Since we have been discussing slippers the past couple days, I thought I would finish the week with a final slipper discussion for a while. While searching one of my favorite slipper sites, Belgian Loafers, I found an interesting pair of slippers. These tartan plaid slippers are certainly made of the WASPy plaid material we all covet, but on the feet? Even though I rarely admit to being stumped in the world of WASP style, I am stumped as to how one could wear these shoes. Navy blazer, blue oxford, cream or khaki chinos, and plaid slippers???? I just don't know. What do you honestly think, because even though they seem to fit in the WASP world, I just cannot decide.
12 comments:
I'm fond of Belgian shoes and Stubbs & Wootton slippers. Because they both have a slipper-esque style, I avoid choosing materials that look like they might belong in the bedroom. I think the tartan plaid looks like it should be paired with a robe and PJs.
THE HIGHLAND SPIRIT or WHEN COLD GET CLANNISH
Tartan has long been a WASP staple.
This is a man's leather-soled, unlined tartan woolen slipper. The leather piping and discreet tassle at the bridge of the tongue make for a more splendid result. I like it.
When in town (and not away in the country or on holiday at the beach), woolen slippers, however smartened up (as distinguished from bowed, patent leather or special velvet ones, often made for dancing) are usually worn in one's own house whether informally entertaining friends or relaxing without them. The wool, in particular, implies a certain informality which circumscribes their use.
All rules have their exceptions and you may be able to get away with more idiosyncratic habits (WASPs often do.)such as wearing them over to friends' apartments in your building or to a close neighbor's house for very informal gatherings for wine, conversation and cards etc...
In town, with friends or without them, I would wear the tartan slippers at home with black or deep navy-ribbed, fine lisle vat-dyed socks, plain-front clerical or oxford grey flannels, a thin dark-colored hide strap (I prefer alligator.) with an engine-turned, mongrammed vermeil buckle, and a simple, unstarched white, cotton, oxford-cloth button down shirt.
If chilly, (WASPs are thrify folk and the thermostat may well be set a cooler 65 degrees)I would add a discreet, navy, cashmere pull-over or the same color in dyed vicuna (if it could be found and was not discouragingly expensive). Cardigan versions are equally acceptable albeit even less formal and not preferred when entertaining. Cardigan and khakis may replace pull-over and flannels if t.v. trays and a movie are the order of the evening.
Less discreet but certainly more merry and mindful of the pending pleasures of Advent and Christmastide would be a thin, bright red, merino wool sweater.
In the country one could wear just the same or something less discreet and more jolly and warmer as the case calls for it. Also, your tartan slippers could trot out to lunch and over to the neighbors place sans curious glances.
Out on a sartorial limb, a witty WASP might play supper host in the country in an old, shiny at the elbows and somewhat threadbare (single- buttoned, shawl-collared) Press dinner jacket, black tie, button down pinpoint oxford shirt (frayed at the collar and button cuffs) and wear these tartan slippers to boot. The socks of clocked silk however, would remain curiously correct. Although, in truth, he'd probably choose instead to wear his ancient, boned, black shell-cordovan lace-ups-needing a polish.
This is same sort of "hell-of-a-fellow" who'll offer you a "dressing drink" in your room to fortify you against the the boring plod seated to your left at dinner while ensuring that to your right will be a precocious young darling who thinks you're brilliant. He also has a knack for keeping everybody in stitchs through the whole evening telling bawdy stories that only embarrass himself and quite possibly his wife.
At the beach in fall or winter you can do just what you'd do in the summers, wear anything you damn well please anywhere without raising an eyebrow with the notable exceptions of honoring your hosts explicit expectations on an invitation or when at church or at sport or dining in a room where dress codes forbid you from realizing your inner-bohemian-- thank God.
So embrace your inner-Scot, drink whiskey when and wherever you can and trot out the tartan.
Best,
Cerebral
Cerebral, please contact Ivy-style.com; we want to hire your poison pen.
Thanks, Richard, for letting me recruit from your admirers.
Dear Anonymous,
Your request contains an unfortunate contradiction that makes its validity suspect.
If you believe, as you have suggested, my comments are unpleasant, abusive, malicious or accusatory then it is illogical you would invite me to write for an interesting blog that explicitly seeks unity and "a comprehensive rather than devisive approach" to understanding classic American style.
My nom de plum does preserve my anonymity. Poison pen letters are often authored anonymously. This is the beginning and the end of that comparison.
