Chill Out

     Your key just broke off in the lock, the car door is frozen shut, and icicles are beginning to form on the whiskers of your olde English sheep dog.  In times like these one begins to wonder how even Old Man Winter survived the icy breeze these past couple of sub-zero days. While the wind blows a fury against your home, office, or shop, and the memory of umbrella drinks and sunglasses fade quickly, may I offer you a few ideas on how to keep cool while staying warm in the Great White Northeast?

     1. Layer it up!  It is colder outside, which means that folks and businesses will more than likely attempt to keep it warmer inside, and sometimes to the point where you need to step back outside just for a breather.  Nothing goes better under your button-down shirt than a plain, white T.  Delilah knows this, so check through this past year's Christmas gifts.  Perhaps you received a few under the tree.  This will also provide a nice shield for your underarms and pro-long the life of your dress shirt as so many times it is impossible to plan around the varied temps of offices or homes of the many clients you may see today.  A little secret - double sock it!  If you layer a nice check pattern, plaid, or stripe over a pair of ankle high athletics, those little piggies will be warm all the way home and the passerby or distant admirer will be none the wiser.

     2. Perhaps instead of reaching for the trusted and Classic V-neck cashmere sweater to go under your suit jacket, you could substitute a half-zip sweater with a pop up collar.  When the wind begins to blow you can easily zip that thing up to protect your mug or at the very least your neck.

     3. Pardon me for being negative, but with sub-zero temperatures wreaking havoc on your thermostat and heating bill, a jacket will most certainly come in handy and this winter Leather Bombers are all the rage.  You will want vintage, the older the better.  Check you local Thrift stores, Goodwill, and Salvation armies.  Boutique shoppes carry some one-of-a kind pieces, but will come with a price tag.  How hefty the price will be determined by the weight, grain, stitching, and of course the label of the jacket.

     3. You might need something for the neck, like a scarf?  If you do not already have some, I recommend picking up a few, both in light and dark colors which will give you versatility within your wardrobe allowing your core item for that day to be complimented while adding variety.

     4. Gloves this should give you a good grip on maintaining warmth while casually procuring your own sense of style.  And if you are going leather, lamb skin offers an exceptional softness with a subtle sheen.  Grab a pair of brown as well as black.  You never know when you'll have to drop the Bond facade to momentarily adopt a preppy version of you for an evening with the wife.

     Just because winter has finally hit us with both barrels does not necessarily mean that we have to throw the baby out with the ice water when it comes to style and cold weather, but then again...that's just my humble opinion

Do You Subscribe

     You have just spent 45-50 hours at the office this past week investing yourself and your resources into bringing home the applewood bacon for the family, but it doesn't end there!  You spy that your better half has already started the infamous "honey-do" list, one child is sick and you have been politely asked to run to the pharmacy for some cold & flu meds and an additional case of Black Forest Gummy Bears, meanwhile you have wrestled on the floor all week with your hyper-hypo youngest son, played Legos with the middle child, and taken your eldest out for his Birthday Breakfast.  You open your closet to realize not only have those threads which repose so quietly on the wooden hangers been neglected, but perhaps appear rather shabby, out of date, and yearning to be retired.  Who has time to run to the mall, and are there still malls today?

     Let's face it, you wear a number of hats throughout the week from Husband, to Father, to associate, son, brother, friend, and the list goes on.  There is not enough time on your Movado to complete or even at times begin the tasks on your Goliath-sized list, and my understanding is that outside dropping some serious dough (pun intended) on deliciously-sweet and salty goodness from Auntie Anne's Pretzels, and then a little more dough (pun definitely intended) on the sugar-coma inducing favorite, "Cinnabon", 2 hours and $100 have gone by and you have yet to reach Bachrach or Macy's.

     Is there a better way you ask?  You have read to the right place.  Have you heard of subscription services?  There are currently quite a few available on the interwebs which not only put awesomeness right on your doorstep once a month, but also save a few hours on your Bell & Ross by leveraging the time of experts.

     Bespoke Post (bespokepost.com) is self-described as being the box of awesomeness for men where each month they will assemble a themed collection of goods to upgrade your day-to-day and includes quite the variety from bowties and cufflinks to tumblers and Bbq essentials.  Every month brings a new theme and with your free account you have the option to look through past month's boxes and select what you would like shipped directly to your door, keep only the boxes you want, and only pay for the boxes you keep.

     Trunk Club (trunkclub.com) is another subscription service boasting "Style That Works on Your Schedule" with trained personal stylists at your beck and call who's main goal will be to hand pick tailor-made clothing according to your direction and specific to your size and the various ways by which you wear your clothing.  Select what you want from the Trunk, and with free return shipping, reject what you don't want or doesn't fit.  It is a care-free way by which you may shop and try on new duds in your own time without the hassle of waiting for a dressing room or the pressures of purchasing a new suit or weekend outfit for guilt from the commission-based salesman who cares more about the upcoming game in Chi-town than he does your hemline.

     Subscription services are becoming more and more popular by the day as available family and self-time tends to shrink.  And if you are a multi-tasker, then perhaps with the advent of a subscription service into your life you could quite easily wrestle directly after breakfast while med shopping, pop worms into your mouth with one hand while building that special 80's style lego spaceship with the other and still have time to stop off at the mall for the important things like pretzels and cinnamon rolls, but then again...that's just my humble opinion.