As I scribble these words on a train to London, I’m wearing a lightweight Italian wool suit, a shirt from Gieves & Hawkes, a silk spotty tie and a pair of Church’s suede brogues. You might mistake me for a prosperous Neapolitan gentleman of a certain age. But in fact, I’m a charity-shop dandy – my outfit came to less than £60. That’s less than a pair of new trainers for my teenage daughter. I’m particularly pleased with the shoes, which I picked up locally for £30. A new pair would set you back £700.
If you’re not too grand to buy secondhand, it’s actually far easier and cheaper for men to dress smartly than to be slovenly. I learned this important fact in my early twenties. Looking to stand out and hopefully get promoted at my job in publishing, I began wearing a jacket and tie around the office. It worked. People assumed I was more important than I actually was.
Since then, I’ve become an expert at trawling secondhand shops. Pick your area wisely. Market towns are good for country-wear like tweed jackets and checked shirts. Many shops in the provinces don’t know the value of what they’ve got, hence the price of those Church’s brogues. In contrast, some London shops are all too aware and price accordingly – I’m thinking of you, Oxfam in Marylebone High Street. Pimlico is a much better hunting ground. In one shop I found a bespoke Spencer Hart suit for £40. Then I took it to a local tailor for adjustments, giving me a taste of Savile Row for under £100.
My greatest find, however, was a shiny mohair suit that looked like something Ray Liotta would have worn in Goodfellas. It was so snazzy that the late Anthony Bourdain complimented me on it at a book launch. When I used to take it to the dry cleaners, the man behind the counter would shake his head sadly at the wine stains on the lapels and the stench of cigarettes and tell me I needed to slow down a bit. Sadly it fell victim to a vicious moth infestation. I still mourn for that suit. The oldest item in my wardrobe is a heavy tweed wool suit which used to belong to my grandfather, with trousers that go up to your armpits like James Stewart’s in It’s
a Wonderful Life. You don’t need central heating with trousers like those.
It is now, however, getting harder to find high-quality clothing at a reasonable price. The golden age of secondhand shops was probably the 2000s. Since then, much of the action has moved to eBay and Vinted, where you are unlikely to find a bargain. More-over, there’s a finite supply of good quality men’s clothing. All those British-made suits and shirts are wearing out, and today almost everything except the very top stuff is made abroad. Some, such as Cordings, have kept quality levels up, but most haven’t. Aquascutum, my grandparents’ favourite brand, is a pale shadow of its former self.
People are buying less good-quality clothing as workplaces have become more informal. There are very few professions today where a suit and tie is mandatory. Quite the opposite, in fact. A few years ago, I was specifically told not to wear a tie for the second job interview at one company. When I eventually got the job I was surprised to find that most people wore tracksuits around the office, often without shoes.
If you’re not too grand to buy secondhand, it’s far cheaper for men to dress smartly than to be slovenly
Now there’s simply no need for most people to wear a suit and tie unless they are getting married or appearing in court. It was particularly sad seeing Keir Starmer trying to out-Andy Burnham Andy Burnham in his no-nonsense bloke-wear in a recent video explaining why he was banning social media for the under-16s. Even people who appear to be making an effort will let themselves down with their shoes. The Noel Gallagher at No. 10 combination of Paul Smith suit with trainers is all too common. What would Jeeves have to say about this?
Foreigners used to revere English style. The Spanish have a department store named after it, El Corte Inglés, the English cut. At some point a proper shirt, tie and leather shoes will go the way of the frockcoat and top hat. Most smart restaurants have quietly dropped their dress codes. Millionaires today wear baseball caps and (very expensive) trainers when eating out.
But I’m not ready to give up yet, and nor should you. Every time you lace up a proper pair of shoes or knot a tie, it’s a blow against the drabness of the modern world. And it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. There really is no excuse for dressing like a slob.
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