Back and Forth Between the Boots

December 11, 2016December 12, 2016

Back and Forth Between the Boots fixed on footwear

There are four pairs of boots I swear by to carry my toes from tepid conditions on the Coastal Ohio Trail and Lake Erie Islands to the end of every winter.

Not only are they are fashionable these picks protect my peds in all of the elements. Today, with the first flurries of Fall 2016 that stuck, I found myself back in Columbia’s Bugaboot. I’ve worn this brand since my days of anchoring the news back in 2001 in the nation’s tundra and was running around Dakota Dunes with Alstott the Newfoundland Dog.

Don’t you love my highlighted hair for those studio lights? The snowy pics are testament of how much I stand by this design since I still look forward to snowy trails (only in a newer version pictured above).

Inside I wear the Ugg Tall Classic as one would a slipper. I placed on a new pair while working with John Brandolino, owner of The Sole Man Key West for this feature story. These are boots initially built for the beach (believe it or not)! I only dare to wear these out of the house when dashing from the car to a yoga studio.

I wrote about the Joules Premium Wellies at the beginning of Fall, and the Sperry Saltwater Duck Boot as well. I’m loving the Sperrys so much I’m already wanting another color.

Both of these take on the mud like a mega truck and slip on as easy as a pair of socks. We all know when the ground isn’t frozen, or covered in snow, the terrain can equal trouble when one isn’t properly outfit. Stay warm! Winter hasn’t even hit yet.

November 4, 2016

An Appearance for Ohio’s Aqueous Adventures muddy ground and soused sidewalks overcome with opulence

Pictures by Edmund Gudenas and Matt Anderson

“Don’t stand over there,” photographer Ed Gudenas advised in his Nikeys at the onset of the shoot. “There’s water everywhere!”

Waves from Lake Erie were splashing up onto the deck of the Miller Boatline Ferry headed for the mainland soaking every car and truck aboard as well the stainless steel deck we were standing on.

Newport Dry Goods on Catawba Island is where shoppers seeking style can find Joules, a premium wellie boot made for those who ride.

“They are designed in the UK kind of with the equestrian in mind. They’re really built to last. They’re super tough. They’re waterproof. I have a pair myself that are seven-years old, and they’re still waterproof. I wear them all of the time,” offered Anne-Marie Burlingame about this designer fall and winter footwear brand.

The terrain on the islands and mainland aren’t always dry this time of year. Canvas shoes aren’t conducive to the conditions. Spasmodic weather can create a cramp in style. Coastal Ohio’s on-again-off-again weather, paired with ferry rides to our remote Lake Erie Islands, leaves us ladies hurting for all-weather gear. Gear that protects our feet and the glamour in us.

These Premium Joules Wellies’ claim to fame is that they’re right as rain and can outwit the weather. In 2015 I sensibly skimped on the cost and picked up a name brand pair at an outlet which only lasted two months before tearing.

Burlingame knows the game and offered her insight, “a lot of people make the mistake of getting the cheaper boot which doesn’t have the support for their feet then their back starts to hurt, or like your boots they fall apart and they tear and then you have wet, soggy feet which nobody wants.”

So, I flung my money into the Evedon Premium Wellie fashion from the United Kingdom, ($165.95) and considered this an investment into the tire-inspired outsole for effective water dispersal and grip. The bow on the back and enamel plaque on the front adds just the right extravagance for Ohio’s bespattered spots.

Josie in a former tv anchorwoman, expanded a newspaper into Key West, opened the nation’s southernmost newsroom, and completed her digital media training with CBS Cleveland.

October 30, 2016October 31, 2016

Threads of Fall 2016 Chief Wahoo and anything and everything The Tribe

Pictures by Steven Drescher

At the inception of this website I never thought in the wildest of baseball pitches that a fashion piece would be written about Cleveland Indians gear.

This year Chief Wahoo and the jersey isn’t a Halloween costume. The controversial Indian, feathered and ready for an on-the-field battle, is a wardrobe staple.

Easily worn running errands, out-and-about in high heels, to work and anywhere to play.

(The Indian only controversial due to the sensationalism of local media).

Those who grew up with the emblem feel nothing but joy and pride upon seeing the grin bearing logotype. Even during the lackluster years played out dismally in the 80s at Municipal Stadium.

This hour, with The Tribe ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series three games to one, the sporty-style is more slick than an Andrew Miller slider.

The more the Wahoo, the more WOW!

Forgotten gear given as holiday gifts in years past which hung in the closet with the tags still attached for two decades or more, is being resurrected and worn into the white-collar office with honor.

In Ohio’s sports town, surrounding suburbs, outlying rural areas and islands, Chief Wahoo and all who are draped in his costume-like likeness sporting the 2016 roster of Kipnis, Crisp, Kluber and Lindor are on a mission: for this team to bring home another championship to The Land.

Fashion Note: wearing heels to Progressive Stadium is a fashion faux pas. In fact, that move would be as embarrassing as Ross fumbling a fastball. What to wear on those peds to Progressive … the story from the streets of Cleveland right here.