There is a long history of writers using pseudonyms. This is particularly the case with expose' pieces wherein tenacious journalists reveal fraud and untruths that, if left concealed, may do harm. For instance, revealing an unsubstantiated offer to be little more than a clumsy insult from an anonymous blogger who has perhaps been upset by previously posted criticism.
I do not write with a poison pen. I write commentary that is at once relevant and meaningful. It may be more or less cogent at times and may not be convincing to all who read it. It is justifiable and honest.
If the previous poster simply made a poor choice of words then that is regrettable. But less so than if his unfortunate lack of good manners led him to a feeble insult.
I think I'll save my admiration for Bach, Schweitzer and Kenneth Clark.
Thanks, Richard, for letting me reply.
Praying for honesty and clarity in prose,
Cerebral
That was interesting. Anyway, I think a dusty corn colored wide whale cord (uncuffed) would look smart. Sockless if you're at home. Actually, almost any color cord would work with the tartan.
Also, for a night on the town this holiday season (your My Space page indicates you live in NY)you may want to try black jeans, a double cuff shirt with red silk knots and a Black velvet, side vented, jacket.
These are not for snow and ice covered streets but the Belgian has a long history in NY so you can wear them without fear. South of the Mason Dixon line is another story. Occupants of a passing pick up truck could infer you're not the man you claim to be. I would recommend carrying a Browning Hi Power automatic (9MM). A trad classic and not nearly as vulgar as a Glock. Also, the 13 round magazine insures some extra cartridges just in case your aim is not the greatest.
Tintin,
Where would it be a different story south of the Mason Dixon line?
Washington, D.C., Richmond, Charlotte, Louisville, Nashville, Atlanta, Augusta, the Sea Islands, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Natchez, Montgomery, Birmingham, Little Rock or in any private house, on any shooting plantation or inside a private club anywhere in between? This list is not exhaustive and that was a rhetorical question.
The old slave states and many of their cities and towns have long been places of culture and splendor. Some are brimming with grand eccentrics and stylish beau brummels and enjoy a rich and cosmopolitan tradition. In fact, the South may be one of last whole regions of the country where WASPs and their cultural identity are largely still celebrated.
H.L. Mencken is dead and so is his dated claim the South is a "Sahara of the Beaux Art."
Also, your recommendation that a tartan clad WASP carry a gun when in the South is unnecessary. They already do but they use them to kill birds and beasts not each other.
As for your recommendation of black jeans and black velvet-true, this would be a risky combination for any WASP anywhere. WASP men I know do not wear black denim ever, and certainly not for a night on the town. Black velvet is reserved for the dresses of their wives or girlfriends unless it is worn as a substitute for a more traditional dinner jacket at a black tie party.
There may be a sophisticated "it" spot on the island of Manhattan where your holiday black would be a hit. There is somewhere for everything and everyone in Manhattan.
WASPs do go clubbing at Christmas just not to those sort of clubs where your suggested costume would be expected or appreciated.
My advice, Richard if you go with this "look" is to stay the hell away from the Union Club. You'd never get past the hall porter.
I wish I was in Dixie!
Actually, I am in Dixie. I live in the south and NYC. I've lived in the south most of my life. I know it well.
Step outside onto a street in Savanah or Chartlotte or any number of southern cities and, while my Browning reference was meant to be in good fun, you may wish you were carrying one. Although, as you pointed out, most people in the south do carry or better still, have one in their glovebox. Seems to have replaced the shotgun rack. I have seen an inclusive, "live and let live" in NYC that the south has yet to come close to.
The Black velvet jacket is a very traditional staple of the holiday season - - Worn with out without a bow I think it handsome holiday attire. And as a member of the Union League Club of Chicago and Philadelphia, they'd have no problem with Richard and his slippers. His dog yes but not his slippers.
AUTOPHOBIC SOUTHERN BROTHERS and SHOOTING FROM THE TAP ROOM
Tintin,
If you are a Southerner then I am surprised and disappointed in your unfair commentary about your own people. There is a mild undercurrent of self-loathing in your original remarks.
"Live and let live" indeed. WASP Southerners I know are tolerant, progressive citizens who are largely disinterested in the private lives of others. They tend to their own houses and are indulgent of the eccentricities of their neighbors. Rural folk can be a bit clannish of course (forgive the unfortunate pun) but this characteristic is no less true of mid-westerners and upstate New Yorkers. Good God, there are parts of Pennsylvania that are positively Medieval.
Manhattan has its share of free spirits and is, as a whole, more permissive than, let's say Birmingham but I wouldn't want a South full of little Manhattans. That "progress" would spoil the unique character of that splendid island. Southern cities have their own charms.
