Suit Up!!!

I have no idea what's wrong with me.

I'm guessing it has something to do with my age or something. Maybe it's because my brain thinks I have something else to obsess over that I can't afford.

 My brain is pretty stupid at times.

For whatever reason, I've recently discovered that I really want to dress well. This doesn't mean that I want the best designer jeans or the coolest, wittiest, most sarcastic tee-shirts. I'm talking about actual men's fashion. Silk ties, tie jewelry, regular jewelry, watches, shoes, proper fitted poplin shirts, and hats. Do I have the means to obtain said fashion? Not even close. So far that hasn't stopped me, however. I managed to pick up a decent collection of ties and also inherited some great cufflinks and tie chains from my father and grandfather and I choose to wear them whenever I can.

My bosses implemented a dress code at work several months ago and I found this to be, arguably, less than the wisest move they've ever made. I was pretty happy going in to work with my jeans and a decent shirt and my clients were comfortable with talking to someone that looked like them and appeared to understand that "dressing up" was wearing jeans without holes in them. The powers that be  decided that we weren't nearly professional enough in jeans and a sweatshirt (thanks Brad) and that we needed to wear dress pants or khakis and closed toe shoes because that's what makes us professional. My response to this was vociferous and frequentbut ultimately futile, so I decided that nothing I said was going to change their minds and if I was going to be forced to wear this, I was going to 1) never wear anything with the company logo on it again and 2) was going to WEAR this. I decided that I was going to wear good shirts and good ties at least once a week. Turns out I dress better, and more "professionally" than anyone else I was working with. What made me happy about all of that, though, was that I began finding ties that I didn't even know I had and that they went with shirts that I wouldn't ever think would go together.

I wore a suit for New Year's Eve and my shirt had French cuffs and my fedora for a party bus that we were told was going to be "formal". What I discovered was that my definition of formal and other people's was different. Apparently formal, or semi-formal, means wearing a blazer, nice shirt, and nice jeans. I felt old and overdressed, but I looked awesome! Well, as awesome as I ever look. It was still ME after all. Clothes can only do so much.

February 1, we went to Rock Island to take the children to a Shinedown and Three Days Grace concert (because that was one of their Christmas presents and we are cool parents like that) and since we didn't go with them, we went to visit with one of my best friends and former classmates from grad school, Alex, and he took us to a Cigar and Hookah bar. In itself, a place I'd never visited, but exposed me to an experience that didn't seem like it would be relaxing but was like therapy for me and any one that knows me will recognize my need for therapy. I spent several hours talking, relaxing, and laughing like I hadn't done in months. I met awesome people and reconnected with my larger and far more worldly friend and left recharged. One of the people that I met there was Alex's friend, Spewie. I'm pretty sure that was his name, obviously not his REAL name and I never heard the story behind him getting that name, but he had a real life smoking jacket. I'd never actually seen a smoking jacket in real life, but I'd seen pictures, much like the rest of my life. I live in IOWA for crying in the sink, people. Culture around here is pretty much limited to the local theatre troupe, and more often than not, one of your neighbor's bratty kids is in the cast and someone's Aunt Penelope is the one sewing the "period costumes". So the discussion started with the smoking jacket and quickly moved to the woman that tailored it for him and went on to the tailored suits. I've read a saying that says "A tailored suit is for women what lingerie is for men" and I think any help men, middle aged men in particular, can get is useful. God only knows that *I* need it. If a tailored suit could change my face, too, I'd have one already! So this woman that made the smoking jacket is planning on making him a suit as well and now I want one as well. I don't care what it costs.
Ok, that's not true. I do care because I live in reality and I'm not a complete idiot, (Nearly complete, maybe 85% complete, but not complete) but I really want one and hopefully this will be a chance to get one. So say a prayer, recite a spell, sacrifice a goat, send good thoughts, or however you get down if you would please, so I might be able to afford this sometime soon.

So I say all that to say this, Pinterest (Thanks Country Girl) is now feeding my addiction/obsession/desire because that's the only place I can drool over beautiful clothes and all of those things that I want without actually paying for them. I have pins on there that describe how to tie ties with knots that I've never seen. I have a whole board dedicated to this sexiness and not once am I included in these pictures, thank God! There are other boards, but this one is my favorite right now. I have some REALLY expensive tastes and realize that I can't afford them, but I'm realistic, if I can find out where to get them, I'm totally going to steal this stuff.