Style Secrets
of the
Uniform

Whether it’s military fatigues or simply the frequent rotation of your own daily casualwear, a uniform approach to getting dressed has its virtues. For one, it lends an air of integrity, simplicity, and organization to your wardrobe. As a system built on timeless, classic, and iconic combinations, it’s also a way of codifying your look in a world of style that’s often random and overwhelming. Find the right uniform equation for you, and it won’t only increase the consistency of your style quotient and sharpen your self-expression, but it might even become a visual shorthand that serves as your calling card—think Tom Wolfe in a white suit, Johnny Cash in black Westernwear, or André Leon Talley in a caftan.

The uniform is foundational in other ways; it’s how one of the most influential generations of American men learned to dress. Eighty years ago, American vets fresh from the fields of victory began taking advantage of the G.I. Bill—and campus style changed forever. As students, these former soldiers imported pieces of their former uniform into the canon of American sportswear—faded chinos, field jackets with epaulets, peacoats, and chambray shirts have been campus staples ever since.

The Greatest Generation also brought a uniform-minded logic to the way they got dressed. Looking crisply put together could be distilled into the formula of the rucksack, a kind of style rule book based on a few essential building blocks. White, green, blue, and khaki—the core colors of service uniforms—soon became the foundation for any dependable wardrobe. With such a predefined set of choices, the details especially mattered. Shoulder to shoulder in uniform, what made the difference between “great” and “good enough” was the shine of your shoes, the crease of your trousers, the whiteness of your dress whites; keeping your things shipshape remains a hallmark of being well put together. It also relates to another principle of the uniform—when an outfit becomes a sartorial identity, it should be cared for accordingly. Launder your clothes with care, store them properly, mend them when needed (unless it represents a mark of character), and above all, don’t jettison a winning combination just because it’s familiar to you; most people still haven’t seen you in it. Looking good is better than looking like a clotheshorse.

Another benefit of formulating your own uniform is that it keeps your closet organized and your mind free from having to make too many unexpected decisions. Having a simple, well-defined wardrobe was nothing less than a career strategy for the likes of Steve Jobs, Rem Koolhaas, Winston Churchill, and Barack Obama—a few guys who knew a thing or two about productivity and the importance of looking good. Even Ralph himself—a master of reinvention when it comes to the classic and timeless—has expressed the importance of having a few preordained combinations hanging in the closet that are ready to go. “I don’t think about it too long,” he once told WWD about getting dressed on the day of a runway show. “It’s the last thing on my menu.”

But what if you like the productivity-enhancing, identity-building benefits of a uniform and worry you might actually miss that daily shot of creativity deciding what to wear? The power of a uniform, as it turns out, lies less in rote repetition than in finding a winning formula that can make the lion’s share of your outfit choices for you. For proof (and inspiration), we must turn again to Ralph, who knows the power and reliability of a repp tie with a sleek suit; a blue blazer with grey trousers; a tweed jacket with a flannel shirt; cargos with a T-shirt; and a Western shirt with jeans—and who uses each of these things to their fullest, despite never wearing the exact same thing twice.

Whatever you decide, a uniform should be uniquely yours; it can only benefit from a bit of personal flair—Ralph might often wear a simple, dark two-piece suit, for instance, but he takes care to fasten a double-breasted jacket at the lower button, allowing the roll of the lapel to drape in a way that’s distinctly him—and contradiction: He knows the regimented rules of black tie inside and out but famously wears his dinner jackets with jeans and boots. It’s more than just a uniform, you might say—it’s his uniform.

Maybe that’s partly why Ralph and his vision of Polo have been the epitome of timeless style for almost five decades, without ever having become beholden to just a few singular looks. Polo is highly defined, distinctive, and recognizable—yet it has grown to contain multitudes. At its core, however, is an enduring appreciation of all things that have timeless style, and that includes the uniform.