Men and Manners: Essays, Advice and Considerations

by David Coggins

There’s been a proliferation of the unwelcome view that if you dress in a sloppy way then you are somehow more authentic. This exists the closer you get to Silicon Valley and is meant to convey that you have more important matters to think about than dressing well. All it implies, in fact, is that you are authentically sloppy. Does not having good table manners make you more authentic? Does not bathing make you most authentic of all? Of course not. You chew with your mouth closed, shower every day and never wear a hoodie to work. In any case, moving up in the world is a chance to expand your sartorial horizons. This does not mean you have to shed a uniform. Go to a tailor and tell him you’d like his finest blue suit (they’re not all created equal!) or that you’re looking for a white shirt meant to be worn sans tie (the stiffness and shape of the collar is different on a shirt that is buttoned up all the way and one that is not).