I was browsing through Forbes.com this morning and found an article titled Multipurpose Outdoor Gear. Needles to say, it caught my eye. What can Forbes possibly say about outdoor gear?
Actually, I learned a lot. Apparently, parkas by Prada are all the rage.
It is not a shocking revelation, I suppose. Just like Jeeps are no longer seen off-road; outdoor wear is not really for the outdoors anymore. The “ruggedly handsome” look is in. Facial hair, casual clothing…you get the idea.
David Makuen, vice president of marketing for Eddie Bauer said to Forbes that “George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, even Brad Pitt really made an impact on casual clothing, with their rough-around-the-edges looks. The unshaven, disheveled look became mass, and it inevitably had an affect on clothes.”
REI is apparently packed with guys buying outdoor gear that “looks good” yet they have little intention to ever actually take it outdoors. Is it a strange world we live in, or what.
(By the way, the Loro Piana Outdoorsman Vest from the photo is available for $1325 at Bergdorf Goodman. It will look splendid in that $15/night hostel in Uzbekistan, trust me.)