The Uniform Theory
Philosophy and practice in search of a better life
At the very beginning, I would like to point out that this entire text presents my subjective thoughts on why it is worth to consciously use tools available to create our image. The way the World sees us affects our everyday life and, what may be naive, I believe we can improve our lives by wearing nicer trousers. To sum up - why do I do all of this?
Philosophical background
Fine feathers make fine birds. I don't think I'd cause any sensation by claiming that how we see people around us determines how we behave towards them. For so many times, I've come across loudly expressed opinions about myself or other people around me. Opinions based solely on how a person looks and what they're wearing. It's enough not to fit into the socially established construct of "norm" to automatically qualify for the group of worse treatment.
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. It is possible to change it, but it’s extremely difficult and requires a lot of time, which will not necessarily be given to us. It is easy to forget that the rest of the day, in some cases even life, may depend on that one, first moment. All because the first impression is nothing more than the emotions and associations that we evoke in each other. That’s something you can't overcome, we all judge each other, that's how our survival instinct is programmed.
Personalities in society. How come, each day we pass hundreds of random people on the street, yet somehow there are individuals that we remember? Ask yourself a question - what do you really want? The answer will make the whole process much easier for you.
What is a heavy burden can be transformed into a very strong weapon. Because it is in our hands how we want to be seen. Every day, by creating our SELF, we have the opportunity, at least to some extent, to influence who and how we will deal with.
The better you dress, the worse you can behave. I saw this motto for the first time on F.E. Castleberry’s social media. I believe he’s a guy who would definitely know what I'm trying to talk about here. Based on my experience, I'd say this motto is indeed true. I'll skip the real-life examples, but let's take a theoretical situation (warning, it’ll be very stereotypical). There are three people in front of us - a punk, a suit-wearing guy and a policeman. The two stand behind the policeman back. Suddenly, there's a crash and the windshield of the police car shatters into tiny pieces. You can probably guess who will have a harder time convincing the officer of his own innocence?
But it's not just about what a tie can do for you. It's only an added value. For me, this whole lifestyle is something more. It's about reminding myself every day that the world, no matter how hard, chaotic and difficult it may be, is also a beautiful, a very beautiful place, and we only do live once. This fear of letting time slip through my fingers motivates me to try to squeeze the sweet nectar of a beautiful life from every minute I got. I try to draw from everything. From the past, with which I'm connected by memories and experiences. The objects that accompany me act as "anchors of the time", small time machines that accumulate our common history. And there is also future, because based on what is already there, we will live on our coming days. But more than anything, I focus on drawing from today, this particular moment. Because only here and now is what really exists.
So we've reached the point where the question of whether to give or not to give a fuck can only be answered in one way - either yes or no. Wear whatever you want, the point is to make it always a conscious choice. And not an automatic action, fed continuously from the moment you stopped caring.
The Uniform Theory
The theory of a uniform has been with me for a long time. A uniform, as a formalized workplace outfit, has always had rather negative connotations, at least for me. After all, the whole point of it was to take away people's identity and transform individuals into a monolithic group. But this only applies to those uniforms that have been imposed on us by our superiors. It's a whole different story when we design it for ourselves. And just to be clear, I don't claim authorship of this concept. A whole group of personalities in our world are known for wearing a uniform - in every professional field, from artists to CEOs, the Pope and presidents.
The whole concept is to create an idea of ourselves. An idea that best reflects the message we want to pass to those around us. You can basically include anything you want in it, from culture references, to worldviews and much much more. Whatever the uniform will be, this idea is very helpful in creating an individual style, and what follows your own persona. A coherent personality and faith in your principles are powerful allies on the path of development. No wonder so many creative people reach for a Uniform. Creating it is an art in itself. The great value in it, is how it makes life easier in everyday situations. Goodbye morning dilemma on what to wear to work today.
