Vested Interests

Gentle visitors,

Sweater vest season is officially upon us, at least in these climes.  And, trend-setter that he is, your humble Contributor has already retrieved his varied collection of vests from the cedar closet and donned the first -- this year, selecting a muted olive as an an inaugural, autumnal garment.

The sweater vest is, of course, a model of utility and fashion.  As ambient temperatures drop, it uniformly maintains one's core temperature, thereby protecting the vital organs from the very real effects of hypothermia.  At the same time, nothing says  "style" more completely than a sweater vest framed and covered by a tweed blazer -- it sends the distinct message of scholarship, sense, and sportiness, all gathered within the same person thusly clothed.  Remove the blazer, and it signals a tempered competence.  Roll up one's sleeves, and it speaks enterprise without arrogance.

Of course, the "V" of the vest creates a proportionate space for a sound cravat -- as an aside, a crew neck in the same ensemble would present a profoundly embarrassing self-negation of even the most sensible necktie -- but the vest also suggests, by understatement, the V of Vigilance, Vigor, Victory, Virility, and even Verisimilitude, in contrast to the loud clamor of a lowbrow lothario in a sharkskin suit.

Indeed, the very word "vest" denotes an authority rightly reposed -- a certain power, franchise, or endowment, signified by the clothing itself, which a mere shirt or sport-coat could never convey.

Naturally, those who do not understand the vest's vitality and versatility (again, the "V") , whether out of envy or ignorance, mock such raiment as unfashionable.  Well, gentle visitors, they said the same thing of polka music, and now regret that they did not in-vest in an accordion.  

Yankovic_justbecause

Comments

[Blue Clinkers]

While wasting time on vain pursuits last night--looking at men's jackets to not purchase online at Marks&Spencers--I discovered something previously unknown to me in male vesture:a sports jacket complete with "gilet"! Extraordinary! Ultimately Turkish in origin, it has devolved in the M&S version to a bit of extra clothing zipped to the jacket liner to look like a turtleneck worn below. I challenge sartorial our resident Maven of Mufti, Remainderman, to delve into the cultural implications of this conflation of clothing.