Pens In The Breast Pocket: Inappropriate Or Not?

[cellmatrix]

I am not one to give a hoot about what others think of how I carry my stuff, so that never enters into it for me.

Edited April 5, 2013 by cellmatrix

[mirosc]

General "style" consensus over here is:

It's ok if you don't wear a jacket.

It still is inappropriate if you wear a jacket. Then the pen should go into the inside jacket pocket (definitely not the outside which stays clear of any ornamental accessories). The shirts with pockets are still called "office shirts" whereas the formal ones one usually wears under a jacket never have any pockets - it looks quite odd if there's a shirt pocket playing hide and seek under the jacket.

 

But: If you really have style you don't need to care about those "rules"... Character and charisma are far more important than such petty things.

[Trebster]

Inappropriate for you, or inappropriate in someone else's view? Up to you where you place your priorities.

[mikehodgman]

I always have one in my breast pocket. Either a TWSBI Mini or a Pelikan M215. Both great pens! Shirt pockets nowadays tend to be a little small so I usually can't fit a larger pen comfortably.

[mozartsql]

Take Yes, Minister(BBC political satire sitcom in the 80s)for instance. I don't know if anyone here liked it.The Minister and the Permanent Secretary of DAA both have their pens and pads in their left inside pocket. Only The Principal Private Secretary has his pen in the breast pocket. I assume that clipping pen in the breast pocket so that other people could see it is an indication of a clerical job.

[nxn96]

Well, I did give up using a pocket protector a while back, so I guess, relatively speaking, the pen directly in the shirt pocket lends a bit of "elegance" to my appearance.

[ANM]

I am having a problem with the whole premise of the book that originated this question. Aside from Iran during the Carter administration, I can't imagine a government imprisoning foreign diplomats.

[Wahl]

Totally inappropriate :roflmho:

 

I put my FP´s in a pencase and that goes on the left inside pocket of my jacket.

[queenofpens]

Consider this - The Kaweco Sport was originally designed for men to hide in a small out-of-the-way pocket when playing sports (long ago) because in the early part of the 20th century, gentlemen did not carry pens to social events including sports. I remember reading in etiquette books in the 50's that ladies did not wear watches to social events which was why some were disguised to look like bracelets.

 

So, etiquette rules change.

 

As a woman and an IT geek, I am exempt from men's fashion rules and I ignore women's fashion rules. You might get called a geek or a nerd, especially if you have a whole collection of pens in your pocket the way I do. But who cares? If they help you to do business better, or to be more creative in creative work, or to draw pretty pictures, that's good.

 

You still risk getting ink on your shirt, your jacket, or your pants - all of which have happened to me and are seen as being even more eccentric for a woman than a man.

 

P.S. I have panic attacks when I put a favorite pen in the wrong pocket and can't find it. That's a lot more important to me than what someone else thinks about me putting pens in my pocket. :ltcapd:

Edited April 5, 2013 by queenofpens

[lahlahlaw]

I believe there is a presumption of nerdiness to carrying a pen in a shirt pocket. Despite this, I usually carry one even when dressed casual. Sometimes with a T-shirt I'll clip the pen off-center near my carotid artery (sounds dangerous ). The alternative is a Fisher spacepen in my pocket. Maybe this post will cause me to become self-conscious and hide my pen under my tie, or maybe design a tie with a pen holder..?

 

If wearing a suit however, I think it is VERY odd to showcase your pen in the outer breast pocket of a sportcoat, I looks as if your trying to tell the world you have a nice pen and to please congratulate you for it :roflmho:

 

This is generational, I generally see folks in their 50's with, a few 40's, scarcely 30's (me), and 20-somethings don't know what pens are. Just yesterday a woman in her 20's asked to see my pen, I showed it to her and she asked when I learned how to write " in calligraphy"

 

The key, and this is very important, is that is be a nice pen. I cringe when I see someone dressed nicely with a plastic Bic pen sticking out of their pocket.

 

My RULE is: if its a disposable pen it should not be displayed. This goes for Pilot Varsity as well!

 

Kudos to the "in-between-the-buttons" poster. A particularly stylish professor of mine who is in his 60's carries Lamy's (with their sexy clips) this way; always looks sharp...

