The London Lounge

The final edition of the minimum wardrobe is as follows:

5 city suits;
2 informal, weekend or country suits (eg.1 Tweed and 1 Linen);
3 tweed coats;
1 Navy DB Blazer;
1 Dinner jacket;
2 Summer weight unlined coats;
10 Casual trousers;
24 Boxer shorts;
85 neckties;
7 White dress shirts;
17 Color dress shirts;
12 Informal button down shirts (including Viyella);
36 pochettes (12 colored, 12 Irish linen, 12 au choix.);
8 Sweaters;
2 Vests; (for wear with Tweed coats.)
5 Pyjamas;
1 Bathrobe in wool;
1 Bathrobe in silk (optional);
1 Smoking or "Interior wear only" jacket (optional);
1 Barbour jacket;
7 Pairs of shoes (4 Oxford, 2 Elegant Brogues; 1 Double soled Brogues);
4 Overcoats (DB blue or gray, SB blue or gray; Tweed , Whipcord, or Covert);
1 Leather jacket (optional, should be Sheepskin, preferably made bespoke);
5 Hats (Trilby Brown and Gray; Fedora; Homburg in black, Panama);
4 Caps (3 tweed; 1 Linen);
3 pairs of gloves;
Assorted silk and cashmere scarves;
2 Umbrellas;
1 Cane or Walking stick.
Boxes of socks. "Fils D'Ecosse", Wool, and Linen.
Unlimited numbers of pairs of cufflinks and button covers.
2 timepieces: Leather band dress watch, and Sportswatch
Assorted braces and belts.

What! No grey striped pants? No single stripe pants? No double strip pants? No Stroller? No cutaway? No tailcoat? No white vest? No silver vest? No buff vest? No black vest? No tunic shirt with detachable collar? No tunic shirt with detachable collar, pique bib bosom and stiff single link cuffs? No pleated shirt? No Marcella shirt? No black bow-tie? No white pique bow-tie? No patent oxford? No pumps? No studs? No white pocket watch, fob and chain? No gold pocket watch, fob and chain? No gold dress (i.e., very slim) wrist watch with gold wristband? No white dress (i.e., very slim) wristwatch with white wristband? No straw boater? Not 3 canes - 1 Malacca, 1 black with gold balltop, and 1 black with silver balltop? No undershirt? No OTC silk socks? No white bucks with red soles?

HappyStroller,

I assume these items were left off due to the fact that this is a minimun wardrobe for 2007 not 1917.

HappyStroller wrote:What! No grey striped pants? No single stripe pants? No double strip pants? No Stroller? No cutaway? No tailcoat? No white vest? No silver vest? No buff vest? No black vest? No tunic shirt with detachable collar? No tunic shirt with detachable collar, pique bib bosom and stiff single link cuffs? No pleated shirt? No Marcella shirt? No black bow-tie? No white pique bow-tie? No patent oxford? No pumps? No studs? No white pocket watch, fob and chain? No gold pocket watch, fob and chain? No gold dress (i.e., very slim) wrist watch with gold wristband? No white dress (i.e., very slim) wristwatch with white wristband? No straw boater? Not 3 canes - 1 Malacca, 1 black with gold balltop, and 1 black with silver balltop? No undershirt? No OTC silk socks? No white bucks with red soles?

you are correct: No.

There's some remarkable mass in this - 10 casual trousers. A month of underwear. I find I cannot have so many, lest my laundry pile up. I'd also need to build a hidden drawer to conceal the Imelda-Marcos tie collection lest my wife take it as approval for 85 pairs of shoes.

I admire the restraint around footwear. (Note that the list does not rule out Happy's patent oxfords). I imagine several people here could tick off that item multiple times.

"Unlimited numbers of pairs of cufflinks and button covers."

1,000,000 pairs of gold cufflinks at US$2,000 per pair = US$2,000,000,000.

A minimal wardrobe?

Alden,

thank you very much for posting this very useful article. It is a good advice of what one needs or what one should aim for. Some articles seem to be real basics (e.g. suits/coats, dress shirts), some are developable by and by (ties, pocchettes, cufflinks).

Again: thanks a lot!

Degendorff

As someone working on his minimum, I think this is a very good guide.

One item in particular caught my attention--

alden wrote: Boxes of socks. "Fils D'Ecosse", Wool, and Linen.

I can't say I've ever seen or heard of linen socks before but I imagine they'd be noticeably less comfortable than cotton or wooll. Do they sell them anywhere in NY?

Cantabrigian wrote:I can't say I've ever seen or heard of linen socks before but I imagine they'd be noticeably less comfortable than cotton or wooll. Do they sell them anywhere in NY?

I've seen linen blended into cotton and/or wool for socks, but always less than half the total. And I haven't even seen that in a while. They are not bad. Though I wonder how a mostly linen sock would feel.

Well, I was just pulling Alden's leg.

My idea of my own minimal Shanghai weather-proof wardrobe for 2007 would be more like this:-

3 white informal dress cotton shirts
3 dress slacks (e.g., 1 grey, 1 blue, 1 khaki)
1 soft 100% 3-layer(ply?) cashmere buttonable V-neck hand knitted sweater
1 2-piece worsted tropical weight wool suit (to attend weddings, etc.)
1 silk necktie (for use with suit)
2 pairs of black oxford leather cap toe shoes
1 black leather belt
4 pairs of cotton socks
4 pairs of woolen socks
4 pairs of soft 100% Egyptian cotton boxer shorts
4 soft 100% Egyptian cotton undershirts
2 sets of woolen underwear incorporating cellular interfacing material (for Winter wear)
2 X-large X-thick 100% cotton bath towels
1 knee-length anorak
1 soft woolen scarf
1 silk scarf (for hot weather)
1 grey Homburg or Trilby
1 Marten sable fur/leather-lined hat
1 100% woolen knitted anti-cold cap (needed for Winter nights)
1 long gentleman's sun-proof umbrella with curved handle (for self-defence purpose)
1 pair of soft leather gloves (for Winter use)
1 pair of thin suede gloves (for late Autumn/early Spring use)
1 steel watch with compass (for good/bad luck directions and positions)
1 pair of anti-UVA/B prescription glasses
1 pair of clip-on Ray Ban sunglasses
1 gold-plated Parker roller ball pen (with blue gel ink)
1 Windows OS 3G handphone with built-in camera with 4 GB SD card

(Re-edited Mar 22, 2007)

JamesT1 wrote:HappyStroller,

I assume these items were left off due to the fact that this is a minimun wardrobe for 2007 not 1917.

You can find linen blend socks in NYC at Paul Stuart and Jay Kos.

HappyStroller wrote:Well, I was just pulling Alden's leg.

I assumed as much. I, myself, was disappointed to see no mention of a ruff or a doublet...

manton wrote:

Cantabrigian wrote:I can't say I've ever seen or heard of linen socks before but I imagine they'd be noticeably less comfortable than cotton or wooll. Do they sell them anywhere in NY?

I've seen linen blended into cotton and/or wool for socks, but always less than half the total. And I haven't even seen that in a while. They are not bad. Though I wonder how a mostly linen sock would feel.

I have several pair that I wear in summer but I bought them years ago and the maker's mark has washed off.

On the subject of socks; would any of you recommend any especially good places for socks in London? Do members have any prefered source?

Thanks

On the subject of socks; would any of you recommend any especially good places for socks in London? Do members have any prefered source?

Budd (Piccadilly Arcade) has a nice selection of Pantherella socks. But, as I remember, they are quite costly.