Street Fashion And Trend Style Guide.

Street Fashion is never easy to shoot. But it’s photo documentary adventures like these that keep the spirit of fashion alive – on the runway and off. Street fashion is all the rage amongst fashion bloggers and helps deciding trend forecasts for any upcoming collection, as far as the international fashion scene is concerned.

 

This week we’ve compiled a concise list of quirky and eccentric fashion choices, in their raw element. These ‘clicks’ are all about perfect timing and individual bravura. One comes across an array of dapper street gents, some fashionable; few rather courageous while others just downright odd. But one aspect never changes: people LOVE to experiment with their clothes and make a statement, whatever the nature is.

Take a look at some of these ‘interesting’ looks from across the globe:

• Many of the same old goodies are still into play, however mixed with newer or reemerging trends that never get the boot. We love how men have innumerable layering options nowadays!

• Mixing bold colors with neutral plaid or corduroy gives the perfect rugged vibe. Throwing a casual ‘man-bag’ with the suit, takes the simple look to a whole different level.

• Combining formal wear with rolled-up cargo pants is something one witnesses a lot as far as street fashion is concerned. This constitutes as essential utilitarian gear. While some men are going for patterns, others opt for the opposite, such as suede or camel-skin shades.

• Well-fitted coat topped with denim jeans is the perfect excuse for going back to basics. Paired with a happening hat and attention-grabbing footwear detail, this look is a clear winner.

• Navy, red and white have always been a great color combination. We like how this lad has styled his look with navy such as the beanie, overcoat and trousers, which gives a whole new meaning to the attire. The blue oxford shirt, red V-neck sweater and white trainers introduce a much-needed pop of color!

• Mixing prints requires immense confidence, taste and creativity. The plaid scarf, martini pocket-square, and stripes socks shout individuality. Despite the fact that there is a lot going on with this ensemble, surprisingly it all works. He has toned down the printed details with basics such as the grey double vent blazer, blue-cuffed jeans and suede boots.

• Nothing better than a stylish father scrolling around the city! So much character in this picture and the color blocked, effortless outfit speaks volumes. One must add though, the ‘baby bib’ sticking out of the back pocket is probably the best touch of detail.

Top Looks For Men in 2013.

 

Style is a universal term with individual definition. Fall season offers an impeccable opportunity to look preppy. Don’t let your style take a nasty slip these winters. Consider these top looks as a seasonal survival guide of timely winter fashion for men.

 

Before we indulge in the ‘top’ looks this season; make sure you pick up the essentials. An overcoat/peacoat, plenty of V-Neck sweaters, classic chinos/khakis, long sleeve polos, sweater vests and of course accessories like hats, gloves and scarves like we discussed in our earlier blogpost. Another fashion tip: as far as the fit goes, make sure your clothes are neither baggy/loose nor tight/clinging. Lastly whenever you’re putting your outfits together, ensure that the colors and fabrics don’t clash with each other.

 

Here are some of our top looks for this season:

 

• Harvey Spector from the show ‘Suits’ fame defines how to carry off the perfect, sharp winter suit for men. This is a great look for formal occasions.

 

• Presenting the ultimate fashion guide for ‘Double Breasted Work Wear.’

 

• Our third look is a winner. This rich wool collar trench coat by Burberry exudes sophistication and gives a whole new meaning to the term, ‘Urban Gentleman.’

 

• Another pronounced ‘look’ for this season: a naval camel peacoat. Not only makes you look cultured and distinct but keeps your warm as well.

 

• This season: don’t hesitate to indulge in statement cropped pea coats. A definite favorite on the runways! 

 

• Buddle up with leather! You can look sharp and be flawlessly stylish in leather jackets. A definite check for their multi-functionality factor. Add slim dark denim for a modern silhouette!

 

• Last but not the least, casual clothing is a big yes. Make sure you stock up on wool and cashmere. Sweaters never go out of style and offer simplicity for every occasion. Spruce up your wardrobe with playful colors and versatile fits. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Accessories For Men

With the cold weather setting in, it’s time to warm up with these winter accessories. Now that we’ve bid adieu to hot summer days, the time has arrived to shop around for fashion accessories to keep us warm throughout the winter season. There is an overwhelming selection of added accessories to choose from. Things like hats, gloves, scarves are terrific options to keep you bundled up during the season of the slow and lazy.

 

Leaving your head unprotected in freezing cold weather is a big no-no. Contrary to popular belief; winter hats can be stylish and will aid you in keeping the chill at bay. A circular-knit, wool stalwart or a beanie can be your preferred choice of color or pattern and will look great with nearly every coat you own. Secondly, comfort and simplicity is key. Try different materials and opt the ones that feel the best. As for colors, black and gray are definitely the most versatile. Natural wool, beige and earth tone colored hats go with virtually every jacket.

