Do You Use A Pen As A Part Of An Outfit?

[Honeybadgers]

That's a good point I hadn't considered, I am so used to professional uniform shirts that I just kind of forgot a pen in a jacket pocket is dumb. Good thing I still remember to never button the bottom button of a jacket.

[Parker51]

Yes, definitely. I try to have the pen be complimentary to everything else I wear. I wouldn't take a 149 though as its size would be too large for most of my shirt pockets. I would use a 146, as the length matches better.

For a pen in a pocket that buttons, typically a Parker 51.

I have matched pen to belt; belt buckle to pen furniture; belt material & color to shoes, etc.

I also will vary between a low cost pen for casual, activities and an expensive one for a more formal and controlled situation, but that is largely to avoid the possibility of loosing or breaking an expensive pen while doing a task that has the potential to cause breakage due to things such as falling, changing clothing outdoors, carrying heavy or awkward building materials, etc.

I understand the idea of presentation, but don't presently wear a uniform, so no dressing for inspection for me.

What I don't accept is those silly suggestions about "appropriate" footwear. I will only wear wing tips to court. Typically in summer I wear sandals. I used to wear boat shoes, but they lack enough support.

And in winter, I wear boots, especially if it is cold & snowy, but switch to light "Mr. Rogers" style canvas or leather sneakers once in the office.

[JakobS]

I always wear a pen in a shirt pocket, at least two usually. I never have matched them to an outfit, or uniform I was wearing, I chose the pen/s based on what I needed from them. Currently, I have been carrying two Sheaffer Imperial II Deluxe’s in my shirt pocket for 1.5-2 years, be it a casual button up or dress shirt....though If I find the need to write to be limited, I probably will skip carrying a pen to an event.

[Erik Dalton]

When I first saw this thread I thought ..”well I never thought of that”. Then realized that I do indeed match pens to my outfit. Whenever I gave a shirt with a pocket on, there’s a pen in it. For everyday knocking around its a wing sung either the one with the conical nib or the imitation Parker 51’s.

My going to a meeting pen is a Pelican 250, 600, or 800. and more formal occasions a Parker 51 in classic black or burgundy with a gold Cap.

[DanceOfLight]

For every day use, a bunch of of pens (typically 3 to 4) go along with me. When attending certain formal business meetings, yes I choose my pen so that it doesn’t distract too much (Hello - Delta Dolcevita Oversize). Normally one of these fit the bill if I don’t need to fly to the destination

 

Waterman exception (I had a interesting experience in a formal meeting which is detailed in the review here)

CdA Varius series

GvFC intution woods

Omas paragons (black)

Pelikan 100x/80x series (The red M800s sit at home, the rest get to go)

Parker Duofold prestige series

Sometimes an SS925 Otto-Hutt or Sheaffer Targa snuggle in the jacket

 

When there is a need to board the plane, the list becomes much shorter and pens Cd'A have proved to be very trustworthy (accompanied by matching mech pencil) . The China Black is esp elegant.

[Karmachanic]

No.

[mitto]

Yes, it is 'no' here too.

[Erik Dalton]

Mitto, just curious. Which inks do you use in your Parker 51 vacs and Aeros?

I’m using Aurora Blue, Blue-Black, or Visconti Blue exclusively. I use them and flush. In rotation just as you do.

[Larry Barrieau]

No, I carry a pen to write with. Also, did you say that your stethoscope is part of your uniform? Does it drape over you shoulder, go around your neck, or is there such a thing as a stethoscope clip built into your uniform. I never noticed these things.

[Amory]

 

 

I know that expensive pens are often used by the rich as a status symbol, but do any of you actually pick a pen for your outfit like you would a watch?

 

 

 

watch a status symbol? Let your training as a life saver be your status symbol Honeybadgers - anyone can buy a watch.

 

I would have a copy of my bank statement printed on the front of my tee shirt if I were so insecure that I needed to validate my worth.

Edited August 10, 2018 by Amory

[hinky]

I guess I'm in the minority too. I do match my pens to my outfit...only for the same reason as I would my watch. I match leathers and metals too, so that's not a big surprise (so if I'm wearing a gold watch, you bet I'm carrying a pen with gold furniture 😂). And yes, I'm one of those people who match my inks with the color of my pens too (gasp) 😅

 

Then again, most of my stuff is matchy-matchy. But hey, to each their own 😉

 

And no, I don't put pens in shirt pockets unless it's either a Fisher space pen (to lend to others) or a Kaweco Sport (if I know I'll keep needing to pull a pen out). I've lost several pens that way and I've learned my lesson 😢. My pens now reside in a leather pen case (and yes, it matches my wallet/belt/shoes 😂).

[Antenociticus]

Well, I might sometimes consider a pen in terms of that day's "ensemble" – colour coordination and so forth – in a similar way to how I'd think about shoes. But it's always less about aesthetics than utility – what notebook I'll have with me, and why. And who'd wear their best oxfords on a trip to the beach?

 

Today I took out two pens that had absolutely nothing to do with what I was wearing, and everything to do with how I would be using them at my destination.

 

I'd definitely take a good one (though neither an ostentatiously blingy one nor an overly technical-looking one – Lamy 200 might fit the bill, if I had one, or something sleek and black) to a job interview, in the same way as I'd wear the Breitling that mostly sits neglected in a drawer. You want to look like you're already doing well.

Edited August 10, 2018 by ad_nib

[sub_bluesy]

Ive been known to match yellow gold with yellow gold on occasion.......

[mitto]

Mitto, just curious. Which inks do you use in your Parker 51 vacs and Aeros?

I’m using Aurora Blue, Blue-Black, or Visconti Blue exclusively. I use them and flush. In rotation just as you do.

Waterman serenity blue, sheaffer scrip blue, pelikan royal blue and quink blue and black.

