let's be realistic about #menswear

2012-03-19 120 notes

penguinchris:

Very nicely put together, with good fit and excellent proportions. He’s got long legs, which helps a lot of course, but the jacket’s length gives a near-perfect modern silhouette. The trousers aren’t too low-rise, which is a mistake a lot of people make (though it depends on the proportions of your body - it wouldn’t look good on this guy, but low-rise is a necessity on me due to my proportions).
This isn’t a particularly California look because of the vest (and though it looks like California perhaps it isn’t), but for a cooler day it’s great.

Very nicely put together, with good fit and excellent proportions. He’s got long legs, which helps a lot of course, but the jacket’s length gives a near-perfect modern silhouette. The trousers aren’t too low-rise, which is a mistake a lot of people make (though it depends on the proportions of your body - it wouldn’t look good on this guy, but low-rise is a necessity on me due to my proportions).

This isn’t a particularly California look because of the vest (and though it looks like California perhaps it isn’t), but for a cooler day it’s great.

Source: kolonelmustard

167 notes

penguinchris:

I like this look a lot, and it’s easy to achieve on a modest budget. But why is GQ using freakishly thin-framed models?

I find it ridiculous that many mid-grade luxury brands (like Ralph Lauren) use thin, fit 17-year-olds to model suits that only much older and most likely much fatter people might actually buy. But GQ and similar sources feature styles that youngish, fit, but relatively average-sized guys might wear, and typically choose models that reflect that target market fairly realistically.

We know this is a problem with the portrayal of women in media, and fashion magazines in particular. It’s bad enough that most male models are tall and have six-packs, why is it necessary to choose freakishly thin male models now? This guy would even actually look much better with a couple extra inches of diameter.

Source: jasonsebacher

2012-03-12 965 notes

animalstalkinginallcaps:

I’VE BEEN TRYING NOT TO SAY ANYTHING BUT I HATE THOSE LITTLE TASSELS ON YOUR SHOES.

Seriously, tassels are not cool. I don’t think they were ever cool, especially not back in the day - unlike some other aristocratic hand-me-downs we still see in modern menswear.

Source: animalstalkinginallcaps

2012-03-03 159 notes

thedapperstyle:

This is a solid shot of model Austin Otto. The casual look is great for any night out.

Start: slim fit jeans & white oxford dress shirt

Add: gray slim fit blazer

Detail: plaid tie

This is a good look theoretically, but with this particular tie it is a big miss. The tie looks really out of place because of the way it’s loosened and because it’s so long and wide. Swap in a slightly narrower tie in a more casual (i.e. less stiff) fabric and watch the length when tying and it would work great (even over-loosened).

(via theclassyswede)

Source: thedapperstyle

2012-03-01 75 notes

I don’t really dislike anything about the style here, but the proportions are ridiculous because of that jacket. This guy is ridiculously tall, and he’s given a ridiculously short jacket?

Though I don’t necessarily agree, a common measure of how long the jacket should be is that it should be just long enough that your hands curl up under the edge. The reason is proportion.

Depending on your body’s specific proportions, you may need to adjust. On me, a slightly shorter jacket elongates my legs, fixing my proportions. On this guy, a normal-length (to his hands) or slightly longer jacket would achieve the same effect.

He’s got long legs, yes, but a long torso too - he doesn’t have weird proportions. It’s just the jacket accentuating it that makes him look ridiculous.

(via theclassyswede)

Source: khakiandsurplus

2012-02-22 10 notes

downeastandout:

Camel + Monk boots

Great menswear-inspired look. Argh, to have narrow shoulders! Makes menswear styles incorporating jackets so much nicer.

I’m not usually a fan of monkstraps, but they look great - and entirely appropriate, somehow - here and dressing them down with a slouchy rolled-up look with the jeans is excellent.

Source: downeastandout

29 notes

I do like the scarf, but my response to this photo is simply:

WHY?

Source: basicsofman

2011-12-19 284 notes

tetinotete:

via tick tock vintage — great blog!

