The Creator's Suit of Armor
Sometimes, when you have a big creative project to work on, a mountain to scale, you have to do something extreme.
In order to make progress on her groundbreaking essays, poetry, and other writing, Maya Angelou famously rented a hotel room and forced herself to write. She had all the art taken off the walls, and refused to let the staff change the sheets (because she never slept there). " I go into the room and I feel as if all my beliefs are suspended," she said. "Nothing holds me to anything."
Some writers, such as Roald Dahl, Mark Twain, and Agatha Christie, built or converted writing huts in order to get into the flow and write consistently. Brandon Sanderson took it one step further and built a fantastical secret underground lair in suburban Utah. French Impressionist painter Claude Monet built a garden paradise at Giverny, and surrounded himself with beauty and friends and canvases.
Other creatives use their wardrobes to signal that it’s time to create. Steve Jobs famously wore a black Issey Miyake turtleneck and jeans most days. Albert Einstein chose a gray suit as his daily uniform. At one point in his career, French composer Erik Satie is said to have had seven identical gray velvet suits made, one to wear each day of the week.
"Limit your practical choices to free your creative imagination," music producer Rick Rubin has said.
Why waste creative energy on what you will wear? Instead, use your wardrobe as a way to shape a creative habit.
Photographs of Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt often show him wearing a painting gown. He wore them not only for practical reasons—painting with oil paints is messy—but as a symbol of devotion to his art. The gown made him look almost monk-like. It was a visible marker of his dedication.
Sometimes, when you are trying to do something great, you have to do something extreme. In the war of art, it helps to have a castle—and a suit of armor.
Mark
P.S. If you are working on a big creative project right now, I have a story for you.
I have been doing a lot of writing this summer. I’m writing a book. So I decided to take a cue from Erik Satie and make a sort of uniform for myself.
It’s a plain black shirt.
I had it custom-printed and sent to me. The rule is that when I put on This Black Shirt, I can’t go to sleep again until I spend a significant amount of time creating. (Social media posts don’t count.)
For me, it means that I need to spend at least an hour (usually 2–4 hours) writing my book.
I designed a secret inner label that no one else can see. It says “This Black Shirt is for creating.”
What does this mean for you? Some people were asking me where to get one, so I built an online shop where you can buy one for yourself.
Is it a magic shirt? No. From one vantage point, it’s just a plain black shirt.
From another, it is a uniform, a badge of honor, a secret handshake, a covenant. When you put on This Black Shirt, you commit to yourself that you will create. This day. This hour. This minute.
The only visual element that proclaims that this black shirt is a This Black Shirt is a simple logo on the inside label that says, "This Black Shirt is for creating." And a small logo on the left sleeve.
Which means we'll keep this just between us. But I’ll give you a silent nod as we pass on the sidewalk or the hallway or the subway. I see you. And I’m with you.
Don't over-think this. You don't need one of these shirts to create. You can just start creating, right now. But if you want one of these shirts, get it ordered before October 1st, 2023.
This is only a pop-up store, and it will go away in October.
If you do want a shirt, use the code TBS10 at checkout to get 10% off your first order.
Go to https://thisblackshirt.com to get one today.