in which i henceforth wear only tuxes to work.
fashion scale: here’s a classic 3 button single-breasted striped suit accented with a striped bow tie, and here’s ed hardy. any questions?
lately i’ve been doing a metric butt-ton of research on men’s fashion on account of needing to buy a suit for the semi-formal wedding of one of my oldest friends. in truth, up until this very weekend i didn’t even have one at all. i worked all through high school and college as a banquets waiter and bartender, so i’m no stranger to wearing “formal” clothing and have been asked for fashion advice more than a few times by friends in my past due to that fact. i’ve rocked a cummerbund with the best of ‘em.
however, as i’ve been out of the food service biz for nearly 10 years now and settled comfortably into my casual web design world of t-shirts and flip flops, i’ve had little reason to wear what i’d consider grown-up clothing: men’s suits. i just don’t have much need for it in my day-to-day life really, and when i did i’ve managed to squeak by this long in my life by scavenging pieces here and there, or by simply lucking out (of the last 6 or so weddings i’ve gone to, i was in the wedding party the majority of the time and only needed to rent a tuxedo).
so what’s my point? well, now that i’ve managed to finally learn the difference between a single- and double-breasted suit, a notched lapel versus a peaked lapel, and what herringbone and hound’s tooth really looks like, i sorta lament not having a reason to express my newfound knowledge.
in the course of my research, i found the ins and outs endlessly fascinating; the rules and guidelines governing the “proper” wearing of everything from head to toe that no modern man seems to have much knowledge of (or use for). if we were in the 1940s or 50s, by this time in my life no doubt i’d have a closet full of suits: brown, black, navy, velvet, 2 piece, 3 piece, what have you. but the reality is that we live in an age where it’s possible for a man approaching middle-age to own not a single suit (hey, that’s me!). more than that, it seems like the art of men’s fashion is virtually non-existent. most young males today have very little need to put much thought into their wardrobes (myself included), and beyond that, rely on the fashion sense of their wives or girlfriends.
it’s almost enough to make me consider becoming some sort of company man or move to the hamptons, just so i could be able to explore the wonders of grownup wear. almost. as much as i like being dapper dave, i do still love being able to go into work in camo shorts, chuck taylors, and a woot shirt.
we’ll start with one nice suit in the closet.
