Irving's Fashion Principles

In high school, Irving was just starting to explore fashion and took small risks. He was still attempting to appear laid-back—with odds out Polo shirts and sweats, which, fun fact, were huge back in the 80s. In college, he became more comfortable with experimenting as he began to wear bowties instead of traditional ties. He even considered turning his passion for fashion into a career at the time! “I wanted to major in fashion merchandise in college. I wanted to be the Black Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren.” He expresses, “At the time when I was doing that, I graduated college in 87’, so there were no guys in fashion merchandise. I ended up peer pressuring out of it. I was the only boy to take home economics with all girls sewing and making clothes.”

Although he didn’t major in fashion merchandising, he never let go of his passion and began exploring fashion in his own way. He doesn’t have a singular fashion icon, rather he takes inspiration from his vast collection of GQ magazines. “I have every GQ magazine from the last 15 years, so what I do is I look at fashion. What I do is incorporate styles from different people.” 

Even today, he continues to bring his sense of style into the workplace, continuing to show off his outfits daily on campus. “I don't consider myself to be a traditional principal. If you look at most principals they're ordinary. I’m not that kinda guy.”

But, how does Irving prepare his outfits? According to him, he spends roughly 15-20 minutes every night preparing what he’s going to wear for the following day. “White shirts go with everything,” he says, indicating a clear theme he likes to follow. Irving names a few fashion staples in his closet, “There are certain types of white shirts where the collars are really fresh. I also like to rotate around with black, navy, beige, and grey. Jos. A. Bank’s bowties, two tone loafers, and baggy pants are big for me.” Irving also tells us the science behind his choices, “I like certain things to flow. It's a conscious effort every morning, what am I gonna wear—how it's coordinated.” He follows other themes, such as wearing brown and gold pants on Fridays and making sure his hat and glasses frame matches each other.  

Did you know there isn’t a randomness to when Irving wears the Spartan blue and gold cardigan? He proudly shows Pinole pride every Friday!

Outside of work life, Irving loves to wear spring colors, such as yellow, pink, and lavender. “I am totally comfortable with who I am as a man. Real men wear pink.” Following this, he also adds, “People think I’m gay all the time, especially because I like getting my nails done. It’s a compliment when someone thinks you’re gay because it just tells me I have style. I don’t like that macho masculinity type of person.”

Irving doesn't just use clothing to define his style. He also has a couple piercings and several tattoos. He has his ear lobe and nostril pierced. He wishes to have the other side of his nose pierced someday, likely when he retires. All of his tattoos have a personal meaning behind them. A significant tattoo of his is a japanese koi fish, representing wisdom and prosperity. The names of his children are inked beside it because he wants to pass the good fortune onto them.  

If there’s any advice Irving can give regarding fashion, it’s to be a risk-taker and not care what anyone else thinks.