The Functional, Flexible Home Gym
A selection of next-level workout equipment that will make you not only feel better but look good in your home.
LAST SPRING, WHILE reporting on the Monaco Grand Prix, I decided to move to Paris. While recognizing that this statement suggests that I’m some things that I am definitively not (fun, easygoing, spontaneous), the trip was, nonetheless, the tipping point for a conversation that my wife and I have been having for nearly seven years.
In Monaco, I listened, with longing admiration, to other journalists talk about moving through Europe with ease. They weren't visiting the Colosseum during their week-long annual holiday; they were recklessly driving some treacherous countryside road en route to their favorite tailor in Palermo … on a Wednesday afternoon … with their kids. Their worldliness (communicated while toggling between French, Spanish, English, and Italian) alluded to a robust human experience that I wanted for my family.
Six months, and hundreds of hours of conversation, later (including countless spreadsheets and decision trees; four weeks in Paris; numerous meetings with several different tax and immigration lawyers; sorting schools for three kids, changing schools for two of them, then changing it again for one; choosing an apartment, signing a lease on a different apartment; more conversations with the immigration attorney, who, while suggesting another attorney, may have given us horribly bad, law-breaking, move-halting advice, though a third one assures us that he hasn't…) and voila! Five long-stay visas, approved.
Super easy.
But now we’re in Paris.
So what am I going to wear?
Industry of All Nations
Industry of All Nations Clean Crewneck T-Shirt
I have yet to find a softer, better-fitting T-Shirt. For real. Couple this with an organizational ideology promoting ecologically sound practices (i.e., utilizing organic cotton, undyed fabrics, and partnering with local makers including master loomers, spinners, and tailors) and a genuinely accessible price point, and I won’t wear anything else. Ever. SHOP NOW
Shop at Octobre
Octobre Ayden Sweater
It is so cold in Paris. I’m told this gray-sky, damp-air, no-sun, my-feet-are-never-warm type weather starts around October and ends sometime in May. The Ayden Sweater by Parisian menswear brand Octobre is 100% wool (55% of it recycled). The cables of the pattern are right-sized and feel bespoke — and the sweater fits as if it were designed specifically for me: It highlights the good (shoulders) and tapers perfectly down the torso to conceal what’s slightly less good (waist). Notably, Octobre also has a business model emphasizing sustainability. The company handcrafts 95% of its offerings in ateliers in Portugal, Italy, and the UK; aims for zero overproduction; and donates 10% of their profits. SHOP NOW
Shop at Vollebak
Vollebak Titan Puffer
If I could only wear one thing, ever, it would be anything made by the lunatics at Vollebak. Something I have really come to value at this stage of my life is an authentic, wholehearted commitment to the right stuff, and the Titan Puffer represents the further evolution of that commitment. The madness that caught my attention here is twofold: First, the jacket is designed to withstand temperatures as low as -100 degrees Celsius. Second, the Titan Puffer is lined with the same NASA-designed parachute material used to land the Mars Perseverance Rover. The full nerd kit includes matching pants and cap. SHOP NOW
Shop at Hestra
Hestra Wakayama 5-Finger
These are my gloves (in forest and cork). Some might argue that a more technically sophisticated glove would allow the wearer to play with their phone while wearing them. I, however, am more interested in kit that facilitates an individual’s potential to traverse multiple physical realities without looking for or needing more kit. For example, if I’m walking my daughter home from school and it’s cold, I’m wearing these gloves. If we stop for a macaroon, I have to hold her scooter. It’s still cold — thank God I'm wearing these gloves. If, alternatively, in some sort of parallel universe, I’m participating in a PRCA-sanctioned steer-roping event, I believe I would also be quite grateful to be wearing them. SHOP NOW
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Shop at Heschung
Heschung Iseran Boots
My feet have been cold since November, except when I’m wearing these boots, which have been handcrafted in the Northern Alsace region of France since 1934. Interestingly, Heschung became the official ski boot supplier for the French Olympic team in 1968 and again in 1972. When I learned that this ski boot was the archetype for the Iseran, I wasn’t surprised — Heschung is still utilizing the same reverse-welted stitching today. Not only does this ensure a sturdy boot, it also makes them extremely water resistant and fully serviceable. Also, now, I live in Paris(!), so I just walk and walk (because, Paris). I’m averaging two, maybe two and a half, miles a day, and the boots are a dream. SHOP NOW
Shop at Borsalino
Borsalino Paris Goose Beak Flat Cap
I love hats. They’re a very effective means of gaining near-total control of your aesthetic presentation.
Borsalino is the oldest Italian hatmaker, founded in 1857. If you want a hat, and you have job security, this is the one to buy. If you can make it to one of the Borsalino boutiques for their “Made to Measure Experience,” even better. Otherwise, there are plenty of really special off-the-shelf options. During the warmer months, I’d be in some sort of linen flat cap. Otherwise, it’s the Paris Goose Beak Flat Cap. Well-structured and 100% cashmere. SHOP NOW
Shop at Bennett Winch
Bennett Winch Weekender
I don’t have one of these, but as I imagine myself sitting on some high-speed train, traveling between Paris and Geneva, I wish I did. Bennett Winch is another great example of a successful brand committing to a business model that many claim is antithetical to success. Their bags are both elegant and hyper-functional. Not an easy feat to achieve, but it doesn't sound like the crew over at Bennett Winch is interested in easy. Instead, they seem almost violently obsessed with handcrafting beautiful objects that will last forever. SHOP NOW
Ready to cozy up in more cold-weather menswear?
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Our Contributors
Jeremy Malman Writer
Jeremy Malman is a part-time journalist and full-time dad based in Brooklyn. His writing explores topics including motorsports, design, fitness, farming, and fatherhood — in other words, some conceptually comical notion of modern masculinity. He also really enjoys traveling.
Ahonen & Lamberg Illustrator
Ahonen & Lamberg is a multidisciplinary design studio based in Paris. Founded in 2006 by Finnish designers Anna Ahonen and Katariina Lamberg, the studio concentrates on art direction, creative consultancy, and graphic design.
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