Wool Pocket Square Wednesday. . .

The new square in action early this morning before the first class of the day.

As mentioned in a previous post or two, 2017 is the Year of Accessories here at Classic Style, and one of my favorite accessories happens to be pocket squares. I began wearing the silk paisley variety in my jacket and suit pockets back during the fall of 2003 in my first job immediately post-graduate school when I taught for 14 months at a small college just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. Oddly, I don't recall specifically what it was that inspired me besides the vague impression that empty chest pockets struck me as somehow odd.

The rather dandy move, in the minds of many men, was, admittedly, into uncharted territory. My nearest examples of how professional men ought to dress, my father and maternal grandfather wore suits five, and sometimes six, days a week in their working lives as Philadelphia and Manhattan-based corporate executives. Only my grandfather though ever adorned his suit coat pockets, and that was invariably with a folded white cotton handkerchief. Nothing more. Unless I wear a navy or charcoal suit, however, I tend to go in for a bit more color most of the time.

Today's example was purchased on sale from Put This On, a source of nicely made, reasonably priced full-size 16" pockets squares, last May or June. I only just got around to stuffing it into my jacket pocket for the first time this morning. Behold!

I don't bother with any special folds, unless wearing a white linen square with a dark suit, and typically just put the square in question in my pocket and, at this point, truly do forget about it until undressing and putting things away at the end of day following my return home. Neither do I attempt to match my pocket square to my necktie, preferring to have one part of my ensemble that doesn't quite coordinate with everything else. I believe that the late Hardy Amies advocated this sort of approach to one's dressing, and the idea works for me. Beauty through imperfection.

Sadly, no necktie today as you'll also note in the photograph above. I had one all laid out to put on -- a navy silk number with pheasants on it by J. Press -- but decided at the last minute that it would have made the overall look too busy. So, with head down, I slunk to the car since it was high time for yours truly to get to school.

Speaking of neckties. . . Tune in tomorrow, and I'll share several examples of somewhat irreverent, yet still attractive, neckties that are part of my regular smart casual rotation.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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