UNIT: Simple Personal Outfits by Miguel Lucas Wylengco

W H Y D O YO U W E A R I T ? People and their personal uniforms

S I M P L E

P E R S O N A L

O U T F I T S

U N I T was born out of the black t-shir t. Being surrounded by constant change and movement, I found myself not being able to focus on any single thing. To address this, I wanted to f ind par ts of my life that I could have some control over; aspects that can remain dependable and constant. Af ter some thought, I landed on the idea of designing my personal uniform star ting with this black shir t.

MIGUEL WYLENGCO

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Why wear a uniform? People have been practicing it for varied reasons such as to exercise simplicity, f ind focus and meaning, maintain timelessness, and establish identity. Even though these reasons seem dif ferent from each other, they basically boil down to a single goal - to minimize distractions and clutter and have a fuller experience of life.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

IDENTITY

M E A NIN G

BUDDHIST MONKS

ANDY WARHOL

In addition to helping Buddhist monks focus on their spiritual goals, wearing their monastic robes help them find their identity.

Andy Warhol’s signature look is his blazer, shirt, and blue jeans. When asked if and why he likes the idea of uniforms, his response was:

“While it covers you from neck to the ankle, it strips down all the personal attributes and aspects that one would easily use to define you or identify who you are. It makes it clear that what you wear does not announce who you are.”

“It’s better to always wear the same thing and know that people are liking you for the real you and not the you your clothes make. Anyway, it’s more exciting to see where people live than what they wear.”

S I M P LI C I T Y

T IM E L E S S N E S S

STEVE JOBS

Steve Jobs, Apple visionary, is hard to imagine wearing anything else other than his black turtleneck, a pair of jeans, and rubber shoes. “He [Steve Jobs] also came to like the idea of having a uniform for himself, both because of its daily convenience (the rationale he claimed) and its ability to convey a signature style.”

MASSIMO VIGNELLI

Massimo Vignelli, a renowned designer, always wears black. Always. At one point in his career, the Vignellis (Massimo and his wife, Leila) designed a line of clothing that were purely black and grey. “We were not making fashion which is transitory and based on the idea of obsolescence. We were making clothing with a purpose to protect and follow the body. We grew tired of being fashion victims.”

Y O U M I G H T N O T K N O W I T, BUT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE H AV E S TA R T E D W E A R I N G PERSONAL UNIFORMS.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Get to know some of them and why they choose to wear their personal UNIT s.

Bellingham, WA

DEREK VANDER

G RIE N D

Graphic Designer Art Director Poster Artist

“I found something that I liked and am most comfortable with wearing, so I stuck to it. Plus, I’m really hyperactive so it helps if I don’t have to spend a ton of time thinking about what I’m going to wear.”

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

DENIM JACKET HOODIES FLANNELS SOFTBALL TEES BLACK JEANS SK AT E SH O E S

“I remember my friend Kate telling me, ‘You know what Derek, when you f ind something you like, stick with it. When you f ind something that works for you and looks good, just wear it. And have some variations for it.’ To be honest, I don’t really think about what I wear anymore because I already found what I like - black with a little bit of color in it. I do a lot of physical activities like skateboarding and riding my bike, so what I wear should be both really durable and comfor table at the same time. The clothes I wear should allow me to do whatever I feel like doing without me worr ying about them. Also, another par t of the reason why I wear what I wear ever y day has something to do with me being hyperactive. It’s easier for me, takes less ef for t for me to wear the same thing ever yday because I don’t have to f igure out where my wallet is, where my keys are, if they’re already in the same place.”

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Derek Vander Griend

Derekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal U NI T is:

F U N C T I O N A L

C O M F O R T A B L E

C O N S T R A S T IN G

I f o u n d so m e t h i n g t h a t I l i ke d a n d a m co m f o r ta b l e w i t h w e a r i n g , so I s tu ck to i t.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Derek Vander Griend

FLANNELS DENIM JACKET

It protects me from the weather, and it keeps me safe when I’m skateboarding, on my motorcycle, or when I’m riding my bike. Plus, I like that it’s denim because it’s cool looking and it allows me to put some patches on it.

