I wore mine out a year or two ago and I have to admit that I miss it. My stroller, that is. The black jacket and striped or checked trousers that is one form of proper dress for a formal afternoon is actually more useful than one might think.
Now one's traditionally correct opportunities to wear formal daywear are few, being principally limited to afternoon weddings as even the world's diplomatic corps has abandoned it for the most part. And unless one is the father of a family of daughters or a serial husband-to-be, a morning coat could be difficult to justify. The stroller though is a different story.
Simply a conventional jacket rather than a tailcoat, the stroller's color and jetted pockets make it a bit more formal than most odd jackets, but not so much as to draw attention. Cut as a DB, few recognize it as anything other than a black odd jacket (one that fits right into a world so full of black suits). Jacket and trousers serve their traditional functions when worn together. More importantly, they are useful separates as well.
Paired with plain gray flannels and black shoes the black jacket is a slightly more formal version of the navy blazer that can be worn more places than a gold-buttoned coat. Worn separately, most formal trouser patterns are similar enough to the not-uncommon gray glen check pattern that is often worn under that same navy blazer and are equally at home with a navy cardigan sweater or the in-between knit that is the pub jacket. Indeed, there were so many occasions that lent themselves to jacket, trousers or both, my stroller was the rare item of clothing that I literally wore out.
And so I say, consider the stroller. It is considerably more versatile than one might expect.
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Sator still maintains that there's no such thing, but I've worn mine quite often. I'm considering putting together another.
Will, does the jacket has to be black? Could it be a "graffiti gray", one tone down from black?
I guess the buttons must to be "sur ton" to enhance the "formal effect".
I'm not certain what shade graffiti gray is but men have definitely worn dark gray herringbone strollers.
Definitely sur ton.
I have never worn a stroller but am evidently fascinated by them. As a fourteen-year-old junior high school graduate, roughly half a century ago, I consciously attempted to create such an ensemble from some unknown well of sartorial inspiration without knowing what it was or having seen any real-life examples. Ancestral memory? Or more likely from the films of the ‘30’s that helped enrich my childhood.
It would seem to be an ensemble where the esssence is in the details since, as you pointed out, the main elements are prosaic. I’ve often seen it depicted with a contrast white-collar shirt, black satin tie and pearl stickpin. Silk socks and low cut plain black calf oxfords.
If the trousers were a glen check, but had an accent color, perhaps blue, my instinct tells me that would be a disqualification. Is that correct? In addition to the jetted pockets, what would fabric covered buttons do? A SB peak lapel? Too racy I suspect.
The dark grey herringbone suit that can double as a stroller sounds much more appealing to me, though I suppose it wouldn't work as well paired with grey flannel trousers.
Hi. Is that a fixed style for a stroller: black jacket, grey trousers? I always had the idea that a stroller was merely a light day-wear suit. Something like the suits worn by Mark Twain.
I like the dark jacket, grey glen check combination. Maybe a grey (or darker) vest under the jacket? It's cold enough for that here.
Excellent topic. A stroller is on my list of things to have made. A glen check pair of trousers would be more 'correct' than plain grey, but it would not be the same as the formal checks of a long time ago. I wouldn't hesitate to wear the glen check trousers but I'd also like to have a more authentic alternative. Do you have any recommendations for cloth in authentically formal checked patterns?
My morning suit, like my stroller, is worn several times a year, mainly for town horse races; the latter for less important days. The stroller is versatile indeed, as is its continental cousin, the Stresemann.
W.C., Esq. said...
An alternative to grey glen check (no accent color) would be black and white houndstooth which I've occasionally seen the adventurous wearing with a tail coat. It has to be the right houndstooth of course. All this said nothing looks quite as good as the striped pant particularly when the whole ensemble has a black waistcoat and watch chain for the full Neville Chamberlain look. There's also a very good pic of Ronald Colman in exactly this mix. The db jacket is a good idea Will because I fear the single breasted is going to make you look like a hotel manager.
A small addendum to the above comment on suitable pants...I should really have said dark grey houndstooth rather than Black and white. I've seen the latter but it's a bit too loud. Sorry about that.
Will, the only time that I see a stroller is on an hotel concierge.
With the exception of a day wedding, when have you worn a stroller?
Are there any strollers that you could recommend to those of us without the income for a bespoke wardrobe? It seems an excellent choice for daytime events where a morning coat would be too much, but where one wants to wear more than a suit.
Mark,
I used to wear it to see my bank manager in London because he wore a morning coat every day. Other than that, consular receptions and, with gray flannels instead of striped trousers, about once a week for general business in New York or the City.
I do like my stroller very much and wear it as a guest at weddings. In Germany, the Stroller is called a Stresemann suit tand was undoubtedly invented by Gustav Stresemann in the 1920s...
Gentleman's said...
Black coat and striped pants were diplomatic uniform in the 20's and 30's when the tailcoat went out. The custom was probably set by the British as in most things sartorial.
I've never had one Will because of the aforesaid hotel inferences but I do like the idea of the DB teamed with quiet dark grey check pants.
Nathanael said...
One solution might be to find a store where they sell suits as separate coat and pant items and just buy the coat. You'd have to be careful about the choice of fabric but that might work.
I would love to join a movement to revive the stroller.
Will, will you be its leader?
I am pleased to report that black lounge (or the stroller, if you must) is being kept alive in this little bit of Britain in the South Atlantic (or at the foot of the Americas, if you prefer). I wore my black woollen jacket, grey waistcoat, striped trousers and homburg hat to the Liberation service this morning.
will, if i had a jacket made in the style of a stroller, but instead of black made in a midnight blue or dark navy, which as a colour i prefer wearing (as i have darker skin), would this still be a stroller and work nicely in your opinion or would i be better off just sticking to a dinner jacket in midnight blue or even a darker blue suit as it would be neither fish nor foul?
A stroller is semi-formal day wear. A dinner jacket is for evening. Neither replaces the other.
A blue coat for day wear looks fine. It is not a stroller, but there are technically few occasions that call for a stroller today.
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