The sport coat

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

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What would your response be if someone told you that navy trousers were wrong for your outfit?

I am not sure I would understand their point as to how navy trousers could be "wrong" with this outfit, so I would probably politely agree that yes, they are all wrong, and be on my merry way..

Wrong is in the eye of the beholder. I am not aware of rule books in style, and if there are, I would consciously avoid them.

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

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What would your response be if someone told you that navy trousers were wrong for your outfit?
I'd think they were crazy, and way too interested in what I was wearing.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I'd think they were crazy, and way too interested in what I was wearing.
I am very glad you said this.

Originally Posted by gnatty8

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I am not sure I would understand their point as to how navy trousers could be "wrong" with this outfit, so I would probably politely agree that yes, they are all wrong, and be on my merry way.. Wrong is in the eye of the beholder. I am not aware of rule books in style, and if there are, I would consciously avoid them.
I might be tempted to say something like "Well I can change my pants...how you gonna change your crap manners?

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

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I might be tempted to say something like "Well I can change my pants...how you gonna change your crap manners?

lol

Both responses were probably closer to what I would likely say, but I am trying desperately to win our friend's iGent of the Year competition, so manners manners..

Originally Posted by JLibourel

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Gadzooks, I really am "Little Boy Blue" today. I am wearing a jacket from the self-same blue Porter & Harding gun-club check fabric that DandySF posted earlier. Mine was (surprise!) also tailored by Chan. I am wearing it in conjunction with a blue shirt, a sort of dark marroon Canali tie with oblong blue dots, and--horror of horrors!--navy slacks. A marroon pocket square and A-E Fairfaxes in merlot complete the ensemble. This antipathy to navy worsted odd trousers is one thing I have never been able to comprehend. I gather this rule antedates the rise of iGentry, but somehow I missed out on it. Perhaps I am channeling my inner Cruiser here!
It does predate the iGent but it was a rule for a different time which like the black suit rule is quickly evaporating with a regard for darker colors. Someone was barking above about darker colors because of American middle age concern with obesity but our adolescents are obese too. For sports uniforms, theyve become darker but are not only favorites of out of shape fans the "fit" players also ask for darker uniforms; which in football recently includes matching dark pants for the first time in the NFL. The entire country has become more extreme, somber and more interested in imbuing mystery and power within the self. Dark colors Accomplish this.

Originally Posted by gnatty8

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lol Both responses were probably closer to what I would likely say, but I am trying desperately to win our friend's iGent of the Year competition, so manners manners..
Yeah, well I have no shot at winning that There are a lot of extremes on here. Someone asks what makes a jacket more modern and immediately this means you have to throw out brown tweeds. that isn't the case but whether you own a closet full of them or not, they aren't modern. You can make a burnt siena harris tweed more modern with the styling and details but that will only get you so far. But if someone wants a more modern jacket and someone else tells him there's no such thing and he should just wear a harris tweed jacket and flannels because that's the only real jacket, then maybe it's less about clothing and more about fear, control and a reactionary vision than clothes. Oh, and it doesnt have to be dark to be modern. I have a piece of light grey duppioni silk I want to make into a sports jacket. I alos have a piece of fire engine red ripple finish cashmere I want to get made up.

I am very much enjoying this discussion, because I have reached the point where I no longer expect to commission any more suits -- just sport coats/odd jackets. I am not sure why the OP is concerned with a "modern" look? I like lots of variation in sport coats, so some may look modern and others, well, how do you say "non-modern"?

As for navy pants, I gave up on them a little while ago because I often have to dress in relative darkness, and in that light I cannot tell navy from charcoal. Now if I am going to wear a pant with navy in it, I choose one that has a small pattern in it (say with grey/tan/charcoal etc) so I can differentiate them from the plain charcoals in my closet.

I could see getting some plain navy flannels for wear with sweaters and a subset of my jackets -- maybe I would put them in a separate closet altogether!

