Philosophers' Clothes: Nietzsche II

In another excerpt from his bio, R.J. Hollingdale reports that:

[Nietzsche's] appearance during the ten years he was in Basel excited comment because of his excessive attention to dress, amounting almost to dandyism...he was, apart from an old state counsellor from Baden, the only man in Basel to wear a grey topper. [p. 49]

Interestingly, Hollingdale also quotes one of Nietzsche's students who noticed his snazzy duds but nevertheless observed that "his whole personality expressed nothing less than indifference to whatever external impression he might be making."

So, was Nietzsche a pretty boy or was he uninterested in looking good for others? The answer, it turns out, might be both. Hollingdale says that even though Nietzsche was always decked out to the nines, "by 1875 dressing well was probably a habit rather than a conscious effort."

This sounds right to me and I think it's both interesting and important. When one begins to formulate a philosophical approach to attire (something I'm convinced Nietzsche had), obsession with clothes is, I think, inevitable. This has certainly been the case for me. Not long ago, I thought, "I really don't want to be thinking about clothes this much."

Now, however, I can feel the obsession fading because there's not much to think about anymore. I've already figured out which types of clothing help me become who I want to be and which ones just encourage vanity or sloppiness. Furthermore, people in my life have gotten used to the way I dress and no longer need it explained to them. And the philosophical constraints that spawned my style in the first place don't afford much room for reinventing it. The details are also becoming second nature: Matching parts is getting easier and, at this point, I pick the day's tie and knot without much deliberation and usually have it around my neck in under a minute, no mirror.

So while it's true that being philosophical about clothes involves some initial fixation on fashion, it subsides as the sartorial philosophy takes shape. For those who aren't happy "just wearing whatever," I find this temporary obsession a welcome alternative to the mania that goes with searching for flashy or entertaining clothes, which never ends because the entertainment a garment provides evaporates at the same rate as its novelty.

Previous Philosophers' Clothes posts: Nietzsche