Michael Native Alaskans would never wear a Gore-Tex jacket; instead, they consistently dress in what I call the construction site look. They prefer to order from online retailers like Carhartt, offering work clothing for the various professional branches in the fishing, oil platform welding, and truck driving industries.
When the clothes are completely worn out after 20 years and hang on the body like rags, only then, they are suitable for Alaskans. They would never go out on the street in a space-age manufactured, breathable, possibly brightly colored garment, especially not in matching outfits.
When we were strolling along the sidewalk in Anchorage one evening, bundled up against the freezing cold, a dented pickup truck actually slowed down, and the passenger rolled down the window and shouted that we were so pretty he just had to take a picture! Also, once, while I was standing in the parking lot waiting for a taxi in my space boots, which are rated for temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees, a military-looking guy got out of his Jeep and slowly looked me up and down. His gaze lingered on my shoes for several seconds. He probably thought I really was visiting from outer space.
Call me Nostradamus. I hereby predict that European men will soon also take a liking to construction site fashion, like Alaskans. Carhartt, the new Ed Hardy! Soon, men dressed as construction workers will storm the trendiest clubs in the big cities. The old chic brands are dead!