It very much depends on the company that one keeps and, especially, their age group; as well as where you go. You are nearer my children's ages than mine and so our continuing experiences will differ in both of these respects. Most of my oldest friends that are in London, are middle-aged (as am I). We'll pass on the fact that I live in a Sleepy Hollow on the other side of the world and wear swimming shorts and sandals! Those who still work are senior professionals or administrative grade civil servants. All of the men, except one, still wear city suits and ties and most of them have good tailors; although few go as far as bespoke shoes and shirts. Some wear a hat; some do not. The one exception has his own professional practice in the suburbs and wears a blue blazer and has given up ties. None of them would even dream of struggling to find brown shoes to match a blue suit and none would share an elevator with kids in baseball caps (or any man wearing any hat, come to that). The women wear skirts and jackets and blouses. None of them would pitch up to any social event, a restaurant, the theatre (etc.) in town dressed like a broken hedge (although most of them would appear to be exactly that in the sporting field). I do accept that many people, even in London, do dress like derelicts. However, I am not sure that the fact which you identify so well (namely that many modern Britons are lazy, disrespectful slobs), demonstrates that well cut suits, shirts and ties and decent shoes have no continuing currency, in the midst of streets of scarecrows in trackies, trainers, teeshirts and ball caps. I think that Alexander Pope summed it up quite well in the lines from his Essay on Criticism:Luca wrote:With respect, I think that's a contraddiction in terms.NJS wrote:The basis for any dress surely needs to be some broad acceptance of the age in which we live and a disregard of fashions that have no continuing currency. NJS
To be clear, anyone wearing, for instance, a tie or a hat other than a ball cap, outside of a situation when they are more or less required to do so by their job is, in 2013, wildly unaccepting "of the age in which we live".
The norm of the age, is "smart casual" at funerals and weddings, sweatpants at Michelin-starred Restaurants and gardener-clothes at all casual social gatherings.
But I guess we'll jsut ahve to differ on that.
In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold;
Alike fantastic, if too new or old:
Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.
Of course, Brummell, whose ascendancy came a century later, did invent some fashions but such an exception not only proves but emphasises the rule and I do know one fellow who wears suits and hats which some might call 'dated' but they are first rate (G&S suits and Lock or Patey hats) and everyone just says ''Oh! there's XYZ''.
When Edmundo Ros ran his famous club in Regent Street he always refused entry to men who were not wearing a suit and tie; including, famously, King Hussein of Jordan and Peter O'Toole. Nowadays, it seems that many high-end establishments (especially of the 'cool' variety) will jettison dress codes in favour of attracting the monied yobs who throng to these places. However, enough places, such as the clubs of St James's (and even the Italian embassy*), are not about to go that way: because enough of us still like it hot.
NJS
*
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h ... EwAQ&dur=0
Should the caption be:
''The Last Hurrah'' or ''The Secret World''?
