Black turtleneck. Blue jeans. New Balance Shoes. These three items consisted of Steve Jobs’ iconic wardrobe, and is a costume I bet many people will see come Halloween.
Gawker has posted an excerpt from Steve Jobs’ upcoming biography (coming October 24th) written by Walter Isaacson (who sent this to Gawker), that reveals why Steve wore black turtlenecks time and time again:
On a trip to Japan in the early 1980s, Jobs asked Sony’s chairman Akio Morita why everyone in the company’s factories wore uniforms. He told Jobs that after the war, no one had any clothes, and companies like Sony had to give their workers something to wear each day. Over the years, the uniforms developed their own signatures styles, especially at companies such as Sony, and it became a way of bonding workers to the company. “I decided that I wanted that type of bonding for Apple,” Jobs recalled.
Sony, with its appreciation for style, had gotten the famous designer Issey Miyake to create its uniform. It was a jacket made of rip-stop nylon with sleeves that could unzip to make it a vest. So Jobs called Issey Miyake and asked him to design a vest for Apple, Jobs recalled, “I came back with some samples and told everyone it would great if we would all wear these vests. Oh man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea.”
In the process, however, he became friends with Miyake and would visit him regularly. He also came to like the idea of having a uniform for himself, both because of its daily convenience (the rationale he claimed) and its ability to convey a signature style. “So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them.” Jobs noticed my surprise when he told this story, so he showed them stacked up in the closet. “That’s what I wear,” he said. “I have enough to last for the rest of my life.”
That explains it all. I cannot wait to read the official biography, and I’ve already pre-ordered mine from Amazon for $23.19 CDN. Orders yours below and support iPhoneinCanada.ca in the process:
Thanks for the email Ted!
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That’s awesome! I’ve pre-ordered the book, now should I order some turtlenecks?
I’ve already got mine on standby!
As much as I would love to get a hard copy and support iPhoneincanada I can’t help but think of the irony of not buying it through the iBook Store lol
I’m still debating but I’m purchasing it for sure one way or the other!
It will be the first book I’ll read that is not required by school or work lol
Originally I was set on ordering it via the iBookstore. But I decided to buy the hardcover, as this will be one to own and keep on the shelf. It’ll be worth it.
Exactly the same reason why I bought the hardcover.
I just ordered one. Glad to have a way to say thanks to such a great site! Thanks Gary!
Cheers and thanks 🙂
thank you for this informative post! I’m preordering this at my local Chapters.
It’s the first non-school book im buying in maybe like 7 years? or first book ever that’s not for school.
thank you for this informative post! I’m preordering this at my local Chapters.
It’s the first non-school book im buying in maybe like 7 years? or first book ever that’s not for school.
I’m a gonna find it on the innernet and download it for free. haha
I’m gonna buy me a “used” copy when the price bottoms out. In the meantime, I’m scrounging for excerpts online – which is how I ended up here, hee.