The Paradox of the Well-Dressed Man

[scotrace]

Bump

After Christmas, we'll start seeing discussions here of the clothes seen at church services...

 

[Fletch]

Kurtz exeunt left

Baron, it's unlikely you had five years of Latin the way I did, but exeunt is 3rd person plural. How many Kurtz are there?

Oh, this thread is a joy! i have to agree with so many of the comments made so far. i, too, make a point of being well dressed regardless of where i am going.

Let's be thankful that there is no Paradox of the Well-Dressed Woman.

I ride the fence by taking the minimum amount of time required to look nice. I'm particularly proud of my ability to bang together a passable outfit out of whatever is hanging on the doorknob (let it be said, tho, that I have an unusually well-turned-out doorknob :fedora.

 

[Tomasso]

Baron, it's unlikely you had five years of Latin the way I did

A former seminarian?

 

[Fletch]

No, but my social history is alarmingly like one. :/ I had a foreign language requirement all thru prep school but didn't want the typical Ding-Dong-School modern language experience with cute posters and class names. So I opted for Caesar, Cicero, Catullus, Horace and Virgil. Even won a prize for a translation in college!

 

[Mr. Rover]

Baron, it's unlikely you had five years of Latin the way I did, but exeunt is 3rd person plural. How many Kurtz are there?

That was just out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail....

 

[moustache]

Two outta three ain't bad... (I'm married, with kids...you figure out which two lol ) But seriously, I agree....even trying to dress decently will get you too many odd looks these days...I've honestly been asked the question "What are you dressed up for?", when I was wearing nothing but a button down shirt and slacks....and that's the most casual thing I ever wear!! (well, except for the hawaiian shirts...in hawaii)


"We've come a long way, indeed...my question is, are we going in the right direction?"---Grim

I dress the same way at work as i do for my casual and sacred activities.Everyday i hear a wisecrack about it such as "Going to a funeral?" or "Have a job interview today?".I always laugh it off and let it go.No reason to take offense.Just goes to show where people place the emphasis today as regards nice clothes.Even weddings are not required to be formal.I saw a newspaper article the other day in which the couple married in camo clothes with bird dogs and bridesmaids in camo as well.Not tuxes and dresses of course.Jeans and khakis.

The honeymoon was a hunting trip for upland birdlol lol No joke!

To each his own.

JD

 

[jamespowers]

Even weddings are not required to be formal.I saw a newspaper article the other day in which the couple married in camo clothes with bird dogs and bridesmaids in camo as well.Not tuxes and dresses of course.Jeans and khakis.

The honeymoon was a hunting trip for upland birdlol lol No joke!

Clearly some people who have been watching Jeff Foxworthy far too much.

Regards,

J

 

[CanadaDoll]

No, but my social history is alarmingly like one. :/ I had a foreign language requirement all thru prep school but didn't want the typical Ding-Dong-School modern language experience with cute posters and class names. So I opted for Caesar, Cicero, Catullus, Horace and Virgil. Even won a prize for a translation in college!

fftopic: That's pretty neat Fletch! I've always wanted to learn Latin.fftopic:

As a single woman I must say I am more interested in a well dressed gentleman, even if they're in denims and a shirt more so than a man in sweats. At home however; comfort is okay with me..... so long as your not entertaining.

 

[pigeon toe]

“Once, sissies were mistaken for gentlemen; alas, now gentlemen are mistaken for sissies.”


personally, i don't think a man should ever be TOO pristine. even the most well dressed man, to my eye, should still have a touch of roughness somewhere, even if its just one out of place fore-lock of hair, or leather shoes that are well worn (but lovingly polished) rather than immaculate.

I wholeheartedly agree! That's how I like my men. But they are so hard to come by!

 

[lindylady]

I wholeheartedly agree! That's how I like my men. But they are so hard to come by!

Tell me about it But are the men on the west coast really that much more casual than men from the northeast? Because up here, most men I see are wearing the baggy clothes, rumpled pants, shorts, sweatshirts, etc.

 

[Fletch]

If by "up here" you mean DC, I think the DC mode of dress is to not look too stylish no matter how you dress. The important thing is to show you Belong.

 

[lindylady]

Ah, I see. That explains a lot about DC culture. Thanks, Fletch.

 

[Jack Armstrong]

The quote that started this thread reminds me of a similar one I once read:

"A gentleman may dress in good taste or a gentleman may dress in poor taste. But a true gentleman is never conscious of the way he dresses."

Wish I could remember where I read it.

 

[poetman]

Modern Fashion Vulgarizes

What aggravates me the most about modern sentiments in fashion is the notion of vulgarity and disrespect. I think one of the most damaging social characteristics to develop in the later 20th C is that of disrespect, which is bred from apathy. I can't stand to see men wear a sport coat with jeans. My grandfather always tells me, “Jeans, or what I call dungarees, are a workman's pant. You wear it in a garage or to paint. You don't wear that in public." While I own jeans, I wear them more for outdoor activities, like a recent child’s birthday party where I would be playing sports most of the time. Celebrities often appear on late night television shows in ripped jeans with holes and loose threads, an accompanying t-shirt, and a sport coat of some sorts, usually with a patch somewhere. All these holes and tears present a disharmonious yoking of destitution and decorum, which vulgarizes fashion—and the public in general. It is now fashionable to wear garments that look wrinkled, look oversized, (or for ladies, undersized), don't match, and in general are just utterly inappropriate! Men wear sneakers with suits? GQ magazine often espouses such fashion traits. (I find Esquire more tasteful, both in fashion and journalism.) This overall recklessness originates from a general social ethos of vulgarity and disrespect. The clothes themselves are disrespected: ripped and damaged, mix-matched and unfitting. Moreover, a group of people at a given event feel such disrespect: jeans with a sport jacket communicates that the wearer purposes to disrespect others. I completely understand the desire to look unique, but true uniqueness should come through the creativity of a tradition: find appropriate items that look “different.” It is equally artificial to vulgarize a wardrobe in order to look “different” and to dress the same as everyone else. Both lack individuality: desecration does not displace tradition, it only makes it more valuable. When all but 7 works of the Greek dramatist Sophocles were burned at the library of Alexandria, his tradition did not die: it was just more carefully preserved.

