The words come in the
parting advice to his son, Lacerates, given by the ominous and fussy Polonaises,
the Lord Chamberlain in” Hamlet” On dress he says:-
“Costly they habit as thy purse
can buy;
But not expressed in fancy; rich
not gaudy:
For the apparel oft proclaims the
man.”
That is dress well and
expensively, but soberly; and avoid the flashy and showy fashions of fops and denies;
for a man is often known by the clothes he wears, Wear the sort of dress that
will show you to be a cultured and refined gentleman.
The most obvious
illustration of this saying is the wearing of uniform. You can tell whether a
man is a soldier, sailor, a policemen, or a railway guard. By the uniform he
wears. You know a judge by his large wig and ample robes, a lawyer by his black
gown, a professor by his gown and cap and hood. But all that such uniforms tell
us is the propulsion of the wearer. they do not tell us what sort of
men they are in character. All the privates in one regiment are dressed exactly
alike; hut they are very different men.
We can – however often
learn something of men’s character and habits from the clothes they wear. A man
whose clothes are always clean and ell-brushed is a man of neat and tidy
habits; whereas dirty or torn clothes tell us that the wearer is habitually
careless and slovenly. Clothier too will often indicate the social position of
the wearer; for one who is always dressed in the height of fashion is probably
well- off and a gentleman; while one in an old shabby suit, or in rags, is
probably poor, and even a beggar.
But all this does not
carry us far. You will notice that Shakespeare says oft, not always:” The
apparel oft proclaims the man he knew men too well to think that one can always
judge man by his clothes And there are proverbs that contradict his saying: for
example. Appearances are deceitful”. The outward appearances, the apparel a man
wear ‘often conceals rather that reveals the man. Many a vulgar, ill-bred man
is dressed like a gentleman; and many a cultured and learned gentleman is
shabbily dressed. Remember these other two proverbs:” fine clothes do not make
a gentleman” and “Handsome is that handsome does”.