SiftPop

On the rare occasion someone recognizes me from my reviews online and on TV, they often ask the same question. After they butter me up with a few perfunctory compliments they get up the nerve to ask the deep question that’s really on their hearts.

“Why do you always wear that same blue shirt and black tie every week?”

I know. Heavy stuff, right?

Well, technically I have three of those blue shirts, but believe me I get it. In fact, within the first year of reviewing movies on TV a listener sent me this picture after seeing an episode of “Glee”.

So, yeah, it’s a thing.

So what’s the answer?  Well, a simple version is I think it looks decent and one week is plenty of time to make sure I’m laundered and hygienic.  I could even point you to the longer version that’s full of like science and stuff right here (Why Successful People Wear the Same Outfit Everyday).   Of course, that article is referencing multi-billionaire network heads and theoretical physicists and I talk about movies every once in a while, so take that for what it’s worth.

The truth is I’m just not really an outward focus kind of guy.  I like to keep the packaging simple and hope that the complexity is on the inside.  Also I’m not exactly sure why it matters.   There seems to be enough focus in our culture on appearance and fitting defined ideals, so I figure if I just play it steady maybe I can balance it out a bit.  Then again, I’m trying to figure out when I became the person to look to for fashion sense.  Seriously, I wore nothing but black and white in High School people, so my lack of sartorial variance isn’t exactly a new thing.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with changing up the wardrobe every once in a while.  In fact, I’m sure dressing to kill can be fun, it’s just not my kind of fun.  When I see those among us who always seem to have a distinct new outfit, I love it.  It feels like a really cool look at their personality and how they see themselves.  But guess what, if you see yourself in the same thing everyday, I think that’s pretty ok too.

And honestly, the little piece of wardrobe advice I get about changing it up every once in a while is nothing compared to what the female reporters and anchors I work with get on a consistent basis.  I’ll never forget in my first few months on TV hearing the women tell stories about the “suggestions” they get from viewers.  Whether it’s about a haircut, posture, or even comments about weight and or how they just aren’t pretty enough for television.  It kinda blew my mind.  Did I miss something?  Is that ok, now?  I mean lets say somehow you’re the kind of person who focuses on those things, what would make someone think that’s something they should pass on through an email or, God forbid, a public tweet.  So in honor of the amazing TV ladies who put up with that kind of  nonsense far too often, I’ve decided put myself in the line of fire.

So let’s take a vote.

Let’s have some fun with this thing and put it to the test.  For the rest of the month, I’ll be running a poll right here at Your Movie Friend with a simple question; Are you #teamblue or #teamnew?  If you believe that I should mix it up for a week and try something new, pick #teamnew, however if you think it’s fine for me to stay true blue, pick #teamblue.  I’ll take votes through March and then abide by your decision on the show for at least one week in April. Based on my interaction in public I have a pretty decent idea about how this might turn out, but who knows, maybe you’ll surprise me.

Feel free to tweet your thoughts as well with the hashtag of your choice, and I’ll read each and every one.  We are in this together people, we can make it through this thing.  Just vote your conscience and everything should be ok.

That is of course unless I’ve actually been wearing a white shirt with a gold tie this whole time.

(#thedress joke anyone? Those are still a thing right?)