Handkerchiefs and Pocket Squares

[Nick D]

The function of the waistcoat breast-pocket escapes me, but a tucked square of silk or cotton might add a neat touch: do others think this suitable, or should I commit myself to an Institution for the Iredeemably Wildean as beyond the pale ?!

There's always something in mine. Occassionally I'll put my watch in the upper pockets, but more usually I'll have my pen in one and monocle or pince nez and a lense cloth in the other. I've never put a pocket square in a waistcoat pocket, though I too have wondered how it would look.

 

[Lokar]

I use mine to store small paper/card things that don't show. Personally, I don't like a handkerchief in a waistcoat pocket, but I never take off my jacket, and on really hot days just have no waistcoat.

 

[Edward]

I have seen it done - mostly, intriguingly, in the steampunk community, by those who have dispensed with the outer layer of the suit. It looks.... inoffensive to my eyes, though it's not something I've ever been inclined to do myself. FWIW, while I feel naked without a packet square in a suit jacket, blazer or sports jacket, I've never been inclined to sport one in a drape either. [huh]

 

[GBR]

This is not mentioned because pocket squares do not have a place in a waistcoat pocket, not now, nor ever in the past nor the future.

The pockets may be used for a watch and other off small item gathered during the day but not otherwise. The coat has adequate pockets which are less obtrusive.

 

[Feraud]

The function of the waistcoat breast-pocket escapes me,

Vest pockets are for "stuff". Housekeys, change, Iphone, business cards, lucky charms, etc.

 

[Fletch]

The off-the-rackers beg to differ. Thus the 4 pocket vest has given way to the 2. Especially since the top 2 pockets were used mostly by smokers, most of whom are no longer alive.

 

[Feraud]

Two or four pocket vests seems more a fashion whim than any one of smoking. Companies like Target, JCrew, RL, etc. who currently offer four pocket vests market their goods to the the young crowd.
There is no emphasis on what you put in them.

It makes good economic sense to offer vests with four pockets. People carry as much, if not more, items around on their person and should appreciate the extra space.

 

[Dan D]

Cumbersome bulk

I find that bi-fold wallets or mobile phones sit badly in jacket pockets and cause them to hang or bulge in an unsightly manner, especially when the jacket is fastened; maybe these smaller waistcoat pockets are more suitable for these items instead. Easier than my losing weight, for sure...

 

[PseudoGent]

Back when I first discovered Pocket Squares, I always wore a flat fold, as it was simple and looked safe to my (at that point) cautious eyes. Nowadays, my pocket squares usually get folded in points or a puff, depending on the outfit, always with enough imperfection and rush to look natural. In regards to matching tie/pocket square ensembles, never have, never will.

 

[djhatman]

When at church I like to do a one or two point. If I going out for the night I like a puff it just seams a little more laid back but still very nice.

 

[cufflinkmaniac]

Puff, Presidential, three stairs, one point, two point, three point, and so on. I like them all.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Here's a link I had archived...

http://www.mens-fashion-tips.com/fold-pocket-squares.html

-dixon cannon

 

[Warbaby]

Here's a pocket square fold that not everyone could pull off, but this guy has the style (and uber-coolness) to make it work:

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Presidential.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Presidential.

More commonly known as the "TV fold". Really! lol


.

 

[Warbaby]

How do you store your pocket squares?

Do you fold them, hang them flat, or ???? I've become as addicted to pocket squares as I am to neckties. They turn up often at the thrift shop and are sold as handkerchiefs at ten cents each. By now I've accumulated thirty or forty of them and I've been hanging them in stacks of 10 on coat hangars so they won't get creased from folding, but it's a pretty lame solution because whenever I go to get one, the rest usually slip off the hangars. Does it really matter if they have fold lines or is there a better way to store them?

 

[Tomasso]

Mine lay stacked (flat) in an armoire drawer.

 

[Elaina]

I don't wear them, but I stack my son's flat in an old cigar box that's fairly large and sturdy.

 

[anon`]

Mine lay stacked (flat) in an armoire drawer.

This.

It works for me for about two days, then they start going back into the drawer in a not-so-flat state
I've found that the silk and cotton squares hold up to this abuse pretty well and don't really crease in any sort of a noticeable fashion. Only the linen ones tend to crease up (but then, that happens when you wear them anyway) and benefit from a quick pressing every few wearings.

 

[Dr Doran]

Stuffed in an armoire drawer, but stuffed LOOSELY, so they (at least the silk ones, which is most of them) don't really crease much. "Stuffed" is probably the wrong word as that implies something not loosely, but I do not know what other word to use.

This is somewhat unclassy, but the linen and cotton ones I will sometimes leave in a cleverly folded origami shape rather than unfolding them.