SK ATE SHOES

I wear skate shoes because they are comfortable, durable but inexpensive. I skate, ride my bike, and just walk around the town in them. The only time I don’t wear them is during the winter when I have to wear boots.

I need something that I can wear to work, but I also wear it because I grew up in the Pacif ic Nor thwest where it’s always cold all the time.

SOFTBALL TEE

Softball tees are not expensive, yet functional. Because they are longsleeved, they keep me warm in the winter and I can wear it underneath my flannel. In the summer, because it’s loose, it’s not too warm to wear it.

HOODIE

I wear my hoodie all the time as well. When it’s cold, you’ll see me wearing my hoodie because I don’t like my neck getting cold. At the same time, I’ll have it with me most days even in the summer because it usually gets cold at night.

BLACK JEANS

I wear black jeans because I think I look good in black pants. Plus, it’s easy to keep them clean and they are really durable. I probably wear the same pair for a year or longer.

I f o u n d so m e t h i n g t h a t I l i ke d a n d a m co m f o r ta b l e w i t h w e a r i n g , so I s tu ck to i t.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

S e a t t l e , WA

Educator Wr i t e r Designer

“I don’t want my clothes to, in any way, come between me and what I’m saying. [...] I don’t want people thinking of me as gendered. I want them to think of me as a person who’s thinking.”

BLAZERS TURTLENECKS GREY PANTS L E AT HE R SH O E S

It was a combination of three things when I star ted wearing my uniform. When I star ted teaching, my uniform was a way for me to dif ferentiate myself from the students, which in a sense put me in the position of power. Interestingly, my uniform is something that models “professorness” because only men were allowed to be professors (except nuns) during the time I was in undergraduate school. In addition, whenever I am wearing my uniform, it puts me in the right mood for my work. Regarding the colors, I chose to go with dark (now it’s a little less dark) because they stay looking clean, and they are what almost all of the designers wore in my time.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Natalia Ilyin

N a t a l i a ’ s p e r s o n a l U NI T i s :

E A S Y

C L E A R

S I M P L E

I d o n’ t wa nt my cl ot h e s to, i n a ny way, co m e b e t w e e n m e a n d w h a t I’m s ay i n g.

BLAZER

TURTLENECK

PANTS

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m always cold so

I wear tur tlenecks because f irst, they keep my body hidden. Second, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re wool so they keep me both cool and warm depending on the situation.

These are almost 20

wearing a jacket def initely helps me stay warm.

years old, and I wear them because of the simple reason that they are comfor table.

LEATHER SHOES

These shoes are comfor table and wellmade. I like walking so the quality and comfor t matters a lot. And, they last forever.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Natalia Ilyin

I d o n’ t wa nt my cl ot h e s to, i n a ny way, co m e b e t w e e n m e a n d w h a t I’m s ay i n g.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Seat tle, WA

P A T RIC K

M U L LI N S

Creative Director

Designer

“I think everybody thinks of what they are going to wear. But if you limit your choices, you’re making sure that your head is not going to explode. More than not wanting to think about what I wear, having a uniform makes my decision process so much easier.”

OUTERWEAR JACKET SWE AT SHIR T / H O O DIE BUTTON-DOWN SHIRT T-S H I R T JEANS SNEAKERS / BOOTS

When I was younger, I always trended towards black or dark colored clothes. It may have had something to do with the group I found myself in when I was in high-school. But as I star ted being around pets, I star ted shif ting to more neutral colors like grays and blues, because of all the cat and dog hair that stick to my clothes. I think that the reason why I choose to have set of clothes that I keep wearing for long periods of time is mainly because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to think about what I wear that much. For the most par t, I choose things that always match such as jeans, ear th tones, greys, blacks.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Patrick Mullins

P a t r i c k ’ s p e r s o n a l U NI T i s :

C O M F O R T A B L E

N E U T R A L

E A S Y

Eve r y b o dy t h i n ks o f w h a t t h ey a re g o i n g to w e a r. B u t i f yo u l i m i t yo u r ch o i ce s , yo u’re m a ki n g su re t h a t yo u r h e a d is n ot g o i n g to exp l o d e.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Patrick Mullins

JACKET

T-SHIRT

JEANS

I wear simple jackets (which are mostly just black or gray), to protect me from the weather.

