Layering seems to baffle many people (men and women alike!) and a client asked about this again recently. Having written a post on layering in winter I thought it would be useful to do a summer one too. Although it might seem contradictory to talk about layering in summer - if you live in the UK, then you know how erratic the weather can be so you might be glad to have a few layers to hand!
I put this guide together for a recent client to try and demonstrate a beginners guide on what makes items and outfits more casual, gradually going to more formal. It's based on summer wear with some explanations as to what to look out for and other variations you may also want to try.
From what I hear about how some people dress on Dress Down Fridays, I think this is something a lot of men struggle with, so I hope this is a useful guide, particularly around the middle section where it can get more subtle and therefore complicated to achieve.
Categories: Formal wear, Suits, Dressing for Business, Smart/Casual dressing, Casual, Outfits
Who doesn't love a bargain from time to time? If you have a favourite brand then it's definitely worth finding out if they have a sale store or have a sample sale from time to time. It's sometimes a little tricky to find out about them as they're not obviously advertised on the brands websites so I've given you a helping hand with a round up two sale stores and a website with up to date info on sample sales that I think it's definitely worth having on your radar:
Categories: Sale, Where to shop
Every summer I get asked by a number of clients what shoes I can suggest for summer to wear with shorts and no socks (or no show socks) as an alternative to sandals.
Here are some of the suggestions I've made which you may find helpful if you too, don't like getting your toes out in public in summer - or just find it easier to walk around in something that actually covers your foot :~)
Categories: Shoes, Accessories, Summer, Holiday, What to wear
One of the blogs I previously wrote about this topic is one of the most read posts I have, so it seems there are a lot of guys having the same problem - where do you buy trousers when you have large muscular thighs and calf muscles?
The client I took shopping last week had just this issue - his thighs measured 67cm and his calves 45cm and though things are moving away from slim cuts, it's still predominantly a slimmer cut that's around. Luckily, we did manage to find a selection to fit though. Here are the results of what we found that fitted his large thighs and calves.
Categories: Body Shape, Large size, Trousers, Jeans, Where to shop
T-shirts are not normally a feature of this blog, or usually they're pretty plain or with a subtle stripe but occasionally I get asked by clients to source them t-shirts with graphics rather than logos or text. If you'd like to restock your t-shirt wardrobe, here's a selection I suggested to a client recently via my online personal shopping service.
Here in the UK, we’re great at dressing in our tweeds and wax jackets for the winter months, but not so well versed in summer wear. When the sun actually does come out to play, it always seems to take us by surprise and invariably our wardrobes are not prepared for it.
So what do we need to do to get the nonchalance of our European cousins in Italy and France, and get ready to bask in the sun?
Categories: Spring, Capsule wardrobe
Whilst doing a wardrobe edit for a client a couple of weeks ago, he asked me what coloured socks he should wear with a pair of beige chinos. My usual rule of thumb is to match your socks to your trousers or perhaps to go one shade darker, but in a quest to liven things up a bit I've been thinking about some alternatives.
Categories: Colour, Accessories
Often a cool lightweight jacket is missing from my clients wardrobes. They tend to have blazers and more technical jackets but a cool, casual weekend jacket is nowhere to be seen. If it's the same in your wardrobe, then here are some of the best I've seen around:
Last week my client challenged me to find him some smart casual work wear which was crease resistant, as he travels a lot for work and often goes directly to meetings. I researched thoroughly before our personal shopping trip and here are some of the things I saw that were non iron, crease resistant or part of a travel range.
Categories: Business, Dressing for Business, Smart/Casual dressing, How To, Travel
Some men like to have the uniformity of wearing a suit to work every day as it simplifies everything but it can get boring wearing the same thing day in and day out. If you work in a conservative environment and have to keep your look formal there will be limits to the changes you can make but here are some styling suggestions on tweaks that you can easily incorporate.
Categories: Business, Formal wear, Suits, Dressing for Business, Classic style, How To
While the weather is dreary and raining, the shops are awash with items in pastel ice cream shades - mint, pistachio, vanilla, and raspberry are just some of the colours you can choose from. But for some guys this is a step too far from their comfort zone of blacks, greys and 50 shades of blue. If you're in that camp and can't quite see yourself wearing pastel tones, then here are my suggestions as to how you might be able to introduce them into your wardrobe this Spring.