Insouciance

My dress yesterday might have been a bit too studied. Navy serge suit, silver-gray shirt with white collar and cuffs, gray on white checked necktie, light gray, tan and dark gray pocket square, and maroon enamel cuff links. The pocket square put it over the top - it should have introduced a new color instead of repeating one.

Great dress should display insouciance, the appearance of indifference to the clothes one is wearing. Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown has it in the photo to the left and it's his hat band that does it for him. With a blue band he'd look too composed. As it is, the claret band introduces a new element that makes the whole thing work better together.

Contradictorilly, the appearance of indifference requires care. It's usually achieved by the deliberate introduction of elements that are unrelated to anything else that's worn that day. For example, a gray flannel suit worn with dark brown shoes, ecru end on end shirt, navy necktie, white linen pocket square and maroon cuff links. It's a combination that might almost have been thrown together, and that's insouciance.

Photo: Thomas Hawk