The New York Times reports on the shirt Kevin Yu is delivering to musicians nationwide, who feel the athletic nature of their art requires more flexible, comfortable clothing:
Mountaineers no longer wear the scratchy tweeds favored by their
19th-century forebears. Modern swimwear bears little resemblance to the
flesh-covering woolen bathing costumes of summers long past. But
orchestra musicians still tend to saw away at Beethoven and Mahler in
hot, constricting formal attire that would be instantly recognizable to
audiences of a century ago.
Yu’s answer? A raglan sleeved wing collar shirt sewn from high-tech polyester stretch fabric (seems like an Outlier formal shirt). On one hand, I can see musicians’ point of view: playing a musical instrument is a physical activity–at least more so than sitting at a keyboard. And classical audiences have long since foregone formal attire, for the most part. Why are the players the ones who still have to suffer? Maybe this shirt, which looks as much like a cycling jersey as a tux shirt, is the right compromise between stiffly starched cotton and something you’d wear to the gym. Although I’d have to think that a tailored jacket, still dress code for many musicians, would be constricting even if you were wearing an appropriate tshirt underneath.
Yu plans to take on the pretied bow tie next. Unfortunately, not by making a real bow tie.
–Pete