The Decision: Where To Put The Painting

My Dorky Model of My Living Room

So I am a bit of a geek. I just spent the last couple of hours builing a 3d model of our living room in google sketchup 7 to see what some paintings we were thinking of hanging might look like. I have to admit, I really like building 3d models. Sometimes I think I should have done something different with my career.

So here is where I need some input from my followers. We are only going to hang one of the 3 paintings in the model. The paintings on the left and middle are the same, just shown in different positions, or we could hang a landscape over the sofa.

The paintings are a little bigger than the stuff we have now, but we thought larger pictures would add more color to the room. The two walls that are invisible are floor to ceiling windows.

So what is you favorite spot?

You Know Its Hot When.....

Imagine yourself under the baking sun in the middle of the desert, it is 105 degrees F (34 c), you are sweating wrapped in a sheet of dark plastic. Your nose starts to itch, but your hands are tied behind your back. You feel the sweat slowly dripping down your spine.

Hell you ask? No, not at all. Just a regular trip to the barber for a summer haircut.

Gosh, I can not stand summer haircuts. Sitting in a barber chair, in an unconditioned room, under a sheet of heavy plastic. What on earth could be worse.

You know its bad when the haircut is over and the barber is trying to brush the hair off of the back of your neck, and he instead insists you go home and take a shower. I just bought myself another 6-8 weeks. Probably bad timing though, That will put my next haircut smack dab in the August. By far the hottest month in Europe by my measurements.

How to Dress Like a 14 Year-Old Swiss Boy

It seems that U.S. jeans sizes are changing. Last time I was in the U.S. I bought a pair of Jeans that should have fit, in fact they did fit, in the U.S. Yes, they fit in the U.S. where one walks no more than from one's sofa to the car, from the car to the mart-cart.

After I got back to Europe I noticed that the length of the jeans I had bought were just a little too long. A little to long for any amount of walking. A belt wasn't helping as I was walking all over the bottoms. I know that back in the U.S. walking all over your pants and tearing them to shreds is somehow cool but I just can't stand that feeling.



So as I was riding the train trying to think of a quick fix other than hiking my pants up like a WWII army officer I had a bright idea. A solution I had seen a hundred times, always wondering why anybody would do it. Tucking the bottom of my pants in my socks. Yes this sounds completely stupid, and yes at times it does look completely as stupid as it sounds.

The only time this can pass as acceptable in my mind it when one is riding his bike and has no other option but to get a nice pair of dress pants covered in grease.

The only other acceptable use of this practice is when you are a 14 year-old Swiss Boy trying to imitate an L.A. rapper. I admit, I felt a little foolish, but after tucking in only the front part of my jeans into my socks, I had temporarily solved my problem for the walk home.

Men's Shopping: European Fashions in America

At the risk of sounding a bit metrosexual I wanted to post about a recent shopping experience that I think many U.S. men living overseas in Europe might face. Where the heck can we buy clothes?

As I have posted before differences in sizing, styles, and cuts of clothing, particularly in work attire vary drastically between North America and Europe. A new job in Europe means new clothes, and potentially a new image. So how can an American man prepare or update a wardrobe to fit Europe? The answer is simple, find the right stores in the U.S. and stock up while the prices and cheap.

As my wife will attest, I am not the prolific shopper, however, when I do find the right combinations of style, price, and sizes I am known to splurge a bit. Yesterday I had such an event so I thought it was time to share some thoughts about work clothes and fashions from my experience.

First before shopping consider the styles being worn at work in Europe. As a general rule Europeans dress much better than Americans in the office. Dress pants and crisp ironed shirts are the norm, not the exception. The days of ragged polo shirts, and ratty kahkis will be long gone if you are moving to Europe from the U.S.

Black is in. Everything is black in Europe. Pants, Shoes, Belts, Jackets are all black. Brown has it's place but focus on black. To update your closet I recommend you start with a couple of pairs of basic black dress pants. Get rid of the American kahkis, they are only good for gardening and the weekend hike in the mountains once you get to Europe.

Shirts need to be fitted. Men's shirts are not as billowy as the shirts in the U.S. People in Europe are not trying to hide a gut under baggy clothing and prefer cleaner slimmer lines in their shirts. In the U.S. such cuts of shirts are refered to as 'fitted' in most stores. Give a fitted shirt a try, at first it will seem a bit tighter than most American shirts, but in the end I actually think they look much better than most Sears, or Kohl's shirts that American's may be accustomed too.

If you want to add color do it with a tie. Yes, I said tie. Can you believe it. This trend differs from office to office but ties are much more common in Europe than the U.S. so prepare yourself by brushing up on your tie knots.

So next you need to know where to get such styles and fashions. While it is easy to get such clothing in Europe you will pay the price. Good clothes cost money, and even more money in Europe. With the current financial situation and exchange rates I always bring empty suitcases with me to the U.S. and stock up where prices are cheaper, and I understand and kind find the right sizes of clothing. Below are some of my picks for where you can find European styled clothing in the U.S.

1. Express for Men

Express for Men has a good selection of dress shirts and dress pants that fit right in in Europe. Their MX1 line of shirts is a great choice. Some of their casual clothing may appear best suited for the 20 something crowd but their pants are shirts will look at home in a European office setting. Express can also be found in most larger malls in the U.S. so no matter where you are on business or travel you are usually within striking range of one of their locations.

2. Kenneth Cole

I like alot of the Kenneth Cole line. Kenneth Cole can be expensive but if you can get to one of their outlet locations you can get great deals. I was at their store at the Chicago Prime Outlet's in Aurora Illinois recently and the enitre store as 36% off. I can gaurentee you I got some great deals on shirts and shoes.

3. Calvin Klien

Calvin Klien in another line that has a good selection of styles that will fit well in Europe. Again the key is to find a good sale, or visit an outlet store to get the best deals. CK shirts are fitted, and have the right cut. Dress pants are also nicely tailored and are a great updated to you closet.

4. Gap

Now some people would question my addition of the Gap to the list. And I would agree that they are not the best place to get dress clothes for the office. However, you will probably want a few things for your leisure time outside of the office. The Gap has some great deals on pants, and basic solid sweaters that are a perfect fit for the weekends in Europe. As Jeans aren't the most common weekend fashion something like their charcoal grey surplus straight fit pants are great. Such pants in Europe would be something like 50-80 USD. While back home in the U.S. at the Gap you can get such pants on sale for about 25-30 USD.

To wrap up good luck preparing you closet for Europe and hopefully you'll have some ideas on where to start while at the same time saving some money.