Put This On

cbenjamin:

I also need a better peacoat… *sigh*  What I really need is a bigger paycheck. 

Pants are too long, tie knot’s too big, but besides that, this is a fantastic look.  Winter color!  Hats!  Duck shoes!

I don’t post a lot of pictures from lookbooks or fashion shows or presentations or whatever.  But the whole men’s style blog world has been losing their shit over J. Crew’s fall/winter event the other day.  I had resisted posting anything about it, though it’s very nice, but then I saw this flannel suit over on A Continuous Lean.  Butter.

A lovely photo of an ensemble put together by Philip from Toronto.  Texture is so important - even in summer when you’re contrasting, say, nubby linen and smooth cotton - but especially in the winter when you have a whole array at your fingertips.  It’s one of the reasons knit ties are so useful; they add both color and a rich texture.

Q and Answer: How Do I Store My Clothes?

Andy writes: I don’t have the most closet space in the world, and the more clothing I get, the less room I have. I also live on the East Coast where we have 4 distinct seasons. Do you have advice on how to store your seasonally inappropriate clothes, and which clothes do you leave out all year long?

When I finally got an apartment with some storage place, I bought about a dozen plastic bins from Costco.  Mine are a lot like the one above, but with hinged tops.  They cost about $6 each.  When it’s time to put away winter clothes, that’s what I use. 

I start by making a pile of all the stuff I absolutely won’t wear in the off-season.  That means white pants, white shoes, sandals, linen, seersucker and shorts for the winter and wool ties, heavy sweaters, seasonal sweaters, overcoats, bulky jackets, and tweedy sportcoats for summer.  They go in the boxes, usually with a packet of some kind of anti-moth stuff; moths aren’t a huge problem around here, but I’d hate to find my wool got eaten.

I fold my stuff carefully on the way in, and find it doesn’t usually need much more than a hang-up to straighten out.  Sometimes I’ll send it out to the cleaner after I hang it up, but I dry-clean my woolens pretty rarely, so sometimes I don’t bother.

Another in our series of photos of real men dressed well - this time a triptych from Florian, of Germany.  I love the way the relatively neutral tones of the coat and scarf give way, upon close inspection, to a riot of color.  Florian is dressed for the cold, but he isn’t letting winter win.

This photo, in our series of pictures of real men who dress well, is of Rob, from Brooklyn (and his adorable daughter).

Rob’s dressed for the serious weather they’ve been having in New York lately.  The coat is the boldest statement here - that pattern is called a gun club check.  It’s traditionally a country pattern (yes, there are traditional city and country clothes), but I think given the weather and the Brooklyn milieu, that’s entirely excusable.

Greg’s wearing this heavy coat with a pair of dark jeans.  I think jeans are best paired with more casual fabrics like the tweed Rob’s wearing - they both have a more utilitarian feel.  Rob’s shoes, a pair of heavy brogues which toe the line between city and country and form and casual, tie the jeans to the coat.

Rob’s also committed to growing that beard until he and his fellow teachers have a contract, which we’re on board for 1000%.  The good news for Rob is that it looks great on him.

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