the_gneech: (Archie do)
[personal profile] the_gneech
NOTE: This is a rant. Beware hyperbole!

All week I've been getting menswear catalogs; not unusual I suppose, given the imminent change of season, but it seems an interesting coincidence given my recent reflections concerning my grandfather.

The problem with menswear catalogs is that all the stuff in them that I really want, I'll never in a million years actually buy. Take a look at this page to pull out a representative sample at random. Does anything strike you about it? It's chock full of stuff that I would gladly be caught dead in, or even alive in. But I can never, ever dress this way, except perhaps for two weeks in the middle of February. Why? Because it's TOO. DAMN. HOT.

[livejournal.com profile] mammallamadevil frequently pummels me with this, because it's one of those topics upon which there's just no way to agree. Her conclusion is that I must have lava in my veins instead of blood, and she may be on to something there. My idea of a nice day is one that never goes above 69°, and a beautiful day as one that barely breaks 60. Those are the days when I can actually wear my beloved turtlenecks, wool vests, or even (dare I think it) leather jacket without sweating from every pore -- but only while I'm outside.

Inside, of course, some whiny officemate (who, like everybody who works in any office anywhere I have ever worked, was apparently raised on the equator) has protested "OMG it's freeeezing in here!" and cranked the thermostat up to 95 in the shade. And if I so much as hint that I think this may be a bit on the warm side, well obviously I'm the jerk. So even in the aforementioned two weeks in February, I still wear short sleeves to work in order to avoid passing out from heat stroke.

Thus, every autumn I sigh wistfully at the endless parade of Harris tweed sportcoats, suede vests, and wonderfully dark-colored long sleeve dress shirts, knowing that in the morning I'm going to put on another bloody pastel blue because of course they don't make short sleeve shirts in anything darker than hot pink.

I don't see how my old grandfather did it! For that matter, I don't see how [livejournal.com profile] level_head, who is the single most well-dressed man living I personally know today, does it. Whenever I see him, he's wearing a monogrammed red turtleneck and a black blazer -- even at Scott and Kathy's June wedding I seem to recall he outdressed everyone other than the bride and groom. LH dresses very much the way I'd like to, but never do because it makes me so sweaty that I'd need a shower every 20 minutes.

Hmm ... perhaps that's his secret?

Thing is, it wasn't that long ago that a suit, tie, and hat (e.g., a grey fedora) was de rigueur for even a middle class working Joe. So people must have been used to it once upon a time! My grandfather's dapperness was a product of his generation as much as any personal sense of style, I'm sure. How did they cope? And how did we get from that to girls headed out to the mall in pyjama bottoms? The only answer I have found seems to be "the 1960s," which is neither informative nor useful. I mean, a decade in which the Beatles could go from four well-dressed lads in matching charcoal suits, to four garishly-multicolored haystacks with peace symbols dangling out the bottom and the smell of marijuana cloying the air, must have been a pretty rotten decade, I admit ... but I can't help but think that's confusing the symptom for the cause.

My business cards.Anyway, I don't really know where I'm going with this rant ... I'm just sort of ranting, really. But here's the thing of it: on my business cards, I thought it would be amusing and at least vaguely appropriate to list myself as "cartoonist/artist, writer/editor, web programmer, dapper gent" because those are pretty much the things I like to think of myself as being. But the truth of it is, I'm not dapper, or at least, not very dapper, because it's always too damn hot to be dapper. I look absolutely awful in a t-shirt and shorts, but that's what I've found myself wearing with alarming frequency lately ... partially because my jeans are all wearing out and need to be replaced, but mostly because a t-shirt and shorts are less unpleasantly warm than clothes that actually look halfway decent.

I have until now been coming up with a kind of compromise by jokingly telling myself that I was dapper on the inside ... but the joke's wearing thin and very soon my self isn't going to swallow it any more. I don't know what's going to happen at that stage, but I imagine it's not going to be pretty.

Maybe I should carry a turtleneck around with me a la Linus's security blanket. Or just move to the Orkneys.

