6 ms·
The Man in the Midnight-Blue Six-Ply Italian-Milled Wool Suit
- ggm 2y agohttps://archive.is/5AHj0 https://archive.is/5AHj0
- throwaway290 2y agoGotta say I wanted to keep reading. How good is Atlantic? Maybe I should sub
- ggm 2y agoThe writing held me to the end. I think their long form apolitical stuff is amazing. People disagree about the political/editorial, I think it's classic American centrist but right wing see it as leftist, and left wing see it as establishment. I totally would wear $20,000 of well made wool 6ply, leather and cotton. Like the author, I'd do it on somebody else's dime. My forays into Japan align strongly to the sense there are many obsessive mercantilist specialists there. The guy with a 2 meter wide stall selling exclusively high end pentode valves in the old akehabera market comes to mind. I spent a brief time in Beijing with a co worker watching them being fitted for a high end suit. The fabric was just amazing. They keep the salvage showing out on the roll so you can see where it's woven be it Milan or Scotland. I think that experience is why this article resonates: that and getting a charity store "demob" suit recut to fit me in London in the eighties. 1946 vintage double breasted with a slubby thick stripe, £20 to buy and £120 to have fitted (it was destroyed by moths in Brisbane 20 years later) My highlight of that Beijing trip was buying a beautiful "pleather" designer jacket for my son from the cheaper, fraudulent end of the market. Very nicely made, he wore it into the ground. If you walk away from the stall without bargaining the market trader women pinch you to teach you a lesson. Painful.
- pvg 2y agoIt's Gary Shteyngart, you don't have to sub to the Atlantic to read him. I've zero interest in his late mid-life hobbies of watches and suits but the dude can write. His fiction is fun, for those who are into that sort of thing.
- ggm 2y agoI've zero interest in diving into new (to me) fiction right now but his late mid-life hobbies made for short, enjoyable reading. We're all different, and as Gary might say, you do you. If you do (like me) like magazine style writing about obsessions, then William Gibson writes well about it regarding ebay bidding on watches but perhaps you prefer reading his books more too? https://www.watchpaper.com/2015/07/16/william-gibson-on-watches/ https://www.watchpaper.com/2015/07/16/william-gibson-on-watc...
- pvg 2y agoI don't think I even knew Gibson did random hobby writing, no! I've seen the occasional pic of his drip on twitter - I will definitely not be one but it's nice to know it's at least possible to be a dapper old man dressed in something other than formalwear or whatever was in style in his youth.
- ggm 2y agoI desperately want to deny "dress for success" ever mattterd to me but I'd very much be lying. I've worn suits to fit in, I've worn jackets to project an image, I've dressed down to make a political point. Now, just wear clothes which are comfortable and appropriate to circumstances which admits circumstances can change. Formal wear has consumed itself. We need sumptuary laws back.
- rsynnott 2y ago> Formal wear has consumed itself. We need sumptuary laws back. I mean, if anything, it’s mostly dead; formal wear is _far_ less of a thing than it was a few decades ago.
- dyauspitr 2y agoGod, how I miss the centrists.
- ggm 2y agoIsn't this time to write the center cannot hold things fall apart
- lazyeye 2y agoUmmm..."the occasional MSNBC appearance"
- p3rls 2y agoIt's interesting because the left hates the Atlantic because of its neoliberal, capitalist-class owners that spawned things like 20 years of cheerleading for wars in the middle east and hiring David Frum "axis of evil" types to be their senior editor. And the right hates them because of its puritanical coast-obsessed effeminacy that reads like a gossip paper with a few more fiver-dollar words. But still they've lasted 150 years now so must be doing something right.
- gsf_emergency_2 2y agoRoughly parallel to reasons for hating/revering Apple.. Not surprising, now that Powell Jobs is that very "capitalist-class owner"
- lostlogin 2y ago> I totally would wear $20,000 of well made wool 6ply, leather and cotton. I think many of us would. It’s the paying that’s the issue.
- dinkblam 2y agoand many of us wouldn't wear it even if it was free
- kergonath 2y ago> Gotta say I wanted to keep reading. How good is Atlantic? Maybe I should sub The Atlantic is fantastic and you should subscribe. You might be put off by the tone of some of their political pieces, which tends towards old-fashioned centre right. But as a leftie, I think that a lot of them are insightful even though I regularly disagree with the authors and in any case their long-form articles are excellent. The writing is good and the research is thorough.
