It was windy and cool enough for a topcoat the other day and out came the covert coat. As usual the chest looked a little bare so a silk square went into the breast pocket (a red carnation would have done the trick but none were handy).
Pocket squares in outercoat pockets are mildly controversial of course. Even HRH the Prince of Wales, diligent pocket square in suit jacket person that he is, leaves his outercoat breast pockets empty. On the other hand, he often has a flower or ribbon in his left lapel, and that serves the same purpose of adding some visual interest to the upper chest area.
Now there is still a school of thought that says that a man should never wear a handkerchief in the breast pocket of a city suit, let alone an outercoat, reserving them for the country (I believe this is a holdover from the frock coat era when city jackets had no breast pockets). Other men argue that where there is a breast pocket, there should always be a handkerchief.
Men who find controversy a thing to be avoided can obtain a ready supply of red carnations and ignore the handkerchief question of course, thereby securing all the style without any of the controversy. But given the effort associated with a greenhouse in winter, I will stick with silk.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Pocket Squares and Outercoat Pockets
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11 comments:
Silk always looks a bit odd to me in an outer breast pocket. Too delicate for potential exposure to rain or snow. I think cotton or wool work better.
Can never make up my mind to be honest....I put them in my chesterfield three button and always think it looks a bit OTT and take them out.....when you're into dressing well you're already something of an anomaly on today's streets so I'm always very conscious of never pushing it until one becomes a caricature...it's a fine dividing line
Will: on a totally different topic I always notice your pants have a nice classic drape to them which is something I'm fussy about. So what's your reaction to the slimmer cut, no break pants that are all the rage these days....it's not totally wrong you know....I have a Spy cartoon of the Marquess of Hartington from around 1898 wearing a pair of pants that could have been supplied by Tom Ford.
An alternative--I saw this on Sartorialist--is to store your gloves in the breast pocket, fingers up. It combines visual interest and utility (the gloves don't bulge out of your hip pockets).
The downside, of course, is figuring out what to do when you're wearing your gloves.
What to do when you're wearing your gloves? That's easy: stick a cigar or two, or, in rainy weather, cigars in individual cigar cylinders, in the pocket.
I hear that Sammy Davis, Jr. liked to keep a pipe in his breast pocket; I wonder how that would work with an outercoat.
It's not an issue for me: I don't have an outercoat with a breast pocket.
I'll leave my outer coat pocket empty I guess, but I gotta get those ASW reverse calf slip-ons.
Will...Great post...mostly because it plays to my affinity to always bend a rule or two. I never leave any breast pocket unadorned. I actually saw a guy in NYC years ago who had his well worn pigskin gloves in his outercoat breast pocket...ten fingerless fronds sticking out-he pulled it off superbly.
As for lapel flowers being more correct...the evaporation of deportment and style in our world would in my mind, place a lapel flower squarely in the foppish affectation realm. Which means I'll probably track down a lapel flower today.
Have a look at Prince Philip´s coat, during a ceremonial welcome for President Zuma on London's Horseguard's Parade, Wednesday March 3, 2010.
A white linen pocket square contrast nicely whith the black wool double breasted formal overcoat.
http://www.examiner.com/ExaminerSlideshow.html?entryid=1054278&slide=1
Will, I would love to hear your opinion on this glove-in-the-breast-pocket idea. Several of us have noticed this, and I, too, first saw it on the Sartorialist site. Opinions? Any historical lessons for this phenomenon that to my eye is relatively new?
Generally speaking I feel that fine men's clothing has to cover three bases: function, comfort, and character. To that end, unless an empty pocket is worn with a mind to portraying something about oneself (and I'm not sure I'd want people saying, 'oh, there goes VB, he's empty as a pocket), then it should be filled. What one fills it with will reflect one's character, and I'm rather glad of an extra opportunity to express myself. More generally, I'm actually somewhat concerned that the vast majority of men don't even bother to fill breast pockets on jackets. Nothing says 'I don't think about how I look' more than this. As a guide, I have written a reminder about the importance of handkerchieves: beingmanly.blogspot.com: one to blow and one for show
Will, somehow this picture does not work for me. It looks as if the jacket is too long and The breastpocket too low. The windblown shape of the trousers may add to the overall look, but something is not in balance here.
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