But how do you actually do that? ChatGPT won't help you with that. And even if it does, I'm afraid that by asking you're starting from a losing position. Because the answer is hidden inside you, it’s not on the Internet. I wouldn't expect that sitting down with a piece of paper for half an hour, making a list of your favorite clothes will get the job done. It takes a little more effort -some courage to try the unknown and ability to make and accept mistakes. You’ll have to feel bad at least a few times to find out what makes you feel good. Consistency is another thing required to create your own uniform. The same suit worn to all "formal" events in your life is not a having a uniform. It's just having a suit.
Let me repeat once again, as I want it to resonate - a uniform is an idea of ourselves enclosed in the things we’ve chosen to represent it.
This doesn't mean you have to wear the same outfit every day. Yes, it could be a suit and tie one day, and carpenter pants with a T-shirt the next. The important thing is that it's going to be you every time.
I remember that for me this process started probably senior year in high school. When, as usual, grabbing random things from the closet (although at that time they could also just be lying on a chair), I noticed in the mirror by the door that something was seriously off. I remember that moment to this day. That first time I returned to my room to change how the world will see me, that day influenced the rest of my life. My time at the university, a complete change of environment, was the driving force behind further changes and ongoing crystallization of the idea that I am working on still today. My uniform is me. I am alive, so I expect further tweaks and changes.
Moving on to practice
This is where the whole difficulty in building your own uniform comes from - you have to know yourself well, have a clear idea of what you want to communicate to the world and finally devote enough time to learn how to do it. Oh, and you also need courage not to bow under the pressure of society which is always terrified by every manifestation of individualism.
Let’s make one thing clear. There’s no bigger bullshit than all those “Top 10 Things Every Man Must Have”. No, it is not true that black oxfords are the foundation of EVERY wardrobe and no, they are not the most universal “classic” shoes you can have. While such texts can be useful at the beginning (useful mainly to familiarize yourself with the range of available options, not considered as real guidance), after a while they become a burden and limit individual expression. If the style and the uniform created to express it are to be truly individual, you just can’t create it from a guide. All because this process is creation, not reproduction. By blindly following a guide, you only create a copy of someone else.
So, let's get to the point: instead of repeating those nonsense guides, I want to share with you some exercises I practice myself while working on the topic.
Exercise 1: Foundations
So let's start with absolute basics. Let's go back to the question that appeared at the beginning - why do I need all this? What message do you want to convey to everyone around you with your image? What do you want to tell the person in front of you before you start talking? Our image speaks for us, and it does that from a distance. There's no way to refrain from an answer here. So sit down with a piece of paper and try to write down the thoughts that come to your mind. It may seem simple, but I assure you that honest, well-thought-out answers would cause me problems as well, and I practice this exercise on a regular basis.1
Exercise 2: Find the right teachers
We already know that uniform is a message. Following the thought of Ingmar Bergman - If I see something good, I steal it and make it my own.2 People (and not only, because this mechanism works in the entire animal world) starting from early childhood learn new things by imitating others. Our image is nothing more than another language. A language we must learn to use well, in order to speak in a beautiful and meaningful way.
To acquire this skill, find the right teachers. People who can do it the way you would like to. Photos are enough, because after all it is a language without words right?
Who inspires you? Believe me, the best teachers are those for who wearing a uniform came naturally. At first glance, you can distinguish those whose image is determined only by their profession or even worse - low, egoistic need to present a high social or financial status in front of others.
Find those who speak to you. Collect as much material as you can, and then try to understand not what these people wear or how they look, but what is the message behind it all. Once you start to understand this language, it is only a matter of time you’ll learn to speak it.
Exercise 3: Purge and fasting
The further we go the harder it gets. This exercise worked great for me, although it cost me frustration and effort. Only an empty space can be filled. I think that each of us has encountered the paradox of choice at some point. This is an idea described by Barry Schwartz in a book of the same title.3 In the context of this text, I’ll try to quickly explain the concept. The wardrobe is bursting at the seams, and we still don't know what to wear. When we finally manage to choose something, after all the hardships, the thought still lingers in the back of our minds that maybe we should have worn this, or that, or something else. As a result, not only do we face the daunting task of making too many decisions every day, but also our overall satisfaction with the ones we have already made is lower.
