kawasaki w650 custom:

i'm adding this picture because the same guy speeds past my window every night at some ungodly hour on his motorcycle. i know it's him because i can recognize his flagrant disregard to any form of peace that nighttime brings; his over-revved, under muffled engine is obnoxiously loud, begs for attention and wakes the baby that lives next door. i can't stand that type of motorcycle. i choose this picture because it reminds me that some bikes are worth the shortened life expectancy. somewhere between the billowing mullet-clad dirt bikers  the annoying guy weaving through traffic on his lime-green bullet bike, and the guy on his overcompensating-throaty-chopper-hog, there is a cool enduro out there with my name on it.

graphite nubuck nato strap - worn & wound:

toronjas:

this man (yes, i do assume it's a man) is pure swollen grapefruits, and every time i look back at this picture my beard thickens just a little. maybe it's because he's basically kayaking over an onerous waterfall that looks like it came directly off the lord of the rings filming location list, or maybe it's because i don't know if i ever could do what he's doing. but i did just spend a half hour considering it, and looking up used kayaks - maybe that counts. for now.

long-wing brogues:

porsche:

i can't rock mint green or cerulean pants, but i could rock a cerulean porsche.

best i can figure, it's a seiko military watch:

desert boots, rolled chinos, and a murse:

a murse is a man purse. don't wear man purses. be against man purses - except when it looks so.

shortcuts for taking on the cold:

sick of the cold?
good. then own it. nothing makes the cold, dreary, not-quite-spring days worse than yet another wet pair of socks or numb fingers. you've already dealt with winter; you looked all classy for thanksgiving, maybe sported a bow tie at the family christmas party, and even broke out a sports jacket for new years. but now it's february and you're just ready for spring. no problemo, look good without doing very much. go for a few e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y functional basics and let them figure everything out for you.

1. the insulated-yet-trim parka:
the insulated parka is unstoppable. i still try to keep my parkas and outdoor gear on the trimmer side, but this jacket is meant to go over anything from suits to henleys so don't get anything too slim. no marshmallow suits either, you can get solid primaloft or even 800-fill down insulation that's less than an inch thick. the right insulated parkas are warm, as in base-camp of everest warm, and fully capable of handling the walk to the tube, or the bus stop, or those 25 minutes of scraping ice off the car wind shield and driving to work while the heater warms up. perfect for early february.

2. the boot:
there are classy patent leather boots these days, and there are the boots your grandpa used for 35 years of farming. this pair should be neither - just waterproof (if they don't come that way, then get some wax and do it yourself). i like the boots above by redwings because they work with dressier pants and a jacket, or your unwashed denim, and icy puddles shouldn't be a problem.

and finally...

3. the flannel shirt:
plaid is still king, and fully acceptable in all areas of men's style. my wife bought me this red and black buffalo plaid shirt from j. crew. the fit is impressive right off the rack (being 6 foot 4, 195 lbs makes trimmer shirts that are long enough in the sleeves hard to come by), but it's also comfortable enough to sleep in, or chop wood in, or brew your own ginger ale in, or i could wear it with a tie on sunday. versatile.

paris fashion review review (part 2), thumbs up:

gq paris fashion review review:
i'm still a little shaky after the box hats and leather renditions of the mexican poncho, but thankfully gq did pull through with two great items in their 50 greatest finds in paris article. i'm a huge fan of the hiking boot and man bag.

the hiking boot: 
directly below is the gq pick for a stylish way to incorporate the hiker in all of us into the daily good-looking grind.

honestly, i'd have to already have bought at least 60 pairs of real hiking boots and given away millions to charity before i'd spend any large sum of money on designer hiking boots. so, i went ahead and found some that i like better (below).

what i like is the solid, bullet-proof looking leather upper - makes the shoe look like something an old-school swiss climber would be rocking. the leather also makes them look a bit more dressed up than your average asolos or merrells, but the solid sole and goodyear welt on these ottowa hikers mean you have some sturdy, long-lasting winter boots fit for any task.

the man bag:

here we have gq's select from the paris fashion show - a go-to duffel bag for everything and anything.

