I’d like to introduce you to a beautiful pair of shoes.
Yes, beautiful.
They are the Alden Waxed Longwing Bluchers made specially for J.Crew, and that are flat out amazing.
But I have to admit, they are expensive. As in, I thought about buying them for nearly two months before taking the plunge.
Take a look below.
I’ve been a fan of Cole Haan shoes for a while now, and their Great Jones Wingtip certainly doesn’t disappoint.
The Cole Haan trend for the last couple of years is to infuse color into classic designs, and they continue to do so this year.
The Great Jones Wingtip comes in a variety of color options, but I opted for grey, or as they call it, Ironstone. The grey will go with just about everything, but more importantly, the shoe sole is mint green. And if you’ve been paying attention to fashion, you know mint green is definitely “in” and will be for quite a while.
I’m starting to develop a small shoe addiction. And I’m mixing shoes with outfits that I wouldn’t normally wear them with. I used to hate wearing tennis shoes (Note: I call all active shoes tennis shoes.) with anything but active wear, but for one reason or another I’ve evolved on that principle.
The Nike Free has been a very popular shoe for the last few years, primarily due to comfort and color options, but today I have to introduce you to the Nike Flyknit Lunar 1+. They are flat out awesome! Take a look below.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never been much of a boots guy (which is clearly a bit odd), so when the folks at Johnston & Murphy sent me their new Hosford Boot, I was pretty skeptical.
But when I took them out of the box I immediately thought they were a stylish boot that had some hope. As I continued to expect the Hosford Boot while holding it in my hand, I couldn’t help but continue to press the sole of the boot. It felt softer than pretty much any sole I’d ever felt, which made me believe it had the potential for being insanely comfortable.
I’ve now worn them several times and will share some additional thoughts after sharing a few photos of the boot.
This Indochino suit review isn’t something I planned on writing, but after some nagging from a friend, here we go.
First and foremost, I’m not in the business of writing negative articles about brands, and, if memory serves me correctly I’ve only written one less than stellar review on this site, and that was for a pair of shoes that had screws sticking up through the heel.
No joke. I’ve probably not worn a watch in 16 years. Which, if you think about it, is very close to the time I had my first cell phone. Once I had a phone on me all the time, having a watch around my wrist to tell time didn’t seem necessary.
Here’s the thing. I like nice watches, but it’s an item that I wouldn’t necessarily invest in myself, which makes it the perfect gift. So, when my fiancees father surprised me with a Tissot watch as an engagement gift last Saturday I was thoroughly surprised!
I’m fortunate to work in an office environment that allows for a wide range of clothing preference. Whether it is jeans or wool dress pants, a tie or a v-neck and sweater, or tennis shoes vs. leather oxfords, it’s up to the individual.
When it comes to wearing a suit, I usually only don the jacket and trousers when I anticipate interacting with the media or with clients. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week, I ended up consecutively encountering both. My trusty suit weathered through three straight days of wear (not optimal, I know, I usually try to give it a day off between assignments), and provided an opportunity to diversify arrangements. Here is one suit, three ways, in three days.
Coat season has officially hit New York City, and as usual, many people are caught off guard.
As of now I have a couple go-to coats in my closet, but could certainly add a few more to the collection. I mean, you need a mild coat, a get it dirty coat, a coat that’s great with jeans, a coat that’s good for the rain, a coat that you can wear with business attire… and the list could go on.
But, at the moment, I’m obsessing over a particular coat that I’ve never allowed myself to purchase. We will get to that item in a bit, but first, I’ll highlight a number of coats that you might enjoy adding to your arsenal of “needed” coats.
Simply put, the Cole Haan Cooper Square Wingtip is an awesome men’s shoe.
It’s stylish. It’s comfortable. It’s well made. And it’s a great casual shoe, but if you play your cards right it can also be dressed up a bit.
The catch here is that I don’t even own the Cooper Square Wingtip, yet. I’ve been eying it for a bit, and finally allowed myself to try it on last weekend. I put it on, laced it up, stood up, walked around… and I’m telling you, the shoe is absurdly comfortable. Why? Because the combination of the Nike Air technology and strategic placement of Cole Haan’s Lunar cushioning, that’s why. And no, I’m not getting paid a dime, or receiving anything free (Although, Cole Haan, you’ve cost me a pretty pinny.) for this review.
It’s got to that time of year when wearing anything that doesn’t completely cover your legs just isn’t realistic (thank you cold weather). If you’ve been wearing the same pair of jeans for a while now they’re probably getting scuffed around the ankles and losing some of their original color. Thankfully this year there is plenty to get excited about when it comes to men’s jeans, and you can get a great look on a budget.
Debenhams, a department store in the UK famed for its in-house designers such as Julien MacDonald and Henry Holland, is definitely worth a look when it comes to men’s jeans. They’ve slowly been making their mark here in America now that their delivery destinations for online orders have expanded, and it’s about time.
Have you ever had a moment where you felt like none of your jeans were fitting correctly? If not, it’s no fun, and it happened to me last weekend. It’s as if I wanted to throw out all of my jeans – not at all practical – and start over.
I’ve always needed a little extra room in the butt and thigh areas, and for some reason the jeans that have worked for sometime, all of the sudden didn’t. I’m not gaining weight, but Crossfit very well may be making my legs get a bit bigger, which isn’t exactly a good thing. And you have to keep in mind that my style tends to put comfort before a good look. You’ll never catch me in an outfit that isn’t remotely comfortable.
Anyway, my girlfriend and I hit a few stores in search for a new pair of jeans, and we eventually settled on Joe’s Jeans in SoHo. A quick look at out visit and what was purchased is below.
Some guys just flat out get fashion. Throw a pile of clothes in front of them and they’ll easily pull together a great looking outfit.
Then there’s an entirely different group of guys that pay attention to “rules” and need examples, or inspiration, when it comes to dressing well. And as you know, that’s perfectly OK.
But it’s the second group I mentioned that has my focus for this post. While recently reading Esquire, a magazine I enjoy, I saw a story that struck a nerve, “The Esquire Guide to Ambitious Suits.” Basically, it highlights that a person making X should spend Y on a suit. Here’s the breakdown:
They had a couple additional levels beyond $250k, but you get the point.
When I saw these numbers I, as you likely did, found my income level and saw what I “should be” budgeting for a suit. Nine times out of 10, it’s not happening. Furthermore, the fear that came to mind is that guys that make $70k (just as an example) might think spending $1,500 on a suit is crazy and opt out of wanting to wear them. If you think about it, at the end of the day, depending on where you live, $70k might not give you a ton of money to spend on things like suits.
Guys, you can wear whatever the heck it is you want to wear. Price does NOT equal “good.” Women seem to understand this so much better than men. They shop vintage. They shop sales. They shop at street vendors. They look for great things, not big prices.
Now, if you are just oozing money and don’t care how much you spend, feel free to go spend $8,000 on a suit. For the rest of us, don’t feel obligated to be part of a class. Also, remember that it’s pretty easy to get a great looking suit for much less than you might expect; this SuitSupply post makes that a fact.
