Knitting and Haute Couture

Merry Christmas 2014!

So I went looking for examples of knitting on the catwalk / knitting high fashion, and here are some examples of what I found. C'est knitting haute couture! :)

8 Winter Fashion Tips for Men

Honestly, most men know almost nothing about fashion and how to make themselves look good. It is like their mother's maybe tried to teach them, but teenage rebellion led them to become a skaterboy with a very different view of fashion than their parents.

Thus whether you are shopping for yourself, or you are a female shopping for the man in your life here are some winter fashion tips geared just for men.

Tip #1. Think Tight.

Tighter clothes are warmer than loose fitting clothes. Buying a big jacket may look warmer if you have a "bigger is better" mentality, but tighter clothing traps heat in better. Tighter clothing also makes you look more attractive, so it is a win-win.

If you can find a jacket with a hood, that is good too. Or just wear a hoodie under your jacket.

#2. Black or Brown Leather Winter Gloves.

Leather gloves made for winter are durable, warm and stylish. That is the trifecta right there if you are into horseracing metaphors.

#3. Knitted Hat or Toque.

Go knitted and thick. Honestly it doesn't have to be a huge hat with earflaps to keep your head warm, but you will want something that covers your ears.

The grey knitted hat below is a great example of what to look for. It covers the forehead and ears, looks great and it is very warm.

#4. Think Dark - Black, Brown, Charcoal or Grey.

Darker clothing traps in heat better. The blacker and darker the better. Ask a physicist to explain why, but basically black clothing doesn't reflect light, and it then stores light as heat energy inside the clothing. This means you are warmer because you are wearing clothing that isn't reflecting light/heat rays away from you.

#5. Winter Boots = Fur Lined.

The anti-fur people are going to hate me right now, but yes real fur is warmer than synthetic fur. Much warmer. So much warmer it doesn't even bear comparison. Thus if you can find winter boots that have fur lining, they fit you, they are comfortable and they look great that is something you should definitely purchase.

Below are examples of the same boots in tan brown and black.

#6. Neck Warmer or Scarf.

Whether you prefer scarves or neck warmers, there are plenty of different styles and materials to choose from. Knitted, fur, infinity scarves, etc.

If you don't get a scarf or neck warmer and you are outside on a cold windy day you will really notice the difference and be regretting not having one.

That or just stay inside all winter. Your choice.

Whatever you do just don't buy the neck warmer / ski mask that is designed to look like a giant beard. That is just wrong. Wrong. Bad boy. Stop wearing that ugly thing!

#7. Long Johns.

Last but not least, keep your legs warm by getting several pairs of long johns. They keep everything below the waist a lot warmer than your jeans ever will. Plus they are surprisingly sexy, although I admit it helps if you have the right body for it.

#8. Accessorize!

Honestly, this is the part where I encourage men to get creative. Basically think of an activity to do, take whatever accessories you need to do that activity and then go do it.

Ice skates over your shoulder as you head to the ice rink.

Take the dog for a walk outside. (Please don't make the dog wear anything impractical. If it is to keep the dog warm, fine, but if it is just for looks you are just torturing your dog and should be imprisoned.)

Fur cloak (although where you would buy this, I am not sure). Ponchos work equally well in my opinion since they are so warm and fashionable. What activities can you do while wearing a poncho? Skiing, ice skating, walking the dog, strolling by the icy/windy beach.

Leather Handbag Giveaway

I love free things. People should give away free samples of their fashion products more often.

Click the following link to visit Stearns & Foster to enter your name in the draw to win a free leather handbag.

FREE HANDBAG GIVEAWAY

The handbag is a limited edition Hammitt handbag created for Stearns & Foster. Enter by liking them on Facebook.

American Made Luxury. Superior Craftsmanship. Timeless Design.

Handmade with the finest materials by master craftsman.

Visit the Stearns & Foster facebook page to enter for the chance to win a limited edition handbag by Hammitt.

Black Jeans, Business Casual

Note to self!

Buy black jeans for business casual events, poetry club meetings, etc.

Additional Note - Some brands, Walk Street for example, market specifically to people looking for business casual jeans. The top two photos here are from Walk Street.

Wearing the Same Thing Every Day

Let us pretend for a moment that you find a piece of clothing you really love wearing all the time.

For example lets say you really love white sweater dresses and you just wear them all the time (like the character Lana Kane in the TV show "Archer"). In case you are unfamiliar with sweater dresses, they are basically a sweater with a skirt attached. See the photos below.

Now is there something wrong with wearing the same things all the time? Not really. It definitely makes doing laundry easier if all your clothes are white, and you can still have some variety in terms of what styles of sweater dresses you have - or if you really love one specific style of sweater dress then you could just buy 10 copies of it. That way when you go to the closet and decide what to wear you don't really even have to think about it at all.

Although I do admit sometimes it will be too hot outside to be wearing a sweater dress - in which case you will probably want white knitted swimwear, white t-shirt, white shorts, etc. (Think of all the time you will save not having to worry about what to wear!)

Of course eventually inevitable happens and someone dies. Which means you have to wear black to the funeral. So you just get out your one and only black sweater dress.

Wearing the same things all the time is actually something frequently done by various successful celebrities. Here are some examples.

President Obama always wears grey or blue suits. He is a busy man after all and doesn't have time to be worrying about what to wear. He even explained this:

"You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits" [Obama] said. "I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make."

Steve Jobs wore a black turtleneck with jeans and sneakers every single day during his final years.

Mark Zuckerberg wears a gray t-shirt with a black hoodie and jeans when in public.

Albert Einstein wore several variations of the same grey suit all the time.

Having a diverse collection of clothing is overrated anyway. We waste so much time worrying about what to wear when in reality what we wear often doesn't really matter. Thus if you can pick something fashionable and then just stick with it, you will always be fashionable.

If you pick something that is timeless, looks great regardless of whether it is for work, play, formal or informal, well then you really don't need to worry about that any more.

And the sweater dress is one of those garments that you can do that with. It is good for everything, can be matched with pants or leggings for colder weather or you can choose to wear a sweater dress that is more airy when it is hot outside.

A sweater dress doesn't have to warm or thick during the summer months so it can be made with much lighter fabrics.

Organic Cotton Clothing

Organic Cotton Bra from rawganique.com

Organic Cotton Blouse from Etsy

Organic Cotton Hoodie and Shirt from Horny Toad

Are you looking for ethical clothing? The most ethical clothing you can get in the world is made from organic cotton.

Want to know the fastest way to get clothing made out of organic cotton? Just browse Etsy.

Etsy has 473,000 pages of organic cotton clothing!

AMAZING!!!