A Few Rainy Spring Essentials

We had a bright sunny 50 degree day here in Chicago over the weekend, so I think we can finally say that spring is starting to set in.  Unfortunately, the upcoming weather is likely to not be quite so pleasant. Hopefully it will stay warm, but I'm ready to bet on a lot of rain and overcast skies in the next few weeks. As we get through these transitional days, here are a few essentials to help you stay dry and stylish:

Raincoat:
One of the first things you're going to need in order to maintain a sharp appearance is a waterproof (or at least water resistant) coat. Nothing puts a damper on a great outfit like, well, dampness. Plus, if you let a blazer get soaked in the raid, it will often rumple and bubble as it dries, and will never look the same again. Trends these days have made it perfectly acceptable (encouraged, actually) to wear even a bright parka-style jacket over your sharpest suit. Suit Supply just released this awesome raincoat, and if you have the budget for it, I'd look no further:

Yellow Rain Coat | Suit Supply

Sure, the yellow is bold and will draw attention, but true to form, Suit Supply made a piece of outerwear worth drawing attention to. The silhouette is trim, but built to fit over a suit, and the bright color is tempered by classic details and no wacky bells or whistles.

Understandably, a $300 rain coat is a bit steep for most, but J.Crew offers a surprisingly affordable alternative by Penfield. Added bonus: if the yellow is a bit much for you as well, this guy comes in a more neutral navy blue:

Penfield Gibson Jacket | J.Crew

Rain Boots and 'Drawer' Shoes:
Same lesson goes for your dress shoes. A sure way to kill a nice shine is to step in a few muddy puddles on your morning commute. You can opt for overshoes from a company like SWIMS, but they tend to be as expensive as a pair of shoes on their own. Personally, I just go for another pair of shoes. These Bean boots have been my go-to in the winter snow, and I was smart enough to get the unlined, uninsulated version, so I just use lighter socks and they're perfect for spring rain as well:

Men's Bean Boots | L.L. Bean

I love the northeastern, rugged prep style of Bean boots, but some guys will find them a little too rustic and outdoorsy. Hunter, along with their classic 'Wellies', offers a biker-inspired rain boot that is much more city-oriented:

Men's Shoreditch Moto Boot | Hunter

Of course, either of those options are fine for the commute, but you can't be wearing them with your suit or trousers during a day in the office. That's why I always keep a pair of shoes tucked in a desk drawer (hence, drawer shoes) to swap out after I get to work. The trick is to opt for something as versatile as possible. I usually stick with a pair of burgundy Weejuns loafers by G.H. Bass. They are dressy enough for dress trousers and chinos, but will still fit the bill with a pair of jeans on a casual Friday:

Larson Weejuns | G.H. Bass

Even better, the reddish hue is one of the leathers that (in my opinion, at least), is OK to wear with both brown and black belts alike. Again, versatility is the name of the game, and these keep all my bases covered.

If you don't have a shoe-shine in your office building, just bring these home over the weekends for a quick shine, and you'll be good to go.


Something Bright!
I'm looking at the 10-day forecast for Chicago right now, and the cheeriest day in the lineup is a lonely 'partly sunny' a week away that will probably turn into rain before it even comes. It's easy to get stuck in the greys of early spring, so I like to remind myself that all this rain is just a precursor to bright, sunny weather to come by rocking something bright every so often. If you're feeling truly bold, a pair of go-to-hell pants is just the trick. Chinos from Bonobos can be a bit pricey, but there are always some brighter colors to be found at a great price in their sale section. Right now I found these in what they call a dark teal:

Everglade Chinos | Bonobos

Like I said, this is not the subtlest of moves, but you can temper the look by grounding it with neutral colors up top (like a white shirt and navy tie).

One step down on the boldness-scale would be a brightly patterned shirt. I love this orange gingham from Banana Republic:

Tailored Slim-Fit Non-Iron Gingham Shirt | Banana Republic

Gingham is a great spring pattern to begin with, and I like it because the white checks kind of mute the bright orange, as opposed to something in solid orange. Again, you can tone down the boldness with some neutral slacks (grey or tan would work well), or covering up the color a bit with a blazer or cardigan.

