21 December 2010

First of the Season: Snow Day

An old, super heavy Irish fisherman's sweater. No tags, hopefully knitted by someone's grandmother. Gift of Mrs. G., thrift store find.
A Pandleton wool shirt, made in USA, $5.49. I do love these old Pendleton shirts, but they can be a bit scratchy. Best worn with a long sleeve t-shirt.

Wrangler 13MWZ dungarees, frequently washed. $20 on sale from Shepler's.

Original Maine Hunting Shoes, not Bean Boots, $12.99 at a thrift store.
Finished with a down vest from Lands' End, $12.99 on sale in the Spring, ragg wool and leather gloves, gift of Mrs. G. purchased new if you can believe it, and a corduroy cap with pheasants on it, cheap at the Barbour outlet.

If you didn't know better, you might think I lived in Brooklyn and worked in Manhattan, at a graphic design firm or maybe in fashion marketing, in an office in a converted loft with twenty foot ceilings and state of the art computers, though the cleanliness of my denim would be a dead giveway.

But I prefer this type of clothing for a snowy adventure with the children in a place that looks like this. I love the Winter, and the kids and I welcome it's arrival.

p.s. imagine if the woods were filled with lumberjacks and hunters in navy blue suits and black cap toe oxfords, cutting down trees and gutting animals.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love how you specify that your jeans are frequently washed. I also wash my jeans, regularly, and they were also about the same price. I really despise this notion, perpetuated by the internet, that inexpensive jeans you launder are heresy.

The Tyrant said...

I am pretty sure you've got yourself a Carraig Donn sweater -- google it and see if the details match up.

Silk Regimental said...

There's this movement afoot whereby some men don't wash their jeans for a year. I find it a bit repulsive - just think of where one sits and what one does for a year --- TIDE and cold water please!

Thad said...

Are you just now getting snow? We have had some here in the South for a week!

Btw, great outfit. One of the pieces that I am missing from my current wardrobe is a bulky sweater like that ... had to leave my old ones, which I didn't really like, in Oxford when I moved back ... but I did donate them to the local thrift shop.

Pigtown*Design said...

i found an old irish sweater, knitted by someone's gran, for less than £1 at a carboot sale in Wales.

Anonymous said...

You crack me up!

Anonymous said...

Hehe. I got a kick out of lumberjacks in suits... I don't understand this not washing the jeans thing. Kind of grosses me out. Jeans are on your hiny. Ewww. Wash them!

Gregorius Mercator said...

Regarding the postscript - that would be a hell of a sight to see. Thanks for the visual.

Anonymous said...

Your stereotypes about New York City are bizarre and--more to the point--unbecoming.

It snows in NYC too, you know.

Giuseppe said...

Anon.,

You're right. There's no lumberjack/artisinal clothing trend in New York, I made it all up. I even imagined that gourmet axe company I thought I heard about.

Anonymous said...

Anon here. I guess my point is: what's your point? You see wool shirts and down vests in about 70% of the country this time of year. I don't see what living in Brooklyn and working in Manhattan has to do with it.

If your point is that these clothes are designed to be worn outdoors, I'd note that a New Yorker's commute typically involves more time outdoors than most of the rest of our country, where most people drive from garage to garage.

Whatever your point, the fact that a gourmet axe company exists seems beside it. (And for what it's worth, the axes are built in Maine and painted in New Jersey.)

Roger v.d. Velde said...

Good ensemble there. The choice of a padded vest is no doubt excellent for mobility when doing stuff outside in the cold.

What's the supposed theory behind not washing jeans? Are these people confusing work-clothes (denim) with bespoke suits that last a lifetime without being washed?

I don't know, but when I wear jeans I like to have just the cotton, rather than cotton riddled with the accumulated detritus of filth and dead skin.
There's also something monumentally false about trying to make one's jeans look like you work hard on an oil rig or carpentry shop, with hands that look like a tender girl's.

Fashion my backside.

Young Fogey said...

Noo Yahkuhs like to imagine that they are cosmopolitan and sophisticated, superior to the rubes in "flyover country," when in fact, all too many of them are local yokels, as provincial as they come. For them, the world is New York, and New York is the world. Some don't even leave the tiny isle of Manhattan for months--even years--on end, and are proud of it!

Our pal Tintin is not amongst them.

And yeah, you totally hallucinated the whole "urban lumberjack" thing, especially the axe part.

Merry Christmas, G!

michael said...

...but the axes are hand painted.

Jauregui said...

The sweater is awesome! Love the hat. I have been looking for something like that for a resonable price for a while, no luck yet.

Not washing your jeans!?!?! That has not hit California as far as I know, and I hope it never does!

NCJack said...

Just regular knockaround clothes for a cold snowy day...but with penurious panache!

Jho78 said...

How many times do you wear your jeans before washing, typically? I wash mine faily often, but that's on account of my one-year-old twins.

BTW, I saw a lady urban lumberjack (lumberjill?) on Web Soup yesterday. Looked a bit silly.

Giuseppe said...

Anon.,

It was only a joke really, but if we're going to split hairs, I wouldn't have dressed this way if I were headed to the city, and New York is all city, all the time.

Not that I'd wear a suit just to go in town, either.Probably a toggle coat and some cords with a sweater. I only meant that wearing clothing meant for logging and mining to ride in a cab or on the subway to a job in an office is a little silly, like skinning a deer in a tuxedo.

And really, not to be bitter, but New York has been full of excessive reverence for hard labor clothing for at least five yars now.

Anyway, I thought it was funny.

Unknown said...

love the outfit. I'd feel like i died and gone to heaven if I found a sweater like that at the thrift store.

Scott Alexander said...

Totally appreciate the NYC reference to the overabundance of workwear as the next step in hipster culture. I think the problem here (like you've previously stated) is that "vintage" and "heritage" brands are charging crazy amounts for pieces reminiscent of the '60s and '70s that never looked so great to begin with.

Best wishes, and have a merry Christmas!


http://thecableknitcollegian.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

G,
You hit the nail on the head and Anon knows it - they just hate being called out on the obvious. I live in the heart of the mid-west (Gasp!) and I'm just thankful that people here still only wear Red-Wing carpenter boots for well, work and $225 for a bad cotton camo Hamilton shirt? WTF?

I never understood the deal with those axes either...

Greg D.

Max said...

Three things to say:

1. The Urban Lumberjack trend is very real and somewhat silly.

2. You'd probably look slimmer if you put your tripod up a little higher.

3. This blog rules. I moved from RI to Southern California about a year ago for work and have been hurting for sartorial inspiration ever since. You've kept me from going out in public in boardshorts, neon sunglasses, and flip flops. Thanks, and keep doing what you do.

Anonymous said...

Not washing your jeans is for raw (unwashed) denim. The longer you initially wear them without washing, the more of an unique imprint your body and daily routine is worn into them. When you wash them, the indigo (which is kind of a crappy dye) leaves behind a unique wash.

Some people find this preferable to having some guy with a power sander wear patterns into perfectly good jeans on an assembly line. It's really not as gross as you would initially imagine.

Giuseppe said...

I buy raw denim. I've heard all the arguments, but I have yet to be convinced that it's a good idea to wear filthy pants. Ask a woman what she thinks, the answer is nearly unanimous.