Plaid, Pinstripes & Pocket Squares: The Armor of a Modern Day Gentleman

8/12/2015

This might be the most telling analysis you ever read on this blog---and it's all because of Oliver's clothes.

It's perhaps his best known feature---the three piece suit. But what if I told you that Oliver's trademark threads were the armor of a modern day gentleman?

Indeed, his color-coordinated and carefully crafted clothes are a method by which his level of comfort and clarity can be rather accurately measured. The more layers of clothing, the more guarded his heart, and his actions, whether defensive in nature or otherwise, emanate out from there. On occasion however, even the thickest armor fails, and Oliver's heart lay bare against his will.

On those rare, but recently more frequent occasions, when the armor comes off voluntarily, the Oliver underneath shines through.

There no better way to gauge this theory than by reminding ourselves of what happens when Oliver is without his suit jacket.

When Oliver is without his jacket, he's more vulnerable. Some of Oliver and Shane's sweetest moments have taken place when Oliver was sans jacket. From their after-hours dance in the DLO to their time reading Jonathan and Katherine's letters in the bank vault, here are a few more memorable moments when Oliver's heart was on his sleeve:

In most cases, Oliver's vulnerability only lasted for a moment, and it wasn't long before the jacket was back on and he returned to active duty guarding his heart.

A good example is how Oliver interacted with Shane after their falling out over Holly and their dance classes. In "The Future Me," Oliver takes great care to bring a little light reading to the Mailbox Grille with him to avoid interacting with Shane. The book is important because it's almost like adding an extra layer of defense beyond the suit jacket---like an intellectual shield!

Defensive measures.

Another way to test this theory is to see how Oliver handled his jacket when Holly was in town. Notice how Oliver was sans coat during his dinner with Shane, someone with whom he is generally comfortable being vulnerable, whether he realizes it or not. But during drinks with Holly, the coat was on and remained so throughout---a defensive measure. Not surprisingly, his verbal interaction with Holly demonstrated a similarly defensive posture. In each case his suit signals something about Oliver's state of mind and heart. Also notice that both events took place on the same day, within hours of each other!

No coat.

Coat definitely on.

There have been a few instances, however, where Oliver's armor failed him. Take for instance at the end of "The Masterpiece" as he sat alone grieving the missed anniversary. He managed to keep his composure ending his dance classes with Shane, which seemed to hurt him as much as it hurt Shane. He couldn't seem to walk away fast enough. Seeing him wander towards his desk in the DLO, it wasn't long until we discovered why he seemed so unfocused throughout the episode. Slumped into his chair, we see Oliver's guard completely down.

At the end of "A Hope & A Future," struggling with whether or not to send his letter to Holly, everything he fought to keep at bay since the pilot finally came to a head, and the conflict was written all over his face. His rain-soaked suit wasn't able to contain his vulnerability, and Shane, standing some distance away and underneath the protection of an umbrella, could see that.

Another notable moment where his suit couldn't contain his vulnerability was in From Paris with Love the morning after having drinks with Holly. It didn't take much coaxing for his true feelings to come through, admitting to Shane his regret over not doing more to save his marriage and his difficulty forgiving Holly and himself.

As you can see, there is much to be gathered about Oliver's state of mind---and heart---based on the amount of clothing he chooses to wear. While on many occasions his color-coordinated armor appeared impenetrable, it was often so only when Oliver could completely control it. Though, as we discussed, there were plenty of moments where his vulnerability, and the reality of Oliver's struggles, were beyond superficial containment.

But on those rare moments where Oliver's level of comfort allowed his vulnerability to be a strength rather than a weakness, we saw who Oliver---free from the things that plagued him---might be like once the demons were slayed.

And the entire story was told by the clothes on his back.

Pretty cool, right? My bet is you'll be paying more attention to his wardrobe from now on! I know I will!

Official Suits Monitor,
~C

Wardrobe Week: Introduction | Norman | Oliver | Shane | Rita

13 Comments

Diane

8/12/2015 06:41:43 am

Love all the memorable moments when Oliver's heart was on his sleeve - and his suit coat was off.

