Fans Share Mixed Reactions to Ken Jennings’ ‘Jeopardy!’ Style Makeover

One thing that has caught Jeopardy! fans’ attention this season, other than the contestants’ impressive knowledge, is host Ken Jennings‘ style.

“My wife and I believe Ken has a new wardrobe consultant this season, and that person is pushing the envelope — almost daily — with more adventurous pairings of shirts and ties,” one person wrote via Reddit on Wednesday, October 29, alongside a snap of Jennings sporting a multi-colored plaid shirt and red tie on the show. “Is this a positive development?”

Fans filled the thread with their opinions on Jennings’ recent style choices. “It’s called power clashing, and he does it because he can,” one person wrote, while another added, “My grandma is in her 90s, diehard Alex and Jeopardy! fan. It’s been hard for her to let go of [Alex] Trebek, but one thing she’s always said about Ken is that he has the nicest suits.”

“I like it. Why not,” someone else posted, while another fan shared a different opinion. “I am not a fan of the plaid shirts,” they wrote.

“I have to politely disagree with the consensus here, his shirt and tie combos have been horrible and feel like they’re getting worse,” a separate user stated. “I have a decent tie collection so every night I give my wife my impression of his outfit. 4/5 days recently it has been negative.”

Earlier this month, a Facebook user posted a photo of Jennings wearing a white paisley-print shirt and a matching blue paisley tie. “Who picked out this shirt and tie? Awful 🙁,” they captioned the October 16 post.

In the comments, several fans questioned why Jennings’ fashion preferences matter to others. “Why are there people who keep commenting about Ken’s fashion taste. People watch the show because of the trivia and the intellect it’s not a fashion show,” one person wrote, while another added, “Who cares? He looks clean, pressed and sharp IMO.”

“I never notice what shirt/tie Ken is wearing. That’s not the reason I watch Jeopardy. Although I am a Ken Jennings fan and I think he is doing an awesome job,” someone else commented, while a different user complimented Jennings by writing, “He looks great in it i kinda like it.”

Ahead of the show’s Season 42 premiere last month, Jennings showed off his expansive tie collection via Instagram, sharing that former host Trebek’s “wardrobe guy,” Steven Zimbelman, helps him with his looks for the show.

“We’ve got about 220 here. I personally like a good floral. Isn’t that nice?” Jennings stated while displaying some of his favorite ties. “And a lot of paisley. Steve and I both love paisley, so there are a lot of these.” Jennings also shared that his ties are scanned and documented in a special “Tie Bible.”

Jennings even roasted some of the past outfits he wore as a Jeopardy! contestant in a hilarious September 22 Instagram video. “If I’m seeing that right, that is a terrible tie. And really, it’s a color of shirt I would never wear,” he said of a clip of himself sporting a tan button-down and a tie featuring Coca-Cola bottles on it. “I guess if you like Coca-Cola, you’re into that outfit. That’s really unfortunate.”

Scroll down to see some of Jennings’ best Jeopardy! Season 42 looks so far:

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