As our most dedicated Finsketeers will already know, our Autumn/Winter 2011 collection is due to launch in just a few weeks time. Think classic leather, evening slippers and winter boots. The new collection will provide you with all of the shoedrobe essentials you will need this winter.

Whilst we wait with bated breath for the new collection to launch and fill our Finsketeers wardrobes with all of the footwear they need, we decided to ask our friends and Twitter followers what other essential items they believe every man needs this winter.

Here’s what they said:

“My Moncler winter coat.  It’s like wearing a fur-lined duvet.  Complaining about the chilly climes is a thing of the past.” Fin

“Our Winter essential has to be our gorgeous cashmere hot water bottle and bed socks to keep us toasty warm.” The Gift Atelier – Twitter

“It has to be a Le Creuset Casserole dish. As the nights draw in, it’s time for hearty winter warmers. You can use them for almost everything – from slow cooking a pork belly to making an Irish Stew. Stick to classic orange.” Sally – Team Fin’s

The perfect accessory for winter cookery

“I think that every man should have a really cool snood, Burberry do the most amazing classic check snood” Jack – Twitter

“A great book. Who can deny the happiness that comes with curling up on a sofa with a gripping book? Add cold weather, cosy blankets and hot chocolate to the mix and I’d say you’ve got a pretty perfect winters afternoon.” Danielle – Fintern

“on my list is a nice durable desert boot for those frosty days! And snood snood snoods!“                                                                                                                                                                                                             Mark Cullum – a la Male.com

“An Otis Batterbee eye mask is a Winter Essential endorsed by the entire Fin’s team. Its soft cotton velvet backing with a hint of lavender is the perfect recipe for a great nights sleep wherever you are in the world.“                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Team Fin’s

Perfect for a great nights sleep wherever you are in the world

“An over-sized, large knit jumper and copious amounts of mulled wine. Both are essential staples in any burley mans winter wonderland – to keep warm (obvs), for merriment, and for romantic snuggles with a lady by the fireplace.” Vicky – Team Fin’s

“My winter essentials: Cashmere navy long coat, Tweed sports jacket, wool shawl collar jumper, and a dab of Penhaligons. Done” James Field – Collar to Cuff.com

As the more sartorially aware of our Finsketeers may have noticed, it is in fact Fashion Week season. With New York already finished and London kicking off today we felt it was more than appropriate to compile a Fashion Week themed list of our Loves and Hates from this week. Enjoy!

LOVE

J Crew

J Crew cannot put a foot wrong in our eyes. The American super brand’s debut presentation at New York fashion week was a welcome step away from the fluro brights of this summer and instead featured chinos and casual shorts in wearable pastel shades. We are already matching each outfit to an equally colourful pair of Fin’s

Perfect with a pair of Zanzibar Greys

The Seating Arrangements at Caroline Herrara

Love this picture of Nicki Minaj and Anna Wintour at the Caroline Herrara show. We can only imagine what they made small talk about.

Fascinating

HATE

Pre-teen Superstars

From looking at this picture of Ella Fanning at the Rodarte Spring 2012 show, it’s hard to believe that she is only 13. She already has a blockbuster under her belt (JJ Abrams’ Super Eight) and looks set to go in the same superstar direction as her sister. And then there’s Kendall and Kylie Jenner who at just 14 and 15 have made their runway debuts at NY Fashion week this year. (Albeit for Avril Lavignes’ Abbey Dawn line)

As there’s still a few weeks to wait before the launch of our Autumn/Winter 2011 collection; we could understand if a few desperate Finsketeers out there are looking for other footwear options to keep their feet toasty until they can get their hands on a pair of Fin’s. However, we did not expect to find what we did this morning.

Behold, the peep toe UGG.

Comfy AND Practical

We think you’ll agree that the Peep Toe Ugg is probably the most hideous shoe on the market.

But, perhaps we’re wrong. Perhaps the ease and convenience that the boot offers for winter pedicures will catch on.

