Time for a make over

April 13, 2008

During spring break, while my friends were basking in the warmth of some exotic tropical location, I stayed home with my family for some spring cleaning. As I began going over my wardrobe, it became very apparent to me that I am a definite candidate for one of those reality fashion makeover shows.
The point was further driven home to me when both my wife and daughter told me that I am “stuck in the ‘80s” and that is time for me to rid myself of my t-shirt collection (over 500 shirts going back to high school) and my hat collection that has more than 1,000 ball caps, many of which hang on the walls of my home office and in the garage.
My wife has often kidded me that from a fashion perspective I either dress like a kid or a grandpa, and rarely if ever do I sport a look of that of a 45-year-old professional.
I am attached to my look; with the exception of a couple of years of growing my hair long for the Locks of Love program, I have had the same hair style for 35 years. I still prefer the old-style straight leg Levi’s and t-shirt with a flannel shirt in winter months, or just a plain old beer or concert t-shirt in the summer with a pair of cut-off jeans.

GOODWILL GIFT
But in an attempt to keep peace in the home and try and become a little more modern and hip I started the process of creating a new fashion look for myself. To accomplish this I went and bought a growler of ale from the Right Brain Brewery had a few glasses of beer and headed to my closet, drawers and storage boxes. Before I knew it, I was taking 480 t-shirts, 900 hats and truckload of dated clothes to Goodwill.
Now, I was ready for my new look. I called a few friends of mine that I consider to be fashion savvy and they gave me this advice: Build your fashions as extension of your lifestyle. So for the spring, summer and fall months I like to fly-fish, golf and hang out at the beach. Here is what I found locally to spruce up my wardrobe and give myself a more contemporary look when I am in the public (I still have a few of my old school things hanging around the house).

The Fly Fisher:
Okay, walking around in wadders is not what my wife had in mind. But Orvis (a big name in fly fishing, Streamside Orvis is locally owned and is located in Traverse City) has a lot of great casual clothes. A new item just released this year is the Zambezi Twill Jacket which is perfect for that casual look. Also new is the “Worlds Most Comfortable Travel Blazer” that works in those dressy or business occasions.
For that everyday casual look I like the new Hemp/Trencel Long-Sleeved Shirt that is lightweight, cool and durable. Hemp is a very breatheable fabric and these shirts go great with jeans or slacks and look good under the blazer. Also new is the lightweight Poplin Tab Pants that remain comfortable as temperatures rise.
Other items I found at Orvis include their Expedition Twill Cargo Shorts. Since I rid myself of my hat collection I felt good about buying Packable Sun Hat that is functional on the stream and when I am out and about town.
Another sore spot with my family has been sunglasses that often come from the Dollar Store. I fell in love with the Tri-Spectrum HVO Glasses that create great visibility on those days when the sun reflects off the stream and also look sharp for general ware when sitting on the deck at my favorite summertime outdoor watering holes. Footware has been another one of my failures, but no longer with the H.S. Trask Fisherman’s Sandal. These brown leather sandals have the traditional fisherman design and are comfortable in those casual settings.

The Golfer:
Golf wear looks sharp both on and off the course. Certainly Tiger Woods is
the golfer of choice today, but he is a generation behind me, so I turned to the golfer who I have felt always looked sharp and that being The Shark. Greg Norman has always looked dapper both on and off the course.
I found several pro shops at Northern Michigan golf courses carry the Greg Norman line of clothing and some were willing to special order items for me. After picking up a couple pair of slacks (the Microfiber Textured Pleated Pant) I turned my attention to shirts.
The hot color for this summer is anything green. Names like Asparagus and
Wasabi are being floated about this summer. So I couldn’t resist getting a couple of long-sleeved wasabi pinstripe shirts a matching wasabi sweater vest a couple of wasabi polos. For those less flashy occasions I went with some more traditional colors as well.
Of course, I bought one of those signature Greg Norman straw hats. I don’t
see myself wearing it on the golf course; it’s more than likely I will wear it at patio parties and at the beach. I also came across a pair of FootJoy casual shoes that look like golf shoes but don’t have the spikes.

The Jimmy Buffet Look:
All summer long I find myself at beach parties, patio events, garden parties, outdoor concerts or simply hanging out at area beaches. Typically, I just wear one of my ratty old t-shirts, plain shorts, my orange crocs and a ball cap from The Express. I have “fudgie” written all over me. Okay, Jimmy Buffett is the guy who helped to create that cool casual beach look and he has a line of clothes to prove it.
Sure, the flip-flops were an obvious but my favorite was the Jimmy Buffet Afternoon Golf Dark Camel Shoes. On the soles of the shoes are Buffett’s signature “fins” and they are very comfortable. The shoes go great with lightweight drawstring poplin pants and the Jimmy Buffet Tropical Camp Shirts.
I also came across some plaid shorts and some really nice Jimmy Buffet Martinique Slide-Dark Tan Sandals that will work well on the beach and general walking around town.
A friend of mine said that a great look and a very comfortable shirt is the Cuban Guayabera shirt. These shirts have been around for generations and are known as cigar shirts, bowling shirts, or Mexican wedding shirts. Made from soft pima cotton this is a great out-on-the-town shirt for either the bar or deck party. It also goes great with that Greg Norman straw hat.
Wow, I feel like a new man. Now my wife has asked me to quit acting like a 14-year-old boy and act more my age. I will work on that when I get into my 50s.

Rick Coates was able to purchase a majority of his new wardrobe from Northern Michigan merchants.