Monday, July 21, 2008

The Great Pocket Square Barrier

















It's possible to get Marvin the Mook to start wearing suits and sport coats. It's conceivable to get him to think a bit about fit. You might even bludgeon him into investing an a few pairs of good shoes.

But Marvin is going to jibe at the addition of the pocket square.

The little bit of whatever peeking out of the jacket's breast pocket - or cascading out, depending on the flamboyance level of the wearer - is, to the average guy, the Last Frontier, the Great Barrier to be crossed.

The pocket square says, "Watch out, slobs - I have abandoned the cargo pants, the backwards baseball hat, the two-day beard...and you."

These arrived from Sierra Trading Post today. At $20 a pop. they are inexpensive as these things go, and I think I'll get a fair bit of use from them. Colorful but not garish, whimsical without being silly.

I can tell you guys one thing - women notice pocket squares. This is a mixed blessing, as for every attractive lady giving slightly more than the time of day there is a middle linebacker who wishes to adjust it, but as a bit of plumage the pocket square is quite effective.

1 comment:

Patrick Murtha said...

Patrick, I completely agree with your assessment of the pocket square issue. I haven't seen other guys in NE Wisconsin wearing pocket squares more than 3 or 4 times (and one of those, I could tell, was the dread silk-stapled-to-cardboard abomination, which doesn't count). Me, I never wear a suit jacket or sportcoat without a square -- I've got more than 50 of them and I'm always looking for more.