Australian TV host Karl Stefanovic's sexism experiment - same suit for year

Today presenter Karl Stefanovic wore this blue suit for a year, and no one noticed. Photo / Channel 9

Australian breakfast TV presenter Karl Stefanovic conducted a year-long experiment into the sexism faced by his female co-host Lisa Wilkinson by wearing the same suit every day for a year.

In order to test whether viewers would notice his choice of wardrobe, Stefanovic decided to wear his imitation Burberry suit to present Today, and ended up wearing it for a whole year without incident.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Stefanovic said: "No one has noticed; no one gives a s**t."

One observant clothing store did notice that Stefanovic enjoyed wearing his blue suit 'a little too much.'

In 2012, Briggins, a bespoke suit store, commented that Stefanovic might need help from the men's clothing store.

"Has anyone else noticed Karl Stefanovic wears that blue suit of his a little too much? We think BRIGGINS might have to add some more variety to his wardrobe!" Briggins posted on their company Facebook page.

Stefanovic said that he hadn't received any feedback about his serial suit wearing, in contrast to the barrage of comments his female co-hosts experienced.

"Women, they wear the wrong colour and they get pulled up. They say the wrong thing and there's thousands of tweets written about them."

Stefanovic has witnessed firsthand the treatment of his co-host Wilkinson, who has been the target of harsh comments regarding her style.

"Women are judged much more harshly and keenly for what they do, what they say and what they wear," said Stefanovic.

His frustration at this, he says, sparked his experiment.

"I've worn the same suit on air for a year - except for a couple of times because of circumstance - to make a point," he said.

"I'm judged on my interviews, my appalling sense of humour - on how I do my job, basically. Whereas women are quite often judged on what they're wearing or how their hair is ... that's [what I wanted to test]."

Social media users labeled the experience "magnificent", "fabulous" and called the Today host "a legend" and "as big as Kim Kardashian's butt".

Others wondered whether the message would make any impact, and commented that women in the media could not avoid being criticised.

"Stefanovic has shown, no matter what a man chooses to wear within a limited scope he will not be examined by the public. Female talk show hosts do not have that option. That's the point I think is being made. Female talk show hosts cannot escape this scrutiny," said one Twitter user.

Another pointed out that "female talk show hosts constantly have their wardrobe choices and bodies examined by the public. This is a consequence of being female. Being female in the workplace means there is no single way of dressing, so there is no escaping the criticism or admiration of the public."