Celebrity Muppets Piers Morgan
This style guru’s Kermit-based takedown of Piers Morgan’s wardrobe is today’s best thing
There’s fabulous style guru called Derek Guy – @dieworkwear on Twitter – who offers up very funny, occasionally brutal but always incredibly useful fashion advice if you’re thinking about getting dressed up (or indeed down) and want to do it properly.
Quite often he turns his attention to someone in the public eye and this time it was Piers Morgan who turned up on his radar.
And we mention it because his critique – with the unlikely help (at least, it sounds unlikely) assistance of Kermit the Frog – is simply magnificent!
1.
Someone from @piersmorgan‘s staff asked if I would like to come onto Pier’s show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, to talk about the state of his attire. Since he invited feedback, I thought I’d do a thread comparing his style to menswear icon Kermit the Frog. pic.twitter.com/nylWmaCoeo
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
2.
Let’s again start with the basics.
The core of any outfit is fit and silhouette. Pier’s suit jackets often have lapels that buckle away from his chest and a collar that floats from his neck. This suggests his jackets may be too small. pic.twitter.com/S84MXLZ02w
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
3.
No such issues for Kermit the Frog. His clothes hang beautifully and smoothly while still giving a distinctive, flattering silhouette. pic.twitter.com/9D37WiLwSV
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
4.
Piers knows that he looks best in a tailored jacket, so he wears them to social functions. However, he relies too much on formal tailoring, such as dark worsted suits in sober colors. pic.twitter.com/DUOAMNS1b8
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
5.
This puts him in a somewhat awkward position of trying to find ways to dress them down. He knows that people at the event may not be wearing suits, but he also doesn’t know what else to wear. So he ditches the tie or wears a suit jacket with jeans to look “kinda casual.” pic.twitter.com/jWpBHJpW0B
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
6.
A dark worsted suit without a tie is like the night sky without stars. Kermit the Frog understands this, so he always makes sure he has something—sheen, color, or pattern—between his jacket’s front edges. This adds a bit of visual interest to what’s a very sober ensemble. pic.twitter.com/UpdaLD6x5S
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
7.
Kermit also knows that if he doesn’t want to wear a tie, he should opt for a more casual top. He often reaches for a charcoal turtleneck. Since turtlenecks aren’t meant to be worn with ties, he doesn’t look like he’s missing something. pic.twitter.com/flFwX0fTQv
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
8.
Since Piers seemingly only has dark worsted suits in colors such as black, navy, or grey, he often looks like he’s just come out of a business meeting, even when he’s at social functions. pic.twitter.com/TfUuFqJowi
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
9.
No such issue for Kermit the Frog. He has a wider variety of options, such as tweeds, checked sport coats, and casual suits made from materials like linen and available in colors like cream. This allows him to look put together without seeming corporate. pic.twitter.com/3Nz70NxVBr
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
10.
For a more casual look, Piers often wears these plain, smooth Merino sweaters in solid colors. These sweaters can sometimes be fine under a tailored jacket, but on their own, they lack something. pic.twitter.com/55cVzxyTmj
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
11.
No such issue for Kermit the Frog. He knows that if you’re going to wear a sweater on its own, the knit needs something like a pattern or texture to make it interesting. Good options include spongey Shetlands, chunky Arans, Fair Isles, and ribbed Shaker knits. pic.twitter.com/WjfkDv0cyp
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
12.
The biggest issue with Piers’ casualwear is that it has no direction. It’s sort of a mishmash of generic clothes: polos and button-up shirts with pre-washed blue jeans or flat-front beige chinos, sometimes layered with a plain Merino sweater. pic.twitter.com/XBnOlnHQNK
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
13.
When he layers, the outfits lack cultural meaning or coherency (e.g., topcoat with polo and sweatpants). When he tries to look a bit cooler, he thinks only in terms of single items (e.g., the black dress shirts popular with divorced men hitting the club). pic.twitter.com/uo8CUyzMKh
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
14.
Kermit doesn’t think of outfits in parts or as a pseudo-science (e.g., black goes with blue), but as cultural language. He thinks of the *total* outfit and what it conveys. The rebel look with a biker jacket and jeans. Or the time he wore white suits with gold chains in the ’70s pic.twitter.com/Y6PZvTg2pk
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
15.
Here, we see him taking chances with a beautifully patterned serape and a safari jacket worn with a neckerchief and beret. pic.twitter.com/HkBhGQ9nCx
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
16.
