Albert Einstein famously owned several versions of the same grey suit to limit the number of decisions he needed to make, thereby preserving his noggin power for bigger things, like relativity.
In this, he was a trailblazer. Look at Steve Jobs, with his iconic Issey Miyake black turtleneck and Levi’s 501 ensemble. Or Mark Zuckerberg and his uniformed T-shirts. Even Barack Obama only deviated between navy or grey suits, so he had more bandwidth for the presidential stuff.
The current White House incumbent has a similar ethos, switching between an oversized navy suit, white shirt and tie combo for the office, and a white polo and alternating dark or light saggy, baggy trousers for the golf course. No imagination whatsoever, and no style either. A man’s fashion left behind.
These titans no doubt believe this style parsimony is a worthwhile sacrifice for the sake of efficiency. But that is fake news. They are, like many men of a certain age, simply stuck in a sartorial rut. It usually hits around 40, by which time the male brain concludes it’s found its best dress options and, like a cautious poker player with a mediocre hand, decides to stick. Call it homogeneity, decision fatigue, a uniformity of uniforms. The same items are bought on repeat from the same stores, in perpetuity. The world of online ordering means that we can switch our brains off and blissfully re-order the same trainers, chinos and shirts without thinking or making deliberate wardrobe “choices”.
Back in the day, it was common practice for a fellow’s tailor or go-to shirtmaker would have his measurements on file to easily re-issue his sartorial staples. But today’s one-click culture means we’re less focused on considered decisions in terms of how we dress.
This demographic has a monogamous relationship with grooming and fragrance products too. Lining shelves with Nivea or Gillette and the same aftershave their fathers wore, which is their signature scent, a concept which fragrance expert Marian Bendeth attests now belongs solely to boomers and Gen Xers.
But this loyalty isn’t necessarily a bad thing, according to the experts. Nick Hems is a men’s personal stylist and shopper.
“If you’re comfortable in what you wear and how you look and you don’t care, then that’s fine,” he says. “But if you do care about your appearance and you’re stuck in a rut, it’s a horrible place to be and hard to get out of.
“In my experience, it’s often the women who make contact first and explain that their partners buy the same items on repeat, without knowing how to move forward. They don’t necessarily want to change their look, they just want to elevate it but don’t know how.”
Lisa Gillbe, personal stylist and presenter of The Style Stories podcast, believes there is a fundamental psychological difference between men and women which accounts for the repeat order habit.
“Men tend to view clothes as functional, whereas women are more inclined to look at clothes as a form of self-expression,” she explains. “Women have also traditionally had more choice, although in recent years that has changed.”
And there’s also the natural aversion to shopping. “A lot of men hate it. It’s a chore and not an enjoyable thing,” she adds.
But fashions change. They can even become toxic. That black Fred Perry polo shirt that you’ve repeatedly re-ordered since your days as a Mod in the 1980s now gives off Proud Boy vibes. And your Barbour jacket now marks you out as a farm protester. An old baker boy cap that once looked rather cheeky chappy now looks like you’re aching to take part in some Peaky Blinders cosplay. You only bought it because it kept the rain off when you walked the dog, but now it’s time to move on.
So, how do you modernise or elevate when you can barely understand the ASOS tabs? Personal stylists are a good place to start and can save a lot of time and poor choices. Failing that, there are measures you can take if you are brave enough to go it alone.
“The first thing is to get everything out of your wardrobe and identify what’s working for you and what’s not. Does it suit you, does it fit well?” says Hems.
Once you’ve culled, look for the gaps. You will likely find, for example, that your footwear choices are limited to one smart pair of shoes, one pair of sports trainers, one pair of boots and one all-purpose pair that are neither trainers nor shoes, but a Frankenstein’s hybrid, which you wear all the time. You may also find that your outerwear options are confined purely to the same black North Face puffer jacket you’ve bought on repeat since the turn of the century.
Once you’re left with the bare bones, start to look for the flesh to hang on them.
“Look at Pinterest for inspiration or make a note of items that you like the look of,” says Hems. It could be something a celebrity is wearing or someone on the train. Don’t be afraid to ask. You’d be surprised how flattered a stranger will be if you tell him you like his jacket and ask where he got it from.
If this is a step too far, you could start by introducing some colour. Hems recommends a gradual approach. “If you normally stick to black, navy and brown, look at olive greens, burgundies and autumnal colours, which are an easier shift,” he says. Start to create new looks by layering.
“Overshirts are great for adding an extra element,” says Gillbe. “If you always stick to the same jeans and t-shirt combo, a third piece will create an outfit that looks more considered.”
Other tricks include buying versions of your go-tos in different materials and textures, and accessorising with a scarf, or a leather bag instead of a standard sports backpack.
Finally, don’t be afraid to over-order online, try everything on at home and send back what you don’t like. And before you know it, you could be stepping out the shadows into the sartorial sunny uplands.
Try these...
Zip cardigan, £365, Luca Faloni
Linen shacket, £195, Peregrine Clothing
Wool and silk scarf, £235, E Marinella
Maiko leather shopper, £415, APC Store