Look Sharp

Who is behind the recent articles I’ve come across where Marc Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Dean Kamen, et al. are being praised for wearing the same exact thing every day at their place of work? Noted time and again in the gushing prose is that wearing the same thing every day points to genius, intellect, and incredible efficiency.

With respect to all living and deceased inventors, I’ll tell you what points to their genius: their inventions. Otherwise, give me a break.

In the creative business, I find that early morning musing over style gets me jump-started. PS: NYC-based Editors, it takes all of 2 minutes. After all, every day, I’m surrounded by design, colors, style, structure, and did I mention some damn great designers?

Throwing on whatever article of clothing sings to me in the pre-agency dawn patrol hours tunes me up for the day. And it’s not about how much you spend/spent on whatever you choose to wear. But it all counts. Whether you favor always-in-fashion black (hi to VP of Creative!) or a t-shirt from that Radiohead show, it all speaks volumes.

I’m not looking for a suit and tie, I’m looking for care and attention. Because when you care about how you look, you’ll care about the details at the heart of creating. What you wear also speaks to who you are and what you want to express as an individual. No matter what day of the week.

In my case, I was lucky to grow up with a Dad who was infinitely professional and eschewed “casual Fridays.” When I first started AgileCat in 2001 and couldn’t afford a suit, let alone a pair of jeans, I would wear a couple of his old suits that fit me like a glove. Sure a little strange dressed like that in a dark room in a banged up rowhome (not a client to speak of at first) but damn, I definitely felt professional!

And that’s my point. Fashion, however you define it, is the catalyst to creating a feeling – in yourself and in those around you. Ultimately, it’s about feeding your own creative energy. I’ve been at the ‘Cat in the aforementioned suits, cheetah shoes, powder blue tuxedos (long story), and jeans. In the end, it all felt like me at the time, and made me happy to be in the kind of business where there’s no such thing as ‘too much’ when it comes to your threads.

Enough praise for the black turtleneck, the grey hoodie, and the denim work shirt. I’ll bet that a little more variety may have yielded even better results. Or at least not bored the hell out of me and resulted in major praise for minimal effort.

– P. Madden, Top Cat