I am busy committing Trad heresy this week — digging out the double-breasted and darted, the pleated and somewhat spread in the collar.
Longwing thinks I look like Spencer Tracy. All things considered, I'll take it.
The suit is a Hickey Freeman I picked up on eBay for a song a few years ago and forgot about. I had the alterations lady twiddle it recently, and here we are.
Garbage can by Rubbermaid. Think of it as my nod to the "pylon poets."*
* described by the Poets' Graves website as a "group of 1930s left-wing poets including W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Cecil Day-Lewis and Louis MacNeice. They were known for their use of industrial imagery - which included references to trains, skyscrapers, factories, roads etc. The actual term 'pylon' was derived from Spender's 1933 poem The Pylons."
I cannot claim to have steeped myself in this school of poetry to any great extent. I think someone tried to make me read Spender in college, but even then I was a Spencer Tracy type and resisted.
11 comments:
Looking sharp Mr. Tracy...
Dead ringer-all you lack is Kate. Re: pylon poets, sounds like they are analagous to the 'kitchen sink' British films of the same era.
It does look very man of the 40s. A great look, you wear it well.
There was a kate-type for a while. You know how Hepburn's characters were always super-bitchy, but it turned out to be a front? This woman got the first part right.
The thing I don't get is why the trad community is down on DB and pleated, when King Edward VIII/ Duke of Windsor is a trad icon for some and he wore nothing else. Enlighten?
I don't know about Big Ed, but remember, some of the trads think of the Official Preppy Handbook as primary source material, not a mildly clever piece of satire.
That just looks awesome, easily one of your best yet. Seriously bad-ass in a good way. What kind of cloth pattern is it? I've been considering a DB suit for some time, so this photo is inspiring.
And yes, you do look like Spencer Tracy, particularly if you parted your hair on the right (as all creative geniuses do). ;)
Please commit more Trad heresy ASAP (this whole 'Trad' thing is a bit silly anyway), you look great. Well done.
Patrick,
Great look. I was quite envious when I saw it because I know you aren't a guy who just spends money on stuff. Although it doesn't look it, that look took effort.
Nice!
G
Simple and elegant. Polished burgundy shoes and a burgundy tie quietly complete the look. Very well done.
Yep, Oscar Madison no more.
and channel spencer you did -
always enjoy your blog-merry christmas
max
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