Sir Jack II
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2019
- Messages
- 83
- Reaction score
- 144
I’m going to take my virtual life into my own hands and offer an apologia for business casual (BC) dress, the preeminent.... no, the prevailing office-drone style of the 21st century.
My definition of business casual (BC) is simple: shirt with a collar, slacks of some sort, leather shoes that are not sneakers.
Beyond the straightforward premise that business casual is simply increased casualization via subtraction (subtract the hat, tie, coat/pocket square of traditional menswear, and what you’re left with is BC), I contend that BC can represent an elegant middle path between CM, which is arguably out of sync in many contexts, and SWD.
I believe that within the parameters of BC you can dress with taste and maybe even good style.
Rest assured that I understand all the flak BC gets: Business casual is just so common, for example. But this is also what I like about BC: its everyman vibe, the democratic feeling of dressing like others in your time. Poets, musicians, and other lowlifes have resorted to BC for generations now. (I think? Maybe?) Just check out the guy in my avatar, one of our best men, who went casual with a rough elegance back in the 1850s. Some of you might say, Why don’t you at least throw on a sports coat/jacket. I agree that a jacket would likely improve a given outfit and I understand it flatters the body. But I think for most people the jacket signifies, I have an important occasion to attend. For most people, it might be a little much for daily life. Anyhow, in the summer, it’s too hot; and in the winter, it might be better to wear a cardigan or pullover instead. And a decent shirt that fits well can frame the body just fine.
Moreover, the suit used to be just as common and probably just as poorly done on average as BC is today. Nowadays, the only men who wear CM regularly (aside from those who have to for work) tend to be enthusiasts, and so they all dress extremely well, perhaps better than nearly anyone dressed when wearing suits was the norm. I think this skews our perception of the CM era. It wasn’t all Cary Grant wearing whatever tailored masterpiece; it was often just a guy with a mediocre job in some office, wearing a suit from JC Penney. He looked okay, and a lot like everyone else, and that was enough.
I think you could analogize this to business casual today. It can be done well, or it can be done poorly. But perhaps it’s not the genre itself that’s flawed. Within CM and within SWD, there are all sorts of ways to look good. Maybe the same applies to our friend in the middle path, BC.
So let’s celebrate business casual attire together. Or let's trash it. I really don't know which I'd prefer.
My definition of business casual (BC) is simple: shirt with a collar, slacks of some sort, leather shoes that are not sneakers.
Beyond the straightforward premise that business casual is simply increased casualization via subtraction (subtract the hat, tie, coat/pocket square of traditional menswear, and what you’re left with is BC), I contend that BC can represent an elegant middle path between CM, which is arguably out of sync in many contexts, and SWD.
I believe that within the parameters of BC you can dress with taste and maybe even good style.
Rest assured that I understand all the flak BC gets: Business casual is just so common, for example. But this is also what I like about BC: its everyman vibe, the democratic feeling of dressing like others in your time. Poets, musicians, and other lowlifes have resorted to BC for generations now. (I think? Maybe?) Just check out the guy in my avatar, one of our best men, who went casual with a rough elegance back in the 1850s. Some of you might say, Why don’t you at least throw on a sports coat/jacket. I agree that a jacket would likely improve a given outfit and I understand it flatters the body. But I think for most people the jacket signifies, I have an important occasion to attend. For most people, it might be a little much for daily life. Anyhow, in the summer, it’s too hot; and in the winter, it might be better to wear a cardigan or pullover instead. And a decent shirt that fits well can frame the body just fine.
Moreover, the suit used to be just as common and probably just as poorly done on average as BC is today. Nowadays, the only men who wear CM regularly (aside from those who have to for work) tend to be enthusiasts, and so they all dress extremely well, perhaps better than nearly anyone dressed when wearing suits was the norm. I think this skews our perception of the CM era. It wasn’t all Cary Grant wearing whatever tailored masterpiece; it was often just a guy with a mediocre job in some office, wearing a suit from JC Penney. He looked okay, and a lot like everyone else, and that was enough.
I think you could analogize this to business casual today. It can be done well, or it can be done poorly. But perhaps it’s not the genre itself that’s flawed. Within CM and within SWD, there are all sorts of ways to look good. Maybe the same applies to our friend in the middle path, BC.
So let’s celebrate business casual attire together. Or let's trash it. I really don't know which I'd prefer.