Fashion! The Ironic Geek Look

OK we've talked about a lot of serious topics, it's time to do a more light hearted topic and this is something I have had to explain in real life recently - so I thought I'd do a blog post on it. For those of you not already familiar with it, let me try to define it for you. Basically, it means making an ironic anti-fashion statement to show just how inventive or adventurous you are with fashion by breaking the rules - in so doing, you're being a fashion rebel and ironically, becoming über-cool in the process. Let's look at an example before talking about it in greater detail. Take a look at the glasses that Singaporean celebrity Hirzi Zukifli (of Munah & Hirzi official) is wearing in the photos:

Oh those glasses Hirzi!

Now conventional wisdom would dictate that those chunky black plastic glasses would be considered geeky.  I wouldn't be caught dead in those - however, Hirzi is undoubtedly the Lady Gaga of Singapore. He has the most amazing costumes as he reinvents himself as a variety of characters in his youtube skits (Leticiacia Fierce, Shah, Corporal Hassan, Epic Minahs, Bedok Makciks, Ang Mo Kio aunties and so many more). He is stylish as any K-pop star with a team of stylists so he decides to deliberately commit a fashion faux pas like that just to show you how he can afford to bend the rules and still look cool - that's the ultimate statement of a fashionista's status, to successfully pull off the ironic geek look.

There is another youtube star who wears those really horrible black chunky glasses - Simon Wartski, the famous vlogger from Eatyourkimchi.com - in fact, both Simon and his wife Martina do wear chunky plastic glasses from time to time but Simon does the entire ironic geek thing very successfully. In case you haven't seen them before, here's a picture of Simon in those horrible glasses and that farm boy shirt. It's a mega fashion faux pas, but the fact is he is a vlogger who is practically a comedian - his vlogs are so funny he often has me falling off my chair in laughter and that's why he gets away with dressing like that.

Eatyourkimchi introduces Korean culture to an English speaking audience. 

Heck, even someone as famous as megastar Madonna has been spotted in similar black geeky plastic glasses when performing on her Stick & Sweet tour. Those glasses have been described as the 'Buddy Holly' glasses - the fact is, after countless number ones all over the world and becoming a living legend, Madonna can wear whatever she wants and her fans will still love her. But wait, are those glasses becoming so popular that Madonna is wearing them - would such celebrity endorsement make this style go mainstream? No, it has not gotten there yet. The fact is, celebrities would much rather be seen as the über-cool fashion rebel embracing an alternative/underground fashion style than simply someone who is a slave to fashion trends.

Madonna with her Buddy Holly glasses. 

Besides, not everyone can carry off this ironic geek look. The message of this look should be, "look, I am a fashion rebel, I am breaking the rules and creating an ironic look but damn I look good despite having broken your rules, so take that fashion police!" The message you send out shouldn't be, "I have no idea what I am doing, I don't know why I am wearing this and I am not sure if I look good or not." It does take quite a lot of confidence to successfully carry off the ironic geek look - it can range from having just one iconic geek item in your ensemble such as the black plastic glasses, to doing a head to toe ironic 80s look and everything in between. Either way, the message needs to be, "this is my unique image, it is my fashion statement, I am an ironic fashion rebel" rather than, "I don't know what I am doing, these are just the clothes my mother bought me so I wear them." It is rather easy to spot the difference between the former and the latter! Here's a British ironic geek - what do you make of Gareth Malone's image?

In the UK, these black plastic glasses were associated with the free NHS glasses back in the 1960s and 1970s. For my non-British readers, allow me to explain. In the UK, if you needed glasses and couldn't afford it, then the NHS (National Health Service) would not only give you free eye tests and prescriptions, but would also give you a voucher that would entitle you to free glasses at the opticians! However, back then, if you had one of these NHS free glasses vouchers, you couldn't pick the nicest frames available - oh no, those are expensive. You would get the chunky black plastic glasses, ie. Madonna's Buddy Holly look. Thus if you saw a kid in school wearing those glasses back then, it's a sign that he has poor parents who couldn't afford to buy him nicer glasses. Thus there was a real social stigma to wearing those glasses back then and kids who wore such glasses back then were often subject to bullying - not just for being a swot/geek/nerd, but for being poor. Even though the NHS still gives out free glasses to the poor today, they are allowed to choose a range of styles which wouldn't send out the message "My parents are so very poor that they can't even afford to pay for my own glasses!" Oops.