I have a stack of gray tees because it is neutral and things do not show up in it too often. I also like wearing t-shirts for the purpose of layering. The t-shirt helps keep me warm when it’s cold. And when it’s too hot, I can

I’ve worn Levi’s forever so I’m used to them, I know my size, they’re predictable. They last a long time but they’re not too pricey. They’re easy, simple, comfortable and hold up well.

take off my button-down shirt and just wear my t-shirt.

BUTTON-DOWNS

Button-downs are more of a trend for me, because I never usually wore them when I was younger. However, I started wearing them more and more when I got a little bit older because I feel comfortable wearing them.

SNEAKERS / BOOTS

I like wearing Converse sneakers because of how simple they look and they are comfortable. They don’t last too long but I know what I’m getting. On the other hand, I wear boots during the winter because they’re warmer and they deal with wet weather better.

S a n D i e g o, C A

M A K E N ZIE STONE Photographer Fine Ar tist

“The best look is when you’re most comfortable and when you feel most confident. Other than comfort and necessity, that is the reason why I choose to keep on wearing my uniform.”

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

OUTERWEAR JACKET SWE AT SHIR T SHIRTS / DRESSES SCARF PANTS SOCKS TRAINERS

I star ted wearing black when I was about 12 years old. I was inf luenced by my dad who was always around bikes and cars. Also, I got into metal in terms of music so that also made me like black more. There are some exceptions, but I almost always wear black. I did not grow up as a kid that could buy any thing I wanted, so in par t it is due to necessity. If given the chance, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mind getting new clothes, but they will still be all black, but with nicer and better fabric. However, buying clothes is the last thing I need to do, mainly due to comfor t and being par ticular. I sor t of promised myself that if it was something unrelated to work, I would never dress up for anyone. I think the best look is when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re most comfor table and when you feel most conf ident.

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

Makenzie Stone

M a k e n z i e â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s p e r s o n a l U NI T i s :

LI V E D

I N

C O M F O R T A B L E

T E X T U R A L

F U N C T I O N A L

T h e b e s t l o o k is w h e n yo uâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re m os t co m f o r ta b l e a n d w h e n yo u f e e l m os t co n f i d e nt. O t h e r t h a n co m f o r t a n d n e ce s s i t y, t h a t is t h e re aso n w hy I ch o ose to ke e p o n w e a r i n g my u n i f o r m.

OUTERWEAR JACKET

SWEATSHIRT

TUBE SCARF

As an assistant photographer, we have photoshoots with pretty much high prof ile clients. I needed to have something nice to wear, and this is probably

My best friend gave it to me, and I’ve had it since high school. It is the per fect weight - it’s not too heav y and not too light. It keeps me warm when it’s cold out,

I never needed a scar f before when I was still in San Diego, but that changed when I moved to a colder place. I found this at this one show, and have been

the main reason why I star ted wearing this.

but it’s not too heav y to wear on warmer days.

wearing it since then.

SOCKS

TRAINERS

A friend gave me this pair and I like wearing socks because they keep my feet warm because I of ten wear dresses and cropped pants.

I always usually wear loafers but I star ted to ride my bike and walk to places a lot so I needed something that were more comfor table.

CROPPED PANTS

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

I wear these pants because they are comfor table, provide good mobility, and they make me feel and look good. They f it me ver y well.

Makenzie Stone

I F YO U F I N D YO U R S E L F L O O K I N G FOR THE SAME THINGS,

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

SIMPLICITY

TIMELESSNESS

COMFORT

EASE

PRACTICALITY

PURPOSE

NEUTRALITY

CLARITY

MEANING

IDENTITY

WHY NOT DESIGN YO U R O W N U N I T ?

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

I hope this inspired you to star t designing your simple personal uniform. I f s o , f e e l f r e e t o c h e c k o u t t h e U NI T I n s t r u c t i o n M a n u a l .

S I M P L E

UNIT | Simple Personal Outf its

P E R S O N A L

O U T F I T S