The typical business manager would have his own style with his flagship pieces, his shameless aesthetics. Proof of this is: Steve Jobs and its black turtleneck. CEOs wear the same clothes on a daily basis; as a uniform that they would have created. How to explain it?
Besides a fashion sphere where all the extravagance clothing are allowed and valued, very monotonous seems the business world. In the eyes of fashion enthusiasts, business leaders have a similar or even austere style, which is thought to be imposed by their function. They thus carry out basic pieces all week for … and it is often the same outfit that unfolds tirelessly. However, contrary to what their detractors think, these CEOs voluntarily choose to dress every day in the same way.
And it is not the desire to belong to a group of peers of large bosses that push them to adopt this redundant dress code, but a utility reason. Our colleagues from The world analyzed the uniform cloakroom of these powerful in large and over. Here is their explanation.
For these great decision -makers, dress in the same way actually represents a saving of energy and time. Indeed, according to the researcher in psychology Roy Baumeister, choosing his morning outfit constitutes a substantial mental charge: “fatigue” decision “. Make decisions even minimal tires the brain and lessens the ability to decide rationally on other subjects.
Business leaders choose to draw a line on styling and allocate this precious time to other more important activities for them. In 2014, Mark Zuckerberg explained as follows why he always wore his jeans and his famous gray t-shirt: “I want to make sure I have the least possible decisions to make on everything that does not concern the community (Facebook) (…) I would have the impression of not doing my job well if I spent my energy on superfluous and frivolous things.”
But if these decision -makers reject fashion to the point of assimilating it to futility; In reality, they are victims as much as enthusiasts. Apple’s former CEO of the ancient CEO was Levi’s iconic 501. As for his famous turtleneck, he was signed Issey Miyake, a label known to embody a “pleated man” of the most refined.
This clothing recurrence therefore hides a desire to differentiate yourself and build a personal style in its own right. The biographer of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson, explains that the latter “Began to love the idea of having a uniform for itself (…) to create a style.”
A style tinged with coolness distinguishing it from CEO followers of the costume-tie; But also from an immutability differentiating it from “fashion victims” dependent on trends. Paradoxically, he is actually like these fashionistas that he disdains so much: he wants to stand out through his clothes. Ironically, this anti-fashion style has also given rise to a strong trend in the 2010s: the “Normcore”.