Founded in the Swedish town of Uddevalla in 1903 by Markus Schwarmann and Hjalmar Nordström this brand is known for making trendy menswear for the fashion forward gentleman. Classic fashion staples are updated by Tiger with a modern metropolitan twist. They have a unique collection of business casual clothing with contemporary cuts such as quarter length coats and tapered pants that are as perfect for the office as they are for a weekend jaunt to town. They started off making suits exclusively, however, because of their great attention to detail and quality, their slim-fitting parkas, coats and other items are now very popular with fashion conscious males throughout the world.

The picture above illustrates a typical business casual look that can be put together with clothes from Tiger. A structured blazer with broad shoulders and a tapered waist will create a very manly physique, and then paired with tapered glenurquhart check pants to create a sleek silhouette.  Tiger of Sweden also has a broad selection of stylish footwear.

It is also worth checking out their unique form fitting coats which are made of high quality wools and will pair nicely with your suit, or weekend wear.

For a more trendy European look, consider Tiger of Sweden.

http://www.tigerofsweden.com/

Visit the Metropolitan for a great article about Tiger of Sweden, and to learn some excellent fashion tips as well!

EOS New York has a truly unique line of timepieces that are sure to turn heads. Ideally suited to casual wear, these watches are a great accessory to pair with your jeans and sneakers when going out to town with friends as they are sure to add some flare to your style. The youthful company is based in New York City and their designs have a truly urban trend setting flavour. The next time that you are in NYC check out your local EOS store, or alternatively visit their website to browse their unique designs.

So you are at the shoe store shopping for a good pair of dress shoes, but are totally clueless by the selection. What shoe is best suited for your particular event? Well let’s have a look at some of the classic dress shoe designs offered for men. 

 

Oxford style shoes hails from England and are characterized by a lower instep, and non rubber insole. The shoe is designed to be plain and simple so that it can exude a classy character. Traditionally the Oxford would come in a few simple colours such as black, brown, oxblood, burgundy, and chestnut. A good pair of well-made black oxfords are perfect for the office, and a spicier colour like oxblood is well suited for a more chic affair. If however you are attending an extraordinarily elegant party a highly polished black pair of oxfords with a sleek toe will give you that distinguished look.

Cap Toe

The cap toe is essentially a more dressed up oxford because the toe cap will have some sort of embellishment, usually a sort of decorated band outlining the toe box. This type of shoe pairs well with a suit, but looks equally good if wearing just a shirt and tie.

Low heeled, and made of durable leather these shoes take their origin from Ireland and Scotland. They take their name from the “W” shape formed on the toe box. They are a bit more flashy than the oxford or cap toe so should only be worn by those with the courage to pull it off. The wingtip looks best when worn with a pinstripe suit.

The derby resembles an oxford but is slightly more casual. The tongue of the shoe is made with the same piece of leather as the cap and is not stitched at the bottom. The derby is a very utilitarian shoe in that a slightly dressy version goes well with a suit and tie, but shoes made of a slightly subdued leather can be stylishly paired with a pair of jeans.

A personal favourite these shoes were popularized during the early part of the 20^th century and are very adaptable because they can be either dressed up or down depending on the occasion. The identifiable feature of the loafer is its lack of laces; however, a penny loafer will have a strap across the top with or without a tassel. These sleek shoes were popularized by fashion houses such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton who have been manufacturing loafers for years. Because of their more relaxed nature it is best to wear it with either jeans, or shirt and tie, and it is prefered not to wear with a suit unless the toe cap is of a sleek design.

Lacking laces these are similar to loafers except that they have a buckled strap over top. These shoes are sure to give your suit that extra bit of character.

Conceived in the year 1983 by Franco Moschino this provocative couture Italian fashion house was launched in 1985 and quickly attained a cult following because of its youthful, and colourful designs that criticised the established fashion industry. The company is known to apply humour to everyday objects and clothes through inspiration from artists such as Salvador Dali who was instrumental in catapulting the surrealist movement of the 1920s. Examples of this are the use of dice as buttons ,and faucet handles on jackets. Innovative social awareness campaigns of the early 1990s brought Moschino into the limelight, and it has stayed there ever since. Moschino has designed one off pieces for such superstars as Kylie Minoque and Madonna. His company also designed the outfits used for the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. As mentioned previously Moschino’s rebellious anti-establishment focused fashion designs were infamous for generating rifts against the more established fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel.

In the photograph below, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama is seen wearing a pink dress by Moschino, taken from the pre-selection of the 2010 Spring/Summer Moschino collection. 

