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Three-piece Thursday. . .

 The upper half today, featuring a light pink short, dark green and crimson paisley necktie, and linen pocket handkerchief.  Out of sight here are the navy and crimson silk braces worn in lieu of a belt.


And the lower half, featuring a pair of 'Strand' captoe oxfords in Oxblood (or is it Chili?) by Allen Edmonds, shortly to revisit the AE factory outside Milwaukee for recrafting.


This charcoal wool flannel three-piece suit is a Polo Ralph Lauren number that I picked up in a thrift shop three or four years ago for the princely sum of US$7.99.  If it had ever been worn before, it was just once, so no signs of wear anywhere.  It is heavy, soft, and warm, so ideal for chilly fall, winter, and early spring days.  Best of all, and this rarely happens, the 40R garment fit like it was made for me once I tried it on.  It has never needed alterations of any sort.  Even the sleeve length was perfect, allowing half an inch of linen to show with arms at my sides.  A serendipitous day.  So, I paid, took the suit to the dry-cleaners, and have worn it several times each fall and winter since.

It is hard to tell from these somewhat awkward selfies, but what I like most about the Polo Ralph Lauren suits in my wardrobe rotation is their cut, or silhouette.  These garments are very 1930s in outline, so you resemble those great old Laurence Fellows illustrations when you don one of the suits.  That might bother some, who desire more current, trendy, or whatever, and there is the tired old argument floating around out there about being "in costume," but none of that bothers me.  At this point in life, I am able to put stuff on in the morning and forget about it until I change clothes once home again in the late afternoons. 

Finally, the suit above is one of the most comfortable that I own, almost like wearing comfortable pajamas.  Yeah, that's right.  Pajamas.  But better.  And with  creased pants, vest, and a coat! 

Clearly a big part of forgetting about your clothes once they're on in the morning has to do with your physical comfort in them.  Assuming everything fits one's particular dimensions, it has always puzzled me why so many guys say they are uncomfortable in a suit.  It comes down to two things as far as I can tell.  Either something really is too tight, or two large.  Or the discomfort claimed is less physical and more psychological.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Comments

  1. Keith in BrooklynNovember 5, 2017 at 7:12 AM

    "Or the discomfort claimed is less physical and more psychological."


    I think you hit the nail on the head.

    ReplyDelete

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All opinions are welcome here. Even those that differ from mine. But let's keep it clean and civil, please.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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