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I had strongly chastised Alan Flusser for his answer in the latest issue of Menswear magazine (Spring 2005) in his Ask Alan (clever name!) column that it was OK to wear a short sleeve shirt with a necktie.
We had a discussion about his response previously on this Forum. Here is his response, which he has graciously agreed to let us reproduce. Let’s be kind. You know my opinion! -- Andy
From: Alan Flusser
To: Andy
Subject: Sartorial chagrin
Re - Short sleeves and Four-in-Hands,
Once again, just for the record, in principal, I find nothing inherently unstylish about the wearing of a necktie with a short sleeved dress shirt. Contrary to conventional logic, sporting a necktie with a short sleeve dress shirt demands more, rather than less, fashion savvy to look sophisticated rather than sloppy. I’ve seen pictures of the Duke of Windsor and other legendary swells adorned thusly. As I mentioned in my very truncated opinion in Menswear, such a combination would not be appropriate for all occasions or could be considered equal in dressiness to a long sleeve dress shirt.
But in certain situations, when worn knowledgably, short sleeved dress shirt adorned by a necktie can not only appear more comfortable, but eccentrically stylish. Naturally, to assure sartorial polish, a few points of fashion decorum should be observed. Ideally, the shirt’s collar should be soft and appropriately scaled for the wearer's face.
Its open sleeves should be full and long enough for the wearer's arms. Consider the following: it's the dog days of summer, you're required to wear a coat and tie at work, and that day, no serious business meetings are planned.
Well cut khaki's, blue seersucker/blazer sport jacket, solid yellow, pink, or white turned down collar dress shirt, solid/striped grenadine necktie, and a casually folded white linen pocket square would not suffer at the bare wrists of a short sleeve dress shirt. And if you want to wear your jacket sleeve's turned back, as many of our more sophisticated customers favor on their summer sport jackets, the short sleeved dress shirt seems like a natural, and certainly more comfortable, sartorial companion.
-- Alan
We had a discussion about his response previously on this Forum. Here is his response, which he has graciously agreed to let us reproduce. Let’s be kind. You know my opinion! -- Andy
From: Alan Flusser
To: Andy
Subject: Sartorial chagrin
Re - Short sleeves and Four-in-Hands,
Once again, just for the record, in principal, I find nothing inherently unstylish about the wearing of a necktie with a short sleeved dress shirt. Contrary to conventional logic, sporting a necktie with a short sleeve dress shirt demands more, rather than less, fashion savvy to look sophisticated rather than sloppy. I’ve seen pictures of the Duke of Windsor and other legendary swells adorned thusly. As I mentioned in my very truncated opinion in Menswear, such a combination would not be appropriate for all occasions or could be considered equal in dressiness to a long sleeve dress shirt.
But in certain situations, when worn knowledgably, short sleeved dress shirt adorned by a necktie can not only appear more comfortable, but eccentrically stylish. Naturally, to assure sartorial polish, a few points of fashion decorum should be observed. Ideally, the shirt’s collar should be soft and appropriately scaled for the wearer's face.
Its open sleeves should be full and long enough for the wearer's arms. Consider the following: it's the dog days of summer, you're required to wear a coat and tie at work, and that day, no serious business meetings are planned.
Well cut khaki's, blue seersucker/blazer sport jacket, solid yellow, pink, or white turned down collar dress shirt, solid/striped grenadine necktie, and a casually folded white linen pocket square would not suffer at the bare wrists of a short sleeve dress shirt. And if you want to wear your jacket sleeve's turned back, as many of our more sophisticated customers favor on their summer sport jackets, the short sleeved dress shirt seems like a natural, and certainly more comfortable, sartorial companion.
-- Alan