But somehow, we doubt it.

With only a few weeks left before the new Autumn Winter collection is launched, now is the time to make some space in your shoedrobe and decide which of your Fin’s can be stored away for next summer and which are versatile enough to wear all through Autumn.

The Amalfi

In the case of the classic Amalfi, it’s best to follow our American fans’ rule and wear no white after Labor Day. Despite Kim Kardashian declaring that

“Whoever made up that u can’t wear white after Labor Day is NOT fashionable!”

-we still think that the Amalfi looks best padding around a deck in the sunshine rather than paddling through grey and wet London streets.

VERDICT: Store it

No white after Labour Day for our Finskateers!

The George in Summer Brights

Luckily for our Finsketeers, brights aren’t just for summer! A splash of colour from a pair of Fin’s has got to be one of the easiest and effective ways to brighten up your autumn wardrobe. We’re thinking Trancoso Pink George Loafers paired with cosy brown knits or the Cape Town Smoky Blue with jeans for a tone-on-tone look. If this still isn’t enough to convince you, then take a look at GQ’s guide to injecting brights into your winter wardrobe.

VERDICT: Keep on Wearing

Perfect for injecting some colour into your Autumn wardrobe

The Finspadrille

Even the most optimistic of our Finsketeers has to admit that the Finspadrille just isn’t suited to the rain and wind that Autumn is sure to bring. As hard as it might be to coax yourself out of the brightly-coloured wonders that you’ve been wearing all summer long, your feet will thank you for it once they are secure in a pair of dry and stylish loafers from the new collection.

VERDICT: Store it

Destined to be packed away until next Summer

The George in City Colours

The George Loafer in city colours like Buenos Aires Brown, London Navy and Montecito Plum were made for Autumn dressing. What’s not to love about muted suede in gorgeous autumnal colours? Just add a sock and a long trouser to take your Fin’s from Spanish beach to English winter.

VERDICT: Keep on Wearing

Transitional Dressing at its best

LOVE

Esquires Search for Britain’s Best Dressed Man

What’s not to love about a search for the most sartorially successful man in Britain? We spent a while looking through all of the stylish entrants and judging them for ourselves, and we have to say – Esquire, we couldn’t have picked a better winner ourselves! Dan Woods knack for gelling together classic pieces won our hearts, although a pair of Marshalls in Pine wouldn’t go amiss.

Dan looking very Dapper

Countdown to Fin’s AW11 Launch

Not long left now Finskateers! Finspadrilles, prepare to be banished to the back of wardrobes when our new collection demands the attention of Fin’s fans everywhere.

Rosie Huntington Whitley and Ryan Reynolds for M&S

After her much criticised turn in Transformers, we are thrilled that Rosie HW is back to doing what she does best – looking beautiful in absolutely anything. M&S has never looked so cool.

A sophisticated look for M&S

100 Years of London Style from Westfield Stratford

We adore this promo video from Westfield Stratford which documents 100 years of London Style in 100 seconds. Our favourite looks are from the 50’s. Although, we must say, the boys have definitely outdone the girls in the style stakes in the video. See if you agree.

100 Years of Style in 100 Seconds

HATE

Missing out on seeing Brangelina

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, plus kids were shopping on the Kings Road?

And we missed them?

As you can imagine we were devastated that we didn’t manage to ‘bump’ into the Jolie-Pitts. Consequently the following days have been spent wondering which pair of Fin’s would suit Brad Pitt the best. We eventually decided on the Jacob Desert Boot in Plum, but what do you think?

How did we miss this!?

If you haven’t already been charmed by Otis Batterbee’s unbelievably chic wash bags, or fallen in love with their stylish eye masks, then one visit to their new website should do the trick. Packed with irresistible accessories ranging from pocket squares to travel pillows, we defy anyone to log off empty handed!

http://www.otisbatterbee.com/

Fin’s have been big fans of this ultra chic brand for a long time and many of our male friends have received a little something from Otis Batterbee come birthday or Christmas time. However, this week, we found ourselves on the receiving end of an Otis Batterbee gift.

