Looking the Part

Warning: I am not a leading fashion expert, not even a following fashion expert. However, I will disclose my cool weather favorites so that you, too, can look like you belong outside, in the wilderness, this fall and winter. These items are items that I have or want really bad. My fashion choices are born from practicality and personality, and may not be what would be found in a GQ magazine or some other wishful thinking paper publication. Ladies...buy these clothes for your husband or son or dad and they will be glad you did...you may even be glad, too.

There are several staples in every "everyman's" wardrobe. I am not talking about the man that rolls around the house on the weekend...I am talking about the guys that cut the grass, cook the pig, chop the wood, camp, fish, and hunt. These staples have been around since my grandfather and will be around when I am a grandfather...

The Staples:
Flannel shirt - Every dude has one or three, at least, I hope so. this year all the skateboard (skatebored) kids are wearing the buffalo plaid red and black square shirts. These are cool, but why risk looking like a picnic table. I like plaid, but prefer houndstooth...get something in green, or brown, with yellow pinstripes or windowpane plaid...that look is "fresh." I like LL Bean, but Filson make s a great shirt, if you can afford them.

Sweaters - Every old grandpa has to have a sweater to wear over his flannel shirt, in case the weather gets really cold. I am not a grandpa, but I have liked this look for years...it is very practical, and you can take off the top layer if you get warm. All the kids are wearing cardigans this year. Don't make this mistake. Wearing wool means you are tough and practical, not fashionable like the kids...and don't by cashmere, nobody wants to be that soft. Fair Isle sweaters are nice, but I like a rag wool sweater. Wool maybe a little itchy, but it is warm, waterproof, and windproof...and since wool shrinks, they don't have to be laundered. I like sweaters in dark browns, greens, and navy...maybe gray, too. Also - grab one with a shawl collar...that's really old fashioned, but it can be buttoned up like a turtleneck...and then you don't have to wear a stinkin' scarf. For manly-man sweaters - shop McAlister.

Caps - get a trapper's hat, stormy kromer, or jones style hat for classic appeal...and no one else will want to borrow them, either. But, they are warm, waterproof, or just plain old-man awesome. Filson makes great hats.

Pants - none of the above items can be worn without a pair of pants...I like waxed canvas pants, but they aren't appropriate for everywhere. Tough corduroys in something like 8-wale (cords not too thick, not too thin) are perfect to keep the chill and briars out. I have a totally radical pair that have mallards embroidered all over them. Sure, they get a laugh, but I don't have to worry about someone taking them or getting cold...A lot of men like Carhartt brand dungarees, their tough, but they wear like a straight jacket. Wool Pants are great...they can go from outside work to office work pretty easily...you just can't get them in many colors other that drab olive or gray.

Jackets - Everybody has to have one...when it's really rainy or windy nothing beats a North Face jacket...so it's a little frat-tastic, but just get one in solid black...don't get one in red or yellow or any other "LOOK AT ME" colors...Patagonia makes awesome jackets, too. A Barn Coat or Field Coat is also a good choice if you really want to look old. Cabela's has a great selection in the Fall Master Catalog...

Boots - Schnee's, LL Bean, or the Red Wing Classic Chukka...greatest boots ever, forever.

Now - you have everything you need to put together an ensemble, outfit, or costume. If you wear this stuff, you might look like an old man, but you'll still have this stuff when your an old man. When I have to purchase clothes, I like to do every 5 or 6 years. It saves a lot of time, and I don't have to worry about what the fashion is...because since over half the population is made up of "boomers", I know that at least 1/2 of the population will approve of my outfit. It makes perfect sense to me...

Sorry for this one...
Enjoy the day...