There is a frequently neglected wardrobe that falls between pin stripes and chinos or city and country. Clothes for museum visits, Sunday concerts in the park and al fresco lunches, for example, ought to be better quality than the weekend's chinos and golf shirts and more interesting than charcoal work wear. The in-between wardrobe is elegant but neither casual nor solemn.
Now an in-between wardrobe for most men does not need to be large, for most men do not spend much of their time at daytime socializing. A pair of brown slipons, a few pair of good quality trousers in linen, gabardine or flannel, dress shirts with button cuffs and bolder patterns, a light cashmere sweater to throw over the shoulders and an odd jacket or two will do the trick. This type of jacket in particular is an area in which the Italians excel, with their citified but casual styles in lightweight cloth. Tan linen and black and white checked coats are perennially good choices.
An important thing to remember when assembling an in-between wardrobe is that this is not country clothing. Shetland sweaters, heavy corduroy trousers and Scotch-grained shoes have their place but the company of friends in town is not it. Seek out instead things that please the eye to look at and the fingers to touch so that the in-between wardrobe is as enjoyable an experience as the activities to which you wear it.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The In-Between Wardrobe
Illustration: Loro Piana
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5 comments:
Funny... as an elementary school teacher this describes my workwear very closely. Though perhaps I'm a bit more tucked in than the gentleman in the illustration. Thank you for pointing out this middle road between suits and "casual" weekend wear. Though I must confess I'm not altogether certain where the distinction falls between this and casual weekend wear. Is this not merely an outfit that falls within the set delineated by the term "casual weekend wear"?
Great post, as always. I would like to follow-up Arctic Penguin and say that this post provides a nice framework for thinking about the wretched concept of "business casual."
For people who work in education, for example, where chinos and a golf shirt or heavy cords and a Shetland sweater might be too casual, but an odd jacket and tie might be too formal, the "in-between wardrobe" is where they live everyday.
In any case, anyone who works in a "business casual" environment needs more inspiration like this! Please write about the topic again when you can.
Lastly, I'll concur with Will that southern European men seem to have this look mastered. I work with a Spanish man who daily hits it out of the park with outfits like this one.
Will:
For good or for ill, the description you mention probably captures the VAST majority of the population. I am a HUGE fan of a well tailored suit, however, in observing my fellow commuters, it is almost an insignificant minority who actually even wear a jacket to work...
As such, this post has great relevance and could be the seed from which many spring.
To overlay my own experience: spent 18 years or so in financial services... But for a brief period in the tech-bubble, wore suits everyday - even when only working on administrative issues (no client meetings). Now, as the CFO for a family of middle-market companies, I have the flexibility to dress as I choose. The owners will dress for the audience - some days suited up, 80% nice jeans and a nice shirt (they're Western European, so they look good in anything). Most days, the exception of temperatures over 85 F, I will wear an odd jacket, trousers, etc. - not too dis-similar from your image... And, sadly, I am more dressed than every other rider on my train car (ok, 7 out of 10 days...).
So, I think your perspective and ideas would be useful to this segment of the market... As, truly it is above the line (which separates those who acknowledge the power of first impressions from those who don't...)
By strange coincidence, this is exactly the area of my wardrobe that I've been working on lately. Just because I like to wear a tie, I've gotten some nice madras, gingham, and plaid ties, thus covering all seasons, but I also have gotten a couple of striped scarves (a cotton one, new, and a casual silk one, dug up out of storage). For around the neck I also have a few silk ascots and several Japanese printed cotton "scarves" (called tenugui, which is literally a "hand-wiper").
I also picked up a cotton jacket--too casual to wear to work on all but the hottest days, but more than dressy enough for going out here in the Kasual Kapital of the world, Mexifornia.
Now, to work on expanding the shoe collection without enraging the wife....
Thank you, as always, for the inspiration. Somehow, your posts are both timely and timeless--how do you do it?
Proprietor,
Thanks for the suggestion to use tenugui as squares. Will try to put these little gifts I've been getting into proper use, although they are a bit on the twee side.
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