“Leave The Sweat Shirt at Home. Dining Dress Codes Are Back,” declared @nytimes several weeks back. Social media has been awash with controversy regarding the post.
Menswear blogger Derek Guy @dieworkwear exposes a matrix of the genre picturing Pennsylvania Democratic senate primary winner John Fetterman garbed in his populist campaign street style cargo shorts with defeated opponent Conor Lamb, poor Ivy Style lamb.
The Yale Club of New York next to J. Press has reset rules relieving the pain that the former coat and tie requirement might have rendered current woke alumni members. Cole Porter Yale ’13, might well turn over in his grave observing old Boola Boola Eli Yale Club costumed as if from a verse in his classic Anything Goes.
The rulebook unequivocally states, “On a temporary basis, the following changes will be in effect: Denim Pants: neat, clean, and in good repair (no holes, rips, or tears) are permitted throughout the entire Clubhouse. Shorts are permitted within the Clubhouse from Memorial Day to Labor Day, provided they are not made of denim, or athletic in nature. Athletic shorts are only permitted in the athletic facilities. Non-athletic shoe wear that has a “sneaker-like” sole is permitted throughout the entire Clubhouse.” Not permitted: tee shirts, tank tops, casual sandals (such as flip flops or Birkenstocks), athletic wear of any kind (including sweatpants, caps, cross-trainers, or tennis shoes, and team jerseys), and torn, provocative, or revealing clothing.
The upscale restaurant cited in aforementioned NY Times article, Les Trois Chevaux, upstages the Yale Club hanging E-Bay looking “blazers” practically on a dry-cleaning rack to redress their coatless social climbing patrons.
Jack and Charlie late of their lamented “21 Club” offered their Peter Arno archetype coatless patrons the choice of well-tailored proxy Sport Coats quietly stored in the back of the cloakroom. Their coat and tie gospel was a well-kept secret among the cognoscenti.
Times have changed. Holding the fort against hoi polloi Slobbovia may be a losing proposition in Circus Americanus. Rules are made to be broken.
In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking but now, God knows Anything Goes
RICHARD PRESS
24 comments
Shame on the Yale Club and all the others who insist on being-what the call-“comfortable.” I am always comfortable properly dressed with a bespoke suit and a proper tie. Our culture is disintegrating. No disrespect to another comment, but using the exaggerated climate change issue is absurd. Gentlemen always dress like a gentleman should and not succumb to the unwashed mob.
I hope that if Mr. Fetterman wins the seat, he’ll show the office the respect it merits and resume dressing like a grownup. (Pre-campaign life, he was no stranger to it.)
NPR currently has a story about teenagers dressing in suits to see the latest Minions movie. Meme-wear or not, it’s nice to see.
During my days at Harvard we were required to wear jacket & tie to all meals. A long gone
rule. I remember long ago at the Broadmoor Hotel (as a pre teen) having to return to our room to get a tie to have dinner at the Tavern.
Seeing the above comment about travel attire, on a recent trip it seemed the amount of clothes worn was inversely proportionate to the number of tattoos.
I thought we “jumped the shark” when I saw a pair of peanut butter brown dress shoes paired with grey and dark suits (pegged pants etal). The classic black tasseled loafer or horse bit slip on has apparently went the way of the Gremlin or Studebaker too.
I honestly think there’s a mind glitch at work, like the fatso who simply doesn’t see what he/she looks like. Just as we think ourselves as sleek and svelt, so we think ourselves well-turned out and stylish. When did you last see any public figrre, except maybe for sport, e.g. golf, tennis, sailing, riding etc. who was’t in class A. Never. We just think we look like that.