the Gentleman Smoker
-
Kevin Godbee - Feb 4, 2014
- 6 min read
Steve Morrisette
This column is about Gentleman’s Style and it’s various forms of expression as they intersect the experiences of pipe smokers and all lovers of fine tobaccos.
Why a style column?
There is currently a resurgence of interest in men’s fashion.
You can find variations of this statement more and more frequently these days across the media spectrum. You may have also noticed the increasing attention the media is focusing on the apparent growing popularity of the pipe hobby among young adults. Though possibly coincidental, I believe there is a subtle, if tenuous, relationship between the two.
From the Victorian period forward to the late 1960’s, pipe and cigar smoking among men was quite common and ubiquitous. We all know this. During these same times men (and women ) were far more attentive to the proprieties that expressed respect and grace in social interactions. This respect shown in civil discourse was echoed in a gentleman’s ( and lady’s ) style and dress as well.
All this fell away in the late 60’s with the “Let it all hang out” attitudes that set the coming tone and style for society over the next fifty years.
Pipe smoking is a talisman of that bygone era; an era remembered to have been a calmer and more civilized time of gentlemanly behavior and style. Dressing well also harkens back to such times. I recall that my father never went downtown without a nice jacket and tie if he wasn’t wearing a suit. And always with one of his small brimmed fedoras that were so popular at the time. This was to show respect and also to present himself, at a glance, as the gentleman he was. He invariably was smoking his pipe as well.
In today’s atmosphere of vitriolic political wrangling, banking frauds, terrorism, the NSA and a perceived growing lack of respect for one’s fellow man, folks may indeed be longing for the civilities of days gone by.
Everything old is new again
It is interesting to note that at the 2014 Pitti Uomo, a highly regarded twice yearly men’s fashion industry event in Florence, Italy, a significant number of the stylish and splendid attendees were seen smoking pipes and cigars. Pipes in particular seemed to be incorporated into outfits and employed as an expression of style. It is also important to note the happy fact that these sartorial devotees were actually smoking said pipes and cigars.
These individuals, acutely attuned to image and their own expression of style, have high regard for pipe and cigar smoking and demonstrate how well these align with a gentleman’s style. For many years, smoking was absolutely considered a sophisticated activity because it went hand in hand with style, individuality and freedom of self expression.
Given all of the above, a column on gentleman’s style seems quite timely.
What is style?
I believe that everyone has a sense of style. Some are more developed and clearly expressed than others, but we all have it. And, it can be enhanced and refined when one takes an interest. Just as in music and art, there are rules, guidelines and principles of style that can be learned and followed. A person developing their style, having mastered these principles, may then reinterpret them in ways that create a unique personal style. Look at the author Tom Wolfe, the actor George Clooney and star Frank Sinatra.
Each succeeded quite well in expressing their tastes and sensibilities while simultaneously defining themselves to the world. Tom Wolfe is formal and refined, but not too serious about it, hence; the white suits. George Clooney is subdued, elegant and casual all at the same time. And Sinatra? Well, Frank was just cool. Period. Three very different men presenting three very different styles, but gentleman all.
Fashion vs. Style
"Fashion fades, style is eternal." – Yves St. Laurent
The terms "fashion" and "style" are frequently used interchangeably. They are not the same. One can purchase fashion. Style is crafted by the individual and cannot be bought or hired. A great Harris Tweed sport coat may be purchased from Brooks Bros. and you have fashion. Style is choosing the pocket square that perfectly accents your tie and also picks up the subtle tones in the coat’s weave.
Gentlemanly style is when you, unbidden, slip that coat around your lady’s shoulders because you noticed she was cold. An important aspect of gentlemanly style is the consideration of others.
Judging a book by it’s cover
"You only get one chance to make a first impression."
It has been shown that the vast majority of information we take in during face to face communication is visual. Style is a subtle and often powerful element in that communication. In case you were wondering why you should give a damn about style, there’s your answer.
Our focus here
"Looking good isn’t self-importance, it’s self respect." – Charles Hix
A gentleman’s style is expressed in his choice and style of garments, but it also includes footwear, grooming, the cars we drive and even the pipes we smoke.
Style also extends to our choices about entertaining, the sports we play, TV, movies, music and so on.
