motley's

They have in reality nothing new to offer; they are the old-clothes men of thought, harlequins juggling in old Hindoo raiment, striding along in old German May-fair rags, long since discarded -- motley's their only wear -- stalking

The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 1, January, 1864 Various

Thousand-tinted garlands supplant the pale _immortelles_ that decked the graves; the sable cloak is doffed, and motley's the only wear.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 61, No. 376, February, 1847 Various

Jaques, it will be remembered, after hearing the "motley fool" moral on the time, declared that "motley's the only wear"; and I opine that Lamb would consider it no small praise to be likened, in wit, wisdom, and eloquence, to Touchstone, or to the Clown in "Twelfth Night."

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864 Various

As supremely wise men are often regarded as fools, so what seems folly may be the highest wisdom -- "motley's your only wear."

History of English Humour, Vol. 1 (of 2) With an Introduction upon Ancient Humour Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange 1873

I almost agree with Jacques, that 'motley's the only wear.'"

The Youth of Jefferson A Chronicle of College Scrapes at Williamsburg, in Virginia, A.D. 1764 Anonymous