It may not feel like it just yet, but spring is right around the corner. The changing weather will provide an opportunity to shed that winter coat that’s been worn like a second skin and allow most men to start dressing in layers. One of the best ways to layer up casually is with the Baracuta jacket.

Also known as a Harrington, this jacket was invented in 1937 by two English brothers and has been a staple in the wardrobe of well-dressed rebels nearly every decade since.

The brothers, who worked in a factory making traditional trench coats, wanted a waterproof jacket that was appropriate for the working man. So they shortened the body, added a buttoning throat closure, elastic at the waistband and wrists, and buttoned flaps on the pockets. The result was a trim-cut, stylish jacket that didn’t have to compromise its form or function.

During the 50′s it was sold as a sports coat to the Ivy League crowd, and Elvis Presley wore one in the film “King Creole,” giving it a huge surge in popularity.

Since then, it’s been a staple in the wardrobes of Mods, Punks, and other well-dressed rebels. Including Steve McQueen, who was consistently seen wearing one.

The beauty of the jacket is in its functionality, practicality, and versatility.  The best versions are those that are made with a waxed cotton or other water-resistant material. It can be thrown over something as simple as a T-shirt or as complicated as a button-up – tie – sweater combo, making it one of the few items that works on the three levels of Rugged, Refined, and Rakish. It’s slim shape and minimalist design gives the masculine V-shape that we work for but is all too often hidden by ill-fitting clothing.

While there are many companies who make a version of the Harrington, Baracuta is still in existence and sells their original G9. Look to spend between $50 – $200 and wear the hell out of it.

It’s time to showcase another great transformation from a client. This is one of the most drastic changes I’ve seen and it falls into a different category than a lot of my clients. Unlike some men, Alex has always been concerned with his appearance, he’d just been going about it the wrong way. You’ll see in the photos that he used to dress more like a wannabe thug than a respectable man.

Alex reached out to me back in July and we really got underway in finding him some clothing in October once he had the time. The best thing about all of these photos is that every item, except the quilted jacket, is something that he found on his own after working with me. It means he actually internalized and acted on the information I presented instead of just being a mannequin that wore whatever clothing I decided to put on him.

Alex was so pumped about the change that he even mimicked the poses from his before shots to show the contrast with his afters. Also, pay attention to his hair, it makes a huge difference.

Alex works in an industry wherein it pays to standout. He still does, but it’s in a positive, mature, masculine way. He told me the response he’s gotten from friends and colleagues has been emphatic and positive. However, the biggest change is how he perceives himself. He tells me he’s hitting the gym, working a new job, and feeling ready to conquer.

If you’re interested in a similar change for yourself or someone you know, check out my Services Page.

This morning I was chatting with a friend from back East online. He and I have never met in person, but we see eye-to-eye on a lot of things and he pushes me to think better. During the conversation he complemented my newly-long beard and said his wife thinks I’m pulling off the whole lumberjack look pretty well. I thanked him and we started talking about the current beard revival. Apparently it’s so strong that Proctor & Gamble are losing noticeable amounts of money.

It got us talking about the current rebirth of the appearance of masculinity and the new era of guys – the hipster man.

He is typified by the aesthetics of a time when men were men. Spending any time online will lead to guys who have old-school haircuts, wear full beards or waxed mustaches, practice hobbies that used to be professions and require skill and minimal tools – things like leather working, soap making, wood carving, and others. They dress consciously and well, usually a level or two higher than most men on the formality scale. They like a simple aesthetic and are drawn to clean logos and companies that advertise a heritage. They love workwear and Americana and will romanticize the way the world used to look.

If you’ll notice, every single one of those things describes me. However, most guys will stop there. For the hipster man, masculinity is about playing dress up. It’s a way for him to adopt the aesthetics of a time when men were men yet still carry on with the modern, safe, female-approved attitudes that are so prevalent today. It’s a subconscious attempt at tricking himself into satisfying his innate, biological desires to act out his manly tendencies. He tells himself he can look the part, and even adopt the safe virtues, without becoming a threat to the current status quo.

By safe virtues, I mean the value of Self Mastery. I’ve referenced The Way of Men before and believe that Donovan’s breakdown of the four masculine virtues is spot on. He divides them up as Courage, Honor, Mastery, and Strength.

