In all the world, there are two kinds of men.

Those who accessorize with black: black belt, black shoes, etc. And those men who accessorize in brown: brown shoes, brown belt, brown wallet and brown leather watch band.

The man who opts for black sees a world fraught with peril where possibilities are limited and risk is to be avoided like the plague. For the man who favors brown, life is rich with possibilities, and managed risk can bring handsome reward.

On any and all of this, I speak with conviction. This is a matter I've long observed and to which I've given great thought. It's simple. There's one black and many browns. In a cultural sense, we assign meaning to color. Black is mystery, mourning and the unknown. Brown is warmth, comfort and constancy. (Not for nothing did UPS select brown as its uniform.) If we were to assign them geometric values, black, which is actually the absence of color, would be zero; brown would be infinite.

Before I get any more abstract, let me center my thoughts back in the world of shoes, belts and those small but not unrelated accessories: wallets and leather watch bands.

The black shoe is not wrong; it's just the safe choice. It functions well enough with navy suits and gray flannels. But as a legendary New York clothier once told me, black stops the eye. Brown shoes are a warm invitation, they set the tone for your outfit the way parquet floors light up a room.

Brown complements blue, much the way earth meets sky. And there is still not a richer look than gray flannel trousers and mocha or ginger suede shoes, either lace-up or with an elegant monk strap.

Even in casual situations, with khaki pants, I've come to see black shoes not just as uninspired or boring but a crime against imagination. (Hey, but that's just me.) A classic loafer in a tawny brown, or a chocolate sportswear or driving shoe, or a walking shoe with a lug sole are all preferable.

A few years ago, I asked Glen Taylor of the great Charlotte, N.C. clothing store, Taylor Richards & Conger, how he felt about brown shoes. "Robert," he said. "We're a brown shoe store."

His point was that while black (or black and chrome) is one way to go, the old Gucci New York flagship was done in this scheme, brown and its infinite varieties open the imagination to the possibility of a hundred tones and textures. Brown can be walnut or mahogany; tobacco, coffee or cocoa; ginger, nutmeg or cinnamon. There's oak, brandy, hickory and teak. There are gray browns (beige, sand and tan) and yellow browns with a butterscotch or cognac cast. There are red browns, too, but I stop short of cordovan or oxblood, which is clearly in the red family.

The design and details that make a shoe what it is, be it a wing-tip, split toe or buckle, that are lost in black, look so much better in shades of brown.

Brown shoes, they say, shouldn't be worn after 6 p.m. Well, this season, unless you're in black tie, think chocolate, espresso and cognac. And have a great night out!

As editor in chief of the leading men's fashion trade magazine for the past 17 years, I've made it a habit to study men. Waiting among Wall Street execs at my suburban train station, partying at nightclubs in South Beach, shopping for fantasy yachts at boat shows, rushing to and from my office on Madison Avenue, wherever I go, whatever I do, I'm always talking to guys about how they dress (under the banner of market research, of course...)

So here's what I've learned: 1)Few American men dress well (including those with lots of money, including those in the fashion industry); 2)Most men hate to shop; 3)While few guys admit to caring about clothes, most would like to look better if it were possible. And easy. Guess what? It's possible! And not all that difficult. So at the risk of sounding simplistic, here's my list of ten fashion mistakes guys often make and some simple solutions.

1) Wearing clothes that are too tight. Yes we know you plan to lose the weight but in the meantime, why not buy a few things that fit? You can always have them taken in later.

2) Not dressing for the weather. Few things make me crazier than seeing guys in July and August running around the city wearing dark, heavy-weight suits, the sweat pouring down. Yes we know you're an executive but suits come in cotton, linen, seersucker and some very lightweight wools, not to mention colors other than black, navy and charcoal.

3) Wearing light khaki pants with dark dress belts. It's just a personal peeve, probably because my husband is guilty of this transgression, but casual pants need a casual belt and lightweight light colored trousers generally look better with a less clunky belt. Particularly on guys with a few extra pounds, that dark horizontal line encircling the waist is far from flattering.

4) Great suit/beat-up briefcase or wallet. How easy it is to forget the accessories, but these are the details that speak volumes about your sense of style. Invest in them!

