Flicking through my 'Debrett's Guide to New York' for 1988 last evening.  Even then the author was referring to 'the dreaded polo player'.  He also noted the much more marked habit amongst American men for dressing according to the seasons, rather than aping the kind of English tit who wanders around in a cap-sleeved t-shirt in January.  Not sure about French gentlemen - Jim'll know - but the Italians up north also tend to be no fools once the weather changes.  Is it really only the English who are such tossers? 
'Esquire' even used to tell you exactly when to send your coats to the cleaners and when to take your walk shorts from the closet.  I must admit, I felt a dick walking into John's last year dressed in a Press lambswool jacket and mac on top, only to find Jeff looking ultra-cool in sweatshirt and shorts.  It was overcast, admittedly, but I was in a lather by the time I'd walked up to Camden Town to meet the family.  Thing is, I'd rather be moist than shivering or drenched.  Do American men still wear hats and scarves in the way they used to, I wonder?  Anyone had experience of the weather in, say, New York or Boston?