Buddy Holly and his iconic chunky black plastic glasses.

So to deliberately wear something like that is a bold statement and it does carry the risk that people may not believe that you're being ironic. They may think that you're just being plain clueless about fashion. Take this guy for example (we've met him during the Diner en Blanc fiasco) I believe that he is clueless rather than ironic because there's absolutely nothing about his demeanour or his image that suggests that he is a fashionista. Instead, the message I get from him is that he is not just a hopeless loser in the fashion department, but he is oblivious to just how hopeless he is (oh dear) - you be the judge. He first appears at 0:59 and then at 3:03.

Here is the thing about fashion - there are so many different styles, so many different trends and looks. As long as you pick a style that you like, that expresses your personality, you will be able to make it work. People around you can see that you have spent time, effort and energy selecting the various pieces of your ensemble to create an image that represents your unique character. Even if it may not be the best look, as long as you carry it off with a healthy dose of confidence, people may decide, "hey, that may not be what I would wear but s/he certainly looks confident in it." It's not just enough to create a good look for yourself, you have to sell it to your public.

Now another trend that is part of this whole ironic geek movement is doing up the top button of the shirt. I don't like it, in my previous post about men's shirts, I condemned that look and I still stand by that! It looks terrible and remember, if you are going to try to pull it off, remember that it is meant to be ironic rather than trendy or smart. Most of the time, most men who attempt this just end up looking just so wrong - as in the photo below. The model isn't ugly, but what kind of message does this look send? Is he ... ironic?

Oh no, not a good look!

Here's a list of ironic geek fashion items (I'm sure there are more but this is just off the top of my head): bow ties (I blame Matt Smith - the latest Dr Who), ugly ties, clip on braces (urgh, that's so 80s), ugly checked shirts or just ugly shirts in general (I am thinking about those painfully retro looking polo shirts) or anything that just screams 1980s. Here's a few general rules when it comes to attempting the ironic geek look.

1. It's meant to be ironic, so make sure you have enough attitude to carry it off and most importantly, people around you know you're trying to be ironic. If they think you're just being clueless, then you've failed. 
2. Choose the right time and place to test it out - preferably with friends who will be honest with you to say something like, "Pullease, that so doesn't work, just being honest and saving you more embarrassment "  Refrain from trying it at work unless you're convinced your boss is going to love it. 
3. Look at yourself in the mirror before going out - does it work? Do you need to make adjustments? What looks good, what looks wrong? Do you look ironic? 
4. Do not attempt the ironic look if you're over 40. 
5. If you're over 30 but under 40, then attempt it only if you are convinced you know what you are doing. If you are not sure, don't do it. 
6. If you are beautiful, then you have the luxury of looking good in anything at all and are far more likely to get away with the ironic geek look. If you're not, then don't try this look. (Sorry life just isn't fair.)
7. Pick and choose certain items that you genuinely find cute or eye catching- or that there may be some kind of artistic merit to the item (however kitsch). You have got to like the look you are creating, there's no point being ironic if you don't like what you're wearing. 
8. Lastly, if it works, great, good for you. May you have loads of fun being ironic. If it doesn't work, then hey you've tried but accept that this isn't the right look for you. 

The most powerful man in the universe is an ironic geek - go figure. 

Have a look at this clip below, it is from the popular British comedy series the IT crowd. Now the geek character here is Moss - his character is a genuine geek. There's nothing ironic about his image - Moss is the kind of loser who is still living with his mum despite being in his 30s and is just socially awkward at the best of times. Ironically, he has all the trademarks of the ironic geek... except his character isn't meant to be ironic. So there you go - it's a challenge! Could you dress up like Moss and still come across as ironic? (I can think of Simon Wartski of Eatyourkimchi who does carry it off successfully.) 

What do you think? Do you attempt the ironic geek look? Do you like it? Personally, no I wouldn't want to even try it because I am not sure I have the attitude to carry it off - and most of it, I am not sure it's "me". Let me know what you think - leave a message below, thanks!