 

Men’s suede gloves lined with shearling are great for comfort and warmth. A snap closure ensures a snug fit and looks dapper with your winter attire such as trench coats or leather jackets. Black leather gloves are rather popular with the men because of their resourcefulness and the fact that they don’t easily get dirty. Other great glove styles are light gray or beige wool, and can easily blend with casual/sporty outerwear. If you’re in extremely cold weather, opt for gloves that offer durability while acting as a water resistant windbreaker. However, if you’re looking for a more distinguished look this season, stick with gloves made out of sheepskin.

 

Last but not the least, its time to go back to basics. Invest in a good scarf and add subtle pattern to break up your solid overcoats. The key factors in choosing a scarf are comfort and assessing how well it goes with the rest of your winter wear. Go for shades that match your hat and gloves. Now we have diverse fabrics to choose from such as wool, cotton, fleece and mohair. Once again, your best bet is to pick shades like black, gray, beige and earth tones. You can also decide on plaid motifs or a multi-covered scarf – but keep in remind that these will certainly limit your selection of jackets and gloves, as they don’t go with everything.

 

Rest assured: these classic winter accessories will define your style mantra in the coming months. Happy shopping! 

The ‘Hoodie’ Factor.

 

Hoodies are the most essential outerwear for winter. When one can’t be bothered with chunky leather jackets and coats, hoodies serve as the perfect casual outerwear. Considered as the pinnacle of street-wear fashion, hoodies or hooded sweatshirts are the go-to winter staple for every guy. If you like playing it safe, hoodies in neutral colors such as black, grey or brown will complement your entire wardrobe.

 

In recent times, the humble sweatshirt has had a makeover. Nowadays, we have various options in luxurious jersey, sporting print motifs, contrast details, and statement hoodies. Not only do they provide warmth in all kinds of fall weather, but also serve as a great lounging piece because of its added factors of comfort and practicality.

 

When we think of hoodies now, we don’t just stick to grey fleece, XXL oversized sweatshirts or a college football banner across the front – this item has revolutionized to being stylish as opposed to sloppy. Just because you’re adorning them doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be three sizes too big! A slim fitted cotton/cashmere medium fit looks stretchy, simple and comfortable.

 

A heads-up though: make sure you wash your hoodie cold and hang dry. Or better yet, get them dry-cleaned to avoid fleece hoodies from shrinking. In addition, they provide the seamless mix between casual and formal. Wear a button up underneath, and you’re good to go!

 

With statement hoodies in the international market, you can create or design your own apparel. These can political statements, popular culture references, humorous one-liners, and funny pictures – basically anything that floats your boat can be used to create designs that define your essence through photos, text, graphics, color and much more. 

 

Shoes For Every Man!

As men’s fashion is constantly evolving, shoes are going right along with these trends.  Your shoes say a lot about you! Nowadays designer details, buckles, fabrications, colors and style variations have become much more accessible to the everyday shopper.

 

At this time of year, your choice of footwear is more important than in any other season. As the chill settles in and the days get colder, the key consideration for any man should be comfort, weather resistance and warmth. Boots come out as the clear winner for the aforementioned deliberations. They provide timeless styling and craftsmanship to your ensemble

In the midst of fashionable shoe trends, this season of men’s footwear has tons to offer – high tops, low tops, loafers, wingtip, leather, suede, denim, laces, sporty, casual and formal. Perhaps the most dominant and recurrent men shoes trend this year is the brogue shoes, moccasins and saddle shoes.

 

Color variety and bold patterns define the footwear fashion trends for men and women this year. While you’ll still never go wrong with the basic black or brown shoes, you should get, at least, a pair of shoes in a livelier shade to spice up your wardrobe and stay in style

 

With multiple boot options to offer – Desert, Chukka, Biker, and Worker – men have an array of footwear to opt from. The traditional Chelsea Boot is an old favorite, characterized by the signature elasticated side panels and lightweight sole. This season alone, designers such as Paul Smith, Jimmy Choo, Grenson and Ralph Lauren have all featured Chelsea boots in their collections.

Despite their conventional aspect, the style of Chelsea boots is versatile enough to transcend the seasons. To reflect this, Balenciaga reworked thee boots in a sleeker, sharper design with a modernist cutout panel.  GQ describe the Chelsea boot as “The One Boot You Need This Autumn” and write that Chelsea’s “…blend the urbanity of a good dress shoe with the all-weather protection of a good leather boot.”