5) Dressing too safe. We know there are rules (we're giving you ten right now) but how boring if we all dressed from the rule books! Don't be afraid to add something slightly quirky now and then, like funky sneakers or colorful eyewear. It could become your signature.

6) Dressing too neutral. Speaking of color, most guys look great in it. If nothing else, add a bold tie or pocket square to brighten your look (and your outlook!)

7) Dressing too cheap. While there's not always a direct correlation between quality and price, there usually is.

8) Keeping things too long. With the exception of quality accessories (fine leather often improves with age, a vintage watch is always classy), most clothes wear out and styles evolve. Even if it's not threadbare, your suit from five years ago is likely to be too baggy and/or too constructed for today. Buy a new one.

9) Pattern mixing. Striped suit, checked shirt, paisley tie. It can look great if you've got a sense of color, scale and proportion but most guys don't, so keep it simple.

10) Not asking for help. Rather than read fashion tips like these, why not take advantage of all the talented sales associates hanging around better specialty stores in your city. They're trained to coordinate clothes and understand fashion nuances. (Plus they'd much rather talk to you than fold those piles of sweaters.)

Still don't get this whole fashion thing? Not to worry: confidence, kindness and a sense of humor are far more important in the end. (Just don't quote me on that, please!)

Karen Alberg Grossman is editor in chief of MR Magazine, a Business Journals publication that she launched with Stu Nifoussi in 1990. She is also editor in chief of Forum magazine and Accent magazine, both luxury lifestyle publications custom-designed for upscale independent stores. Prior to this, Karen was senior editor of Accessories magazine and women's apparel editor for Retail Week magazine. She started her career as an executive trainee for Bloomingdale's and then as a market rep for May Merchandising. Karen graduated from Syracuse University with a dual degree in French education and philosophy. A frequent moderator of industry panels and seminars and guest lecturer at fashion schools, she is known for her insightful editorials, personality-revealing profiles and provocative industry roundtables. She also admits to spending hours studying men under the guise of "market research".

When he's not crooning to sold-out crowds, Andy Williams regularly tees up on one of the championship golf courses that dot the countryside outside his Ozarks home. A hundred miles to the east, on a wooded lake peninsula, artist Al Denninger created weather vanes that grace the Disneyworld train stations in Orlando and Tokyo. To the south, high tech mountain bikers test their mettle on one of the U.S.'s acknowledged top trails.

And the list goes on. This breathtaking land of water and wilderness has long been a Mecca for creative people and iconoclasts seeking a refuge from the bustle of the larger world. In recent years, the beauty of the Ozarks has lured a new generation, high stakes entrepreneurs who have built the largest retail firm in the world, nationally known musicians and performers playing to sold-out crowds, AIA Award-winning architects, top chefs, and others entranced by the countryside but also engaged by the breadth of opportunity here.

The spectacular beauty of the old hills, rocky bluffs, deep valleys, gravel-bottomed rivers, clear springs, and mild climate is luring all kinds of people to the Ozarks, couples searching for a laid back lifestyle, adventurers seeking an outdoor experience, families looking for a great vacation, and lovers after a romantic hideaway.

New communities dot the landscape. Log cabins no longer are hand-hewn one room affairs chinked together with river mud on the edge of gravel tracks, but multimillion dollar homes overlooking sweeping vistas. Airstrip communities give aircraft owners a chance to keep their planes in the "garage" next to the house, and dozens of golf communities offer the best of the Ozarks combined with one of America's favorite pastimes.

All year long, visitors flock into the Ozarks to canoe, hike, camp, boat, and fish. But they also come for fine dining, shopping, and golf in Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri towns of Bentonville, Rogers, Branson, and Springfield.

Music lovers have always found their favorite melodies in the Ozarks. They can choose between Eureka Springs' nationally-acclaimed Opera in the Ozarks; a host of blues sites, and, in the packed theatres of Branson, pick from an array of pop favorites to new break-through talent headlining in the Grand Palace.

Soon, people will also come here for fine art. Now under construction, the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, promises to become home of the nation's finest collection of American art, thanks to its Walton family benefactor.

In the center of it all, the old mountain community of Eureka Springs has seen the world come and go. The 19th Century spa town once was a healing site for Indian tribes and later a health resort for Victorian ladies and gentlemen. Today it's an arts community, festival center, vacation resort, and one of the nation's top wedding destinations, a place where people can dine on fresh-caught trout in a gourmet restaurant and the next morning, dip a warm croissant in a frothy cappuccino.

