Leonard from 'The Big Bang Theory'
With Christmas just a few days away we wanted to celebrate fashion with a traditional holiday theme, but there aren't any shows featuring characters in swaddling clothes. And our next choice, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, only wears robes that frankly don't work except for casual Fridays. But, in the (holy) spirit of "the meek shall inherit the earth," let's deconstruct a geek -- Leonard from The Big Bang Theory, airing Mondays on CBS.
The nerd is one of life's most misunderstood creatures. And his clothing choices are even more mind-boggling. While Leonard can figure out problems related to molecular physics, he can't work his way through plaids versus stripes. Yet oddly, in a purely organic way, his look works for him. It's layered. It's urban. It's timeless, in that "the cute sales girl at Urban Outfitters told me all this stuff looked good on me" sort of way. And if you are considering continuing your postgraduate work, the least you can do is emulate someone who at least has caught the attention of the hottie blonde across the hall.
The nice thing about Leonard's look is how simple it is to figure out. In fact, he almost never strays from his signature look. It's said that Einstein had seven of the exact same outfit so he never had to waste time thinking about what to wear each day of the week. Yep, that's genius -- in an anti-Anna Wintour sort of way.
A graphic T-shirt from Urban Outfitters is the perfect piece to build the look upon. Anything from its Lazy Smurf T-shirt to its Richard Pryor T-shirt works perfectly, but considering the time of year, we're choosing the "Santa Claus Hates You" shirt, which features Jolly Old St. Nick giving everyone the bird. It's surprisingly nonjudgmental when it comes to the naughty or nice debate.
Next, a zippered hoodie without a lot of bulk is a necessity. While Urban Outfitters has several decent choices, such as the Penguin Secret Sam hoodie or the Industry reversible striped hoodie, we like the simplicity of American Eagle's Signature full-zips. The colors are easy to work with -- brown, black and gray -- and they're priced right. Leonard prefers to wear earth tones, so go brown.
You then need to add lightweight outerwear in the form of a blazer or plain military-type jacket. Urban Outfitters carries a perfect military moleskin jacket from Spiewak in gray that features a stand-up collar and epaulets. Those details, including buttoned plackets, add just enough oomph to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, things get boring from the waist down -- isn't that always the way for geeks? -- and Leonard hits the snooze bar with nondescript jeans and Converse All-Stars.
Modernized horn-rimmed glasses drive the nerd quotient way up and are a must-have for the bookish set.
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