Solstice fever
By Catherine Berlin
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Kjus skiwear
Put down the glass of wine and/or leftover cheeseball. Throw away the six-week-old People magazine and the self improvement book someone gave you for light holiday reading and repeat after me: “I am never, ever going to look like an eighty-five-pound fifteen-year-old.” This is true even if you once were an eighty-five-pound fifteen-year-old. You are older and, unless extremely ill, bigger now, and possibly even a tad more miserable than you were in younger times.
So why not do the only thing that makes sense: get your body into something that will let you spend some time outside playing with your family this winter. You may not think you look like a supermodel in all your high-tech, arctic-zone sportswear, but you will look happy. Nothing in the world looks better than happy.
When you are thinking of skiwear, don’t let your head go straight to Michelin Man or eighties jumpsuit (unless of course, either is what you’d prefer). You can find something no matter what your style preference, and the competition amongst sports designers continues to grow. You can venture into the less structured snowboarding style. You can find patterns that create flattering optical illusions. You can stay warm without too much bulk, but you have to experiment. My test is simply stepping out the front door. If I don’t feel as warm as if I were standing in the middle of my living room, I go back in and put on more. Why? Like a lot of things that have changed since I was a kid, I can no longer go out cold and convince myself that I’ll warm up eventually. Cold avoidance had me acting like an old dog, always opting to lie by the fireplace instead. If I step down the front stairs feeling as I if have brought the furnace with me, it feels as good as heading out on a perfect summer day.
I contacted Kjus, a Swiss skiwear company, to see what they recommend. Their Jaguar jacket uses a PrimaLoft insulation, which is a bit warmer than the Thinsulate in their Viper jacket. Both have pockets for cell phones, glasses, keys, and wallets, which is important because I’ve learned that play is easier if I leave the purse at home. Each jacket has a personal audio pocket with pass through for headphones. But most important is having a wide color choice. I go for the icy cold, “mess with me and you’ll be sorry” 007 look in my outdoor wear (although it has yet to keep the snowballs away). Others who are kinder and more human might prefer a warm, “come play with me” approach, like Jaguar red, which looks as if it would be as effective on men as on children.
Under each jacket we can wear the Foil or the Force underlayer. The Foil is waterproof and windproof, soft and comfortable. The Force is a PrimaLoft jacket that is warmer, but still lightweight and compressible.So let’s do the math. If being cold is a real hang up, then the product info is telling me that I would probably be happiest wearing the Force under the Jaguar. But since I like the blue with the white stripes that give me a waist, I might gamble with the Viper, as long as I am sure to wear the Force underneath. On the other hand, that Foil looks like serious business, too. Okay, so it may be more like new math, but finally there is enough great and good-looking gear to have choice dilemmas.
As for pants, leave the jeans in the closet. I wear my light gray snowpants almost every day, and all I need is a pair of tights under them. Sure, I make that noise when I walk, but I don’t care because I am never cold. Plus they’re not as puffy as they used to be. The white Kjus Adrenaline pant works with any jacket with a white accent. Their light blue Formula pant helps keeps a darker jacket looking playful. If your heart insists on black, almost all ski pants come in that color too. Black is smart if you’re concerned about mud, city street dirt, and spilled après play coffees, but if you’re choosing black because you want to camouflage your lower half, remember that you will often be walking about in a snow white environment. Contact www.kjus.com for more information.
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Although the coat is too lightweight for our colder days, with layering you can take advantage of its beauty and softness, and it’s a perfect weight when the day has you scheduled for jumping in and out of the heated car and buildings. The fabric is dense but not heavy, the buttons shine—but not too much—and there is still plenty of room underneath for a chill-stopping underlayer if you want to spend more time outdoors. Slim pants with a riding style boot, a long skirt with a high-heeled boot, or a shorter heavy slim skirt in suede or tweed and boots with a wedge heel, would all work to finish the look. The shop carries another in cream and tan. These coats are substantial and subtle enough to be the perfect background for this season’s looser, larger, often color-bursting, textured scarves, such as the Denali scarf featured here. I stared at this combination for thirty seconds thinking, “What a shame to have to take it off once you get to where you’re going. Is there any way this could double as a dress?” No, but it looked good enough to make me wonder. Malabar, 6466 W. Quaker St., Orchard Park, 662-2066.
