It's a snow day here in my neck of the woods, which means I'm not getting out of my lounge wear for anything. So I thought it would be a good day to share this post from my wonderful and equally fashionable boyfriend, Bob. Enjoy!
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I’d first like to thank Jessica for letting me guest blog for her awesome website! To me, life is all about experiences. I look at everything in my life through the prism of the experiential. I view clothes the same way.
Every article of clothing tells me a story. The Nautica brown herringbone blazer I'm wearing was a Christmas present from Jessica a few years ago. She saw me admiring it once at a Macy’s, but I never had the intention of getting it so it was a complete surprise when I opened the box. [
Jessica here. (I'll make interjections in this format throughout.) It's been a oft-worn article of clothing, too - one of those investment pieces no man should pass up.] Underneath the blazer is a navy blue wool ½ zip-up sweater from Ralph Lauren. It’s one of the few nicer pieces of clothing that survived an apartment fire from six years ago. I’m glad it did because Jessica loves seeing me in ½ zips. [
That's the truth. He actually has a small collection of them...] Underneath that is a pink and grey striped button down shirt from Banana Republic that Jessica got for me during the few months she worked there. [
When I wasn't spying things I wanted for myself, I was constantly putting together outfits for Bob. He got tired of it after awhile.]
Dubious Denim
Believe it or not, I grew up hating wearing jeans. I think I stopped wearing them through most of my teen years. When I did finally get a pair again, I shocked a lot of my classmates. I finally conceded that they were just too versatile not to have in the wardrobe of a poor student. I would only own one pair at at time and only buy another when my current pair would threaten indecent exposure from all the holes. But it also bugs me that, due to the sheer popularity of jeans, they are frequent victims to the whims of fashion fads, of which I am not a fan. Jessica and I struggled in finding what exactly I like and should stick with. After a few months of bickering about it, we finally found the right formula: straight leg, not too long, and a dark wash with as little fading and whiskering as possible. Basically, no bells and whistles at all. [
But they have to make his butt look good. =)] It actually took us over a year to find the pair I'm now wearing - a straight leg, vintage wash jean from Polo Ralph Lauren (Outlet), which is in all ways perfect. Unlike the past, too, I now have a rotation of jeans. This pair is one that I save for dressing up, but in all other instances, I wear one of my faded older pairs. Hopefully, this will keep me from buying another pair for a long time.
The Boots
After six winters in Illinois, I finally decided to get winter boots. I threw away my last pair after the fire and didn’t feel that I needed to replace them. These past couple winters have been especially snowy so I finally decided to get a pair. I took one look on Zappos and I was overwhelmed by all the choices available. Serendipitously, the very next day after deciding to look for a pair,
Esquire magazine (a subscription I've had for years) ran a feature on the LL Bean boot. That made my decision much easier. I managed to get them just before the snowiest winter we’ve had during my entire time here. Best purchase I’ve made in quite a while. [
And worn pretty darn stylishly here if you ask me!]
The Occasion
As for the entire outfit, I wore it to an event called Porkapalooza - a foodie celebration of all things pork with a loud polka/punk band in the background. A trendy downtown Champaign bar,
Boltini, has hosted this event for the past two years. I had to go by myself because Jessica had to work that evening. [
And because such an event is not really Weight Watchers friendly, now, is it??]
I have gotten quite used to letting Jessica pick out my outfits for going out. At the very least, she has veto power over any choices I do make within this realm. [
Damn straight! Haha.] On the rare occasion that I have to dress up for an outing that doesn’t involve her, I feel somewhat apprehensive picking something out. In the end, I was happy with what I had picked out and Jessica loved it. [
Bob isn't giving himself enough credit. He knows what he's doing and he always looks good. He's been a good student. =)
] I jokingly asked her if this outfit could be my maiden entry [
bachelor entry?] into Surely Sonsy and, well, you can figure out the rest!
