Keanu Reeves Wears the Same Thing Over and Over—and I Love Him for It

by Giselle Childs

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Getty Images

Keanu, Keanu, Keanu! You’d be hard-pressed to spend a second on the internet without running into Keanu Reeves these days; improbably, even my dad knows something's up. What he fails to grasp, though, is how Keanu became The One (again), and it’s a good question. It’s certainly a Keanu year. He’s in three films: Always Be My Maybe, in which he plays a comedic version of the Keanu you think you know; John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum; and Toy Story 4. But lots of actors release multiple works a year without the internet working overtime on relentless thirst and enthusiastic exaltation. Why him? Why now? Why is my heart racing when I think about him in a black blazer?

Some might chalk it up to that good-old je ne sais quoi, but not me. In terms of the “quoi,” je sais exactement: Keanu seems to be authenticity personified, and in a world where artifice reigns supreme (see: Lil Miquela, a computer-generated activist and influencer with 1.6 million followers), that's kind of a diamond in the rough. Keanu is the rare red pill among an ocean of blue. Why wouldn’t we choose it?

Through this rose-colored Keanu lens, we see that, like his Something’s Gotta Give co-star Diane Keaton, Keanu, 54, is aging gracefully—and with style. He's graying now and generally a little bit looser, but then again, so am I. So are all of us. These days, with Chads (aka seriously disturbed wannabe Ken dolls) lurking around every dark corner of the internet, there's something comforting in a Hollywood man who completely disregards the Hollywood imperative—visual perfection at all costs—while still remaining undeniably attractive as a leading man and the object of our affections.

Photo:

Getty Images

What he has retained from his youth, however, are his sartorial sensibilities: In case you missed it, Keanu Reeves has been wearing the same things for years, and I love him for it. His uniform of black tees and suits, an occasional boost of beige to lighten things up a bit, and Mandarin collars (a nod to his Chinese heritage?) reads as considered nonchalance, though it’s no doubt been polished by his stylist of 21 years, Jeanne Yang.

As someone who can never decide what to wear in the morning and always chooses something a little too short, a little too tight, a little too uncomfortable, I really appreciate the inevitable self-awareness and self-assuredness of figuring out a uniform and sticking to it—especially in a world as demanding and critical about aesthetics and newness as Hollywood. It's pretty zen if you think about it.

That Keanu, whose name literally means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian (almost too good to be true), would induce a sort of calm even in the consistency of his wardrobe makes sense. He might have played an FBI agent, a demon hunter, a curious computer programmer, a total bonehead, and more, but in the end, he's just like us—only human. Likes his comfort, his privacy, and his motorcycle. Does good deeds when he can.

We could all stand to be a bit more comfortable, a bit more Keanu-ish. To inject your wardrobe with a dose of everyone's internet boyfriend, keep scrolling to see the looks he's favored over the years and find out what to add to your closet to channel his cool, calm, and collected vibe.