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only have those threads which repose so quietly on the wooden hangers been neglected, but perhaps appear rather shabby, out of date, and yearning to be retired.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.

Hot Socks

In my younger years I would normally try to match everything that I was wearing to school that day or even to work.  I did not wish to stand out, but I also wanted to be noticed by my gender counterparts.  This indeed was a difficult task as I was often the new kid on the block I would endure much ridicule from the guys while catching the glares from their particular females and then they would proceed to make numerous threats.  While I can not recall the exact exchange it would generally include me and a great deal of pain to a few appendages which wish to remain nameless.  I actually cared, perhaps too much, about my appearance, however, my fashion sense or lack thereof was shaken to the core when I arrived at college to discover from one of my trusted professors that matching socks to my shirts was a phoenominal fashion faux pa and should be avoided at all costs.

     Today, my approach to mens hosiery is entirely different.  First, one must ask, "are socks needed in this ensemble?"  As you take a look around you may have noticed a growing trend regarding wardrobe south of the belt line.  Many suited gentlemen have traded in their daily wear of clothed feet for more comfortable shoes as four seasons pass they may occasionally be spotted wearing a pair of socks.  Office or no office, socks have become optional in many professions.  For those of you wear socks are a must, I might have a couple of suggestions...if you are interested.

     Dismiss the notion that you must match your socks...to your slacks, for that despicable and unoriginal rule is long gone like yesterday's laundry.  It's time to break free from that mold and get creative.  It will feel different at first, and perhaps a little weird.  Like Garth from "Wayne's World" once said, "It's like a new pair of underwear.  At first it's constrictive, but after a while, it becomes a part of you."  You may not have to go as loud as Billy Joel's "a bright orange pair of pants" but you no longer need feel as if the sock police will ticket you for clothing your hoofs outside the proverbial lines.  Blue suit today?  Grab your green socks.  Did you lay out your dark pinstripe?  Choose a sock to compliment rather than match your tie, scarf, or shirt.

     Designs, stripes, and argyles are typically a safe bet especially when you are just breaking out of the mold.  Find a pattern with which you are comfortable and confidant, or perhaps even more important, impresses the misses, and begin fanning off from there with style and then some into various colors and styles of that pattern.  Your local fine mens clothiers will carry a wide variety of hosiery for your perusal and approval.  Take a couple of snapshots of what you have hanging in your closet and laying in your dressers to give you an idea of what you have at home as you stand in front of a wall of beautiful cotton designed to compliment your feet.  Unless you are involved in the mafia or have been commissioned as an underboss by Don Corleone, you may want to steer clear of thin see-thru hosiery as these are very suit specific and neither compliment nor harmonize with a preppy attitude.

     Finally, life is too short for your daily wear to blend badly and blandly into the background of a hum-drum existence.  With the right smile, suit, and socks ... you won't have to speak up to be noticed, your fine togs will do that for you, but then again ... that's just my humble opinion.