You’d think it’d be easy to dress the hot, bad boy vampire but when it comes to Damon Salvatore of The Vampire Diaries, that’s not the case. Yes, he’s a leather jacket loyalist and hardly ever gives any other color a chance except black.
But Damon’s style is not predictable at all. Granted the makers weren’t so sure about what his look is going to be and went back and forth quite a bit on the first season, but as the show progressed Damon emerged as the clear antithesis of his brother Stefan, in terms of personal styling. This helped the script enormously because it established their contrasting narratives perfectly. So, what are the hidden clues in Damon’s costumes which are total indicators for his narrative on the show?
Damon Had To Dress More Rugged
The script needed to establish Damon as the reckless, somewhat out-of-control Salvatore brother, a stark contrast to Stefan who has always been the good, responsible sibling. So, whenever Damon and Stefan shared the screen it was important that Damon came across as the ‘fun’ one, someone who didn’t spend hours deciding what to wear. Which is why he just pops up in a basic black V-neck so many times. Whenever he appeared with Stefan, he would be shown something edgier than his brother. If Stefan was wearing a shirt, Damon would be in all-leather or rugged denim.
Damon Does Not Need To Dress Younger
While Stefan had to fit in with a bunch of sophomores and had to curate a carefully planned wardrobe to look 18 and not 171, Damon never had to do that. Damon doesn’t go to school and he never really cared about blending in, so he could wear something really moody and pull it off.
That's why he could wander around Mystic Falls in an open-button black shirt or a really edgy leather jacket or even a blazer. Stefan never really ventured into adult dressing until the latter half of the second season.
What’s The Deal With The Black Shirts?
Damon is exactly the kind of vampire who’d pick something at random from his closet and wear it throughout the day. But why does his closet have so many solid black shirts? Yes, vampires love wearing dark colors, but throughout the first two seasons Damon hardly wears anything else. It’s possible that makers/producers were still trying to find his look, and a black shirt seemed like a safe bet, but as fun and unpredictable as his personality is, fans would have loved to see him in something different or even more adventurous.
A John Varvatos Man
Throughout the first three seasons, the four-pocket band collar jacket was something Damon literally never took off. It makes sense that Damon would wear something by menswear designer John Varvatos, who’s famous for his grungy, dark sartorial aesthetic. Fans also noticed that Damon never settled for a run-off-the-mill biker jacket because that’s just too mainstream. Plus, since Stefan had to be established as the thoughtful dresser, he was given tamer fashion picks. Lots of suedes and pea coats while Damon was seen in a lot of leather. Another one of his go-to leather jackets was a weathery four-flap sheepskin leather jacket which is, again not smooth or lean, but really edgy.
Klaus and Damon Are Similar Dressers
This may not come as a shock but Damon and Klaus dress the same way. They obviously exude the same bad boy energy and usually go for some really adventurous styling. So, they are often seen in Henleys, leather jackets, and solid v-necks. Despite their inherent animosity, Klaus and Damon actually have a lot in common since they share the same approach in vampiric living and aren’t particularly keen on hiding their lifestyle or blending in. The makers actually decided to depict their similarities with the help of their fashion choices.
Not A Fan of Layering?
This is something interesting fans pointed out pretty early on in the show. While Stefan is a huge fan of layering and actually puts a lot of thought into how he curates a look, Damon is decidedly not a fan. Vampires don’t need to cover up because they obviously do not have our body temperatures.
But layering up serves Stefan well because he can blend in among humans who are also bundled up like him during winters; plus layering obviously makes anyone look younger so he can fit in with the sophomores. Damon has no such hang-ups and is not even interested in blending in, so he doesn’t care about layering.
Dressing Up for Monsters Ball? Nah
In one of the episodes in Season 5, Elena’s college is having a Monsters Ball where people are expected to dress up like mythical monsters. And while every human attendee went with over the top costumes and dramatic cosplay, Damon literally showed up in an old timey white shirt. Because who needs to dress up like a monster when you’re the real deal, right? It’s really interesting because it’s realistic. If vampires did exist, they probably wouldn’t bother about dressing up for a costume party either.
Season 3: Damon Always Brought The Drama
Damon’s fashion sense had always been punchy but effortless. Even when the Salvatore brothers were young Southern gentlemen or lived through the early 1900s, Damon and Stefan had distinctly different styling choices. Stefan was the conscious dresser, all ascots and three-piece suits. But Damon, though flamboyant, wasn’t necessarily a stickler when it came to vintage dressing memos. Even retro Damon knew how to have fun with his clothes, from sharp three-piece suits and hat to vintage suspenders, he wore everything with a lot of flair and was often seen in something unconventional in terms of classic styling. Whereas Stefan was always the careful dresser, styled impeccably.
Country Man
Damon was born in the deep South and it’s entirely possible that he’d want to dress like a modern country dude. In Season 7, Damon was seen several times wearing harness boots which are something only often found unironically on a Country Outfitter catalog. But in all seriousness, harness boots are usually worn by bikers who are looking to prevent a foot injury; these boots are hardly fit for daily use. The fact that Damon wears it constantly throughout Season 7 is proof that he never really left his Southern roots behind and actually improvised some aspects into his personal styling.
He Looks Human In Season 7
Season 7 gave Damon a really unbelievable arc. He was coping with life without Elena, he was trying to save his friends, and he gets hurt several times. His life gets so intense that he gives up dressing like a vampire and starts dressing human! He rocks plaids, some basic tees, and even wears new colors like light blue! He even goes for a whole lumberjack vibe a couple of times during his adventures with Bonnie and that left fans decidedly confused. But the idea of the season was to make the audiences sympathetic towards his pain, considering he was going through so much so the casual fashion helped him make more humane.