I have to admit that when the kind folks at MS & Co. offered us a knit pocket square for review, I agreed mostly out of a sort of confused curiosity. How would that even work?
The answer, upon field testing, is… well… better than could be expected? But still maybe not quite good?
Knit ties have had a resurgence in popularity in the past five years or so, after fading in the early 90s and early 70s before that. Their advantage is that they’re more casual than woven silk, and more texturally interesting. They pair wonderfully with the more casual tailored elements many men wear now, from relatively unstructured jackets to tweed and linen. And of course more men are taking the time to adorn their breast pockets. MS & Co. hope to capitalize on that popularity with a classic fashion move – it’s this meets that! Remember a year or two ago when everything was made out of chambray?
One of our principles here at PTO, though, is to guard against this meets that thinking. Novelty dressing is not our steeze. No “dress sneakers” here. For that reason, I’m sort of against the whole idea. Not only that, I couldn’t imagine how they could manufacture a square light enough to fit in that breast pocket and drape attractively.
I’m surprised to say that they’ve met the latter concern pretty ably. As you can see above, the square has the look of a knit tie, but it’s lightweight (and small) enough to wear in the pocket and have a little shape. If you take as read that you’d want a knit pocket square, it’s clear MS & Co. have done what it takes to make one that works as a pocket square. They’re also $35, which strikes me as a more than reasonable price.
Which leaves the question: “why would I want one of these?” I guess it’s mostly because it’s kind of neat. It seems like way too much to wear one of these with a tie, so I’d say it’s an instead-of-tie solution. I can imagine one peeking out of an unstructured cotton or linen coat, for example. Still, when I picture it, I giggle a little.
For the time being, I’ll stick with MS & Co’s great no-show socks. I bought half a dozen pairs last summer and wear them any time I’m in shorts (and sometimes when I’m not). I’m not sure I can see myself through to wearing a knit pocket square. But I kind of admire the ingenuity.
MS & Co. Knit Pocket Square: $35 at moccsocks.com