You’ve heard the term and, like most people, you’ve probably made an association with Nirvana and the grunge scene of the 90’s or the current hipster urban lumberjack and then moved on.

There’s more to this fabric than just a red-on-black buffalo check. It spans across nearly all aspects of a man’s wardrobe and can be seen in the most rugged of casual clothing and some of the most refined business suits.

Flannel’s origins are a bit cloudy. What we do know is that it started out in 17th century Scotland in the Highlands. It was made from either carded wool or worsted yarn. Without going into too much detail about what these two processes are, let’s just say that the woolen yarn is worked repeatedly with a metal brush – giving the flannel its uniquely soft feel and ability to capture heat.

While its beginnings were humble, it quickly spread throughout Europe during the 17th century. The Industrial Revolution increased its popularity in Europe and the United States were quick to follow.

However, flannel didn’t become a mainstay until Hamilton Carhartt stepped in the 19th century. Concerned about the conditions in which his workers found themselves why building the rapidly expanding US railroad system, Carhartt questioned many of his men wanting to know what they believed were the most prominent problems and potential solutions. Shortly after his polling he created a flannel overall that provided a durability required for the working man, while still maintaining his warmth and providing a cloth that was comfortable to wear.

We may not be wearing overalls today, but there are still plenty of applications in which flannel is appropriate.

Casual Wear

Now that the winter months are upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to really consider the warmth of clothing. Having even just one layer with a heat-retaining fabric like flannel can be a game changer in a man’s day.

Button-up shirts are the easiest way to wear flannel casually. They can be in solid colors or bold patterns. The key to wearing them casually is making sure the body of the shirt is short enough that it doesn’t look like a night shirt when it’s left untucked, wearing the top two buttons undone, and not being overly concerned with how well-pressed the shirt is before each wear.

Button ups also look more casual with traditional workwear detailing – things like flapped chest pockets, barrel cuffs, and even epaulettes on the shoulders.

The next layer up would be a flannel work jacket. Companies like Pendleton, Filson, and others all offer heavy flannel jackets that are styled after traditional work or military coats.

Business Casual

We’ve talked about sport coats and blazers in the past. What most men are unaware of is how comfortable one can be in flannel. By finding an option that is unstructured and unlined – essentially a man is wearing a flannel shirt that is shaped like a blazer. This means it will feel as comfortable and motion friendly as a sweatshirt when it’s on.

The casual look can be increased with small details like horn, leather, or wooden buttons, patch pockets, and elbow patches. To take it a step further, embracing bold patterns and loud colors gives the jacket even more personality.

Business Wear

The same level of comfort described above in a business casual sport coat can be accomplished with a business suit as well. The key to making the distinction is in the way the suit is designed. Peak lapels, mother of pearl buttons, a ticket pocket, and deep cuffs on the trouser are all statement-making customizations that communicate the wearer is a man to be taken seriously.

This can feel can be enhanced further by opting for a bold pinstripe or chalk stripe. Just be sure to keep the colors in shades of navy, grey, and charcoal to avoid looking like a cartoon character.

Few men make a conscious effort to seek out flannel, but once a man has learned how versatile the cloth can be, how comfortably it wears, and how warm it is during the coldest months, he quickly becomes a life-long convert.

My friend and former client Max Nachamkin runs a great site called Inner Gladiator. His focus is one that is very consistent with my message here – helping guys deliberately and purposefully become better men.

As part of the site and its reach, Max does a periodic podcast. He was kind enough to invite me on as a guest for his latest episode. In it we talk about the site, why men should focus on dressing better, Max’s experience with the results of his style improvement, and other areas of a man’s wardrobe.

I highly recommend checking out his site and learning more about his approach to improving masculinity.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about things like color, pattern, and fit. Once a man has these three factors dialed in, it’s time to start focusing on another area that is easy for the average Joe to see, but difficult for him to recognize or comment on – texture.

Let’s go back to our spectrum of formality with a man’s clothing.

