TheRegister.co.uk asks: The business mullet: Cool or Tool?
Thanks to Tim J., Ben M., and a host of others for sending in the style tip about this article that has started making its way around the web in the last few days. Above outfit can be found in the post: “Get the Blues“.
The Case Against Jeans and a Jacket:
“Silicon Valley is notoriously casual in its dress and business demeanor. In a culture that celebrates every day as Casual Friday, it’s hard to get the tech crowd to dress up. Which is why it’s so painful when techie types try to dress up… Whatever the reason, they invariably end up going half-way and wear the dreaded business mullet.
You know what I’m talking about: jeans with a sports jacket or, worse yet, a suit jacket… I believe Dave Rosenberg coined the term “business mullet,” and it delivers the perfect sense of what happens when testosterone dresses itself.”
– Matt Asay for The Register
The Case For Jeans and a Jacket: First, gotta hand it to whoever came up with the nickname. “The Business Mullet” is a hilarious term. That said, the wholesale slander of a sportcoat/blazer paired with jeans is just flat out wrong. It absolutely can be done right, and it’s fair to assume that the author of this piece, Matt Asay, most often (only?) sees the worst examples of this combination. Most likely out of shape desk jockeys wearing three-button pinstripe suit jackets with large shoulder pads and low armholes, paired with jeans that would look at home in the President’s wardrobe, and finished off with a yellow silk Donald Trump tie. Yes, that’s going to look awkward, but at least these guys who don’t normally have to dress up are trying.
Here’s how to get the jeans + blazer combo right
- Your best bet is if the jacket is a blazer or sport coat. Differences are explained over here.
- Easiest fabrics to pair with jeans are cotton (chino, corduroy, or moleskin), linen, or a wool w/ texture.
- You’ll want minimal shoulder padding, high armholes, and a 2-button or 2/3 roll that shows some shirt.
- Peak lapels are hard to pull off, so go with notch. And keep the lapels slim.
And sometimes you can even bend those rules. During a recent, extended trip overseas, my clothing options were limited. I needed to bring a suit for an event, but it was going to be casual 99% of the trip. So I ended up wearing a light grey, well fitting, worsted suit jacket with jeans quite a bit. It was the top half of an Indochino Essential Grey. Had some depth to the fabric thanks to the black + white = grey fabric. Ideal? No. But it looked just fine.
“Now boarding, 1st class, parents with small children, and tools.”
Dark jeans that fit well on top of a casual blazer? Always relevant.
I don’t think that’s what the article is referring to anyway. They’re referring to those guys with the baggy Dad jeans from Wrangler who throw on a Haggar blazer and call it a wrap. You know the type. Every office has one (or several).
If the jeans are on top of the blazer, you’re doing it wrong.
I have more problems with the actual mullet at the workplace than the business mullet.
The beauty of a mullet is that if you’re wearing one, you don’t care about what other people think of it. Mullet or not, if you think the blazer + jeans look works for you, just strut it.
I have no problem with the jeans + sport coat look. I think when done right it can look great, and that it can be done very very right. What I have seen, which is terrible, is cargo pants + sport coat. That’s the thing that needs to be stopped.
It’s the worst when the guy you’re referring to is the boss..
You’re definitely touching on something. When a combo becomes thought of as a “uniform” then wearing it becomes more a matter of ticking the boxes than actually looking good.
You would think someone wearing this “business mullet” killed the dude’s dog or something by the way the article reads. The argument is seriously flat out wrong and although he differentiates between suit jackets and sport coats, his GQ source only makes a case against wearing a suit jacket with jeans (which is obvious). Oh but at least Italians can still look good wearing it… ridiculous.
Yeah, but… who wants to do anything because Andrew Breitbart did it?
The author of that article sounds both pretentious and out of touch.
Unless the underwear is on top of the jeans.
Just like literally any type of look there are wrong and right ways to do it. Terribly fitting jeans and an oversize suit jacket together? Awful. While the “tech industry” example is definitely relevant to the wrong end of the spectrum, how about checking out a creative office for well dressed fellows doing it right?
Ditto what raptorrapture said….
