And it can be worn by a 17 year old, or a 70 year old. You wear the clothes rather the clothes wearing you.

Wearing it bestows confidence.  Cotton, cashmere and leather.  Pale blue or/and navy.  Shoes with heft or simple elegance.  The tapered khaki.  The haircut, the shave, the talc.

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

you can have it all ....

you can have wool coats and 60/40s and down jackets and vests and waxed cotton etc ....

there are definitely uses for all of these things ...

the question is are you a '50s/'60s purist or do you enjoy throwing some stuff from the '70s and '80s in as well?

I was thinking about this with regard to the polo shirt and Top-Siders discussions ....

specifically I was thinking that I could be very happy with the best of '70s solid L. L. Bean preppy ....

and in fact I was .....

Sierra Designs or Woolrich or Baxter State 60/40 parka or good down jacket preferably of 60/40 cloth or supertightly woven khaki cotton
Lacoste or Fred Perry polo shirt, long or short sleeves   
Levi's straight cords or Bean or Orvis 8 oz. khaki chinos or 501s
Bean or Wigwam or Burlington ragg socks
Sperry Kudu, Sahara, Captain's Oxford or canvas Top-Siders deck sneakers or Incontinence pants Country or Co-Op unbranded Maine-made blucher mocs   

and the next day it might be hardcore Ivy:

navy wool peacoat or tan duffle coat or tweed sack from Press or Keezer's
Shaggy Dog Shetland sweater or Brooks made in England lambswool v-neck
J. Press flap-pocket ocbd
Levi's cords or Press wide-wale cords or Bean wool woodsman's pants
Brooks lambswool scarf from England
Barrie plain-toe brown calf blucher shoes from Northampton or Walk-Over dirty bucks from the USA or USA Weejuns when they were nice

and in this way one went between the two great styles seamlessly because the overall approach was Americanness with British fillips that could be had within a three-block radius of the dorm ... L. L. Bean was obtained through the mail

here's another good hybrid:

Levi's blanket-lined denim trucker's jacket
J. Press flap-pocket Viyella shirt with plain collar
Bean khaki or Dickie's olive twill chinos
ragg socks
Jack Purcells in navy or off-white

all day long ....

Bean chamois shirt
Levi's straight cords
Red Wing 675s
t-shirt of whatever kind, Hanes were good back then
Champion sweatshirt made in USA
     
and later on the Barbour and then the Patagonia and the Filson made inroads and they were great too .....

I tried on a 50s/60s NOs overcoat recently (JS, London) and it was very thick wool - it felt so warm I really can't see anyone could possibly want more. My point is that old school overcoats (if combined with scarf, hat and gloves) can be as warm as hi-tech modern coats.

My vintage overcoats don't have substantial, or even full, linings.  But they're warm enough for even the coldest days in my climate when worn over layers.  They'd never suffice on their own over just an OCBD.  But they were designed to be worn over sweaters and tweeds or suit jackets.  In that application, they are plenty warm.  That McGregor coat I bought recently is probably my warmest coat, as it has a zip-out sherpa lining.  That's a warm coat.

See I always thought the same- that the thick wool coats were as good as any modern technology- but I still get cold in my overcoat. Maybe I got a lemon. Or maybe I'm just a baby.

Tomiskinky, what's the sizing on the Paul Smith coat?

Sorry.