The Geovictwardian Wardrobe: a practical guide.

For the Geovictwardian student broadening his knowledge in a venerable university, or the Geovictwardian at work in the noble pursuit of a job well done, the problem of maintaining sartorial elegance in the face of draconian dress codes and the rigours of working life poses a constant dilemma.

But do not despair! There are a number of options available to the imaginative and creative dandy, and I will list some of these here.

The Hybrid Shirt

I devised this design to provide a versatile and stylish garment for student life.
The diagram below (shown for the left cuff) demonstrates how to make this simple modification, so that you can switch from a casual button cuff to elegant cufflinks at a moment’s notice.



Take the cuff of any normal shirt, and open it out (1.1). Pierce the material of the cuff beside the button, so that the button is between the new incision and the button hole (1.2). Widen and button hole the new incision if desired. Take a pair of bar cufflinks (i.e. the type with the pivoting bar at one end and decoration on the other, as in 1.3). Insert these, bar end first, into the outside of the original button hole (1.4), then fold the cuff round and push the bar end through the inside of the new button hole (1.5). Pivot the bar so that the cufflink does not slip back trough the holes (1.6).

Headwear

While in some professions, such as lawyers, bankers, and undertakers, you may be lucky enough to be able to adopt a bowler or top hat as part of an official or unofficial uniform. In the majority of workplaces and places of education, however, such headwear (though stylish) may act as a barrier to communication and even earn outright ridicule from those of poor taste. Thankfully, alternatives do exist that are both stylish and practical. By far the best of these are the trilby, and the humble flat cap. Various designs of the former are particularly prevalent at the moment, and can be obtained at reasonable prices (for both men and women) at most women’s clothing stores, from some Marks and Spencer’s stores, and from hire shops/formal wear shops.

The sartorial crime that is the baseball cap; and woollen hats bearing fashionable logos should be given a wide berth by any man (or woman) of taste.