Cool, 50 degree F (10 C) morning and the first post-summer day that I wore a relatively heavy 13 ounce suit like the gray herringbone in the photo.
I've been in ten ouncers for most of the past six months, dropping down to nine ounce cloth on hot days and going up to 11 and 12 ounce stuff on days when the fog brought back memories of the old saw (erroneously attributed to Mark Twain) that a San Francisco summer was the coldest winter he ever spent. But this was my first fall suit-wearing day and, though the weight was fine in the morning and evening, the afternoon sunshine taught me that it's not quite the season for 13 ounce cloth yet.
But that wasn't all. Looking for a contrasting texture, I chose a new necktie in midnight blue Irish poplin. That worked about as well as the suit. Where a satin tie would have reflected light and livened up the look, the poplin was just too drab.
Accompanied by a blue box check shirt, black stitched cap Balmorals, and a white linen pocket square.
Nobody's perfect.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Nobody's Perfect
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12 comments:
Will,
I pick up my new gray flannel suit from Paul Stuart today. Thanks for the idea of satin.
Will, it's not that bad. It let's the material of the suit do all the work.
Maybe it's just the photo, but if you had opted for a very light blue shirt instead of the white you could have achieved the desired effect. The skin tone seems to be over powered by the contrast of the tie-white shirt-mid gray texture. Come to think of it, a very subtle hue of pink as a shirt would match the color in the neck.
Our coloring changes from day to day in subtle but very marked ways. I start with a white shirt to see what color my face has that morning. And then try to find something that flatters- light blue is a go to color. White can be too revealing or unflattering for aging men. I had some gray-hued shirts made just to off-set days when I'm particularly wrecked.
Besides, if you are not making mistakes every now and then you're not going to be better dressed.
So I'd say, maybe not perfect, but still damned nice...
I thought no cap with suit...
Oxfords are the shoes for suits, and a stitched cap Bal is on the conservative side of the oxford family.
I always enjoy your blog but unfortunately don't get the 3 roll 2 thing.
That button hole on the lapel ... bleah
Weird coincidence. I wore a similar grey suit today (2 button), a blue glen plaid shirt, and an almost identical navy blue tie. It was a cool 50 degrees this morning, and got up to mid 70's by afternoon.
While not in perfect agreement with pabloj, I am curious about the reasons behind your preference for 3-button soft lapel jackets. Is it an aesthetic choice or is there some utility behind it? I do imagine it would be nice on cooler days to be able to button oneself up a few extra inches...
I think the overall effect of your outfit is quite nice actually. Sometimes I prefer an understated tie for the same reasons I occasionally prefer one with a bit more pizazz.
Who makes the jacket in the photo? Looks nice!
Tell me about it!
Here in Boston, it's been freezing cold every morning for weeks, but by lunchtime the temperature has reached 75 degrees with 100% humidity. Once the sun goes down,(at 6 p.m.-ish) it drops to a raw 45 degrees.
Damn near impossible to dress for if you're planning to be out all day.
Well, bleah was probably too much, but for me a 3 roll 2 is really a 2 button jacket with it's lapel decorated with a buttonhole shaped stitching (as you can't actually fasten it and keep the jacket's shape) while a 3 roll 2.5 looks really like a very soft and comfortable 3 button jacket (saying this because 3 button jackets often look stiff).
Regards
Jim, it's my own design and I offer them for sale with bespoke quality cloth.
Pablo, I enjoy having every style of jacket and that includes 3 roll 2.
I misunderstood. I thought you meant cap as in headgear….
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