The more I peruse the popular websites for men’s clothing (Huckberry, and Mr Porter for example — Esquire and GQ have lost their minds as far as I’m concerned), and the more I look around, the more I am convinced that the examples that we followed when learning to dress well at the middle and end of the last century are still true, if no longer valid.
What’s held up: proportion, fit, silhouette, color.
What’s changed: proportion, fit, silhouette, color… Sort of, but not drastically. Most evident of all things that have changed are appropriateness, or “occasion”, and color, I suppose.
Last weekend Mrs. E. and I attended a funeral, or a “celebration of life” as they are more likely to be called. Our friend had asked that we not wear “sombre colors.” She requested bright and vivd, her preferences, as was readily evident to anyone who knew her. I chose a charcoal grey pinstriped suit, black oxfords, a blue shirt with white pinned Eton collar, a pink (!) tie and a white linen pocket square. Mrs. E. was in a multi-color striped cotton dress.
The service was held in the chapel of the Episcopal boys school where she worked for close to 40 years; the same school where Mrs. E continues to teach. It’s the sort of school where bright clothing is more the rule than the exception, being both Southern and prep.
Looking around at the congregants, I was struck at what my dad would call the “low church” dress code. Not the women, mind you. Color was the order of the day and the frocks were Lily, or Talbots, or the like, with pinks, reds, greens, and yellows on full display.
It was cheery in the bright sun. More garden party than funeral.
It was the men who were in what I think of as Country Club Cocktail Clothing. Blue blazers, checked/windowpaned sportscoats, khakis and chinos (all slim-cut, flat front with no break), lots of gingham and checked shirts in lavender, blue, and pink with ties to compliment. Driving shoes or derbys — in brown or tan — were the footwear of choice. (Socks, when worn, were equally as colorful as the shirts and ties.)
I might as well as worn a frock coat.
So that’s what I’ve been thinking about: how to dress well without looking dated. Stay tuned.