Blog of Note: Tomboy Style

Do you like looking at pictures of beautiful women doing awesome things like shooting guns, fishing, skiing, driving fast cars, wearing tweed, and generally looking beautiful? Then Tomboy Style is the blog for you.

I don't know much about its author, Lizzie Garrett, but I know that she's got a good eye and runs a great blog. It's also awesome that she uses such large pictures. I'm adding it to my blog roll (on the right side of the screen), in case any still looks at it, so be sure to keep an eye out for it. Below are some highlights.

Penny loafers for women at J. Crew

I was looking through the most recent J. Crew and was surprised to see that they are now offering a classic penny loafer for women, made by Bass, nonetheless. In spite of being popular with women during the 80s, and presumably during the 60s (the high points in preppy style), I'm not sure that I've seen a girl in peer group wearing a pair. Ever.

Seeing as how J. Crew has managed to emerge as more of a trendsetter than a trend-follower, it will be interesting to see if any other retailers follow suit. It should be noted that J. Crew is currently asking $120 for this pair of shoes. If you ask me, that's pretty ridiculous. Then again, crazy-high prices at J. Crew seem to be the rule rather than the exception nowadays...

Alison Brie: Double trouble

So I had no idea, until tonight, that Alison Brie plays two of the best looking characters on TV right now.

Trudy Campbell on Mad Men


Annie Edison on Community


I like them both, but my vote would go to Annie.

An exploration in self-torture: Spin class

Around the second week of January I decided that I needed to get in shape. This is probably a decision I should have made, oh, two or three years ago, but nonetheless, since then I have been going to the gym for about 45 minutes each day for five days a week. I been changing up what I've been doing a variety of cardio activities, primarily focusing on the elliptical machine and the ergometer (rowing machine).



Last week I decided to try out the spin classes that they offer at the campus rec center. I had never done one before, but knew they were supposed to be hard. I asked a classmate of mine, a former Green Beret, about what to expect since I knew that he had done them. He told me to prepare to leave my dignity at the door. In spite of this dire warning, I went anyways.

He certainly wasn't bluffing. Spin class does a great job of combining the experience of riding a bike with all the charm of 45 minutes of pure masochism. It kicked my ass that first time, and has kicked it the other four times that I've been since then. There are two girls who teach the classes here at Clemson, both of whom have their individual styles. One girl makes it much more like an aerobics class in that she plays technoed-out versions of Top 40 songs and many of the exercises center around keeping to the beat of the music. While the music itself is pretty miserable and while this isn't really my favorite style, the workout does seem to have more structure and certainly gets the job done. The other girl plays much better music (including two Metallica songs, though I will knock off points for playing a Creed song and a Nickelback song), and the workouts seem more oriented towards the music itself (go hard during the upbeat chorus, back off when back to the verse). I'm not sure which girl I hate more (I actually like both of them, though 20 minutes in I begin to resent them when I start to feel like I'm going to keel over).

A great benefit of spin class is how I am usually only one of two or three guys in there. The downside of this is 1. In the middle of the workout, I couldn't care less who was in the class since I am simply attempting to not die, and 2. When I finish I am such a sweaty beast that I'm not sure that any girl in there would even consider talking to me.


Not actually me, but not too far off from the truth...

In spite of what it may sound like, I have been enjoying spin class and really feel like I get a great workout every time I go. I suggest giving it a try if it is offered at your local gym.

Follow-up jeans post: the results are in!

First off, I wanted to thank all of the ladies out there who voted on the poll, and for all of the comments that everyone added to the post. Here are a few thoughts:

1. Well, my hypothesis was shown to be false. I had anticipated the results being #1- "Designer" jeans, #2- Levi's, and #3- "Premium" jeans. Instead, it seems that Levi's won with an overwhelming majority of 18 votes, follow by "Premium" jeans with 10 votes and "Designer" jeans with 9 votes. While I'm not sure if the poll was exactly "scientific," I do believe that the results reflect the superior taste of the women who read this blog and voted. Overall I'm pretty happy with the results.



2. Regarding Wranglers, perhaps I missed a particular segment of people by not including them as an option (maybe I should have at least had an option for "Other"). I have never really been in any social groups where they are very common, but I guess there are some places where they are a lot more ubiquitous, especially in Texas. I think that they would fall into the same general category as Levi's, though, given their low cost and similar quality.

3. I should note that I currently wear Levi's 501s. If I wasn't a poor grad student I would definitely like to invest in a higher quality pair, most likely some APCs. They are on my "to do" list. Regardless of how the poll came out, there was really no way I was going to switch to "designer" jeans; it just seems like money poorly spent, and the washes that they have on most of those jeans simply look stupid. I like dark blue jeans, and I'll wear my own whiskers into them by wearing them a lot, the way that people used to do it.



If I had a gun to my head and was forced to buy a pair of designer jeans (seeing as how that is the only way any girlfriend could choose my clothes for me), Citizens of Humanity does actually make a pretty good looking pair of jeans simply called "Selvage." They are made of selvage denim, are dark blue with no wear marks on them, and don't have any stitching on the pockets. The only downside is that they are "imported"; a bigger shame in light of the fact that they apparently have a bootcut pair called "Perfect Selvage" which are made in the US. The $230 is pretty bad, though, especially when you consider what better jeans you could get for the price. C'est la vie...

