The Sporting Life

I played it casual today. I gave my clothing as little thought as a guy who thinks enough about clothing to write a blog about it can, which is admittedly considerably more thought than many men give their clothing on even the most serious occasions. But I digress..I dressed comfortably, "casual but smart" as Captain Peacock might say. (watch throgh till about five minutes in. That bit about the clip on bow tie will kill you). The outfit took me from the grocery store to a slow evening at the wine shop on a drizzly day with ease.

It wasn't until late in the evening that it occurred to me that every bit of clothing I had on was derived directly of some form of British or American sport, and each item from a different sport. Think of it: a cap from baseball, a sweater from tennis, a jacket from bird hunting, jeans from the rodeo, and shoes from sailing. Even my university striped oxford is from Polo, so there's a vague connection there.

What a mish mash of influences and derivatives, huh? Th is should all be some kind of egregious faux pas, but it all just "goes". I think that gets at the essence of what is "classic" in menswear. If everything is classic, everything will inevitably work together. And every now and again, it makes creative rule breaking almost easy.

Attention to detail is a big part of style. Paying too much attention to the rules of detail is throwing style out the window, or missing the point entirely. No names shall be named.

p.s. if you've ever wondered why I stay away from the forum sites, it's because those guys tend to get in mighty big twists over little things like this. Frankly, I just haven't got the time for it. Once again, no names shall be named. Just sayin'.