The brand is made up of three main labels Moschino (women’s and men’s flagship line) Moschino Cheap and Chic (women’s line) and Moschino Jeans (men’s and women’s line). But to keep in line with its eccentric past,  Moschino also designs motorcycle helmets, perfumes, and owns a concept hotel called “Maison Moschino”.

To find out more about this fashion powerhouse, visit their website.

http://www.moschino.it

For some great fashion and style tips visit the Metropolitan.

You may get to learn a lot about somebody by spending hours “talking” to them in a chat room, but have you ever observed that conversations that you hold face to face are always far more rewarding? Doesn’t it feel much better to hold her hand, see her smile, and listen to her beautiful voice? Of course you have made these observations! This is because proximity is very important when it comes to developing a relationship with someone. Numerous studies have found that we tend to form intimate relationships with those who are near us....just look at how many of your friends have found their long term lover at school or work!

There is a direct correlation between interpersonal attraction and physical proximity. A very famous study where strangers were randomly assigned seats in a classroom found that people are more likely to become friends with those seated next to them, as opposed to those sitting across from them, even if the classroom was very small. This study was then replicated on a large scale at a dorm of 270 students in MIT where students were asked to list their closest companions. Here are the findings from that study:

The college dormitory was quite small with only 88 feet separating those living four doors apart, yet most people were closest to those living next door. Can we draw any conclusions from this study, or others similar to it? Yes! Proximity is rewarding, and distance is costly. Proximity increases the probability that two people will cross paths. Studies have found that familiarity through repeated contact increases attraction. So the more often that your flame is exposed to your presence during the initial stages of the relationship, the greater her interest in you will be, hint, hint.  

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If you are like most guys you carry a black or brown coloured bi-fold wallet like the one pictured below. Inside this obese wallet you have stuffed all of your personal effects such as cash, credit cards, driver’s license, etc. 

The bi-fold wallet became standard issue for men some time during the 1950s with the introduction of credit cards. They were simple, and housed many slots for credit cards, and if of the tri-fold variety would often come with a transparent window which was perfect to house any identification such as a bus pass that would have to be flashed with any great frequency. The problem with the bi-fold is that it encourages you to stuff the whole world into it so that it starts looking something like in the picture below.

Not only does this look terrible, it will cause for you to sit lop sided because one butt cheek will be higher than the other. So let’s have a look at some more stylish alternatives to the hideous bi-fold in your back pocket.

A very stylish alternative to the bi-fold would be to fold up your bill notes and put them in your pocket, and then carry your credit cards in a stylish card carrying case such as this one by Makr. This will encourage you to carry less useless junk, and house your cards in an attractive case.

Another option would be to fold up your bill notes and put it in a stylish money clip such as  in the sterling silver one by Canali pictured above. 

If you work in an office and carry an attaché your most stylish option is to carry a zippered wallet such as this one by Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons. A model such as this one can easily accommodate your cheque book. Hopefully you can see that there are many stylish alternatives to the boring American bi-fold, so shop around and see what suits you best.

For some great fashion and style tips visit the Metropolitan.

A lot of people have been getting engaged or married lately, and as unfortunate as it may sound many of these guys have been ripping off their woman when it comes to selecting a wedding ring. Your girl has been dreaming about her big day ever since she was a child, so don’t let inadequate research on your part spoil her dream of a beautiful ring. Here is a short guide on how to choose a wedding ring for your lucky lady, because when you think about it, this is the one gift that she will wear for eternity. You only get one chance, so get it right!

Because of their value we are going to assume that you will be choosing a diamond ring for your girl. Diamonds were first discovered  by the inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent 6000years ago and  were used by the locals as both a religious icon, and as an engraving tool because of their hardened strength. Because of their immense value the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) developed in the 1940s a system for grading the gemstone that is now an international standard. This system is known as the 4c’s: Carat, Colour, Clarity, Cut.

Carat 

Just like other precious gems, diamonds are weighed in metric carats (one carat is equal to 0.2g, approximately equal to one paperclip). So why do we have such unusual nomenclature? The name takes its origin from the carob seed. Carob seeds are always of similar weight and size, early jewellers used these seeds as a counterbalance in their scales. It will be much easier to understand the concept of a carat if you compare it to a Dollar  which is divided in to 100 equal portions by 100 pennies, one carat is also equally divided by 100 points. For example a 0.50 carat stone is equal to 50 points.  Because of their extreme value where even fractions of a carat can change the cost of a ring significantly the industrial standard is to measure the gemstone to the hundred thousandth of a carat. And remember this fact, no matter how much you hear in the movies....carat weight alone is not the single determinant of how valuable the ring is.