INFATUATE: 1988 EXTREME!

In 1988, when I was a little runny nosed kid, the Blizzard of Aahhh's was released. A few years later, Blizzard was given to my older brother and me as a Christmas gift from our Uncle Steve. Our lives changed. We loved skiing, but we had never seen skiing quite like this. We had our own sports stars at the time - Reggie Lewis, Mike Greenwell, Kevin Dineen - the list goes on. Who were these guys on screen? Scot Schmidt? Mike Hattrup? Rasta Stevie? They seemed pretty cool. Then Glen Plake showed up. With a Mohawk. A helmet camera. And neon clothes. Jumping off cliffs like a mad man with an amazing soundtrack pumping in the background. A warrior of the wasteland. We couldn't wait to go skiing...everyday for the next ten years.

The best ski movie ever made. If you are a skier - and you haven't seen this movie - just start snowboarding immediately.

Plake on the cover of Powder Magazine, October 1988. Wish I had that bonus poster.

Looking back, and to no surprise I suppose, what I liked most about Plake was his steeze. A bit different from the rest is an understatement. He slapped traditional and privileged ski kids in the face with his brash attitude and insane wardrobe. People from California skied? We learned quickly. A ski rebel and a ski hero, I am creating a 2010, via 1988, head-to-toe bad ass ski outfit in honor of my favorite style icon skier of all time, Glen Plake. I love the use of blue and green neon with the pop of pink neon only used in the extremities - goggles, gloves, and boots.

Bern Macon Helmet

Coal Frena Beanie

Sessions Work Jacket

Nixon Vega Watch

Armada Cosmo Glove

K2 V8 Ski Pole

Billabong Gunner Pant

Technica Agent 130 Boot

K2 Obsethed Ski

For the opening Credits of Blizzard of Aahhh's, click here.
For a quick 1988 Plake introduction, click here.
For skiers that still haven't seen this movie, click here.

EXPOSE: Designer Amy Sarabi

Amy Sarabi

Amy and I have been friends and co-workers for the last few years. She is an amazingly talented designer featured on the current season of Project Runway on Lifetime. Last episode she made a dress out of a potato sack! Check out her bio and portfolio here. We are all rooting for you!

ENDORSE: Men's Boots

I keep a decent boot quiver. I love wearing boots and I think its important for a dude to sport different boots for different occasions. All boots should be broken in. If you are wearing boots that are not broken in, you should not be wearing boots. Plain and simple. Below are some of my boots. What kind of boots are you wearing?

Casual - Clarks Desert Boot

Dress - John Varvatos Half Cab

Work Boots - Blokes Lace Up

Pull On Boots - Timberland Chelsea

INFATUATE: 20th/21st Century President Golfers

ENDORSE: Coachella Twenty Ten

EXPOSE: Ryan Bingham

2010 is going to be a big year for Ryan Bingham...

INFATUATE: 1920's Plus Fours

Plus Fours in action

Plus Fours were first introduced in England after World War I. The style was taken from British officers riding britches and adopted as a more stylish alternative to the traditional knickers. Fitted with extra fabric, plus fours bloused over the knee band of the pant creating a baggier feel that fell right in line with the menswear fashions of the 1920's era. The name "plus fours" was derived from that extra fabric, which usually fell to about four inches below the knee.

Bobby Jones

The roaring 1920's saw the creation of golf fashion. Players not only wanted to play well but also wanted to look stylish. Athletes began to adopt to the fashion trend of plus fours, finding the extra fabric had the benefit of comfort. The standard outfit quickly became plus fours, knee socks, and a pull over sweater.

Gentleman

Plus Fours fell out of style in the mid-1930's as walking shorts were introduced as an alternative, but they never quite disappeared. The legendary Payne Stewart wore them for his entire career. Payne was my favorite golfer, a very stylish man, and one hell of a model American.

The below picture shows Payne celebrating after sinking a putt on the final hole to win the 1999 U.S Open at Pinehurst, North Carolina. His 15 foot par putt was the longest made putt to decide any U.S. Open in history. Stewart would not get a chance to defend his title in 2000 as he died just four months later in a plane crash. I hope someone will soon carry on the tradition of wearing plus fours on the golf course.

William Payne Stewart

ENDORSE: Randolph Engineering Sunglasses

I've had my Randolph Engineering sunglasses for the past 14 months and they are the best sunglasses I have ever owned. I'd been looking for an updated pair of aviators and these intitially caught my eye when Michael Bastian recommended them in his "10 essentials" interview for the style section of GQ. Since then they have made quite the rounds on men's fashion and lifestyle blogs, and most recently, landed an online partnership with J.Crew. Looks like that partnership ended and unfortunately J.Crew is back with Ray-Ban (they break).

So what is so great about these shades? To start, they are reasonably priced, starting at just $99. Next, they are fully customizable - something everyone appreciates. You can change the frame color, lense color, and temple (bayonet, skull, or cable). Furthermore, they have an amazing return policy and warranty - any broken solder joints are covered for life. Go online and check them out here. If all that wasn't enough, they send you an equipment maintenance kit with each pair, complete with extra screws, nose pieces, and an optical screwdriver. Also included is a lens cloth and carrying case. Best of all, they are made right here in the U.S.A. in Randolph, MA.

Pictured above is their flagship style, the RE Aviator, with skull temples. This style was originally built for the U.S. Military 30 years ago and is also given to NASA astronauts. RE are standard issue for the U.S. Air Force and also to the RNZAF (Royal New Zeland Air Force). If its good enough for them... For the record, I own the Intruder model with gold frames, bayonet temples, and grey polycarbonate lenses. Please don't copy me.

EXPOSE: John Prine

I rediscovered John Prine listening to Pandora at my office. I hadn't heard his music in a very long time and with the Americana revival trend in high gear I found his songwriting more refreshing than ever. His first album contains so many of my favorite songs - I had forgotten they were all on the same record. From there I searched around and listened for hours, mostly to his most recent album, 2007's Songs for Average People, which I had not yet heard.

John Prine, 1971

John Prine was born in Maywood, Illinois in 1946. He got his start playing open mics and small gigs in Chicago and received his first review from movie critic Roger Ebert. He was discovered by Kris Kristofferson and went on to become a main figure in the Chicago Folk Revival. In 1971, Prine released his first album, John Prine. Featured on this album were signature songs "Far From Me" and "Sam Stone", as well as country standards "Angel From Montgomery" and "Paradise".

Prine has released 19 albums so far in his career. Good friends Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Johnny Cash have given Prine's song writing the highest praises over the years. Kristofferson once remarked his song writing was so good that "we'll have to break his thumbs!" I'm sure most of you out there have heard Prine's music here and there, but if not recently, give it another listen. I can't wait to go on a road trip soon and play some Prine along the way.

INFATUATE: 1983-1988 BMW M6

I have been obsessed with this car for quite some time. I can't quite remember when or why this started, but it hasn't gone away. I've always loved the look of the old 2002 BMW model, and the E24 model M6 is like its evolution. A stronger, angrier, sports coupe, with a beautiful shark nose.

In 1983 BMW modified its M88/3 engine and created the M635CSI - also known as the M6 in North America. A few years later in 1987 Road and Track magazine featured this model as one of the 10 fastest cars in America. Sadly, production ended in 1989 with about 1,800 M6 cars sold in the states. Once in a while I see a sale posting for one in decent condition. Someday...

Not digging the '86 blue model above? How about this jet black '87 piece below? So sick.