The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1900-03-23
WE'LL DRESSED MEN.
ORDER OF THE CITIES IN WHICH
THEY MOST ABOUND.

An Expert Says Denver Heads the
List, With San Francisco second,
Chicago Third, Washington Fourth,
and New York Trails Along Fifth.
I'D probably be discharged, mobbed
and have all sorts of things happen to
me if ] said this over in the big town,
but can name you at least four Amer
lean cities the men Of which are bet
ter dressed year in and year out than
the men of New York, said a man
who travels for a New York merchant
tailor's supply house and whose terri
tory is the whole continent. I'm name
them in the order of their standing as
communities inhabited by the best
dressed men: Denver, San Francisco,
Chicago and Washington. How do
figure it? Just according to the rule
Of sight, that's all. | don't profess to
know much about Egyptology, but do
know well dressed man when | see
him.
Mind, | don't say that all of the
men of those four cities are better
dressed than all of the men of New
York. but do maintain and say any
impartial man who knows the four
towns mentioned as they are now will
uphold me in maintaining that in ratio
to their respective populations the men
Of Denver, San Francisco, Chicago and
Washington are very much better
dressed than are the men of New York.
OF course this has been the case only
in very recent years. New York was
until, say, five years ago away ahead
of all its rivals as "a city of the best
dressed men. Al that time If you want
ed TO see hundreds of perfectly dress
ed and perfectly groomed men engag-
ed in doing business all you had to do
was to take an elevated train up town
in the neighborhood of 10 O'clock in the
morning and watch the men, young,
middle aged and old who boarded the
train for the down town financial dis
trict.
"Of course you'll still see slews of
thoroughly got up men down in the
financial district of New York. but not
so many by IS per cent as formerly.
On show occasions, such as Easter
Sunday afternoon. New York will still
turn out finely clad batch of men, bur
I'm not talking about show occasions
now. I'm talking about men who are
we'll clad year in and year out, and it
is in this respect that New York has
fallen into the also ran list.
when you meet up town in New
York genuinely swagger man-not a
flashily dressed man, but one who is
thoroughly and properly rugged out
from his hat TO his shoes-you are liza
Bile TO turn around TO get a rear view
of him. and then the fact is liable TO
be slowly borne in upon you that he is
some member of a theatrical profess
sion whom you have seen upon the
stage. There are still plenty of flashi,
ly dressed men circulating around New
York. but fashily dressed man never
will be a we'll dressed man
The reason why the men of Denver
are such well dressed lot isn't entire
ly clear to me. 1t can't be especially
because there are so many we'll off men
in that town, because there are myri-
ads of well off men in New York
Maybe it is because, IN proportion to
the population, there are probably
more men with large incomes in Den
yer than in any city Oh the continent,
not excepting Helena. that used to
bear that distinction. You scarcely
ever see a badly dressed or an over
dressed man in Denver Shabby men
there are in plenty. of course but
don't call a shabby man badly dress
ed man. A badly dressed man is one
who. while having plenty of means to
equip himself with a good make up,
hasn't the taste to do it and therefore
makes his appearances as a SLOUGH
that's the word for itslouch A shah
by man is simply man who is on his
uppers and makes no pretensions
THE clerks and other men of very
moderate incomes in Denver. men who
can't afford to keep in the push as far
as correct dressing goes. don't make
any effort whatever to tog themselves
out in cheap, dismal imitation Of the
men with plenty of money; but like
the young woman in the song, they al
ways dress in black The business
men who run plants of their own, how
ever, seem to pay just as much atten-
ton to the job of getting themselves
ready for business on weekday morn
lngs as they do 10 the task of arraying
themselves for social functions or
evening appearances.
"Easterners who have gone out to
the coast have often commented upon
the sweetness of the average well fixed
San Francisco man in the matter of
clothes The San Francisco man with
an income certainly gets himself up
proper as We say, and he's got the
right kind of IA make up for every oc-
casion. Take the race tracks around
San Francisco, for example Every
man who goes to the races out there
goes in a regular racing rig. from pad.
dock coat to feldglass and from the
top of his fiat crowned derby to the
soIes of his downs boots. and so DO
the Frisco women. for the matter Of
that Another thing RI venture to
assert that nine out of ten men in San
Francisco whose incomes are $4,000 a
year or over rig out in evening clothes
every night In the year. summer in
cluded. \ great many more men Of
moderate incomes in Washington don
evening clothes than men of similar in
comes IN New York The men of
Washington dress with singular neat
ness. many with notable elegance The
excellence of the Washington average
! suppose. is to be accounted for by the