No Brown in town?

[NJS]

It's time we all should be free to wear purple, if we so wish, as per the recommendations of Jenny Joseph...and ignore the negative influences of the Dresstapo!

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

....and that includes wearing brown in town!

I suppose that an extension of this is to wear less and less...

[hectorm]

It might be a fading social expectation but what used to called administrative grade civil servants; most MPs and their staffs; company directors and middle managers; many in the legal and medical professions and those in the church still often stick to grey and blue whilst at work.

Well then, isn´t that a strong incentive to wearing more brown and less of a color that could lead to one´s being mistaken for someone from those tracks of life?
And I would add: bankers. My tailor has told me that after the latest financial crisis the beaspeaking of brown city suits skyrocketed compared to other colors since nobody wanted to be mistaken for a banker (even bankers themselves).

[NJS]

It might be a fading social expectation but what used to called administrative grade civil servants; most MPs and their staffs; company directors and middle managers; many in the legal and medical professions and those in the church still often stick to grey and blue whilst at work.

Well then, isn´t that a strong incentive to wearing more brown and less of a color that could lead to one´s being mistaken for someone from those tracks of life?
And I would add: bankers. My tailor has told me that after the latest financial crisis the beaspeaking of brown city suits skyrocketed compared to other colors since nobody wanted to be mistaken for a banker (even bankers themselves).

Well, since I have been in at least two of those categories, I can say that we are not all as bad as you might think! However, these days, I do wear less and less and, within the bounds of decency, have reached an irreducible minimum, which invariably includes a pair of brown 'Jesus' sandals but then I live on the beach.

So far as bankers are concerned though, I am surprised that the system allowed those responsible for the last (and continuing) financial crisis to bespeak anything ever again; they should be in chains and breaking stones!

[markwbaur]

I've enjoyed breaking this rule today in an Ariston Super 160s herringbone three-piece. Haven't been 'arrested' yet...!

Happy Tuesday!

[Gruto]

George V wore dark brown like many late victorian and edwardian gentlemen. The West End "blue & gray only" is a post First WW thing.

[Marwood]

I hope you won't mind a first post to jump right in, but I couldn't agree more with the sentiment in the video. I work with a number of city firms (I'm a change consultant), including financial institutions and I frequently wear brown. I rather enjoy walking too and from the station or popping out at lunch being the only one in brown in a sea of badly-fitting navy and black suits. The only time I ran into a anything like an issue was when it was politely suggested to a group of us about to present to a board at Barclays that a navy suit would be most appropriate.

I'd also agree with the idea of brown being a warmer colour. I often have to talk to groups of people who are often not well-disposed to listen to me and I feel more comfortable in brown than in blues, greys and black. I've no idea if my city audiences notice anything different but I do notice I am perceived as less of a 'suit' when I work with healthcare providers.

In fact I should be collecting another brown suit (from Browne's, appropriately enough) on Friday.

[alden]

Marwood

Welcome to the LL. (And I take a moment to welcome all the new members whose presence here is most appreciated.)

In America the dark suit in black, blue or gray, the 80s “power suit”, is seen as an instrument to intimidate rivals and opponents. Combined with huge amounts of stuffing these Darth Vader suits are meant to send shivers up the spine and garner respect born of fear.

I think those days are (or should be) ancient history. In business, as in life, we are living in a world where seduction is more efficient than intimidation. “You catch more flies with honey”, it is said, and softer colors and softer suits do have an endearing and warm character that makes them irresistible.

In the UK I think the dark suit is more about remaining neutral. It is a different mindset. But in the world of seduction, neutrality is a losing hand. A man must create space that is warm and inviting if he is to win the heart as well as the mind.

Cheers

Michael

[alden]

That's a good looking suit. The copper tie makes it pop beautifully.

I see that you're cutting them higher and tighter now. Same as the Sicilian grey. What's the thinking behind that?

Good acting job. You missed your calling.

UC

Thank you.

Charvet is tough to beat.

The grey DB had thinner, more vertical lapels. This brown coat is more 1930s. The lapel is wider and the notch is flatter. I like it very much. The button point on these coats is actually lower, but they close higher up and that is something I like as well. It concentrates the effect of the shirt and tie. And somehow it just makes the coat more present.

A lot of men who were young actors in LA in the 70s and early 80s feel like the calling missed them. That’s show biz! I am giving it another shot as an old actor.

Cheers

Michael

[Marwood]

Thank you for the welcome.

In the UK I think the dark suit is more about remaining neutral. It is a different mindset. But in the world of seduction, neutrality is a losing hand. A man must create space that is warm and inviting if he is to win the heart as well as the mind.

That's a very good point. The few times I have done business with Americans I have noticed that it seems to be the east coast guys who wear the power suits, whilst the few suits I saw in Texas were mainly linen and a little seersucker (Another underrated material). There didn't seem to be the same desire to fit in, to be clubbable as there is in the UK. This may be because a suit is less common generally, or because of the requirements of climate but it was a refreshing approach.

That said, I have seen a little more variety in London recently. More pocket squares, more variety in the sorts of suits worn. It may be the vagaries of fashion but it is rather pleasing.

[hectorm]

The few times I have done business with Americans I have noticed that it seems to be the east coast guys who wear the power suits, whilst the few suits I saw in Texas were mainly linen and a little seersucker

The last "power suits" worn in the US were spotted in New Jersey circa 1994.
Nowadays the very, very few who still wear a suit regularly fall mainly into 2 categories: slim suits for the younger hip crowd and classic sack suits (Brooks Brothers style with little padding or waist suppression) all the rest.
As for the rare sightings of linen or seersucker suits in Texas, you must have been dealing either with some oil barons or with lawyers over 55 years of age.

