A measure of uniformity
A long time ago, I came to the conclusion that when it comes to looking alike, conformists and non-conformists were pretty much even: Brooks Brothers and Beatniks are both brands, and rather stodgy ones at that.
Think-tank researcher and fashionista (a combination well-nigh irresistible, dammit) E. M. Zanotti contributes a data point:
Republicans get a lot of flack for the apparently mass-mailed dress code of Steve & Barry’s chinos and Ralph Lauren polos as well they should. It was all well and good when William F. Buckley was around and the Preppy Handbook was a best-seller, but yes, college Republican squares need to up the ante in the wardrobe department. Just switching to Burberry doesn’t do much for the image except reinforce it. But back to the dress code. Everyone at Daily Kos was surprisingly similar looking. All of them had that “so rebellious its conformist” thing going on … like they’d received a directive from their fearless leader requiring square eyeglasses, a slightly visible extra piercing and a one-size-too-small tee shirt emblazoned with a nonsensical yet hip-looking pattern. At least we vary the colors. I’ll be damned if there’s any earth-toned organic cotton yarn left in this world after this last weekend. Somewhere, in the third world, they’re having to use the discarded “recycled” polyester thread.
I have no idea what E. M. herself was wearing, but evidently it was more than Robert Novak’s old heart could take.