- gsf_emergency_2 2y ago>Through [The] Emerson [Collective], Powell Jobs owns The Atlantic and a stake in Axios. A tidbit that might help to connect the dots between the political & the apolitical. Or not.
- nobodywillobsrv 2y ago[flagged]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- dang 2y agoCould you please stop posting unsubstantive comments and flamebait? You've unfortunately been doing it repeatedly. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
- defrost 2y agoI touched a clump of Australian wool, and noted how superior my South American sheep was to its antipodean cousin. He touched a clump of hard wearing medium or strong merino wool; ultrafine and superfine merino come in softer and finer than his 21 micron South American sheep. https://www.isobaa.com/en-au/blogs/tales-from-the-eweniverse/understanding-merino-wool-grades https://www.isobaa.com/en-au/blogs/tales-from-the-eweniverse...
- TheSpiceIsLife 2y agoIndeed. And a not insignificant fraction of it comes from one region, Hamilton in Victoria: “ Sheep grazing and agriculture are the primary industries in the surrounding shire, the area producing as much as 15% of Australia's total wool clip.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_Victoria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_Victoria Where you’ll find very well cared for sheep wearing protective coats over their fleece.
- ggm 2y agoSuits like carpets have to be a compromise between fineness and longevity. 21 is probably as fine as weaves strong twill suitable for a modern suit. It's a fucktonne finer than the Harris Tweed in my ten euro jacket I got in cliqnancourt.
- sgt101 2y agoYou try raising Merino sheep in the Hebrides! Blackfaces can live all year on the hill, if you get clothes made from their wool, so can you :)
- teruakohatu 2y agoNot to mention the other Antipodean (New Zealand) marino which goes down to 11 microns. 18.5 microns is considered the premium suiting quality and there is not much point in going finer.
- lostlogin 2y agoI’m also obligated to laugh at that 21. However New Zealand’s wool industry is a showdown of what it once was, and unfortunately that’s come at the expense of our lakes and rivers. Thanks dairy.
- mgaunard 2y agoIn my experience there is hardly a garment less comfortable than a suit.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- ggm 2y agoA $20,000 suit? A suit hand tailored to (in his case) his tiny bottom, including matching braces?
- knallfrosch 2y agoI wouldn't be able to relax for fear of damaging or soiling the suit. Cats, dogs, children, food, bushes and trees, mud, not spot-clean metro cars - everything is an enemy.
- devnullbrain 2y agoHaving just stalked his Instagram page to see what other watches he owns - I don't think he needs to worry.
- iamben 2y agoBuy second hand! It's much easier to wear a $1000 coat to a bar knowing you only paid $125 for it!
- Gigachad 2y agoThis is how I feel about my fursuit. The thing should just about be kept in a humidity controlled display cabinet.
- AnthonBerg 2y agoHa!, that’s interesting – my experience is exactly the opposite. I will note my surprise when I learned that this was my preference! I did have to find the right material to fit between me and the environment. I live in a cool climate but am always running a little too hot for indoors. For me the most comfortable clothing is a suit of medium-fine and somewhat “porous” wool. Very lightweight for the warmth it gives outside. Breathes well inside and I can take off the jacket to cool down. Lightweight shirt to be able to bleed off heat. I do not at all enjoy wearing cotton or synthetic suits. The fit is important of course. I’m blessed with haphazardly fitting well into off-the-shelf suits… if I can mix and match the pants one size up or down to the jacket. –It’s kind of random which way it goes. Then I take a size smaller motorcycle gloves than the similarly-sized runway model would — and a size bigger dirt bike helmet. The reader will note that I’m not at all perfectly shaped :)
- cubefox 2y ago[flagged]
- Sperfunctor 2y ago[dead]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- madaxe_again 2y agoThe title is a spin on “the wonderful ice cream suit” by Ray Bradbury, which similarly had transformative effects on its wearers. https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/1958_ray_bradbury_magic_white_suit.pdf https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satev...
