I Wore The Same T-Shirt Every Day For 1 Year (and why it doesn’t matter)
I have conducted a silly 365 day experiment. I decided last year to wear the exact same shirt every day. Here are the details and conditions:
- One dozen American Apparel TR401 Tri-Blend Track Shirts, color black, size Large
- Worn at all times except weddings, formal events, and work (but let’s be honest, no one wants to go to those things anyway)
- Pants and shoes vary (and are optional)
- The wife was absolutely cool with it. I think in the full year, I was probably asked twice by her, “are you sure you want to do this?” Other than that, smooth sailing on the husband front. Allison is the greatest.
I mainly rocked the black t-shirt and jeans look, mostly with my Clarks Wallabees or my New Balance 993s - the two most comfortable pairs of shoes I’ve ever owned. It’s the most comfortable my life has ever been.
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The reasons were many, and quite honestly they kept changing from month-to-month. Here they are in no order:
ONE LESS DECISION (or, I WAS LAZY)
I was inspired to find ways to simplify my life - to find healthy ways to automate things that eat up my time and energy. I was very inspired by the book “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz, which has nothing to do with the psychology of fashion and clothing. Schwartz’s book highlights how our world has created an environment of endless options - and those options are killing our contentment. I also loved the idea of having an outfit pre-prepared each day.
IT’S DANG CHEAP
My up-front cost for the twelve shirts was about $100, which is dirt-cheap compared to the sale price of these American Apparel tees - they usually run about $25 in a store. Call up any merch dealer or printing company and ask for blank shirts at cost. Chances are, you can cut a sweet deal. $100 sounds like a lot, but think of all the opportunities we Americans have to buy clothes. They’re everywhere. Clothes are cheaply made and most of us spend little effort in deciding on purchases. That adds up over time and we’re easily left with a stack of clothes in the back of a closet that never get worn. $100 is significantly less than I’ve spent on casual clothing in prior years.
BREAKING SOCIAL BOUNDARIES
Wearing the same thing every day sounds silly, but why?
I REALLY LOVE THESE SHIRTS!
I was already wearing a ton of AA Tri-Blend shirts. They are the best.
FASHION IS DUMB
Why do I wear what I wear? I got freaked out last year when I analyzed the decision process of buying and wearing clothing - specifically about some of the questions that ran through my head. It really bummed me out. I would ask myself things like:
- “How will I be perceived in this?”
- “What am I trying to say through my fashion?”
- “Is this outfit cool?”
- “When was the last time I wore this?”
- “How does my body look in these clothes?”
Common questions, innocent questions - but they still directly affected what I wore. Who motivates me more when choosing clothes - myself or others?
FASHION IS AWESOME (see what I did there?)
If I had to rank these reasons, this would ironically be #1. I know next-to-nothing about fashion, designers, or celebrity culture. There’s this guy, Michael Kors. I know of him because my wife loves Project Runway (I get into it too, I won’t lie….and ask me to do my Tim Gunn impression sometime). What very little I know about Michael Kors is that he is responsible for thousands of fashion products, yet the dude wears the same thing every day! I want to high-five that guy for finding the loophole to life.
I also love the idea that clothing can become part of one’s identity. Like a personal branding. Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Michael Kors, Henry Rollins - these are huge names in their fields, and they all have a signature style.
I WAS DEPRESSED
Clinically, no. Actually, probably not. 2011 brought so much good stuff into my life. I had a great year or marriage. Work has been awesome. Friends and family have been awesomer. But I can’t say 2011 is on my list of “Most Favorite Years Ever.” I didn’t wear these silly shirts because I was bummed out, but the idea seemed to unintentionally play into the phase of life I was in at the time. 2010 was better than 2011 (and for the record, 2012 will be better than 2011).
I MIGHT BE A SUPERHERO
There’s a great Seinfeld episode where Jerry dates a girl who wears the same black and white dress every time they’re together. Jerry can’t figure out if it’s all she owns or if she’s some strange superhero figure. In true neurotic boyfriend fashion, Jerry rummages through her house to try and find a different outfit. Also in true Jerry fashion, he compares her to Superman. So therefore, I might be a superhero. To the Beardmobile!
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So after a year, the results were surprisingly positive.
IT WAS EASY, AND AWESOME
The first week felt a little odd. After that, the automation kicked in, and I didn’t even realize that I had the shirt on. I had a few moments throughout the year where I forgot what I was doing - “I’ve been wearing this shirt for HOW long?!” I really really liked it.
YOU NOTICED, AND DIDN’T CARE
I’m around my family and close friends a lot, duh. And none of them made a stink about my stupid black t-shirts. I would say, if you surround yourself with people who would judge you for something like that, you may want to un-friend those friends and friend some new friends who are real friends, friends.
YOU DIDN’T NOTICE
This is absolutely my favorite part of this whole idea. YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE! If you skimmed or ignored every part of this, I hope this is the only point you take away. You can get away with a lot more than you think. There is no one more aware of me than myself. Push that boundary. I never announced to anyone I was doing this (we told a few people along the way), so it was extra easy to slip this by you.
IF YOU CARED, I DIDN’T NOTICE
No one ever told me this was a dumb idea. No one told me I looked weird. No one complained. If they did, I didn’t hear it. And that’s just fine with me either way.
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I’m not saying that everyone should do this, and I’m not saying you’re dumb if you like wearing tons of cool clothes or spend $200 on a pair of jeans. That’s the whole point. My challenge is to find ways to be yourself, based mostly on what you want and less on what others think. Who cares what they think. Find people to be around that can accept you for who you are. I plan on continuing this silly little journey until I feel like stopping, like that one running scene in Forest Gump. One day I’ll probably just stop running and go home to my closet of clothes I haven’t worn in a year.
