If clothes maketh the (wo)man, I suspect I am a basic Singaporean bro, at least in personal style philosophy. Like the average SG Man, a species that has singlehandedly done Uniqlo’s marketing team a solid with their need to own all colours of the AIRism cotton oversized T-shirt for any and every occasion, I am also guilty of filling my closet with multiple pieces of the same or similar clothing. It started with my hunt for the perfect white sneakers over a decade ago, which led me to Japanese retailer Muji’s affordable, simple and comfortable white sneakers.
I’ve since owned at least seven pairs. These versatile sneakers have accompanied me from wet market to press conference to night club, sometimes within the same day, and even on casual treks. Don’t even get me started on Uniqlo’s bra tops, of which I proudly own eight in different cuts and colours for any and every occasion too.
My “collection” is far from finished – it takes a herculean amount of self-control not to give away a fraction of my salary to the household brand every month, and I sometimes lose this inner battle. This desire to create a daily uniform of sorts is not a new phenomenon. We probably know that one person who always shows up in black no matter the occasion, or who seems to wear the same scruffy T-shirt and pants anytime you see them, as though they own many such pieces.
Perhaps the most famous example of an outfit repeater turned style icon was the late Steve Jobs. (You don’t need.