Tan The Man

Tan can be bland, it can be boring. It can be vanilla. But vanilla can be delicious. It can add a lot of character to a dish. Tan can do the same thing to an outfit.



For example, one rendition of tan is camel hair, as in this Golden Fleece® Single-Breasted Polo Coat from Brooks Brothers. I like Brooks Brothers, I really like their style, and this camel hair coat is no exception. Unfortunately, my wallet does not like their price. My wallet weeps when it sees prices in the four digits. For something a little more wallet-friendly, check out Jos. A. Bank's full length camel hair topcoat. I'm pretty sure the quality and construction won't match up to the Brooks Brothers version, but your wallet doesn't need to know that.



Tan can also mean khaki. Or is it the other way around? Khaki is a loan word from Hindustani meaning soil-colored. Khaki can mean adventure. It can represent English military abroad. When your adventures are of the pushed-four-wheel variety, but you still want to keep it khaki, these Vans' V56 Standard Inglewood Pants will definitely do the trick. Get it, do the trick, because you do tricks on a skateboard. Did you see what I did just there? Anyway, these standard fit khakis feature cotton and elastane construction for some give and stretch with your pop and flick.



If gleaming the cube isn't in your bag of tricks, but you still want to keep it cool in tan, you can't go wrong with a fresh pair of Tims. Everyone from construction workers to hip-hop moguls rocks Timberland boots. Alright, maybe just those two demographics. But Timberland boots can be stylish, too. Like the two shades of tan on these Abington Boothbay Chukka Boots. Try saying that three times fast! These chukka boots aren't exactly what you might think of when you think of Tims, but they are quite styley and would look great with a nice brown wool suit, tan sports coat and jeans, or the above mentioned camel hair coat and khaki pants. Any way you rock it, tan is the man!

Back In Black

Black is always versatile. It goes with everything. It looks great sleek and shiny or matte and stealthy. It can be warm or cool, like jazz. Razz-a-matazz. What was I talking about again. Oh, yeah, shiny black goodness.



Like this Limited Ed. Dr. Martens x Alpha Industries MA-1 flight jacket available at Selfridges & Co. If you hadn't noticed, I'm a huge fan of Alpha Industries and their quality outerwear. I have a couple of their jackets, one being a hooded MA-1, which is exceptionally warm and comfortable in the cold winter months. This MA-1 might not get you through the winter, but it will definitely get you through fall in style. Pair it with some shiny black patent leather Doc Martens 1460's or classic Vintage 1460's, spike up your mohawk, and you are ready to do some of that old moon stompin'!



If you aren't into the militaristic punk aesthetic, something a little more subtle, like this stark black Wool Topcoat by Polo, might be more up your alley. This luxuriously expensive topcoat was fashioned in a Northern Italian mill founded in the early 1900s. The blackness is so saturated, no light can escape from this coat.



Of course, if you are not into looking like a total douche, you might want to consider something more Normcore, like this darker-than-dark Interlock Mock-Turtleneck by L.L. Bean. L.L. Bean is the height of Normcore fashion, and what could be more Normcore than reppin' the O.G. Steve Jobs (R.I.P.) in his traditional mock-neck style. Just right for the cooler weather this time of year; not too loose, not too tight. Just Normcore right!