Texture is a huge, differentiating factor when trying to either dress up or down. The rougher the texture, the more casual the appearance – the smoother, the more formal.

An easy and immediate way to see the difference between these two is to use a little word association. If I say “denim” you automatically get a picture in your head. Associated words may be work, heavy, warm, rough, or durable. Now, if I say “silk,” an entirely different image emerges. Words like luxury, soft, rich, and formal will come to mind.

Texture can be used as a tool to fine tune a man’s wardrobe to the same extent that fit, color, and pattern can.

Take a look at this photo from the most recent iteration of the Great Gatsby:

You can see the sheen and almost feel how smooth and soft the cloth is. A texture that smooth has no place in the casual world or even in the realm of business. It is reserved for the refinement of black-tie affairs, after-dark parties, and other formal events.

Now take a look at this picture of a group of men walking in traditional hunting gear:

They’re still wearing suits, but the thick and heavy texture of a British tweed is too casual for the world of business and certainly too rough to appear in the formal realm.

In both of the above-pictured situations the men are wearing jackets and trousers – not just “some suit” or a T-shirt and jeans. Obviously there are large differences between the cut of the suits, the colors, and the patterns. However, if all were to be equalized except the texture, even the untrained eye could look at the two photos and know the type of event in which the pictured men find themselves.

The beauty of texture is that it is found in everything a man wears. This means the budding sartorialist can mix and match textures to either dress up or dress down an outfit. To the same degree that High/Low can be accomplished when pairing specific items that are considered formal or casual in the modern world, High/Low can be tweaked and fine tuned by mixing and matching different textures.

In the photo above you can see this businessman is draped in the heavy and highly textured wool that is commonplace on most topcoats. As a way to provide some balance to this look, he opted for a silk scarf. The contrast it provides is one that speaks to both an understanding and intentionality in dressing appropriately for his world.

The opposite is also true. Nothing says “amateur” more than a man who tries to wear a suit jacket made of smooth wool and a silk tie with a pair of jeans. The contrast is too strong and it gives away his lack of understanding. The same man would look like a pro if he were to swap out the jacket for something like a Birdseye weave or a tweed and trade in the silk tie for one of wool or even a knit silk.

So once you feel like you have your fit down, your colors figured out, and your pattern matching dialed in, try playing with texture to make more of a statement. The average person on the street won’t know enough to say why you look better, but they’ll be able to tell that you do.

Those of you who subscribe to my newsletter know I’m in the middle of reading the The 48 Laws of Power. It’s been a great read thus far and it’s amazing to see how true and applicable these laws really are. One Law that I read recently was number 30 – Make your accomplishments seem effortless.

This shouldn’t be news to anyone. Nobody wants to see another man struggle. Rather than granting us awe and respect his effort, it makes his accomplishments appear commonplace and achievable for anyone. To the contrary, when a man is able to do great things with apparent ease, he seems to be more than just a man.

In a study of masculinity, it’s easy to come across the philosophy that aloof indifference is a signal of strength. Men who don’t flinch at danger or conflict are seen as well-seasoned and above the fray. Men who are able to handle crises, keep their cool under pressure, and accomplish difficult tasks without breaking a sweat are all revered and respected for the ease with which they handle adversity.

What’s funny is how easily this aloofness is confused with apathy. You’ll notice that the law is not – Live your live effortlessly. In order to gain any sort of respect, a man still has to accomplish something. My 16-month-old daughter lives with an enviable ease, and a grown man who was as dependent and non-contributing as she is would not be deserving of an ounce of respect. The two go hand in hand. A man must accomplish things and he must appear to accomplish them with no excess of effort. Without accomplishing anything, he quickly makes himself known as the slug that he is. Without making it look easy, he loses his advantage over other, mediocre men.

The same confusion happens with a man’s wardrobe. The average 21st-century guy rightly wants to avoid the appearance of putting too much effort into his… appearance. So he overcorrects by making it look like he’s put no thought into it whatsoever. He believes that others will perceive his apathy as nonchalance, and goes about his life without giving more than a basic thought to the clothing he puts on his body.

