In Defense of the Monkey Suit
I love looking at old family photos (and the family photos of friends).
I love seeing how people used to dress.
I love how there was a time when the suit was more common.
One of my favorite photos is of my great grandfather on my mother's side. He and my great grandmother raised my mom and uncle. He was a butcher in Chicago.
He wore a suit.
More than that, he looked badass in a suit (back when a hat was a standard part of a suit).
If I could afford it, I'd wear a suit to work daily. I went years without wearing a suit. I think I wore a suit once as a kid (when I was around 7 or 8 and my father remarried). I wore a jacket to my cousins' batmitzvahs. But until recently, that's been it.
I recently bought a blazer that I can dress up or down. But I still never owned a real suit.
There's a picture of my great grandfather in a pin striped suit I like.
I've always wanted a pin striped suit.
I finally got one a couple months ago:
There's something about wearing a suit that makes me stand taller. My favorite way to dress will always be jeans, a solid color T-shirt, and casual dress shoes, but I dig the suit. I dig blazers. I like the ritual of getting dressed in all the layers and accoutrements that come with a suit. I like coming home from work and taking a moment to care for the clothing as I change out of my suit.
Maybe I'd feel different about suits if I had to wear one everyday, but I like the "monkey suit." I don't even look at it as the dreaded "monkey suit."
I wear it because I want to--not because I have to.
I think about my great grandfather when I put it on; I think about how suits used to be the norm.
I don't find suits uncomfortable; I find this suit to be one of the more comfortable items of clothing I own.
So I finally have my pin striped suit.
Now all I need is a hat... ;)
I love seeing how people used to dress.
I love how there was a time when the suit was more common.
One of my favorite photos is of my great grandfather on my mother's side. He and my great grandmother raised my mom and uncle. He was a butcher in Chicago.
He wore a suit.
More than that, he looked badass in a suit (back when a hat was a standard part of a suit).
If I could afford it, I'd wear a suit to work daily. I went years without wearing a suit. I think I wore a suit once as a kid (when I was around 7 or 8 and my father remarried). I wore a jacket to my cousins' batmitzvahs. But until recently, that's been it.
I recently bought a blazer that I can dress up or down. But I still never owned a real suit.
There's a picture of my great grandfather in a pin striped suit I like.
I've always wanted a pin striped suit.
I finally got one a couple months ago:
There's something about wearing a suit that makes me stand taller. My favorite way to dress will always be jeans, a solid color T-shirt, and casual dress shoes, but I dig the suit. I dig blazers. I like the ritual of getting dressed in all the layers and accoutrements that come with a suit. I like coming home from work and taking a moment to care for the clothing as I change out of my suit.
Maybe I'd feel different about suits if I had to wear one everyday, but I like the "monkey suit." I don't even look at it as the dreaded "monkey suit."
I wear it because I want to--not because I have to.
I think about my great grandfather when I put it on; I think about how suits used to be the norm.
I don't find suits uncomfortable; I find this suit to be one of the more comfortable items of clothing I own.
So I finally have my pin striped suit.
Now all I need is a hat... ;)