I reckon I must be a slob....

[electra225]

A friend sent me this clip. He knows me too well. I do everything wrong, apparently. I am certainly not dapper. I am addicted to flip flops and can't wear a tie. I wouldn't be seen dead in dress shoes. I hate how they look. To me, formal wear is $12 flip flops. I can't stand shoes without socks. My wife got a good laugh out of this. I don't go to funerals or weddings, since flip flops are not considered proper attire for such occasions. Who gives people the right to tell me how I can dress? Jeez.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqAxHC_ewa4

[William]

Not sure where he lives or gets his info from, but according to him I do everything wrong too.

Bill

[electra225]

Don't these people have anything else to worry about?

At my age, I'm lucky to still be on the green side of the grass. Being comfortable and happy is more important to me that worrying about what people think about my attire. But that's just me....

[walyfd]

That's is just the tip of the iceberg with that site. Friend of mine sent links to other topics and I, too, couldn't be bothered by most of it. I think I'm pretty able to dress myself after 4 years of Jesuit high school and 30+ years in professional offices and funeral homes... "deleted", I could dress him!

Working from home, I gotta admit, my suits are shrinking...

[Firedome]

Hey they'd have a field day with me, I wear white socks with plastic Wal-Mart sandals and holey T-shirts. A friend from Prague told me that socks with sandals were big in Eastern Europe, who knew? In winter only well-worn flannel shirts and Dickies in only 1 color- dark blue... the good ones to fancy occasions and the faded ones every day.

[19&41]

That dud must live in eternal disappointment. That works.

[TC Chris]

Most of us resent being preached at and told exactly how we must behave. We absorb some of the general rules as we grow up and most of us honor some of the fundamentals. I don't wear a swimming suit to court. I don't wear a dress suit to the transmission shop. I do usually dress in accordance with others' expectations at formal events--weddings, funerals, court.

But in the summer I wear shorts to work; blue jeans in the winter. When I have court via Zoom, I'm coat-and-tie from the waist up.

Sometimes we just have to conform to others' rules. As a very new lawyer I attended a trial practice training with local people serving as "clients." I never forgot what one lady said in the comments time after a mock trial. "You can dress all hippy-dippy at home of you want, but when I'm in court, I want my lawyer to look just as good as the other lawyer." I never forgot that. No, I did not rush home and shave my sideburns or mustache, but I did make an effort to dress in a more conventional manner so my clients were not embarrassed. And yeah, later the sideburns came off.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Professional attire is one thing. Expecting me to dress how he recommends is like putting perfume on a pig.

We had a lawyer back home named Nobe. Noble was his real name, but nobody called him that. He always looked like he just got off a weekend drunk. The guy used that persona as part of his schtick. He would make the opposition think he was simple or drunk, all the while he would take them to the cleaners in court.

[Firedome]

I wear my new Dickies to weddings and funerals with a sport coat, and as they age they move down the scale from that to shopping to oil changes. I usually get about 10 years out of a pair and never have to worry about the color. Same with socks, always white from Costco.

[walyfd]

I do have a confession to make.... I learned how to tie a bow tie because I went on a cruise and didn't want to wear a pre tied with my tuxedo. Yes, I own a tuxedo. It's 30 years old an I still fit it. I've worn it enough that it's paid for itself.

What I DON'T have are patent leather shoes. Shiny plastic shoes???? Really???? My dad taught me how to shine shoes very well and I treasure his horsehair brush that he had in Korea.

Dressing up s an individual choice. When I go to new york, I wear a suit. Never know where you might end up. Those days are a thing of the past, though...

I remember going to the Oak Bar at the Plaza hotel with friends in the late 80s. One didn't have a jacket so they loaned him one.

Same story as Phil Collins and his album "No Jacket Required". Look it up.

[TC Chris]

Yes, I own a tuxedo. It's 30 years old an I still fit it. I've worn it enough that it's paid for itself.

Me too. It was originally owned by my grandfather's good buddy who ran a local railroad. He was noted for being a natty dresser.

When he died, his widow gave my Dad a bunch of his clothes because Dad was just starting off and money was tight. On the back of my office door I have his tan ("camel hair," but not sure if it really is) sport coat hanging. It has been my emergency court attire for 40 years. Just in case.... Once Covid hit and we started doing things by Zoom, it became my always court attire on video. I've worn it more in the last 3 years than in the 37 before that. Looks pretty good onscreen. Nobody knows that it's older than I am, and I'm an antique.

But the tux.... It was his, too. It was custom-tailored. And it fit me. At least it did a number of years ago; not quite sure now. It's a classic black tax. Its distinguishing characteristic is that the pant legs are not the same length. The original owner only had one real leg, so apparently they did not bother hemming the wooden-leg side.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Jimmy Dean included a cut on his "I Owe You" album of "Frilly Shirt". "Hello, Frilly shirt. Remember me? I'm the guy who wasn't properly attired. Well, it took a little doin' but I just bought this place. And you, Frilly Shirt, are fired!"

Professional attire is one thing. My "retired professional attire" is flip flops and T-shirts they give away at car shows, along with cargo pants. And I own a pair of TopSiders, something a dapper gent should never wear....

I still have grandpa's shoe brush. Two problems for me right now. One, no shineable shoes, and two, you can't get good shoe polish anymore so you can get a good shine.

I've never worn a tux in my life. I always wanted to.

I have a friend who is a retire police officer. When he wore his dress uniform, he wore patent leather shoes. I thought those looked nice.

[walyfd]

This friend of mine is young enough to be my son. I've known him for over 20 years. He's built himself into a rather high profile career in New York... when he landed his first job, I took him to lunch at "21".

