Style and Shirts

Alas, the winter will soon be upon us, and our thoughts will turn to keeping warm. Of course, it’s important to wear the right clothing for the season, and this is especially important when you brave the outside. Don’t forget your thermal Damart socks and gloves! But there is one excellent way to keep warm (no, NOT what you’re thinking), and that is to take plenty of exercise.

When the weather is cold, it is tempting to stay indoors and huddle by the radiator for the next six months, while dreaming of escape to foreign shores. This won’t do your health any good, though. Even in the UK, there are some crisp, sunny winter days, and you should take advantage of them. Slip on those fur-lined boots, pull on a warm Damart hat, and get out in the fresh air!

One of the best forms of exercise is cycling (not much fun on rainy days, admittedly, and possibly a bit dangerous in the snow), but since it doesn’t rain quite as much in the UK as other nations seem to think, that bike can still get a lot of use. When the weather forecast permits, why not cycle to work? (Admittedly, not to be recommended if your journey to work involves a one hour drive on the motorway …) You will arrive at work (or home) having generated enough heat to store for later, like a solar panel.

Walking is another good, healthy method of exercise, and is absolutely free. Make sure your footwear has sturdy, non-slippery soles, as it will certainly be warm in A & E if you fall over, but I can say from personal experience that this is not to be recommended (ouch), and is probable only for those truly desperate to stay warm. Resist the temptation to get the car out for short journeys (which is wasteful of fuel), and walk to the shops or to pick the kids up from school.

Should there be a decent amount of snow, get out in the garden or off to the park, and play with the kids. A good snowball fight will warm everyone up and the youngsters will love running around in the snow. Walking the dog, if you have one (if not, why not volunteer at your local shelter as a dog-walker) is a twice-daily necessity that the dog will love, and will be great exercise for you as well.

Can there be anyone left in the world who doesn’t own a pair of jeans? Pair a formal shirt with jeans and you’ll be dressed for most occasions. It seems that our love affair with blue denim never fades.

Designer jeans such as Armani, Bench and Calvin Klein make a real fashion statement. The denim is fabulous quality and they come in a variety of styles and fits to suit most individual preferences. Designer styles are comfortable to wear, look great and wash well. The very act of buying designer jeans places you in an enlightened sub-culture.

True they are more expensive than non brand jeans but the designer labels scream quality and style. It is well worth the extra expense to stand out from the crowd and have a fashionable label on display.

If you buy your jeans online or from a factory outlet shop you can get some fantastic discounts.

They are the status symbol for the fashion conscious individual and are sure to impress in any situation whether worn casually during the daytime or dressed up with classy accessories for stylish evening wear.

Whether your style is straight skinny or boot cut designer jeans speak for themselves.

What makes all the difference, though, between a cheap pair of denims and ones that cost an arm and a leg, is the cut and fit.

Cheap jeans are fine for gardening and walking the dog - but if it’s a pair of jeans that give you a peachy rear end, or the effect of endless legs, it’s worth investing in a good pair, and then wearing them until they drop to bits.

When you think of thermals you think of little of ladies and little old men in old fashioned long johns. They’ve got big sagging back sides and only available in the colours of pale brown, beige or dodgy cream. They’re also somewhat stained and lived in, with big buttoned squares to the rear.

But, modern day Damart thermals aren’t like that, sure the traditional kind are still on the market and are relatively cheap for obvious reasons. However, if you look a little further and spend a little extra for good quality from Damart, you really can keep warm this winter without having to spend a fortune on our ever increasing energy costs.

Go into any good mountain sports equipment store these days and you will find a multitude of base layers that are designed to keep the cold out even when damp.

They can be purchased in a wide range of styles and colours and are so trendy and practical they could be worn on “show” as opposed to hidden away under the rest of your layers.

Worn on their own, they can be the great for running in, or wearing in slightly more ambient climates, but when those cold dark nights draw in, add those extra layers on top to keep you snug.

One perfect example would be the Helly Hansen Lifa base layer.  It has classic Helly Hansen stripes down both sleeves and comes in both long and short sleeved versions. Made from lightweight and fast drying polypropylene it deals with sweat and moisture from your body efficiently leaving you warm without cooking you from the inside out.

When worn, I always feel that they have quite a comforting clinging feeling to the skin and with a little extra length in the tail to keep out those nasty drafts. A real must this winter.

