Suiting
Wearing a suit with the tag still on it
I am writing to implore you to address what I consider to be a particularly distressing trend in men's fashion. I have often noticed on men's suit jackets that the designer puts a label on the sleeve of the coat. I have always assumed that it is understood that one is supposed to remove such a label before wearing the coat; however, as I have surveyed the crowds at many social gatherings lately, I've been shocked to spot more than a few sleeve labels being sported without shame. Is it or is it not unconscionably tacky to wear the suit with the tag still on it? Because many labels are made of fabric, I think some people are under the impression that they are part of the suit. Perhaps a message to the masses would be that labels are a secret best kept between you and your tailor.
Every month I get a question or two that make me suspect I'm being put on like a cheap suit. When I first read this letter, that was my suspicion. Frat dudes, perhaps with some money on it, were the writers. But the more I thought about it, the more I had the horrible thought that this is for real. Actually, the labeled sleeve was a trend a few years back in that segment of our society in which voguing was an important social activity. The contestants in voguing balls often wore merchandise fresh from the store, one way or another (purchased with the intention of returning it or shoplifted), and so sometimes labels or even security tags would be attached. This, of course, added to the humor of the performance and the ironic fashion of the unremoved sleeve label. The concept caught on to the extent that some men were sending their jeans to the dry cleaners with pocket flashers still attached. The voguing fashion trends were eventually killed off by Madonna's participation, at least here, in urban ground zero, but perhaps this ghetto thing is just now penetrating the burbs of the outlands. The point of voguing is to be outlandish, outré and bad. I suppose every part of the world needs to experience it. It's punk. In fact, I remember a few sharp rebels wearing the sleeve label back in the days of safety pins. When you think about it, wearing the actual label is far more interesting than wearing a garment that is itself a giant logo. It means you're an aware advertisement, not an unconscious one. Of course, if the label is worn without irony, it's a little sad. In any event, kids will be kids.
this is according to STYLE GUY OF GQ