THE CLOTHES OF A GENTLEMAN
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Post, Emily
If some semi-formal occasion comes up, such as a country tea, the time-worn conservative blue coat with white flannel trousers is perennially good.
Other Hints
The well-dressed man is always a paradox. He must look as though he gave his clothes no thought and as though literally they grew on him like a dog's fur, and yet he must be perfectly groomed. He must be close-shaved and have his hair cut and his nails in good order (not too polished). His linen must always be immaculate, his clothes "in press," his shoes perfectly "done." His brown shoes must shine like old mahogany, and his white buckskin must be whitened and polished like a prize bull terrier at a bench show. Ties and socks and handkerchief may go together, but too perfect a match betrays an effort for "effect" which is always bad.
The well-dressed man never wears the same suit or the same pair of shoes two days running. He may have only two suits, but he wears them alternately; if he has four suits he should wear each every fourth day. The longer time they have "to recover" their shape, the better.
What To Wear On Various Occasions
The appropriate clothes for various occasions are given below. If ever in doubt what to wear, the best rule is to err on the side of informality. Thus, if you are not sure whether to put on your dress suit or your Tuxedo, wear the latter.
Full Dress
At the opera.
At an evening wedding.
At a dinner to which the invitations are worded in the third person.
At a ball, or formal evening entertainment.
At certain State functions on the Continent of Europe in broad daylight.
Tuxedo
At the theater.
At most dinners.
At informal parties.
Dining at home.
Dining in a restaurant.
A Cutaway Or Frock Coat With Striped Trousers
At a noon or afternoon wedding.
On Sunday for church (in the city).
At any formal daytime function.
In England to business.
As usher at a wedding.
As pall-bearer.
Business Suits
All informal daytime occasions.
Traveling.
The coat of a blue suit with white flannel or duck trousers for a lunch, or to church, in the country.
A blue or black sack suit will do in place of a cutaway at a wedding, but not if you are the groom or an usher.
Country Clothes
Only in the country.
To wear odd tweed coats and flannel trousers in town is not only inappropriate, but bad taste.