I've been in Colombia for the last 2 months, mostly in Cali, and providing I can overcome some last-minute bureaucratic hurdles I will be in Cali indefinitely. Consequently I would like to post on the realities of tropical ivy in the 21st century:

I assume it depends on the individual's physiology however personally speaking my priority over here has been to reduce sweating rather than to look good. Consequently my lightweight jackets and suit get little to no wear. Even my lightweight full sleeve shirts don't get worn. I've had a couple of job interviews in which I wore my lightweight Huntington suit with end on end BD, madras tie and brown Florsheim GIs. A lovely outfit but by the time I got home from the interviews the amount of sweat spoilt the elegance. It's not just me - I very very rarely if ever see anyone wearing a jacket. Even those who wear a tie for work purposes don't bother with a jacket.

So what do I wear? Day time it's polo shirt (Izod, Perry or Smedley) or a Goodwear T shirt; chinos; aviators; and a bucket or a boonie hat. As my pockets get stuffed with phone, wallet, keys and sunglasses case the end result is a bit scruffy in all honesty.

When I've no clean polo or T shirts then it's a half sleeve Makers and surcingle. However a certain young lady in my life recently forced me to untuck my shirt and in all honesty the result seems to be a lot better simply because untucked I'm a lot cooler. (Hence traditional tropical shirts are worn untucked.) Should I feel guilty? Is Mr Brooks turning in his grave?

Footwear: this has been a problem. Really the only shoes that work for me in this climate are desert boots. It's a problem because I only have one pair and by all accounts getting stuff sent over here is impossible. So I'm wearing the same pair of shoes repeatedly which is not doing me or them any favours. Hopefully I will have visitors coming from the UK in the new year so I'll buy a couple more pairs of Clarks before then for them to bring. I have some pennies with me but I invariably end up on my feet a lot each day which I don't like to do in loafers.

Also desert boots are not entirely correct for the climate because every now and then there is very intense and usually unexpected rain, which is a nightmare for suede shoes. In fact the only solution is to find shelter however there are times when I have to go out in it in which case Red Wings seem to fit the bill. I will also use my Bean boots when the rainy season arrives and I don't want to use Red Wings every day. (I sometimes wear my 60/40 in the rain but I wouldn't want to get caught in it in the torrential rain we often have.)

As for the night-time: I prefer to dress up a bit at night so it's half sleeve Makers, surcingle belt and Rancourt pennies. Although I have recently embraced the untucked Makers with desert boots I don't think it will work with loafers. There was one day after a lot of rain when I felt a chill in the air so I went out at night in an end on end BD with a vintage lightweight jacket but generally it's just too hot at night to need another layer. The dress codes here are very relaxed so even in my super casual version of ivy I still look more formal than the vast majority of people I see.

Incidentally parts of Colombia are cooler than Cali. I spent 6 days in Bogotá which, due to its higher altitude, is sub-tropical. I was able to dress up considerably more: full-sleeve BD; lightweight jacket or cotton sweater; cream raincoat; chinos; desert boots or PTBs; and of course aviators and some sort of hat. I looked a lot more elegant but I'd still take Cali over Bogotá any time, even if I do look like crap here most of the time.

Talking of which, I have a couple of photos I'll stick on the ISFT thread prontico.

Last edited by Yuca (2018-08-13 08:01:03)

This is exciting news Dave and I'm sure everyone will wish you success in whatever you are doing (?)

I hope you will enjoy Cali. I'm sure you will have your wits about you, but be careful. My nephew got robbed of everything on his first night there and was left with only the clothes he stood up in, but he wasn't an old hand like you and he was not particular street savvy when he arrived in South America. To be fair he was quite resourceful as he went straight to a night club, latched onto a local girl and moved into her place for several weeks while he got himself sorted out.

I hope you will be sending us a few pictures and updates about your adventure.

Last edited by Yuca (2018-08-13 09:37:15)

As for looking preppy as hell: I already look like a crazy extranjero, particularly in the daytime with the bucket hat or boonie, so I don't think preppy as hell shoes will make any difference.

Last edited by Yuca (2018-08-13 14:34:16)