Suit Pocket?

[mb011b]

Where should a gentleman you keep the day's pen when it's not in your hand? When I'm wearing a suit, I'm not sure whether it should go in my upper jacket pocket on display beside my tie, or in my shirt pocket which is mostly covered by the jacket, or just hide it on the inside pocket. What do you do? Is there a proper etiquette? I usually choose a pen that matches the rest of my outfit.

[ajcoleman]

This is SO just my opinion, and fashion etiquette is the last thing I would claim to know anything about, but I never liked the look of a pen in a front suit coat pocket. It only detracts from the look of the suit or sport coat. The shirt pocket would be my first choice, with the inside pocket an acceptable alternative.

[Joe in Seattle]

Shirt pocket!

 

Why?

 

Shirts are cheaper in event of leaks!

[Carguy]

Shirt pocket!

 

Why?

 

Shirts are cheaper in event of leaks!

 

 

EXACTLY!! I spend a great deal of money on my suits, and while it has never happened - even to shirt pocket, I don't intend for it to. Shirts are far easier to replace, hence, SHIRT POCKET!

[mb011b]

My pens are all ballpoint, that's less likely to leak, right? Mostly Waterman, Cross, and Parker.

[The Write Pen]

No, No, if you are carrying a nice pen; the outside of the suit pocket is a perfect place for your pen (with and couple more on the opposite inside pocket). It's just me and my style. hehe

 

Regards,

 

danny

[Inka]

I typically carry a leather Pocket Jotter with 3x5 cards inside when I go out anywhere.

There's also an elastic loop for a pen in the Pocket Jotter, my Pilot Capless fits the loop perfectly.

When wearing a suit, I always carry the Jotter in the right inner pocket of the suit, the Jotter fits there perfectly.

If I carry a nicer pen, say my Rotring 1928 Limited Edition or a large Pelikan, I place in inside my left dress shirt pocket.

If perchance I do have a serious ink leak, however unlikely, if it soaks the shirt pocket it's still probably going to get my suit wet too.

 

Proper pen etiquette, when wearing a suit?

Not sure about that having not heard anything like this, an interesting concept nonetheless that I'll certainly be giving more thought after reading this.

I have to wear glasses, my indoor ones have an all- titanium frame with thick gold plating, so a pen with gold hardware would at least match my glasses.

My wrist watches are all 306 [correction, typically the stainless steel is 316L in those watches, not 306, had a bit of a brain-freeze until the brain-file was pulled] stainless steel cased, from a polished & brushed SS Ball Swiss auto to a few other watches, so already my white steel watches won't match my glasses.

I also have some shirts with French cuffs, my cufflinks are all gold and my favorite set are vintage wrap-around interwoven gold link with genuine square-cut Tigers-eye set into them, so gold pen furniture would be another match to those.

I wear black socks and brown shoes with all of my suits, a hand-made saddle leather brown belt with a solid brass buckle having a hand-inlaid semi-Celtic pattern of pure blue turquoise stone in the middle.

OK, maybe I'm odd, but I like what I wear, I carry what I like and where I like, really don't care if it's in fashion, or meets someones idea of proper etiquette. Now if by some chance I do find occasion to meet certain dress requirements, such as wearing a tuxedo where I would indeed make sure everything matches, then and only then would I think about what I'm wearing more carefully and make sure to match black with black shoes/ belts and so on.

 

Etiquette aside, I'd say put your pen where you feel most comfortable, where it's not likely to fall out or get damaged, or possibly out of sight so as not to be snagged by someone [that is if you know any unwelcome pen snaggers].

If you like others to see the pen you're carrying, perhaps striking up a conversation with another pen aficionado, then by all means place it in plain sight.

 

I like your idea of matching a pen to a suit or outfit.

I don't usually do so, there's only a few pens I ever take out while in public and fewer still that I take when wearing a suit.

Unless I had a Montblanc 149, to go with my pure black Tencel suit & slacks, there are few others I have in black, such as a couple of black & gold Sheaffer's Vac or lever fill with Military clips that would match that suit.

My second nice suit is a deep gray with very thin pinstripes, has a matching vest and slacks, can't think of pens that would be an exact match to pinstripes but a blue/ black or even a green/ black Pelikan Souverän with Stresemann stripes would probably be close enough being they're also striped.

Edited April 28, 2011 by Inka

[Carguy]

No, No, if you are carrying a nice pen; the outside of the suit pocket is a perfect place for your pen (with and couple more on the opposite inside pocket). It's just me and my style. hehe

 

Regards,

 

danny

 

 

Yes Danny....but you are good lookin' and can get away with such fashion "brazeness" if there is such a word!

 

MD

[JefferyS]

When I carried it in my suit pocket, it bent the clip outward. So I put it in my shirt pocket under the suit (in the hot, homid Deep South) and tarnished all of the metal. Take your pick. I no longer wear suits, so they are in my cotton shirt pocket.

[mb011b]

I like your idea of matching a pen to a suit or outfit.

I don't usually do so, there's only a few pens I ever take out while in public and fewer still that I take when wearing a suit.

Unless I had a Montblanc 149, to go with my pure black Tencel suit & slacks, there are few others I have in black, such as a couple of black & gold Sheaffer's Vac or lever fill with Military clips that would match that suit.

My second nice suit is a deep gray with very thin pinstripes, has a matching vest and slacks, can't think of pens that would be an exact match to pinstripes but a blue/ black or even a green/ black Pelikan Souverän with Stresemann stripes would probably be close enough being they're also striped.

