Secret Weapons: GQ

A subscription to GQ magazine costs about $10 per year.  What do you get for your money?  The occasional interesting piece of prose, product recommendations, dozens of articles about How James Bond Does Things, that sort of thing, right?  But remember how annoying it is when there are 100 pages of ads before the table of contents?  Those ads are worth the $1 per month in and of themselves. 

I page through the entire magazine, bookmarking interesting ensembles as I go.  Granted, most of them are really too preppy for my tastes.  But sometimes, I see something interesting.  Last month, I saw:

1. a suit ad where the four-in-hand was just a little askew
2. thousands and thousands of shawl-collar sweaters

Now, after some experimenting, I'm in love with the four-in-hand again (at least with thick, woven ties), and I picked up a shawl-collar rugby-stripe sweater at the J. Crew outlet ($35!), and people love it.

You also get about 10 cologne samples without having to go to Macy's and risk temptation near the watch counter.  Repeat after me: the salesgirl works on commission.  She does not think you are cute.