4. Regarding jeans on women, I guess I really don't have a problem with them wearing "designer" jeans. Women generally have different rules for clothing than men, so if that's what they want to wear, who am I to interfere? Generally speaking, I would say that I like when women wear Citizens jeans, but maybe that really has more to do with the girls themselves rather than the jeans. I think that it probably comes down more to how a particular cut of jeans flatters a woman's physique than to who made the jeans (as Elisa noted in the comments of the last post).

Anyways, thanks again to all who voted.

A poll for women readers: What jeans would you pick for your boyfriend/husband?

While I'm pretty sure that the majority of readers here are male, but I suspect that there are at least a few women who come here on occasion. For those of you of the fairer sex, I wanted to get your thoughts on this question.

If you were able to choose what sort of jeans your boyfriend/husband (real or hypothetical) would wear, and cost was no object, which of these three general types would you choose?

-Levi's. Since Levi's are so ubiquitous among men, I figured this would likely be a category of its own. These are just your basic jeans. You choose the cut and the wash, but Levi's Vintage Collection is not included here.
-"Designer" jeans. Typically characterized by a well-known name (Citizens of Humanity, Seven for All Mankind, Diesel, etc.) and typically quite expensive, especially when you consider that most are made in third world countries.
-"Premium" jeans. While these can be expensive too, they are usually made in the US, Japan, or some other non-third world country. Made of high quality denim with quality construction. Nudie, APC, Levi's Vintage Collection would be some examples.

While I realize that there are other types of jeans, I suspect that these three should cover the majority of preferences that might be represented here. Please cast your official vote on the poll located on the right side of the screen ----------->

I seriously doubt that the results of the poll will change my own preferences of jeans, I have a hypothesis about the results and wanted to test it. Please leave comments here if you have anything else you would like to share.

Hampden Clothing

This post is intended for the ladies in South Carolina. The wife of the guy I worked with this summer, Stacy Smallwood, runs a store in downtown Charleston called Hampden Clothing. Stacy used to be a buyer for Neiman Marcus and this has allowed her to have a boutique that get items from designers that pretty much can't be found outside of New York and L.A. They have a store on King Street and are working on opening a store in Greenville, hopefully by the end of the year. If you enjoy high-end, cutting-edge fashion (and have the deep pockets to afford it), it is definitely worth a look. Their website can be found here (you can order online) and their (rarely updated) blog can be found here.

Worlds collide

To those who read my blog on a regular or semi-regular basis, I do apologize for the lack of new posts lately. Have been busy getting back into the swing of school. Hopefully I will be able to start posting more regularly.

However, I will share this article with you: Drunk Woman Mistakes Authentic Preppy for Ironic Preppy (hat tip to Tucker for finding this). As some of my friends know, I do have a thing for hipster women, and although I have never actually gone out with one, I imagine that that article is actually a pretty close account of how things might go (although I not go to school at Choate).

Jezebel article on "fast fashion," and my thoughts as well

This article was pointed out by someone on Ask Andy: We Love Cheap Stuff, But Fast Fashion Is Hard To Defend. It really is a well written article that brings up a lot of the issues with the "fast fashion" movement that seems to be ever-increasing in speed. For the most part, it is more of a problem for women, though I suppose there are men out there somewhere who have fallen victim to this way of shopping and dressing.

The goal in building my wardrobe over the past couple of years has been to buy quality products that will last for years; items that do not go out of fashion nor items that will fall apart, even after extended wear.

Additionally, another goal has been to create a wardrobe in which any individual item can be worn with nearly any other item. For example, a shirt might be able to be worn with any pair of pants or shorts, or a tie might be able to go with nearly any other shirt. I feel like I have also achieved this goal, for the most part, and it is quite refreshing to not feel confined to particular "outfits" (although this, too, seems to be a phenomenon that women primarily deal with).

Hot women and Land Rovers: A Match Made in Heaven

Since being in Charleston, I have begun to notice an inordinate amount of hot women driving Land Rovers. This is really a fantastic trend, and one that I hope continues. I'm not sure what it is about that magical combination, but like beer and pizza, it really couldn't get much better. What makes the phenomenon better is that these mysterious women (I have never, in fact, met a woman who drives a Land Rover) do not seem to have a preference for a particular model of Land Rover. Some of them drive Discoveries, some drive Range Rovers, and I'm sure I've seen some driving LR3's (nouveau riche, likely). I can't remember if I have seen the white rhino of their kind, a woman driving a Defender, but let's pray that she's out there somewhere. I should also note that, as demonstrated in the picture, wearing aviators while driving a Land Rover manages to increase the hotness factor exponentially. Let's just pray that these women continue to remain immune to rising gas prices.

A Note to Women:
If you are in the market for a new car, I hope that this post has been beneficial to you. While shopping for a car (the ultimate shopping trip?), I suspect that question has likely crossed your mind "Will I look cute in this car?" Obviously, this is an important question, but let me clear up some misconceptions. Men don't care if you're driving a Mini (no offense Jessica and Elisa), nor do they care, as some extremely misleading news stories have indicated, if you are trying to get great gas mileage by driving a Prius, and they absolutely hate to you see you driving a hot sports car with more horsepower than their own car. They really just want to see you in a Land Rover. "But those cars get terrible gas mileage!" you might say. Think of it this way: the worse gas mileage your car gets, the more successful of a doctor or lawyer (or developer) you are going to attract. And once you have caught his attention with the Rover, marriage is a sealed deal. So really, think of that all-time 4-wheel drive as an investment in your future.

*Generic hot girl photo courtesy of The Sartorialist
*Sweet Land Rover picture courtesy of this guy's website
*Awesome "Photoshopping" skills courtesy of me