Yesterday, our esteemed colleagues over at UrbanDaddy tipped us off to the opening of Wittmore—your newest destination for Internet handsomeness.
And while there’s plenty of other really, really ridiculously good-looking stuff on the site, we tractor-beamed straight to this robe-styled down parka. In fact, we got a peek at Ian Velardi’s outer-lounge-wear mashup at last winter’s men’s shows and have been thinking of it ever since... wondering if it was all just a dream... or a one-off commissioned by some mystical blogger-king... until now (and Wittmore has got the exclusive). We’ll admit, it’s an advanced move in every sense, but if you can pull it off, you’ll be spending the next few months basking in a regal cocoon of next-level coziness.
The entire Eastern Seaboard is in for a wet week. Your respite: this blaze orange fishtail parka from Erik Schedin by way of Grundens—they’ve been supplying Sweden’s seafaring folk for nearly a century. It’s the ideal spring accomplice in a featherweight PVC-coated cotton, and the best way to keep you dry while ducking between work and home. (And you’ll be right on trend now that the fishtail parka is having a moment.)
Not to mention, the orange will alert any cabbies to your darting across the street.
All this sun and warm weather has really got us looking forward to wearing... coats.
Once we got a whiff of what under-the-radar Italian outerwear label Esemplare was cooking up, fall couldn’t come fast enough. It’s the sort of rakish stuff that’s been blessed with the Italian touch of attention to detail and tasteful outlandishness—for example: the fishtail parka lined with cable-knit merino wool. Or the shearling-lined down anorak. It’s all such handsome stuff that we’d be remiss not to share it with you—regardless of the current temps.
Todd Snyder’s been getting love for his fishtail overcoats ever since Fashion Week, but the first of the crop has finally made it to stores. Instead of that shearling it’s a spring parka, which happens to have a few extra inches of waxed cotton in back for a touch of white-tie elegance. If it’s raining that hard, you’ll need it.
The brand is Freeman Seattle (not to be confused with these guys), and the raincoat is pretty close to perfect. The design takes after the classic Sierra Designs 60/40 parka, but as with many classic items, this one turns out to be cheaper to make from scratch.
And in the grand tradition of Northwestern rain gear, it’s as light as possible—which should be handy once March rolls around.
Winter is upon us, and for the next two months all your chances of surviving the outdoors turn on a single item: your winter coat. And since you’ll be brothers-in-arms until at least March, we thought we’d put together a few pictures showing off the best the winter coat has to offer—from classic duffels to mountain-ready waxed cotton coats. It’s going to be a good winter…
The Sierra Designs 60/40 parka has been kicking around the classic menswear scene for a while now, but it’s still one of the best pieces of warm-weather raingear out there. And since it’s also been more than a little hard to find over the years, we’re happy to find a place that actually has it in stock.
It’s the original version of all those synthetic shells you’ll find littering the Pacific Northwest. The padding is enough to see you through the Northern California equivalent of winter—which, for September, is about all you need. And if you’re looking for something with a slightly more international spin, Apolis’ khaki-clad version will be shipping in just two weeks.
As we’ve recently been reminded in New York, just because it’s summer doesn’t mean you can’t get soaked. And while wearing sockless plims might keep your feet rain-ready, you’ll need something to protect the rest of you.
This Monitaly parka is one of the better ones, able to protect you in case of sudden showers and blend in seamlessly at any clambakes that survive the storm.
Since it’s Monitaly, unusually perceptive menswear heads might notice a touch of Italian style—the non-madrasy blue or the hacking-style front pockets, for instance—alongside the classic preppidom. But in the meantime, we’ll settle for calling it handsome.
As the downpours of the last few weeks suggest, it’s raincoat season.
So, in the interests of keeping you one step ahead of the torrential downpours of the next few months, we’ve rounded up our favorites of the year, from traddish classics to monsoon-ready ponchos. In out book, it’s the best 2011 has to offer. Choose wisely.
The goretex school of outerwear makes its name on gadgety extras like foldaway hoods and Velcro fasteners, but the older gentleman-hunter style has a few tricks of its own. And if you don’t mind a little adornment, you might even prefer them…
This Nigel Cabourn Rucksack Parka packs in gadgetry like a built-in leather belt, a contrast-colored throat tab and a something called a “storm flap” that acts as both a hood and an impromptu cape in case you need some sudden waterproofing. It’s refreshing to see in a bit of old-world outerwear, but it’s also just plain fun to play with. And since the gold standard of parkas is still whether they’ll keep you warm and/or dry, a little extra functionality is always appreciated.
The performance parka has a lot of potential—especially now that we’re headed into the rainy season—but so far nobody’s been willing to put their chips behind an ultra-high end version. At least nobody outside of Japan…
Visvim deal in goretex rather than the more trendy waxed cotton, but there’s still some serious tailoring involved. This poncho splices the intricate check in just about every way possible, keeping things just this side of optical illusion, and add in a cigarette pouch on the sleeve for good measure.
Of course, that still doesn’t mean stateside shoppers are ready to line up for ponchos costing upwards of $500…but stranger things have happened.
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