I love your analysis and agree with most of it but Irving! I think his wardrobe actually says a lot about his character. (I love character clothing analyses so I hope you don't mind me adding to the conversation.)
I'd argue Irving Bailiff is the one who dresses his innie most distinct from himself. Outie Irving wears dark, grungy, leather clothing and beanies, and he dresses his innie formally, in vests and suspenders. But what's really striking to me isn't just the contrast in formality. It's the fact that Irving B's wardrobe mirrors Kier Eagan's.
And it’s not just his clothes that are similar to Kier’s. It's his face, way of speaking, association with water, narrative arcs, etc. To go into detail, the egg book scene in Defiant Jazz has him looking at Kier Eagan like he's looking at a mirror. Irving also implied to compare himself and Burt to Kier and Imogene when discussing The Courtship of Kier and Imogene painting.
The topic of water is also very important because Lumon is most associated with it, too. It's in everything from their history, to their logo, the water tower, their paintings, and MDR file names. Mr. Milchick compares Irving to a "tall glass of water", he nearly drowns Helena, his name means "fresh water" or "green water", his outie facts include him valuing water and swimming gracefully and well, he was in the navy.. among many other things. Irving is also the only MDR member who always wears cool colors—particularly blue, which is Lumon's defining color.
I mean, how ironic. One of the characters most hateful of Lumon dresses his innie like the founder. But why? Well, like the other MDR members, I think their appearances roughly relate to their reasons for severing.
I suppose Mark cares enough to shave, but he often wears the same suit, and constantly gets comments from his coworkers that he looks like he was food poisoned or that he's sick and hungover. (Reghabi's comment about his dryer being broken says a lot too, lol) His lack of being put together is an extension of his grief over Gemma, which is especially noticeable when you compare his innie to how he looked when Gemma was alive.
Dylan G's wardrobe is made of plain browns and neutrals. Nothing else about his appearance is particularly distinguishable. It communicates that he severed for a pretty normal reason: to simply make a living and support his family.
Helena wears dresses, skirts, sweaters, and heels, as well as having her hair down neatly and nails done. Her formal-casual appearance, combined with her distinctive blue dresses (or sometimes green and yellow), are to make her innie appear as a propaganda piece for Lumon. So of course Helly would hate the way she's dressed the most. Not just because of the skirts and heels, but the fact she was created to be Lumon's promotional doll.
With Irving, I don't doubt his clothing is to prevent Lumon from being suspicious of him. But I don't think that's his main reason. I think he's fooling not only Lumon that he's loyal to the company, but also his innie.
For the first 3 years he was alive, Irving B genuinely believed what he was doing was good. When describing his initial impression of Lumon to Helly, he said, "It's an unnatural state for a person to have no history. History makes us someone. Gives us a context. A shape. But waking up on that table, I was shapeless. But then I learned that I work for a company that has been actively caring for mankind since 1866." I don't think he fixated on Lumon because he was spiritual or a religious fanatic or because he was afraid of punishment. It's because, at his core, he's altruistic. He wants to have a purpose in life and for that purpose to be good. And Lumon's selfless facade, combined with how his outie dressed him, effectively made him loyal. It was only until he saw visions from his outie, the love he had with Burt, and the truth behind Lumon's lies that he began to reconsider.
But, like every other severed person, I don't think Irving Bailiff and Irving B are that different from each other. Irving Bailiff is also altruistic. His Wellness facts state that he's generous, that he's friends with many people, that he's helpful, that he was in a newspaper holding a trophy. And he wants to investigate and take down Lumon for presumably moral reasons. We've seen how uncomfortable he is when faced with upsetting or problematic information, particularly about Lumon. His determination to send the message of the testing floor proves how fixated he can be. This goes both ways, and I think outie Irving knows this.
I think Irving B being loyal to Lumon and oblivious to what he was doing is exactly what Irving Bailiff wanted. This is translated perfectly with his wardobe.
In the first episode of season 2, Irving told Dylan, "The last time I was happy was when all I knew was MDR." What he's really saying is that his ignorance was bliss. That if he didn't spend time with Burt and learn the truth about Lumon, he would be fine. His guilt upon knowing what he was doing was so strong he no longer wanted to live. I think the same can be said for his outie.
It's hard to determine every or even any detail of Irving's past, but we do know he's been with Lumon for 9 years—only 3 of those years he's been severed. Since he knows what the testing floor looks like, I think it's likely he worked down there, or worked in the severed floor unsevered in some way. (I'm disregarding the "test subject chip malfunctioned" theory. Just doesn't align with his motivations imo and too similar to Gemma's story.) So his guilt upon doing so may have been so unbearable, he quit. But instead of trying to separate his life from Lumon entirely, he chose to sever.
Irving B essentially did the same things that Irving Bailiff did—the only difference is that Irving Bailiff knew what he was doing and Irving B didn't.
So ultimately, I think Irving's clothes tell us that he severed to forget what he did, yet his goal to take down Lumon and love for Burt eventually made him want to remember.
dailybridgerton
2087
kianamaiart
turnnoffyourmind
germansingergirl
yousharknotpass
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
