My "Uniform"

What do Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Fred Rogers have in common? Aside from undeniable impacts on society, they all embraced the concept of an easy personal “Uniform” – a singular wardrobe worn every day. Steve Jobs was instantly recognizable in the black mock turtleneck, jeans, and New Balance sneakers. Einstein famously bought several versions of the same gray suit. And I grew up watching Fred Rogers wear the same cardigan and snweakers, with the occasional jacket color change. – a relaxed symbol of kindness and familiarity, for us Gen-X latchkey kids tuning-in. There are others (Simon Cowell with black t-shirts, or Mark Zuckerberg with his gray T-shirt and hoodie, etc), and it seems a pattern with people who have to make a lot of decisions every day. They unconciously (and later, intentionally) develop their own “uniform” to simplify, but they also end up creating a personal brand and lasting impression on people working around them.

I never considered why people might wear the same thing most every day, then one day a friend told me I had been wearing the same thing since about 1990:

My “style” was always a low-key punky nerd getup for many, many years…

So I guess I already had my simple no fuss "uniform" look on lock. The people I mention above illustrate that wearing the same thing doesn’t affect creativity or individuality—and can even amplify these things. In my own case, my simple duds got a tweak for Texas Winters, about 20 years ago when "***JDub & THE JACKET***" became part of my "uniform". It's this brownish scrimmage zip-up jacket with blue-stitching, which kind of became my main duds in the winter. Maybe different glasses, shoes, but during those months it's always jeans and *THE JACKET*. If I have be somewhere to give a presentation or talk, or if I just need to show-up somewhere quickly and it's cool out...*THE JACKET* is probably coming along.

I originally purchaased THE JACKET during one of our visits to my brother & sister-in-law’s place in Las Vegas. My wife’s brother Brian bought this jacket that I thought was pretty cool. I asked him where he bought it from, Tommy Bahama. A place yours-truly hadn’t ever even stepped-into, let alonebuy clothes from. I always thought it was expensive and only hawaiian vacation style clothes, and a little dull, but for whatever reason. But I decided the jacket was hella cool, and proceeded to run back to the mall and purchase it in black. But it turned-out to have a couple of defects, so I took it back and all had in stock to swap was the popular brown jacket. And that is how “JDub & THE JACKET” came to be. Every mild Texas winter you’ll see me rocking that look, and not too many others until March or April. 😎

I wore it everywhere over the years. While fat and thin…while tired and rested…with different eras of hair style…and while young and (now) middle-aged. Unless there was a blizard, this was my “winter getup” these past 20 years…

I have worn THE JACKET to almost every major US city and parts of Europe. Same jacket. Same me. Just older now. When I lost weight, eBay came in clutch with unsold stock, allowing me to keep my “uniform” on lock. I now have three of these. I still wear the old one, it’s worn-in so well, but the new ones are there for work or other functions and they fit better after my weight.

Anytime I was out and about in the winter, and it was mild, I didn’t really wear big coats. Just THE JACKET…

Flash-forward to last week, December ‘24, and my wife observed: “hey, you’ve been wearing this jacket for like 20 years now!”

And, yep, turns out about 18 years in THE JACKET have gone by…it accidentally become my own “personal brand” for IT and PM conferences, and whatever else I was doing.

A lot of solemn, jolly, or otherwise average moments were experienced in THE JACKET…

...and a lot of special moments, too.

Over the years I have found that a deliberate wardrobe choice does offer some advantages:

Cognitive Clarity: By eliminating daily decisions, about anything, you conserve mental energy for more critical tasks. Psychologists refer to this as reducing “decision fatigue,” a phenomenon where making too many choices depletes your cognitive resources. Deciding what to wear is a cognitive load, one that “uniform” wearers don’t want.
Branding: A consistent style can become your visual signature, making you immediately identifiable. It doesn’t have to be a “uniform” but usually is a narrow range of a clothing style. Either way, that becomes you whenever you are showing-up somewhere to work with a team or give a talk etc.
Invisibility On Demand: Ironically, a uniform not only makes you recognizable but also grants the power of selective invisibility. If I want to blend-in at a tech conference or other busy place, I can just carry the old jacket and not wear it. Or just put on a different jacket. Poof! I’m everywhere and nowhere… 🙃
Minimalism Meets Practicality: Fewer clothing options mean fewer distractions, less clutter, and a focus on quality over quantity. It’s been my lifestyle to stay rooted in efficiency and intentionality, wherever I can.

Whether you’re reclaiming mental energy or simply craving simplicity, the “uniform” thing has some undeniable benefits. After all, it’s not about the clothes—it’s about the person wearing them.