Velvet?

[Rowly]

Manself wrote:
dressing properly (and feeling good about myself as a result)
Costi:
That's the point, to me - more than whom I am going to meet, bump into or date. If anything, my interest is not in what others think about my dress, but what they think about ME. Part of feeling that I am myself lies in my dress. So if I want to offer others the best of ME, I need to FEEL the best of me and, if my dress depresses me, it's hard to do that. So I dress for myself, to my own taste, for my own pleasure and, by doing that, I am in my best mood / shape for others, as Manself wrote.

Very well put. I feel my dress is for self expression and if I get that right, I feel good about myself and I have a spring in my step, which others might respond to at a subconscious level, although that is not my motivation.

Why not wear your tie with a more debonair casual attitude than those around you in their open necked ensembles, who are, in fact, the ones conforming to the norm and lacking the expression of any individuality?
I would agree that there are some well made rtw suits...that is why my current bespoke projects are moving away from drab grey business suit types and towards more stylish weekend, after hours and country suits of the type favoured by the DOW. This makes me feel good and whether others agree with my taste does not impact me. One thing I find though, is that not due to lack of confidence or regard for the acceptance of the group, but due to laziness..I sometimes hesitate to bother to dress when it is not essential..but, I always have a better time when dressed, so I try not to deny myself that pleasure.

[Jordan Marc]

There was a time in the upholstery trade, say, in the mid 20th century when genuine silk velvet was readily available from sources in France and Italy. Very beautiful and ungodly expensive. Mohair velvet was also available. It was somewhat less expensive than its velvet counterpart, but neither silk nor mohair velvets were really intended for the rag trade. Just too perishable. Tailors might use a scrap of it for a collar on a Chesterfield, but it never lasted long and invariably needed to be replaced. The worst velvet of them all was cut silk-velvet. Some of the designs of this stuff date back to Thomas
Chippendale and can be seen in the V & A in London; you would be surprised how contempory the Chippendale designs look to museum goers.

Stick with beautifully made woolen fabrics to cover yourself. Upholstery is just too cumbersome.

JMB

[hectorm]

The worst velvet of them all was cut silk-velvet. Some of the designs of this stuff date back to Thomas Chippendale and can be seen in the V & A in London; you would be surprised how contempory the Chippendale designs look to museum goers.
Stick with beautifully made woolen fabrics to cover yourself. Upholstery is just too cumbersome.

JMB

Hereby some images of cut silk velvet on Chippendale upholstery....
http://www.museumfurniture.com/chippend ... ettee1.jpg

...and some cut silk velvet on garments...
http://www.storesonline.com/images/comm ... th.max=250

...and finally some upholstery "silk" velvet on a man's jacket (please zoom in on image for details)
http://a1.zassets.com/images/z/1/7/5/7/ ... 9-2-2x.jpg

Definitely all illustrating in favor of our advice discouraging its use in apparel.