[CoolBreeze]

I do select a pen based on both outfit and occasion. Work situations I generally wear a pen in my shirt pocket for easy access. In that case it can't be too big (that being said shirt pocket size is variable depending on the brand). If the shirt pocket is small, I may just put it in my coat breast pocket. If the work day involves some type of special event or conference I will upgrade the pen for that.

 

If I am commuting (like a nyc subway), it is either in my coat breast pocket or briefcase. I have dropped a pen as I went to take my metro card out of my shirt pocket and it somehow took the pen with it too and it landed on the floor - ugh.

 

If I am out to dinner or bar after work, the probability of using a pen is slimmer and it also then migrates to coat pocket out of the way.

Edited August 14, 2018 by CoolBreeze

[jmnav]

No, for funerals, I'd not dream of showing off, much less with a pen showing in my suit breast pocket. If a pen, then in the inside pen pocket of the suit jacket, for when you sign the book with a nib that gives flair.

 

...And that basically says all. To be more precise:

• If wearing a suit, you never ever sit anything but a pocket handkerchief in your jacket's breast pocket.
• If wearing a dress suit, you never ever put anything into your shirt's breast pocket. Therefore, the safest way is using shirts with no pockets in this situation.
• In a burial, being discreet is the way to go.

But then, your case is wearing a uniform, not a suit. Even then, point 3 above stays. If you feel like wearing a pen, and the obvious place is your shirt pocket because of the uniform, I'd choose one with a militar clip. If not possible, then, your daily usual one, probably would do: if it's humble enough for your daily work, it should fit fine in this attire (as you said, you don't have a dress uniform). Neither you nor the other people is there to look at you, but in remembrance of the gone one. And in case of doubt, leave it at home. Less is more here.

 

A descent ring, nice cuff links and a good tie tac. Could go for a nice but not overly flashy folded handkerchief in the breast pocket of the suit. The old style thin wrist watch is worn under the long sleeve shirt, or under the jacket....not on the sleeve.

Funerals are not quite the place for a gold pocket watch and it's gold chain in your three piece suit.

 

Exactly that. Again, being discreet. Which also needs to have into account how do you expect the rest of people to wear. Being in an expensive suit when you know the other people is not going to wear one, violates point 3.

 

There's no place for one in a two piece suit.

Well, that's not exactly true. While uncommon (and not of my taste), you can use a pocket watch with a two pieces suit. The chain is a somehow shorter one which goes from either a button on your pant's belt line or the nearest belt loop and the watch goes to the pants' watch/coins pocket.

 

OK, so it's pocket watches that is why I have 3 piece suits.

 

I also prefer them, but I dare you wearing a three piece suit in Spain. In August.

 

IMO, one flashes discretely when flashing as is. Like you have had what ever watch or pen, for so long, it's just normal, not look at my Omega and snowflake.

 

Is not that much about brands but about fit. My "daily beater watch" happens to be an Omega, and it's been for more than a decade. A Speedmaster "triple date" to be precise. And you can bet that it goes perfectly unnoticed to everybody (except if you happen to be into wristwatches, of course). Now, try to use a cheap quartz watch with five different metal colors and as big as your head, and then tell me.

 

A nice Pelikan is more discrete in such situations than 'even the Ball Point Barbarians' know what a snowflake is. You are not there to be admired, but to pay respects to the dead and their family.

Exactly that. And then, a final thought. All these recomendations, like mines above (i.e.: never do this, always do that) may seem to be pompous at first glance. But they are there for a reason: they work (i.e. you don't look "artificial") and, once you remember them, you don't have to think about them twice. It's in fact, the other way around: unless you have "been born" into etiquette rules, whenever you break them, either consciouslly or unconsciously, chances are that you somehow will look weird; not because "all the others" will know but because genuinuely people will notice "something wrong" even if they can't tell what (after all, that's exactly how most conventions are born: "don't know exactly why, but it does seem to somehow fit togheter").

Edited August 15, 2018 by jmnav

[pajaro]

I used a Jinhao and bright Lamys with a clown suit.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

To be fair, the question assumes a different mindset, one that I don't have myself, but don't want to criticize in other people. For example, people have written here that they would never put a pen in a dress shirt pocket because it would "break up the lines", or in fact that they would never even have a dress shirt with pockets. Totally alien to me, but to each his own.

 

I sometimes consider the suitability of individual pens for the kind of writing I expect to be doing wherever it is that I'm going. I don't care if the pen "goes with" what I'm wearing, but offhand, I don't think that any of the fountain pens I'd be likely to carry would clash with anything I'd be likely to wear. And as others have said, if it were a formal occasion, it would probably be in an inside suit pocket, and I wouldn't be trying to get people to notice it.

[Honeybadgers]

No, I carry a pen to write with. Also, did you say that your stethoscope is part of your uniform? Does it drape over you shoulder, go around your neck, or is there such a thing as a stethoscope clip built into your uniform. I never noticed these things.

 

I have a belt clip but I found it really irritating. I drape it around my neck and hook the pediatric bell into the split of the tube. The tube is always tucked under my collar. I usually use a littman, but if I'm feeling fancy I'll bring out my three bell welch-allyn harvey. It's made from instrument brass and is essentially the MB149 of the stethoscope world. Beyond what a paramedic needs, but I had a little money and wanted to treat myself.

 

Some medics have very lazy uniform standards, and do not press their uniforms and wear slip-on steel toe boots (redwings are the hallmark of the burnt out EMT) but I go to work everyday with a proper kit and starched uniform.

Edited August 16, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[pajaro]

When I used my black Montblancs I wore a black belt and black shoes. When I wore cordovan shoes or red Weejuns with a cordovan or reddish leather belt, I used the Bordeaux pens.