The Next Step: The Buttonhole

I recently attended a screening of Oliver Parker’s take on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Parker, having directed two of Wilde’s plays previously, turned his Wilde-loving hand to this notoriously tricky gothic horror with relative ease. Like most of Fitzgerald’s work, Wilde’s only novel is exceedingly difficult to translate to the screen as most of the poetic beauty in the work is only possible with Wilde’s language and observation. What works on the page, and in the mind’s eye of the reader, does not necessarily work on the screen. Nevertheless, it was rather entertaining and artfully conceived – the critics will bay, no doubt, but as Wilde stated in the preface to the novel it matters not: all art is quite useless.

To live for a useless thing would irk most men of a sensible nature. Most people do not like to be told that they have no purpose or that what they do has no value other than decoration. The artist comfortable with the uselessness of his own artistry is a happy fellow, but a rare one. Wilde himself pursued and commented on art and vilified its manifestations as vehemently as he celebrated them; fashion was one of his favourite subjects for attack. While wittily cynical about the artless side of fashion, he was often effusive about its potential for beauty; “A well made buttonhole” he quipped “is the only link between Art and Nature.”

If a well-dressed man is rare, a well-dressed man with a buttonhole is almost unheard of. Men are somewhat terrified of flowers. Even when they procure them for a lady love, they walk with an embarrassed shuffle, horrified that someone would see that they have purchased such extravagant tokens of affection. They hand them over with a puzzled frown as if their gift was possibly radioactive and they gripe with a rueful sneer when the expensive blooms begin to wilt. Men are mercilessly practical; beauty that inevitably dies is scarcely worth the purchase. However, as Dorian Gray teaches us, some beauty is more precious because it fades. “The world is yours; for a Season” spoke Lord Henry.

I rather like that buttonholes, impressively inexpensive from the right florist, are not eternal. I like the fact that they wilt and die. Wilde was right; they are the coming together of Art and Nature. They bloom with the majesty of Michelangelo and wilt with more tragic splendour than the Bard’s finest lines. Their purpose is not at issue; their value is unquantifiable. It’s strange that some men consider they are entirely useless in the context of dress when they themselves adopt silk pocket squares that will almost certainly never be used for the purposes of a cold or even the tears of a shoulder-leaning young lady. There is plenty that is useless about a gentleman’s attire, adding a purely decorative flower will not denigrate the ‘utility’ of the ensemble further. However, if utility is your chief concern in matters of dress these words will mean nothing to you.

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The Old Favourite: The Duffel Coat

When I was at university I had already begun to grow into the sort of clothing my parents approved of; wearing shoes instead of trainers, sensible overcoats instead of paper thin fashion jackets. It was an instinctive switch. My life had changed course. I felt that I was suddenly more responsible for my own maturation. I decided to grow up. However, I grew up unilaterally. A girl who had been interested in attaining my affections remarked that I had matured too soon. She said that I would eventually suit the clothing style that I had begun to adopt, but when I was a good deal older. “It’s just not sexy” she once commented, rather inanely. Others conformed to the student wardrobe with greater ease than I. I was never happy in a hoodie. As a result I developed, alone, a confidence in wearing clothing that was seen by many as ‘too old’ for my age.

When I recently expressed an interest in purchasing a duffel coat, a friend of mine remarked that I was probably now a little too old for one. A little maturation, a few years and suddenly no longer am I too young for clothing but, in actual fact, too old. The window for wearing such an item must be remarkably small according to this wisdom. A couple of years at the most? Bizarre.

It’s for certain that the duffel coat is a classic, collegiate item of clothing that seems to belong on wooden pews in dusty libraries beneath dreaming spires rather than draped over an Eames chair in an air-conditioned office boardroom. It has a childlike simplicity. It makes no attempt to conceal its origins as a practical garment for Naval officers; the fastenings and toggles often look like reef knots and it is certainly not an item of refinement.

However, although it is not an item to wear with your pinstripe suits it can surely be a perfect friend on chilly, winter days. The duffel material is a heavy wool and, designed to keep sailors warm in freezing Atlantic winds, provides more than adequate protection for cold, metropolitan Sundays. The toggles themselves, ideally horn, were designed to be fastened and unfastened whilst wearing cumbersome gloves and the hood, perhaps the most ‘juvenile’ feature of the entire garment, provides protection against icy winds. Beyond these practical points, the duffel coat has an undeniably youthful aesthetic. It manages to dress down even the dressiest of accessories – bow ties, silk scarves and waistcoats – and yet does not alienate them. It draws from these items a dishevelled elegance that is interesting and distinctly ‘weekend.’

It actually does make gentlemen look younger. Unlike trainers, hoodies, printed t-shirts and other remainders of a varsity wardrobe - which merely make gentlemen look desperate. Wear it with slim trousers or jeans in blue or khaki. Gloverall, the original military surplus suppliers, are the best producers of quality duffel coats.

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Reader Question: Working In A Bank

Sim, Oxford: I was wondering if you could assist me with your experience regarding sartorial issues, the yays or nays, within banking. I have heard from fellow interns that French-cuff shirts and heavy pinstriped suits should never be worn as they depict status, status an intern does not yet have, and are thus considered a faux-pas by people higher up the chain. Any truth in this and if so, any particular things to avoid?

I think the general guidelines on discretion guided by propriety, and to an extent the dignity of business, should be enough here Sim. It’s just that bankers get a bit more snippy and competitive about it.

If you’re going for a job interview, everyone knows you should be well dressed and smart without standing out. The same thing applies to your first job – or in this case your first internship. Dress as smartly or smarter than your superiors and wear nothing that draws attention.