OK so this is a woman, but I’m sure you can see why I want to mention this here. This is very much a menswear-inspired look, but there’s a lot that we men can learn from this in return!

What I love most about this is, of course, the one thing that a guy can’t really pull off - the red tights. But besides being rather excitingly cute, they subtly match the wood/leather buttons on the cardigan, and the colored flecking in the wool. And that’s what really pulls this look together, this subtle coordination. And it’s key here that the belt doesn’t match anything else too closely.

So how can we do this as men… well, I’d love to find a cardigan like this cut for men. I know they’re out there, but it’ll be tough. But assuming you find that, the obvious solution here is to pair it with red corduroys (instead of tights) which you can find in a few places (including J.Crew, currently on sale - which is what I’ve linked to here - but they may be hard to find in stores).

(via dapperlane)

Source: tetinotete

2011-12-18 201 notes

I don’t really like the Timex watches J.Crew sells. The general style they’re using is good - one of my favorites - but some of the details I don’t like, such as the shape of the hands and the green color of the luminescent bits. I normally wear a Citizen chronograph watch in a similar style (with a J.Crew band which I’ll mention in a minute), but that one doesn’t necessarily have my favorite design either. The Timex Weekender is easily the best deal for a cheap cool watch right now - in fact I’d say its style is better than most expensive watches! It’s a steal at $30 (you can find it at Target, or online).

However, I think J.Crew’s watch bands are really cool, with some caveats. The nylon ones come in nice colors, but are ridiculously overpriced - $20 normally! In the summer they sometimes have them made of chambray and plaid madras fabrics - these are super cool (the madras one is what’s currently on my watch even though it’s definitely a summer look), and I’d say definitely worth the $20 because it’s incredibly hard to find anything like that elsewhere (I’ve looked).

You can get Timex Weekender nylon bands at Target (or online) for $6-7, in various colors. Infuriatingly, though, you can’t get their purple band (and several of the others) separately - only on the watch. In order to get all of their bands, you’d have to buy 4 or 5 watches!

So, I’ve determined that the best place to get nylon watch bands is centralwatch.com - you get a set of 5, from a big selection, for $30.

(via thetieguy)

Source: jcrewing

2011-12-17 120 notes

abitofcolor:

lexusbest:

Bocache & Salvucci Calzolai

The white dots coordinate with the pants so well. This is how to wear colorful socks.

I love colorful socks. My sock drawer is more colorful than a toy box. But they’re quite hard to wear. It doesn’t help that I generally only buy socks in clearance, or otherwise greatly discounted (Nordstrom Rack usually has a supply of Happy Socks, but not their best patterns).

As abitofcolor points out, though - this is the way to do it. This is an incredibly cool look. As I often point out - it’s coordination that really makes an outfit work.

I have to say that I don’t really like the shoes. They look expensive, but somehow inelegant. In my book that makes them rather poncy.

Source: facebook.com

2011-12-16 36 notes

thesnobreport:

Today in brown flannel and purple cottons and silks

Now, let me preface by saying I love purple - definitely my favorite color. I almost never go a day without having a bit of purple (if not a lot) on me somewhere.

I like this look, though it’s more formal than I’d normally ever wear (despite the non-formal knit tie, in non-formal purple). The fabrics and proportions work really well here.

I just think there’s too much purple here, and purple is too similar in tone to brown (and the reddish skin tone, though that’s partially due to white balance). I’m afraid that if I saw someone wearing this in person, I probably wouldn’t think it looked cool. It needs something to break it up.

I’m honestly not sure what I would change here - but if I can make a bold suggestion, perhaps a green knit tie (and you’re left playfully matching the pocket square to the shirt instead of to the tie). It’s killing me to make that suggestion, because I need a purple knit tie like this.

(via jasonsebacher)

Source: thesnobreport

98 notes

downeastandout:

Gloves.

This photo has made the rounds a couple times at least. It’s not clear to me that this is a particularly great look, though.