i like duffel bags. i have a helly hansen duffel bag that's been scraped across the lonely southern utah slot canyons, stuffed into the back of my subaru for weekend trips, and borded onto planes to hawaii. it's not a purse - a purse is a large bag of all relatively useful things stuffed into one sack. the duffel bag is just my way of replacing those rolly bags in airports with something that may not be as practical, but fits my style. below is one by forest bound, my pick over the hermes bag gq had their sights on.

paris fashion review review (part one), thumbs down:

i'm a fan of gq, a huge fan really. in fact, a lot of my own style's inspiration and guidance has come from the refreshing, contemporary, and slightly sarcastic writers at gq. but this blog is not a fashion blog, just a quiet commentary to men style - and that must be good because i think some of this fashion stuff is completely ridiculous.

...recently the folks at gq released their favorite picks from the paris mens runway show. it's a good thing i'm not in the fashion industry, because i think it's a complete joke after seeing their big picks.

seriously.

it's because of pictures like this (see below) that guys who try to dress nicer get made fun of. again, gq, i'm ever a fan, but if this is what you qualify as the "50 coolest things we saw in paris" then maybe keep looking around.

the bearded man:

beards:

"without a man, there can be no beard. without a beard, there can be no man."

                                                                                                                            -- thebeardly.com

recently, the pendulum swung back over to favor facial hair, and men with beards have made an impressive come-back. not only has the beard regained its popularity, but even the grisled lumber-beard can be found at the head of a board room, or on the cover of a gq magazine.

i'm not sure how beard regained a footing in mainstream style. maybe it was because old innovative steve jobs was always up on that stage, steering the helm of his juggernaut company, waving around the new iphone, and doing it all with some sort of mangy beard or scruff. maybe it was because enough men just got lazy enough to stop fighting the fact that a beard must be fought everyday; a beard never gives up trying to be a beard and by 6 o'clock most guys are already losing the battle again. or maybe men are just glancing back, and longing for the days of civil war generals, mountain men, and salted sea dwellers.

to me it doesn't matter, but i am definitely a pretty big beard fan. just wear the beard correctly - respectfully if you will - and no hunger games weird hair sculpting nonsense. the rules are pretty simple: keep the neck cleaned up, and don't shave anything else. then wait. to make the journey a bit less abrasive and avoid the scratchy phase, try out a beard oil like this.

post alley:

lake union:

the cascade mountain range:

how to wear socks:

how to wear socks without looking like you're just simply wearing ridiculous socks:

some of us guys may want to do the whole crazy sock thing, but when attempted, something's just off.

simple easy rules - there are none. to really put it all together, however, there are some good practices. stick to simple, bold patterns (stripes, solids, and the occasional polka dot), and pay a little heed to the following...

i'd wager that the biggest contributor to a well-worn outspoken sock is actually the shoe. spend money on your shoes - women have closets, baskets, drawers, space by the front door, under the couch, and an ample cornered-off area of their rooms all dedicated to housing their ever-multiplying shoe collection. that's not how it works as a guy. instead, spend a lot of money on just one or two pairs that are literally the type of quality that should outlast you. literally, if cared for, outlast you.

next, to do justice to a punchier sock, notice that the pant leg is slim, and sits a bit high. baggy/long pants swallow the look. the high and narrower pant leg accents the socks, brings attention to those expensive kicks, and adds a bit of confidence to the whole look. try it out, you'll get all types of people coming up and telling you you look (a) ridiculous, or (b) ridiculously cool, where'd you get those socks? note: (a) is probably your dad, until he finally gives in and gets a few pairs of his own thanks to yours truly. true story.

finally, remember that there aren't any rules, so don't go making any up, like matching your socks to your tie which is matched to your pocket square. that looks like you bought them all as a pack to impress your prom date. just keep everything off kilter and avoid drawing the wrong attention by doing the whole matchy matchy thing with your socks.

simple go-to combo to rock a bolder sock: slick navy suit, gray tie, white shirt, leather briefcase, blue & white striped socks with dark brown monk-straps. unstoppable.