I Wear The Same Black T-Shirt Every Day
Jon Sully
2 Minutes
It's not because of Steve Jobs!
Over the last few months I’ve made the transition to wearing a single T-shirt. Well, not a single copy, but a single SKU. I have thirteen copies at this point. It’s a simple black t-shirt from Kohl’s. It’s not fancy. It’s slightly athletic-style material, but we’re really just talking about a cheap, 100% polyester shirt. That’s not the point.
* A side-note: I want to clarify that none of it has to do with Steve Jobs or any other famous person! I’m not seeking after anybody else here.
A Reliable Default
The primary reason I’ve shifted this way is that these shirts represent a choice I no longer need to make. I don’t ever have to worry about what shirt I’m going to wear for the day — which one looks good, which one has a graphic or branding I’m okay with for that day, or which one’s material will fit the schedule. I don’t have to sift through the same shirts, day after day, hoping one will spark some new joy that it didn’t yesterday. I just grab the next black t-shirt.
The elimination of choice is also the elimination of concern and anxiousness. It’s never a question. It’s never a thought. It’s just the next black t-shirt.
It’s also a reliable default. I know how this fabric looks, feels, and sits. A black t-shirt is timeless, dress-up-able, breathable, casual, yet thoughtful. It fits just about every occasion I’d likely encounter in any given month. So ‘reliable’ in the sense of fashion and suitability for events… but reliable in wear, too! There are few things that could get spilled on me in the course of a day that would actually show up on a black t-shirt. It’s the ultimate camouflage. It’s easy.
It’s been great since I switched. I love my black t-shirts! They do it all. And they ask nothing of me — they’re the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Here’s to you, black t-shirt!