Who's That Guy in the Houndstooth Suit?

And why is he wearing a full houndstooth?

One of my favorite eBay sellers offered two loose but mint Fashion Avenue 1990s business suits for Ken.  The prices were reasonable; she combines shipping; so I purchased both even though I had no idea who would wear them. 

My newest guy, Kofi, was my first choice for the houndstooth suit, which as shown in this image, comes with coat and pants with attached white shirt, red tie, a card stock briefcase, black eyeglasses, and a pair of black loafers.  The shoes are too small for Kofi, but I had a pair of black mock lace-up shoes that fit him.

Older World Peacekeepers action-figure, now named Kofi, models Ken's Fashion Avenue houndstooth suit.

More commonly used for women's wear, surprisingly, I was not bothered by Kofi's inspector gadget-like look in this houndstooth ensemble.  He looks slightly geeky yet distinguished.  I wanted to know more about the use of houndstooth in menswear and why Mattel chose to use it in 1996 for a suit for Ken.  

Merriam-Webster gives the term an origin of 1936.  In my mind, I can see men in 1930s/40s era film wearing houndstooth check.  Online info shows that "In the 1980s, designers like Chanel picked up houndstooth again and put their own stamp on the fabric. It wasn't until around 2005, though, that the design started to make its most latest comeback. Designers Emporio Armani, Louis Vuitton and Moschino all started using houndstooth, which has subsequently made it to the shelves of non-haute stores."

[http://www.ehow.com/about_5410110_history-houndstooth.html#ixzz2aN94fGyN]

It appears then that Mattel's Fashion Avenue designers were ahead of Armani, Louis V., and Moschino in their use of houndstooth for Ken in 1996.

Kofi was going to be the model for the second suit, a brown and tan check jacket with khaki pants set off by a vibrant orange and yellow paisley tie with matching mock vest, a cream shirt (attached to pants), and British tan loafers.  A reddish tan briefcase, also made of heavy card stock was included with this mid-1990s Fashion Avenue #13567 outfit.  Darren volunteered to model it so Kofi would not have to disturb his new distinguished geek look and because we knew the shoes would fit Darren.

Darren models Ken's Fashion Avenue #13567 brown and tan suit.

Hmmm... the 3/4 length sleeves and his sockless feet give Darren a Miami Vice-ish (Don Johnson) look that neither of us like for today.  Perhaps this would work well for a 90s throwback event.  Darren readily returned to his more comfortable blue and gray jogging suit as seen in this image (he's on the far right).  Kofi, on the other hand, is wearing that houndstooth suit.

A man with a certain look and sex appeal looks good in almost anything... or nothing at all.  ☺

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