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Conservative Clean vs. Playmaker Clean: How former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin created his own unique style

The following story is a part of SportsDay Style, the subscriber-only magazine that published in August. To subscribe to the Dallas Morning News, click here.

Back in the day, Michael Irvin would wear a nine-button suit and make it look good.

But fashion and audiences change. Style evolves.

These days, Irvin can become as passionate talking about his wardrobe as he does his Hall of Fame career. The former Cowboys receiver doesn't just go to his closet and throw something on. He takes into account whom he'll be meeting and the message he wants to send. Irvin generally sports a look he calls Conservative Clean. From there it's a short step to Playmaker Clean, an approach he intends to market and sell online later this year.

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While Irvin has a distinct style, he makes it clear he's not the stylist. That would be his wife, Sandy. She keeps up with the trends and imposes a certain continuity and discipline in his wardrobe that wouldn't exist otherwise.

Sandy, as shy as her husband is gregarious, acknowledges her voice in the process. Irvin calls the two a perfect team.

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"She's so into style,'' Irvin says. "I say to her, 'Listen, I'm just a mannequin.' She's great at putting things together, and I have the perfect physique.

"It is the truth.''

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin shows off one of four of...
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin shows off one of four of his drawers of ties with his wife, Sandy Irving, at their Plano home on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. He said Sandy is his stylist. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)
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Irvin's appreciation of fashion began during his time with the Cowboys. Having the money to spend on nice clothes, which his family couldn't afford as he grew up in a poor neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, helped spark his interest.

Deion Sanders shares that interest. One of the photos in the study of Irvin's spacious Plano home is of himself and the Hall of Fame cornerback, all in white, at an event.

Fashion isn't just an expression. It's a competition. Once Sanders joined the Cowboys, he and Irvin would rush to the team charter after games and sit next to each other. The purpose: judge how everyone else on the Cowboys was dressed as they walked down the aisle of the plane.

There were two categories. Players who didn't make star money usually spent much less on clothing. Irvin and Sanders put those players in the neck tag category, meaning they bought their clothes off the rack with a tag labeled small, medium or large.

The true competition was among the players with a breast tag.

"You see what that says,'' Irvin says, opening his jacket to point to the lining on his pocket. "Michael Irvin, 88. That's exclusively made for this fellow right here.

"Nothing on my neck.''

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Not everyone embraces Irvin's passion.

"Listen, when I first walked back in the neighborhood and had some skinny jeans, they killed me, man,'' Irvin remembers. "They would ask, 'Why are those jeans so tight?'

"I had to try to tell them, 'Listen, dude, you understand I'm not dressing from whence I came, this ghetto. I'm dressing from whence I want to go.''

There are no more nine-button suits in Irvin's wardrobe. That was fine when he was a player. But he's a TV personality now with the NFL Network and Showtime. An entrepreneur.

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Irvin was watching the lead-up to an NBA game earlier this year and noticed that Miami's Dwyane Wade arrived wearing pants cut off right below the knees with a nice pair of shoes. Gaucho pants. He loved the look but thought about how it doesn't always translate.

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin shows off an embroidered...
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin shows off an embroidered custom suit jacket at his Plano home on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

"You can wear that as a shooting guard, but no one wants to see him walk up in a boardroom at IBM dressed like that,'' Irvin says. "You know what I'm saying. When he gets ready to leave the court, that will dwindle away.

"If I want someone to invest their resources with my resources so we can do a business together, I can't just come in thinking about my style. I've got to think about their style.

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"It's not just that you know how to dress. Do you know when to dress how? That's important, too. It shows a little range.

"You have to show you understand the moment.''

This moment is about being true to himself while adapting to more of a corporate environment.

"I cross worlds,'' Irvin says. "First and foremost, I am a brother whose style must go on being the brother I am. But I'm a businessman and there is a style to being a businessman. Got to try to blend all of it together.

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"What I do, I call it Conservative Clean. It means I can wear this anywhere and it's OK. I can wear it to a business meeting but can walk into a tough area. I want to put my style on it and be able to walk into any arena in any area and speak to any group of people without losing credibility because Ilook like a clown.''

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin poses for a portrait with...
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin poses for a portrait with his wife, Sandy Irving, at their Plano home on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. He said Sandy is his stylist. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

Don't let the word conservative throw you. The suit itself may be traditional, but that doesn't mean he'll complete the look in traditional fashion. He's always looking to do something different, to add a bit of dash or flair with what he calls the guts of the style.

That could be putting together stripes and polka dots to pull out a certain look. On this afternoon, he's wearing a shirt with broad horizontal stripes to go with a bold pinstripe suit.

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"People will say you can't go crossways on the shirt with this suit,'' Irvin says. "But when you're fine like me, you can go crossways.

"It's a conscious style, something you won't find anywhere else. Almost every other person will tell you the stripes must only go up and down. They will call this a fashion faux pas and all that junk they come up with.

"With that, I say get out of here. Who said it was a fashion faux pas? Just because some dude said you can't wear that doesn't mean I can't wear it.

"You can wear it if you can wear it right.''

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Irvin and his wife intend to expand their scope. The two intend to launch the Michael Irvin Collection online sometime this fall.

You will see the Conservative Clean concept. And then there's Playmaker Clean.

"There's a feeling you take everywhere you go, an attitude about it,'' Irvin says. "It starts with what you have covering you. That tells me somewhat what you have in you because you made the decision.

"With Playmaker Clean, you walk in with a certain attitude about everything you do. I'm coming to be a Playmaker. I'm ready. I'm prepared. Let's go and get it done.

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"It's all about attitude and mind-set.''

Irvin is convinced what you wear helps establish that mind-set.