The focus here will generally be sartorial concerns, as there is plenty to cover.
We are not only concerned with the wardrobe, but with how to wear, care for and preserve fine garments and footwear. There is also where and how to purchase pieces, what looks well with what, proper attire for special occasions, how to judge fit, what elements make a good shirt or suit, the value of a good tailor, and even esoteric concerns such as what pipe shapes look well with your face.
When timely and appropriate we will no doubt look at fine liquors, elegant dining, watches and jewelry, and perhaps more kinetic subjects like fishing, performance driving and the shooting sports.
We will also work to fit in a useful tip in each column so you always come away with information that is practical and proven.
Your comments and questions are invited and will be appreciated.
The Gentleman Smoker’s tip:
Spring is on the way before long, so now is the time to think about storing your woolen garments. If you retire the heaviest items first and as the weather warms continue to the lighter ones, you can avoid the sticker shock at the dry cleaner in June. Try this: immediately after cleaning, store the garment in a large and heavy zip lock type plastic bag like the ones for storing pillows and blankets. If they are clean and zipped up airtight you can forget about moths destroying your favorite herringbone tweed trousers. Do not use vacuum “space saving” bags, as you may damage the construction of jackets and set in God awful wrinkles.
Links:
www.gentlemansgazette.com
www.putthison.com
www.parisiangentleman.com
Credits:
Photos of Steve Morrisette by Steve Morrisette
|
Steve Morrisette is an artisan pipe maker, relentlessly snappy dresser, and self-confessed Virginia gentleman. He makes artisan pipes for discerning collectors, and scours the internet and shops of all types seeking information and fine garments, hats, watches, shoes, and jewelry – anything related to the gentleman’s lifestyle. Steve also spent several decades as a working drummer and photographer/photojournalist. You can find his pipes at www.smpipes.com, and catch his style photos and latest pipes on Facebook and Instagram. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
14 Responses
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 637. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Nate King. Most people know of Nate as an excellent pipe artisan. He also has an honorary Master of Pipes degree from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club, and is a member of the prestigious Confrérie des Maitres Pipiers de Saint-Claude. To be inducted into the Confrérie, this past May Nate travelled to Saint-Claude, France with master tobacco blender G.L. Pease, who was also inducted. It was quite a time in France, and at the ceremony. We’ll hear all about those adventures on the show. At the top of the show we’ll continue the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with six of his Satou Dublin-shape pipes.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 636. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Barry Kane. Barry started smoking a pipe in 1961 when he was 14-years old. Back then it seemed like everybody smoked, and you could buy pipes and tobacco just about anywhere. Barry is a true old-school pipe smoker, sticking to just one blend. See if you can guess which one before listening. At the top of the show Brian will give his take on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s purchase of Mac Baren and Sutliff Tobacco and their announcement that they will be shut down.
Steve Morisette is the consummate gentleman, who demonstrates both visually and verbally that a gentleman should be attired with the proper pipe to exemplify sartorial elegance. It isn’t a matter of how much you spend on clothing–one can drop a bundle and still look like a slob. Thank you, Steve, for a simple and elegant introduction to what I hope will be a long-running, and well heeded series.
Steve,
You are the epitome of the well attired and personable gentleman. I am always impressed by your dapper style and friendly conversation at the pipe shows when I see you. Not to mention the fantastic pipes that you craft. Good luck with this new column, I look forward to more gemtlemanly recommendations befitting our hobby.
Great article, I am looking forward to the future contributions.
From the article: “During these same times men (and women ) were far more attentive to the proprieties that expressed respect and grace in social interactions. This respect shown in civil discourse was echoed in a gentleman’s ( and lady’s ) style and dress as well.”
Amen!
I distinctly remember in the early sixties, boarding a plane the people dressed nicely, and social graces were on full display for my young eyes…fast forward to the ensuing years, I have seen everything from a woman finger flossing toe jam onto the terminal seats, and a slob in a homemade muscle shirt, armpit hair tufted out, smelling like a sweaty mule shoulder to shoulder with me on a plane.
Earlier this year in an airport, I saw an older couple that made me feel like I was transported back in time, he was dressed very much like Mr. Morisette, his wife was equal in her appearance, but it was more than that also…it was how they carried themselves, and interacted with their fellow man…they looked far superior in class to those around them with no ostentatious air about them.
