Thursday, August 7, 2008

The "What The Hell" Jacket Arrives; Public Swoons




I took a chance on this jacket on eBay, described by the seller as a "funky Brooks Brothers blazer."

I suppose it is more of a blazer than anything else. It has a vaguely nautical feel, although I would suspect any ship's captain sporting this thing to be guilty of the worst sort of debauchery.

Or perhaps this was a special order for a croquet team in Perth Amboy, N.J.

What the seller didn't mention, and to my delight, is that it's got twin vents. Also an undarted, two-button front. One button on each sleeve. Feels like a linen blend with some synthetic. I'd guess it's a 1970s attempt at being mod.

Anyway, I wore it to work with a baggy pair of "stone" (i.e. off-white) poplins from Bill's Khakis and very dirty bucks. I got nothing but positive reactions, to my surprise. The words "snazzy" and "dapper" were employed.

The lesson? Never mind subtle understatement; Go Garish, Get Girls!

Or something like that.







6 comments:

Tony Ventresca said...

Great jacket! I think it was worth the money spent. It seems to have found a home in which it feels comfortable.

Anonymous said...

That is totally boss. I'm jealous.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, I like!

Patrick Murtha said...

The jacket is pure awesomeness. I'm definitely on the lookout for a boating blazer of my own! You are right about understatedness; I enjoy it, but it's overstatedness that gets the kudos. Today for my company picnic I'm wearing tan Bermuda shorts, an Aquascutum navy blazer, blue shirt with white collar, vintage yellow tie, yellow pocket square, yellow over-the-calf socks, and two-tone Bass black/brown penny loafers. Predictably, people love the outfit.

Anonymous said...

The first pic of the jacket didn't make a good impession on me. However, when I look at the jacket in the context of the complete outfit, it looks really good.

Anonymous said...

Duuuuude! You da man!