Uniforms: The Essential Part of Everyday Wear
Uniforms used to have that negative connotation to submission and following the rules. but now, you make your own rules, baby.
When you hear the word uniform, chances are you envision a blazer with some sort of crest on it, a button-up shirt, a tie, and a pair of grey pleated trousers… Well, at least I did. The word ‘uniform’ can often contain a negative connotation as it reminds us of the days we had to follow strict dress rules like always making sure our shirts were tucked in, our hair was an appropriate length, and the teacher didn’t catch us chewing gum. However, to the average jawnz enthusiast, uniform has a completely different meaning. A meaning that can bring relief when one’s decision fatigued, or when the fit you planned in your head executes awfully (unless you’re Mariano who just commits to every fit I guess?). When a fashionbro (btw the term, fashionbro, can refer to anyone who enjoys clothing) has a uniform, it means they have garments that they have meticulously chosen to be a part of their everyday wear. These garments aren’t simply just picked out, but they’re researched, wear-tested, adjusted, and modified to suit every mood, feeling, event, or occasion.
Feeling fat? Chuck on your uniform.
Off to work? Chuck on your uniform.
Getting married? Chuck on your uniform. (ok maybe not that, trust me I tried).
A uniform does not mean everyone wears the same thing, a uniform is specific from user to user. It also means that one does not have to wear a uniform every single day of their life. Sometimes one would ‘test drive’ new garments by adding them along side their uniform – y’know, to make sure it’s actually worth keeping. A uniform does not have to be the exact same garments every time either– overshirts are a great example because the garment itself would be a part of your uniform, but you’re obviously going to have more than one shirt (unless you’re a stinky boy).
My uniform:
It has taken me nearly 27 years to perfect my uniform (holy shit I’m turning 27 this year). Countless t-shirts, pants, sweatshirts, shirts. Throughout my years, I thought I knew what my uniform was (trust me, skinny jeans with Ultra Boost were not the play), but today I’m gonna share my current uniform with you so I can finally build my army of Theodore clones fr. The garments that have been specifically chosen in my uniform are either of great quality to ensure they last a long time or are affordable, which makes them easily accessible.
I’m gonna start at the top and work my way down.
Headwear:
I am a capsman. Meaning, I wear caps a lot. It is unlikely that you will see me without a cap – even in the house I am wearing one. I feel like hats are easily interchangeable within a uniform because they often look very similar as they’re essentially the same style with minute tweaks. But for the sake of this post, I will choose one.
Aime Leon Dore Unisphere Hat: I chose the Unisphere cap because, firstly, it’s an unstructured cap, meaning it can be squashed, but easily return to its original shape. It also has a sweat-wicking band around the head, which prevents the hat from looking stank from sweating in it all day. Combining those two points together means you have a hat that will look good for an extended period of time.
Here are some other suggestions I have if the Unisphere hat isn’t your thing:
A New Era fitted – LET’S GO Os! Also very affordable and you can get 100% wool ones easily. You could be cring and go with one of the fitteds that have like ALD or MoMA embroidered on the sides, or you could be a real head and just go reggie.
L’art De L’automobile Strapback hat – any car, but the one I own is the Mercedes CLK GTR.
T-Shirt:
Tees are an essential part of clothing. I don’t care who you are, you need a dozen shirts in your wardrobe. I used to be super into graphic tees, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised that you can achieve better results with a simple black/white tee. That being said, I still enjoy a good graphic every now and then.
AS Colour Heavy Tee (5080) in black: Honestly, when I think of AS colour, I often think of shitty store/restaurant merchandise, but the Heavy tee is my go-to tee of choice because they’re affordable, look good, and they become cheaper per unit if you buy more. As I already stated, they’re a very affordable tee, but durable. This means you could have 3-4 in your wardrobe and you’ll be set for a long time. They are offered in an array of colours, but my preferred is black and washed black. These are quite long so I did get them hemmed, but once they’re cut to size, they are perfect.
I will go on record to say that Brain Dead recently released blanks on their website and if I had any yet, they would’ve been my selection because they are my favourite type of tee by far.
If AS Colour isn’t your thing, here are some other suggestions:
Uniqlo Airism half-sleeve tee in black – Uniqlo is a difficult brand for me to pin down. They’re definitely fast fashion, but they don’t typically follow the fast fashion formula of chasing temporal trends. I really enjoy this shirt because it’s quite breathable, but holds the shape for a long period of time.
Brain Dead tees – They’re more expensive, but they do their own cut and sew. These generally come with graphics if that’s not for you then you may need something else… or buy the blanks like I said above.
Shirting:
What makes shirting so good is that I can be an all-year-round thing. In the summer, you can wear a light shirt, or in the winter you can wear something a bit heavier. Also, I hope you’re starting to see the colour palette that is developing here. I think navy & black is the superior colour combo, but I digress.
