admin
Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Fashion 263
Happy weekend!
The lockdown is continuing and is the best way to curb the spread of the global pandemic.
I pray you are all observing and practising the Covid-19 guidelines.
Please always wear a mask in public and the good thing is that masks can now be found in different fashionable shades, depending on one’s style.
Well, as they say: “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
In this regard, clothes don’t make a man, but clothes have gotten many men a good job. This week’s focus is on men.
I understand there are some who are not working from home but that does not stop them from dressing properly.
And with the rains now persisting, fashion waits for nothing.
I know it is difficult to dress formally for the rain.
I met up with local fashion writer and upcoming lawyer Tinashe Nyamushanya who shared the same idea that staying dry should not need any technicality this season.
Besides, Tinashe is one of the essential workers who said that dressing for rainy days is straightforward and is the easiest especially for gentlemen.
“If you want to pop out, you can wear a bright coloured jacket but for rainy season you need to have footwear, outerwear, and an umbrella in mind.
“The lockdown should not stop your fashion sense and again your job has not changed,” he said.
There is also the issue of casual jackets during rainy season which recently dominated the fashion world where wearing casual outerwear, such as a waxed cotton canvas field jacket, like a sports coat, tie and button down shirt have replaced the raincoats.
If you are just taking a walk in your backyard or going to work this is a perfect option.
According to Fashion Beans, the wax treatment gives these jackets an appealing sheen and the fabric itself is both rugged and natural.
This is a perfect casual rain wear.
Another problem, gents tend to worry about when the rainy season comes is taking care of their shoes.
Here are quick tips from Gentlemen Gazette:
- Pre-Treating Your Shoes
When rain is light or occasional, you can still wear your regular calf leather shoes with a natural oil-based sole treatment like Sole Guard.
Well you apply this to the leather soles of your dress shoes and after it dries, it helps prevent water from permeating the shoe through the underside.
The fact is that most shoe damage occurs from water wicking its way up through the sole and warping the leather, so, again, preparing ahead of time is the key.
If you know rain is in the forecast, as a rule, you would also generally forego wearing suede or nubuck shoes, which are particularly prone to water damage.
- Dress Shoes with Rubber Soles
If you are simply not into keeping up with treating your shoes, a step up in terms of protection that requires no maintenance is to buy some shoes with soles equivalent to rubber.
These are not the same rubber soles that appear on cheap shoes which wear out quickly and are difficult to repair.
- Overshoes or Galoshes
When it’s raining cats and dogs, you may need sacrifice style points in favour of wearing utilitarian rain shoes or galoshes.
The French galoche, which originally meant a wooden last for shaping shoes, later referred to wooden clogs and, more recently, to overshoes made in rubber.
For some reason, rubber galoshes or overshoes seem less common these days than a generation or two ago, either because men are becoming more indifferent to protecting already low-quality shoes or because men simply find these shoes ugly.
The fact is, galoshes will never look terrific; they add thickness and bulk to your feet, but, at the same time,they’re light and portable, while providing optimal protection for your shoe investment.
You can leave a pair in your briefcase, in the car, or in a drawer at the office.
Galoshes should be thought of as a functional item more than an aesthetic choice if you choose to buy them.
Perhaps some men are put off by the cheap black rubber versions that are available in any shoe repair shop.
Again, some men asked, “What do you do if your shoes are soaked?
In fact, should your shoes get wet, whether their cordovan or other leather, the first priority is to dry them out, though gradually and in a way that doesn’t warp their original shape.
Stuff the inside with crumpled newspaper and turn your shoes on their side to facilitate drying of the soles.
Change the newspaper as it absorbs moisture and replace them with cedar shoe trees when the shoes are mostly dry.
Whatever you do, avoid applying strong heat to the shoes.
For instance, do not put them on a heating vent, as this will damage them.
Online Reporter