I do think there is a justification for buying children shoes just for school. A good quality pair of shoes will set off a uniform and show that the wearer has pride in what they are wearing. I think that children’s shoes in general are too expensive, very often I pay more for my children’s shoes than I would pay for my own. However I feel that the quality of most school shoes does mean they last a bit longer.

And yes, I do think that children wearing school uniform and smart school shoes look more trustworthy than those who do not wear uniform. Let’s face it, appearances matter, school uniform and smart shoes makes us feel that the wearer goes to a school that respects others and has a sense of discipline. People in general react to how others look and a uniform for school children removes fear from others, if anything untoward does happen the school can be identified and told of the behaviour of its pupils. 

I have found that buying shoes specifically for school, even if a bit more expensive, does ensure they last a bit longer, because they are good quality and also the children take their school shoes off as soon as they come from school therefore the shoes are not being abused.

My children usually need their school shoes replaced because they have grown out of them rather than they are worn out. However I find that if I buy ordinary shoes and use them for school, most shoes come in black, these shoes wear out very quickly and do not last as long as the quality school shoes.

When not at school my children tend to wear trainers or sports shoes, I find that children’s trainers can be very expensive because they are fashion items and the children only want to wear branded names.

I remember when I was young and going to school my father would check our school shoes every morning to ensure they had been polished. He always said that it didn’t matter how well your clothes looked if your shoes looked scruffy you would look scruffy. Even if our school shoes were a little worn they were still polished and looked respectable.

School uniform provides a sense of identity for a school, people in a particular area can recognise the children from their uniform, and this gives a sense of community ownership.

Open sandals are marvellous while strolling down town or lazing about on holiday.  They are usually comfortable and let your feet breathe.  They are just perfect for that stroll along the beach or the window-shopping trip down town.  If you are female, you can paint your toenails and show them off through the sandals.  However it can be a bit of a disaster if your perfect sunny day turns into a dark and stormy one.  Being soaked through is no fun.

However if you like to do more strenuous activities like hiking or climbing, then a strong pair of closed shoes or boots is required.  You need walking shoes or boots that can manage any terrain, whether it be hard, soft, slippery or muddy. These shoes or boots must have strong soles and heels that can grip any type of ground.  Remember the weather can change dramatically.  You may have set out on a nice day, but by lunchtime the storm clouds had gathered.

So it is vital to feel comfortable and safe.  Ensure that your shoes are a perfect fit before setting out climbing or hiking.  It would be disastrous if your feet were sliding about inside your shoes and also sliding on the rough ground.  Light and skimpy sandals would be totally unsuitable and unsafe for traipsing over rough ground or climbing mountains.  Your feet would be cut, bruised and swollen before you even got halfway up the hill.  And there is also the danger that you could fall and seriously hurt yourself.

Special types of activities require sturdy footwear.  You are unlikely to see firemen attending a fire in skimpy footwear like sandals, and you wouldn’t see builders wearing sandals while on a job. Hard hats and strong shoes are a must.  Most factories also require work boots.  Even in many offices, sandals and flip-flops are frowned upon - “sensible” shoes are required for the office.  So in any walk of life, the footwear must be suitable for the type of job it is required to perform.  If you were a policeman, would you patrol a football ground in skimpy clothes and sandals?  You need robust clothing and specially constructed Keen sandals for hiking and climbing.

So before you set out on that hike or climb, ensure you have strong waterproof clothing and strong and very sturdy hiking shoes.  The weather can be totally unpredictable and make for very unsafe ground.  Horse races are usually cancelled if the ground is deemed unsafe.  But no-one is going to cancel your climb/hike if the weather changes dramatically for the worst when you’re halfway up that mountain.  It’s up to you to ensure your clothing and your footwear is suitable and will withstand the deluge.

When I went to buy a sofa, leather sofas was the first thing that came into my head, and there are always the usual half price deals or 70% off on the adverts which draws you in more but…after buying one I am a bit reluctant, in the morning sitting down on a leather sofa can send a good chill all over your body as leather stays cold constantly and is never warm so adjusting to it takes a few seconds.

Do you live in a cottage or a brand new build? The decision on whether you go traditional or contemporary really depends on the style of house you live in. A sofa is a big part of your living space so it has to fit in with the style and decor of the home.

