Wednesday, January 14, 2009

In the Zone: Winter Fashion Faux Pas

The problem with winter clothing is that most men go for the utilitarian garment and don’t bother with creating a fashionable and functional winter wardrobe. It is, of course, easy to fall into this winter fashion faux pas. First, it’s cold and you want to be warm. Second, you get tired of the cold quickly and want to go on vacation more than you ever want to go to work, and by wearing the ski jacket or funky hat you bought on vacation you psychologically feel you’re having more fun. Then, of course, some men just don’t know any better.

So, get rid of your winter fashion faux pas (your retro puffer coats and lumberjack hats), update your winter look and find a pair of boots that you can actually wear to work or dinner. Here, then, is your guide to rejuvenating your cold weather clothing and ditching your winter fashion faux pas.

Wearing utilitarian gloves

OK, we get that it’s cold, but the ski gloves are best left for actually skiing and the same goes for those insulated work gloves you just had to buy to feel manly. These items have their time and place and neither translate well to everyday fashion and work. To avoid this winter fashion faux pas of mixing purposes, you’ll need to keep a pair of actual leather gloves in your coat pockets, like these black deer skin gloves from All Gloves. While you’re at it, put the ski gloves in storage with your ski jacket and pants.

Wearing hats with logos, patterns or pom-poms

One of the easiest winter fashion faux pas to remedy is to ditch the winter hat with a logo that you bought for tailgating parties. You just can’t walk into work wearing that. Walking around with a hat emblazoned with team names or resort names is simply childish. By opting for a solid-colored hat like this one from Kashmere, you actually enhance your wardrobe while staying warm. And we don’t even need to discuss the silly pom-pom hats, do we? Good.

Wearing a scarf that is too short

Wearing a scarf that is too short does one very bad thing for your personal style -- you won’t be able to tie it properly or in different ways. Choosing a longer scarf with a simple motif allows to not only tie it in a variety of ways to match your mood and style, but it also gives you plenty of material to double over and wrap it higher and thicker on colder days.

Wearing a puffy coat over a suit

A few years ago, wearing puffy ski jackets over suits became the new trend. Some rejoiced because they felt rebellious. Others sighed in agony as their fellow man began showing up for work or dinner in rumpled suits. If you want to shorten the life of your suits faster than stock market investments can tumble, then go ahead and wear that puffy winter coat over your tailored clothing. Now that you’ve got that little moment out of your system, get a real overcoat for your suits. Getting an overcoat that is tailored and shaped to preserve your suit jacket while keeping you warm and stylish is the best way to go. A single-breasted number with an elegant drape from Hugo Boss will do nicely.

Not wearing boots

Men like to believe that they don’t need to wear a boot in the winter unless they are working outside. Even then they often wear sneakers for a walk in the deep snow on the weekends or they go to work in dress shoes without a second thought as to what all that moisture is doing to the Italian leather strapped to their feet. You certainly don’t need steel-toed badass boots to get to that holiday party after work, but you do need a pair of well-made winter boots deigned for comfort, fashion and cold weather. If extreme cold wet weather is a concern, then go with the Beacon Boot. Now find a briefcase or work bag large enough to stash your dress shoes and change into them once you get to work.

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