Q: Hats. Can you please weigh in on hats? A winter necessity. I have various wool hats that I wear only when maintaining the driveway, but my now 40 year old skin breaks out (not so magnificently) when I sweat in them. I also have a black Russian lambswool with silk lining, but that's dressy.
—Bryan
A: First, please consider hiring a service to "maintain" your driveway. There is nothing quite as MB as sitting by the fire late on a snowy night, sipping your favorite cocktail, and listening to the sound of illegal immigrants shoveling your sidewalk and plowing your driveway.
Second, we hear you loud and clear on wool hats. Unless they're lined or felted, avoid them like you do your mother-in-law over the holidays. Either go with shaved beaver or our favorite winter material: cashmere. A few other hat rules to live by:
1. No logos.
2. No skulls, money bags, or woodland creatures.
3. No legibility.
4. No acrylic.
Clockwise from upper left: Nasty rash on the old-timer's forehead after shoveling his driveway in a wool hat; Barney's cashmere bi-color knit cap; Paul Smith cabled cashmere hat with flaps; Danielapi cabled cashmere with all-important pom pom.

posted:
12.21.07
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