A great way to crystallize a uniform is a general closet purge, reduction to the basics. Again, not to the “top 10 things you must have”, but to what you consider as absolutely irreplaceable. I will pretend to be a new Marie Kondo here, throwing out advice on how to do it, because figuring it out is all part of the process. Do it your way, do it as many times as you need to, get discouraged and tired, because that is the only way.
Once you have dealt with reduction, it’s time for fasting. Try for the nearest time (a concept, where everything is valued by the time we have invested in it, with no shortcut that would lead to equally valuable results comes to me every time I start to wonder) to use only and exclusively the selected pieces. Very quickly, a list of things missing to let you express yourself in the way you want to will start to become clear. And who knows, it may turn out that something we considered “essential” before no longer suits us and can easily give its place to something new.4
ATTENTION, ATTENTION - the aforementioned list will have to wait, the whole exercise will be pointless if you embark on another shopping spree just because after three days of using the basics you decided there’s no way to go on without something new! This is not only a fast from things that did not survive the purge from step one, but also from shopping.
The malicious are squirming in their chairs with the question - But how is that possible, after all wearing the same stuff all the time is boring and things worn constantly will wear out much faster?! I wonder if they have ever tried. You may be surprised how many previously unexpected ideas and combinations can come to mind when you use a limited number of items. Then, over time, high-quality things (with proper maintenance, necessary repairs done on time and use in accordance with their intended use) only become better and better.5
I repeat all these exercises regularly, they are useful tools for me not only for creating my own image but also for personal development in general. As you know, it is supposedly only about clothes, but it’s always about much, much more.
Towards the end I want to emphasize once again a very important feature of the uniform for me. It’s always changing. It is inherent in this theory, because the uniform is based on the essence of the wearer, in order to move forward and develop, changes are inevitable. Hence, the uniform itself, understood in this way, will constantly evolve. Development requires change, stagnation is a step back, and this is not the direction I want to go.
People often forget we do not dress only so as not to run naked on the street. By consciously creating your image, you can get to know yourself better, break conventions, open up to new things, provoke discussion, and also (maybe above all even!) have fun and make our time here on Earth a little better and happier. Which is what I sincerely wish for myself and all of you!
There is no good topic without discussion, I am extremely curious what you think about this theory. Below you can find the comments section, let's talk!
For the curious ones - I do not intend to publish my answers, because as I said, it’s a creative process, there’s no point in rewriting someone else’s work. The whole process of searching, wondering and trying is more important than the answer itself.
Full quote https://austinkleon.com/2019/03/30/a-great-hodgepodge
https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice, the book is easily available online but check out your local libraries first!
As you probably know, the second-hand market is growing fast in the last years. Here again, high-value items (not to be confused with high price, although of course they are usually more expensive) win, because their price on the secondary market is simply more stable.
If we build our image based on high-quality items, when they stop serving us, we will be able to recover the lion's share of the original investment. In contrast to some mass produced fast fashion, which unfortunately flood markets and the planet. That is why I, without exception, consider any (ANY!) purchases from fast fashion brands not only as unprofitable, but also simply unethical.
This is a discussion for a separate text, I will definitely come back to it in the future
Photo footnotes:
*Not every day you can find more about the context of a photo written by the author himself, for those interested I encourage you to read https://kasterine.blogspot.com/2012/09/james-baldwin.html
**The photos feature Daniel Day-Lewis in the films In the Name of the Father (1993), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) and Phantom Thread (2017).
Great Article! As always Lucas. It seems to me, as the “uniform” idea also comes from one’s background, lifestyle and the job he does. I always wondered for a working man such as myself is it out of context to dress a certain way, but it turns out in a way, that I was just tiding up my uniform details all this time. Thanks again for a great read and take care!