Ok, let me be honest, my world has gotten really small, I’m still WFH and that doesn’t look like its going to change soon. My office has officially reopened, but...its voluntarily if you want to go in, and pretty much no one is (i had to go in 1 day to clean out the desk of someone who worked for me and was let go, and once i got past security, i saw 2 people all day).
with winter coming, I’m concerned that I’ll look for, and find excuses, not to go out...so I’m trying to get gear adjacent stuff, you know, weather friendly stuff that works like gear, but doesn’t necessarily look like gear...
so, 1st up, a jacket for the days that its cold enough that my transitional jackets aren’t quite enough, but its not cold enough for my puffers, i have a great JCrew boiled wool coat that works for “normal” times, but isn’t really great for walking the neighborhood. Googled and found this wool jacket, its got a 2 way zipper, deep pockets, covers the butt, and has reflective details for walking after dark. Its a 9.5, its would be a 10 if it had thumb holds, and was slightly darker. Its a keeper
needed to replace my gloves, last years pair has disappeared. I would have loved a made to order gloves, (i have oddly short fingers, especially my thumbs), but i have a tendency to lose gloves, so didn’t want to spend the $. But i was excited to find this made in America, small company, which fits my goal of buying more ethically made items. They are a little tight, but the company says that they will stretch to fit (like a good pair of shoes).
the blue boots, i ordered because they were blue, but was sure i was going to laugh and then return, i mean they look kind of, well, metallic and not in a good way. But, they came, they are so well made, and so much better looking in person. i love them!
The Blondo waterproof sneakers, love the color, the fit and the shoe, not so much. I found the leather to be cheap looking (it was wrinkled and very thin) and TMI, they made my feet sweat...these went back, but i may look for white water proof boots.
and finally, the not pandemic practical shoe...what can i say, i feel like a loafer is a pretty classical style, and that in a year or so, when life returns to something more normal, these will be a workhorse for me. I’ve had my eye on this pair for a while, and they went on a huge sale, so i went for it.

if you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading.
As always all thoughts, comments, suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
And if you have any ideas about gear(ish) stuff that will help me stay active a winter comes, please share