 

I just try to keep all my metals the same color (yellow or white); my leathers the same color (brown or black) Then, I look for a pen that works with the tie, or else the shirt or the suit... or the leathers.

[Chiro75]

Shirt pocket or inside suit pocket. Outside breast pocket is for your pocket square, which is a must. If you wear a vest, then you can load up your vest pockets with pens.

[WillSW]

Inner suit pocket. When you bend over there's no danger of it falling out, and a pen crowds your tie.

[ay1976]

Well, I guess that depends on where you are geographically: here, in my neck of the woods, the suit jacket is worn to be taken off - it's too darn hot to wear it all the time. So keeping the pen inside the inner jacket pocket may prove tricky.

However, when in court (where the jacket is mandatory, and sometimes even a robe) or in a formal meeting, I much prefer the inner jacket pocket - mostly because of the elegant gesture of taking it out...

 

I would not wear the pen in the outer suit pocket - it might ruin the structure of the pocket, and it seems too 1920's to me...

 

Amit.

[voop]

A gentleman's shirt doesn't have pockets, so the question is really moot. Should you have a shirt with pockets, know that they are for decorative use exclusively.

 

Others have commented on the only appropriate use of a jacket outside pocket, so I shall just adhere.

 

However, just as a gentleman's shirt does not have pockets, a gentleman has his tailor fit his suit jacket with a pen-pocket, especially for holding said pen safely and securely, not to mention without it deforming the fit of the jacket.

 

It's as easy as that

[ashbridg]

A pen can also be carried in the vest pocket of a three-piece suit as long as the pen is undetectable. The early 1940s Tuckaway was designed to fit in a gentleman’s vest pocket or a lady’s purse (Sheaffer redesigned the pen after the War to be a lady's pen). The Tuckaway can hide in a vest pocket where a watch is normally kept, yet it will post to full size during use (a gentleman does not write with a short pen). The original Tuckaway had no clip, thus was snag-proof. An internal feed controlled backflow, making the pen safe to carry lying down in a pocket. And a long cap-band sleeved over the lower barrel to protect the pen from lateral stresses likely to be encountered in a pocket.

 

The fictional George Babbitt carried a pen upright in his vest pocket, a breach of etiquette even when Sinclair Lewis wrote about it in 1922:

 

“A sensational event was changing from the brown suit to the gray the contents of his pockets. He was earnest about these objects. They were of eternal importance like baseball or the Republican Party. They included a fountain pen and a silver pencil, always lacking a supply of new leads, which belonged in the righthand upper vest pocket. Without them he would have felt naked.”

 

Ashby

[Conan the Grammarian]

A gentleman's shirt doesn't have pockets, so the question is really moot. Should you have a shirt with pockets, know that they are for decorative use exclusively.

 

+1

[Calbei]

I don't have pockets on my shirts so it forces me to use inside jacket pocket where the pens will stay nice and secure.

[Turlough]

Where should a gentleman you keep the day's pen when it's not in your hand? When I'm wearing a suit, I'm not sure whether it should go in my upper jacket pocket on display beside my tie, or in my shirt pocket which is mostly covered by the jacket, or just hide it on the inside pocket. What do you do? Is there a proper etiquette? I usually choose a pen that matches the rest of my outfit.

If you have to ask you're no gentleman. Of course I'm kidding. Methink's you're overly concerned. Come on, in today's day anything goes; it doesn't matter. Now,... on the other hand I think if one were to look at old movies, say circa 1930's or 40's you would never see a fountain pen in an external suit jacket pocket. That was only for a handkerchief, precisely folded. As an old fogey and inhabitant of that era I'd be inclined to carry the pen in the vest, or if not wearing one, in the inside suit jacket pocket. As an individual it is nice to be able to brake tradition, but then one needs to know what that tradition was. This seems to me somewhat humorous in these times because in today's age of nose piercing and tatoos I'm surprised anyone cares where a pen is kept. Now, we could get into just how much shirt cuff should show below the sleeve but lets not go there. If we need to elucidate further we'll have to consult Aldophe Menju. :clap1: Turlough

[RonB]

A gentleman's shirt doesn't have pockets, so the question is really moot. Should you have a shirt with pockets, know that they are for decorative use exclusively.

 

Others have commented on the only appropriate use of a jacket outside pocket, so I shall just adhere.

 

However, just as a gentleman's shirt does not have pockets, a gentleman has his tailor fit his suit jacket with a pen-pocket, especially for holding said pen safely and securely, not to mention without it deforming the fit of the jacket.

 

It's as easy as that

 

And to think I've been wearing Brooks Brothers shirts with pockets for over 30 years and no one told me! The shame! Actually, the only person I know who cared so much about this kind of fashion stuff grew up in South Philly and was definitely NOT a gentleman. I've been wearing my Parker 51 in my shirt pocket for many, many years.

[Gobblecup]

A shirt pocket is OK in my opinion. But I prefer an inner jacket pocket, and I for one never remove my jacket when wearing a suit or sport coat. Many of my jackets do have pen pockets, which work wonderfully, otherwise the giant pockets will have to do.

 

It is true that this day and age is full of many people who could care less about following any sort of etiquette, much less even knowing what that etiquette ever was. But most wouldn't ever consider buying and using a fountain pen. With bachelors degrees and Ph.Ds being given to every other person, it seems most today are also idiots somehow. :hmm1: