Somewhere between Simon Doonan and Michael Kors... - YouLookFab Forum

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Somewhere between Simon Doonan and Michael Kors...

April

Veteran

If those names are unfamiliar, Simon Doonan dresses ultra extra (think Mad Hatter or Elton John) and Michael Kors wears only black tee shirts and black jackets over jeans.

Doonan: unforgettable
Kors: forgettable

So why is this on my mind? Because I don't want to have a rigid uniform like MK, nor do I want to wear all the rides at the carnival like SD. Somewhere in between is where I want to be.

Over to you. Are you team uniform or team memorable or team in-between?

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32 replies

Latest reply was from April

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I’m definitely in-between. I don’t want to be invisible, but I also don’t want to be the “loudest” person in the room — that would make me deeply uncomfortable.

Helena

Veteran

I'm team uniform, but not quite as generic or strict as MK's ... I need a little something to make it feel maybe a bit more authentic to me (plus I'm a bit oversaturated with the uber-neutral, uber minimal Instagram look - although this may change!).

So maybe in between, but weighted to the uniform side?

Runcarla

Veteran

It’s situational for me, and I do like to ‘dress up’ when I go off the property. I don’t even mind being a little ‘loud’. That said, I’m going through a quiet phase with my style and there isn’t as much volume/noise or exuberance in my closet as there was 2 years ago. It’s a cross between Victorian mourning colours and mushrooms in my wardrobe these days!

Irina

Veteran

Team uniform, I’d think. I wear tops/dresses over pants/jeans all the time. Not so rigid in colors like MK but close enough.

cat2

Veteran

Ha! Team In-between. I stick to classic silhouettes, but can’t live without modest doses of color, texture, pattern and shine.

Jonesy

Veteran

I lean more towards SD, especially his relatively more subdued vibe on the crafting reality show, Making It, where he typically wore a solid tailored jacket and print button down. I really like pattern and print and find outfits that are solely solids to be really boring and stultifying (for me! not on others). But I wouldn't describe this as ultra extra or carnival-esque, by any stretch :), just normal! LOL.

kkards

Veteran

Interesting-i don’t think of MK as dressing “forgettable”…Quiet maybe, but not forgettable as even thru the photos you can see how explicitly and expertly tailored his clothing is.

Sorry, i know that’s not what you asked…

Anonymous

I'm probably in the middle but aspire toward the MK look which to me are quality accessories with a luxe base of clothing items.

Vildy

Veteran

My son likes to refer to my wardrobe as Clownwear, though he frequently compliments me on items I wear. I was very taken by a post of M Gets Dressed where she devised a wardrobe for someone whose style is Circus Preppy. I relate to that. Louder patterns and colors within very strict traditional lines.

kkards

Veteran

Back to add:
the more i think about it the more i realize that i view this men differently than you do April.

Doonan: loud and in your face
Kors: quiet and contained

I definitely lean towards quiet and contained.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Some people dress all in one shade, in items that fit perfectly, and have a memorable look. I think that’s one reason for uniform dressing—you become associated with a certain style, like Steve Jobs and black turtlenecks. But that’s not me.

In Your Face is also not me, primarily because I skip all the dangling and swoopy bits—long chains, earrings, scarves, ruffles, floof and the like are not me. I think I also veer towards lower contrast color schemes, but haven’t analyzed my WIWs to see if that is actually true.

I’m with Cat2 on classic shapes and CPTS, but not loud and shouty, and with Jonesy on pattern to break up the stultifying solids on me is normal, not crazy town.

Is it weird that MK wants everyone else to wear his initials, but doesn’t put his own name tag on?

Joy

Veteran

I like MKs look best but my own is more maximal, more SD.
I suspect that I fall somewhere between but closer to SD. As I get older, it becomes harder and harder not to become invisible. Ery interesting topic.

slim cat

Veteran

Uniform dressing in a sorta harmonious way ( to me at least ) but not loud and super colorful.
MK looks fine to my eye ( it's just works in a quiet way ) - more attention on his face, smile and personality.

Anonymous

In between, definitely! A uniform wouldn't make me happy, except my identical catburglar black sleepwear. Plus I have a lot of different things to dress for. But ott pattern and color is just too loud and chaotic for me, and getting more and more annoying.

bj1111

Veteran

mk's uniform seems to be popular among designers and some fashion editors, e.g. philo, mcartney, sander, alt. i can see this being appealing like garanimals to allow one to focus on the "work" of designing.

but i also see the other spectrum, owens, westwood, johnson.

i tend to think of clothing as another way of branding, especially for those in the business. i find mk etc just as memorable as doonan.

nuancedream

Veteran

I can appreciate the timeless simplicity of uniform dressing a la MK, but it bores me to tears . OTOH, I don't want my outfit screaming, "Notice me!" I guess I'm on Team In-Between.

