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!}

Crown Ministries, I Love Black People, The Harlem Tea Room, Winter Skin Tips, and The Gentlemen's Fund

Crown Ministries: Jesus is a financial planner too?!

Not only is He your co-pilot but He can balance a mean check book. All jokes aside, Crown Financial Ministries is a financial management workshop based on principles of the bible applied to money management. Crown's mission is to "equip people worldwide to learn, apply, and teach God's financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately, be free to serve Him, and help fund the Great Commission." When you really think about it the entire movement makes a lot of sense {that is if you are a Christian}. Founders Larry Burkett {RIP} and Howard Dayton refreshingly put a new twist on old thinking when it comes to religion, money, debt and managing them. The Crown movement has been gaining ground {recently featured on Good Morning America} and is rooted in contentment and stewardship {two things we all can improve upon} and works to re-educate people, all over the world, about the blessings of God and how money fits into that category. I'm not the type of blogger to pass on things to you without trying them myself. I'm excited to say that I will be starting my Crown Financial Ministry classes at Mt. Paran Church of God here in Atlanta very soon. To be honest I'm psyched about it too. Crown is built to help all those who believe in Him get their paper right so they can stop worrying about bad finances and start appreciating all the good in their life. Dealing with debt and getting out of it isn't easy but if God can part the Red Sea I KNOW He can help a brother with his credit. To find out more about Crown Financial Ministries click here.



I Love Black People

My people at Shadowflack Apparel struck a chord with these shirts. Although this self-loving and positive movement via fashion has been going on for some time I STILL get looks and inquiries when I wear my I Love Black People t-shirt {I even wrote about it on my myspace blog http://www.myspace.com/theoneandonlyemoo }. I was so impressed and inspired by the message that I bought shirts for my family immediately after I purchased mine directly from the owner, R. Morgan. Mr. Morgan and the Shadowflack team have been touching the masses and helping black people {and others} love each other and themselves with this apparel. I've seen these shirts all over the TV screen and although I spotted a knock-off version on Run's House a few months ago it's still good to know that Morgan's message is so successful that someone {probably not even black} had to knock it off. Shadowflack has a full portfolio of I Love Black People merchandise so check out the site and be sure to pick something up. And if they happen to have an I Love Black People messenger bag, overnight bag, blazer or fitted cap let a brother know.



Would You Like Some Tea with your Uptown?

If you haven't noticed I'm pro-black and definitely pro-black business. I love to support African-Americans who have made the transition from employee to employer and I definitely admire Patrice Clayton and The Harlem Tea Room staff. And no, before you even ask I haven't been there yet but best believe that I'll be sipping on some aromatic, antioxidant rich brews during my next trip to NYC. I found out about this stylish 3-year old endeavor while watching the Black Enterprise business report and have heard nothing but great things about The Harlem Tea Room since then. Patrice has stated that the welcome and response to the tea room in Harlem has been more than she imagined and its just a testament to the fact that black consumerism doesn't fit into the myopic box marketers try to assign to our culture and lifestyle. A lot of the crowd is a professional type but The Harlem Tea Room also attracts a wide range of clientèle and Patrice can absolutely add me to the list. If you find yourself in Harlem or heading to NYC stop by The Harlem Tea Room located at 1793A Madison Avenue or give them a call at 212.348.3471.



Winter Skin Tips...Because the Hawk is Hell on Your Skin

I know January is practically over and in some places Spring may come early but Winter temperatures are still a reality for most of us {even those of use in ATL} and you still have to protect yourself from the brutal chill of winter air. For a lot of us Winter can be a time to implement a completely different skin care regiment and even if you are the type of person who thinks he or she is fine doing what you normally do in warmer temperatures then check out your elbows and knees. If they look like someone sprinkled powder sugar on them then keep reading. {Yeah I went there.}

Julyn Derrick over at About.com has a lot of helpful info to keep your skin in prime condition during colder climates. Like using lukewarm water instead of hot water because hot water depletes the skin of natural moister, using creamy moisturizers and bypassing the drying soaps and not forgetting that your lips need moisture too- use a lip balm people! And for my fellas the team over at MSN Lifestyle: Men suggest using shampoos that contain soothing products like "extracts of seaweed, licorice and plai oil". Its not a shampoo but I'm partial to Carol's Daughter's Lisa's Hair Elixir myself because it contains peppermint which contains circulation. No matter what product you use just realize that skin in the winter needs more attention which means you need to be up on your game until Spring officially makes it way into our lives. You don't want to be caught out there with the Hawk staring at your ashy ankles. It ain't a good look.




GQ's Gentlemen's Fund

You really can't get mad at the combination of style and philanthropy. I read about GQ's The Gentlemen Fund a few months ago and have been impressed about it ever since. It doesn't hurt that my boy John Legend is the spokesperson either.


The Gentlemen's Fund's mission is to "raise support and awareness for five cornerstones essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment, and justice." Like I said, you can't get mad at this. The Gentlemen's Fund is comprised of 5 individual charities Career Gear, DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids, A Better Chance, Global Green USA and Justice for Children International. The Gentlemen's Fund is dedicated to improving the welfare of men and children all over the world and although the organization is 1 year old I'm sure that GQ will be impacting a lot of lives in the future through their works. When you get a chance check out The Gentlemen's Fund and if the spirit moves you donate some paper {or suits in Career Gear's case} to the cause.



Quote of the Day

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."

-Barack Obama