Realistically every day spent with your partner should be one filled with romance, however, the ever popular Valentine’s Day is only a week away, so here are some great gift ideas for this Hallmark holiday. Read more...
New York City Fashion Week is in full effect, and here is some insight into some of the trends that you can be on the lookout for during the spring/summer season this 2010. Get ahead of the curve by looking into these trends!
Major Trends
Ivy League, Campus Cool
This spring/summer be on the lookout for some classic Americana with polos featuring popped collars, plaid-on-plaid, and denim shirts, cuffed trousers and shorts. White denim, aviator sunglasses, and boat shoes will be making it big this summer.
Urban Athletic
We can expect to see scoop necked t-shirts, tank tops, horizontal striped polos, parachute pants , tennis shoes and a lot of white.
African Safari
This trend was in its infancy at the close of last summer, but expect it to be more popular this upcoming season. Warm and nude earth tones will be popular on safari jackets and featherweight semi-transparent shirts. Desert boots and straw fedoras will be popular in the upcoming months.
Minor Trends
Leather Biker Jackets
Already in full swing in continental Europe, the leather biker jacket will be popular in North America during the cool spring months. Layer it over t-shirts and a scoop necked shirt or turtle neck to create a classy look.
Colour Blocking
This was very popular during the early 1990s and is predicted to make a comeback, but colour choice will be less flashy this time around.
Belgian designer Kris Van Assche a graduate of the prestigious Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts, who now works for Dior in addition to having his own label, has just unveiled his new sneaker for Dior. This high top sneaker has a very boot like silhouette and unusual stitching, typical of the avant-garde styling that is to be expected from Dior. The ankle section is also reminiscent of the recent gladiator trend. This shoe retails for $550 USD and is perfect for those trying to stay on top of the urban military trend.
Kris Van Assche, pictured above.
Some of his earlier work, pictured above and below.
Since the tender age of ten I understood the power of appearance. I realized that if you wore nice clothes, people are more likely to give you what you want because you leave a good impression on them. Later in life while studying courses about sexual attraction to complete my degree in psychology I learned that my childhood beliefs were in fact true! First impressions are lasting, so it is always a good idea to put your best foot forward. I have always been fashion conscious and that is why I would get certain pieces in my closet such as my suits altered by a professional tailor. My tailor is great, he can take any suit off the rack and modify it so that it fits me like a glove. The only problem is that my tailor lives in another country so I only get to see him about once a year. Not the most ideal of arrangements.
A very intimate female friend of mine let me in on her secret for looking so dapper all the time, she makes her own clothes, or alters garments that she purchases at the store. Wow! I thought when I first heard this. Think of the potential of creating something that nobody has, it would be more exclusive than the latest Louis Vuitton or Gucci collection, assuming you are good of course. When I was a small child my mother would make clothes for me on her sewing machine, so I decided to go into my closet and pull out an old pea coat. I drew up a design and gave it to her. I watched her all day as she patiently recreated an exact replica of my design! Unfortunately this was to be a one off experience because I was not planning to give my mother my entire wardrobe to redo. I decided to take one of my favourite leather jackets to a local tailor who does alterations. He told me that he had 45years of experience, that’s more than my regular tailor I thought to myself as I gave him my design and my precious jacket. A week and $56 later when I picked up my leather jacket I was horrified at what he had done. He had butchered the jacket and it only remotely resembled what I had asked him to do for me. He had also daftly cut and threw away a lot of leather so it was impossible to go back to the original design. I then vowed, never again!
The next day I went to my local fabric shop and stocked up on some supplies. Big metal buttons, red piping, red string, gold string, etc. and then I into my closet yet again, and this time pulled out a drab black topcoat. I pulled out my mom’s sewing machine and did the unthinkable. I began to sew! I watched my mother work her magic on my pea coat previously, and asked questions along the way, so I knew exactly what I wanted to do to my overcoat and I knew how to do it. Slowly but surely I started to see the image in my head manifest into something beautiful and tangible in front of my very eyes. I stayed up until 3am, and then decided to crash for the night. In a few short hours I single handily altered half a coat. I plan to finish the one side before starting the other. I am not even close to finishing because I plan to make the collar larger and add leather detailing, but this is what I accomplished in 10 hours of labour. Upon completion of this project I will make an entire coat from scratch. Not another alteration job. The take home lesson from my topcoat experiment gentlemen, when somebody hands you a lemon in life don’t just sit there and cry about it. Learn something new from it!
