There’s been a lot of chatter about redefining business casual wear in a post-pandemic world. Sweatpants seem to be the new jeans, jeans seem to be the new suit pants and bras may have disappeared from offices forever as Casual Friday bleeds into every waking hour of our lives.
Yesterday, however, one particularly inspired, well-mannered Wall Street Journal reporter took new-age business casual to radical lengths, wearing a headband in the midst of a very serious interview regarding Facebook’s misdeeds on Meet the Press. And not just a headband, but a beautiful gray headband that matched his beautiful gray suit so well that not even the keenest eye could select a better-matched shade.
“When I woke up at 4 a.m. Pacific, I was motivated by two desires: to contribute to productive discourse about a world-altering technology company and to wear a sport-coat accessorized sweatband on national television,” Jeff Horwitz, a technology reporter at the Wall Street Journal, tweeted yesterday morning. “I am 100% confident I accomplished the latter.”
I’m 100% confident in that too, Jeff.
“I turned on the TV, and there was this weird guy with a sweatband on his head that matched his jacket. Really weird I thought,” tweeted @KManson7. Really weird, indeed. But also … inexplicably sexy?
Horwitz has become an unwitting trendsetter in the last 24 hours. Ben Smith of The New York Times showed up in a sweatband later that day (although Smith didn’t match his to the rest of the ensemble, thus committing the first big faux pas of the office-appropriate-headband cycle). Perhaps every anchor will show up to work in matching sweatbands this week, because why shouldn’t men be able to accessorize and still look professional and sort of sporty, I guess. Next time, maybe he’ll throw in an earring or two. Perhaps an on-trend man brooch to accentuate his eyes. Bring it on.
Here’s another response, this one from Twitter user @SAS613 in “rural America”: “Your headband caused my husband and I to have a conversation about your matching headband and suit and style in San Francisco. We both wore headbands in the 60s so enjoyed seeing a WSJ reporter with one. It improved our opinion of the WSJ.”
Like @SAS613, I am impressed by Horwitz’s sheer bravery in pushing the boundaries of what can be declared as acceptable dress for a morning telecast. We are standing at the edge of a fashion precipice; for too long, cable news has been a boring procession of blue and grey suits over white oxfords and lackluster ties, their wearers dissuaded from donning so much as a pocket square to liven things up. All these talking heads need no longer be so fashionably repressed. It’s 2021. Harry Styles is breaking hearts in a crinoline. Crop tops are back. Let the newsmen wear headbands!
How many more will we see today? Only time will tell.
Death to the suit (especially if it’s black). Sweatbands for all meetings moving forward.
Just make sure you match colors and fabrics appropriately.
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