In the Internet age, the only “useful” virtue for most urban and suburban men is that of Mastery. The other three can make men dangerous and a threat to the safe society in which we live. As a result, the hipster man will only focus on the virtue of Mastery. He will become a talented musician, gifted artist, or skilled laborer.

This Mastery is a virtue, but it’s not enough to be good at being a man. It’s akin to saying a car has no need for acceleration or speed as long as the steering works.

The more dangerous virtues of Courage, Honor, and Strength remain enigmas to the hipster man. Courage is replaced with passive aggression. Honor is laughed at by a culture of narcissism and cartoonish individuality. Strength is for douche bags and gym rats – besides, all the girls say they like slim men anyway. The political correctness of our current culture will only allow the average man to look and feel masculine in a safe, non-threatening way. By criticizing or even demonizing the other masculine virtues, it ensures that most modern men are kept either stupid or weak, and therefore, more complacent and easier to control.

While I criticize hipster masculinity for it’s incompletion, I recognize the potential that’s there. I personally started focusing on manhood and masculinity only after I found a site that appealed to the old-world aesthetics. From there, I realized there was something missing from my life and started down the rabbit hole.

While a focus on looking like an old-school man and adopting his level of Mastery isn’t enough, it’s a great start and is one that should be encouraged. Not every guy who sports a beard and has ship tattoos will want to break away from the culturally-approved ideals of manhood, but many will. Rather than criticize the hipster man and tear him down for his lack of the other male virtues, we should reach out and help him see the benefits of continuing on the journey his clothing started.

No words. Just some inspiration for winter. Most images pulled from Tumblr.

Gloves have been around for thousands of years. From armored gauntlets to work gloves, men have been protecting their hands for as long as they’ve known how to do so.

Being the dead of winter means we’re right in the thick of glove season. Of course, our needs are different now than they were fewer than ten years ago, let alone 50 or 500. Most men today carry around some sort of touch-screen device. Smart phones and tablets are nearly ubiquitous, and normal gloves fall short when it comes to being able to use our everyday hardware.

There have been multiple attempts at solving this problem over the years. I’ve purchased knit gloves with little slits in the thumb and forefinger and read about gloves with metal in the fingers that’s supposed to interact as well as a man’s flesh. All of these options have either left something to be desired functionally or aesthetically.

With this problem in mind, I was very excited to hear about an Italian company named Fratelli Orsini. They use a special coating on their leather that makes it look, smell, and feel as if there’s nothing different, but that allows it to respond to a touch screen just like a man’s skin does.

With their hand-made gloves created from Italian lambskin, cashmere, or North American deerskin, this company would already be well-poised to succeed. But their willingness to take their product a step further to fill their customers needs with modern technology is what could make them a game changer.

I wanted to learn more about their gloves and how they work so I reached out to them via their website. After a few back-and-forth questions and answers, they offered to send me a pair to review. I asked for their driving gloves in a tan leather. As tempting as the cashmere-lined winter gloves were, I tend to wear driving gloves year round – so I figured I’d get a lot more use out of these as a trial pair.

From the day they arrived these have been my go-to gloves. The touchscreen leather works as well as stated. I’ve never had it catch or have my phone fail to react. It’s also a big advantage to know that I’m not limited to using just one or two fingers like with most smart-phone-friendly alternatives.

The leather is soft and comfortable on my hands, the fit is great, and they’re much more durable than other driving gloves I’ve owned in the past (not that I’ve had to lay down a bike or anything in them… yet). As can be seen in the photos, there are plenty of perforations that help prevent a man’s hands from sweating, ensuring a firm grip on a steering wheel or pair of handle bars.

While I haven’t had any prolonged use of their winter gloves, I’ve had the opportunity to try a pair on and they’re extremely comfortable. After experiencing a cashmere-lining, I don’t think I’ll go back to anything else.

The only thing missing that I wish had been a part of the experience is an MTM option. My fingers are disproportionately short for the size of my palm, leaving me a bit too much room in each glove. Fratelli Orsini’s sizing is based only on palm width. While offering MTM versions would obviously increase the price, men like me would be happy to jump on it.

At $100 they aren’t cheap, but they aren’t prohibitively expensive either. These are a one-time investment that will last for years to come.