Edited April 5, 2013 by lahlahlaw

[nxn96]

I am having a problem with the whole premise of the book that originated this question. Aside from Iran during the Carter administration, I can't imagine a government imprisoning foreign diplomats.

During WWII, it was not uncommon for diplomats of the various belligerents to be interned pending some arranged (often by a neutral, such as Sweden or Switzerland) exchange of personnel. As I understand it (only from books from that period), some countries treated their interned diplomats as POW's whilst others might put them under "house arrest" at some resort, etc. Treatment varied.

 

Hope this helps.

[KingJoe]

I personally clip my pens in my shirt between buttons. ...snip... Feels much more secure.

 

Agreed! I started doing this with my 3-button golf/polo/casual type shirts, and it eventually carried over to my dress shirts as well. Which was handy, since I never wear any kind of shirt with a pocket. That used to mean buying custom-made dress shirts, then special order, and as of late it's getting fairly easy to find pocket-less dress shirts in most men's stores.

 

The only drawback to the "between the buttons" thing...I've had more than one person tell me I wore my tie bar but forgot my tie. :ltcapd:

[ToySoldier]

I wonder how my Lime Green Pilot Prera is gonna look sticking out of my shirt pocket?

I'm definitely going to have to slip that one between my shirt buttons behind my tie.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I use my breast pocket. It's available there.

 

If it bothers someone else that I place my pen there, I don't much care.

[RMN]

In certain layers of society (snobbish IMHO) it is considered bad taste to carry with you items like a pen, especially in plain view, a wallet, or even a timepiece, a such items would indicate you to be in a position to need them. The "real gentleman" would not bother with such unpleasant trivialities of life, such as writing down appointments, paying things or bothering about time. You had your servants to take care of these unpleasant tasks. Wearing them would mean you could not afford the personnel.

 

 

In real life, shirt pockets are meant for carrying handy items such as pens, even on a warm day when you are without jacket.

Practically, I now carry my pens in a small sheath inside my breast pocket, after ruining the umpteenth shirt with ink stains or holes from sharp clips.

 

 

D.ick

[inkstainedruth]

Consider this - The Kaweco Sport was originally designed for men to hide in a small out-of-the-way pocket when playing sports (long ago) because in the early part of the 20th century, gentlemen did not carry pens to social events including sports. I remember reading in etiquette books in the 50's that ladies did not wear watches to social events which was why some were disguised to look like bracelets.

 

I have a book on historical costume, and there is a picture of what is called a "bracelet clock". It dates back, IIRC, to late Elizabethan England!

As to the original topic: so, what did a "gentleman" do when they needed to take a memo back then? Have his valet take it for him? His wife? Have to hope he remembered it until he got home?

I was at the library today and had a couple of pens in my shirt pocket. But then, I'm not exactly known for being fashion-forward; I can envision myself on a *certain* reality makeover show on TV and the first time they would try to put me into pointy toe spike heels it could get ugly....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pencils+pens]

I have been carrying pens in my shirt pocket since I attended Catholic grammar school in the early 1960s. So does almost everyone I know who uses a pen or writing instrument of any kind.

 

The only other thing I carried in my shirt pocket was my cigarettes, a habit I kicked several years ago.

 

If the pocket wasn't meant to carry something than why is it there?

[Ravenlunatic]

When I was in tech school, I wore a pocket protector with as many pens and pencils as I could put into it. When I was teased, I wore two pocket protectors, both filled with pens.

 

When I worked for the city, we had polo shirts and sweatshirts with no pockets. (I was a radio repair tech, we all had to fill out service tickets for work done.) So I wore a sports vest over my uniform shirts to put my pens and tools in. My boss cornered my one day, asking why I was "out of uniform". My response was that I was trying to make myself more efficient in my work. "Besides," I stated,"it is bad enough I have to be here. Just be glad I am here and wearing any clothes at all."

 

:ltcapd:

[Bill Wood]

Pen in my shirt pocket and a highlighter .. Everyday.

[Bookman]

For Saturday-night role-playing, I'm going to be the errant pupil, Mrs. Bookman will be the schoolteacher, and she'll make me stay after class because I clipped a fountain pen in my shirt pocket.