Casual Weekend Style

I had quite a busy business trip so a bit of a break in posting. Anyway, here is some casual wear from today. A look that's actually quite close to what I like wearing during casual winter days when it gets cold.

A simple navy parka good for winter, raw denim and brogue boots. The vest is wool cashmere and about the right warmth for fall. Later in the year I'd probably go with a heavier knit.

Too bad I didn't have a better camera than an iPhone to take this picture, as I just love the texture of these jeans. Raw denim with a white cotton woven in it, it is just fantastic. Love how it goes with my Tricker's boots as well, which are my most comfortable pair of shoes.

New Pants

So, another set of pictures from some days ago. I had just picked up a new pair of Incotex chinos from my tailor (thanks to a fellow blogger for the good deal). The color is something that I would perhaps call olive or army, and a pretty faded one at that. The jacket is navy and from a cotton wool blend fabric, perfect for the weather we're having this time of the year.

The shirt is a grey gingham check spread collar shirt and the tie an olive green silk tie with white pin dots. Opted for a white cotton pocket square to keep things simple, already enough going on with the shirt's check pattern.

Shoes are my Aldens, which I think still went fine with the dry weather. Love how the suede in them and the belt works here with other fabrics and colors. Socks are dark brown merino wool socks.

Grey and Navy

This picture is actually from last week, but having no "cameraman" at the moment I'm going to have to resort to some pictures I haven't had time to post yet. This is from last week, a day I had a meeting requiring a bit more toned down look. Found myself going to work wearing grey, navy and white.

Now, I know the tie is a sprezzish, but the picture is actually taken late in the evening after I had visited my tailor and tried on some stuff. After that I pretty much just tied a quick "after work" knot. Which I quite like actually, but even I wouldn't have that at work. I suppose the loafers are the "thing" in this outfit, but frankly I love loafers as part of my style and as the work environment has no problem with brown loafers I'm gonna be wearing them whatever people say.

The tie is an E. Marinella, worn in a few posts already I think. One of my go-to ties when I need something that doesn't have too bright colors and that goes well with pretty much any outfit. Pocket square is a basic cotton white square.

Four In Hand

Now, I personally think the way you tie your neck tie and how you form the know is a big portion of the end result. Otherwise impeccable outfit can go down by at least by a half if the knot is all wrong and, say, the tie hasn't been tightened properly. I have to admit I'm a bit obsessed by tie knots, and here's some thoughts I've developed lately. In my opinion this is the most important post I've written so far.

First and utmost, Windsor and half Windsor both make me sick. Very rarely do they work, and mostly when the person wearing them is quite wide and big. Then I can see a medium sized Windsor knot working as it sort of works with the overal habitus. However, in 98% of all cases a four in hand is always more beautiful.

So, what about four in hand? I personally think it's form is better in line with the human shape, and furthermore the unique shape makes it so much more interesting. Now, most people aim for the perfect dimple that's created to the center of the tie. I often do this myself, and here are a few examples of regular Four In Hands as well as double Four in Hands (which I usually tie).

Tie by Tom Ford.

Tie by E. Marinella.

Tie by unknown maker.

Now, for work and especially for more formal occasions I do favor this way of hanging myself, but lately I'va started to grow a liking to a more informal and nonchalant way to present my tie.

After some thinking I've made the following observation: For me the beauty in a four in hand is in the shape of the knot and even more in the sort of squeezing effect is has to the blade of the tie. This is a bit hard to explain, but the point is I no longer favor a single dimple as my to-go kind of four in hand. I actually think the aesthetic just comes from the uniqueness of that day's knot, be it a bit off in some way or even better also correlate with the way you've folded your pocket square. Here is a few examples of four in hands I just tied without any sort of goal.

Tie by Versace.

Tie by E. Marinella.

Tie by Kent Wang.

I think all these knots are a lot more interesting than the previous ones, and all have an even greater effect of that squeezing of the tie blade. Now, I might sound a bit obsessed and crazy, but really it is the details that make just average things stylish beyond others. I'm not saying the single dimple in the middle is worse, but I personally prefer a more the latter one. Just compare and tell me what you think:

Tie by E. Marinella.

Tie by Berg & Berg.

I'd be very interested in hearing what you think, as I haven't really discussed this with anyone and it is basically a thing that has been brewing in the style section of my head for some time. Dimple or just random form?

School Uniform

I had a short visit to my university on Friday. Didn't feel like putting anything too fancy on me, so I decided to go with a basic odd jacket-casual tie-jeans-casual derbies look.

Could've used a more casual shirt, but I suppose this one still works here. The tie is an unlined wool tie with a very sort of shabby and rough texture - perfect for this time of the year. Pocket square is a wool silk blend with navy dots.

Jeans are a bit older with a nice darker shade of blue. Shoes are John Lobbs, a pair that has seen a lot. I've used them to climb some cliffs in Grand Canyon, defeat the rain in Scotland and they've also stepped on some fish eyes in Shanghai. Still going strong though, with only a few battle scars to show.

Tomorrow I will post the most important post so far, concerning the king of tie knots - the mighty four in hand. Check back on Sunday!

My Top Ten - Which One's Your Favorite?

So, here are my own top ten favorite posts from past months. Which one do you prefer? Join the conversation on FB.


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The Nordic Fit Turns 6 Months

So, today my humble blog will be 6 months old. Started in tumblr on 21.03.2012, The Nordic Fit keeps gathering more and more monthly readers as we speak. At the moment we are talking about tens of thousands of people getting a piece of Finnish take on classic and comtemporary style. I would like to offer my most humble thank-yous and hope that you have gained something from your visits. Be it from "That actually looks good" to "I'm certainly not gonna wear that", I am happy that I have been able to be a part of you developing or assessing your style.