On a side-note, it would be nice to return to the day when women actually looked like ladies, and tramp-stamps protruding from low rise pants were a thing of the past, but that horse has left the barn I am afraid.
Great article.
I remember when everything changed in the 60’s. At first it was great to be so casual, but like everything else, too much of a good thing gets old.
The other day I saw a women in pajammas at the grocery store . . . this reflects the sad state of society on a whole.
Another great article of which I am excitedly waiting more installments of.
I have to agree, society has definitely lost the refinement it had up until the 60s. The days when every man had a suit and tie matched with a nice fedora/bowler hat. Women wore a dress practically every day.
I’ll say this about my style, people usually ask me if I’m heading out for a job interview lol. I typically head out in a pair of dark wash jeans, an untucked button up dress shirt, some loafers, and usually a fedora. Sometimes I’ll accent it with an unbuttoned vest. I try to look like a gentleman as much as I act like one.
I’m glad the world is casual. Myself? I wear ties every day, jackets, cuff links, the whole bit. No big deal. However, if everyone else was doing it, it would be no big deal, and I’d be the guy driving around town with a tacky freak’n baseball cap and no shirt on, lol.
Steve;
Great opening article. I look forward to your following submissions.
Regards
BB
Excellent article Steve – thanks! I’m really looking forward to future pieces. I’m a middle-aged Englishman who works in the City of London, so I also dress every day in the uniform of suit, tie, cuff links, subtly personalised to my taste. I like to think that I dress well when casual – tweeds &c. – but I’m very open to new ideas. I’m really interested in seeing the American and international themes; the Italian show content was great and I love what Gianni Fontana is wearing. Particularly telling are the comments on manners and the way we treat others. A number of us work to maintain the spirit and practice of English behaviour, but the masses are happier to behave like slobs. A real shame. Good luck to you Steve and well done!
I would love to dress the “Dapper Don”, sadly where I work it never fails that when I wear something nice I end up on a job site and its ruined!
I wish to thank you for your excellent article. Self-respect is important; it has sadly all too often been eroded away by cultural fads and pressures. I am not at all against casual wear. In the house and around the garden I dress accordingly; but I do like to wear shirt, jacket and tie with decent shoes. Part of my upbringing when you weren’t allowed out of the house unless you were smart enough to do so! Regarding the pyjama person, well that is all too common in areas near where I live in the UK! I will not condemn them, only to wish for a wiser and wider view of what passes for acceptable peer smartness.
Here’s to gentlemanly dress sense! Many thanks for an engaging and inspiring viewpoint and looking forward to more articles.
I will wear my jacket tomorrow with pride!
G.
Though, a non-clothes horse myself I look forward to more articles in this series.
Thank you to all for your very kind reception and most welcome comments. I eagerly look forward to next month’s column. Please know that you are welcome to ask questions of me or make suggestions. All pertinent input is welcomed and desired. If you feel inclined, please tell your friends and pipe clubs about ” the Gentleman Smoker ” column. As we build interest and participation through the comment section, perhaps we can add a Gentleman Smoker sub-forum. My best to all,
Steve Morrisette
the Gentleman Smoker
Without being formal, it’s still been possible to dress with a sense of style. I wear fedoras, long coats, and lots of dress shirts- some rather bright, and others more subtle- none of which I tuck in.
But there’s been an abandonment of anything classic- in favor of synthetics and “active-wear”. T-shirts. Collars have been abandoned on shirts, jackets etc. The cult of youth has given us the desire for people to wear as little as possible- so we seen the abandonment of coats and even jackets… I’d like to hear some of these pompously youthful idiots try to tell me they aren’t cold! L Ron Hubbard created this trend in California(where else) is my guess.
The result is frightfully dull clothing, and the idea that men wear nothing more than basketball shorts, flip-flops and ball caps. What’s funny when you see these slobs- and their girlfriends wear all this makeup and actually do spend a lot of time trying to look good- very incongruous! We now live in an age when if a man actually tries to look nice, he’s made to feel suspicious of being less than manly.
Perverse, but all too real. These are my observations- mostly of Arizona; it’s not quite that bad elsewhere.
I’ve always adhered to the maxim that fashion can be bought, while style one must possess. Looking forward to the next installment Steve.