-The Gneech

Date: 2006-08-25 02:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dhlawrence.livejournal.com
I like wearing warm clothes and sweaters. Heck, in grade one I wore a cardigan, dress shirt, and tie to school XD

Even in the summer, I almost always wear pants instead of shorts. And my "t-shirts" all have collars and buttons, because I like the look. Tasteful without being formal, casual without being a slob.

yes, but you live in CANADA..(grin)

Date: 2006-08-25 04:00 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mammallamadevil.livejournal.com
I am looking forward to meeting you next week...MLD

Re: yes, but you live in CANADA..(grin)

Date: 2006-08-25 04:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dhlawrence.livejournal.com
True, but it does get rather warm up here. Only the low 90s, but that's still rather warm for this far north.

See you there!

Date: 2006-08-25 02:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] daemionfox.livejournal.com
If you can find them, I would recommend you getting some long sleeve linen shirts. I have two (and have a hard time finding any others) but I've found that they're cool enough in the summer to wear without either rolling up the sleeves, or dying from heat exaustion. (I, like yourself, would prefer the climate to stay around a nice crisp 60 degrees, maybe 65 on a "hot" day)

Unfortunately, my office suffers from being both an eastern exposed window and a rather antique central air system. Meaning when the office door opens in the morning, the room is already a sweltering 85. The linen lets me shrug that off in relative comfort

The only real problem is they "rumple" easily.

Date: 2006-08-25 11:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
I have become fairly handy with an ironing board, so rumpling is not so big a problem ... I'll look into it. Thanks!

-TG

Date: 2006-08-25 02:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dewhitton.livejournal.com
I have the A/C problem in my office. I have the thermostat set to 25C. It's a comfy temperature.

In winter, when it's 15C outside, I have people wander in and say it's freezing, then crank the thermostat up to 30C. I summer, when it's 35C outside, they come into my office, declare it's way too hot and crank the thermostat down to 15C.

My argument is that how can 25C be "too hot" AND "too cold?"

Date: 2006-08-25 02:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dhlawrence.livejournal.com
I think it's a psychological thing. It seems like it's warm inside because their bodies aren't used to the temperature change, so they feel like they have to turn it down to be cooler or turn it up to be warmer.

Date: 2006-08-25 02:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] camstone.livejournal.com
Have you ever tried a -silk- tweed jacket? Very nice... not hot.

Date: 2006-08-25 11:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
Nope ... never even heard of such a thing! I'll seek 'em out.

-TG
(deleted comment)

Date: 2006-08-25 11:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
I'll check 'em out, thanks!

-TG

Date: 2006-08-25 02:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] frostdemn.livejournal.com
P'raps it's the local weather. Or global warming.
Maybe if you would move to the UK? I hear it's blustery out there!

Though I agree. I absolutely abhor most weather. I find good temperatures are below 70, and yet I live in California!
Guess that's why I really like Further Confusion, too, right? It's in the middle of January!

One last thought: I find you'd look quite dapper in this.

Date: 2006-08-25 01:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
Everybody'd look quite dapper in that! ;)

-TG

LevelHead lives in a county...

Date: 2006-08-25 04:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mammallamadevil.livejournal.com
that regularly gets a seabreeze that would blow away most people...

I've come to the conclusion that your native habitat is Eureka...and no matter what you're wearing, though, you're still a dapper gent...

MLD

Date: 2006-08-25 04:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] confusedoo.livejournal.com
Turtlenecks do require cool/cold temperatures to really be comfortable, but you can also try finding things in lighter weights. I've got a summer weight wool suit that is painfully cold in winter. Silk, while rediculously expensive, can be wonderfully breathable. Linen is nice, but wrinkles if you look at it funny (and by funny I mean at all). Really fine cashmere can also be a decent fall layer, but the dry cleaning is killer. Part of the trick is to buy 'summer' clothes for winter and fall.

Other tricks include wearing those fancy moisture wicking miracle fiber undergarments, as they will keep you cooler. Also, just practice. When you're used to AC, five degrees hotter is painful, but if you're used to the higher outside temperature it doesn't make as big of a difference.

Date: 2006-08-25 01:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
Everything I've ever tried in silk clung like a popped balloon. I'll keep looking!

