Gray days and gray things

Today was one of those weird between-seasons days that tempts you with some warmth then quickly reminds you that it's actually still winter. Brisk and cold in the morning with a glorious warm-up in the middle, then clouded up and dreary by the end of the work day.

I was lucky enough to experience all three of those temperatures firsthand, as I rode my bicycle to work for only the third time this year. I didn't set out to mirror the late-day cloud-over with my outfit, but it seemed to fit quite well by the time I pedaled home and the sky was a sheet of gray.


As I mentioned in my last post, I've gotten some amazing gifts back from people that have participated in Style Share. In a way, it's sort of become Style Swap, and in this outfit both the lovely tie and pocket square are courtesy of Kleidsam, who's always tearing it up stylistically.


I paired them up with a sort of multi-sized hounds tooth jacket in black and white that I have a hard time working into the rotation. Here, the soft grays seemed to melt the dramatic contrast almost perfectly, and it all sort of blurred into some thick black wool pants and wingtips that kept me warm while pedaling away.


On a quick eye-scan, it's almost like a fade from white to black from the top down, with little flecks of color here and there (the jacket has some threads of blue and purple going through it), perfect for a day that hinted at sun then faded to something a little more subdued.


I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my steed, which I mentioned in an earlier post then promptly forgot. It's a bicycle that I built from the ground-up (it started out as a vintage road bike), with loads of parts that I picked specifically for turning it into something that's close as possible to being the perfect commuter bicycle.

If you're a bike geek and want me to do a more detailed post on all the details, let me know, otherwise I'll just let it be and say that I came pretty close to hitting my mark. I can ride in a jacket and tie with leather soles and have no worries. It's comfortable, minimal, and a bit throwback, and I love it.