Is there something you really want to wear but are chicken?

[Gin&Tonics]

I know there's nothing dressed UP about a tie, and I agree. It's just...I dunno. I personally have nothing wrong with wearing them, but people I meet always tend to think I'm being overformal or something. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that so many people wear ties to work? The only time I ever *had* to wear a tie was when I went to school.

Hey Shangas, I wear a tie almost every day now, and I frequently get the "why are you all dressed up" comment. I just don't care! I love wearing ties; they add that finished panache to any gentleman's outfit. I even rock an ascot from time to time, which is really considered outre in my neck of the woods. Wear whatever you really like and to hell with what anyone thinks!

 

[C-dot]

I even rock an ascot from time to time, which is really considered outre in my neck of the woods.

How amazing! I love the look of an ascot Hell, if Fred Astaire wore them throughout his life, then they are never outré.

 

[Miss Moonlight]

I'm a little chicken to wear the heels I want but only because I'm afraid I'll fall. lol I've been in flat shoes so long because of a bad foot injury a couple years ago, and when I try on heels, I feel like I'm on stilts! It's just silly.

Also, hats. I know, to some people here they're every day wear. I want some lovely lady hats from the 40s, but I just know they'd get so much attention.

 

[Shangas]

Actually, Shangas, if it's cut right for you, it could do you wonders! A long coat will add to your height, especially if you pair it with a hat that has a slightly taller crown. Post pics of the whole ensemble!

I will indeed! Very soon, too. Probably tomorrow.

 

[Edward]

Used to think twice about wearing a beret, but now I really don't care. Pulled it on this morning on the way out as I fancied an air of the beatnik...

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

You need a strpied shirt or sweater to go with it. And a baguette^^

 

[Shangas]

No croissant?

 

[William Stratford]

No croissant?

Stop being a pain

 

[Edward]

You need a strpied shirt or sweater to go with it. And a baguette^^

Ha, maybe I should have put on a Telnyska today...

No croissant?

Euw, no. Never liked those.

Stop being a pain

:lol:

 

[Shangas]

What!? I like croissants...

 

[William Stratford]

Have to say, on the subject of what I would wish to wear but am "chicken"...it wouldn't be worn as such, but I truly lament the loss of the cane. Sadly, that would probably be a little too far for the t-shirt wearing masses in cornwall and I would find myself in the nearest wickerman as a toasted offering.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Canes are an everyday sighting in my town. Of course, most of our population is over 50.

I once knew a man who carried a sword-cane. And he didn't mean it ironically.

 

[Shangas]

I would agree. These days, carrying a walking-stick really has gone out of fashion. But then, people don't walk nearly as much as they used to.

For ME it might not be so bad. I can't drive anyway, so I walk almost everywhere. A walking-stick might not be a bad idea...

 

[DNO]

I usually carry a walking stick on my evening stroll. Not a cane, mind you...a walking stick. A stick is much thinner than a functional cane and would be quite useless if you actually needed to support your weight!

I've been using a lovely old Edwardian stick and I found that once you get used to a stick it feels odd to go for a walk without one.

 

[Edward]

Canes are an everyday sighting in my town. Of course, most of our population is over 50.

I once knew a man who carried a sword-cane. And he didn't mean it ironically.

I'd have loved one, but it's illegal to buy or own one in the UK unless it's over 100 years old and you never take it anywhere but your own home. Pretty pointless, in otherwords, for a non-collector.

I usually carry a walking stick on my evening stroll. Not a cane, mind you...a walking stick. A stick is much thinner than a functional cane and would be quite useless if you actually needed to support your weight!

I've been using a lovely old Edwardian stick and I found that once you get used to a stick it feels odd to go for a walk without one.

Is that a technical difference? In my experience, a walking stick was always what old people who needed the support had, while a 'cane' was a fancy version, carried by dandies and other who had it for effect rather than utility.

 

[Gin&Tonics]

In the Victorian era, when walking sticks were de rigeur for any proper gentleman, they were of course extremely elegant, but they definitely had their roots in a very utilitarian purpose.

Firstly, people walked almost everywhere in those days; often people were walking all day long and a walking stick was indispensible for taking some of the strain off of the knees whilst going about one's daily business. Secondly, all this walking was done in leather soled boots over often slick or grimy pavement or cobbles, up and down worn stone steps, and often over uneven ground, so the walking stick was an important piece of safety equipment for steadying onesself over such treacherous obstacles.

 

[DNO]

The Malacca walking sticks that were popular with gentlemen in the years leading up the First World War were slim and quite light. That's what I tend to think of as a 'walking stick'. To me, a walking stick may well be made of cane (like a Malacca) but they're not "canes". I've always considered a cane to be more or less a medical device...the sort of think you use when you've got a gamey leg, for example.