Moreover, the whole South cannot be held responsible for a few bigoted, fundamentalists who use faith as a sword to attack post-modernity. I am reminded of the mantra of the good citizens of Atlanta during the civil rights era-"We're a city too busy to hate." They still are.
I don't know what parts of Savannah or Charlotte you find yourself in but these cities are no more dangerous than their northern counterparts. I suggest you find accommodation in a better part of town or start watching Rio Bravo for gun slinging tips.
More importantly, I don't know any man, with the exceptions of Wayne Newton and yourself, who considers a black velvet jacket a wardrobe staple for the holiday season or any other season for that matter-with or without the bow!
I don't know what Richard's chances are at getting past the uniformed doormen at either of the Union League Clubs you mention. I could guess.
I do know if you are member of the Union League Club of Chicago you should know the club's public dress code requires, at a minimum, business casual attire throughout the clubhouse excepting only the private guest quarters on floors 10 and above. The wearing of jeans, be they be they black or any color of the holiday rainbow, is strictly prohibited. From Memorial Day through Labor Day one may wear jeans on Saturdays before 5:00 p.m., on Sundays and on national holidays. You don't have to be a member to know this. The dress code is printed in full on the club website.
Let me guess, when you wear your black-clad, jean and velveteen salute to Johnny Cash you only visit the public rooms every other Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:59 p.m. from late May to early September. The rest of the year you take the service elevator straight up to the 11th floor and stay there like Howard Hughes. Enjoy your canned peaches.
You won't fare any better with your suggested holiday ensemble at the Union League Club of Phildelphia. The code is even stricter there (for anyone over 12 years-old.)Jeans and denim wear are never allowed inside the League House (This would include the ballroom and the dining rooms on the first and second floors where Christmas festivities are held.) You may go to and from your overnight room at the Inn at the League (where woolen slippers would be appropriate) and to the Fitness Center (where neither slippers or black jeans would be) dressed as you are. But try and bypass the lobby elevators and head toward the Boker Room and you'll be sure to get a discreet tap reminding you you are not in a casino.
You'll be embarrassed but you'll still be alive. You write of the need for the tartan slippered, velveteen and denim dandies of the world to arm themselves if they go south. Well, you may want to wear your holsters in certain parts of New York City too- including Fifth Avenue and East 62nd Street.
If you were spotted from the high windows of the Knickerbocker Club by a member or even an old porter in that get up, you might well be shot before you reached the threshold of the canopied entrance. If you bum rushed the doorman you could count on a knife fight to keep you out of the library. You see, Charlotte and Savannah don't have a thing on old WASP New York.
Be safe. Wear a dinner jacket and lace-ups to share your holiday cheer.
Happy Holidays.
Richard,
Wow. I am not sure if I am smart enough to write on this blog anymore after reading these posts! Everyone is so well spoken.
Anyway, I say don't wear these slippers. To me, they scream Look at my Feet! And if you have big feel (like me) I think the slippers will make them look huge.
Bill
Not sure how we got onto speaking about Southerners and our guns. However, truth be told, I have a British 303 in my truck at all times. No it's not for killing other people, but unwanted beast that are on my property such as wild hogs. The thing is, as a black man living in the rual south, yes we are very "clannish".
Though I have had no problems, I have met others, black and white who have had problems.
Enough about that though. I hate the shoe. I'm sorry, but if I were to wear this shoe around some of my polo mates, or my father I would need to be looking for a plot.
The shoe is just to feminine for my taste. I'm all about donning a nice pair of Albert slippers, but I can't go in to the slippers that are floral,and chintz. Looks as though my wife should be wearing them.
Now on to the talk about the jacket. I can't go there either. I think it may have something to do with what section of the south I'm in. We here in AR don't do well with velvet jackets. The velvet holiday jacket that RL had in his collection last year did not do well at all here. Most were placed on sale, and they still didn't move. Not sure if that is the consensus of the men in the area, just going on the lack of sales of this item.
SOUTHERN HYPERBOLE or WHY YOU CAN'T KILL HOGS IN ANYTHING BUT ALBERT SLIPPERS IN ARKANSAS
I began writing about WASP Southerners and their responsible use of firearms in reply to Tintin's suggestion that one would likely be in mortal danger if discovered by a pickup truck full of hillbillies while wearing tartan slippers down South. True, hillbillies can be unpredictable. However, I'm not sure how circumstances would bring one to such an unusual confrontation-as hillibillies are not common country house guests and rarely travel the footpaths and country lanes one uses to get from house to house or house to farm in the countryside WASPs favor.
