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Wearing a poppy

post #1 of 32
11/1/11 at 6:54am
Thread Starter 
I think this has been raised in the past but things change and I wondered about current views on wearing a poppy.

In particular, do you continue to wear a pocket square when wearing a poppy?

If you are wearing a top coat do you wear a poppy on that or on your jacket (or both!)?
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post #2 of 32
11/1/11 at 7:01am
The poppy is more than just an item of fashion/clothing. If you need to think about whether or not you should or shouldn't wear the poppy with a pocket square then you are wearing it for the wrong reason.
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post #3 of 32
11/1/11 at 7:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikevienna View Post

The poppy is more than just an item of fashion/clothing. If you need to think about whether or not you should or shouldn't wear the poppy with a pocket square then you are wearing it for the wrong reason.

+1

I suggest you brush up on why there is the poppy and why your wearing the poppy in the first place. Then you'll realise the question you posed is basically irrelevant, no one will give a monkeys about how you wear it just notice your wearing it.
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post #4 of 32
11/1/11 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brideshead View Post

I think this has been raised in the past but things change and I wondered about current views on wearing a poppy.
In particular, do you continue to wear a pocket square when wearing a poppy?
If you are wearing a top coat do you wear a poppy on that or on your jacket (or both!)?

Though a boutonniere can be paired w/ a pocket square, the boutonniere can stand by itself. For something as solemn as the Remembrance Day poppy I think one ought not wear a pocket square; if one must then a plain white hankerchief at the most. Assuming you've donated twice I think you can wear one on your jacket and another on your top coat.

Of course the Commonwealth still wear the poppy; in last week's Boardwalk Empire the Yanks were wearing poppies too, but it appears that tradition is no more.

The US Dept of Veterans Affairs tells me the Americans wear the poppy for Memorial Day, but I don't recall it being worn, and certainly not as conspicuously as in the Commonwealth.
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post #5 of 32
11/1/11 at 7:49am
Today I am wearing navy blue suit, red pocket square with white polka dots and small enamel poppy lapel pin, which I usually keep in throughout November. The actual poppies are sometimes hard to come by for me so I have a perennial pin and then I can donate whenever it's convenient by internet.

No conflict for me regarding the pocket square, I think some people are really overthinking this.
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post #6 of 32
11/1/11 at 8:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by curzon View Post

Though a boutonniere can be paired w/ a pocket square, the boutonniere can stand by itself. For something as solemn as the Remembrance Day poppy I think one ought not wear a pocket square; if one must then a plain white hankerchief at the most. Assuming you've donated twice I think you can wear one on your jacket and another on your top coat.
Of course the Commonwealth still wear the poppy; in last week's Boardwalk Empire the Yanks were wearing poppies too, but it appears that tradition is no more.
The US Dept of Veterans Affairs tells me the Americans wear the poppy for Memorial Day, but I don't recall it being worn, and certainly not as conspicuously as in the Commonwealth.

I have no recollection of a tradition of wearing poppies for either Memorial Day or Veterans Day here in the US. US flag pins are fairly popular on Veteran's day.

Unfortunately regarding flowers here in the US the traditions seem to have changed to that of putting garish silk flower arrangements on headstones and then leaving them indefinitely. Really not an inspiring effect at all.
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post #7 of 32
11/1/11 at 9:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikevienna View Post

The poppy is more than just an item of fashion/clothing. If you need to think about whether or not you should or shouldn't wear the poppy with a pocket square then you are wearing it for the wrong reason.

Indeed it is and that is why I was asking. I wasn't thinking so much about appearance as about the solemnity of the occasion. I agree a simple white cotton / linen, if any, would be most appopriate.

Here, the general practice is to wear a poppy for around two weeks running up to Rememberance Sunday.
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post #8 of 32
11/1/11 at 9:31am
Yes, to wearing one on your topcoat and one on your jacket.

Due to what the poppy represents, keeping the pocket squares more conservative for a couple of weeks would be the way to go in my opinion.

Then there is when to stop wearing it protocol. I was taught to remove them no later than noon on November 11 as they are supposed to be removed and left at the Cenotaph or possibly gravesite of a fallen soldier after the 11:00am services end.

As for starting, there seems to be a race here in Canada as to who is first seen sporting one in politics and media. They are being worn earlier and earlier in October these days.
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post #9 of 32
11/1/11 at 10:55am

I may be one of the only people here who wears a white poppy.

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post #10 of 32
11/1/11 at 11:22am

This thread's a timely reminder that I haven't bought mine this year yet. I generally wear one from sometime just after the start of November until Remembrance Sunday is over.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about wearing a square with it or not. I generally do (but not always, depending on the overall outfit). I also generally just wear it on my jacket, not an overcoat. But I have been known to do the opposite or even both. Sort of depends whether I'm going to be out & about a lot or just wearing the overcoat for a brief period of the day.

 

The mark of respect is enough in and of itself to allow a lot of leeway on the precise protocol, I feel, though I'm sure there are those who feel more strongly about the etiquette of it than I.

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post #11 of 32
11/1/11 at 5:30pm
I wear a poppy either on the side of a fedora or on my raincoat/topcoat lapel and never on my office clothes.
I also accessorize with a sombre scowl.
This would be a good thread for some poppy porn 'seen in the wild' photos if anyone would like to post how you wear yours.
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post #12 of 32
11/1/11 at 7:54pm

You wear it on your hat?  That seems inappropriate.

 

Left lapel - close to heart.

 

lefty

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post #13 of 32
11/1/11 at 8:05pm
left lapel. but really, wear it wherever as long as you wear it.
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post #14 of 32
11/1/11 at 8:14pm

Can I wear it on my ass?

 

Honestly, it's not complicated. I think if I saw some kid wearing it on his hat I'd suggest he remove it.

 

Remembrance-e1289870143546.jpg

 

lefty

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post #15 of 32
11/1/11 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty View Post

You wear it on your hat?  That seems inappropriate.
Left lapel - close to heart.
lefty

I do...where the feather is. I do also use the left lapel of the coat but I tend to lose the poppy easier if it is on the lapel.
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