Topman White Trim Grey Blazer

Since our first post on the blazer back last year, it has come along way as a fashion essential. If theres any kind of smart event, big night out or even just a casual work day the blazer is an essential. Garm of the week this week is a very smart but also casual jersey blazer with white trim from Topman. Instead of Explaining what to wear with it blah blah, were just gunna put together a couple of outfits, one casual and one smart.

All the Links for all the garments in the images are below.

Casual Outfit- Left

ASOS Grey Slim Jeans
Topman White Trim Blazer
Supra Grey Hi-tops

The best thing to wear under the blazer to make it even more casual would be a fresh t-shirt, preferably one that compliments the footwear you have on.

Smart Outfit- Right

Gap Solid Oxford Shirt
Topman PM Black Wash Skinny Jeans
Diesel Black Gold Distressed Leather Shoes

A cool finishing touch on the smart outfit is always a sharp bow-tie & a neckerchief folded in the top pocket, a good accessorie to add to both looks is a nice watch. Our previous post about Watches shows some great examples.

Barbour Jacket Winter Trend

Up until recently waxed jackets were only popular with farmers and people of the British countryside, over the last year they have somehow made their way into the towns and are becoming a popular trend in men’s fashion. Barbour is the major brand behind this waxed style jacket and in a previous post we talked about how the quilted barbour jacket also made the same transition from country side to town fashion. I was curious how this fashion trend originated and found it wasn’t actually part of Barbour rebranding themselves to target a younger and trendier market, it was, as with many things in fashion, mainly down to celebrity influence.

Celebrities such as Alex Turner and Lilly Allen sparked the trend by wearing Barbour jackets whilst performing at festivals, the trend grew in popularity in both men’s and women’s fashion quite rapidly. Once Barbour realised their clothing was becoming fashionable, they didn’t sit back and watch, they started to think of ways they could adapt their clothing ranges to fit in with modern fashion trends but still maintain that traditional british heritage style. Below are a couple British looks you can pull off with a Barbour jacket.

Barbour Jackets and hats available from www.my-wardrobe.co.uk

Boots available from ASOS The Online Fashion Store

If you don’t fancy forking out the money for a Barbour waxed jacket, ASOS offer a great alternative at a very reasonable price. The jacket shown below will only set you back £55 and still gives you that british heritage style. Available at ASOS The Online Fashion Store.

The key to an Autumn wardrobe is mixing it up. In the past few years men have been reintroduced to a more dressed up look. Now feeling more comfortable with the idea they are ready to update the look by mixing and matching some key pieces. The blazer has become a must have to every man’s wardrobe. Versatility of this piece is vital when choosing your new blazer for Autumn.  Here are a few tips to guide you in the right direction in choosing a blazer:

• The blazer can be worn day to evening and should be able to work with various looks.
• A denim blazer will work for day time when paired with a fine knit sweater or can be brought to an evening look when put over a bold woven shirt (think novelty clip spots, or a small scale check shirt updated in bright colors).
• Tweed and herringbone can also be versatile options for a blazer. Look for updates to these classic fabrics in color and scale. Classic browns and blacks for tweeds and herringbones are accented with a royal blue, orange or other vivid colored yarn dyes.
• The fun part about the Autumn season is taking the blazer and pairing it with a complementing trouser. You don’t have to worry about having an exact match.
• Use the tweed blazer with a Deep V-neck and your favorite pair of dark washed denim or Skinny jeans.

• The way of putting them together is that the look is not fussy or contrived. It’s about feeling comfortable with these pieces and using different fabrics, constructions and weaves to create some surface interest/visual appeal.Take Tom Ford’s 2009 collections for example, it shows exactly how to pull off a blazer with variations of clothing and look ridiculously Smart and Suave.

On any night out now in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol etc. you will see a lot of stylish men rocking a blazer. I’m not talking what you used to wear to school or even the really formal suit jackets you wear for work – I am talking a more relaxed blazer jacket which has a bit of flair. Enough to make you look smart, with clean cut lines, but with a more relaxed, fashionable feel.

