A family man

Last night, I went to the Phillies vs. Braves game in Philadelphia with a friend. Great seats, beautiful weather. Almost-fight in the eighth inning. Good times.

Two rows ahead of us, and several seats to my left, was a man. He was wearing a suit. Nothing flashy, just a grey, two-button wool suit, point-collar, striped shirt and tie. I only noticed him when he went to get a hot dog. He was an older man. His seating location (we were in the 300s) told me he was not some investment banker or millionaire. Why the suit?

Then I noticed in the seat he just vacated: A handsome leather briefcase. And seated on either side of it were an older woman and a younger woman, probably in her mid-30s. This was a family man, fresh from the office in downtown Philadelphia, here to see a ball game with his wife and kid. I imagine it is the sort of thing his father would do: Have his wife meet her at the ballpark, and head in dressed for the commuter train. I imagine it is the sort of thing he has done with his daughter and wife for many years.

A stressful day at the office followed by a hot dog, a cold drink and baseball, with your family and crisp air.

It was a nice realization.

W.W.C.G.D.

One of my favorite Web logs to read is Easy & Elegant Life. Not only do I get the ideas of a well-heeled Richmond gentleman about which to muse (change your sheets Wednesdays, for a fresh mid-week boost), but there are fabulous recommendations for living more, well, elegantly.

In the latest post, Pop, the writer posts about reading Nina Garcia’s “The Little Black Book of Style,” and where men stand in relation to her tips.

Almost none of it is applicable to menswear, of course. Our trends are trends of millimeters.

I have never heard it described better.

as Mr. Robert Stuart once reminded me in this very blog “Would Cary Grant have been more elegant if… .”

…

“I’m sticking with the classics, and if somebody doesn’t like it, I can deal. If you look at Cary Grant’s suits from the thirties, forties and fifties, they still look good today. That’s style, not fashion.” Glenn O’Brien, The Style Guy, quoted in “Cary Grant Style” by Richard Torregrossa.

(Emphasis mine) Here to, the ideals to which I try to hold when dressing myself can be explained no simpler, no more elegant than that. Style is as removed from fashion as farming is from cooking.

Cary Grant’s secret was this: elegance through constant editing. It’s a lesson we should all take to heart.

I know I sound like a snob, but I just thought I would share.