 

The beauty of boots stems from its resourcefulness. They are easy to dress up with sleek, slim-fit tailoring or down with jeans or casual wear. The key is to remain simple with outfit choice and pair boots with uncomplicated, unfussy clothes in subtle, dark hues. Simply put, go for shoes that complement your style! 

How To Wear A Sweater Vest

Come fall season, we are bound to experience the return of the sweater. Basically there are two primary reasons for the popularity of sweater vests in any man’s wardrobe: functionality and style. This apparel undoubtedly adds flair to your outfit.

 

Starting with the functionality factor, sweater vests can fit well under a jacket. Especially in the winter season, woolen ones with provide a layer of warmth and have the unique property of retaining heat, unlike a cotton dress shirt, which doesn’t do as great of a job in cooler temperatures. Sweater vests will not only keep you warm this season, but also make you look pretty sleek and slim. Vests enable you to dress sharp instead of just throwing on a hefty overcoat.

 

Secondly, sweater vests give a sense of formality to the wearer. With single-breasted jackets or a three-piece suit, it gives a narrower with the V-neck. Resultantly, a closed up look gives a more formal and monochromatic look to your attire.

 

From 9-5, keep your colors solid and neutral. In the evenings, one can get creative and go for patterned vests. And if your goal is to look slimmer, stick with a darker vest and a lighter shirt – not vice versa. It makes your torso look slimmer, drawing attention to your shoulders and arms.

 

Sweater vests can be suitable anywhere, as long as you keep it age appropriate. A white dress shirt and charcoal sweater is timeless and stylish. For the younger lot, try a plaid or checked shirt. In addition to this, thinner, fine, gauge vests are dressier while the chunkier versions can be relatively more casual. These can easily be layered with a suit, blazer or dress shirts. However always remember: if you’re leaving the shirt un-tucked, beware of the tails.

 

 

Have fun with the sweater vest! It’s an essential item to have in your core wardrobe. But you have to do it right. Ill-fitted vests can kill the entire feel of the outfit and make you appear sloppy. If it’s too small, it will make you look stuffed. Too big or oversized, will make you look big and the bunching at the sides will add to your waist. According to fashion gurus, the perfect fit is one that allows you enough room to move comfortably, but not so much room that armholes gape and the waist sags! 

Colored Denim For Men: Yay Or Nay?

It’s hard to miss this season’s most prominent denim trend: colored jeans. Potent shades of red, green, navy blue, beige, yellow, is now showing up on jeans in fashionable design wear. This trend has been hitting the streets on men, as well as women, and getting the full glory treatment in the fall/winter collection from leading brands and designers.

 

Celebrities and fashion gurus to people from all walks of life have been spotted in colored denim several times recently. The apparel industry has been bombarded with this fashion fad as of late. Blue jeans may be the most famous and traditional denim choice for men, but keeping denim interesting and fun for the coming season means mixing it up with color. Whether it’s a statement red or an earthly tone, colored jeans are a definite worthwhile investment for your wardrobe.

 

The thing with bright denim is that they make your jeans the focal point of your outfit. Color blocking is no longer gender specific and confined to the fairer sex alone. Colors have traditionally presented greater challenges for men. However hues like reds, yellows, blues and greens – more muted shades – for men’s jeans eases guys into the trend.

 

The trick is to pick a color and a style that suits your body type. If you’re comprehensive about bold and bright shades, don’t be afraid to “toughen” up pastel colors. Perhaps the full gelato look is not for you, and you can wear pastels back with black, charcoal, grey or tan. Men have been adding color in different arenas of their wardrobe from socks to button-down shirts and now it’s time for pants.

 

Men aren’t buying into basics nowadays. It’s time for the consumer to look for something they don’t already have. Color is literally EVERYHWERE. It’s a case of pick a color, any color. 

The Best Jeans For Your Body!

Contrary to popular belief, all jeans are not made equal. Nowadays, there is an assortment of different styles and fits. Jeans are the most popular attire form of casual dress around the globe and we all have our trusted, go-to jeans that we rely on for all occasions. With changing fashion trends, the patterns of jeans have also been varying. Our wardrobes are now riddled with different kinds of jeans: baggy, loose-fit, boot-cut, flare, straight cut, and skinny jeans.

Essentially there are four different types of fits. Boot cut defines a close fit with a slight flare towards the bottom, wide fit is loose fitting from waist to bottom, slim fit is slightly tapered but not form fitting and straight cut is neither tapered nor excessively loose.

A traditional/straight cut is perfect for a classic look with minimum fuss, and particularly flattering for tall, thin men. Flared jeans are great for athletic builds that want to show off their definition and can be comfortably worn with riding boots due to their roomy construction around the ankle.

Loose/wide-fit has more room around the thighs and ankles and is suitable for those who want a roomier, more casual pair of men’s jeans. However, make sure that you pick the right size for your body type and don’t end up with extremely baggy jeans.

