From the after-work clubs of DIFC to the boardrooms of Al Maryah Island, gentlemen in the UAE are accessorising with more than just a tie these days: the pocket square is back in vogue.
Established in Dubai in 1956, Parmar Tailors, now based in Jumeirah Lake Towers, started stocking men’s handkerchiefs five years ago. And sales of the item have tripled in the past three years, according to their Indian director Bharat Parmar.
“Just as women accessorise with handbags and jewellery, men have started accessorising as well and pocket squares are the best way to do that,” Mr Parmar says. “Men want to be individuals these days.”
The cloth handkerchief was invented by the English king Richard II, who said to have been used it to wipe his nose. But these days, no reputable gentleman would be seen putting their carefully folded handkerchief to their nostrils.
It was during Victorian times that donning a protruding handkerchief became synonymous with the debonair gentleman. “One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art,” said Oscar Wilde, a notoriously flamboyant pocket square devotee.
But it's not just suave Hollywood types such as the English actor Benedict Cumberbatch who sport pocket squares these days – Justin Timberlake sings his tune Suit & Tie while wearing a classic crisp horizontal white stripe in his breast pocket. His is the most popular fold, known to devotees as "the presidential".
Using bolder colours and experimenting with different folds enables the wearer to add their own personal style to an otherwise uniform-like suit.
“In the boardrooms men are wearing lighter, plain colours, whereas in their social circles, the louder the colours the better,” says Mr Parmar.
“Pinks, oranges and parrot greens – very bright, fluorescent colours are in fashion. Men are using the pocket square as a way to stand out from the crowd.”
Dipesh Depala, 46, the managing partner of The Qode, a PR company in Dubai, has been a fan of pocket squares for as long as he has been wearing suits.
“Pocket squares have almost become staples in men’s wardrobes. My friends all wear them, although some just pull them out for special occasions,” says Mr Depala, who has 40 in his collection.
“For me, certain jackets and occasions warrant a more casual cotton look, whereas an evening look will suit a more luxurious silk or velvet pocket square.
“I am a very detail-oriented person. Pocket squares are an elegant detail that finishes off a polished look. In fact if I’m wearing a blazer or a suit, I feel naked without one.”
Mr Depala’s pocket square fold varies according to his mood and what fits well with his jacket, but he doesn’t spend time fretting over it. “The moment you spend too much time on the fold it is no longer elegant,” he says.
Tailor Mr Parmar is often asked by customers to teach them how to fold a pocket square.
“Most of them prefer the fluff fold, that’s the fashion now,” he says. “It’s a big piece just popping out of your pocket, without any particular shape – so it looks like you’ve trampled on your pocket square, put it in your pocket and pulled a little out.”
Tapping into the revived interest in pocket square folds, the Dubai event supplier Transformers now provides a “Pocket Square Guru” available to hire for special events. The British fashion designer Charlotte Hudders, 28, educates gentlemen in the history, etiquette and art of folding pocket squares and also started creating her own line of hand-drawn silk pocket squares three years ago. She has since sold about 200 in Dubai.
“There are so many ways of folding pocket squares, from immaculate formal folds to more flamboyant statement folds,” Ms Hudders explains.
“You can go really crazy with the Bird of Paradise, which I’m still perfecting. Among my favourites is the Flower Fold, which looks like a beautiful rose.”
The Briton Adrian Bell is the executive director of brand experience agency Action Impact. He is inclined towards the presidential fold – and, when he has time, the three-pointed square fold.
“My pocket square always draws a comment, particularly if it’s well chosen and crafted within the pocket,” he says. “I wear it increasingly day-to-day. You see the pocket square being worn now in most of the swanky new restaurants and bars in DIFC and Media City.”
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