This monologue on monograms is for men who wear their initials on their shirts, or are thinking about doing so. It's not intended for men who wear the initials of a shirt designer on their shirts, for they are not yet ready.
It's said that shirt monograms were first used by men to identify their shirts in the laundry. At the time most shirts were white and looked alike, so some form of identification was a necessity then just as it is today. After all, when a shirt doesn't have identification, the laundry applies its own mark, and that's usually something fairly unattractive. So monogrammed shirts serve a very practical function, one that is generally available only to men who have shirts made for themselves, as all dress shirt wearing men should.
A monogram of course is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters to form a single symbol (a series of uncombined initials, such as my own initials on the shirt in the photograph, is properly referred to as a cypher rather than a monogram, but most of us fail to distinguish between the two).
Now since a shirt's wearer presumeably knows who he is, we can ask ourselves who an identifying monogram might be intended for if it's not for the laundry. And the only conceivable answer is vanity. Which is why monograms should be placed out of sight, where the laundry can see them but not casual observers. The best location to my mind is inside the collar. Another that's barely acceptable is the lower left shirt front, below where the pocket would be if there was one (and of course there isn't). Initials there are covered by a man's jacket, and if he doesn't wear one all the time he shouldn't have his shirts monogrammed on his shirt front.
There is a reason for this discretion, and it's fairly simple. No-one will ever think less of a man for not having a monogrammed shirt, but there is a significant portion of the population that will think a visible monogram is showing off. Wise men who monogram do so out of sight.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
A Monologue on Monograms
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20 comments:
We are three men of almost the same size at home (myself and my sons), and cyphers are useful to differentiate shirts and to decide in which drawer thay have to go.
We have them below the (non existing) pocket.
By the way, white shirts can have white cyphers (you can see them if you look for them, but at some distance they go unnoticed).
As regards pockets for shirts, my shirtmaker does not make them, but they can be useful to store glasses when, growing older, you have to take them off for reading.
Will,
I really liked this post, principally for the folloing reasons:
1. Your candor in explaining what you suspect is the usual reason behind ostentatious placement and display of monograms and cyphers.
2. Your explianing the difference beteen a monogram and a cypher. I love learing new verbal overlooked by prevailing popular culture.
It's like the difference between "compose" and "comprise". The parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts. So please edit your December 28th post on patterned suits to change:
"Starting out, a man's suit wardrobe should be exclusively comprised of neutral patterns in fall and spring weights until there are at least a dozen, and in temperate climates as many as twenty, in his closet."
To....
"Starting out, a man's suit wardrobe should be composed exclusively of neutral patterns in fall and spring weights until there are at least a dozen, and in temperate climates as many as twenty, in his closet."
Or...
"Starting out, a man's suit wardrobe should comprise only a selection of neutral patterns in fall and spring weights until there are at least a dozen, and in temperate climates as many as twenty, in his closet."
;-P
And here I thought I was doing the right thing keeping the cyphers on the left front...
Learn something new everyday.
Thanks Will - I never want to come off as a showboat.
My shirtmaker puts my initials under every shirt's label with little cloth squares that have a letter printed on them already. It's functional, but not as pretty as a monogram.
You might find this explanation a bit too pragmatic, but I work for a firm (consulting) where I am supposed to remember the names of ~300 colleagues. And when we are interacting with clients, they need to remember our names too.
On both cases (remember our colleagues names, and having our clients remember ours), monograms become incredibly handy.
I have my initials put on the bottom left side of the shirts, the part that gets tucked into the trousers - about one inch from the bottom and two inches from the edge (or the placket, I think, is what the proper term is...)
This way I still have the option of taking off the jacket without the monogram or cypher being visible.
I wonder whether my shirtmaker does the "inside the collar" option, I like the way it looks.
Dear Will, I have been following your blog for some time now and am greatly enjoying it. Thanks.
Well, you've spoken clearly, Will. Thanks for answering my question.
My tailor charges an extra fee for embroidering the cyphers which roughly amounts to the price of a gin and tonic in my favourite bar, so I think for the next order (as my latest shirt will be delivered next week) I will eschew the initial altogether and go for the juniper insted.
Adrián
Will,
What do you think of engine-turned sterling belt buckles? Do you really think they're ostentatious?
Where braces are not an option for a man (as those certainly instill resentment in a good portion of the US populations), what type of belt is a man to wear? I find a discreet sterling engine-turned buckle (a la Tiffany's) to be perfect. Would love to hear your thoughts. Great blog.
Great post. I’m a big fan of monograms, one of those small luxuries in life.
As far as monograms/cyphers go, I have always utilized the "left-breast" location. While considered ostentatious by some or helpful by others, I simply find it to be an element of my style.
So, until the day that I may feel otherwise, I will continue to monogram, and do so in a variety of colors (red, navy, green, etc), so as to remind the casual observer that while they may think I'm "show-boating," I'm also having a good time with it.
This looks like a Hemrajani shirt. Love the club collar and the color of it. About the monogramming it all depends.... if i place it on the inner side on my cuff then i am still discrete. it also depends on how you carry yourself. You can be " Do i look like i give a DAMN" but not pretentious. So i do not agree with you. By the way i love your website but i havent seen you wear clothes that have a 'Worn look' to them.
Grouchy, to my mind the purpose of a wardrobe is to keep the contents looking timeless. I am routinely photographed in clothes that are 5-15 years old, like the shirt in this post and everything I'm wearing in the post that will run tomorrow, and I'm happy if it isn't obvious.
I must admit, if one is to have a monogram at all, inside the collar would seem to be a splendid location.
I have seen a monogram placed on the bottom front (left) tail of the shirt, on the placket itself, about an inch from the bottom. Also equally subtle, I feel.
I'm actually more interested in learning more about that style of shirt collar - what Brooks calls a "Club" collar. I have several of these myself, and am always on the lookout.
Will....You are at least an equal to others who posit on good taste and decorum and superior to many who purport in this day of Thom Browne to espouse quality, style and taste. One of the highlights of my year has been the discovery of your blog.
Now on to the cypher/monogram posting...as usual, you are correct. I've always needed the guidance of one who can cajole me into a greater level of restraint. I have an orange linen sportcoat in the closet right now as testimony to my need for restraint/guidance. However, I'm kinda at the midpoint with regard to cypher/monogram. If I'm considered a show-off then so be it. I like the idea of a monochromatic or slightly contrasting color cypher opposite my fifth shirt button. Discrete but slightly less tasteful than a hidden one....indeed. I'd rather take a bullet than have my cuff barrel violated with such.
I wish for you and yours a healthy and solvent New Year!
I'm a big fan of monograms. They personalize garments...practically making them a part of the family. They also demonstrate the committment one makes to one's clothing/closet. To monogram a garment means that it will be with you for a long time and that you will take care in maintaining that garment. I'll also say that being a big second-hand shopper, I never mind when something I purchase has someone else's monogram. That tells me that that garment has a story, has had a life, was loved, and is now moving on to a new chapter. It's like inheriting or purchasing an equisite watch, tie, or briefcase. This is what high-quality, designer consignment is all about.
I had Frank @ Riddle McIntyre in Chicago hand sew my last name on the shirt tail in bright red thread. I was tired of the cleaners writing my name on the tail of my shirts in black marker. Feeling I solved a problem I was heart broken when the cleaners wrote my name on the other side of the shirt tail.
A "monologue" on monograms? Surely you mean a monograph?
Monogram wouldn't be ungrammatical enough.
Anyone contemplating the use of monograms or cyphers should consult Jeeves -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2ya1NIvbLs&feature=related.
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