A very old down jacket!

My old Moncler down jacket is more than 50 years old (52 to be exact) and this week, my daughter wore it, as she needed something warm to ward off winter’s return. The origins of that garment and its name is worth mentioning. 

Moncler is in fact the abbreviation of Monestier-de-Clermont, a mountain village near Grenoble. Here in 1952, René Ramillon and André Vincent founded the company that created the now iconic down jacket that offered then high resistance and protection against the harshest climates and was tested in a variety of mountain expeditions. 

In 1954, Moncler’s down jackets were chosen to equip the Italian expedition to K2, in which Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli summited the world’s second highest summit. 

Successful through the 1980s, the brand began to lose ground and was acquired in 2003 by the Italian Remo Ruffini who turned the jacket into a luxury garment that sells today in the US for around $1,500. 

I purchased this one when I was a ski instructor in Avoriaz in fall of 1973 for significantly less, and it’s still almost like new. Talk about quality, then!

When ski fashion trumps safety

My wife and I often see interesting things during our morning walks. Yesterday, I was first to spot a skier waiting for the shuttle and ready to ski the new powder that had fallen overnight. 

Even in the distance, he was very easy to spot as he wore a pair day-glow orange pants and, eventually, as we got much, much closer, I could discern his ski partner clad in a “camouflage” ski outfit, mostly gray and earth-tones, that was much harder to see because he was near a clump of trees. 

For those of you who have been on the ski slopes this winter, you probably have also witnessed the popularity of these ski jackets and pants in “camo” as it’s popular to say. Yet, what do skiers, and particularly older ones, fear the most? Collisions with other skiers or snowboarders. 

Beside paying attention to the potential victims or perpetrators, the only best thing to do is being extremely visible on the mountain. It could be wearing an orange helmet, a bright green jacket or a red pair of pants, but a piece of clothing that can stand out might go a long way in signaling one’s presence on the hill. 

This is particularly true when skiers or snowboarders are stopped on the edge of a wooden or bushy run and are ready to resume their descent. They become very hard to spot if their outfit is dark, in earth-tones, or worst of all, in camouflage. 

"See and be seen."

I wonder what went in the head of the stylists who designed these pieces of clothing, and worst, in the mind of ski retailers who stocked the item? Safety sacrificed to fashion? Not a good idea!

Ready for a new pair of Crocs?

Yesterday, my wife and I just ordered another pair of Crocs. This will be our third since we began to buy the iconic footwear around 2009, but we don’t remember for sure. We use them as house sleeper and have found them very comfortable, silent and safe inside. We just couldn’t live without them. 

Crocs was developed in 2002 by Scott Seamans, Lyndon "Duke" Hanson, and George Boedecker, Jr., who, as boating enthusiasts, were looking for a comfortable, slip-resistant shoe to wear on deck. The original design was based on a foam clog made by a Canadian company called Foam Creations. 

In 2004, the three inventors purchased the rights to the design, including the proprietary foam resin called Croslite, a closed-cell EVA resin, and began tweaking it to create the Croc shoe we know today. The name "Crocs" is for "crocodile," as the shoe was designed to be worn in or around water. 

Interestingly, I couldn’t verify if Lyndon Hanson was related to one the two Hanson brothers, Chris and Denny, who founded the Hanson Ski Company in 1961, but I had thought so, since, just like Crocs, they were established around Boulder, Colorado. 

Since imitation is the best form of flattery, lots of copycat companies have flourished over the years and have been sued by Crocs for infringing on its patented design and construction. Crocs look-alike brands include Airwalk, Crosskix, Poliwalks, USA Dawgs/Doggers and Veggies, among others. 

Versions of the Croc style clogs have also appeared in children's fashion catalogs, usually under their own name brands or as no names while other knock-offs have been found in discount stores, beach stores, and the like. 

I’ve always admired the clean design and the ergonomics of Crocs, and I’m not the only one, since the shoe was tested and recommended by the US. Ergonomics company in 2005 and were accepted by the American Podiatric Medical Association in 2009. 