Sonoma lavender microwaveable neck pillow and matching spa slippers
Some days are longer than others, making some nights harder than others. How very civilized to heat up a neck pillow and spa slippers, slip them all on, lay back, feel the warmth, and breathe in the scent of lavender. We all deserve this kind of respite. The pillow and slippers are filled with lavender flowers and flax seeds. Matching booties and robe are also available.
The company should also produce an instructional card for the new pillow owner to pass out to everyone in the house. It would read, “When you see the pillow come out of the microwave, pretend I don’t exist for twenty minutes. XOXO, Mom.” If you can’t work that kind of downtime into your schedule, use the neck pillow as a little extra support when you’re reading or catching the last news of the day. Everyone around you will enjoy the scent. Cosefini, 660 Main St., East Aurora, and 1004 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, 662-2066.
KnollTextile Archival Collection
For those who use this time of year to reevaluate the bears’ den, I recommend a click on Knoll’s website. Its Archival Collection offers up some classics from the past six decades that deserve consideration in any decoration plan. The Collection pieces work at the office, too, in case you have just finished your home and are itching for another inspiration. Knoll sent me a few samples that allowed me to feel the texture and see the play of light on the surfaces. I’m not that special; Knoll will do it for you, too, and it’s worth the request. As anyone who works with textiles and fabrics knows, photographs do not do special materials justice. For example, the Eclat has a rich luster and subtle weave marking that I couldn’t appreciate from the photographs. I have seen the Cyclone as window treatment in office spaces. It allows light in (a big plus during the darker months) while affording enough privacy, and enjoys immunity from domestic versus corporate pigeonholing. In other words, it works anywhere. Visit www.knoll.com/products/productline_12.jsp and see what you recognize from decades past.
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I was going to save this item for the next issue. It made me think more of March. But in going through the proofs, I liked the way it looked with the Icelandic Designs knit coat. Besides, carrying a lot of loose stuff around in your arms is a guaranteed slip and fall. This basket is substantial, and as with other items I favor, a space saver. Fold the handle over to one side, and push the entire metal oval down into the base. It collapses for storage. Reisenthel makes other shaped bags in the same patterns. Also carried at Malabar.
Yum Yum cashmere collar and the Smartworks Nelson
“Your uncle the doctor told me that it’s the wind on the chest, not the head, that makes people more susceptible to cold germs,” I’ve heard on a few occasions in my life. In fact, I was subjected to many years of dickies, those imitation turtleneck necks that I had to wear under every shirt until I was sixteen, body fat took over, and I convinced my mom that breasts served the same purpose. Thousands of colds later, as karma no doubt, I no longer even try to pretend to have a handle on why we get sick, but I have a fairly strong sense of what it takes to keep me happy when the wind blows. And that is, dear Uncle, a scarf. The cashmere Yum Yum is soft around the neck, doubled over for added protection, and comes in many colors. It snaps behind your neck and is small enough to fit in your purse or pocket. Smartworks
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Damask nightwear
I fell in love with the lightly quilted white bed jacket that ties to the side. The shop owner had it wrapped around a stand, and the piece looked upright and elegant. Then I turned around and was cheerfully greeted by mother/daughter nightgowns bearing a fresh needlepoint design. What a dilemma. Two wonderful, but completely different looks. I had to choose just one for the article, but you aren’t so limited. Both are by Damask, an English company started in 1987 by Caroline Dunn, and available here. Every family has its winter evening rituals, and ours involves read-out-louds under piles of down comforters. So I chose the nightgowns. All cotton, nicely detailed, and allows you to think that for one more year, she is still your baby. I’ll work on being elegant next year. Available at Malabar.
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I have featured San Diego Hat Company in the past, notably for performing the almost impossible feat of supplying the women of the world a great-looking sun hat. Its winter line looks sharper in the catalog than it does online, and there is a wider selection of styles to choose from, so it is worth taking the time to get on the mailing list. Go to www.sandiegohat.com and register.
Catherine Berlin is a writer, photographer, and lawyer, raising children and a husband in Buffalo. Growing up around the Great Lakes, she has spent time in California and Arizona, and has a second home in Sweden.
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