Gay men in suits in office
It is as if, since we no longer have to mind our manners to those above us, we don’t mind our manners for anyone. Since we are all equal, it is now seen by some as elitist and classist to dress well and aspire to gentlemanly behaviour. With our dress also went our manners and behaviour. But we have abandoned more than just the old class system. We were and are striving in the right direction, of course. The old social order that rightly collapsed. Suits were replaced with jeans, dress hats with baseball caps and leather oxfords with sneakers. And that meant dressing “down,” to the level of the working class. Instead of aspiration, we strove for egalitarianism. So everyone dressed “up.” But when that system was (rightly) challenged, first after WWI, and most significantly during the 1960s, everything reversed. Under the old European class system, the lower and working classes aspired to be like the upper class. Consciously you might be saying “I put little to no thought into my appearance,” or “I believe dress is functional, to keep me covered or warm.” But subconsciously, you are saying “A concern with clothing is superficial,” and “This is who I really am.” Egalitarianismĭressing well, like manners and social behaviour, used to be aspirational. Wearing shapeless and casual clothes sends a number of messages.
But today, many men wear clothes that not only follow the shape of their bodies, they in fact exaggerate personal oddities. Instead of striving for an ideal, we are faced with harsh reality, whether we want to see it or not.
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There was an ideal male shape the tailor was working towards: strong shoulders, full chest, nipped waist, long legs. Tailored clothes used to cover the body in an attempt to improve the physique of the individual. We feel we can do no wrong as long as we are being “honest.” In an attempt to be genuine, people of all ages, income levels and backgrounds share far too much about themselves in public and on social media. But now the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. As a result, much went unsaid and unexposed which should have seen the light of day. Previous generations worked hard to conceal their real selves, even from their friends and loved ones. Historically speaking, this is for good reason. We live in an age of unbridled authenticity and look down on artifice of any kind. – The Dictionary of English Trades, 1804. “The bespoke tailor’s task is to bestow a good shape where nature has not granted one.”
But I think the real reasons go much deeper and stem from our society’s current thinking around authenticity and egalitarianism. Some guys will say they don’t wear suits because of comfort or because they don’t have to or because tailored clothes cost too much. The uniform of most men is jeans, a tshirt, sneakers and a baseball cap. Walk the streets of most major cities and you wouldn’t know that tailored clothes are enjoying a massive growth in sales. 1 Brooklyn on Twitter, Facebook, Google + our Tumblr, and sign up for our mailing list.Despite the recent resurgence in classic men’s style, there aren’t that many guys wearing suits today. There is something about looking sharp not to impress anybody, but to simply sit work as part of a great writer’s routine that is inspiring.į ollow Vol. I love the idea of the solitary writer all dressed up (Robert Caro puts on a suit to write every day as well) to work.
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And then there are people like me who worry about the professional survival of men’s custom tailors.” Talese goes on to talk of the craftsmanship that goes into a custom suit, and I think it’s that appreciation of craft that has helped Talese to be one of the great writers of our time. Talese has never been shy about his style, he wrote for Vanity Fair that, “there are people who are greatly concerned about the environment and the well-being of Bengal tigers and yellow-headed Amazon parrots. Talese, who turns 81-years-old today, gets dressed up every morning to go down to his “ subterranean think tank.” Talese, the descendant of Italian tailors, has always put an emphasis on his personal style, and I’ve always believed that the way he dresses influences the way that he writes. In the bunker there’s a little refrigerator, and I have orange juice and muffins and coffee. I dress as if I’m going to an office in midtown or on Wall Street or at a law firm, even though what I am really doing is going downstairs to my bunker. I get dressed as if I’m going to an office. So I go from the third floor, which is our bedroom, to the fourth floor, where I keep my clothes. I don’t want to have breakfast with anyone. When I read things like Gay Talese’s 2009 Art of Nonfiction interview with Katie Roiphe for The Paris Review, I find yet another reason to say that Gay Talese does it right.