Corridor Patchwork Shirt: The Patchwork Shirt by Corridor is one that some may find surprising as uniform dressing is typically considered simple, whereas this shirt is quite loud. I placed this shirt within my uniform because I wear it all the time, and the quality is goated – besides, it doesn’t hurt to be a little playful in the way you dress. I fully understand that this shirt is not everyone’s cup of tea, and for the price tag, I also don't blame you (but you can often find Corridor on sale).
If you want something that’s a little more understated or might be out of your price range:
Uniqlo Extra Fine Cotton Broadcloth Shirt – very affordable, and has a classic fit, rather than a slim.
Stussy Lightweight Classic Shirt – great quality and will last.
Our Legacy Borrowed Shirt – There’s something poetic about wearing a shirt you own that’s designed to look like you don’t own it. These come in a flurry of patterns and fabrics.
Outerwear:
Outwear is something that I would not consider a part of my uniform because the weather is never cold enough to require wearing one even in winter (maybe a month of the year gets cold enough), but that doesn’t mean I cannot appreciate outerwear by any means. If I were to place one within my uniform roster, it would most likely be my Arc’teryx BETA LT; however, I wouldn’t consider it versatile enough, stylistically, to be an all-rounder.
This might be an area where I’ll regretfully need to ask Mariano for help because, for a man of my size (6’ but likes his Oreos), it’s hard for me to find outerwear that has an oversized feel to it. I will leave some recommendations that I think look good and will range in price as well, so go crazy (I’m pretty much gonna be sharing my wishlist with you for this one):
Uniqlo Overshirt Jacket – I own this in navy and it’s been my workplace workhorse. It’s affordable and has lasted me over 2 years.
Haven Jacket by Our Legacy – This looks amazing and I would love to get it in hand.
French Terry Sateen Shirt by Brain Dead – Another expensive garm, but can be found on sale if you work hard. I love the change in fabric on the pockets.
Jungle Jacket in washed nylon by Universal Works. Universal works are fantastic for outwear and this jacket is no exception. Based on a military uniform, it contains a timeless silhouette, but the excess pockets keep it interesting.
Pants:
I fkn love pants. It sounds weird but I do. And you know what makes it funnier, is that I used to think pants were the least important part of a fit. For years I would buy skinny chinos from a fast fashion store called JayJays and call it day. Since then I learned that pants really do make or break the fit. If you’re not wearing the right pants, then everything is going to look off (idk rule of thirds or some dumb shit that stupid people on TikTok try to tell you have to do). What’s great about pants is that you can keep it simple, or you can catch people off guard and make then the loudest part of your fit, and it doesn’t matter what you do, it will always look good.
Salt + West Mawson Trouser: These pants are a thing of beauty. A year ago, I was searching for the perfect black trouser that were wide-cut, but not too long. These fit the bill perfectly. I was looking for a pleated trouser that I could wear to work with a pair of Paraboot Michaels, look stylish in da streets with some New Balance, or keep it casual with some Bostons (sorry Mariano). To me, these pants had a perfect amount of crop where the cuff just met the top of most shoes, which to me looks the best — It’s not so cropped that your socks are showing when you’re standing up straight, but short enough so the civilians can get a good look at your dogs. I also think these pants are a great quality at a fairly reasonable price.
Let’s say on the off chance you don’t want to own the best pants in the history of pants, I’ve offered some alternatives below. I’ve tried to keep simple colours, but the fabrics are what makes them stand out.
Brain Dead Connections Herringbone Trouser — The herringbone fabric makes these look great while keeping it simple. I own these in the putty colourway, and I think they look fantastic.
Home Core Kyle Sumo Pants — What looks to be a quilted-esque fabric, the Kyle Sumo pants are great for when you want to keep it simple, but let the finer details shine bright.
Footwear
This may seem like a surprise because of my love for shoes, but I don’t think specific styles of shoes need to be a part of your uniform. I think your uniform should be diverse enough to add different styles of footwear, depending on the context. So what I’m going to do instead is drop some recommendations for footwear that has proven to stand the test of time for me, and footwear I often wear with my uniform.
New balance 990v3 – I only own the matcha green JJJJound collabs, but honestly any 99x model is versatile and built to a good quality.
Paraboot Michael – I mean come on, is there really any other choice for sophisticated footwear?
Asics Gel Kayano 14 – I don’t own any pairs anymore (I used to have the JJJJound collab tehe), but Kayano 14 is the perfect shoe for ‘I’m a professional, but I also need comfy shoes’ moods.
Do I think everyone should have a uniform of some kind? Yes. Do I think everyone needs the same uniform as me? No, but it would be nice to raise an army of clones in the near future. Whether you follow my recommendations is not the important part, the important part of this Newsletter is that you recognise where your uniform sits within your wardrobe. Are you happy with it? Do you need to make some changes? That’s for you to decide.