attraction triggers, however, are primarily visual (at least, initially).
How do I know? Because I have tested this. As a woman, you get a vastly difference response from men (and a vastly difference compliance level), depending on what you’re wearing. Hence women’s interest in fashion. If a woman dresses in a boring (or sloppy/careless) manner, she is looked down upon to a greater degree than a guy who dresses in a similar fashion. Take for instance shaving. Who would be looked at more negatively…a guy who didn’t shave his face, or a woman who didn’t shave her legs? Who would be looked at more negatively…a guy who wore the same clothes all the time, or a woman who did likewise? Every time, it’s the woman who would be looked at more negatively. Women have been trained since birth to be the “beautiful creatures.” Part of this is necessity (male attraction switches), and part is cultural (media attention on the fashion industry).
I like your idea of wearing a uniform everyday—and you’re right; it would clear up a huge amount of mental space. It would also allow you to save money. Only problem is, I’m a woman. Adopting your wardrobe would penalize me to a far greater extent than it would for a guy.
Jess,
We’ll see how the year goes. I’ve committed to it through 2008 and will re-evaluate. To be honest, the idea becomes more and more comfortable as a long-term solution the longer I’m in it. Which isn’t necessarily the case for all other practices of removing something from daily life.
And I’m with you on the sports clothes…though, I’m still trying to figure out what’s good for me in that area.
Michelle,
Your ability to articulate gender differences with regard to attraction is much more refined than most. Nice.
I generally agree with you about the social impact of a woman not dressing “well.” Perhaps a better way of saying that is that a woman is perceived with a wider range than men, in regard to how one dresses.
As far as how a woman would be perceived wearing the same clothes, I would be interested in testing the idea of a woman wearing the same, nice, clothes every day in a work environment, socially, etc. I’d also be interested in hearing the observations that a woman might make going through something like that.
My hunch is that the results would greatly be affected by what the woman wears, and how tasteful it looks on her. If a woman wears clothes that are out of style and don’t fit her well, then I could see the experience being much more negative than if she wore clothes that were tasteful, current, and fit well.
For men, we can get away with wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. It’s been accepted and understood that we look good in that, and it can easily translate to many different social environments.
For women, I think that there are some pieces of clothing that work in the same way. For example, in an office environment, I think that a white, collared, button down shirt may work well as a daily shirt. For social occasions, I think a classically styled black dress would be quite flexible.
So, my overarching response is that I generally agree with your sentiments, but would also like to see the experiment played out to see the real effects, rather than predicted or assumed effects.
Thanks for the compliment. Like you, I think it would be eye-opening to see the actual results from a woman who tried this. However, I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig.
Career-wise, as a woman, I think wearing the same clothes repeatedly (even if they’re tasteful, and fit well) could hurt you in the office—in terms of promotion/respect/annual raises. I think this is especially true in the more conservative occupations (such as finance, banking, law), where women are expected to conform to a certain standard. A white blouse may work nicely as a default daily choice (good suggestion), but I think the woman would need to change the pants, and throw on a skirt occasionally.
Socially (outside the office), I think a woman would get a lot of heat/negativity from her friends (and other women) for constantly wearing the same clothes. I question how many men would want their girlfriends/wives wearing the same clothes all the time. You’re probably the exception to the rule, Ben.
I know exactly what you mean about freeing up space
It’s an horrible experience walking into a clothes shop and having to pick garments to define yourself
wearing the same thing everyday elminates this
as well as the other points you made
It’d be amazing if everyone did this
we’d liberate ourselves
!