The blue waistcoats that Arjen Lubach always wears in his Evening Show cost taxpayers thousands of euros every year, says media critic Victor Vlam. “A stylist will prepare it.”
Arjen Lubach is back on the air with a new season of his program De Avondshow. Many people have noticed that his crest is much lower than normal, including media critic Victor Vlam. “Arjen started the fifth season with a noticeably shorter haircut. A smaller quiff,” he says in the podcast The Communicados.
Blue waistcoat
However, it is precisely his clothing that needs an adjustment, according to Victor. “What has not changed is Arjen’s waistcoat. The fact is that we have been looking at a dark blue waistcoat that he wears day in and day out for more than two years now. It’s always that dark blue waistcoat. There are several colors of blue, but he always chooses dark blue.”
What does co-host Lars Duursma, a renowned communications expert, think about this? “This especially shows to me how much easier men have it on TV than women, because just try to imagine if we had a female presenter who has been wearing the exact same shirt for two years.”
Ocher yellow
A woman who wears the same blouse for two years? Impossible, says Lars. “And sometimes maybe just a little more ocher yellow and then slightly different shades of yellow, but exactly the same for two years… Everyone would comment on it. You only bring it up to Arjen Lubach after it has been like this for two years.”
Victor: “Yes, I have to be honest… It’s a very distinct style choice with a waistcoat like that. It’s clearly not a standard thing. You could say about a suit: that is what is expected of you in that role. But a waistcoat, usually with a tie, is quite a distinct style choice. But I think it really needs to be updated.”
Why waistcoat?
Why does Arjen actually wear a waistcoat? “I think I have an explanation for it. I think he does that because he makes himself a bit of a character. The same way Laurel and Hardy always wore the same thing. Your clothes then actually become a kind of costume. And that is something you can hide behind.”
You can then behave crazier than when you are in your normal clothes, the media expert explains. “Then you feel more pressure to be normal. So I think that’s behind it. But I have to be honest: I think it really needs some updating. As far as I’m concerned, that should be different.”
Thousands of euros
The most scandalous thing about those waistcoats is that they cost thousands of euros per year in taxpayers’ money, according to Victor. “Arjen Lubach is a television star. He has a stylist. So there is someone in Hilversum who gets thousands of euros transferred to his or her account every year.”
Absurd, he thinks. “All that person has to do is show up at the start of each new season of The Evening Show with ten new dark blue waistcoats!”