The Look goes on...

[Clouseau]

Thanks @Mr Knightley for a very interesting Challenge and thanks guys for the votes.
Will propose the next one - MtS & TLGO friendly - very soon...

 

[Mr Knightley]

Thanks @Mr Knightley for a very interesting Challenge and thanks guys for the votes.
Will propose the next one - MtS & TLGO friendly - very soon...

How many is that, mate?

It was a pretty good Challenge for our little group!

 

[Clouseau]

How many is that, mate?

It was a pretty good Challenge for our little group!

Here it is Guys :

Friday Challenge : The Blouson (or 'Harrington')

It's fall and we still can pull out a 'Harrington', one of the most versatile jacket one can own. It seems like the new Challenge for the next couple of weeks is figuring how to look smart with a simple blouson, at first designed to play Golf. RULES : The picture(s) must be recent, one month...

www.styleforum.net

Hope to see you too on this one !
Cheers
C.

 

[Kingstonian]

Congratulations to Clouseau.

Notable mentions outside ‘the look goes on’ people :-

David Lane has an excellent gun club check jacket, the rest of his stuff did not step up to the mark.

Betelgeuse also had very nice kit.

As regards Harringtons, they are not Mr. K’s forte. He looks better in tailored casual stuff with a bit more gravitas. No cravats though.

 

[Kingstonian]

I also hope this does not turn into a clique voting pattern.

I thought Purple Label was definitely worth a vote but surprisingly - to me anyway - he got null points.

 

[Mr Knightley]

Congratulations to Clouseau.

Notable mentions outside ‘the look goes on’ people :-

David Lane has an excellent gun club check jacket, the rest of his stuff did not step up to the mark.

Betelgeuse also had very nice kit.

As regards Harringtons, they are not Mr. K’s forte. He looks better in tailored casual stuff with a bit more gravitas. No cravats though.

Well, what can I say? There I was thinking that second place in that esteemed company was a tolerably good outcome and you bring me back down to earth with a bump!

So, what do you advise? Should I sit out the next one?

 

[Clouseau]

Nope !

 

[Kingstonian]

Well, what can I say? There I was thinking that second place in that esteemed company was a tolerably good outcome and you bring me back down to earth with a bump!

So, what do you advise? Should I sit out the next one?

It’s only one opinion and you got lots of votes.

Maybe try to dress it up a bit ? No jeans good footwear.

Harrington is strictly defined so an upmarket blouson would not qualify if you have one.

 

[Clouseau]

It’s only one opinion and you got lots of votes.

Maybe try to dress it up a bit ? No jeans good footwear.

Harrington is strictly defined so an upmarket blouson would not qualify if you have one.

Well, and that's the interesting point, you have some cheap Harringtons and also very 'Upmarket' ones. That's why i think this new FC is very open and 'broad'...

 

[Kingstonian]

So, what do you advise? Should I sit out the next one?

Maybe a photo on the golf course at the end of your swing as you just hit a really nice seven iron. Cap, nice jumper, clean pair of footjoys . Must be a really nice day on a course that drains well. No mud.

 

[Jimmy Balantyne]

Last one. For a while. Got this today;

 

[Mr Knightley]

I was reflecting further on the comments by @Kingstonian about the Harrington not being my forte. I noted too that similar views were expressed on the new FC thread relative to Frank Sinatra. And having reflected on the point I do now have some sympathy with that view.

Growing up in the late 1960s it was an aspiration to look just as good in your casual gear on Friday night at the local as it was to shine in your mohair on a Saturday at Ilford Palais. Never off duty.

But can a blouson and jeans or cotton trousers ever look as good as a three-piece bespoke suit or blazer and POW trou? It might appear more appropriate in certain casual settings, but to use Kingstonian's words it may lack the gravitas of a more formal fit. The structure and cut of a really good jacket can help to disguise imperfections and want of proportion in our bodies.

Whatever the quality of a Harrington, it is unlikely to achieve this same effect. Most Harringtons are too short on me but the sleeves always feel long. Add to that the complete lack of structure and the issues start to mount up.

So, maybe all we can look for in casual wear is the very best quality and cut we can afford (perhaps spending a little more than we can really afford) and rely on those qualities to carry the day. Casual wear is important. We only have to look at some igents who spurn casual clothes to see just how ‘wrong’ they can look in certain settings. But will it ever bring us, the wearers, the same satisfaction as a really good suit or tailored jacket and trousers and will it ever convey the same visual appeal to onlookers?

 

[Clouseau]

But can a blouson and jeans or cotton trousers ever look as good as a three-piece bespoke suit or blazer and POW trou?

Yes certainly. TBH i never see a "three-piece bespoke suit or blazer and POW troy" elsewhere than on SF.
And most of the people wearing them look dated.
The guys on the CM WAYWRN live in their own world that is not our world.
I even doubt they go out dressed like that, especially those who only take indoors pics.
There is also a question of money, i mean each to his own anall that, but frankly who can only wear bespoke or show-off a new suit every week ?
Ok you've got the ones that thrift too, but they usually look odd.
You've got to live with your time...so now i think smart casual is the way to go. There is a clear evolution. When i was a kid in the Paris streets almost every men wore suit and tie. Today they almost disappeared ! Unless if you go in the business areas, and even there you don't see many.
Some look good in casual, others in CM, some in both, other look bad in both.
Ageing is a factor, but not the only one.
Can't generalize...

 

[cerneabbas]

I have liked MrK and Clouseau's posts because I think that this could be a good and necessary debate.

Work apart there seem very few occasions now in my life where wearing a suit would be necessary or even appropriate,sad but true I suspect for 99% of the UK population.

With the rise of central heating I feel that virtually any gathering will see the blokes in shirt sleeves in no time.

I think that (unfortunately) Clouseau is correct that times have changed,I wish that it wasnt so but we have to make the best of the time that we are in.

As for Clouseau's point about business men wearing suits,the majority of suits that I see being worn by people in their workplace are ill fitting and look like they were bought in Matalan etc,just look at most politicians here...or rather dont look at them.
Even in the late 60s early 70s Bowler hats could be seen but again times have changed.
There seem to be few places that enforce a dress code now and I suspect that any place that tried to enforce smart dress would not last very long (sadly).
So I think that the dreaded 'smart casual' is probably as 'dressed up' as 99% of people are going to get 99% of the time.

I have said before that I dont mind wearing a Harrington,OCBD,wool trousers and decent shoes together,the jacket will probably come off soon after arrival at destination anyway and it is practical for wearing in the car and probably a bit better protection against cold or wet weather than a Blazer.

I think that 'smart casual' is probably the type of dress most relevant to TLGO.

 

[Clouseau]

As for Clouseau's point about business men wearing suits,the majority of suits that I see being worn by people in their workplace are ill fitting and look like they were bought in Matalan etc,just look at most politicians here...or rather dont look at them.

Yes i totally agree with that. Only a few men know how to dress in CM now, and usually they are old. Once again, have a look at the CM WAYWRN. I often comment in PM with a certain French friend who is on the board, and frankly we are usually desperate about the wrong looks, the lack of taste, the color combinations, the clash of materials, the lapels, etc… So we prefer to laugh.

On the contrary, the CM casual thread is usually full of good surprises (not always though), i noticed that posters from both CM and SW&D threads converge on that thread, probably because smart casual is now the way to go indeed, more than often appropriate, in a work environment included.
If i take the example of my work, when i started more than 30 years ago, suit and tie was almost obligatory when you went to the office (in my case rarely, most of my work is done at home). Today i never see a suit, never see a tie, and when you wear a blazer and a shirt you almost look overdressed !