One of my other favorite moments when Oliver's heart was on his sleeve was his talk with Shane in the Christmas movie about her letter to God. But it breaks the rule - his suit coat was on.

kathy

8/12/2015 08:53:27 am

Another fantastic blog! Do you think Oliver was vulnerable when he and Holly were dancing, or was he confident that she no longer wanted him after reading the poem?

Diane

8/12/2015 09:13:59 am

I'd say 'comfortable' - since he now knew where things stood between them and he could relax.

8/12/2015 09:15:32 am

I posted this question on the intro post for this week, but it probably fits better here. Oliver has several times when he is without his suit jacket as Chandel has explained so well, but can anyone think of a time other than the Christmas special when he is without a tie? I wonder if we will see that happen more often - or if that's just too much openness for Oliver.

Diane

8/12/2015 09:27:19 am

I have thought about your question and, like you, the only time I remember seeing Oliver without a tie was in the Christmas movie.

I hope we do see Oliver without a tie - casual dates with Shane come to mind.

kathy

8/12/2015 09:34:42 am

Loose maybe, but not off. Heck he didn't even take his suit off to put together a porch swing! Why does he place his hand across his stomach when he gets up, then straightens vest or suit?

Chandel link

8/12/2015 09:42:48 am

All of these are excellent questions. I would add to it why does he always feel the need to mess with his cuffs and cufflinks. I don't know how many times I've seen him absentmindedly fiddle with them and I wonder if he even notices!

Helen

1/16/2016 07:06:16 pm

I think the layers rule has to be broken at times in order for the scene to make sense practically. In Christmas, it wouldn't have made sense for Oliver to be jacket-less when he gave Shane the letter because of where is was / what he was doing in the main storyline. Likewise he wouldn't have taken it off when he slumped at his desk on his anniversary - it was night, he was being inactive, and surely on his way home so no logical reason to do so.

BTW, jacket-wise, there is a cracking CONTINUITY ERROR in the last scene of Episode 7: Oliver leaves the table and puts his jacket on yet carries it out of the room! Logically he would wear the jacket as they exit the hospital, however he makes an attempt at humour (after over-hearing Shane before) and that defo falls into the 'vulnerable/jacket-off' category!

Helen

1/16/2016 07:12:25 pm

Looking at the above screen shots, the other thing about the Shane/jacket off v Holly/jacket on is the different colour effect. Jacket off is very colourful especially with those red braces (whatever you guys call them) but the dark jacket in Holly's scene is far more sombre and official.

Berly

3/21/2016 08:34:58 pm

Suspenders 😊

blair

9/9/2016 01:54:31 pm

This is good insight into the "1st date?". He tried to be more honest and open after he took off the jacket.

Kerstin

10/28/2017 12:07:41 am

I loved this post. After I read it, a scene came to mind from "Impossible Dream". In the end when Shane and Oliver are outside on the steps. She is wearing his jacket. I love when men give their jackets to ladies. Before, I always thought of it as a sweet gesture, but then I wondered, is it also Oliver giving her some his protection? When the rescue was so stressful to them? Him trying to shield her a little from the rough days they had been having? Just a thought :)

3/10/2019 03:04:14 am

I really liked the scene before their trip to Washington DC and Oliver makes an itinerary for everyone. He tells Shane hers is yellow. I felt like this was delibarate on his part as he seems to see Shane as yellow - i.e. his sunshine? Especially when his skies are grey as she has a very sunny personality. His is blue. She mentions that she knows he probably will struggle with mixing his blue itinerary with her yellow but could they make a detour on the way from the airport to stop at her childhood home. It is here she shares some of the story of her childhood and we see a yellow rose bush is just about all that remains. She also makes mention of diagonal parking. Later, Oliver is seen wearing a yellow and blue diagonally striped tie! The statement seems to be yellow and blue go together and we are making progress and I know you like diagonal! Oliver is taking notice of what Shane says and trying to please her whether he consciously realises it or not. Also, is the dance where Oliver becomes uncomfortable and Shane is wearing the blue dress, the only time he wears a belt instead of braces?

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Plaid, Pinstripes & Pocket Squares: The Armor of a Modern Day Gentleman

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