I guess the look has gotten too popular, so now it’s inherently uncool to the blogosphere.
Though he didn’t really point it out – the author seemed to specifically throw some flames towards the techie crowd that attempt to dress up simply by throwing a blazer on top of whatever ill-fitting polo they wore to work that day. Probably something like this:
http://i.imgur.com/TXfW4.jpg
This is a far cry from wearing a sport coat or blazer with indigo denim and a fitted button-down shirt that most users here imagine.
Though, after reading the article, comments like this always make me do a double take:
“I’m sure there are Italians who can pull it off.”
I never really buy comments like that. If they’re pulling it off by wearing quality clothes that fit, anyone else can do it, too. And if you’re saying they’re only pulling it off because of who they are, then take off the rose-colored lenses because chances are they aren’t.
I think the jeans-sportcoat combo looks good when done right. I think it’s inappropriate for a high powered business meeting (if you’re a silicon valley startup looking for financing, wear a suit to meet with potential investors) but can look good in more casual situations. Basically, you’ll always look awkward if you’re underdressed for the occasion. I think his terminology is flawed though, as geeks/techies never wore mullets. Mullets were popular among jocks, and country stars (and their fans) but never among geeks. The guys that would have sported mullets are the guys wearing suits/sportcoats that are 2 sizes too big.
Jeans and sport coat OK in some settings, especially if a field site visit is part of the itinerary.
Suit jacket with anything other than the suit pants – terrible look. Like you found the jacket in a dumpster and need it because you were cold.
The first time I heard a version of that term was when Matthew Sebra called it a “sartorial mullet.” I think I like his term better. He was referring to Daniel Craig wearing a suit vest and jacket with baggy jeans back in 2006. Its a good slideshow.
http://www.gq.com/style/profiles/201211/daniel-craig-style-evolution#slide=5
Like the jean/blazer combo, the mullet can look good on some people, in some situations, if properly worn. Labeling the pairing in question as the “business mullet” seems appropriate, since so many seem not to wear it so well.
Recently I’ve been thinking a bit about style accessibility. The reality is that there are some things that will be accepted on style blogs that the average person on the street will not view the same way – for the most part, the average person sees a blazer/sportcoat as basically formal unless it is aggressively casual (like maybe a knit blazer, chambray blazer, something hunting style with elbow patches and more casual jacket-style pockets), and jeans will be seen as casual. As a result, I’ve noticed many people will view jeans and a blazer (or jeans and a tie) as a poor style choice. Even if the jeans are dark/slim, or the jacket has a bit of texture and is barely structured, or if the tie is cotton or knit instead of silk.
As I see it, there are two ways to approach this. One is to see style as a form of self-expression, something done for yourself, and just dress however you want, regardless of what anyone says. Maybe that’s a blazer and jeans, maybe that’s sweatpants, maybe that’s a superman cape. But just say “screw everyone, this is my style.” The other way is to view style as a method of communicating something about yourself to the world. If this is the case, even if you think a blazer and jeans is acceptable, you would also have to take into account how the general public feels about it because that’s who’s receiving your “message.” Either approach is fine, and most likely people will use some degree of both. The only option I can’t endorse is dressing for yourself (wearing whatever you want) and then criticizing others for not appreciating it the way you think they should. Basically, all I’m saying is, wear jeans and a blazer if you want – just don’t expect everyone to love it as much as you do.
/rant
Judging the blazer and jeans look by how techie nerds wear it is akin to judging the aesthetic quality of thongs and bikinis as they are worn by women with a bmi above 40.
That’s pretty much general issue for political operatives – at least on the D side. I can’t remember the last time I saw a male Democratic staffer at an event and not wearing the jeans-blazer combo.
Ok, are you saying that Andrew Breitbart dresses well? The guy looked unshaven, homeless and more than a little drugged out/groggy. Heoin chic and all. Just to confirm, we’re talking about this guy: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=3&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=9hE7F7dbDuEs7MzzN3ViJw&cp=9&gs_id=y&xhr=t&q=andrew+breitbart&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42553238,d.dmQ&biw=1366&bih=624&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=bHUeUavmFeTJ0QGj14GADQ