As downeastandout points out, the gloves are fantastic. The obvious thing - the colored buttons - is what I really love here, though. I replaced the buttons on a similar gray jacket, but my colorfulness was limited to using purple thread.

Anyway, continuing - the jacket itself looks really cool, great material, very elegant. The scarf is cool. Everything by itself is fantastic. The problem is that none of these things go together in any coherent way! There’s too much going on, it’s too busy. It needs toning down. You can’t have something fantastically, unexpectedly colorful like these buttons and then also have the rest of your outfit also be really colorful.

Feel free to disagree! I’ll still be looking for a set of buttons like this… I have a couple more jackets (thrifted) I want to replace the buttons on.

Source: downeastandout

2011-12-15 315 notes

I’m not sure how I really feel about the Black Watch tartan. It’s undeniably cool - and the badass name certainly doesn’t hurt there - but as a fabric for clothing? It’s rather hit or miss.

For example, I believe this is the J.Crew Black Watch sport coat (linked), but you’ll notice that it looks, well, not that great on the J.Crew site (if it’s not that jacket it doesn’t matter - the tartan colors will be nearly identical in any implementation). But it looks excellent here. The lighting and white balance is different; the warmer look here helps it immensely.

Likewise, though, it’s rather illustrative to compare the two looks using the same jacket. Here it’s paired with a white shirt and gray wool pants - this works really well to both allow the jacket colors to stand out, and to at the same time play down the brashness of the look (paradoxically, perhaps). On the J.Crew page they’ve gone all-out with blue, and it just doesn’t work that well.

So - the bottom line is that if you’re careful, Black Watch as a jacket (or anything else) can certainly look really cool. But it’s rather easier than with other patterns to get it wrong, so you may wish to be conservative with the rest of the outfit. I mean, just take away the Ray-Bans here and the look would basically be ruined - it’s a finicky pattern to work with!

(via thetieguy)

Source: jcrew.com

845 notes

stayclassic:

October 21, 2011. Venice, Italy.

Blazer: H&M - $160
Shirt: J. Crew (on sale) - $19
Jeans: Doctrine Denim - c/o Doctrine Denim
Boots: Topman - $100
Watch: K-Mart - $11
Sunglasses: Ray Ban - $110

View on: Lookbook.nu | Chictopia

Cool for several reasons. Pretty much perfect execution, and on a budget.

Most important is that fit and proportions are spot on. Lucky him that the H&M jackets fit - they never look right on me. They’re not the best quality, but they usually have one or two that are really cool and very nicely priced (this is on the high end of their prices!)

I don’t think I’ve ever bought something from J.Crew full-price - there is always stuff deeply discounted, and good stuff, too. Can never resist when they have shirts for really cheap, like he snagged here. This is a pattern you might hesitate to buy if you find it in the clearance rack in the store - but you can see here that it works really well. Everything else is relatively neutral, but the brown tone of the shoes and the jacket play off the orange and green of the shirt really, really nicely.

In my opinion, you shouldn’t skimp on a good pair (or two) of Ray-Bans. Try them in the mall to see which ones look best on you, and which size to get. The style here looks silly on me, but great on him - best for me is the New Wayfarer, but not New Wayfarer 2, which they just came out with I think. Once you figure out which one is best for your face, order them online for a lot cheaper!

Oh, and - taking your lookbook photo in Venice is nearly impossible to screw up - it’s always going to be cool.

(via urbanemenswear)

Source: stayclassic

2011-12-14 189 notes

hardingandwilson:

Limited edition for BOYS’ FORT

This is one of the coolest - perhaps the coolest - bow ties I’ve ever seen. Doubly so because of the packaging - love the topo map (hey I’m a geologist!). It’s cool because of the colors and the fabric (Pendleton wool is different from typical bow tie wool).

My only concern is the shape… or perhaps the tying method. It seems a little extreme, and looks a bit ridiculous in some of the shots on their page with people wearing them.

In any case, they need to get their web store up ASAP because I need this!

Source: hardingandwilson