- pvg 2y agoIs it? The [person] in [x garment] is a pretty common title. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Brown_Suit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Brown_Suit (1924) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_White_Suit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_White_Suit or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Gray_Flannel_Suit_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Gray_Flannel_Su... (from the 50s) or even https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_White_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_White_(novel)
- tlb 2y agoI recommend The Man in the Thick Lead Suit by Daniel Lang (1954). About the US atomic program, written before people got all uptight about radiation.
- madcaptenor 2y agoI took it as a reference to The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
- iamacyborg 2y agoAs a fellow short man, I will have to second his feeling at ease in Asian clothing stores. Far more casual than the suit he describes, which obviously being made bespoke can be made anywhere (if I had the money, it’d have to be cifonelli in Paris) their repro sportswear is excellent and actually cut short enough not to drown the body.
- kookybakker 2y agoI have to admit I'm jealous of such a stylish suite.
- jstanley 2y agoIn other words, "Suits make a corporate comeback" ? https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html
- lbotos 2y agoI think that we are at a "generational inflection point". I did the whole "it's cool to wear t-shirts to work" startup thing, and now that I'm a little older and the stakes are a bit higher in the office, It does feel a bit disrespectful to look "unserious". So it's probably a perennial moment: ppl getting older. Maybe I'm boring now. (Also, died at loss in your footer, and the MD timeline of discovery is cool -- submit it here!)
- JKCalhoun 2y agoI was all about t-shirts until I had kids. When we went out on restaurant-night (Friday) I started to see myself in how my kids would perceive me — or how they might compare their father to others. So I started dressing a little less informally.
- antiterra 2y agoMore like, “Gary has a new novel coming out in July”
- JKCalhoun 2y agoOr (and I hate how cynical I've become) "How can I justify buying an outrageously expensive custom-made suit?" Oh yeah, I'll write an article about it, ha ha. On a less derisive note, a friend and I were riding the JR line in Tokyo when my friend pointed to the hand stitching on the suit of the salaryman (or not? ChatGPT tells me "yakuin" refers to the moire powerful decision-making company employees) standing next to us. That was a cool thing about public transportation where even the high-flyers travel with gaijin tourists.
- rsynnott 2y agoThis seems more suits-as-fashion than suits-as-uniform.
- iamben 2y agoWhat a lovely article. For those that don't follow already, Derek Guy (https://x.com/dieworkwear https://x.com/dieworkwear) covers men's clothes in a wonderful way (and is also very funny).
- doctorhandshake 2y agoI second this. Guy is to me today’s foremost communicator and decipherer of the code of men’s fashion.
- fffrantz 2y agoCame here to say this. And he also gives a lot of insight on how men's clothing is made and why it's made that way. He also regularly gives tips on where to shop and what to look for. I really like the fact that it's not totally focused on bespoke tailoring. He's also on bluesky for those who do not have a Twitter account: https://bsky.app/profile/dieworkwear.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/dieworkwear.bsky.social
- enaaem 2y agoHe got me interested into men's clothing. Another source I follow is https://www.permanentstyle.com https://www.permanentstyle.com
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- gadders 2y ago[flagged]
- thom 2y agoI have a different body but a similar relationship to it as the author. My wife is very stylish and often wears striking jewellery. She gets a lot of compliments and doesn't have to work hard to be at ease socially, whereas for the most part I'd be happy to pass through the world unseen. We've had some modest financial success of late, and I'm resolved to being kinder to myself but also taking myself a little more seriously. I think it's easy to write off fashion as something laboured and fake and innately suspect, especially when you're an introvert and a bit of a nerd living the life of the mind. But I've come to accept that my body has value, a voice of its own, and is part of me that I can't and don't want to be rid of. I'm not really ready for tailored clothing (and I flatter myself it'd be wasteful when I lose all the weight) but I've started dressing better, sports jackets instead of hoodies, shirts instead of t-shirts. For the first time in my life I own more than two pairs of shoes. I am sure I would still look shambolic to anyone with an eye for the details (I can pull off dishevelled academic better than Ivy Style) but I feel so much more confident and relaxed. I no longer feel like I've written off half of myself, and I like the whole a lot more because of that. It was wonderful to read Gary's journey in a similar direction.
