When I have the chance to read the newspaper I read our local paper, The Indianapolis Star, and a not-at-all-local paper, The New York Times. As an Indiana Wardrobe Stylist, there are many online blogs and news sources I read, and I love it when fashion seems to be the center of it. It doesn’t happen often. First, with the Mid-term elections over and the big 2024 elections ahead of us, we’re hearing lots of political news, a trend that will not heighten as elections draw near.
Indiana Wardrobe Stylist of Fashion Faux Pas in the News
Anyway, one of the biggest stories in the national news has been the problems of Billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and his crypto empire. This was all over the news in late December with the executive’s face splashed all over the media when he pled guilty to federal charges including fraud and money laundering. When that happened, you can’t help but notice the wardrobe, as an Indiana Wardrobe Stylist. Yes, what he’s wearing. This has been fodder for discussion now and then; sometimes just as much as the obscure bitcoin at the center of the fraud.
Those who are brilliant, famous intellectuals have always gotten a pass for their wardrobes. That is not new. Think back to high school and the geeks (smart kids) who wore pocket calculators and thick glasses. The ironic part /is that most of these individuals are now highly successful and a far cry from their geek-dom days. Anyway, SBF’s wardrobe was really out there. He was known for wild hair, a hoodie or T-shirt (wrinkled of course), shorts, and untied shoes. The New York referred to him as the “unkempt millennial” and his overall brand was considered he was a genius so wardrobe certainly didn’t matter.
Even Steve Jobs’s sleek black turtleneck and Mark Zuckerberg’s T look very high-end in comparison to SBF’s look.
But will the look change as SBF faces fraud charges? I, your Indiana Wardrobe Stylist, am looking right now at a photo of him in a stark white button-down shirt and navy blazer just being released on possibly the highest bail in history. He looks nothing like the careless young man who boasted of success and American enterprise. He’s even had a haircut.
More than likely as this young man goes on trial and defends his career, he will succumb to more traditional attire. Why? To move his image from disgraced to respectable and genius “shabby” to Wall Street sleek and smarts. The lesson in all this is that clothes do matter, and the perception you give also shapes who and what you are.
As an Indiana Wardrobe Stylist, another story in the media that caught my eye was about a well-known Congressman (who will remain un-named) advised to stop wearing short sleeves with a suit and tie on the Hill. This is a very common practice, especially in the summer when guys wear short sleeves to work even in a polo, T, or button-down. This is advice I often give male clients, saying that short sleeve shirts are casual. Long-sleeve button-down shirts do work in the summer especially if they are made from 100 percent cotton. Some day in my dreams men will stop wearing the short-sleeve shirt as a work staple and give the crisp, button-down its prominent place in work attire.
For more Fashion in the News and style advice, feel free to reach out to me to learn more!
Keep it sassy, Indy!
Beth Divine, MA, AICI-CIC
Indiana Wardrobe Stylist
