Sunday, September 26, 2010

Tuck Style

If you have a glance at my previous post, you'll note that there are no wrinkles or fluffs or any other derangements at my waist.  That's because I tuck, then run my hands horizontally outward from my navel, pulling excess material to the back, above my butt.  Some day, when I win the lottery, I'll get my shirts made-to-measure, and I won't have to do this anymore.  Meanwhile, I'd rather have a very bunched back which few people see than a moderately rumpled front which everyone sees.

At any rate, it's another detail to keep in mind when you're dressing yourself.  But especially if you'll be wearing a jacket, what do you have to lose?

Now, go to bed.  We have work in the morning.

3 comments:

  1. I went to the Naval Academy, and was commissioned into the Marine Corps in 1986. We learned two different styles of tucks in the Navy and the Marine Corps. Both keep you from having bunched up material in the back.

    In both cases you start with the shirt tails tucked into your trousers, which are not all the way closed up.

    1) Navy Style: Grab the sides of your shirt at the seams. Put a thumb into the material *behind* the seam, an make a fold on either side of your body going towards your spine. Keeping this fold tight, you grab your trouser waistband with your pinkie and ring fingers and pull up our pants. Keep the waistband tight so you won't lose the tuck, and work your hands around until you can button your trousers.

    2) Marine Corps Style: Much the same, but the folds start farther back and go towards the front-- in other words, the reverse of Navy style. They're further back so you don't have the folds swimming around in front.

    If you want to really get hard core, both Navy and Marine Corps officers used "Shirt Stays"-- elestic bands that attached the shirt tails to the tops of the socks so everything stayed drum tight. OOHRAH!

    Disclaimer: This is what I was taught. In reality, there was a right way, a wrong way, and a Navy way to do everything.

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  2. This is a great and useful topic. I must say I gave the "Navy" way a try and it is now officially my go-to move when tucking my shirt in. The extra fabric at the bottom always bothered me. Now, I have addressed the issue and it looks very neat. Good stuff!

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  3. Mr. Allen, all I can say is thank you. I will give both approaches a shot.

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Questions, comments, and style ideas welcome, provided they are expressed respectfully.