10 March 2009

la primavera

Seems like everyone's got Spring on their mind these days. The menswear blogs seem to be a tad bit preoccupied with seersucker and madras lately. While it's true, I do love those things, and look forward to the warmer weather, it's still only March, and I do live in Boston. I look at this time of the year as the last chance to wear my favorite clothes, the heavy stuff. For me the trick is to gradually phase in hints of bold color, be almost sneaky about it:

A Viyella necktie, how cool is that? I should wear this thing more often, it was two bucks well spent. It's thick, but because it's part cotton it's also soft. I find the bright color palette of the Tartan can take an outfit out of the Winter blues on a dreary day without being over the top.This pair of grey flannels from J.Press ($5.49, tailored them myself) is far and away the best fitting, nicest pair of pants I own. They are as versatile to me during winter as my khaki's are in summer. The bright yellow socks, a little extra visible thanks to the penny loafers, add another subtle dash of color. The rest of the outfit consisted of a vest sweater, heavy oxford shirt, Barbour jacket and tweed cap, all cold weather items in and of themselves, lightened up by a few select accessories.

People are always complaining about Winter around here, and it drives me batty. It gets me especially when I hear older folks who have spent their lives in the Northeast do it. Firstly, what's so bad about Winter? It's pretty, it's lots of fun for the kids, and you get to wear lots of nice clothes all at once. Second, there comes a point where people need to stop acting surprised every time it snows in Massachusetts. And third, when I was a kid, it started snowing on Halloween and didn't stop until Easter. The stuff we get now is a poor excuse for Winter anyway, and I kind of miss those old school hard snowing days. Builds character. Maybe I'm crazy, or maybe it's just because my birthday is in December.

Besides, what good is Summer without Winter? No pleasure without pain, Circle of Life, blah, blah, blah....

p.s. Can one really use the phrase "penny wise pound foolish" when talking about buying pyjamas for over $100 a set rather than having them custom made by a shirt maker? Somebody wake this guy up. (snarky...)

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Che bella cravatta!

Turling said...

I read Will's post yesterday about the pajamas. You were the first person I thought of while reading it.

Like the tie.

Anonymous said...

Off topic for this post, but I saw this kid in GQ and thought of you. (I'm not sure how "affordable" his wardrobe is, though.) The slideshow is kind of amazing, especially if that really is in his own words.

http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_8377

ms. mindless said...

i am a MAJOR cold weather complainer, but i also fully intend to move further south as soon as i can.

i really like the pop of yellow next to the grey pants.

Anonymous said...

"..and you get to wear lots of nice clothes all at once"
probably the best reason to like winter.

I don't understand the complaints, too. If one doesn't like it cold and snowy, one could simply move to a warmer region. And in U.S. much more easily then here in Europe, no language barrier etc..

nice combo Guiseppe

Memphis88 said...

Ha I saw that post on ASW yesterday and couldn't believe it. As far as weather goes, I definitely don't envy your cold weather. My only complaint about my local weather is the crazy inconsistency. Yesterday it was about 80 and today it's 45.

Mateo said...

I live down south (VA) so i cherish all three weeks of winter.

C said...

Nice post Giuseppe. I love heavy winter clothes and I'm a little sad to see them have to go.

I have an older professor from New York and, when we got some snow a few weeks ago and the schools closed, he said: "That wasn't snow, what we got."

We were certainly OK with it.

Zingiber said...

I always find complaints of winter to be somewhat superficial. It's not like we're all up here snuggling around wood fires wearing animal skins. Plus, in today's world, it's from the over-heated office to the car with the heated seats to the centrally heated house...

Percy Chatsworth said...

It is the fact that ASW seems to have giant closets full of clothes, yet continues to buy, buy, buy which annoys me the most. His pyjamas show a little wear, he decides to moan about it on his blog, and write that he should buy more. He has a million suits, yet continually writes of this season's purchase, etc, etc.

What ever happened to appreciating the items one already owns?

You do, which is why I enjoy reading your blog (Even if you do make the occasional thrift purchase - but those are truly wonderful finds).

dandy nihilism said...

Love the snark!

Anonymous said...

ASW:
On the one hand, the guy is successful in business, and has both the money and the interest to buy really nice clothes. Good for him!

On the other hand, having gone through years of penury as a grad student, I can appreciate where you're coming from. Let him do his thing, and don't let it fuss you.

GQ kid:
Um, WOW! I don't like most of what he wears, but I love that he has his own sense of style.

I drove my father crazy with my sartorial choices in HS and college, and perhaps my son will do the same to me--but at least Dad gave me an excellent example of how to dress really, really well. I wear a jacket & tie every day now, and I still have my own sense of style, but I owe a lot of it to my father.

Overall:
New to the blog and loving it. Keep up the good work!

Giuseppe said...

The kid in GQ made my eyes bug out. Out of control!

Anonymous said...

Dear Giuseppe --- your blog is wonderful and congratulation on your newborn child!

I just got a 2 buttons suit tailored at J.Press: beautiful grey English flannel. I agree with you, the fit and texture of the trousers are spectacular. It's for our wedding, which will be in October, out in the cold northeast. I'm curious to hear your advice: what would you wear with it, something that would give this conservative outfit the spark it needs?

Anonymous said...

Great post. I also totally agree, being from Cambridge, that people should lighten up about the weather! There's nothing like a walk in the crisp March weather.