Ravenor Bullen
New in Town
- Messages
- 15
- Location
- Surabaya, Java
I have pondered the question of pipes and dress for some time now.
Although the occasions for formal dress are fast diminishing these days, there are times when one needs to wear a dinner jacket and the question of which pipe to carry becomes a concern.
Recently, when attending a formal wedding reception I deliberated for a while over which pipe would go best with my black tie.
I have a couple of black dress pipes, although it is hard to come by new ones these days. Mine are a Dunhill and a Comoy are in a jet black smooth polish, one with a silver mount. I have seen others with more ornate stem-shank rings and there is even one pipe a friend has with diamonds set in the mount.
I posed for a while in front of the mirror (judging pipe appropriatness not subjective good looks - I hasten to add) and found that my mostly brown coloured briars clashed somewhat with my black jacket. It is rather akin to wearing brown shoes with a grey or dark suit, I suppose.
Finally I chose one of my black pipes for the wedding and it being a straight billiard it somehow suited my formal appearance. I am of the view that bent stemmed pipes suggest a certain casualness, anyway.
(If I was less formally attired I do not think it would matter what pipe I smoked.)
A woman friend at the wedding complimented me on my pipe and its aroma so I must have got it right.
I wonder if others have views on pipes and dress?
Although the occasions for formal dress are fast diminishing these days, there are times when one needs to wear a dinner jacket and the question of which pipe to carry becomes a concern.
Recently, when attending a formal wedding reception I deliberated for a while over which pipe would go best with my black tie.
I have a couple of black dress pipes, although it is hard to come by new ones these days. Mine are a Dunhill and a Comoy are in a jet black smooth polish, one with a silver mount. I have seen others with more ornate stem-shank rings and there is even one pipe a friend has with diamonds set in the mount.
I posed for a while in front of the mirror (judging pipe appropriatness not subjective good looks - I hasten to add) and found that my mostly brown coloured briars clashed somewhat with my black jacket. It is rather akin to wearing brown shoes with a grey or dark suit, I suppose.
Finally I chose one of my black pipes for the wedding and it being a straight billiard it somehow suited my formal appearance. I am of the view that bent stemmed pipes suggest a certain casualness, anyway.
(If I was less formally attired I do not think it would matter what pipe I smoked.)
A woman friend at the wedding complimented me on my pipe and its aroma so I must have got it right.
I wonder if others have views on pipes and dress?
