The concept of native dress has been around for literally centuries, and for most of that time it has been perfectly acceptable at the English court. That means garb ranging from saris to buckskin and feathered headresses legitimately cohabits with dinner jackets, morning coats and lounge suits depending on the occasion.
Dress on the street in San Francisco tends to be khakis and shirts, but the financial district sees the occasional Savile Row suit. And to my mind, both are correct. The polo-wearing engineer wears the native dress of his set, and the management consultant does the same. Appropriateness is all in the mind.
To my way of thinking, confusion sets in when a member of a group where, for example, no-one wears pocket squares begins appearing with silk foulards in his jackets. He may raise an eyebrow. He will cause comment if he escalates again and moves to ascots or bow ties. For he has left the native dress of his circle behind.
At this point a man has a couple of choices. He can regress to the normal dress of his friends and acquaintances. He may choose a new social circle where his dress is considered normal. Or he may begin dressing situationally, where his appearance varies depending on who he is seeing that day.
My own clothing devolved from lounge suits to the knitwear, flannels and leather jackets of the photograph over the course of a career in Silicon Valley. And then things progressed to the point where I was in New York and London much of the time, and my clothing changed back again. I stuck with that, and today I am usually wearing a lounge suit.
It does not matter what people are wearing around me. For that is my native dress.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Native Dress
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9 comments:
Tribes.
'Why does everyone want to be individual' always makes me smile.
I don't believe you can ever be outside a tribe, you have simply joined another.
It's generally a balance, though, isn't it. We want to dress in a way that is enough like our peers that they accept it, but we also want our peers to admire our dress sense, and that means dressing differently enough.
In my more cynical moments, I am reminded of the characters in American Psycho, and the way they all dress practically identically, but still obsess about their own and each others clothes. The rest of the time, I just enjoy the opportunity to wear nice clothes and be admired for them, and not worry about it too much...
Will, I admire the trouser break in your photo. It's lovely. I know photos are tough because our trousers slip a little down and end up looking like puddles around our ankles. I am always wrestling with my tailors about minimal or no trouser break on 21 cm width trousers.
More specifically, what measurements can you provide that project the silhouette in the photo?
CG, dare I admit that I have odd trouser bottoms done locally? I stand in front of a mirror with my alterations tailor until we get it right.
Looking very dashing, Will! I especially like the blue lining of your jacket; it takes a very nice but somewhat bland outfit and makes it extraordinary.
Thanks, and yes, dare! Where would we be without our local alterations tailors? Just thought you were using some specific measurements...
Good post. (You look like you have lost weight). I wear a suit everyday now, except sometimes not on Friday and even then sometimes I wear a Friday suit. While I take some kidding from my co-workers (we are attorneys) I happened to win an office contest this Holiday season for best dressed. For which I credit ASW. So I too have reached a stage where it need not matter what those around me wear, I am becoming comfortable in my native dress.
Will, I enjoyed this thoughtful and insightful post.
-Aaron
Great line here sir. I applaud you.
"It does not matter what people are wearing around me. For that is my native dress."
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