[Simon A]

Indeed, Edward VII liked brown as well.

[NJS]

Clearly, George V, Edward VII and, before them, the Prince Consort had, as keen sporting men, worn brown (and other colours of tweed), but it is extremely unlikely that they would have worn it when they were 'working' in town. That was an age of extreme formality and even the Cabinet and the Privy Council wore Court uniforms in the King's presence.

The predeliction for black/dark blue coats for town day and evening wear began in Brummell's time. As a result of his influence, the Prince Regent abandoned the French tailor, Louis Bazalgette, and gravitated to the likes of the more sombre Meyer. There is a famous Grego cartoon of Brummell ‘in deep convesation with the Duchess of Rutland’ in Almack’s ballroom, around 1815 and in this he is wearing a blue coat and black pantaloons; one male guest is in a brown coat but, gradually, during the following reigns, especially that of Victoria, black or blue coats became the normal town wear for the governing and professional classes at work and in the evening, declining (if that is the word) from frocks and morning coats and dress coats to short coats (strollers) and dinner jackets after WWI. Then plain blue and grey dittoes became prevalent for daytime, followed by bolder patterns and now, apparently, and in accordance with some destiny, the world is returning to brown.

A great deal is made of ‘no brown in town’ but we must not forget that black in the countryside is sometimes even more de rigueur than it is, these days, in town: formal hunt coats (apart from those in hunt colours) are black; so is the topper that may be worn with the frock hunt coat; so too the boots, with black patent tops.

It would be wrong to say that ‘brown in town’ for town men at work is a phenomenon confined to the inter-war years (however much revisionist history is a popular art) but the modern adventure, into colours beyond blue and grey, is arguably just a muted reversion (in a sense), to the tastes in colour of the ancien regime.

If the bankers have gone to earth in brown, maybe they will still be recognizable in clusters and subjected to the bombardment of rotting fruit and eggs that they so richly deserve!

I think that, where the Gordon Geckos of this world seek the power suit, the British look for men who tow the line of social expectation and are ‘dressed like us’; not so much in search of neutrality of dress but in search of a tribal identity, symbolizing a totem, which, after over a thousand years of miscegenation, our genes have, in reality, denied us,: but, if the outer man is dressed according to tribal custom (and never too carefully), he will be safe to deal with. The British definitely suspect the wrong clothes (Edward VII and George V had the sharpest eyes for them), and there is a very fine line indeed between being ‘dressed to the nines’ and being ‘dressed [or done] up like a dog’s dinner’.

[alden]

not so much in search of neutrality of dress but in search of a tribal identity, symbolizing a totem, which, after over a thousand years of miscegenation, our genes have, in reality, denied us,: but, if the outer man is dressed according to tribal custom (and never too carefully), he will be safe to deal with.

NJS

Reading this I can almost say the same thing about Italians. They have a clannish, tribal, gregarious side to them as well. It is so apparent in fashion. They have a tendency to wear exactly the same thing to be recognized as part of a group.

How is it that the colonists escaped this peculiarity? (Be nice!)

Cheers

Michael

[NJS]

not so much in search of neutrality of dress but in search of a tribal identity, symbolizing a totem, which, after over a thousand years of miscegenation, our genes have, in reality, denied us,: but, if the outer man is dressed according to tribal custom (and never too carefully), he will be safe to deal with.

NJS

Reading this I can almost say the same thing about Italians. They have a clannish, tribal, gregarious side to them as well. It is so apparent in fashion. They have a tendency to wear exactly the same thing to be recognized as part of a group.

How is it that the colonists escaped this peculiarity? (Be nice!)

Cheers

Michael

Michael: I did think about it as I was writing and it is probably more complicated than the following. But I suppose that, first, there are the colonies which broke away earlier rather than later (America), and there are those that remained under British control for much longer.

Maybe, America is also a product of vast, gradual miscegenation (possibly second only to Brazil) and consequential mixed cultures, albeit centred on the central American Dream: hard work and its rewards; houses without fences; every kitchen convenience; neighbours that you actually know; the jive and the juke box; big cars; free speech; hot dogs and Hollywood. But America is too large and diverse and has too many different climates and regions to let a single unvarying Dream govern every aspiration and approach. Britain is small and (at least) was tight knit, so that assimilation and integration into a single, mainstream way of life was both an expectation and an aspiration. Hence the creation of a new tribe out of a bastard race: picts, celts, romans, danes, angles, saxons, normans and so on up to the further mixes of our own age. Two of my children, for example, are half Croatian and half Cornish. I think that a general disintegration of the willingness to maintain social bonds is seeing the gradual ending of this curious tribal feeling and, partly, it is happening because the world is getting 'smaller' because of modern methods of travel and communication. A notion of 'citizenship of the world' would bring a heightened chance of general peacable co-existence and so shouldn't be knocked.

Strangely, there are former British possessions in Africa, for example, where British imperial uniforms are still sported by the independent states that have emerged. The nations such as former India, which had its own highly developed and ancient civilizations, have hung on to the best that the British left behind: an official language being the most notable, as well as the international uniform of the lounge suit for politicians and businessmen.

But given a choice between whether Britain's greatest gift to the world is the lounge suit or the language, I think that it has to be the language. Incidentally, the watching and listening to clips of the TV show 'What's My Line' on youtube show just how much American English has generally deteriorated in 50 years, in equal step with British English: one thing that, sadly, is the same everywhere.

[Gruto]

NJS

I am afraid that you are a victim of the to modern urge to simplify the past. Brown, at least in dark tones, was much more popular than you seem to think. Here you have one example, admitingly from Copenhagen, not London, but Copenhagen favoured the London fashions and norms in those days (1817, Drejer's Club):