Have a copy of the Sunday Styles handy? Flip to page 11. Look at the Banana Republic ad. Focus on the man's suit jacket. See the felt design, whatisthat, mistletoe?, where a pocket square ought to be? [Found the ad online. —ed.] What do you call this thing?
May I suggest "abomination"? Gentlemen, we are not adopting pocket accents. The pocket square, on the other hand, has a rich history that we should not be quick to abandon. What kind of story would it be if Iago were to wave a felt twig at Othello as evidence of Desdemona's cuckolding ways? Recall Emilia's lines about Desdemona's intimate connection to Othello's handkerchief:
I am glad I have found this napkin;The handkerchief's literary applications extend beyond the romantic, of course. In fact, the handkerchief dreams, too. James Fenimore Cooper writes about the dignity of the wild flax seeds that were called to service as a pocket square in The Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief. It's not that a felt twig doesn't have a story to tell: shorn by a shepherd, pressed and dyed by a manufacturer, shaped and sewed by a craftster—I'm sure it's gripping. But it isn't a story featuring names like the Astaire, the Cagney, the Cooper, the Reverse Puff, and other ultra-masculine terms for carefully, artfully folded silk squares.
This was her first remembrance from the Moor.
My wayward husband hath a hundred times,
Woo'd me to steal it; but she so loves the token
(For he conjur'd her she should ever keep it)
That she reserves it evermore about her
To kiss and talk to. (3.3.290–296)
Carrying a pocket square is a polite thing to do: When someone sneezes and you're wearing a handkerchief, you hand it over. On the other hand, carrying a pocket twig is a selfish thing to do: When someone sneezes and you're wearing a pocket twig, you're probably making him sick.
Posted by Kriston at November 11, 2007 8:22 PMLast night I saw someone using a red silicon basting brush as a pocket square. It seemed feasible.
Posted by: Tom at November 11, 2007 9:47 PMThe Sartorialist says that the overcoat requires its own pocket square—one shouldn't be transfered from jacket to coat. I'm not sure I even have one red silicon basting brush!
Posted by: Kriston at November 11, 2007 10:58 PMThat's going to be one dry turkey this year . . .
Posted by: Megan McArdle at November 12, 2007 5:57 AMI think the twig is cute. Plus, you could use it as an improvised toothbrush if lost in the woods.
Posted by: Emily at November 12, 2007 1:04 PMWhen lost in the woods one is at no loss for actual twigs. Try again.
Posted by: Kriston at November 12, 2007 1:28 PMThe only proper use of embroidered foliage on a man's suit.
Posted by: Ian at November 12, 2007 8:29 PMI think it's a smushed bunny rabbit, trying to get out. Is that ok?
Posted by: ogged at November 13, 2007 11:23 AMFurther thought: wow, their mouths are really open.
Posted by: ogged at November 13, 2007 11:29 AMIn the print ad it's clearly a couple of berries, maybe some mistletoe.
Posted by: Kriston at November 13, 2007 12:44 PMDon't these two people look a little too...old to be dressed like that (velvet jackets with whatsits sticking out, high ribboned ponytail) and carrying on like they are? It's like Matthew Fox in 15 years with Sigourney Weaver.
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