Persona- "the aspect of someone's character that is presented to, or say perceived, by others" 

Fashion- "a popular trend, especially in styles of dress and ornaments or manners of behavior"

                   Mannerism-

                               1- "a habitual gesture, a way of speaking or behaving; an idiosyncrasy"

                               2- "Excessive or self conscious use of a distinctive style of art, literature and/or music"

Architect- a professional, designer of environments, eclectic in creating, documenting and building for the living experience.                 

             Through time I have become interested in the idea of Architects and designers always wearing black and what it represents. To me every architect must have a different explanation for their daily choice in fashion. Everyone is not the same, we are all different, with different backgrounds, culture and experiences. Most importantly, we all have a different education and interest. Not every school has the same style, method of practice or interest of teaching. Therefore, architecture is complex, it's invigorating while at the same time tiresome to our personal self....... Okay, I am diverting a bit from fashion. I could have easily jumped into a blog about architecture schools, inspired by a writing of Australian Architect Andrew Maynard a couple years back, but I will leave that for the next post.

            Seems to me that many Architects and Designers prefer to wear all black in hopes of taking away commitment to what today's fashion culture symbolizes. The idea that you pertain to a certain group of identity or social class. There's also this preconceived notion that architects are arrogant, expensive, and flamboyant. In fact, I would argue that architects are pressured and burdened with humility. As if we do not have or are not allowed to have our personal taste, our personal interests and our personal wants. I think one of the reasons we tend to choose the simplicity of a color like black is to preserve our character from misjudgment. There's also the fact that black is an elegant color, sleek and makes us all look very well slimmer.

              But where I am going with this is broader than just the architect's interest in wearing black. Personally, I love grey, beige and soft colors. On a great day you may find me in the all white. How about them chelsea boots, black or brown, nubuck suede or patent leather? The timbs, the jays, old school converse and addidas. How about them white air forces low cut, summer time fine. We all pertain to a significant period of time. In where trends and taste come together and then a significant style grows. In the winter, you may find me with a grey fluffy chinchilla at some point, lol don't call me Don Corleone, I'd probably prefer Young Michael higher educated. On another day, you may find me in a grey suit, black button down and an untied black bow tie. 

              To me it is important to not let perceptions and misjudgments define us based on preconceived notions of styles, whether you have a shaved face or beard. As professionals we must define ourselves by what we can bring to growth and progress, not by the first impressions we can impose upon the early surfaces, yet we should maintain clean professionalism.