Some practical advice required for life in the countryside

[Costi]

I can tell you I wish they were mine!
They are a couple and they live with my brother, but I enjoy taking them out for a walk every now and then. They are adorable and have entirely different personalities: Jack is bold, overcourageous and playful; Mimi, his partner, is sweet, loving, cautious and wise (a bit older, too).

She is also a very good mother! And Jack would make an excellent father, too - if only she let him near the puppies

[Costi]

To what extent should we dress with others in consideration?

To the extent we prefer to pass unnoticed, be admired, cause amusement, raise eyebrows or scandalize. We can pretty much anticipate most people's reaction to what we wear and, IF we care about it, we can dress accordingly. Or not!
However, I have noticed that most people tend to accept or even admire (admittedly or not) even the most unusual and striking outfits if they are carried off well. What people ridicule is the clash between clothes and wearer's personality / attitude - hence the "costume" message. In other words, Commandment no. 9 applies: thou shalt not lie! Authenticity is the difference between a dandy and a fop.

Ofcourse, sprezzatura is consciously trying to be unselfconscious in dress and behaviour. It is the human predicament that we inevitably have consciousness of ourselves hence the conundrum in which we find ourselves and hope to escape as we look in the mirror.

Very nicely said. We look in the mirror to see ourselves as someone else.

Finally, as to what this all has to do with country wear, I'll leave you with this thought:

[Costi]

Des Esseintes,

Only now do I see your enviable wardrobe - excellent collection and thank you for posting the pictures! I am sure you wear them well, too! Tweed calls for action and context, like this:

It suffers on a hanger, like a Jaguar in a garage (or in a cage?).

My favourite (if I were to wear it) is no. 1. The violet & mint large plaid has an intriguing lapel cut with respect to the grain.

[porteus]

Thank you all for your helpful responses to my initial question. The debate about dressing with others in mind is an interesting one, but brings me on to yet another issue.

How does one tread the fine line between dressing elegantly and dressing like a parody, or worse, like one's Father...?

I recently dressed myself in grey flannel trousers, a navy blazer, white shirt and striped tie for lunch and, whilst I felt very smart, I aged about 20 years.

[Richard3]

That`s a good point. I myself (at 34) try to "soften" up classic combinations and not to dress too conservatively. I avoid wearing ties and pocket squares at the same time, do not wear tweeds with flannels and avoid blazer combinations as the ones you have described.

[culverwood]

I recently dressed myself in grey flannel trousers, a navy blazer, white shirt and striped tie for lunch and, whilst I felt very smart, I aged about 20 years.

I think it was all the elements together that made you feel uneasy the jacket and trousers with a more exciting shirt and tie or the jacket and shirt with fine cords or moleskins would have taken the edge off the "father" look.

Many here will suggest looks which might be considered formulaic as they stick to a set of rules but if I remember correctly you are a designer so I expect you know how to bend the rules.

[alden]

How does one tread the fine line between dressing elegantly and dressing like a parody, or worse, like one's Father...?

Try to dress like your grandfather instead.

Seriously, there are quite a few posts that treat this subject on the forum.

The posts on this site are largely constructed around aesthetic guidelines or suggestions and have little to do with rules per se, so I would have to disagree with Mr. Culverwood's generalization.

I think the writers here are trying to steer you away from easily avoided errors, much in the same way you, as a designer, would do so for your clients.

Try to infuse your dress with humor and avoid, at all costs, taking it seriously.

Your life is a canvas, splash the sartorial oils as you please.

Cheers

M Alden

[Costi]

How does one tread the fine line between dressing elegantly and dressing like a parody, or worse, like one's Father...?

Try to dress like your grandfather instead.

Haha! Excellent!
Actually nothing is more true than that. The present (shrinked down) state of the tailoring trade was very well explained (by Michael Alden, too) through a generational gap: at least one generation was not brought up with the notion of going to a tailor to get clothes, was not introduced to the father's tailor, did not later develop their own tastes and choose the tailor of their liking. It is the ready-made generation. Of course, this is a broad generalization, but in fact exceptions to this large scale rule do nothing but confirm it. Now the following generation, who abhores the Fathers' dress, is discovering grandpa's wardrobe in the attic and wonders "Where have all the flowers gone", as Marlene Dietrich puts it on notes.
Because grandpa didn't have just clothes, he had STYLE. If you look at his clothes, you will be amazed to understand what good cloth is (or used to be); you will see that, even after so much time in a forgotten trunk, they still have life in them, they are like no others in cut and shape because they were made by the skilled hands of craftsmen for grandpa only and nobody else. And if you take another look at the old B&W family album you will understand why grandpa looked so well in his clothes: because he knew how to DRESS. He knew when to wear a flannel suit, what tie works well with what shirt, what shoes to wear with a tweed jacket and what hat goes with a striped worsted city suit.
As our dear Marlene's refrain goes:
"When will they ever learn,
When will they ever learn"
If one takes this as an inspiration and grasps the underlying principles, one is FREE from any formulae and cliches and can build a classically inspired wardrobe based on personal tastes, with as much modernity incorporated in it as one likes (in choice of cloth, styling, accessories, combinations etc.). Contemporary RTW is limitative, "old" bespoke is liberating.