October 30, 2016October 30, 2016

The Underground: Stadium Kicks Converse Classic Chuck Taylor All Stars

“I’m an attorney (in) commercial real estate. I specialize in affordable housing community development law. That’s why I’m here in Cleveland. I’m here for a conference and snuck out for a few minutes and here I am buying Chucks,” Toni Jackson shared her vice in the Tower City Center.

“I have a crazy collection of Converse. I grew up like everybody else wearing Chuck Taylors and when they came back in style a number of years ago I guess I started going crazy,” Jackson, like an attorney, spoke the truth.

Even though this legal powerhouse hails from Houston, Texas, she caught the championship fever pulsating through The Land and also bought tickets to every sporting event she could afford.

In the stands and in the bleachers, a dress shoe just won’t do. At Underground by Journeys in Tower City is where the men at Footlocker send shoppers to try on the footwear fashion that never fades.

“They love Chuck Taylors. They’re very in-style. We have a lot of selections to choose from. Yeah! They buy them a lot. We got a lot of Converses,” Journeys sales associate Diamond Moore wearing a pair of high-tops herself supplied.

Even though named for a basketball legend, Chuck Taylors Converse take members of its tribe from work to the playground. Every Cleveland Indians fan knows navigating the way through the gates to seats on the upper deck through peanut shells and steep steps requires shoes as indomitable as the roster.

According to Converse:

Created in 1917 as a non-skid basketball shoe, the All Star was originally promoted for its superior court performance by basketball mastermind Chuck Taylor. But over the decades, something incredible happened: The sneaker, with its timeless silhouette and unmistakable ankle patch, was organically adopted by rebels, artists, musicians, dreamers, thinkers and originals.

“Chuck Taylors. They’re the quintessential, stylish sports shoe,” observed photographer Steven Drescher.

In line with Cleveland’s scene this shoe, with its vulcanized rubber sole, has an “unmistakable cultural authenticity”.

The All Star sneaker also has an unmatched style and the $49.99 price tag leaves plenty left over for peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Tower City Center is located at 230 West Huron Street in downtown Cleveland. Underground at Journeys is on Level One.

For more on the jersey go here.

Fall Fashion

artc40241 — Majestic Authentic On-Field Jersey MLBShop.com

vmyx24811 — Rawlings 1954 four-fingered vintage glove endorsed by Stan Musai

qfbl17131 — Chuck Taylors found underground.

October 23, 2016October 23, 2016

Summer 2016 proved to be all about the hat Lake Erie Islands a Sportstown's Playground

Summer, summer, summertime produced a style on the Lake Erie Islands which couldn’t be cloned on any other coast.

Instead of showing up fashionably (for a far-a-way destination surrounded in freshwater) island tourists risked appearing initially tacky. They tore off of the ferries and private watercraft in their Cavs jerseys, t-shirts, tanks pullovers and most often — the 2016 NBA Champs hat.

Ballin’! Representin’ a city of champions!

“I did a shot with everyone I saw wearing this hat at Put-in-Bay,” one Middle Bass Island bartender exclaimed at the end of summer 2016.

The hat, the gear was everywhere on any given day or night and on any given island! An island worker from Uzbekistan, Farruxjon Sattorberdiyev, was given a championship chapeau to celebrate his end-of-the-season success. He took the Cleveland Pride and rallied the 13-hour, 6,500 mile trip to his home country wearing the wonder, that was once dubbed the “Mistake on the Lake”.

Make zero mistake about this, on Ohio’s North Coast, the fashion is: forget the Tommy Bahama, Red Rum, Vineyard Vines, or J. Crew and bring on the Cleveland Sports Teams.

Suddenly, allegiance isn’t designated just for the Cavs.

With The Tribe winning the pennant and entering the World Series this week as they take on the Cubs, Chief Wahoo is once again stylish reigniting a fashion code for Fall 2016.

Josie Koler is an award-winning journalist. She grew up in the western suburbs of Cleveland and had to be bribed by her mother to put on clothes which did not depict the Cleveland Browns or her beloved Cleveland Indians.

April 10, 2016April 10, 2016

Outfit for a Winter Adventure … in the Spring Columbia, Nikey and Roxy round out some of the brands

One-half of a foot of snow means grab a snow shovel, even when Easter has ended and the calendar reads “Spring”, and move on outside to clear the way for an adventure!

The Coastal Ohio Trail is part of the nation’s Unsalted Great Lakes region and that translates to tundra. Anyone, especially those whose birth certificate states they’re from the Sunshine State, can be quite comfy in the cold as long as all the right gear has been splurged on. In fact, the arctic-like conditions provide the perfect polar backdrop for the fashion enthusiast about to venture into snow.

COLUMBIA BUGABOOT Touted by the makers that the insulated protection and supportive comfort will “have you looking forward to every snowy trail”, this is one marketing slogan that delivers with a product hike after hike. Now is the time to buy for Winter 2016-2017.

Priced right under $200 the UGG TALL CLASSIC BOOT slips over leggings and is a wardrobe staple on the Coastal Ohio Trail. One can’t venture into a Starbucks or Panera Bread on any given day and not spot a woman age twelve to forty wearing a pair over yoga pants.

