As many professional stylists and wardrobe consultants will tell you, men (especially North American men) have a bad habit when it comes to ignoring their footwear. Witness, for example, the number of guys who, as soon as the weekend roles around, can’t wait to throw on the same pair of ratty sneakers or cheap outdoor mocs. With winter only a short time away, it may be time to rethink your footwear and invest in a pair of classy casual boots. Read More
In many parts of the world autumn has arrived. While it may still be too early to break out your winter parka, there is a definite nip to the air, which has a lot of men thinking about outerwear. For guys who have to wear suits every day, this is a great time of year; but for business-casual men and fellows just who want to cover up in style, what can they wear when the temps turn mild? No, not hoodies or Velor track jackets. The real answer: sports coats and blazers. Read More
Many guys turn to custom dress shirts for one reason and one reason only: they want the fit to be perfect. For other men though, custom shirts present both an artistic challenge and an opportunity to make a one-of-a-kind fashion statement. But even for the most adventurous guys, finding the right place to add accents can be challenging. Let’s take a look at some of the more fun and unexpected ways to bring color and creativity to your next custom dress shirt. Read More
With NY Fashion Week in full swing and the start of fall upon us, if you who thought the clothing industry might be on the verge of something new for a change, brace yourself for yet another “reinvention”. According to nearly everyone even remotely connected with style, the big thing in men’s fashion this fall is going to be the return of the preppy look. Don’t worry though, it might be as bad as you might think. Read More
There was once a time when it seemed that bowties were the exclusive property of circus clowns, lounge singers, maitre d’s, and Jerry Lewis. Yet, over the past year or so, the bowtie has enjoyed a surprising return to respectability after several decades of languishing in fashion limbo. Read More
Of all the intelligent, knowledgeable people in the fashion world today, few can hold a candle to Dr. Anna Akbari. With over ten years experience working in the clothing industry and a Ph.D. in visual sociology, professor Akbari now teaches at New York University and is the founder of Closet Catharsis, a wardrobe consulting company. Having written her Master’s thesis on corporate dress codes and a doctoral dissertation on the relationship between fashion and power, much of professor Akbari’s research is focused on self identity and fashion. Even with the pressures of a new semester, professor Akbari was kind enough to talk with us about her research and her passion for fashion. Read More
Don’t have any plans this weekend? Well, looking through the files of the U.S. patent office is good for hours of intellectually stimulating entertainment – just type in any word or phrase and you’re bound to find plenty of inventions both harebrained and helpful. Recently we gave this a try with dress shirts, and here is just a sample of the patented innovations which may turn into the next big thing in men’s fashion. Read More
At the risk of starting this post like a bad stand-up comedy joke, have you ever noticed that some collars feel stiffer than others? Well, it may not be your imagination that’s adding that extra bit of hardness to your shirts. Depending on how they are constructed, collars can vary not only in stiffness, but also style and comfort. Read More
There has to be something better than buttons when it comes to keeping your shirt closed, right? At some point or other – usually when one of our buttons goes missing and we can’t find (or attach) a suitable replacement – we’ve all had this thought. Throughout history people have thought up clever button substitutes; whether or not they are actually “better” though is another story. Read More
In the past, we’ve given you the low-down on some pretty obscure collars – the detachable collar, the double collar, and the mandarin collar – but just when you thought there was nothing new under the sun when it comes to your shirt’s neck area, think again. Today we bring you yet another not-quite-mainstream collar that was once standard among royals and silver-age Hollywood stars: the cutaway. Thanks in large part to the resurgence of the “timeless” tailored look in men’s fashion, the cutaway collar is slowly making its way back onto stores shelves, with an extreme modern twist. Read More
