i've always pointed the finger at American hip hop/urban style, and the day when tracksuits became daily wear (sure Casuals have been doing the sportswear thing for a long time, but not as far as hip hop took it), along with wearing everything 2 sizes too large

People just can't be arsed. They do not even comb their hair or shave any more.

I remember my elder daughter, whilst still a schoolgirl, bringing some cretin home for Sunday lunch.  Sat at the table expecting to be fed wearing his fucking bennie hat.  There were words.  Arseholes in church for baptisms, their shirts hanging out and tieless.  Cameron.  The sodding Prime Minister!  They might be slating Eden now, but he was a smart-dressed guy.

Well, I am getting dotty. Have this book right in my library, although it appears I've not read it in ages. And how nice to find in the very first chapter this sentence: "The mother worked sixteen hours a day, darning socks at twenty-five centimes a sock, while the son, decently dressed, loafed in the Montparnasse cafes."

That noting of the son being "decently dressed" in the context of the opening chapter is just wonderful. A two-word detail that speaks so much. Yes, clothes are powerful things, even when described with such few words. If the context is right.

How the hell did I forget this book? Thanks RR&P for reminding me of this one!

You'd have got double helpings!

Couldn't have married a woman who was into heavy metal. Although my missus's record collection leaves something to be desired consisting of Eros and Darren Hayes (whoever he is). 

There's certain things that are a no go with me and women: smoking, tattoos and felines who drink their alcohol from pint glasses. There's something grotesque and ugly about all of this.

Clothes are indeed powerful and if you have the right audience who appreciate finesse, its easy to give a visual edge and presence as your competitors invariably will be dressed inferior with shoes that have rarely, if ever been shined. Its no big thing, its a small thing.

And yet, it still astonishes the level of scruffiness and down right contempt that some individuals hold the organisations and those they meet in business circles in. Its not unusual for me to go to meetings and there's some smart arse with a CCCP hammer and sickle t-shirt on negotiating the contract.  And these are big multi-national companies.

RR&P, of course, meant lazy c**t, didn't he?  Yes, he did. 
I've had three changes of clothing today, one for walking after breakfast, the next for lunching with my daughter and her boyfriend, the third for lounging around.  Three changes, three shirts, three pairs of outerwear and trousers. 

C**t didn't give me the job, either.