The vest: the discreet charm of the unactual

Abstract

Can the vest be considered a simple accessory? What kind of relationship does it create with the ones who wear it? What is its meaning nowadays? We should remember that this piece belongs, now, to the group of obsolete things that present no function – or that are progressively losing it. If fashion means a way of being, what is the sense of wearing a garment that is “out of fashion”? These are questions that we intent to answer in this article. It is important to consider that the vest possesses an extraordinary symbolic strength and its charm resides on the intrinsic ambivalence that we find in the relationship between men, their things and their time. In the particular case of the vest, we see, however, a sort of oscillation from a typically male garment to a female one. In general, the vest invites us to reflect upon the concept of clothing, since it involves and moves a remarkable sensorial experience.