In honor of NY Fashion Week

I present to you...BLUE STEEL...

 ...and a dance off judged by David Bowie...

...with commentary by famous designer MUGATU...

...your welcome.

Rain boots

With all the rain that New England gets every year, I had been wanting to add a pair of solid rain boots to my arsenal. Enter my infatuation with the ruggedly handsome and iconic L.L. Bean signature Bean Boots. While these boots would likely make the laziest of couch potatoes ("Ooh, that's me!") want to adventure in the woods or climb a mountain, I really just need something that will keep my feet dry on the streets of Boston, and if you look at the picture above, nothing about the Bean Boots really screams "urban".

Putting my thoughts of romping in the forest on the shelf, a friend of mine suggested checking out Tretorn, adding that his pair felt as comfortable as a a pair of sneakers...which had me instantly sold. I wound up purchasing a pair of the Tretorn Strala boots from Bonobos (who incidentally make a great pair of pants) and after a few summer showers, found my new best friends to combat the rain!

Link: The Seven-Shoe Wardrobe

No, this is not my collection, but I do want to avoid this very possible reality.

Link: The Seven-Shoe Wardrobe

I came across this great article about the seven essential shoes that a man should have in their collection. I found the list had some great choices and has the definitive goal for versatility and coverage of the various settings a man needs appropriate footwear.

I find myself challenged by the article to take inventory of the many pairs in my collection, and to trim it down by either donating pairs, or the recently discovered option of consigning pairs to Buffalo Exchange. By getting store credit, I can clear some room on the shoe rack and get something for me or my wife at the store. Taking a similar picture of my own shoe collection may give me a good kick in the butt to A) Start this project and B) Stop buying shoes. I don't know how realistic goal B is though...

Fancy feet

I've posted before about my love of sneakers and footwear in general. For the past year or so, I've been wanting to upgrade my business/formal footwear. In my research, I came across the popular American brand Allen Edmonds who have a great reputation for quality shoes in classic styles. However, the biggest hurdle was the price point for a pair of these classy shoes...that is, until I came across Nordstrom's big annual sale in their men's department a few weeks ago. With free shipping and returns, I had to bite on these:

 

Say hello to my first pair of Allen Edmonds' Clifton oxfords in Walnut.  The walnut is slightly lighter in person (which is fine by me), and I really like the conservative brogue detailing (the decorative "dots") which makes them more interesting than your standard brown shoe, but not too crazy for a more formal occasion if necessary. I'll post later on how well these break-in over time, but I'm happy to report that my collection of shoes have now done a little growing up.

Pocketful of sunshine

Certain things in my life I like to keep to strict boundaries, in particular, what I publish on my blog. I am currently making more of an effort to provide snapshots of my recreational time, because hey, who doesn't like pictures, and also because my memory is really getting worse with age.

There's also a line I like to keep between "work" and "play", but I had to share how much I enjoy not having a strict dress code in my current job, which is academic in nature. This typically means business casual, but with quite a bit of flexibility. I found that as I have tried and put some effort in what I wear to work, it has had a greatly positive effect on my mindset while on the clock. Let's call it the rewards for putting on my "man pants." Since a lot of this process is going to be trial and error, I figured, "Why not bring my loyal readers along for the ride?

While we still had cool, Fall-like weather in June, it gave me a chance to spruce up my work attire a bit by trying out some different sports coat and pocket square combos:

I read an interview in GQ magazine with singer (and dapper gent) Andre 3000 a few years back, and the one thing that still sticks with me today is that he always made sure one piece in his daily wear popped. While I can't find the original article, here's a recent Q&A that GQ had with the artist back in February.