There were also a few problems along the way, with small kids wearing small size Crocs getting caught in escalators in Japan, static electricity related problems in some medical environments, but by in large, after the usual ups and downs, the company is now floating on its success with more than $2 billions in annual revenue and showing no sign of slowing down.

Olympic uniforms

I watched part of the teams parade at the 2022 Olympic ceremonies and didn’t particularly like the French uniforms with the characteristic “V” showing the national colors. 

I thought it looked bad and didn’t care for the implicit meaning of victory that shape represented. 

My favorite uniforms were the Finns’ and I didn’t care much for the Ralph Lauren designed American uniforms either. 

I’m sure a lot of unproductive time, much fighting and a tons of politicking go into deciding these uniforms and the messages they’re supposed to represent, but I would always say: “Keep it nice, clean, simple and it’s guaranteed to look stunning!”

Goodbye old business suits!

The last time I wore a business suit was, I believe, more than 15 years ago, at a friend’s wedding in Vail, Colorado.

Since that time, my suits have been waiting patiently inside a downstairs bedroom closet, and on numerous occasions, my wife has begged me to get rid of the ones I would never wear again.

On Thursday, I finally gave in, and proceeded to conduct a painful sorting of what should be kept and what should be given to a local charity.

One good news was that all of my clothes were still fitting me easily, albeit in a baggier fashion than what’s fashionable these days. I must have lost quite a bit of muscle mass, even though I was never a muscled man.

The bad news was that for the most part, the styling was no longer in fashion. Granted, it might return some day, but without any guarantee that the jackets styling will be synched with the trouser’s, plus the time element make such a wait highly speculative!

With all these considerations in mind, I kept a tuxedo, a sport jacket, a timeless navy blazer, a pair of gray slacks and a navy pin stripped, double-breasted suit even though that style is not (yet?) in fashion again.

When all was said and done, this rescue felt like a lost cause as I’ll probably will have to step up and buy a new suit if some future event requires my wearing some decent, formal attire!

Are wrinkles the new fashion?

We love to watch CNBC's Nightly Business Report on PBS, and last night, the host Bill Griffeth was interviewing Deloitte's Rod Sides about the upcoming Holiday spending forecast.

While he asserted his bullishness about the 2018 Holiday season, my eyes were glued on his wrinkled suit.

Sure, I realized that he had been prepped by a TV crew before going on air (he was wearing a broadcasting hear-piece), but I couldn't believe that no one had noticed his remarkably wrinkled suit unless of course, I'm totally ignorant about fashion trends.

I'm totally ignorant about fashion trends. Well, any new wardrobe statement has to begin somewhere...

Moon Boots forever?

This morning as we were running, I notice a kid waiting for the school bus and wearing a brand-new pair of Moon Boots. This footwear was first created in the early 1970s by the manufacturer Tecnica, in Italy. Ever since, over 25 million pairs have been sold and that wonderful business still goes on.

After fading away for a while, like most fashion items do, the boots regained popularity in the early 21st century. Of course, today, these boots are no longer made in Italy, they're manufactured in Ukraine, at the rate of some 700,000 pairs per year. A great marketing idea and a financial jackpot!

About ski headgear...

Nature outfitted me with a rather large head. There used to be a time in my skier's life when ski hats were made big enough to cover it well. After the 80s however, ski hat production went to China and hat suppliers not content to amass huge margins on their “Made in Hong-Kong” and later “Made in China” hats, were also cutting corners and skimping on sizes.

In the past decade, my ski hats always wanted a divorce from my head and while I lost only one knit hat to a gust of wind (true story...), I always had my big ears exposed to the cold and the wind. Talking about my ears, those don't get along well with the Apple ear buds either, that literally won't stay in their cavities. The solution to that problem, which also solved the previous issue, was to wear an Inca-style knit hat. It did work, but I didn't like the way that particular style looked on me.

It's only when the portable video cam like GoPro came out that I decided to buy a helmet and use it as a filming platform. In the process, I discovered that the helmet would hold my ear buds securely in place, keep my head warm, serve as a container to store my head liner, goggles and gloves, plus make my head look twice as big! Did I say it was supposed to protect it?