We were delighted to receive these beautiful eye masks from our friends over at Otis Batterbee.

Thanks guys!

1.     The White Shirt

A crisp white shirt is an obvious essential in any mans wardrobe. This slim fitted one from Hentsch Man will work equally well under a suit with our Oxford Bull & Bears or tucked into crisp jeans for a smart casual look.

Hentsch Man - £95

2.     The Saturday shirt

Another go-to piece in your wardrobe, the Saturday shirt needs to be relaxed and versatile enough to take you from a picnic in the park to drinks on the terrace. We think this relaxed J Crew would go perfectly with a great pair of jeans and the George Loafer in Kalahari Sand.

J Crew - £70

3.     The Work shirt

Finding the perfect shirt for work can be a challenge. Overly bright colours, ostentatious patterns and ill fits are definite no-no’s. We suggest you try Hugo Boss who have a great range of smart and stylish shirts that are a great addition to any mans wardrobe. This blue and white business shirt by Boss Black is sure to go down a treat paired with a well cut suit and our Oxford Bull & Bears.

Hugo Boss £110

4.     The Linen Shirt

A timeless linen shirt will see you through many summers and holidays to come. Try this bright Hartford version paired with dark shorts and a pair of Navy Finspadrilles for a classic holiday look.

Hartford - £100

5. The Dinner shirt

The tuxedo shirt rounds off our list of shirts that every man needs to have. We love this slim fit Buberry Prorsum version. Pair it with a classic tuxedo and a pair of Drummonds in Black velvet for a slick and sophisticated look.

Burberry Prorsum - £275

A pop of colour from our Finspadrilles paired with James’ simple white polo and relaxed shorts make for a perfect holiday look.

Fin's fan James Cook

LOVE

The Arrival of Autumn.

The end of the summer is drawing in, and, as much as we will miss the sun and the holidays, we can barely contain our excitement for the new season. Jackets and knitwear are flooding in to shops, September Issues have been released and the new Fin’s A/W collection is just weeks away from going live. With so much to look forward to, biknis and sandals are becoming a distant memory.

Conde Elevator

This genius Twitter feed has kept us entertained all week with its hilarious gossip from the Conde Nast elevator. Our favourite tweet? Has to be:

“[Guy walks into elevator wearing "Legalize Gay" t-shirt] Teen Voguer: That shirt is so two months ago”

As you can imagine we were devastated when we read Conde Elevators goodbye tweet but we are holding out hope for a return!

Kate Moss’s Wedding Photos

Imagine the delight when we saw that Mario Testinos snaps of Kates wedding were finally available. The whimsical dress, the super cute flower girls and intimate moments were all captured beautifully by Testino and certainly provided a contrast from the structured photos we saw after the wedding of another famous Kate this year.

HATE

The Riots

It would be impossible to produce a list of this weeks Hates without including the riots. Our hearts go out to all of those affected and wish them all the luck with rebuilding their businesses.

Eating on Public Transport

On a less serious note, a pet hate for this week has to be people eating on Public Transport. It seems that every time we get on the train there is somebody eating a highly inappropriate item of food. Note to fellow commuters: Despite what you may think; cheese and onion crisps, prawn mayonnaise sandwiches and heavily salted chips DO smell and DO bother the people sitting around you.

Dash Miami

After religiously watching each season of ‘Keeping Up with The Kardashians’ and living vicariously through the girls various Twitter pages and blogs, the Fintern had high expectations of the much documented ‘Dash’ in Miami.  After eventually locating the store amongst various sex shops and tattoo parlours what greeted her wasn’t quite the glamorous and polished interior shown on the show. A shabby interior and $10 Kardashian themed Water ensured there were no souvenirs bought back for the Fin’s office!

Not quite what we expected!