Icon: George Costanza

I want to start doing "daily outfit" posts on the days when my wardrobe is interesting, but right now I'm living out of boxes and suitcases until I head back to DePauw in two days. This leaves me with underwear, a pair of jeans, some tee shirts and odd accessories, since I am too lazy and obsessive-compulsive to pack and re-pack. I'm faced with a dilemma: how do I make this mundane uniform inspired? The answer, of course, is to look to Seinfeld for guidance.

Cosmo Kramer, with his teased coif and vintage duds, generally gets the most fashion credit of all the characters in the cultural apex that is Seinfeld. But the other three coffee-shop confidantes warrant a nod as well. Particularly George Costanza. George has been my favorite character ever since I first started watching the show about nothing (before I could understand it, of course) in the fourth grade. There's just something about neurotics.

I feel we can glean more from George than just zingers like, "The jerk store called, and they're running out of you!" Let's look at some of the clothing items sported by George throughout the show's run: glasses with pointy ladies' frames, Timberland boots, Russian sable hats, Gore-tex puffer jackets, toupees, and even a Henry VIII costume (maybe Alexander McQueen got some tips from George for his Fall collection, shown below). He would drape himself in velvet (if it was socially acceptable), and labels his outfits with titles like "Morning Mist".

The man's an icon. So, today, I give you George Chic: fashion inspired by a short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man.



Cap, MLB Pro Shop (Use a Yankees cap for authenticity; I cheated and used a Cubs hat because I'm in Red Sox country.)
Glasses, Twenty-One (Did you know that Larry David originally intended George to be based on Woody Allen? Pay respect!)
Tee shirt, bustedtees.com (Yes, it says Vandelay Industries! If you want, you can pick up a Kramerica shirt, too.)
Bolero, Forever Twenty-One (I think that this captures the spirit of both the Russian hat and the puffy coat.)
Jeans, American Eagle (Wear them ripped; George was an underachiever, and it was the '90s, after all.)
Sneakers, Converse (Ah, Chuck Taylors: a shame-free option for the infantile sports fan in all of us.)