Men often struggle with this because their identity may be rooted in just being a “normal dude,” so they see any outfit that deviates from some middle-class uniform as “cosplay.”
But do you think a frog actually herds cattle? pic.twitter.com/OleePuztAC
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
17.
By thinking of clothes as cultural language, Kermit is able to put together cooler outfits. Here, he’s channeling 1980s Miami Vice energy with a lightweight jacket, pink mock neck, striped pants, white horsebit loafers, and giant sunglasses. pic.twitter.com/S7QkibjfTS
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
18.
Compare these two outfits. Piers’ black polo with checked knee-length shorts and bad sneakers says nothing. But Kermit’s cargo shorts with an Aloha shirt, fishing bag, and straw hat says: “I’m a mid-century sportsman on vacation.” pic.twitter.com/LOSU1B4zDs
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
19.
To develop your visual vocabulary, you have to pay attention to culture. Think about how clothes were worn in the past by various cultural groups. Here we see all the references for Kermit’s outfit above. pic.twitter.com/JDAE9cbF2z
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
20.
You can see how the same language is channeled in Aime Leon Dore’s spring/ summer lookbook. The outfit on the right is a little better because the man is wearing a jacket (outfits often need a finishing layer). But perhaps Kermit was hot that day. pic.twitter.com/q7HHqmR26z
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
21.
We see the same issues here. Piers is wearing a slim, shapeless topcoat with a stretched-out V-neck, a white dress shirt, a scarf, bad jeans, and suede loafers (confusing, no cultural message, aesthetically unappealing). pic.twitter.com/CeWHYKHegX
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
22.
Kermit wears a similar outfit but employs a field parka, a Fair Isle knit, and a scarf. The coat gives him a distinctive silhouette. The sweater is visually more interesting. All the elements in the outfit make sense in terms of weather and cultural language. pic.twitter.com/liTdAm9LI3
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
23.
Again, the same issue here. Piers is wearing generic clothes (no cultural message, lack of a finishing layer, visually uninteresting). Kermit improves on this by aligning the materials (chambray with denim) and using an open shirt as a lightweight layer. Has a workwear vibe. pic.twitter.com/j83qdH7IoP
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
24.
Finally, Kermit knows that dinner suits (aka tuxedos) should be worn with black bow ties made from the same material as the jacket’s facings, not long black ties, which should be reserved for business meetings, court appearances, and funerals. pic.twitter.com/wcAwakl7Ar
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
25.
Piers looks best on his TV show, where he employs a visual language he knows (dark suit, light shirt, dark tie). He just needs to learn a few more languages for when he’s off the show and perhaps pay attention to Kermit the Frog. pic.twitter.com/3UUkFZW4jL
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) April 30, 2024
And here are just a few of the comments it prompted.
This thread is incredible… who knew Kermit was such a style ICON https://t.co/cA9PTHcurP
— Myf Warhurst (@MyfWarhurst) April 30, 2024
This thread is a delight for so many reasons, and I did an embarrassing snort at “the black dress shirts popular with divorced men hitting the club”.
Glorious. https://t.co/Esp4ojQWsj
— Mitten d’Amour (@MittenDAmour) May 1, 2024
[me wearing odd socks and a bra I am 99% sure doesn’t *quite* fit me to work under my NHS uniform that thank fuck I have to wear because I cannot be trusted to choose a different outfit every morning]: fuck him UP, DEREK https://t.co/4Ulnl0Magz
— Sorcha Ní Nia (@Luiseach) May 1, 2024
rarely is trolling this diligent and intense: https://t.co/9dxu1wznGZ
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) April 30, 2024
Hello, yes. I’d like to report a murder. No no, don’t send anyone, I just wanted to report it. https://t.co/BSyz51UloH
— CT John Brown Gun Club (@ctjbgc) May 1, 2024
To conclude …
This is a thread for the ages. ❤️
— wine-stained lens (@winestainedlens) April 30, 2024
And this.
Piers Morgan’s sense of vanity is bigger than his control so I expect he’s going to have some sort of meltdown over this.
— Spotlight Abby (@Spotlight_Abby) April 30, 2024
And this.
This is possibly, culturally and structurally, the greatest tweet of all time.
— Eva Lomski (@EvaLomski) April 30, 2024
And also this!
Let’s not forget to credit the stylists responsible for Kermit’s consistent debonair look, including Stephen Rotondaro, Connie Peterson, and Polly Smith, inventor of the sports bra, among others in the Workshop. https://t.co/UyeEdLsYjf
— Richard Microphone Gomez (@StarmansArt) April 30, 2024
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