This is a place where people come to vacation, live, and work, confident that they can have the best of the Ozarks, yet stay in touch with what's important in our larger society.

It is in this green and graceful environment that Martin Dingman Leathergoods has grown up, and it is from this rich and varied mosaic that we take our inspiration.

Susan Kirkpatrick lives in the Missouri Ozarks, where she founded and is editor of Ozarks Magazine. She is also the award-winning author of "Route 66, the Highway and its People," (University of Oklahoma Press), several textbook chapters, and many magazine articles.

When the discussion involves golf, names like Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones come to mind. But let me tell you about the man, who I consider the most important in the game when it comes to sartorial musings. With a dashing style in play and the finest threads money could buy, "The Haig" as he was referred to, ruled the fairways like no one ever had and to this point no one ever has. His famous line: "I never wanted to be a millionaire. I just want to live like one." has made it in not only the vocabulary of golfers but our populace at large.

At age five Walter began playing the game in the family's cow pasture. "I would herd the cows all in one spot where I made the hole, so they could eat the grass and make a close putting surface." One wonders if this was the reason he became known as the greatest pressure putter of his era. Hagen developed his taste for the finest things in life at the exclusive country clubs where he would caddy. Tall and handsome with sleek black hair, he was always nattily attired in an individual manner only Walter could pull off. His expertise at golf allowed him to mingle with the elite on the course, but in those days golfers were not allowed entry in the clubs themselves, especially in England.

When Hagen made his first trip to The British Open in 1920, he shocked the elite by having champagne delivered to his Rolls Royce limousine parked in the club's driveway. In those days professional golfers were only allowed in the side or back door, so Hagen made a point of not going into the clubhouse at all. His clashes with the establishment on both sides of the Atlantic were legendary, but it elevated the game of Golf and it's best players to a new level. His unrivaled flamboyance and colorful personality attracted increased sponsorship dollars to the game, eliciting Hagen's great friend and fierce rival Gene Sarazen to comment: "All the players who stretch a check between their fingers, should say a silent prayer to Walter Hagen. It was Walter who made professional golf what it is." His tailored look with the finest wools and cashmeres, plus-fours and two tone spectators made Walter Hagen a recognizable sports icon on both sides of the Atlantic. The golf fans in Great Britain took a great liking to the man, who single handedly brought a sense of style, color and elegance to the great game of golf. A stark contrast to the English country clothes in drab browns and gray, considered the appropriate uniform for the game. Walter Hagen backed up his flamboyant appearance with a game feared by his opponents, especially in match play. He won 11 major golf Championships, of which 5 PGA Championships in a time when it was contested in the match play format. Hagen was a crooked driver of the ball, but owned a short game that forced this irritated statement from Bobby Jones: "When a man misses his drive, then misses his second shot and then wins the hole with a birdie, it get's my goat." It came after Hagen delivered Jones' most lopsided defeat in a 72-hole "World Championship" on Florida in 1926. Hagen called it: "My greatest thrill in golf."

The legacy Walter Hagen leaves behind, can be best illustrated with some heartfelt comments of the greatest of his contemporaries from the world of golf and the world of life.

Former President Dwight Eisenhower: "Your achievements at home and in Great Britain have earned you both the PGA's Hall of Fame and an enduring place in the affection of all for your stout heart and great talent."

Ben Hogan: "Without you, golf would not be what it is today. I give you my deepest thanks."

But the current King of golf Arnold Palmer said it best: "The biggest thrill I got when I set a British Open record of 276 strokes at Troon, was to have Walter Hagen phone me from Traverse City to congratulate me. I didn't even know The Haig knew I was alive until then."

Arnold Palmer paid the ultimate tribute to Hagen, by being one of his pall bearers after his death on October 6th 1969.

May we give Sir Walter his rightful place in the golf conversation today.......One of the greatest players of all time, but most definitely the greatest dresser of all time.

Auke Hempenius is Vice President of Style and Creative Services for Golf Marketing Services in Orlando, he can be reached at auke@golfmarketinginc.com. Auke is the Host and Creative director of www.Aukesphere.com and for his weekly trend blogs on the world of Style & Fashion in Golf visit www.aukesphere.blogspot.com