So I would advise you to wear navy and grey suits, shirts that are white, blue or a blue stripes, and ties that are solid colours or simple stripes/geometric patterns. Wear expensive suits if you have them, equally nice shirts and ties. But keep them sober, and finish it off with a nice pair of black Oxfords.

Avoid: braces, handkerchiefs, waistcoats, double-breasted jackets, trouser cuffs, bright socks, contrast collar or cuffs, ‘humorous’ ties, ‘humorous’ cufflinks, ‘fashion’ suits, and strong colours and strong stripes everywhere. They will all draw attention to your clothes rather than yourself, which is certainly not the aim of an internship.

The reason that some of these items of clothing become status symbols among bankers is that they are often flash and always competitive. Wearing a big, bold pinstripe suit is a way to demonstrate that you can get away with wearing it. Because you have attained such a level of success that it cannot be dented by wearing tasteless clothes.

While it is true that some of these items of clothing are more traditional and hark back to earlier days of banking, it is unlikely that this is the reason they are being worn. There will be exceptions, but these are often men over 50 who actually remember when most colleagues wore braces and white collars.

I would have thought French cuffs would have been alright, though, if all other advice is followed. It can be your little indulgence.

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This Season I Shall Mostly Be Wearing…

One of the great differences between men and women when it comes to clothing selections is that whilst women remain keen to keep ‘up to date’; reading fashion bibles, flicking through blogs, gazing at the ensembles of celebrities, fewer and fewer men are at all interested with what the fashion houses are pushing out and more and more seem to be taken with what works; something that has impact. When the seasons change, it is extraordinarily rare for any males of my acquaintance to ask me what is ‘in fashion’ for the coming months. They talk rather of things they’ve ‘always wanted to own’; a particular style of coat or shoe perhaps. Most acquisitions are not in pursuit of a fashionable aesthetic but part of a slow maturation that lifts them from being mere boys into manhood.

Knitted waistcoats

Knitted waistcoats did feature in a few collections for the coming season but they’re hardly a recent invention. Less formal than some other styles of waistcoat, the knitted waistcoat is warm and comfortable to wear – essentially it is a sleeveless cardigan – and offers a textural difference in suit ensembles. It is also smarter than the V-neck jumper which can look rather bulky underneath suit jackets and blazers and due to it being available in a number of colours, offers good colour matching/contrasting opportunities. This is an ideal garment of comfort and elegance for the colder seasons.

Burgundy

Although a colour associated with autumn, burgundy is not considered ‘the’ colour of the season. Nevertheless, it is a perfect time of the year to experiment with this attractive tone. It is certainly masculine but has a refined, quietly aristocratic quality that softens greys and blues which can often look harsh in autumns golden light. Burgundy cords look particularly fine with brown brogues and a burgundy waistcoat with a grey flannel suit sounds daring but is actually rather a classic combination. Smaller additions such as a burgundy paisley pocket square or a clubby tie add that touch of the regal. Burgundy is also a wonderful partner for other autumnal colours like forest green, tan and chocolate brown.

Patterned trousers

Showing flair is easy in autumn; until winter overcoats cover the resplendent ensembles, there is ample opportunity to enjoy, and experiment with, combinations and accessories. I personally think that autumn is the perfect time of the year to wear odd patterned trousers; hounds-tooth, checks and stripes. Whereas summertime seems to call for lower leg simplicity – cooler, paler colours - the introduction of autumnal winds and the natural ‘fuss’ that comes with dressing for the season seems to call for some variation on pant pattern. A classic Prince of Wales check trouser with a blue blazer or perhaps a blue chalk stripe with a brown hounds-tooth jacket.

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Turn Back Your (Cotton) Cuffs

OK, so this is how I came to the earth-shattering style insight alluded to in the title:

• most of my ready-to-wear jackets have sleeves that are slightly too long;

• most of those jackets are casual as my suit jackets are mostly bespoke;

• because they are casual they tend to be of rougher material (cotton, linen);

• they are also cheaper jackets for that reason;

• so I’ve never paid to have the sleeves shortened (because they are casual and because they are cheaper);

• so I end up turning back the ends of the sleeves by an inch or so.

Do you like the quasi-logical approach to this style analysis? Essentially, I realised that I like turning over the end of my sleeves on casual jackets. I like it as a small style quirk, as a little casual but personal touch. But I think it only works with casual jackets because the roughness of the material matches the casual nature of the gesture.

A business suit is usually made of smooth worsted wool because smoother, sleeker clothes are smarter. Smooth cloth goes with crisp creases, high-shine shoes and sharply angled handkerchiefs. Can you feel the aesthetic?

By contrast, linen is rough and ready, goes with crumpled lines and soft woollen ties, faded madder dyes and heavy, seamed shoes (Derbys, brogues, double soles). So turning back your cuffs can work.

If you wanted turned back cuffs on a smoother cloth, they would have to be precisely turned and stitched down – like the cuffs you get on velvet jackets and some overcoats. That is the only turned back cuff that will work because it is exacting, fine and firm.

Of course, you need to be able to physically turn back the cuffs for this theory of mine to apply. So a tweed or heavy wool jacket will not work. This is the exception to the rule, though the rule remains – casual touches will work best with these heavy, rougher jackets. So if you need to do some more manual labour (and the cuffs unfasten) roll back those sleeves and get down to it. It’s what working cuffs were designed for, after all. Makes it easier to clean your hands afterwards as well.

(Interesting how times have changed though. John Hitchcock, managing director at Anderson & Sheppard, confirmed to me recently that the firm used to refuse to make working cuffs. They were the sign of a labouring man. And today they are a sign of quality that even A&S is happy to provide. As John put it, “we’ve always liked to be a little bit different.”)

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