Dress Code: Basics
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Dress Code is an occasional feature that spotlights workplace looks of all forms and kinds—a visual, quick scroll of an essay on sartorial culture in creative work.
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What does the term "basic"—as it pertains to clothes, not people—mean for creative folks? Our last Dress Code, which was devoted to the uniform, posited one answer. The concept of dressing in basics implies the same degree of freedom that uniform dressing does. And yet, to deem anything as basic is too reductive—too simple. Too seemingly Normcore, if being so is possible. We think it's not.
"Let's find our very own style and we can finally be ourselves" touts this Japanese magazine, spotted on a Hong Kong bookstand along with similar publications devoted to so-called basic dressing. (Lot's of beige and denim, as one might expect.) Scout out New York City's Kinokuniya for similar interpretations in both book and magazine form.
"Menocore"—think flow-y skirts, cashmere wraps befit of a certain age—has been around for a while now, bubbling up right around when Trump first came to office. The patriarchy does not sleep, people. Queen Eileen Fisher often takes the hit when this particular form of basic dressing comes up in common parlance. Above is a unisex collection she designed for Nordstrom in 2020—more Rick Owens chilling on a few milligrams of Klonopin than Art History 101. Either way, we'd sit that lecture. Below, a scene from earlier times in the label's history.
Speaking of Menocore, let's talk about Norma Kamali's sleeping bag coat. Best in class! Designed while on a camping trip in 1973, the sleeping bag coat enjoyed a resurgence during the pandemic due to its unbeatable mass and warmth, which was perfect for outdoor dining. Considered an iconic design—we own multiples over here at Soft Labor HQ—the sleeping bag coat embodies the principles of a good basic while coded as timeless and very glam downtown fashion.
Bill Cunningham's blue painter's jacket could easily fall into the category of uniform. Its utilitarian nature, however—and the fact that he actually used the pockets—gives basic a more personal definition. While Bill certainly wasn't the first to sport such a jacket, his surely launched a thousand urban looks, especially posthumously.
As profiled in this excellent New Yorker piece by Lauren Collins, Uniqlo does indeed seem to be seeking world dominance as the flagship for cost-effective basic dressing. Yet a series of aggressive brand partnerships with the estates of artists including Warhol, Basquiat, and Haring, along with behemoth MoMA and well beyond seem to equate Crayola-grade arrays of reasonably-priced cashmere and heat-retaining underwear with creativity. The collabs never stop! (Our all-time favorite was the 2009 and 2021 collabos with Jil Sander. 2009 seen below.)
(We're going beyond the beyond for a moment and making a conceptual connection between this $395 Fear of God Vogue hoodie and Menocore. Come at us.)