“We are a generation of men raised by women” Arguably the most powerful quote from the movie Fight Club. So what did Tyler Durden mean when he said that? Traditionally when a man and woman would get married, they would stay together. For life---not this Mickey Mouse I love you, I hate you, screw you we’re getting a divorce business that is tragically so common today. Ask any psychologist specializing in the study of children and they will undoubtedly inform you that for a child to have a healthy upbringing he/she requires to be raised in a household by BOTH parents who will shower him/her with love and compassion. Since the dawn of civilization the model for family structure has been patriarchal, and this kept the divorce rate in check.
Fast forward to today and what do we see?--A Matriarchal model where women believe that they should be leading the family because they were raised by a single mom who taught them that they have to fend for themselves. And the man in the relationship doesn’t know how to lead it because he is sitting around licking his own balls because he too was raised by a single mom and is tired of being “controlled” by women, and ultimately bails on the relationship—perpetuating the viscous cycle. You aren’t being controlled by anyone tough guy....you are just lazy. Women are not to blame, you are buddy. Is it any surprise that the divorce rate is at its current abominable level, of course not! In the 50’s and 60’s if your mother said to you “Wait until your father gets home” you’d have pissed your pants because that was the ultimate threat. Today, mothers have become more disciplinary than fathers, and this is all too frequently depicted in the media as well. Many movies and television shows depict a confident, capable mother and a totally incompetent oaf of a father—Just look at Peter Griffin from Family Guy or Homer Simpson from The Simpsons, and compare them to their respective counterparts Lois and Marge. Who really wears the pants here boys?
There was a time when men would hold meetings in the town square, men only. These meetings were designed to generate business, provide mentoring, and support. Society has evolved negatively where leadership roles are no longer assumed—the lines are blurred, granted there is some good in this but this article is focusing on the negative effects on men when they allow themselves to become emasculated. In early civilizations men were the hunters, travelling in packs, leading society in a dignified manner fulfilling the needs of society. Get off the couch boys, become the men that you were supposed to be. Work with your woman to move your family forward.
One of the important factors in taking control of your life is taking control of your image. If you dress well you will build and regain confidence. For excellent tips on this topic visit the Metropolitan.
Alright so you admit that you don’t exactly pay attention to everything that your girlfriend says.... but you should at least pay attention when she talks about Edward Cullen. Who is this Cullen guy you ask? Simply every woman’s fantasy. Edward Cullen is a fictional character from Stephanie Meyer's best selling books known as the Twilight Series, which have now been made into a set of major motion pictures starring actor Robert Pattinson. Edward is depicted as a handsome, intelligent, wealthy, articulate, and impeccably dressed vampire. Did he just say vampire? Yes! Desperately craving the blood of his human lover Bella, this vampire is a total contradiction to all things vampirish because he is constantly brooding and sadistically preventing himself from devouring the woman who he so easily seduced. Ahhh the perfect gentleman! Now some photographs for your viewing pleasure, before we get to the look that women crave so badly.
Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. Quite clingly isn't she, just check out his facial expression...
You know you are popular when they name a disorder after you!
Should we even ask what is going on here? By the way they are both wearing All-Stars, check out the blog on that.
Guys....seriously....get a room!
Hate him as much as you want, but in the Twilight series this man knows what women want, and knows how to deliver. Actor Robert Pattinson is also followed around by groupies in real life because of his portrayal of Cullen. So lets dress you up so that your girl can feel like she too is dating a real live Edward Cullen. Here are some tips on how to pull off his style. The picture below is essentially the look that we are aiming to replicate. We have chosen this look because it is how he is dressed for much of the first film.
Pea Coat
This piece is critical if you want to get the style right, so make sure that you invest in a quality grey double breasted woollen peacoat. You can skimp on the other pieces but invest as much money as you can on a quality coat. You get what you pay for, and the price range for these coats is phenomenally varied, but here are two examples on both ends of the spectrum.
Quite a bit pricier, but can you really put a price on quality? This beautiful coat is crafted by Mackage out of exceptionally good quality wool that is sure to keep you warm all winter long. This coat is going for $570 and is well worth the price and this picture doesn't do the actual coat any justice.
Trousers
You're going to need a good pair of dark coloured trousers. Any dark shade will do really, so long as it matches with the coat.
Shoes
A nice pair of sleek dress shoes are essential to finish off the look. You are looking to spend at least $100 if you want some quality leather foot wear, so don't be stingy!