How To Wear A Blazer

Always make sure the fit is still slim and fitted. When you buy “off the rack” most of the big designers like Vivienne Westwood or Ralph Lauren will still come with a great cut and it’s just about getting the right size. If you go for a more budget fashion store then the fit might not be perfect, but you can easily get a local tailor or seamstress to take the blazer in at the right places and give it a perfect fit on you. These services literally only cost around ten to twenty pounds normally for a great job and will make it look like the blazer has cost hundreds more.

For a casual look that many will wear out on a night out you can go a completely different way; wear normal, fitted or skinny jeans, a Graphic T-shirt and throw the blazer on over the top. You can rock this with a nice relaxed Tasseled Loafer or Boat shoe. This gives off a definite relaxed vibe but will make you come across as stylish just from the fact you have put that little extra effort in with the blazer setting it all off. It adds clean cut style to your image and an impression of wealth.

Handkerchiefs

It can be difficult to get away with bold, bright colors, whether you are a man or a woman. However, men in particular have to be careful about flourishing in vibrant colors, at least on some occasions.

There is no question, however, that a bright spot or vibrant accenting piece in your ensemble can give it what it needs to be edgy. In certain cases, doing so can even lend an elegance and sophistication to what you are wearing. Such as when you give in to the return of handkerchiefs as accent pieces.

With a hanky in your front pocket, you can accentuate your outfit without overwhelming, as a brightly colored jacket might do. You typically want to make your handkerchief match a color in your shirt, tie, etc. or at least make it complementary.

Do not be a cheapskate with your handkerchiefs, either. The standard white one can take you far, but definitely do not be afraid of bolder colors, such as burgundy, a dark green, pale blues — even purple is sometimes acceptable.

At first glance, the graphic tee seems almost self-explanatory—throw it on over some jeans, slip on your trusted Converse and your off on your way, alot of celebritys  demonstrate this laid back high end of summer look.

Even though a graphic tee is typically associated with easygoing outfits, with a little creativity you can turn the outfit into a fashion-forward look. But All Saints have took it to another level, and designed these great and highly detailed t-shirts that will make you stand out in such a simple get-up outfit. what i love most about them is that you can chuck on a pair of short-shorts or jeans, a fresh pair of Converse or Boat shoes, a pair of summery shades and your outfit is sorted. if the weather changes you can throw on a summer knit and it will still go great together. so at no more than £35 for these t-shirts they are definitely a must for your wardrobe at this time of the year.

So take a look at the Tees and let me know what you think, they are all availiable from All Saints.

Our garm of the week this week is a hooded shirt from AllSaints. I was having a browse through their new arrivals page on the AllSaints website and this item seemed to catch my eye. I liked the design and figured it would make a good alternative to a jumper or lightweight jacket and with summer coming to end it’s a good time to start thinking about Autumn fashion and trends.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a hooded shirt, I remember them appearing back in winter and spring on ASOS and a couple of other retailers. At the time I liked the idea but not the styles I seen available, I wasn’t impressed with the fit and colours. This AllSaints hooded shirt however really caught my attention and will be purchased very soon, like similar AllSaints shirts available it uses the Alaskan style checked pattern with the dark Red and Navy colours which fit in very well with the Autumn/Winter trend.Although I haven’t tried this hooded shirt on yet, from looking at the image and going by the profile of other All Saints shirts it should be a nice fit.

I think this hooded shirt will look good either done up or left open with a V neck t-shirt underneath, I can see it being a good seller for AllSaints, possibly increasing the popularity of the hooded shirt in the mens fashion world.

Varsity jackets, or college jackets as some may know them have always been a part of the american culture, worn to represent a school or a team. some are even ‘trophys’  for achievements in athletics or other sports.

The trend may have been born in american high schools but this seasons styles arn’t your traditional jackets.
From the runway to the streets, this jacket style has been updated with interesting twists and details.

Kanye West is a fan

The Dream