Thursday 11 August 2011

A Sermon for Slovenly Times

Maybe I'm spending too much time in Kensington - maybe? I'm definitely spending too much time in Kensington - but I keep noticing men with waxed moustaches (usually with beards attached). I wonder if this is a 'trend'? Perhaps Susan, who writes the indispensable Retroprogressive column in The Dabbler on Saturdays, might explore the subject... Anyway, trend or not, it is to be commended. If you're going to sport facial hair, the least you can do is take good care of it, introducing a little order - and a little raffish style - by bringing those moustachios to a neat point. It is all part of the great programme of making the best of ourselves, making sure we're well turned out. In these slovenly times, this, I believe, is a quasi-moral imperative. The way we dress and groom ourselves affects how we feel, how we move, how we carry ourselves and interact with the world - ultimately how we behave. It might be possible to behave decently while dressed in a shell suit, or in tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie - but it will be an uphill struggle against powerful countervailing forces. Examine the pictures of those rioters who have lately been a feature of our urban streets. Not a waxed moustache among them. Nor, I'll warrant, a cravat. In dress as in prose, le style est l'homme meme. I rest my case.

7 comments:

  1. Perhaps that's the solution. Force them to sport smoking jackets, cravats, spats, pocket handkerchiefs - make them too dapper to loot. Waxed moustaches all round - no, I'd go hardline: waxed and perfumed moustaches. Try mincing through a smashed Footlocker window in that lot.

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  2. I think ruff collars should be reintroduced, and capes and hosiery

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  3. There is a mystery to this style matter though. How can you kick in windows when your trousers are already halfway down your buttocks?

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  4. Yes indeed Mary - these magic trousers seem to be always falling down, yet never do fall down. Are they Velcro'd or something? It's tempting to give them a tug in passing, but probably not a good idea...

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  5. The sans-culottes de nos jours.

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  6. According to me it feels people should be free themselves Yemek Tarifleri thanks

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  7. Wow, there is a lot of worthwhile material above!

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