One unwritten rule of being a cartoon character is to wear the same type of clothes 99 percent of the time. The remaining 1 percent is reserved for special occasions. Think about it. Characters in cartoons such as “The Simpsons,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “The Smurfs,” “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “The Proud Family,” “Recess” and “The Flintstones” do this.
Take Fred Flintstone, for example. Most of the time , he can be seen wearing a bright orange leopard-skin shirt with blue tie.
When he’s not wearing the Water Buffalo Lodge hat or looking stylish in a tuxedo on Pebbles’ wedding day, Fred sports the classic orange and blue combination.
I am like this.
No, I don’t wear orange leopard skin shirts, but I have been wearing the same type of outfit for years: black kung fu jacket, black or navy blue shirt, black khaki-type pants and black boots.
Similar to cartoon characters, there are times when I give the default outfit a rest, but most of the time my dress consists of a black kung fu uniform with black combat boots.
There are logical reasons cartoon characters wear the same thing everyday: cost, convenience and comfort. It’s cheaper and more convenient for an artist to draw a character the same way, time after time. The lack of change also allows the audience to become comfortable with a character. This aids in marketing and brand recognition – parents beware.
There are logical reasons why I wear a similar style of clothing everyday: cost, convenience and comfort. The uniforms are high quality but don’t cost much. I buy them from a small shop in New York City’s Chinatown. Sometimes I get a deal if I order complete uniforms instead of buying jackets and pants separately.
And because the clothes are stylish and very dark, they can be used as both casual and semi-formal dress attire. On special occasions, such as a friend’s wedding, I will exchange the jacket for a nice black shirt and the black combat boots for black “dress” boots. If the weather allows, I will cover everything with a black pea coat.
Wearing the same type of clothing every day also saves time. I don’t have to guess what I am going to wear – unless it’s laundry day. I might wear orange and blue together on laundry day.
The kung fu jackets are thin enough to wear in the summer yet thick enough to wear as insulation under a coat in winter. The wide legs of the pants allow combat boots to be worn with ease.
Like Fred Flintstone’s orange shirt, my kung-fu uniform is akin to a trademark.
I might be a cartoon character. On second thought, maybe I’m just comfortable and don’t see a reason to change.
Ishmael Ali Elias is a senior in journalism who desperately needs musicians for his new album, even flautists. Send inquiries to [email protected].