Finally, for a much more subtle injection of color, rock a bright accessory, like some striped socks, a patterned pocket square, or a colorful tie. This time of year, you'll be able to find these things at pretty much any menswear store. Personally, I've had my eye on the knit ties at the Knottery for some time now, and they have some great spring colors available:

Solid Silk Knit Tie | The Knottery

I'm a big navy blue guy, with most of my neckwear being somehow grounded in that color. This brighter blue will play just as nicely with most of my wardrobe, but will add some seasonal punch.

How do you handle the rainy weather of early spring? Tell us in the comments!

Essential Winter Outerwear

I've always been kind of averse to outerwear. The good stuff is so expensive, and the cheap stuff is so ugly. Therefore, I've made it through three Chicago winters (and many more Pennsylvania ones) with no real winter coat, no boots, living in layers and thick socks. However, I got an early feeling this year that this winter was going to be particularly rough (and man, I couldn't have been more right). More significantly, I took on a project this year to write a course on dressing seasonally for Cladright (more on that below), and it really inspired me to finally step up my outerwear game.

Honestly, I was still going to save this post for next year, thinking it was too late for you readers to get much use out of cold-weather tips, but hell, this winter is never going to end, so here are my biggest and best new gear investments:

Coats: 

Mid-Length Duffle | Gloverall

Between two coats I have been able to combat pretty much anything this Chicago winter has thrown at me. On one hand, I have this incredible Gloverall wool duffle coat that keeps me toasty, even when the temps are friggin -11 (before windchill). Honestly, this purchase alone gave me a newfound respect for winter outerwear, as I think it's the first time I've really been warm through the whole winter. 

Ranier Parka | Frank & Oak

On the other hand, I recently picked up a lighter waxed cotton parka from Frank and Oak that I reserve for rain, snow, and everything wet in between. As much as I love the Gloverall coat, if I wear it during heavy precipitation it gets a bit...soggy. Since it's usually a bit warmer when it snows, I've taken to throwing on this parka over a few layers to stay warm and dry.

Boots: 

Second to my Gloverall coat, my footwear purchases this winter have had the immense effect of waking me up to the idea that my toes don't have to be freezing from October through March. Again, I made two purchases:

Norbeck Boot | Ralph Lauren via Macy's

First, I caught a pair of tan suede boots on a great sale from Ralph Lauren. It looks like these are sold out at Ralph Lauren, but Macy's sells it as well and has a few sizes left. Ideally, I'll get some dressier (leather soles) and more weatherproof (non-suede uppers), but these have been amazingly handy. With the help of some Allen Edmonds suede spray, they've gone through slush and snow and barely shown the wear. At the same time, the lugged sole is thick enough to keep my feet off the freezing ground (and much warmer), but is still trim enough to wear with a heavier winter suit. 

8" Bean Boots | L.L. Bean

However, last month we caught some heavy snow followed by a really warm day and lots of rain and Chicago turned into a giant, ice-filled lake (as did my living room, but that's another story). As rugged as those suede boots have turned out to be, I decided it was time to get something truly weatherproof. From there, the decision was easy as I've had my eye on a pair of Bean Boots by L.L. Bean. While they sell out in-store and online pretty early in the season, I was able to find a brand new pair on eBay. You can also pre-order them now for next season. The things are just straight up awesome...I feel indestructible, stomping through snowdrifts and puddles without a care in the world.

As I mentioned above, I wrote a course on dressing for the Fall and Winter for Cladright, which is a member-based style education program run by Barron Cuadro of Effortless Gent. Cladright is an awesome resource all around, with more lessons as well as discussion forums, interviews, and a variety of member perks. Enrollment only opens periodically, but keep your eyes on the site, because I believe Barron is planning on accepting a new round of members pretty soon (OR, sign up for the e-mail list and get alerted).  

Dressing Sensibly for the Occasion

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Cider Summit here in Chicago at Navy Pier with my girlfriend. She's a huge cider fan, and I generally am not, so I decided to really cater to her interests as a Christmas present, and am glad I did. The event was a blast, and I got to taste ciders that were made and used in ways I had never heard of (my favorites were a hoppy cider, and one brewed with bitters that clocked in at 18% ABV and is meant as a cocktail mixer). 

I really had no idea what to expect as far as the venue and dress code went. The website didn't give a ton of background, and while I've been to Navy Pier many times, I hadn't been in this part of the building before. Add to that fact that we were maybe supposed to get some heavy snow right around when we'd be heading back, and I was in a bit of a conundrum as to what to wear!