The key characteristic of skinny jeans is that they fit close to the body, not just above the knee, but below as well. The most important thing to understand about skinny jeans is that they don’t necessarily make you look skinny per say. They work best on slender body types and cater to the younger crowd.

The rise is defined as the distance between the waistband and the crotch; the traditional distance is roughly 11 inches. There are three basic rises when it comes to men’s jeans; low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise. The most common amongst these would be the mid-rise jean, which rests right around your belly button. Similarly, low-rise jeans fall below the belly button and high-rise jeans are above.

First rule for buying the best jeans for your body is understanding what your body type is. Don’t go for jeans that make you look unflattering and chunky. Also, avoid jeans that look like they’ve gone through the shredder several times. Holes, frays, patches, multiple zippers, unnecessary buttons and embellishments were probably deemed ‘cool’ back in the 80s. Not anymore!

The Importance Of A Pocket Square!

A man is defined by what he wears. Weather you’re headed for work, a formal dinner, a night out or a wedding; being well-dressed is quintessentially critical for setting the right tone. The key to a good suit if knowing your measurements, color, style and assorted accessories that go with the whole ensemble.

Basically, a pocket square is a small piece of cloth that is generally worn as a fashion accessory in the front pocket of a blazer, jacket or suit coat. It resembles a small napkin or a handkerchief. In terms of menswear fashion, a pocket square serves as a purely cosmetic or aesthetic purpose. Chronologically speaking, it is believed that this idea originated in Greek, Egypt or England and was strictly for reasons related to personal hygiene. Later, they were deemed a symbol of respect, prestige, and wealth.

Pocket squares are a great addition. One can never go wrong with a plain white pocket square; it’s classy, understated and minimalist. However, to add extra flare and individuality, you can always match your pocket square to your tie. With certain outfit choices, it’s not necessary that your Pocket Square and tie have to match. But keep in mind: not to clash the two. Too many designs can appear distracting and be off-putting. Never do a tie and a pocket square with two different colors and two different patterns.

One would be hard-pressed to find a picture of the Duke of Windsor, Fred Astaire, or any well-dressed icon from the thirties in which some form of pocket square is not adorned. Back in the day, a casually furled pocket hank was the trademark for unique dressing and ultimate style. Similarly as men’s fashion changed, pocket squares fell out of favor for everyday use with many men sometime during the 60s. However, even during the period when some did not consider pocket squares “must haves”, they were still often used for occasions requiring more formal attire such as weddings, dinner parties, and black tie and white tie events.

 

In today’s times, a pocket square has emerged as a fashion accessory for the archetypal ‘well-dressed’ man. The key is to keep it simple and neat, otherwise the final look can be quite unkempt. However, when done correctly pocket squares are a simple yet effective way to add a dash of color, panache and eccentricity to an outfit. It’s time that men rediscover the art of sporting a pocket square!

 

Winter Must-Haves: Transition Pieces For Men!

Feeling that chill in the air already? We’re slowly bidding adieu to T-shirt and flip-flop season. However, it’s still a little premature to dig out your favorite staple jacket or warm coats out of storage just yet. But as the weather gets cooler in the evenings or as the season progresses, one can throw on a sweater or jacket or both. You don’t have to spend a fortune to look stylish either, come fall season.

Transition pieces will add practicality to your style and give you that added layering impact for nippier days. For instance, an easy-to-wear vest can be one of the most versatile items in your wardrobe, while rendering a modern, slimmer cut. It can be easily thrown over a cotton shirt or as it gets colder, a thick sweater.

The classic Desert Boot is the perfect winter footwear. This shape has been around for the last 60 years, and it hits right at the ankles, giving an impeccable cross between a sneaker and a heavier lace-up boot. Distinctive styles in corduroy and suede add a crisp, fall vibe all winter long. Due to the crepe sole and their fashion forward flair, these pair of shoes will have a long-lasting quality. These shoes will serve you well and ensure happy feet!

Light denim jackets are essential for mastering the rugged look and honing an outdoorsy attitude. There is also a revival of retro looks when it comes to blazers. Neutral tones can easily be worn with either jeans or dressier trousers. Be it denim, moleskin, corduroy, or tweed; the availability of various styles can give your outfit a life of their own!

Lightweight jackets are the finest alternatives to chunky sweaters, oversized hoodies or woolen coats. Nylon windbreakers in funky colors features an ideal weight and provides just enough protection from dropping temperatures come early November. For a modern look, try pairing them with Chinos or pinstriped pants.

These men’s fall wardrobe must haves will not only carry you through this fall and winter but seasons to come!