I had been pondering what to pack for a visit to Paris next week, to be followed by the Pitti Uomo show in Florence and a few days in Tuscany. I have several days for tourism for a change and, secure in the knowledge that none of the photographers at Pitti will care about a man without the necessary bracelets and other accessories, have decided to pack what I think of as faux college professor clothes. Meaning everything but the pipe.
Now dressing like a professor may not seem like much of a change for many people but it is considerably different from my regular look. With the exception of one suit for Paris I will be in tweed jackets and flannel trousers for most of the trip. Perhaps even more radical, said tweed will be accompanied by rollneck sweaters and long sleeved polos instead of dress shirts and neckties (deep down I feel as though I must be letting down the side or something).
The word faux comes into play in this case because in my limited experience few real professors are wearing tweed jackets to traipse around the Musée du Louvre and the Duomo di Siena these days. Nonetheless, it has been years since I have done anything like this and it will be fun of a sort that only clothing obsessives may understand.
In the photo, a tweed jacket, flannel trousers and Edward Green walking shoes are worn with a cashmere rollneck from the ASW store.
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12 comments:
Take it from me, most male professors at my small Midwestern university look as sloppy as the students these days: stained t-shirts, untucked flannel shirts, baggy jeans or grimy khakis, and plastic shoes/sneakers of some sort.
Best Regards,
Ulrich von B.
That's as may be, Heinz, but Will's look is my favorite for winter. In my youth I used to call it my "rumpled poet" look. The girls approved.
Will - Say hi to my old stomping grounds (Firenze) for me and if you are looking for great eats, allow me to share my secret discovery for the best €10 meal that you will ever eat at l'Brindellone (http://goo.gl/maps/BdWNs) trust me, it's the best bowl of pasta in Florence....
-Justin
I am sure the elusive Réginald-Jérôme de Mans would approve!
I laughed at the idea of 'letting down the side' by not wearing shirt and tie. Are you sure you don't want to sneak at least one shirt/tie into your luggage just in case you experience withdrawal symptoms?
Nonetheless, the clobber in the photo looks great. Who'd have thought that a black (or is that blue?) rollneck would look good under a brown-orange tweed?
Not to turn ASW into ChowHound, but other Florentine cuisine suggestions:
- Sostanza for the pollo al burro and the bistecca fiorentina
- I Due Fratellini for a quick sandwich & wine lunch; get the ham & pecorino
- Grom for gelato
Your pants are nowhere near tight enough to photographed at Pitti Will.....the length looks right though.....too much so if I may be so bold. And I thought professors, at least ones of your age, wore bowties not turtle necks...Definitely my preference. As a practical observation the problem with rollnecks is they can get damned hot and there's nothing you can do about it. Better a shirt, bowtie, fairIsle vest and coat. You can always slip the vest in your bag if it gets too toasty.
My committee chair wears an outfit very similar to that when he's dressing down a bit, such as for the department Christmas party.
I'm with Brummagem Joe that you need a bow tie for the professorial look. But I prefer your look here. Now I'm tempted to get more rollneck sweaters, but the problem I have with wearing them is it's always too hot inside wherever I go.
Two words: single ply.
Will,
I notice the height of the cuffs on your pants are a little higher than I have seen. Is there a suggested height for cuffs on pants ? does it depend on your physical height ?
A good casual outfit for some suburbs, but I find rollnecks lack elegance. A bow tie or cravate would look great. The odd jacket is wonderful.
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