Flair Square

The common perception is that the pocket square is a formal accessory. An excellent book on male grooming and etiquette,Gentlemen: A Timeless Fashion by Bernhard Roetzel,clarifies: “It is always appropriate (to wear a dress handkerchief),when you are wearing a jacket—that is,both a suit jacket,and also a casual jacket or blazer,even if you are wearing jeans or chinos.”

Dushyant Thakkar,retail manager,Brioni,agrees: “Depending on the occasion a pocket square,or pochette,can be formal or toned down for a more casual look. In summers,I recommend wearing them with lighter jackets without a tie”. “The pocket square breaks away from the monotony and suits both formal and informal occasions,” adds Shaikh.

Part of the simplicity of the pocket square is that it needs to complement your outfit but not match it exactly. Shaikh explains: “And if you wear it without the tie then it should simply be in harmony with the overall outfit.” We would recommend a good quality silk pocket square,purely because they are permanently creased,folded and squashed-poor quality silk would not cope with this at all. It must be noted,though,that the dress handkerchief is purely an accessory—if you require a handkerchief for personal hygiene,it is better to carry a separate one in your trouser pocket.

Asked about ways of wearing a pocket square,Thakkar first clarifies that “there are no hard and fast rules as such. There are several ways of folding a pochette—the puff fold,the TV fold,the puff and point fold and the like. It completely depends on your personal style and the occasion.

Currently,the three-point fold is a popular style.” The first,and possibly the most formal,is simply the square-shaped TV fold which offers a hint of the edges and design,but not enough to cause uproar. Similar to this is the triangle shape where the pocket square is folded into an angle which is protruding out of the breast pocket. Another method is the pointed method,where the pocket square is folded into quarters and the corners are fanned out. The most flamboyant method,though,is the puff fold,which looks perhaps flower-like.

Pocket squares don’t need to be dry-cleaned very often since they don’t normally get stained and good silk doesn’t crease that easily. They are thus a good investment and if you stick to basic hues,you wouldn’t require more than a few to wear with your entire tie collection. Instead of investing in a ridiculously expensive tie for your next social event,convey an air of relaxed elegance with a pocket square instead.