We go together like football and t-shirts

As the Super Bowl approaches, what comes to mind for many of us is the great combination of beer and nachos that naturally goes with football. Other obvious Famous Super Bowl Party combinations include chili and beer, wings and beer, a big screen TV along with a couch…and beer. Another combination that obviously goes together is football and t-shirts. Imagine watching or playing football in a suit…it just doesn’t work. Football is all about t-shirts!

As far as the great Western teams squaring off this weekend, great combinations include the Broncos and Elway’s Three Amigos (Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson, and Ricky Nattiel) and the Seahawks and Macklemore (the self-proclaimed “White Sherman” who took your grandpa’s style in Thrift Shop).

Here are some other great combinations:
– “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” ~Nelson Mandela
– “God gave women intuition and femininity. Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I’ve ever met.” ~Farrah Fawcett

Two great seasonal combinations:
– “Love involves a peculiar unfathomable combination of understanding and misunderstanding.” ~ Diane Arbus
– “Figure skating is an unlikely Olympic event but its good television. It’s sort of a combination of gymnastics and ballet. A little sexy too which doesn’t hurt.” ~Andy Rooney

But the true combinations we seek this week involve t-shirts. Since the Super Bowl is only one day, it’s important to remember there are lots of great combinations that go with t-shirts just as well as football does:
– Comfort Colors and monograms
– Comfort Colors and yoga pants
– Comfort Colors and Chacos
– Comfort Colors and neon
– Comfort Colors and coffee
– Comfort Colors and frockets
– Comfort Colors and leggings
– Comfort Colors and fundraising

The list goes on and on all over Twitter. One combination we did not find, however, is Comfort Colors and kilts. This is a combo we’d love to see. A woolen Highlands garb dating back to the 16th Century, these famous garments are almost certainly worn for comfort. The kilt is also a manly national symbol of Scots heritage. Kinda like the Super Bowl here in the states.

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday!

image source: morgue file6811251453888

Winter Olympic Fashion Revealed

Team USA revealed its Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremony uniforms yesterday on the Today Show. The sporty ensemble, designed by Ralph Laruen, has been called “a patriotic variation on the ugly holiday sweater theme,” and “your patriotic grandmother’s quilt, created a jacket and then tucked white yoga pants into floppy snow boots.” (here’s the full quote)

It was hard to find the price of the full ensemble, but we know it is dear. One site quoted upwards of $25,000. USA Today listed the following prices:

– knit patchwork cardigan emblazoned with stars – $598
– cream cotton turtleneck sweater – $245
– slim-fitting white fleece athletic pants bearing the “Team USA” label $165
– black leather boots with bright red laces $395
– cotton belt accented with American graphics $75
– reindeer hat $95

Though pricey and patriotic, the look is fairly modest compared to that of Norway’s Curling Team.

Debuted originally at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, Norway curling team fashion is, well, eye-catching at the very least. Curlers have traditionally worn black, but Norway’s curlers insist that red-white-and-blue-zig-zagging-chevron-print is the new black. Their uniforms have been called crazy, outrageous, funky, etc. Their team pants even have their own Facebook page! Who knew curling could be such fun!

While at Comfort Colors we tend to shy away from the slings and arrow of outrageous fashion, preferring instead the incredible comfort and outrageous longevity of simple cotton t-shirts, the Norwegians do make us smile. We look forward to seeing them on the ice.

Bruce Springsteen, T-shirts and the USA

Among all the aging rockers in America, Bruce Springsteen looks the best in a  T-shirt, without a doubt. His recent appearances on Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night only underscore his right to bare arms. The definition in the 64-year-old rock star’s biceps makes the 39-year-old Fallon look a little soft. But these two have been having quite a bit of fun together lately.

Whether or not you agree with the sentiment behind their parodies (“Sexy and I know it,” “Whip My Hair,” and “Gov. Christie Traffic Jam”), you must admit that they are great fun musically. You might even succumb to an unintentional “ear worm” and replay these catchy melodies over and over again in your mind’s ear.

Of course, “Born to Run,” even with its temporary new lyrics, brings to mind another great Springsteen anthem about origins: “Born in the USA.” Like our customers, Comfort Colors loves this one, not just because it is a great song. It describes our t-shirts. We use cotton from the United States.

Facebook friends have asked, so here’s the whole scoop from our VP, Kevin Camisa: “Most of our garments are made in Mexico or Honduras from USA Raw Materials. The cotton for these products is from American Farmers, it travels to Mexico or Honduras for sewing. The garments then travel back to either one of our two New England Dye Houses for coloring and finishing. It means much to us on the side of both Human Rights and Environmental Certifications in the work that is done on our goods outside the USA. All our factories meet stringent standards. When we look at what is done in the USA prior to work outside the country and then coming back to us for additional value added USA manufacturing, we are proud to say that our products have many more ties to the USA than we promote.”

In case you missed it, this one is pretty funny:

T-shirts, Layers and the Polar Vortex

The Washington Post called the Polar Vortex of 2014, “lackluster compared to past cold waves.” Perhaps this is because the luster had been frozen right out of us?

The Guardian reported the cost of the cold somewhere around $5 billion (between burst pipes and cancelled flights, the cold adds up). Fox news told us that the polar vortex broke temperature records in the South and East: “Temperatures hit lows in parts of West Virginia not felt for 25 years, while the extreme cold in Virginia beat record lows that had stood since the late 1950s. The National Weather Service said the mercury bottomed out at 3 degrees before sunrise at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshal International Airport, with a wind chill of minus 16.” (http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2014/01/08/polar-vortex-spreads-into-eastern-southern-us/)

Here in the Northeast, we did not shiver quite as much as our neighbors to the South. This was not because of the thermometer, but because of our attire. And no, we did not run around in just our Comfort Colors T-shirts, but we did keep our T’s on, amongst our other layers. Layering is the secret to a successful polar vortex.

The air space between comfortably-fitting layers of clothing provides more insulation than one bulky layer of clothing. Wearing several thin, insulating layers traps warm air next to you body. And dress appropriately for your outdoor activity. Moisture is your enemy in cold weather, so don’t get too sweaty. If you are going to be shoveling, be prepared to strip off layers as you go – you may just end up in just a T-shirt, depending on the length of your driveway.

One key that people often overlook in this type of severe weather is wearing more than one layer on your legs – especially if any wind is in the forecast. High winds during the polar vortex dropped temperatures dramatically; windchill factors of -40 were not unheard of earlier this week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes it this way: “Wind Chill is the term used to describe the rate of heat loss on the human body resulting from the combined effect of low temperature and wind. As winds increase, heat is carried away from the body at a faster rate, driving down both the skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature.” (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ddc/?n=windchill)

Brrrr. We’re cold just reading this. But keep courage, Comfort Colors fans, the January thaw is almost here.