Fabric or Leather? This would all depend on whether you have children or pets! A fabric sofa can be cleaned but not quite as well as a leather sofa which can be cleaned with a damp cloth. Chocolate stains, drinks etc are much harder to clean off a fabric sofa. Dogs can scratch leather sofas (if you let them on the sofa!)

Cleaning a leather sofa can make it look shiny and new again but sitting on it will result in you sliding right onto the floor within a few seconds, very frustrating when you want to sit down and relax.

Despite this leather sofas do look sleek and modern compared to the traditional fabric 3 seaters, most leather sofas all now have the reclining feature which is brilliant for when you’ve had a hard day and just want to relax, but not a lot of traditional fabric don’t seem to have this anymore.

Generally it is your choice on which sofa you like testing before buying is the obvious choice but I would not recommend buying a sofa from a catalogue, 9 times out of 10 you’ll be disappointed.

Ultimately, you have to choose based on comfort. A leather sofa can be very cold to the touch when you first sit down whereas a fabric sofa you can snuggle into straight away. A lot of contemporary sofas have no support from shoulder height up which means difficulties when you want to just lay back and rest your weary head.

Whatever you decision, rest well!!

As a man I felt under quite a lot of pressure when choosing my fiancees engagement ring. That gives away the end of the story- she loved it and we are in the process of planning our nuptials! But how much to spend? That is a tough one.

(Without upsetting any specific stores), £34.99 from over the counter at an outlet full of people waiting to collect blah blah from collection point wherever, seemed a little on the cheap side. At the other side of the spectrum a several month’s wages on a designer jewellery piece - no matter how romantic- wasn’t practical either.

It shouldn’t be related to how much you earn but how much you can afford. To spend a month’s salary and not be able to pay your rent would be foolish. If the woman you are getting engaged to wants you to spend more than you can afford you should really be asking yourself whether she is a person you want to be engaged to. She may also prefer that you save your money for a deposit on a house or simply for the future.

So I decided to concentrate on how it looked and how it would make my beloved feel when she opened the box.

Everybody wants to impress the person they love and a nice engagement ring has always been a large part of that. Women love to show their friends their new ring, but money doesn’t always tell the full story as everybody’s financial situations are different.

Sometimes the choice of a ring is a sentimental thing. Perhaps a certain design that is cheaper brings happy memories or you have spent hours choosing it because you thought she’d like it more than the expensive option. Money isn’t everything and a person should buy the best ring they can realistically afford.

I ended up going to a well-known high street retailer and spending just over half a month’s wages on a ring that I genuinely thought she would love and would be taken care of by the place of sale with a lifetime cleaning and repair guarantee. All boxes ticked and happiness all round. Point being, it is much more about a statement of your love for another person rather than how it looks on your bank statement.

For outdoor activities I am dubious as to whether I need to be spending £200 upwards on a North Face jacket, there are some activities where spending that little bit extra may be essential but not for all. However for safety reasons, you should not scrimp money wise and leave yourself potentially exposed to harmful conditions, you need to fully research what you are purchasing.

Take skiing for example, do I really need to be spending two to three hundred pounds on a ski shell, if it is snowing then the majority of snow will bounce off as I ski down the slopes, if it is raining then I know I won’t be going out skiing that day, so cannot really justify spending such an extortionate amount of money on a jacket, as the Gore-tex properties would not really benefit me. Now ski pants, that’s another matter, not being a particularly proficient skier, Gore-tex trousers are a godsend (as I spend about half my time on my backside!).

Gore-tex ski jackets are probably the most expensive there is, however if you know you don’t need this supreme material, there are several other options out there that will not be so hard on the wallet, yet will serve the purpose you intend to use them for. Many manufacturers today have their own breathable and waterproof fabric that will be just as effective without breaking the bank, Marmot, Patagonia, The North Face and Berghaus to name just a few.

When out hiking or walking in all elements, I do not mind spending that little bit (or sometimes rather a lot!) extra on a jacket I know I will make full use of, one of my more extravagant purchases, though at £90 it wasn’t that expensive, was a The North Face Denali Jacket, a multipurpose fleece jacket that has taken a real hammering, but it is still as effective as when it was brand new. For someone who enjoys outdoor activities it is wholly comfortable to wear, without sacrificing functionality, it keeps me warm and protects me from the harsher British elements. It has the versatility that puts it way ahead of its competitors, and can handle varied weather conditions one experiences when outside, from the rather cold, to the milder climates, although in extremely cold weather I do tend to wear a lightweight shell over the top. Not only that, but away from the trail, the jacket’s fashionable enough to wear around town. So in this instance the extra money has been well spent, as it has proved to be durable with full performance maintained.

