How to Refresh your Winter Style Before the Season is Over

Article written by: Jennifer D. Carroll
Posted on: February 24, 2009

If you were to walk into your favorite clothing retailer right now, you would see all of the Spring fashion collections starting to appear on the racks.  While this is great if you want to get a jump start on your Spring/Summer shopping, you are probably at least one to two months away from rocking your Spring gear – depending on where you live and assuming that you are averse to getting frostbite.

So instead of discussing what will be hot for you to wear in a few months, we thought we would hit you off with the Winter Style Remix to help you enhance what you are wearing right now.

If you look at the clearance section in the back of any store or online retailer, you will find all of the items that you would need for a quick winter gear refresh.  Retailers are marking down prices by as much as 75% so that they can make room for the spring lines.  This is the perfect opportunity to purchase a few items at heavily reduced prices that will both keep you warm and keep you looking great until warm weather hits.

We are going to walk you through putting together a fly winter outfit.  We will keep it basic, but stylish so that it can be easily replicated to match your individual taste and style.  In fact, we encourage you to take the basic concepts you see here and make it your own.  We definitely are not trying to create a bunch of style clones – so make sure that you add your own flavor!

Ralph Lauren Hat

If you are one of those guys who hates their ears being cold, you are gonna love this wool skull cap from Polo by Ralph Lauren.  In addition to being warm, this cap fits snugly and keeps its shape even with frequent use.  The detail in the stitching of the logo is what makes this such a great selection.  The combination of the brown, blue and white thread draws attention to the cap and gives it a high quality look.  It is small details such as this, that will set your clothing apart from the next guy.

LRG Vest

The vest above is called the ‘Reason for the Season’ vest byLRG.  Its wool and nylon blend exterior give it a great winter look.  Since the weather is slowly getting warmer, a vest is a great alternative to a bubble or snorkel jacket.  Nothing is worse than running around handling your business and sweating profusely because your winter jacket is too hot.  This vest is a light and flexible alternative, so you can easily adapt it to the day’s weather. It’s $110.

Now the great thing about pairing the Polo by Ralph Lauren skull cap with the LRG ‘Reason for the Season’ vest, is that the details of each garment complement each other well.  The white stitching in the hat, matches well with the light color threads in the wool pattern on the vest.  Again, paying attention to the details will give your outfit a fly, unique look.

J. Crew Sweater

Although J Crew may not be a retailer that comes to mind for urban clothing, they do have high quality sweaters that come in various colors.  This tan crew neck merino wool sweater brings together the colors of this outfit and keeps you warm at the same time.  Its light color contrasts well against the black cap and black vest.  More importantly, it accentuates the light color details of the cap and the vest that we discussed earlier.  The combination of these three items gives the outfit a well balanced look.

Jeans

Here we have two pairs of jeans from PRPS, the “older brother” of the Akademiks brand.  PRPS brand jeans are known for their high quality Japanese mill work and African grown cotton.  Through these jeans are on opposite ends of the style spectrum, they both will work well with this outfit.

On the left, we have a pair of vintage wash relaxed fit jeans.  these have a worn and comfortable look to them.  The stitching elements on the back pockets have the appearance of being  hand sewn – a detail that adds a unique quality to the jeans.  The faded vintage wash will complement the sweater and enhance the light colors found in the cap and vest.

On the right, we have a pair of dark wash,  faded, relaxed fit jeans. These have a harder look to them, but the faded knees make them look well broken in.  The dark wash of these jeans will coordinate well with the dark hat and vest,  if the vintage look is not your speed.  The light color thread used to sew the seams tie in well with the color of the sweater.

Boots

Incorporating a pair of hiking boots into this outfit will definitely set you apart from the crowd!  Here are two options that will coordinate well with the outfit depending on which style of jeans you choose to wear.

On the left, we have a pair of Vasque Summit GTX hiking boots.  These are a rugged, yet comfortable looking shoe.  They are designed to climb up mountains so they will definitely  withstand a little cold weather.  We suggest wearing these boots with the vintage wash PRPS jeans.  The smooth brown leather complements and contrasts well against all of the other items in the outfit. They’re on sale right now for $160.

On the right, we have a pair of Merrell Wilderness Hiking Boots.  Thee boots pair up well with the dark wash PRPS jeans.  At first glance, the blue laces do not seem to coordinate well with our outfit.  However, this is where you can again add some creativity.  The blue laces stand out, so they will definitely catch people’s attention.  This detail will allow the boots to stand on their own.  People are definitely going to be curious about these and ask you about them, this will give you an opportunity to brag a little about how you discovered them.  Get your shine on…

Now, let’s take a look over the entire outfit.  We have a combination of items that are warm and comfortable, but most importantly, very stylish.  We combined a few different styles to give you a unique look that is both refined and masculine.  It doesn’t look overly coordinated, but it does give off  the impression that you know how to mix and match different brands as well as pay attention to the details.  You have officially been remixed!