There's a saying attributed to the late Coco Chanel—she of the storied French fashion house—that goes something like this: "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off." The designer's pithy ode to stylistic restraint, apocryphal or not, tends to be true. Less is often more. Except, that is, when it comes to dressing for winter. As soon as the temperature dips below a certain degree I want all the clothes, and I want them pronto. Scarves. Hats. Bags. Gloves. So, so many gloves. Winter gloves, to be exact.
So if you were planning on ditching a few accessories this season in adherence with Coco's oft-cited credo, let me be the first to say: Don't let it be the gloves. Anything but the gloves! I'd hazard a guess that a lot of you real manly men don't even consider slipping on some gloves until temperatures reach subarctic conditions. But taking the appropriate steps to stop your fingers from freezing isn't some grand concession to the changing tides of modern masculinity or significant forfeiture of your outdoorsy bona fides. It's an acknowledgement that your fingers are freezing. Guys, it's fifteen degrees out and there's a blizzard. Or, hell, fifty degrees out and mildly windy. I'd be worried if your fingers weren't freezing. Put on the damn gloves. I can see you shivering from here.
So, before you leave the house this season, look in the mirror and then add one thing: some winter gloves. Because not all heroes wear capes, but a of a lot of 'em wear gloves. And you sure look like the heroic type.