Tuck, Don’t Toss, Formal Wrappings
When the cold weather of winter arrives, you’ll be seeing more men with mufflers and wool scarves wrapped rakishly around their necks.
This kind of neckwear will be “in” for cold weather, even if what we call winter is more like summer for our friends back East.
Now is the time to learn how to wear a scarf, not when you’re fumbling with it on a dark evening.
“A dressy, fine wool scarf is usually worn tucked into your coat, like a cravat,” says Chris Lockwood of Pendleton Sport Shop in Laguna Hills. “These worsted wool scarves are usually made in a solid color that goes with something you’re wearing.”
Bold, wool flannel scarves and mufflers with the wild designs and colors are strictly casual. It’s these you can loop around your neck and dramatically toss across the back of your leather jacket. Add some aviator shades, and you’ll be ready to meet the Red Baron.
Ankle woes: A few years ago, the ankle boot for women reappeared on the scene, looking great with leggings, slacks and jeans. The little boot is still around, but are the colors and styles popular then still OK to wear?
“The hot-colored boot this fall is brown,” says Jenna Pettrotta of Soul to Sole in Laguna Beach. “Black is also a classic, and you’re finding it in everything from suede to burnished leather.”
Bright purple, red and green boots are probably on the cusp of a demise.
However, you can probably get away with them this year by wearing them with an equally bright sweater or jacket that has a hint of the boot color in it.
Up in smoke: You’ve got to feel a little for cigarette smokers. Their habit has become as socially unacceptable as chewing gum with an open mouth, and smokers have been banished from restaurants, offices and even certain hotel floors.
Now men have even got to worry about where to carry their “bones.”
A fat, hard pack of smokes stretching out a shirt pocket does little to show that he knows how to wear clothes, so where should they go?
“In an office situation, they should either go in your briefcase or bring a jacket and keep them in your inside pocket,” says John Shaw of Alex Sebastian in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. “Don’t be tempted to stick them in your shirt pocket.”
There is a more refined alternative in the Cary Grant-ish silver cigarette case. This holds a supply for the day or evening and looks more sophisticated than a cardboard and cellophane box that’s pulled out when you have the urge. However, the cigarette case may not fit your image. Would Joe Camel use one?