 

[lindylady]

What aggravates me the most about modern sentiments in fashion is the notion of vulgarity and disrespect. I think one of the most damaging social characteristics to develop in the later 20th C is that of disrespect, which is bred from apathy. I can't stand to see men wear a sport coat with jeans. My grandfather always tells me, “Jeans, or what I call dungarees, are a workman's pant. You wear it in a garage or to paint. You don't wear that in public." While I own jeans, I wear them more for outdoor activities, like a recent child’s birthday party where I would be playing sports most of the time. Celebrities often appear on late night television shows in ripped jeans with holes and loose threads, an accompanying t-shirt, and a sport coat of some sorts, usually with a patch somewhere. All these holes and tears present a disharmonious yoking of destitution and decorum, which vulgarizes fashion—and the public in general. It is now fashionable to wear garments that look wrinkled, look oversized, (or for ladies, undersized), don't match, and in general are just utterly inappropriate! Men wear sneakers with suits? GQ magazine often espouses such fashion traits. (I find Esquire more tasteful, both in fashion and journalism.) This overall recklessness originates from a general social ethos of vulgarity and disrespect. The clothes themselves are disrespected: ripped and damaged, mix-matched and unfitting. Moreover, a group of people at a given event feel such disrespect: jeans with a sport jacket communicates that the wearer purposes to disrespect others. I completely understand the desire to look unique, but true uniqueness should come through the creativity of a tradition: find appropriate items that look “different.” It is equally artificial to vulgarize a wardrobe in order to look “different” and to dress the same as everyone else. Both lack individuality: desecration does not displace tradition, it only makes it more valuable. When all but 7 works of the Greek dramatist Sophocles were burned at the library of Alexandria, his tradition did not die: it was just more carefully preserved.

Poetman, I love how you phrased our sentiments. Have you considered writing an article on this subject and sending it to men's fashion and lifestyle magazines? It would be interesting to see the readers' responses.

 

[poetman]

Poetman, I love how you phrased our sentiments. Have you considered writing an article on this subject and sending it to men's fashion and lifestyle magazines? It would be interesting to see the readers' responses.

Lindylady,
I actually have considered penning an article. My literary interests are more concerned with literature, philosophy, and art, but I have thought, as of late, of sending a work off to some magazines. Thanks for the encouragement. The may be just the kick in the butt I need!

 

[priestyboy]

Unfortunately the true paradox of the modern well-dressed man is that in this now uber-slobby world we live in, a well-dressed man is often assumed to be a to-be-avoided eccentric, a blatant attention-seeker, or a flamboyant homosexual.

Yep, unfortunately you are correct. I get it every day. But I've learned that though there are those who may "knock" it (the slobs and homo-phobs), subconsciously the ladies admire it...as well as the older people who by their age have become secure in themselves.

Nonetheless, it does command a form of hidden respect upon the well dressed man.

Poetman, I love how you phrased our sentiments. Have you considered writing an article on this subject and sending it to men's fashion and lifestyle magazines? It would be interesting to see the readers' responses.

Send it to "CLASSIC STYLE"!

 

[Lancealot]

Baron, it's unlikely you had five years of Latin the way I did, but exeunt is 3rd person plural. How many Kurtz are there?

I took 4 years in high school myself, then Ancient Greek in college.

 

[Orgetorix]

Occasionally people ask me why I dress the way I do. One of my several standard responses is, "When I dress like a gentleman, I'm treated like a gentleman. When I dress like a slob, I'm treated like a slob. I prefer the former."

 

[staggerwing]

Hi Everyone

Just found this place, and this looked like a good thread to say hello. When I got my first real job (as an engineer in the early 1980s), my co-workers generally wore short-sleeved shirts with knit ties, and yes, the occasional plastic pocket protector. I wore 3-piece suits. I got the usual "Got a job interview today" comments too. But, I also got alot of respect from management and customers. Soon, although I was not the most experienced engineer there, I was promoted to department manager. I also found that I get better service from all manner of establishments when dressed like a gentlemen. Dressing well does seem to annoy a few folks though. Once, I went to a party at a friend's house straight from work. I was the only guy there wearing a suit. Out of the blue, a very attractive lady that I did not know walked up to me and said "you're a real jerk, aren't you?" and walked away! Except she didn't say "jerk" but something unfit for polite company. To add insult to injury, later that night my friend who threw the party came over and said something along the lines of "hey, I saw you talking to ___. She's a real knockout, isn't she?" He thought she was flirting with me!

Anyway, as I think I tend towards the older end of the demographics of this board, I think it's great that some younger folks are keeping the styles and manners of a more civilized time alive. I look forward to learning alot from you!

Jim