These super silky FABLETICS SALAR LEGGINGS, shown in charcoal, are available in thirty four colors and are priced under twenty dollars. One can’t go wrong. Run out the door for fitness and the Uggs in these and later, or when the situation calls, just pull on snowboard/ski pants over top. Doesn’t matter if you’re at the ski lodge or your own driveway.

ROXY FLOWER BEANIE Heat moves out of your body from your head! Keep your melon stylishly covered by building a collection of ski caps by Roxy. The colors and patterns never go out of style.

COLUMBIA WATERPROOF SKI GLOVES These have an elastic strap around the wrist and a lovely layer of fleece stretching up onto the arm to keep snow from creeping in. Expect to pay around $30 at a sporting goods store.

VICTORIA’S SECRET’S PACKABLE PUFFER This ultra-lightweight jacket can be popped into a tiny pouch and tossed into a suitcase for easy travel. Plus comes in enough colors to keep any ensemble interesting.

NIKE ACG ALL MOUNTAIN GORTEX SNOWBOARD PANTS These pants have a two-layer Gortex shell fabric. Breathable and moveable the style will take anyone anywhere there’s snow. During the season they’re about $180 – $280 depending on where you buy.

FABLETICS DASH BRA On sale, online now! This ultra-comfy undergarment can be worn from the yoga studio to the slopes or vice versa. White is the only color left so hurry and order online! Price: $5.99

ACG LINER SNAPS This shows why those pants are worth every penny when hiking in 8″ of powdery white stuff! The inner liner pulls down with elastic over your boots and snaps into place, so snow isn’t going to chap your legs.

LL BEAN WOMEN’S PIMA COTTON TURTLENECK Made in over one dozen colors so residents can create a collection, this is unarguably “the world’s most comfortable turtleneck”. A favorite for decades. Not only is this garment made with grown in the USA Supima cotton just wash in cold water and the item will last season after season.

WEATHER RESISTANT PUPPY Labradors hail from Newfoundland and are designed with a weather resistant silky outer coat and a thick undercoat to keep them comfortable in winter conditions. Any dog that falls into the sporting or working breed will love to accompany its owner on long hikes. In fact, they make excellent outdoor exercising companions.

FIRE ENGINE RED LEASH AND COLLAR This set falls more into the “lunchbox” category versus luxury. The set is from the Tractor Supply Company a business founded seventy-eight years ago in North Dakota. They are leaders in livestock and pet products and this leash blazes against a white backdrop and is ultra sturdy. As the company touts, “the stuff you need out here”, this leash is a necessity for your furry friend’s safety.

April 9, 2016

Spring Snowstorm provides Landscape for Fitness Lovers exercise outside with snow shovel and a hike

There isn’t any strategy that thaws out residents in the nation’s Great Lakes Region more than a hot yoga session. Follow-up with a hot shower and sauna session and no one cares where the mercury lands on the thermometer.

That is, if you can make your way to the studio once the snow strikes. This time the flakes came in 1″ size adding up to 8″ in depth overnight and into the morning hours which stuck with wetness perfect for snowmen and stranding unsuspecting drivers, especially those who are partial to tropical islands.

Just making the way out of the garage and out of the driveway isn’t going to happen without first spending some vigorous time with a snow blower or snow shovel and incorporating some sweat.

This means replacing the Vinyasa Flow, mat and towel with a Toro dual auger snow blower, Carlisle 11″ ice shovel and all the gear to keep you comfortable so you can skip the studio sans the stress in the event of a well-predicted spring storm.

Snow shoveling burns three hundred to four hundred calories per hour depending on how much you weigh and how much muscle mass your figure already flaunts. Which means moving the white stuff manually so you can move on with your day is one sure fire way to fire up the metabolism. The outdoor movement reserved for northern climates incorporates all of the muscles in the back, arms, shoulder and legs. Most driveways take longer than sixty minutes. The more you move, the more you can indulge in marshmallows atop hot cocoa once you’re through and doesn’t everyone on the Coastal Ohio Trail just love to warm up to a cup of The Kroger Company’s Private Selection Cocoa when it’s cold.

Shoving the shovel aside for a snow blower still blows out about two hundred and fifty calories for a person weighing in at a buck fifty.

Now for the creme de la creme of a cold blast on the Coastal Ohio Trail in the spring: hiking. Oh what fun the event is when frolicking in all that’s frocked! Lace up your Columbia Bugaboot and head wherever the wonderment takes you on two well-insulated feet with an abominable snow pup in tow. Hikers will melt mega calories traipsing the back country in heavy footwear. The exercise takes more leg and heart work than walking. Talk about toning. This “wintry” activity incorporates the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, obliques, abs, and the front and back of the thighs, plus glutes. Tack on another four hundred and fifty calories for the hour spent out wondering what exactly Old Man Winter is doing in the springtime on the Coastal Ohio Trail.

He’s supplying us with breathtaking views.

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All of this compares to about 585 calories burned in a sweaty session of Vinyasa Flow at your favorite studio.

Stay posted for more on Outfit for a Winter Adventure … in the Spring !

Tag: fashion