Male dress on the left: From Chartist Fustian Jackets to the £3.8K bespoke suit
In the Times magazine David Aaronovitch details how he ventured to Paul Smith, a bespoke tailors in Mayfair to acquire a new suit, his first he notes since 2007 (the previous being off the peg). The accompanying picture suggests that the suits fits well and looks stylish, though obviously David could do with a beard to make it really work.
It must be said though that £3,800 is a lot of money for a suit (in fact in my view since I don’t wear them, any money for one is too much) so one hopes that a funding arrangement was in place for shall we say a sponsor.
Some may argue that Aaronovitch as a Times columnist is not on the left. I’d suggest he is broadly drawn. Not my kind of left obviously and I don’t see the Times all that often (perhaps 2 or 3 times a week at best) so I don’t always read his columns. Perhaps the best I could say is that I don’t always disagree with them.
It does however beg the question of what the (male) left does wear and has worn. Keir Hardie managed a deer stalker hat and jacket in Parliament which caused much chuntering from Tory suits. Michael Foot’s stylish and expensive Duffle Coat at the Cenotaph was much derided but its just a year ago that a picture of Bernie Sanders dressed in a similar way went viral, and in an approving way.
The Chartists were often characterised as wearing fustian (cotton) jackets and having unshorn chins and blistered hands. Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor saw this as a badge of honour. I can agree except for the blisters- I’m an office worker after all.
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