The famous second longer

Vivienne Westwood’s quote (in the Financial Times obituary ), can be measured in fractions of a second: you enter a room, whether it’s a meeting room, a restaurant or a trade fair, and you instinctively notice whether the eyes of those present there rest on you for a fraction of a second longer, or routinely move on.

Timothee Chalamet, Venice Film Festival, 2022 © UPI/Alamy Live News

What stands out from the monotony makes an impression. This could be an interesting collar, a mix of unusual patterns or materials, the color of a dinner jacket, a pair of glasses, a hat or elegant socks in unusually polished shoes.

Sooner or later, people who pay attention to these details will approach you with a smile, a nod of approval, a compliment or they will start a conversation to get to know you.

Guaranteed to be more interesting than blending in perfectly with the surroundings and thus easily disappearing.

Punk and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

There is hardly an obituary for Vivienne Westwood that does not begin with the subject of punk and the stage clothes she tailored for the punk band Sex Pistols at the beginning of her career.

For Vivienne Westwood, punk was an expression of independent thinking that did not simply follow the mainstream. She described the best accessories as “a good book and high heels”.

Anyone watching the traditional New Year’s concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra saw the orchestra’s musicians in Vivienne Westwood clothing.

A prime example of what characterizes Vivienne Westwood’s fashion: The unusual cut of the jackets allows the orchestra members to play their instruments without restrictions and gives what at first glance appears to be a traditional outfit a perfectly extravagant touch.

The musicians’ tops, black for the evening and in a silver-champagne shade for daytime concerts, are exceptionally elegant and sophisticated.

Each member of the orchestra received a customized outfit made of the best quality wool with his or her name embroidered on it.

Clothing signals respect

The Vienna Philharmonic shows respect for its audience with its clothing.

We all signal with our clothes every day whether we have thought about something or simply put something on.

“Clothing has much more important tasks than just keeping us warm; it changes our view of the world and the world’s view of us,” says Virginia Woolf in her novel Orlando.

The picture showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with US President Biden in front of the White House fireplace decorated for Christmas went viral.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, was seen in the picture in the usual dark green military-style clothing that he has worn in all his speeches and video conferences since the start of the war.

His clothing signals respect for the soldiers of his country and shows solidarity with them. His sweaters, shirts and T-shirts in dark green make it clear that these are not normal times.

The picture in front of the Christmas tree with his wife Olena Selenska also shows both of them in dark green clothing. The photo radiates empathy, respect, dignity and self-confidence at the same time.

The dress code: empathy instead of self-presentation

If a host or hostess requests a special dress code, it shows respect to adhere to the dress code.

There is nothing to stop you interpreting the dress code individually. A dinner jacket doesn’t have to be black or dark blue, it can be the color of raspberry ice cream or cherries, like Daniel Craig’s, studded with rock crystals or cut with extravagant details.

However, anyone who thinks they are cool enough to violate the dress code probably still thinks Sam Bankman-Fried is a cool guy, the friendly Santa Claus of cryptocurrency.

But even Bankman-Fried, whose uniform consisted of gray-and-beige Bermuda shorts, a T-shirt and rocked-down sneakers, appeared in front of the US House of Representatives in a suit and tie, leaving only his shoelaces untied as a concession to his supposed coolness.

Individuality instead of fashion

Vivienne Westwood was excellent at reinterpreting traditional fabrics such as tweed or tartans and was a role model for many other designers with her creations.

Her ideas were adapted by many other famous fashion designers with greater financial resources. Her wedding dresses were in demand as they were extremely flattering and always cut with unusual accents.

However, business in Europe remained comparatively small. Her most important foreign market was Japan, a country where good fabrics and cuts are particularly appreciated.

Vivienne Westwood © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, Alamy Stock Photo

That’s what it’s all about – giving the clothes a twist through individuality that signals that it was worth thinking about.

Signature item

Sometimes there is an item of clothing or an accessory that you love so much that it becomes part of your personality. These can be unusual pocket squares, patent leather shoes, brooches or, like Tom Ford’s black suit or tuxedo. You don’t need a huge closet to vary these in new and unusual ways, you just need creativity.

Tom Ford believes: “Dressing well is a form of good manners”.

Whether the garments come from the shiny flagship store of a global brand or from a small, dusty second-hand store. The price tag is not the decisive factor, but the idea of signaling, even with details or an unusual mix, that everyone else who sees you is worth the effort.

This also applies to yourself.

You could ring in the new year at home alone on the couch in an ancient hoodie, but you could and can also dress up for yourself and open the champagne in party dress.

Cover photo: Daniel Craig, World Premiere ‘No Time to Die’ London 2021 Doug Peters/EMPICS/Alamy Live News