The opposite is the dandy. This is the modern, #menswear-obsessed male who tries to use his status on Style Forum and r/malefashionadvice as a way to boost credibility with his peers. He fails to realize that his obsession with clothing lays bare the hard work he puts into his appearance – making his accomplishments seem anything but effortless.

And no, the irony of me, a style blogger, writing about this is not lost on me. But there’s a correct balance to strike here. Yes there is a need for a focus on improvement. For a man to truly dress well and have his appearance be an accomplishment worth emulating and admiring, there needs to be some serious effort. And yes, even if style is something he enjoys to the extent he can call it hobby, a man still should avoid the demonstration of his practice and study.

I’ve alluded to this before, but an understanding of motivations and the perceptions of other people should drive the point home further. The best approach to dressing well is to invest time and energy when finding clothing and while prepping during the morning routine. After that, sprezzatura is accomplished when a man forgets everything about his appearance for the rest of the day. He doesn’t need to constantly primp, adjust, discuss, or worry about the way he looks.

The real difference between nonchalance and apathy is the preparation that goes on behind the scenes. A man who’s purchased the correct kind of vehicle, kept up its maintenance, made an effort to learn proper driving technique, and paid attention to the forecast can drive in the heaviest blizzard almost as if it were a calm summer day. His preparation grants him peace. The same man would put himself and others in danger if he tried to have the same at-ease attitude while driving in a poor vehicle, in even poorer condition, with no understanding of how to drive in the snow, and no idea that a flurry is about to blow in.

When a man is at the gym he should talk about his routine for staying in shape, when a man is at work, he should talk about his job, when a man is with his tailor he should focus discuss and learn everything he can about the best ways to improve his wardrobe. But when a man is outside of his bubble, when he’s in public and presenting himself to the rest of the world, all thought, talk, and evidence of his labors behind the scenes should be forgotten. Those who aren’t directly involved in a man’s improvement should never have an inkling of the blood, sweat, and tears invested in who he is and what he does.

I spent my junior high and high school days obsessed with the world of BMX. I read all the magazines, watched all the videos, owned all the best parts, and immersed myself in that world as much as I could. My friends and I were more concerned with learning a new trick than we ever were with girls, school, traditional sports, or video games.

We used to spend hours at an abandoned lot about a mile away from my house. We would dig and dig and dig trying to build up trails that were fun to ride and would bring in some of the local pros.

It was during these years that I developed my largest pet peeve – dirt in my shoes. I hate it. I hate the feel of it, the way it slightly threw off my balance, the time it took to empty them out. I know it’s a minor thing, but it drove me crazy like nothing else could.

As I’ve gotten older, that dirt pet peeve has developed into an overall foot comfort fixation. I hate uncomfortable shoes, droopy socks, or bogus leather.

I know that buying a great pair of socks may not seem to be too far up most men’s ladder of priorities. But once you know what it’s like to wear an awful pair and a great pair, you’ll never be able to settle for the Wal Mart special you acclimated to as a teenager. You’ll need to start wearing something better.

That’s wear Soxiety comes in. Believe it or not, nice socks can cost more than most men are comfortable paying for a T-shirt. Soxiety, on the other hand, has developed a program through which you can buy over-the-calf socks, with your choice of loud or conservative styling, and still start them around $10 a pair.

They source their material and make the socks in northern Italy. They give customers the options between fabrics like cashmere, wool, and cotton. They also make ankle, knee, and mid-calf pairs. Depending on what you select, you can choose between a one-size-fits all approach or something closer to your actual feet.

I’ve had a few of these for the last couple of months and they’ve quickly become my favorite. Rather than having to compromise with one-size-fits-all options, or hope I get lucky at Target and find a pattern I like, or worry about a pair that isn’t tall enough to stay up throughout the day – these have done everything I need them to.

The order process is simple and so is the product. After all, they are socks. It’s not like anyone expects these things to change the world. Instead they become one fewer annoyance to distract you throughout the day. Even if you do choose a loud enough pattern to distract everyone else.