Winter Coats for the Fly Guy, The Obama Name, Fighting Winter Skin & Paper Butterfly

Winter Coats for the Fly Guy

This is my first Chicago winter so let me go ahead and get this off of my chest *&%$@!!*$ it’s cold!!! It’s like someone took the vibrant and soulful city I was enjoying in the summer, stripped it scrotum naked and dropped it in the Antarctic. Not cool Chicago. Not cool at all.

Okay, I’m back. Since winter is inevitable up here that means winter wardrobes in Chicago have to be just as fly as summer wardrobes. Why should summer be the only season with a little flavor to it? One way to see some serious winter style is on Sunday morning when everyone’s going to church. Oh Chicagoans turn out for the Lord. Minks and sables and any other fur that could be used to make a coat is usually sitting right beside you on the church pew and these are men and women a like. But what if you’re not the “bitch better have my money” kind of fur coat wearing brother like myself? What are you winter coating options for the rest of this glorious season? I got you covered homie.

I found a list of 10 hot winter coats for men that are more than trendy these coats are investments in 1} maintaining your body temperature when Chicago winds decide they want to steal your body heat as well as your soul and 2} maintaining your style for seasons to come because these coats are made from cuts and materials that are winter fashion staples for any man.

Check out this Kenneth Cole number. It’s sleek, sharp and with the layered look you can pull just about anything off. Bundling up doesn’t mean look sloppy.

This is one of my personal favorites from Scotch and Soda. When it comes to coats remember that what you wear over your clothes has to have some personality as well. With the right hat, scarf and gloves you can easily set it off in this one.

Get a good look at this snazzy mofo from April 77 {to the right}. Ain’t it the truth? Don’t get deterred by how homeboy ain’t rocking it right in the profile. Put a driving cap with this coat and a colorful scarf that will compliment the color of the coat {you can put any color with gray by the way} and draw attention up to your face. Trust me.

And what is winter without the down coat? Now I know how some people feel about wearing all white but this Energie coat {pictured left} is fresh and it’s not something you’d wear every day either. Only places where there are no kids or dirty walls. Nah for real.

You can check out the rest of the list here and also keep this in mind; this is the time of the year and {unfortunately} the right economic climate to come up on some really good buys if you can afford it. Great brands and designers are slashing prices all willy-nilly and we all have the chance to come out on top in the name of winter fashion.

Be fly. Stay warm.

The Obama Name Game

We all knew it was gonna happen. When Nov 5th came there were two things I knew for sure 1} white folks would have to practice extra hard pronouncing ethnic names thanks to our President-Elect and 2} high school, 18 years from now, will be filled with thousands of kids who have Obama, Barack, Hussein and Michelle as their first and middle names. Just say his name.

Ba-rack O-ba-ma.

I bet those are syllables no American thought they’d be pronouncing so often. Now we have a new generation of Obama babies upon us and not just in the USA but worldwide. Sanjae Obama Fisher was born in Florida just hours before Obama whooped up on McCain and Barack Jeilah Williams was born on Nov 5th. Now a month and some change later parents from Indonesia to Romania are granting their newborns with the names Hussein, Barack and Obama. {Picture below: Sanjae Obama to the left and Barack Jeilah to the right}.

In a matter of two years the name republicans were making fun of has become the name parents covet for their children. Talk about a come up.

Read more here.

Fighting Winter Skin

I know I posted something on this subject before (Winter Skin Tips…Because the Hawk is Hell on Your Skin) but it bears reposting because guess what?

THE HAWK IS HELL ON YOUR SKIN!!! {For those of you who don’t know what the Hawk is just ask one of your black friends}.

Your skin is your first line of defense when it comes to protection and warmth and you can’t stay warm when you are dryer than British humor. Whether you live in North Carolina or North Dakota you need to properly take care of your skin when winter hits. And let me tell you this fellas it ain’t cute. Ladies pay attention to these things and shaking a woman’s soft supple hands with your rough palms is not a good look for a first impression. Chances are if your hands are ashy then you lips look like…never mind. Just read the damn tips below and thank me later.

Switch up to a heavier moisturizer. I have a friend who swears by Cetaphil face wash and moisturizer and I swear I haven’t seen her ashy since 1998. Real talk


Take care of your hands and feet. Winter air can take a toll on your extremities so rejuvenate them over night. Place moisturizer on your hands and feet and cover your feet socks and hands with plastic gloves while you sleep.

Pick up some fish oil pills. Winter skin care doesn’t just take place outside of the body. What we eat can provide our bodies with the essential moisture we need to keep the ash away.

And please, it has to be said, only ingest the pills. Don’t try to get savvy and use the pills for other shit because- trip this- fish oil pills actually have fish oil in them! If you want to walk around smelling like a salmon then by all means do what you want but I’m warning you. The smell isn’t pleasant.

Get the rest of the tips here.

Paper Butterfly

There are a few bastions of personal style that still ring true today as they did years ago like a tailor or even a great barber but to me an overlooked element of personal style is cards and stationary. Cards and personalized stationary are one of the easiest and often most overlooked ways to put some more uniqueness in your image. A good friend of mine has just launched her own paper design company called Paper Butterfly.

Everything is hand crafted and unique designs to Paper Butterfly. If you like standing out then you’ll love what PB offers. Now the company is in its infancy and the catalog isn’t that extensive but believe me when I say more designs are coming. Check out the website and pick up some Christmas cards.

Quote of the Day

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

-Goethe

{Thanks to Paper Butterfly for such a great quote!}