Sir, – I would like to second Harry McGee’s condemnation of the suit (Fashion, April 2nd), and the slavishly traditional view that all professional men must wear one, all the time.
While professional ladies can, and do, wear a wide variety of colours and styles to work, varying their approach with the seasons and the weather, gents are constrained to dull uniformity all year round. As Harry says, the suit is a ridiculously impractical, uncomfortable and outdated mode of clothing. Wedded to the extreme discomfort of the necktie, and its dreadful hygiene record, the strange and unrealistic approach to suit-fitting and the effort and expense of maintenance, the suit represents the “perfect storm” of male attire.
It is also almost certainly to blame for much of the traffic congestion on our roads. It is simply impossible to walk or cycle any distance if required to wear a suit. In Irish weather this at the very least requires wearing a raincoat over a suit jacket, which amounts to wearing two coats while undertaking physical exertion. Rather than arrive at work a sweaty, red-faced mess, most choose to drive instead. The raincoat and jacket can be dispensed with and the professional gent can arrive at the office in a state of unruffled conformity – albeit at great cost to the environment. Down with suits! Yours, etc,
JOHN THOMPSON,
Shamrock Street,
Phibsboro,
Dublin 7