Another property of a jacket I feel is essential is its ability to keep the rain out when hiking or climbing, in Britain you can bet good money on a downpour during your voyage. Walking or climbing when saturated through to the skin is miserable and could even be life threatening, so this is another area I would insist on paying a little more. At the lower end of the market, you can buy a cheap (supposedly) waterproof jacket for as little as £10, however this is madness if you’re a regular hiker or even a novice if you know the weather situation is poor. Inexpensive jackets are not breathable, and while they will stop water from getting in, they won’t allow perspiration to escape, resulting in condensation inside and damp clothing, very unpleasant to wear and once you stop will make you feel cold very quickly.

Another old faithful is my battered navy Barbour, again not one of the cheapest options (but this was a gift 17 years ago, so didn’t impose on my pocket!), but it has certainly stood the test of time. Yes it looks well loved (worn), but it is still capable of performing its duties, though admittedly it has been well looked after i.e. cleaned as per manufacturers instruction and it gets re-proofed annually.

I think with many jackets you are paying for the technology, rather than the design and performance factors, you are also paying extra for the logo or brand name, and in some situations it really isn’t worth the extra money. Ultimately however it is the activity, style, fashion value, fit, personal taste and budget that will dictate which jacket an individual will purchase.

Tailored suits may be increasingly rare in the workplace and there are a number of reasons for this.  Businesses are beginning to realise that the clothes that their employees wear do not affect the job they do.  It may also increase staff morale and productivity by allowing staff more of a free reign over what they wear.

To look smart it doesn’t always mean that you have to wear a tailored suit.  You could opt for a smart pair of trousers with a shirt without a tie.  A smart top and a skirt also works well.

Tailored suits may be preferred in work situations where employees have to meet clients or chair important meetings.  This may be because the employer believes they will be taken more seriously and seen in a more professional light if a smart outfit is worn.  Customer facing roles also benefit from a smart outfit.  It is really about the job you do rather than what you wear to do it!

For men, it would appear that so many good quality suits can be bought off the peg these days that long gone are the days of the individual tailor who would knock up a two-piece with the minimum of fuss (but often the maximum of price tag). High street chains are also jumping on the bandwagon by offering suits which match the latest trends at reasonable prices and in colours that suit that season’s trends. Also, as office environments are becoming increasingly more casual, long gone are the days when men were forced to wear a traditional suit and many now opt for a more casual look or a simple shirt and tie combination. In fact, many men often only find the need to wear formal suits at occasions such as weddings or funerals.

As for women, tailored suits are often only ever dusted off for that all-important interview, never to see the light of day again. Due to the lack of demand for these kinds of suits, the styles and colours for women are often uninspiring and unflattering.

Although it may sound like a new chic thing, hydroponics actually dates back to Sir Francis Bacon and beyond, and has uses in everything from the space programme right down to domestic house-plants. It is, in essence, the process of growing plants without using soil. This massively over-simplified description warrants no credit for accuracy, as the real description is a subject of dispute, and involves a lot of long and complicated words and methods.

I’ve been accosted by sellers of hydroponics kits at my local market. The little packets of wonderful gel are simply mixed with water, and used in place of soil to grow a variety of plants in a lovely clean clinical way. I wasn’t convinced. But after knocking my little potted plant off the top of my hi-fi for the third time this week, I’m starting to wonder if I should have been more willing to give it a shot. It would have saved me a lot of work with the dustpan and brush!

It’s a bit like growing cultures on agar jelly (you might have done this at school. If not, you didn’t miss much) or simply in a glass of water. The gel, or bucket of beads, or liquid, or whatever substance you use, is simply a medium to support the plant and convey nutrients to the roots in solution, in the same way soil would. But it’s fantastically controllable, and contains only what you put in it, unlike soil, which can contain almost anything.

It’s a pretty mathematical way to grow things, and suits people with good attention to routine. But for predictable growth, cleanliness, and a plant that looks just a little more interesting in its transparent “soil” than the usual house plant with a ring of mud around its saucer, you can’t really beat it. And I was led to believe, by the rather pushy market seller, that it’s as easy as pie.

Well, I like pie. So maybe hydroponics is the sort of thing for the common man after all.