I told him WEAR A JACKET AND TIE... he did, with jeans... thankfully it was a Wednesday and they let us in... told him to always keep a navy blazer, a white shirt and a tie in his desk just in case.... that advice paid off to the point where he dresses for work every day and has become a senior manager.

Funny that now he gives me advice on how to dress for success... but neither of us are stuffed shirts... unless the venue calls for it!

[William]

New York is on my bucket list to visit sometime. I want to see what the Big Apple is like, and I know there is a lot to offer. I have been to Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix, LA, Salt Lake City, San Fransico, Atlanta, Miami, Philly, Boston, DC, and many others, just not NY. Maybe someday if I live long enough.

Bill

[walyfd]

NOT what it used to be. So many places gone from the Carnegie Deli to Lindy's to 21, the Waldorf and the Oak Bar at the Plaza... rememer Cary Grant in "North by Northwest"... stores like Lord & Taylor and even Brooks Brothers... its a coffee house now. That "Bendel bonnet" Cole Porter wrote about... gone, too... never could buy anything really but it was always fun to look. Stores that are left still do their windows that give that nostalgic feeling.

Go at Christmas. See the show at Radio City. The Russian Tea Room is good for lunch. They have a 3-course business menu. Hit Bemelmans bar at the Carlyle hotel and dinner at Keene's steakhouse downtown. Make reservations or you could be SOL... pucker up and just once go to the Rainbow Room at the top of the RCA building. (Yep, it'll always be the RCA building to me). Have one drink and try to see the actual room itself with the dance floor. The view is worth the price of admission. Good hidden place is the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Station.

And wear a jacket and tie 'cause you never know where you'll end up... or may not be allowed in...

[electra225]

A man I work with was a sergeant in the military, the Marine Corps, I think. He said he used olive oil on his boots to get a good shine. Just a few drops on a cloth is all it takes. Said he learned that little tidbit when he was a private on KP duty. He spilled some olive oil on his boots. When he wiped it off, the boots looked like new. Anybody ever heard of that?

[TC Chris]

A man I work with was a sergeant in the military, the Marine Corps, I think. He said he used olive oil on his boots to get a good shine. Just a few drops on a cloth is all it takes. Said he learned that little tidbit when he was a private on KP duty. He spilled some olive oil on his boots. When he wiped it off, the boots looked like new. Anybody ever heard of that?

Bet it attracts dust....

Chris Campbell

[William]

Thanks for the tips, Walter. I seem to remember a conversation a while back when I brought up Theater Pipe Organs and you chimed in talking about Radio City and other places around NY that still have TPO's. I would love to hear the organ in Radio City.

Bill

[Firedome]

Our daughter lived in NY for 5 years, first when she was modeling, (she was in the Sopranos promos, she even sat for pics by Annie Liebowitz, [if I remember when I get back from VT I'll attach a pic] and was offered a small part in the series as girlfriend of one of the "wise guys", but she turned it down as she preferred modeling to acting) she shared an apt just N of Houston St (during 9-11! yikes), then when she went to work for Novartis she lived in a tiny flat on the upper W side Amsterdam & 108th just a block from Central Park. After meeting Charlie, her husband to be (a Middlebury College VT grad she met at a bar here in Burlington VT!) they moved to Columbia Heights and Pierrpont St. in Brooklyn Heights, #1 Pierrepont, a 4 br 3 bath co-op, (1/2 of the floor) with a rooftop "patio", fireplace, doorman, you name it. Charlie's Dad was Geo. Pataki's (NY Gov in the early 2000s) law partner at Dewey-Ballentine (founded by former NY Gov.Tom Dewey), a big Wall St law firm. It was his parent's former home but they'd retired and re-located to their Lakeville CT summer home, an old Victorian. So she and Charlie got married at The Cloisters, lived the NYC good life for 3 more years: awesome co-op, experienced the shows, the culture, the night-life, the great restaurants (she loved Tavern on the Green rip). But even though Charlie grew up there, they came to the inevitable conclusion that it's s a crazy place to raise kids nowadays: private school is mandatory, real estate at insane prices for a decent place, just not a good family place. Plus she's always been an outdoorsy/horsey loving girl, and she finally realized it. She'd bought a co-op in Park Slope/Ft Green after the Sopranos thing as an investment that she rented out, but sold it and they moved to Denver.

It was the best thing she ever did. We visited a lot (everyone should visit to experience it at least once!) as we could stay at Pierrepont St with them, and our older son was at grad school at Stony Brook-Brookhaven Labs at the same time. We liked some of it, the Met (opera), we went to see Rigoletto at Avery Fisher Hall (yes that Fisher, bless his heart!), the great delis (Katz's!), bagels, the museums, restaurants, stores. But at the end of the day living there day to day its stressful, a grind tolerated by the young and on-the-make, but for families, unless super rich, not so great. After 5 years she'd tired of it, and we're glad... Denver is awesome and CO an outdoor lover's paradise, she just bought a ski-condo at Keystone! When it comes to attire, she prefers outdoor to formal duds!

[TC Chris]

I grew up in a small-mid sized community. In those days all towns had real newspapers. Ours had a photographer from NYC, Leonard Falce. I always wondered why he had settled and stayed in Bay City. So one day when he was shooting a sailing rental place where I had a summer job I asked him why he wasn't in NYC. It just seemed more appropriate for a sophisticated guy. He said,"NYC is great if you have the money to enjoy its opportunities. But unless you have a lot of money, you might as well live somewhere else." That was long ago, late '60s, but in many ways it seems to be true today.

Chris Campbell