Wearin' O' the Green

"Cheap Jacks," a great vintage clothing store on Fifth Ave. near the Empire State Building, recently changed their window displays to reflect the upcoming St. Patrick's Day festivities. I'm not sure if anyone would actually wear any of these green outfits, but perhaps the drunken merriment of the day would allow revelers to brave the streets of New York in a bright green suit or skirt. Watching parts of the St. Patrick's Day parade on TV each year, I can't imagine these fashions proving any more garish or outrageous than some of the ensembles on display.

I wear bow ties to the office every day, but I think that large example in the first picture would be a bit over the top for me. The suit is even more hideous. But the hat at the mannequin's feet could have come right out of the prop room for a 70s-era "blaxploitation" film akin to Superfly. The leisure suit blazer and flared-collar shirt are particularly unsettling because I once owned a leisure suit in the mid-1970s. Mine was yellow and my brother's was almost a seafoam green. What were my parents thinking?! My father the auditor dressed conservatively his entire professional life, rarely varying from basic dark suits. Indeed, the grey sameness of his wardrobe prompted my mother to observe that he dressed "like an undertaker." (I'll give him credit for going casual in his retirement, even to the point of wearing a leather jacket, which surprised everyone.)