Mock It All You Want, But There’s a Reason Techies and Bankers Love Vests

The fleece vest has become such a standard accessory for office-bound tech and finance workers that it verges on parody. Since 2017 the savagely hilarious Instagram account Midtown Uniform has been vest-shaming its Patagonian ubiquity as well as the choice of colors that range from navy blue to, well, royal blue.

But guys still love them, says Patrick Kenger, whose Pivot Image Consulting styles male clients who are often in tech and entrepreneurial fields. “It’s the perfect middle-ground piece,” he says. “You could have a button-up shirt and some dress trousers and throw that on, and it would look appropriate. They absolutely have a place in 2022 menswear.”