Porteus, I dont' know how you usually dress, but are you sure the blazer & flannels made you look 20 years older, or is it the rest of your wardrobe that makes you look 20 years younger? I see no problem with a man looking 38 when he IS 38, unless he's an actor and didn't get to play Romeo yet

[Costi]

Apropos being taken to a tailor's shop as a young man to have clothes made, look at this adorable still (sorry for the blur, it's a screen shot from an old recording) depicting a (very) young boy in the audience at one of Leonard Bernstein's educational concerts for young people at Carnegie Hall in the late fifties:

While I don't think very young boys should be dressed by their parents to look like miniature grown-ups, such early contact with shirt, tie and coat is certainly much less frequent in our days.

[porteus]

Porteus, I dont' know how you usually dress, but are you sure the blazer & flannels made you look 20 years older, or is it the rest of your wardrobe that makes you look 20 years younger? I see no problem with a man looking 38 when he IS 38, unless he's an actor and didn't get to play Romeo yet

Costi, Yes I think it is a bit of both and has been suggested, perhaps due the combination of shirt, tie, pocket square etc. But I think the key thing here is that I am in the early stages of experimenting with a new wardrobe and like a painter who is trying oils for the first time, I have yet to discover which textures work well together and how best to express my own style most successfully.

I believe that most artists will start by using a formula that they know will work, that has been tried and tested many times before. Only when they have gained confidence in playing 'by the rules' and understand them can they start to break them bit by bit to stamp their own personality on their work. This is true for painters, sculptors, guitarists (like me). This, to my mind, is how we can tell the difference between an accomplished abstract painter and an artist who simply cannot paint, but disguises it behind the abstract form.

In the meantime, whilst I am sure I will make many sartorial mistakes, I am more worried about dressing 'too old'.

Looking through the LL photos section (which is fascinating), I see some great examples of style, but none from the 21st century. Does this mean contemporary sartorial role models don't exist (beyond the members of LL, of course ).

Cheers,
Porteus

[alden]

Costi

The suit and tie in that picture at the theater ages you a good twenty days.

What could your parents have been thinking?

Michael

[alden]

In the meantime, whilst I am sure I will make many sartorial mistakes, I am more worried about dressing 'too old'.

Porteus

This is a reoccurring theme and I have heard it most of my life. When I was a young man, it was first the Beat crowd then the Hippies who moved fashion. As an aside I might say that fashion today is much better then it was back then. Take a look at your father’s picture gallery from school days and it will make both of you blush.

Despite the fact of fashion and the peer pressure it is intended to create and inflame, many of us wore traditional clothes, were called “square” and the only colors we had to worry about was which Brigade might be targeting the suited crowd. Pretty fun don’t you think? So the more things change….

My only advice to you is to wear whatever rags make you feel like the world is yours. I just do not know how to say it any other way.

If the look in the mirror transmits the energy you feel inside, you can wear anything. If there is nothing inside you can wear nothing with satisfaction and your sartorial life will be a series of torments, doubts and frustrations that will drain you of whatever confidence you possess. Nothing begets nill.

If the later is the case, you are better off to just cover your body and get on with it. If the former is true, then follow the voice wherever it leads.

Cheers

Michael

[porteus]

Michael,

Thank you for that. There is certainly a special feeling I get when I know something looks right on me. Confidence and happiness grow in equal measures. I am sure this is true for most of us.

At the moment the learning curve is very steep, which in most cases is the fun part. But once I have enough knowledge to start to experiment with colours, cloth and styles I feel I will be able start to pull together a practical and stylish wardrobe that, importantly, reflects....ME.

(Enjoying your DWS videos, by the way).

Cheers.
Porteus

[alden]

At the moment the learning curve is very steep, which in most cases is the fun part. But once I have enough knowledge to start to experiment with colours, cloth and styles I feel I will be able start to pull together a practical and stylish wardrobe that, importantly, reflects....ME.

(Enjoying your DWS videos, by the way).

Thanks.

Remember one thing always, the man makes the clothes.

The more the growth inside, the more the presence will be felt on the outside and through whatever combination of clothes you choose.

Clothes are transmitting devices that help others tune into who we are. I could wear jeans with holes, a T shirt, a hoody, chains and remain essentially Alden. But the transmissions would not be the same.

Find the frequency that is yours...and entertain us!

Cheers

[uppercase]

My only advice to you is to wear whatever rags make you feel like the world is yours. I just do not know how to say it any other way.

Cheers

Michael

That is probably the best piece of advice on dressing that I have read.