- justlikereddit 2y agoI stopped wearing shirts except for semi-formal dinner occasions once or twice a year. I don't want fancy dress pants, I don't want pants with belts at all. I want something soft, slightly elastic around the waist that I can lounge around in, that doesn't feel like it's restrictive of movement. I dress for comfort, but I do like variety and some colors, not just gym clothes. This is a horrible problem because the modern approach to clothes production is retarded. Formal isn't comfortable. Everyday fast fashion isn't comfortable and it's either pointlessly frilly over designed garbage that tries too hard to make a statement or it's generic in the extreme for faceless drones made only for utility values. The third category is a more interesting cut but unsatisfactory quality
- iamthepieman 2y agoWell made formal clothes are the most comfortable you'll wear. There is some mental discomfort for a while depending on your mindset because, at least for me, I was stuck thinking fancier clothes required fancier demeanor and attitude? Not sure I'm bailing the feeling here but it does go away eventually. I ultimately did drop the everyday formal wear though because well made stuff was expensive and Im pretty active and found myself with a lot of rips and stains on expensive clothing items.
- m0llusk 2y agoStill trying to finds words for this, but living in the San Francisco Bay Area and dealing with a lot of tech developers it is shocking how many people have great tattoos, great clothes, great jewelry, great accessories, and yet all it takes is a glance to see that they themselves have bodies atrophied by a lifetime of chair sitting and inactivity. Go for a walk and wear a ripped up tee and you might look better?
- dublinben 2y agoAs Rick Owens put it: Working out is modern couture. No outfit is going to make you look or feel as good as having a fit body. Buy less clothing and go to the gym instead.
- tristor 2y agoThis was a wonderful read and matched some of my own experiences with becoming more familiar with mens fashion allowing me to create an outward reflection of myself that helped me to build up a respect for my own body and a more general sense of aesthetic I had previously lacked. While I don't have so fine a suit as the author, a few years back I had the pleasure of having a bespoke suit made and a set of shirts to accompany it. In many ways it was a life-altering experience for the better.
- weeksie 2y agoIf you've not read Absurdistan or Lake Success or any of Shteyngart's other novels, then you really should. He's one of our best living authors.
- giantg2 2y agoWant to feel at ease? Just get an OTR suit, maybe have it tailored if it doe5snt fit decently, and get a flask to go in it.
- TrackerFF 2y agoIt's a real shame that bespoke tailoring has all but died out. These days you have to live in (or near) the largest cities in the world, or financial hubs if you want bespoke service that is local. Most tailoring houses do travel around, offering trunk shows and such. I was lucky enough that I had a close relative that worked as a tailor back in the 50s and 60s, so from the first suit I wore was actually a bespoke piece. When I moved away, and entered the professional workforce, I soon discovered that bespoke suits started at $4k-$5k. I settled with a reputable shop that did made-to-measure for a third, and was happy with the results. I don't really wear suits (and tailored clothing) too much these days. The world has moved much more into casual and comfy clothes, and the sartorial world is mostly reserved for the hobbyists or wealthy people in conservative (work) fields. But, still, wearing a full set of perfectly tailored suit, shirt, and shoes feels nothing short but incredible. There should be nothing uncomfortable about it - which is the general critique for people not wanting to wear a suit.
- giantg2 2y ago"These days you have to live in (or near) the largest cities in the world" I'm not sure exactly what you mean by bespoke tailoring. I've found small shops that will do custom work. They are somewhat rare in the US, just like custom shoe makers, but they do exist outside of the largest cities.
- b112 2y agoThoughts you kicked off... I imagine myself driving across the country, and arriving at a small town to get gas and lunch. As I eat at the local diner, I become aware that everyone in the town is dressed exceptionally well, better than I am in fact, including the two homeless people outside, sitting in the street. Turns out this small down of 400 people has such a tailor, and no Walmart, and so even the poorest are dressed quite well, with perfectly fitted suites and clothes.
- mikeyouse 2y agoNot quite the same but reminded me of the Sapeurs in the DRC: https://www.deoost.com/blog/style-of-the-sapeurs?format=amp https://www.deoost.com/blog/style-of-the-sapeurs?format=amp
- bookofjoe 2y agohttps://archive.ph/5AHj0 https://archive.ph/5AHj0