Sources: J. L. Powell

Once the pollution from Indiana's steel mills was cleaned up a generation ago, Chicagoans began to seek out the dunes of Southwestern Michigan for their country houses. Today, in a century old former New York Central Railroad station, leisure and adventure wear purveyor J. L. Powell sells them apparel for outdoor activities ranging from walking to wingshooting (an edited version of their inventory is also available on the World Wide Web).

Inspired by Willis & Geiger, a great name that Lands’ End purchased and then shut down, Powell's tasteful selection includes some of my favorite suppliers, such as Inis Meàin knitwear and Edward Green shoes. Indeed, two of the site's better values are EG's Belgravia casuals in Edwardian for $735 a pair and Warwick half boots in dark oak for $835, about 25% below current prices elsewhere.

The way the firm appears to be integrating itself into the community bodes well for its longevity. I've seen photos of a long abandoned gasoline station on the main highway that's been re-purposed for merchandise display. And last month the company sponsored a Side by Side Classic shooting competition with exhibits by Barbour, Filson and Fieldsport. This is similar to the way that James Lock and John Lobb London remain visible to their British customers in the countryside.

To my taste, Powell is one of the more interesting new purveyors in North America.

Clothes for Winter Golf

Where I live, it rains for much of the winter. That means you have to expect that at least twice each round a perfectly straight drive will plug so deeply it's never found. And you have to dress for mud.

Walking a muddy golf course is when veldtschoen style golf shoes come into their own. A veldtschoen is a field shoe designed to be as waterproof as possible, with a bellows tongue and a welt sewn to create a water resistant seal. It works - I've played rounds where my rain pants soaked through and my feet remained dry. The shoe pictured at the left is from Edward Green.

Judging by the initial reaction at my club, my other mud suggestion is likely to be a little less generally accepted. I took the idea from golfers of the 1930's, including the famous guy to the left. Like the late Payne Stewart and a host of other men with lower handicaps than I'll ever carry, he's wearing plus fours, so-called because they fall four inches below the knee. That happens to be an inch or two above the mud splatters that you get when you hit a shot a little fat, and it means you only have to clean a pair of socks instead of your trousers after each round.

Also known as breeks or plus twos (which fall two inches below the knee), you can find them ready to wear at a number of UK sources, including Barbour which usually offers them in wool, corduroy and cotton drill.

Now if Titleist would just embed a locator in a golf ball...