IT’S A THING: POCKET SQUARES

Pocket Squares are a defining element in Sprezzatura for the gals so today we explore women’s growing love affair with pocket power.
BTW Sprezzatura refers to that oh-so-stylish European gentleman’s ability to dress with effortless style and combine colours, layers and textures.
These small silken treasures  come in a range of colours and patterns from bright paisleys to clean-cut spots, and we enjoy them all. 

According to iconic men’s style magazine Esquire: ‘The pocket square, sometimes cotton but often silk, usually patterned but also popular in plain hues, has been part of a man’s wardrobe since the days of Richard II’.  

It went by different names back then – a handkerchief being the first that springs to mind. And of course the pocket square often enjoyed deep symbolic meaning, but above all it was an expression of the wearer’s individuality – a flash of colour or fabric which proudly declared:“This is who I am, today.” A sentiment we at Liberatti ascribe to throughout our collection. Take a peek at Liberatti Pocket Squares here. 

A pocket square immediately transforms an outfit from pedestrian to contemporary…
chic, elegant, serious…or whatever you want it to be.

Add a pocket square to business suiting for a power play.

For a more casual look, combine garments in solid hues, (colour blocking) with a dash of colour in your breast pocket. The pocket square is definitely a secret we time-starved women should embrace. Perfect for a light lunch and retail therapy, the pocket square undeniably adds polish.

For women the style opportunities abound. There are many ways to style pocket squares and we will be covering  a wide variety of popular styles in upcoming posts including how to tie in patterns, scarves and scarf rings.

Meanwhile you can start by thinking about choosing a pattern to complement but not match your jacket and other accessories. Consider a fold which suits the image you want to portray – the square fold is the most professional, while the puff is casual, fun and a little flouncy. Fold to match your mood! Above all, have fun. Shop Liberatti Pocket Squares here. 

A tailored suit, as shown below, calls for a folded pocket square that sits flat in the blazer pocket.
Very sleek!

Try new styles like adding a pocket square to a dress or chic pyjama suit. Being bold is half the fun.

My favourite author and style inspiration Donna Tartt explains her penchant for sprezzatura when interviewed by Migrant Book Club  www.themigrantbookclub.com

– she says that she was a tomboy as a child and had no interest in conforming to others’ expectations of how a girl should be.
– she still feels funny about “women’s costume”: ‘To really put on high heels and a frilly dress, do you know what I’m saying? It seems kind of… comical.’
– she has a long-standing love affair with men’s suits. Her college friend and writer Bret Easton Ellis remembers that while they were at Bennington College in Vermont, they would go to a party and everybody would be wearing black and she would show up ‘dressed in a seersucker suit, cigarette in one hand, gin and tonic in the other’.
– she is “perpetually dressed-up”: “If you went to her room at 4am, you’d find her sitting at her desk, smoking a cigarette, wearing a perfectly pressed pocket square and white shirt buttoned to the top, collar studs, trousers with a knife crease.”

Have a stylish week!

Nicola Liberatti.