Paging suit wearers

In communiqué

TBF you make an excellent point about the practicality of a suit. Now I
tend to just work from a desk and only have to attend the occasional
meeting I don't need the 'pocketses'. Black, very well pressed, trousers
and a crisp pastel blue or grey shirt (no tie) for me these days, plus a
nice thin Italian sweater in the winter.

Heh, I was an expert witness for the prosecution - but you knew that.


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+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+

 

yes, well clearly they are more practical than pyjamas in that respect,
although most clothes come with pockets (and many of them even have zips
or other mechanisms of defence against pickpockets).

my shortlist of immediate concerns:

- opening at the chest to let all the cold air in
- unusable vestigial collar
- trouser pockets usually made of slippery material that deposits anything
you put into them down the back of the sofa when you sit down
- made of thin, easily tearable material
- has special washing requirements that cannot be met at home
- has ironing requirements
- cannot be mix'n'matched with most other garments
- colours are either boring or look ridiculous
- longevity/price ratio

 

What?! Put stuff in the pockets of your suit! That would *ruin* the lines!

 

all of the things I mention above are fairly light. Let's see:

outside right: Blackberry
outside left: keys and a few coins
inside right: wallet
inside left: travel card and mobile

it doesn't look any different with this "load" than with nothing in
the pockets.

Plus, and this is the pertinent bit: the thing spoiling the lines of
my suit is me.

 

you'd wear a suit without a shirt?

If I required the use of a collar, I'd be wearing an overcoat.

fair call - I'd very very rarely use the pockets of the trousers of a
suit.

err, I've never torn a suit.

you can't have both of those. And you can get machine-washable non-
iron suits (to be fair, I have one of these and it's not that great)

you can happily wear the jacket with a pair of jeans or chinos.

that's a matter of taste - clearly in sartorial matters you have none.

I've a suit that cost around £250 which I purchased in 2004 and is
still fine.

 

we're talking about business suits here, not shell-suits.

 

I'll assume you know what a pin-stripe is.

Vent : the slot(s) at the back of the suit (or lack of slot in an
Italian cut jacket)
Taper: how much the jacket gets thinner from under the armpits down to
around the outside pockets. English style is a slight taper, Italian
has a much more noticeable taper.

BTW, and I should have mentioned earlier, generally speaking,
regardless of the colour of the suit itself, a gentleman will wear
navy socks.

 

You would say that, Clarkson-boi!

 

You're kidding?

Even with a black suit and black shoes?

 

it gets worse - I've been known to adopt an 80s Don Johnson look with
a t-shirt under a natural-coloured linen suit jacket and a pair of
jeans.

 

I've obviously got too many keys.

I've never managed to get away with a wallet that's small enough to fit
in a suit pocket.

You need a Blackberry *and* a mobile?

Ah, good point.

 

In communiqué

What sir needs is trousers with 'coin catcher' pockets. An exclusive M&S
design. In fact, they work a bit too well sometimes, prompting panic
when a small key, or that pound coin you were saving for the parking
meter, gets caught and is not immediately felt on plunging one's hand in
to find it.


--

+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+

 

You take that back. Sonny Crocket never wore jeans.

 

I don't have one single key ring. All of my vehicle keys live off of
rings. Then I have one set with my house keys and laptop kingston lock
key on. Then another with about 15-20 bike-security related keys, but
I'd never have this in my suit pocket.

my "wallet" is basically a double-folding credit card holder with a
back slot for notes - no coin purse.

The Blackberry's my work mobile. The mobile's my own mobile. I'm only
allowed £5 month of personal calls on the Blackberry unless
travelling, so I need to carry my own as well.

 

yes. Apart from a few gym socks that (probably) live in the back of
the drawer, I only own navy socks.

Then again, I very rarely wear /shoes/ with a business suit.

 

Yep, I just think they look gopping. Ideal for 60+ yr old MDs or CEOs in
high finance, and pretentious Del-boy wannabes.

 

heh.

 

You are, sir, quite clearly a man of no taste or breeding. A Discerning
Gentleman of quality *always* wears pinstripes except in his
shooting-jacket.

Phil.

 

Or black. Quite acceptable (most of mine are black) and goes with any
colour of suit.

Phil.

 

15-20 keys? Blimey!

That's probably what I should go for, but I don't know what I'd do with
the coins when I haven't got suitable pockets. And I'm not getting a
separate coin purse, before anyone suggests it.

Well, that's fair enough.