-The Gneech

Date: 2006-08-25 03:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dilletante.livejournal.com
i like silk, but note that it doesn't absorb moisture in the way that cotton does-- if you sweat a lot in it, you will be very damp.

i think people naturally vary a good bit in temperature preferences, and shared a/c situations (like every office i've ever worked in, or the bedroom at night for most couples i know) can be a source of strife. :) but i had the impression that indoor public places in the u.s.-- shopping malls and stores and what-have-you-- tended to be kept rather on the cold side. the work-temperature problem i'm used to having in the summer is such a separation between indoor and outdoor temperatures that no single set of clothing is appropriate for both-- so if i dress for the office i melt on the way there, and no matter what i do leaving at the end of the day feels like walking into a blast furnace. i think americans are expected to get around this by driving everywhere, so that you can spend your entire day in air-conditioned spaces and be completely protected from ever having to be outdoors. even living in the city very close to my workplace, in going to work on foot i'm an anomaly.

of course, currently i work in an office right off a server room, with an entire room next door filled with nothing but cooling devices just for this space. it's quite pleasant. :)

Date: 2006-08-25 07:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laurie-robey.livejournal.com
That's what I sometimes wonder about. Before there were cars with AC, and everyone walked or rode horses, wagons, or bicycles, I guess they just sweat a lot! But you can't really walk into an office in a full suit that you rode to work on your bike while wearing. Doesn't really make a good impression to do that in 90-degree humid weather. They're always trying to get more people to ride bikes to work around here because of the traffic congestion, and they sometimes have pictures of guys in business suits riding bicycles (posed pictures, not candid). I think in most of the offices around here, if someone tried that, they'd get a word from their boss. It's like you need to ride, take a shower, then put on your business suit, at least when it's hot. Mayhap there should just be a change in the dress code!

Date: 2006-08-25 10:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] confusedoo.livejournal.com
You aren't looking for the shiny silk dress shirts, instead you're looking for raw silk jackets. That's what the silk tweeds that Camstone mentioned are made of. Raw silk isn't really shiny. It has a bit of luster, but it is much coarser, with a very visible weave, and could pretty easily be mistaken for linen or cotton.

The first trick to getting these wonderful jackets is finding them. Raw silk isn't exactly plentiful, and it can be tough to find jackets in this material. The second trick is actually affording them when you come accross them. As it is pretty expensive, many raw silk pieces are made by high end designers, and that means the expensive fabric is even more expensive for the designer name.

Date: 2006-08-25 05:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tegeran.livejournal.com
MLD's problem is she's native to California. :)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
MLD doesn't have any problem, she's just fine!

-The Gneech
From: [identity profile] tegeran.livejournal.com
(Though, actually, I don't care for snow myself. Rain, on the other hand...)
From: [identity profile] mammallamadevil.livejournal.com
don't blame my ancestry...(grin)

MLD

Date: 2006-08-25 08:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] huskyteer.livejournal.com
> must have been a pretty rotten decade

It was a decade of sartorial revolution and liberation!

NB: this does not mean I will be getting naked in mud any time soon.

Date: 2006-08-25 01:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
The problem with liberation is that so many people, when given freedom of choice, make really bad choices! ;)

-The Gneech

Date: 2006-08-25 04:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] exatron.livejournal.com
I see that as an opportunity for people to learn from their mistakes instead of a problem.

Date: 2006-08-25 11:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laurie-robey.livejournal.com
As others have noted before, the fabric of the clothes makes a big difference. Perhaps you would be happier in clothing made of difference fabrics, but you'd have to get used to the idea of special care requirements and somewhat higher prices, hence fewer items of clothing.

You ordered short sleeved shirts in dark colors last time you got shirts. They're hanging in your closet right now.

Date: 2006-08-25 11:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-gneech.livejournal.com
You ordered short sleeved shirts in dark colors last time you got shirts. They're hanging in your closet right now.

Well, I did admit it was a rant. ;)

-TG

Date: 2006-08-25 04:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] torakiyoshi.livejournal.com
The Japanese had the same problem when they came to Hawaii. So they invented the aloha shirt. You might look into finding some classier ones. I know mine is perfect for those hot summer days.

Have teh best

-=TK

Date: 2006-08-25 09:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dslartoo.livejournal.com
You wear a fedora at almost all times. That automatically makes you a dapper gent. The only hat that makes you more dapper is a trilby hat or possibly a bowler. :)

cheers,
Phil

Date: 2006-08-26 08:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] c-eagle.livejournal.com
hehehe.... gotta just not read them catalogs.. :D

I'm not too fond of tight collars, but everything else about a nice suit can really be fun! *warble*

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