Character vs Shabbiness

I concluded my last post with the assertion that caring for your clothes properly will allow them to ‘develop the kind of character that something fresh off the rack just can’t match’. If like me you have been fortunate enough to have quality clothes for most of your life going to university will be a bit of a shock. Suddenly all that extra capital you used to have will be swallowed up by a never ending stream of bills. There are of course those who are fortunate enough to have ample reserves of cash that allow them to keep on carrying on, but the truth is most of us are not so lucky. Fortunately, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, we are in the middle of an economic crisis.

Allow me to explain that remark. We are faced with the same problem our great grandparents faced in the 20s and 30s; money is tight and our wardrobe is suffering accordingly. So let’s take our cue from them. Economics is the name of the game. If our great grandrelations owned a suit at all, you can bet it was made to last for life, and not for the season. This meant they invested in something versatile and timeless. Also, they did not discard clothes when they fell out of fashion or became worn.

So how do we take that into the modern age? Simple accept that things do wear out no matter their quality, and just keep wearing them. One of my favourite pairs of trousers are becoming noticeably worn on the hem. Will I stop wearing them? No way.

Now let’s be clear here, I am not condoning shabbiness. The wear on a pair of chinos or a cotton button down is fine. It should convey that kind of decaying elegance one associates with a country house or institutions of a bygone era. Wear on a white dress shirt or a suit, that’s not elegant it’s just shabby. You should be trying to invoke the ethos of the Roaring Twenties when you dress up you go all out. If you want to see what I mean look at the amazing HBO series Boardwalk Empire, the first series of which is now finally available on DVD.

A scene from the first episode of Boardwalk Empire.

A little wear on your daily clothes gives them character, but on your dress clothes it just looks shabby. In addition it can only be a little wear; you should not be going out the door with holes in your clothes. Also use your own good judgment. If all the clothes you are wearing have some wear on them then your invoking decay, not fading elegance.