In cases like these, I think it's always your best bet to go as sensible and as versatile as possible. I kept that in mind as I picked out my 'fit, and I'll break down the decisions I made. Here is what I ended up with:

The most important thing I decided I wanted to make sure I included was some solid layering. It was cold outside, but not too cold, and the venue itself, while indoors, could have been anywhere from toasty warm to shiveringly cold (I was at a beer festival last winter that had huge, industrial doors opening to the outside, and while they closed them after the event started, the place never really warmed up). Therefore, I thought layers would offer me options to deal with any level of warmth in comfort.

I started with a J.Crew OCBD that I just got off eBay. Thanks to having a good knowledge of my measurements I was able to get this perfectly-fitting, already tailored shirt for next to nothing. It's got a red stripe that is a nice shake-up from my standard whites and blues. I figured it would make as good a base layer as any. If you aren't as lucky to find one used, Brooks Brothers has some of the best Oxford shirts around.

On top of that, I decided to wear my chunky cardigan from H&M (it looks like they are all out of the wool option, but they have it's lighter twin here in cotton). I'm not a huge fan of H&M, but this is one of my favorite pieces. The wool/acrylic blend is soft and warm, but most importantly it comes on and off easily, and light enough to cart around if need be. This would be my deciding middle-piece, depending on how high they cranked the heat. 

For pants I went with slim dark Levis, my go-to for the weekends. I knew this wouldn't be a formal event by any means, so denim was a perfectly safe choice, but I kept it sharp with the dark blue wash, just cuz that's how I roll. Just to be safe, I threw some long underwear underneath, opting for cotton over wool so I wouldn't overheat once I was inside.

I think I was really smart to leave the heavy wool jacket at home, and instead opted for a lighter, waxed cotton parka from Frank and Oak. Like I said, the weather wasn't horribly cold, and the forecast of possible snow made the waxed cotton a great choice. I was a little worried I'd be chilly, but thankfully the OCBD/cardigan combo underneath gave me some good insulation. 

A pair of L.L. Bean boots on the bottom finished things off. The snow didn't hit as bad as I was expecting, so I might have been ok with something a little less heavy duty. Even still, I'm happy with this choice, as I wasn't concerned about them getting scuffed in the crowd, or spilled on and mussed up as I got (admittedly) a little bit sloppy. Mmmmm....cider....anyway! Rocked these warm (but cheap!) boot socks from Target, which have been my go-to this winter.

Perhaps more important than what I did wear is what I didn't wear. For example, I was a little tempted to rock a blazer instead of the cardigan, but the sweater was definitely the way to go. Aside from the fact that a blazer would have been far more annoying to carry if it was warm enough to need to take it off, I also guarantee I would have spilled on it, and a sweater is far easier to clean than a jacket that would need a trip to the dry cleaners. 

Also, like I said, while I may have been a bit cozier on the commute, I was smart with my choice to forgo my wool duffle coat that I've been loving all winter. The heavy wool coat would have been a pain to lug around dry, but if it had gotten bogged down and wet with snow, having to carry it around the event would have been a huge damper.

Even the shirt was a smart, and deliberate choice over the other options in my closet. When I wear a cardigan, I'm often inclined to wear some of my shirts that are queued up for  a trip to the tailor as they run a bit baggier. The cardigan hides the fact that they are loose around the waist, and I get to wear some pieces I wouldn't be wearing on their own, purely due to fit. However, I stuck with a slim shirt that I love wearing on it's own, just in case it ended up being so warm that I wanted to ditch the cardigan.

In the end, the point here is that this is in no way a flashy look, or even very fashion-forward at all, but there was still a lot of thought put into each piece. The end-game was casual and easy-going, but hit all the right notes, both in terms of style and functionality. The best part of having thought this through so well was that, once I got going, I didn't have to think about my clothing at all and could just enjoy myself! 

Here are a few pics we shot while enjoying ourselves at the event:

Starting things off!

Hmm...picture is a bit dark, but it's hard to criticize when your photographer is a random stranger!

Wow, JUST noticed I took a picture of the Seattle logo, not the Chicago one...this was towards the end of the event...

Of course things got a little silly...

...but we just like to have fun!