A request for suggestions

[salsatron]

Hello good Sirs,

This is my first post on the London Lounge, having just joined. Until very recently, I was an unabashed slob about most of my clothing (venturing beyond a t-shirt only for job interviews for example, and even then not always), but I am now familiar with the pleasure of wearing something nice and stylish that actually makes me feel good.

I have a request for help though, as obviously I am still learning many of the ropes. I found a particular jacket in a charity shop closing down sale, I bought it for £1 - why not?! It's nice, but it doesn't really fit in with either my work attire (based around my standard charcoal suit) or my casual day wear (based around my brown corduroy jacket). I tried to attach a picture but unfortunately it was too big, soo I'll give as best a description as I can.

It is essentially a black, military-style parade jacket - four metal buttons up the front, with small lapels that are narrower where they meet the collar than the collar itself. It doesn't have all the military acoutrements like epaulettes or loads of pockets, it is still a regular jacket in that respect, it just has this parade style cut. For the record, it is somewhat sack-suit like, in that there is no taper to the waist. I think it only looks any good when fully buttoned up - when open it doesn't hang the way a regular jacket with longer lapels hangs, it hangs too close at the throat, and too wide at the bottom.

I really have no idea how to wear it. All I can really think at the moment, is that I could wear it with a white shirt, black tie, black shoes and trousers, and wear it to things like military memorial services of some sort.

Any suggestions on a better use for it? Thanks in advance.

[Digby Snaffles]

I don't think it would be appropriate for military memorials or indeed formal occasions in general. Civilian attire very often draws influence from military uniforms and going by your description this garment strikes me as the kind of thing one would imagine bohemians or mods to have worn in the 60s.

[Costi]

Until very recently, I was an unabashed slob about most of my clothing (venturing beyond a t-shirt only for job interviews for example, and even then not always), but I am now familiar with the pleasure of wearing something nice and stylish that actually makes me feel good.

Good approach, that's the spirit of it - wearing something that makes you feel good and "stylish".
Keep this black coat - in a few years you'll smile thinking back of the time you took one of the first steps in broadening your style horizon. We all go astray every now and then and miss the target with a garment or another, so just thank God that this crucial lesson only cost you £1 (others spend small fortunes on clothes and still miss this lesson). The lesson is that clothes need to fit you (the coat that closes at the throat and kicks open at the skirt obviously does not). You may be lucky and find good fitting clothes in charity shops, or buy them off the rack, or cut and sew them yourself, or have a tailor make them for you - but the basic rule is that they need to fit. If you are to wear something nice and stylish that actually makes you feel good, that is!

[salsatron]

Thanks for the feedback. I probably confused things with my description, it is only when it is left unbottoned that it drapes badly - I can't imagine it seriously being worn unbuttoned. I think I will just have to take my time finding a use for it.

It might make an interesting alternate jacket for a stroller...