Covid accelerated dress code de-formalization - true or false?

[rjc149]

Let’s face it, in today’s overly sensitive, woke age, no restauranteur wants to be cancelled because he turned away someone for not wearing a jacket, especially if that potential patron was a minority.

This is exactly why these traditions will no longer be enforced, but merely paid homage with "jacket recommended." This is why loaner jackets are provided.

There is a classism and elitism to these dress codes, even if totally harmless and part of the fun, that do have distant links to racism -- but all of American history does. All of human history does. In an age where BLM agitators accost people eating brunch because it's "white" and where Band-Aids are seen by some as advocating black genocide, maintaining vestiges of elitist and traditionally white customs cannot and will not escape the woke hammer.

 

[dieworkwear]

I didn't think discussions on CM could get any worse, but here we are.

 

[rjc149]

I didn't think discussions on CM could get any worse, but here we are.

So Mr. Workwear, out of curiosity, what's your take on wearing oxford dress shoes with chinos?

 

[dieworkwear]

So Mr. Workwear, out of curiosity, what's your take on wearing oxford dress shoes with chinos?

Does that choice even matter if someone thinks peak lapels are flamboyant on dress coats?

 

[BPL Esq]

That's probably enough wrongthink for one morning. Everyone return to your scripts.

 

[Betta]

Does that choice even matter if someone thinks peak lapels are flamboyant on dress coats?

Maybe context matters. In the PNW if people see me with a OCBD and anything other than service boots i am "dressed up".

 

[rjc149]

Does that choice even matter if someone thinks peak lapels are flamboyant on dress coats?

Ahh back to terra firma.

 

[imatlas]

"BLM agitators"

?

 

[Phileas Fogg]

I didn't think discussions on CM could get any worse, but here we are.

the topic was dress codes. These are by nature imbued with notions of status, societal rank and I don’t believe the conversation and topics being discussed are out of place.

 

[rjc149]

Maybe we should just stick to talking about shoes and colors and leave the greater social discourse of dress codes out of it.

 

[pasadena man]

Backpacks create wear and tear on the shoulder pads of a suit, particularly the shoulder seams, so unless you’re unconcerned with damaging a $700+ investment, carrying a briefcase by hand is really the preferred method of lugging your crap around while wearing a suit jacket.

And while backpacks are fine for the commute, they’re quite juvenile and unprofessional for adult men conducting business in more conservative environments. At least, they are regarded that way where I work.

Thanks to pomor for bringing up backpacks, which are surprisingly little discussed on CM given their ubiquity and impact.

Backpacks can and often will not just create wear and tear, but distort the padding and shaping of the jacket, perhaps the major reason men invest in a good suit. They also destroy the silhouette and intended visual effect of tailored clothing from all angles.

I am wondering how people in our community deal with this issue. I usually carry a Clegg or Filson bag with a detachable shoulder strap. I often use the strap with casual or workwear, but never with any tailored jackets, the likely consequences are too dire. Laptops and tablets obviously make it easier to transport the information you need in a hand carried bag.

 

[RSS]

True, but we're on a clothing forum, so it seems natural to talk about expensive clothes in a way it doesn't seem natural to talk about $250 dinners.

BUT, if one has his suits made at Richard Anderson & shoes at Cleverley ... might he not also buy watches by Jaeger LeCoultre ... perhaps some fine art and furniture ... and dinners at Eleven Madison or Canlis? If one is paying that much for clothing, might not the rest of his life be in sync?

 

[pasadena man]

.



The reality of suit-wearing holds true for the majority of the world's people -- they are not the most comfortable or practical, especially in hot or cold weather. They are designed to be comfortable in the London climate, and not really anywhere else.

They also work well in many Northern European and non-Sunbelt US climates, even ones lacking in "English sunshine".

 

[bicycleradical]

I don't think covid accelerated the increasing slovenliness with which people are comfortable presenting themselves with in public. That was already going full steam prior to the pandemic.

People are used to seeing me in nice leather shoes and other CM accoutrements however prior to me discovering the hobby, I was asked the, "why are you so dressed up" question regularly.

 

[dieworkwear]

BUT, if one has his suits made at Richard Anderson & shoes at Cleverley ... might he not also buy watches by Jaeger LeCoultre ... perhaps some fine art and furniture ... and dinners at Eleven Madison or Canlis? If one is paying that much for clothing, might not the rest of his life be in sync?

Probably true for a certain section of that clientele.

I think the market for high-end tailoring has changed dramatically in the last hundred years. My understanding is that, after the war, many more middle-class Brits and Americans were able to afford Savile Row tailoring. At least compared to the period before the war.

Now it feels like we're in the second wave of democratization. I think there are now two types of tailoring houses -- those such as Huntsman and Anderson & Sheppard, who serve both a very wealthy type of customer, and then what can be broadly defined as "enthusiasts."

I think some tailoring houses serve more of an enthusiast type of customer. Matthew at Steed once told me that almost all their clients are enthusiasts types. Edward Sexton also once told me that many of his clients are enthusiasts -- they're not very rich, but they order one thing per year because they love tailoring.

I think there's more diversity in lifestyle now between such people. Not everyone is buying JLC watches and eating $200 plates on a regular basis, even if they're spending a lot on clothes.