The Male Uniform

Every day of the week, Danny, a 62-year-old artist in Oakland, CA, puts on his pants one leg at a time, just like everyone else. His trousers, however, are a little different from what most people pull on: He wears only khaki jodhpurs - pants normally worn for horseback riding. Thing is, he doesn't ride. He just likes them and likes that people associate him with them. "I wish they'd become a fad again," he says.

Why change a look that works?

Clothing has long been an obsession for many men, and the sartorial fixation sometimes involves wearing the same things over and over. Among these gents' heroes are author Tom Wolfe (who wears only dapper white suits), designer Karl Lagerfeld (dark glasses, skinny black ties, white shirts with tall collars), and singer Jack White (anything black, red, or white).

"Men [can be] a little bit fanatical about how they dress," says Simon Kneen, vice president and creative design director of Brooks Brothers. "Men, unlike women, often hone in on a favorite item of clothing and loyally wear it year after year. If he's a button-down man, he's a button-down man. If it's the right thing and it always looks stylish, I think it can work very well."

It can also take a lot of the strife out of the morning dressing ritual if you know you're going to wear pretty much exactly what you wore yesterday - and you'll look good in it.

Take Natin Paul, an 18-year-old entrepreneur and University of Texas freshman. Paul, president and CEO of a private equity firm, has employees old enough to be his father. But Paul has no interest in blending in with the rest of the older suits; to highlight his youth, he puts on the same thing every morning: a blazer, a starched Lacoste shirt, a loosened neck tie, and jeans - a decidedly hip look for the Austin business world and a sharp alternative to the flip-flops and sweatshirts his classmates flaunt.

He doesn't plan to revamp his wardrobe anytime soon. Why change a look that works?

"Many people just go through the day wearing the same old thing. But when you're wearing something that you think looks great, you've got a kick in your step," he says. "It's about having that something a little bit extra about you."

Posted on March 20, 2006