Originally Posted by eg1

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I am not sure why the OP is concerned with a "modern" look? I like lots of variation in sport coats, so some may look modern and others, well, how do you say "non-modern"?
He asked for modern jackets. It's a large topic but discussing it doesn't render more old fashioned jackets obsolete. There is too much worry over the self and what the self does and doesn't like on others. I suppose its fun to make judgments on the people who wear certain types of clothes, the places they frequent and ultimately their entire way of life but to deny that something exists because you don't like it or it makes you feel badly is really intellectual spinelessness. Whether or not you like the clothes, maybe the exercise that would help is to imagine yourself as a wardrober for a film where different characters are represented by the best made clothes that they would wear. Perhaps this is where the sartorial rubber hits the realistic road. If you think that in a contemporary movie, set in a city, would cast say its leading man in a three piece harris tweed suit with lace up boots and a knit tie, then you probably would have short career. And if you managed to select the modern clothes (snicker, snicker) but your judgments led you to make them cheap because that's what the character deserves, then your film wardrobe career may be short. I should add, that to appreciate clothes is ultimately to judge them but also to value them in a vacuum. I love the clothes in the Austin Powers movies, but that doesnt mean I cant distinguish between beautifully made wardrobes and appropriateness for a situation. .

what about something from Harrison's moon beam book?

these are designed a citifide sports coatings, great hand easy to tailor and not as glossy as their cashmere stuff and as rustic as real tweeds!

gnatty, sorry if you took offense at my "barking," as FNB so kindly characterizes it. all i can say is, you brought it up. no one walked up to you and rudely said your navy pants were so wrong. in the future i will know better than to answer such questions. i did not realize it was a rhetorical question & just an opportunity to praise your attire in an elegant manner. it can be hard to tell when posters are seriously curious, and when posters are fishing for compliments.

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

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I am very glad you said this.
Well, there is a big difference between what I would wear myself, what I think looks good on somebody else, and what I think is actually horrible. Gnatty looks fine wearing blue pants. Some people look good wearing black suits. That doesn't mean I would wear them myself. Other things, like Tom Ford bathing suits, and some assorted sharpie clothing, just look bad to me, but it isn't like I would ever tell somebody on the street that they looked like ****, or that what they were wearing was wrong.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Well, there is a big difference between what I would wear myself, what I think looks good on somebody else, and what I think is actually horrible. Gnatty looks fine wearing blue pants. Some people look good wearing black suits. That doesn't mean I would wear them myself. Other things, like Tom Ford bathing suits, and some assorted sharpie clothing, just look bad to me, but it isn't like I would ever tell somebody on the street that they looked like ****, or that what they were wearing was wrong.
Do you know someone who tells people in real life that they're doing things wrong with regards to clothing? With regards to modernity, I think the first step is to admit that such a look exists, that it is recognized collectively and has appeal. After that, you might make a decision about the location, the place, the crowd, the person, the purpose. The question remains, can you outline a modern outfit for someone without defacing them because of any contempt you might have for the look or the lifestyle? I believe this type of objectivity can enhance your own style. It's a form of sartorial enlightenment.

Originally Posted by luk-cha

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what about something from Harrison's moon beam book? these are designed a citifide sports coatings, great hand easy to tailor and not as glossy as their cashmere stuff and as rustic as real tweeds!
That's right. They are working on a warmer weather version "SunBeam" A lot of the cloth Harrisons make falls under "contemporary" This covers quite a bit of ground and yet does not cover everything. Other merchants like Holland and Sherry, Dormeuil and Scabal have their own contributions. Remember that just because something is modern doesnt mean it cant be wrong for a purpose, person or event; doesnt mean it cant be tasteless. But the same applies for the traditional stuff, just because it's traditional doesnt mean it cant be wrong for a specific purpose or tasteless. There's no safety in applying a formula, there is only continuing to contemplate style. Ohm...

Originally Posted by luk-cha

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what about something from Harrison's moon beam book?

these are designed a citifide sports coatings, great hand easy to tailor and not as glossy as their cashmere stuff and as rustic as real tweeds!

I think someone mentioned this above. They're nice, but perhaps a bit restrained compared to some of the vintage stuff (cf. some of Matt's Rubinaccis made from stuff pulled from the vaults). I was very surprised recently to see a Borrelli sportcoat book comprised entirely of 16 oz English cloths. Sadly, I think it's only for their own MTM program, but it's worth a look through just to see some of the really nice stuff in there.

--Andre