Echo

Veteran

Anything other than jeans and tshirts/sweatshirts around here is unusual. Wearing all black is almost exotic. So I stand out no matter what I wear.

While I enjoy monochromatic black dressing, I also appreciate unusual, asymmetric or UWP touches. So as I said, I always stand out, just not in a neon or colorful way.

Bijou

Veteran

Team in between for me - it would be hard in my profession to dress as flamboyantly as SD, but I do love the energy of dramatic clothing choices. I have always aspired to be a bit of a Mad Hatter but usually end up looking like Alice!

lyn67

Veteran

I have all of these- my way of course. Like I would wear a coral red crickle cotton Carmen midi dress and gems on my slides to the beach (say 7days/year) and feeling am SD then, wearing a white denim skirt with mostly neutral patterned tops, tan mules&tote daily for work like MK and all the others in between, too- skirts and dresses my like, (sometimes a more noticeable pattern, sometimes not such a noticeable plain one- but always comfy, midi length and somehow me...

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Interesting without being loud...

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Great question! I am a little biased as I am not so fond of MK's public presentation, but have read and enjoyed one or two of SD books...
Regardless, I prefer to be somewhat more of a SD dresser minus the rainbow colors (except sometimes). My ideal is an outfit that flies under the radar for most people but is noticeable and appreciated by the very same people I notice and appreciate. (Well I said it was an ideal !)

April

Veteran

I find it fascinating that Simon D. is married to Jonathan Adler, who skews so totally "uniform" with his quiet tasteful prepster style.

There's a yin/yang pair for you.

I am married to a uniform dresser and the mother of one as well. Mr. April wears the Steve Jobs uniform year round (tee instead of turtleneck in summer). Little Mr. April wears a variation of the same. I think they both do so for the same reason: they don't feel like thinking about "What should I wear today?"

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I will round out team in-between. A uniform is not for me, but some days I would like to be quieter than others. I like SD’s striped top in the pic. Elton John is too much!

Staysfit

Veteran

April, I am struggling with this one. Isn’t an all black uniform drawing attention and being loud in a different way than one using colors and pattern? They are both extremes on your proposed continuum, and like extremes on a bell curve, they are obviously evident and stand out so neither are forgettable. I would say the people in the middle are more forgettable.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Staysfit, well said! I think many of us have tried to articulate that in this thread, but you captured it best.

LaPed

Veteran

Staysfit, I agree with you about monochromatic uniform dressing making its own sort of statement and being memorable rather than forgettable. I would feel self-conscious, probably pretentious, if I dressed like Michael Kors or Steve Jobs all the time.

I'll happily wear a black top and black jeans together, maybe once a week? I wouldn't want to wear it everyday. I wouldn't want to dress in full-on Simon Doonan attire all the time either, but sometimes I like to throw on bright stripes or a conversational print. I think Simon Doonan makes it work because the styles he wears are usually pretty classic (tailored shirts, crewneck sweaters), and the twist is the colour/pattern.

As a novelty seeker who doesn't even like eating the same breakfast two days in a row, I can't really imagine myself adopting a uniform, whether a stark neutral one or a bold quirky one...

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Good thread!

Nice observation, Staysfit.

My dear April, do you mean forgettable for the wearer, or forgettable for the audience of the wearer? My post was about wearing a forgettable outfit as a wearer, IYKWIM.

As the audience of these outfits - I find both memorable!

My style is personally more on the bright and patterned Simon Doonan side of the continuum, but I wear quiet, soft colours too. Blush, white, navy, denim, light blue feature quite a bit in my style.

April

Veteran

Yes, I meant forgettable for the audience rather than the wearer and I do know you meant something different.

I can't bear any piece of clothing that has to be adjusted or fussed with in any way, so for me "forgettable to the wearer" is essential.

And yes, SF, you're so right. We all know exactly what is meant when someone says "the Steve Jobs uniform" so it's not exactly forgettable.

Hmm. I guess a tried and true uniform is another form of Angie's "forgettable to the wearer."

rachylou

Veteran

I’m going to have to google Circus Preppy!

I’m definitely on the SD side. Keeps me awake. I feel sleepy in ‘quiet’ outfits. It does occur to me that quiet is not simply a matter of colour. One can be very dramatic in all black or one can be ‘city PIB’ (Person in Black), where you could be anything from IT guy to garbage man to barista or on the really far end, ‘wait, sorry I just sat on you - I thought this bus seat was empty.’ And the thing is also, you can really do any of these with the same black tee and jeans.

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