Sneak peak of next week's material.

For this post I thought I would share some interesting statistics from the start of June. And first up, top tep countries of incoming traffic to Blogspot. I've had some problems with recording the data on tumblr's side, so unfortunately that's not available. The last week USA was 76% of all traffic though, so this seems to vary quite a lot.

Some weeks there has also been quite exotic countries (from my point of view) reaching the top five, such as the Philippines or Peru. There has also been pretty weird google search words being used to end up in my site which I shall perhaps list in a postseparate entry some time later.

Now I want to thank you all and hopefully you'll keep coming back. Anytime you have any questions or feedback, please send them to contact (at) thenordicfit.com.

Smart Casual For Fall

The pictures are from perhaps two weeks ago, some that I never got to post. At first I didn't think I would post them as they were so basic, but then I don't necessary think there always has to be anything crying for attention (I do like peacocking about too, sometimes, I admit). Actually now writing this text I realized it is pretty close to what I reckon as smart casual - an odd jacket, a button-down shirt, cotton chinos and brown semi-formal shoes. White cotton pocket square is perhaps the most neutral of pocket squares, goes well here.

I hate button-down shirts that have tiny fashion collars. If you go to a department store anywhere all the racks are full of those. This one is decent, with nice collar roll and long enough collar points, but still decent at best. I wear bd shirts so rarely that so far I've put my money on other shirts, but perhaps the time has come finally to kop a few..

The chinos are navy, the color balance seems slightly off here. Shoes are my tan brogues by Cheaney, a pair that really requires a slim leg opening to look sharp. Quite beautiful shoes, but I don't really like full brogue oxfords anymore. Would prefer to wear cap toe suede oxfords or perhaps brown chukka boots here. Buut, limited budget limited style.

Tomorrow I'll put up a few posts to celebrate the blog's 6 months anniversary, so check back to tune in for the weekend!

Something Different

This post might be a bit radical compared to my normal texts, but here we go. I decided to start running after a few years break due to a few operations to my knee. Naturally the situation called for new running shoes.

Those interested, the shoes are Nike LUNARFLY TR GTX Ms I ended up choosing partly because of the design but most of all the because of how they fit to my feet. Furthermore, this particular model has a bit rougher pattern so I hope it will cope better with the Finnish winter.

For the vanity factor I also bought of a pair of Nike running gloves (Makes me chuckle to even say it, who needs special gloves for running?) that were on sale for EUR 9. At home and to my surprise I found out they actually had a useful feature - a nice little pocket where you can put your keys into while running. Clever.

I swear this to be the only sportswear-related entry at least before christmas. Hands on my wardrobe.

Pinstripes and Blood Red

As always, Monday calls for a suit. A rule I've set to keep myself in line in this country of quite informal clothing. As I don't necessarily have to wear one, I certainly can and like to at least in the beginning of the week. Today it was pinstripes and blood red.

I've gained a few pounds, both hard and soft, towards the end of the summer, and frankly it kind of shows. Even though it isn't no where near of what this picture shows (I'm walking at a pace and the wind is pushing the other side open), meaning it doesn't pull when standing still in the classic robot pose, I think I will still have it let out just a bit. Even though I prefer a tight fit that when moving a lot will show pulls and wrinkles, this one is now is now nearing the limit of where I feel comfortable and good in general. And when you don't feel comfortable and like your confident self it's time to bring out the scissors.

Anyway, it is still a good example of how to use bright red. I have to say I really like how the color pops up from the white shirt and the white border of the pocket square. Furthermore, the color with the pinstripe and black semi brogue oxford shoes create quite a power combination. I like.

And remember to keep your shoes clean and in good shine. Dirty shoes aren't good looking.

Weekend Shopping Wear

Here's something a touch more casual I had on for going for a little shopping with my girlfriend yesterday. A bit more experimental too, but I quite like it. Think I have to get a few more lightweight cardigans.

The jacket from my grey suit works quite well alone, even though I don't really like using grey jackets alone (Somehow navy or even brown is always just a lot better as an odd jacket.). Anyway, here it is with a brown lightweight cardigan, a brown unlined cashmere tie and a light brown with dark brown and blue accents wool pocket square. The trousers are white cotton chinos. White trousers are so good at highlighting some colors, the browns in this case.

As shoes I decided to pick my navy tassel loafers. In a more sunny day like this I feel they were still a good choice. Shoes are dark brown merino wool.

Again, like on FB if you want updates on new posts.

Yesterday's Business Casual

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the interest and support shown by my readers and followers in the past days - my FB page's messagebox and my mailbox have been in more use than ever. If you have any comments, feedback or requests please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Then, yesterday's business casual outfit after the sneak peak posted yesterday.

My grey fall jacket, loving how it fits now (which isn't apparent from my face, haha). With it, a blue spread collar shirt and a brown with light blue "dots" knit tie. The pocket square is a brown silk square with a blue pattern hidden inside the pocket.

Shoes are my beloved Alden tassel loafers. That still work well when it's sunny.

Have a nice weekend!

Recent Combinations

Here are some recent combinations with hi-res pics. It's nice to see my old Canon EOS 350D still does its job.

First off a light brown wool silk blend square worn with a navy wool suit.

Then, grey cashmere wool blend with a chocolate brown silk square.

My Hickey Freeman charcoal pinstripe suit with a rust-colored woolen square. This is actually from today.

 

An old and a bit shitty Prince of Wales check jacket (yes, it's 10% polyester) with a light blue with burgundy silk square.

And last, my cotton db suit with a purple with greens and white silk square.

More good stuff towards the end of the week!