$120 at Topman.
These stylish laceups by Aldo pictured below are only $44.98 and the grey colour matches your pea coat perfectly!
Rayban Wayfarer (optional)
These are an optional item, but will complete the badboy vampire look.
$139 at Rayban.
Pair this all off with one of your dark coloured t-shirts and there you have it gentlemen! The look of a badass romantic vampire that is followed around by groupies. Enjoy!
So let us know what you think. Is Edward Cullen really all that? Is there a deeper reason why women are drawn to him? Can any "real man" live up to the expectations set by him? Leave your comments below, and as always, rate, comment, and subscribe!
The iconic "Chuck Taylor All-Stars" or Converse "All-Stars" are a symbol of Americana and college life and were first created in 1917, but popularized and brought into pop culture by pro-basketball player Chuck Taylor. Chuck was so impressed by their performance that he made it his weapon of choice while on the basketball court. He proposed some modifications to the original design to enhance flexibility and provide more ankle support, and thus in 1923 the Chuck Taylor name patch was to be forever emblazoned on every pair of Converse All-Star to be sold thereafter. 600 million pairs of All-Stars have been sold since that faithful year that Chuck signed on to work as a salesman but unfortunately for him he only received salary and not a penny in commission for having his name immortalized on such a famous piece of American history.
Members of the band "Rage Against The Machine" (pictured above) were big fans of All-Stars.
Band member "The Edge" who drums for U2 is frequently seen wearing All-Stars.
During the 1950s All-Stars became ever popular with the Rockabilly and Greaser subculture of America, before gradually becoming accepted by mainstream society as a fashion forward shoe. This brought about to the market many different varieties of the shoe in both high top, and low cut traditional sneaker styles. Their extreme comfort, affordable price, and ease with which one can customize the shoe to create their own unique design has resulted in All-Stars re-emerging every few years in popularity with different subcultures such as with the grunge rock bands like Nirvana in the 1990s, punk bands such as Rage Against The Machine, and pop rock bands such as U2.
The hit movie "Grease" starring John Travolta which focused on the Greaser subculture featured All-Stars
prominently.
All-Stars are suited to the rockabilly lifestyle.
All-Stars have made numerous appearances in film and media, such as the movie iRobot where actor Will Smith's character "Detective Spooner" is an avid fan of the shoes.
The choice of fabric for All-Stars has always been a 2-ply canvas, except for a brief period where 1-ply was favoured to lower cost, however, a return to the original 2-ply was implemented to satisfy the demands of All-Stars die hard aficionados world-wide. A recent resurgence of All-Stars in Europe has been fuelled by massive consumption of All-Stars in Scandinavian and Mediterranean countries to fuel the current trend, a revitalization of 1980s style of fashion. It is only a matter of time till these stylish shoes are once again seen adorning the feet of stylish people in North American cities. You heard it here first!
These shoes are one of the few examples of truly unisex fashion as they look stylish on both guys and gals. Women often pair these with leggings, and guys prefer to wear them with skinny jeans. We will now show you three ways to wear your All-Stars. While these shoes are available in a wide variety of colours we have opted for white as they give you that all around badass look.
Look 1
A more formal look that is suited for a weekend jaunt in town or perhaps even a casual day at work. Pair your All-Stars with a good pair of skinny jeans and a slim fitting button down shirt.
Look 2
Almost identical to the first look but to make it even more casual all you need to do is change the shirt to a graphic t-shirt. This is ideal for a meeting with the guys. This is a re-creation of the look that "The Edge" is modeling in a photograph above.
Look 3
For our third and final look we recommend adding a biker jacket over top of the t-shirt to create a trendy masculine look reminiscent of what was popular during the Greaser era. This style is extremely popular in Europe right now amongst fashion forward gentlemen. This "biker style" has yet to hit the shores of North America, so if you reside there and pull this off you are ahead of the curve!
Check out the Converse website to purchase your own pair. To learn more about these shoes and get some great free fashion tips visit the Metropolitan.
Look 3
For our third and final look we recommend adding a biker jacket over top of the t-shirt to create a trendy masculine look reminiscent of what was popular during the Greaser era. This style is extremely popular in Europe right now amongst fashion forward gentlemen. This "biker style" has yet to hit the shores of North America, so if you reside there and pull this off you are ahead of the curve!
Check out the Converse website to purchase your own pair. To learn more about these shoes and get some great free fashion tips visit the Metropolitan.
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