True, some rural folk, north, south, east and west, are less sophisticated than their urban counterparts. They can be suspicious and, indeed, hostile toward people who they deem unusual or out of step (forgive the pun) with local custom including people who prefer tartan slippers to boots in the country. Well, when in Rome (or backwoods Arkansas)...
Some words about words...
Hate is a strong word and it is often misused when one intends to convey a less intense emotion.
One does not hate shoes. One hates injustice, cruelty and careless prose. One may dislike tartan slippers or disapprove of them or have an aversion to either tartan or slippers in general but they do not normally engender loathing in the casual observer.
Agreed, polo players can be ferocious and impulsive during a match. But they usually leave their ferocity on the polo ground. Their respect for good sportsmanship and sense of fraternity makes them unwilling to bludgen their friends with their mallets over offending slippers.
A pugnacious father of The Great Santini stripe might insist you box him for the privilege of wearing your slippers in his presence but I doubt he would kill his son to prevent him from it-lest he lose future opportunities to bully and humiliate.
Poloist12's hyperbole aside, apparently wild hogs aren't the only barbaric beasts he faces in rural Arkansas.
Tartan is not feminine. Rather, it suggests the rugged and often masculine elegance of the Scottish Highlands. WASP husbands and wives have long worn slippers made from vibrant tartan wool, velvet monogrammed in gold wire and splendid needlepoint without concern for sexual ambiguity.
Although chintz, often printed with flowers, was favored by fashionable young courtiers at Versailles and remains popular for bedcovers, quilts and draperies in WASP houses some 300 years later(Betty Sherrill is still alive and McMillen still thrives.), you needn't be concerned about its appearance on well-heeled WASP feet. They prefer cabbage roses on their armchairs not on their shoes.
It is curious one could pronounce tartan slippers too feminine to be acceptable while admitting a preference for velvet Albert slippers--the latter's antecedents lying with Beau Brummel dandies and their Regency period court shoes. Albert slippers are favored by style leaders, gay and straight alike.
Agreed, a person should should be mindful of place and circumstance when choosing their clothes. Tartan and Albert slippers are more likely found on the feet of those hosting or attending Christmas house parties in Hillcrest or The Heights in Little Rock than in wild hog country. A velvet jacket, unless worn for smoking (or more likely reading these days) in one's own house, is unseen at WASP parties in town or country- thank God. Ralph Lauren's house sometimes errs on the side of high camp dandysim. It is the consensus of good WASPs everywhere that such a "holiday jacket" be used to start the Yule Log burning and nothing else.
Good luck in rural America. I'd keep that gun if I were you. Sounds like you may need it.
Being thankful for one more thing,
Cerebral
Cerebral,
Though I have found what you have written entertaining, as usual, I think you were taking my words out of context.
The bits about my polo mates and father were jokes. No, no one is going to kill me for wearing these slippers; however, I would be chided if I had. Also, we are in two different crowds here.
I don’t think that it’s ‘interesting” that I like the Albert slippers, and not these. It has nothing to do with the Tartan, it’s about the design and style of this slipper. My mother has this slipper in black and tan. I can not see myself wearing a slipper that my mother wears.
In my closets I have everything from my Wellington’s, which is what I wear when out with my horses, to Albert slippers. In fact two items I can not live with out are my Ostrich Boots, and my packer boots which I wear when killing hogs. I am in no danger of being killed by anyone, neighbors, hogs, or anything else. My neighbors know my style, but I do not wear this type of clothing when I am out on the farm hunting, dealing with cattle, etc.
Why can’t I say hate? I HATE THE SHOE, for me. If you want to wear the shoe, wear it. You do you, and I’ll do me. Since we are the use of words, what I said was not “hyperbole” and was not meant to be an exaggeration in anyway. Parts of what I said in my post were jokes, I’m sure someone of your intelligence knows what a joke is, and others were fact. The combinations of the two in my post I do not feel were, as you elegantly put it hyperbole.
As for Chintz, I have seen this pattern on slippers time and time again when I lived in PB. When checking the Stubbs & Wootton site, I could not find a chintz pattern, but found some close. See the link I’ve added below.
http://stubbsandwootton.com/shoebrowser.php?cat=5
What’s funny is, while writing this post, I looked again at the shoe and my daughter was here with me in my study. Upon looking at the shoe she exclaimed, “That looks like a girls shoe”. Leave it to children to tell it like it is. I think she’s said it all for me. So I’ll leave you with that.
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