A tale of two cities that dress as one? The suits, sweater vests and polar fleeces typical of Midtown Manhattan office lunch lines are being imitated with a certain irony downtown, where creative circles have begun “festishizing” the yuppie wardrobe.
A generation of creative freelancers with little more exposure to 9-to-5 culture than reruns of “The Office” are finding new appeal in Eighties preppy and yuppie codes. Louche pin-striped slacks, argyle sweater vests and loafers have become a cool, genderless uniform for a youth that is, ironically enough, increasingly disillusioned by the large corporations where these styles originated.
Vaquera’s Patric DiCaprio wryly characterized the look as “a golfer dad with a skateboard.” There’s the designer and model Ana Kras attending a party in a sweater vest and oversize suit; writer and “Uncut Gems” actress Hailey Gates in a cable-knit sweater and navy blazer looking like a vintage Ralph Lauren ad; the florist Marisa Competello carrying an L.L. Bean tote in lieu of a purse, and Isaiah Barr, frontman of the underground jazz group Onyx Collective, in a blackwatch plaid wool trenchcoat in promotional images for his newest album.
Michael Kors, fall 1984; Jacquemus, men’s fall 2020
Tony Palmieri and Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Yuppie suiting and formalwear
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