Favorite Things Man Edition

Hello there! I know it's been awhile since I actually wrote something myself on this page but I promise I haven't forgotten about you guys. Really! I thought since I just did a favorite things post for the girls I would do one on Southern Creative Men as well. It'll be all my favorite things for guys. Yep. Here we go.


BASEBALL CAPS!!! Every guy looks good in a baseball cap. I'm telling you. There's a reason baseball players are so attractive. It's the hats. Yes, that is an Angel's hat. Gotta represent my boys!

Graphic Tees: Guys can rock the graphic tee from the time they are a little tiny baby. As long as you know by "graphic tee" I do NOT mean something with a naked woman on it or Calvin flipping off (or doing other things to) Hobbes, you are free to wear graphic tees. They are great and fun!

Plaid Shirts: These are good good good. They make you look like a real man.

Jeans that are NOT skinny: Guys, listen to me. Skinny jeans are bad! Bad bad bad!! They don't do anything for you. Narrow or straight is fine if you have thinner legs so you don't feel overwhelmed by volume, but please please please stay away from the true skinny jean.

Aviators: I'm not only obsessed with aviators on girls. Aviators look so classic and darn sexy. I love when my fiance wears his.

Leather Jackets: Especially bomber or motorcycle jackets. They are casual and classic but can be dressed up. Don't worry about spending a ton of money on a real leather one. Save money and save an animal and just get a faux leather one from Target or H&M.

A Great Fitting Suit: Guys, any guy looks great in a great suit. Wear them. You will not regret it. If you aren't sure what a great fitting suit looks like, you can hire me or go to a store like Jos. A Bank where they can fit you.

V-Neck: If you are looking for simple, classic tee, go for the v-neck. Do NOT go for the deep V. We're talking just barely a V. The best V-Neck's I've seen are at H&M and Old Navy. My fiance is a v-neck officianado and those are his favorites. Also, they have tons of colors and H&M's are like 5.50 or something like that.

So there you have it! My favorite things for guys. Hope you enjoyed it and once again I apologize for my long absence over here. However, don't you love Chris Stetson's posts?!

Top Ten For Men: The Essentials of a Man's Wardrobe

***Hey Guys! Once again, so sorry for the major gaps in posts over here. However, I guarantee it was worth the wait! Our favorite guest writer Chris Stetson is putting together a Men's Essentials series that will cover everything that a grown man should have in his closet (teaser! and everything he SHOULDN'T have!). Enjoy!***

Having a wardrobe that will be in style today, tomorrow, and next season is an investment. You want the clothes you buy to still look good long after you’ve bought them. The key here is having your closet stocked with essentials, the pieces that never go out of style. And that’s what I’ll be talking about over these next few weeks and posts.

Each post I will highlight a specific piece that is an essential to every man’s wardrobe. Here and there I’ll drop in a few outfits that you can put together from the previous week’s posts.

First on the list we have the button down Oxford dress shirt. If you don’t have one of these, finish reading this and then go out and buy one. Immediately.

I have here three of my most commonly worn dress shirts. These all work great dressed up or down. They can all be worn with a suit, jeans & a sports coat/vest, or khakis. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, more on those items and how to pare them coming soon.

First up, plain white. It doesn’t get much more basic than this folks. I don’t remember where I bought this shirt but it’s Geoffrey Bean, and I love it. Don’t go cheap guys; quality will last if proper care is taken. Look for one like this at Macy’s or Nordstrom.

Next is a blue Oxford. I bought this shirt recently at H&M. It’s called something like “The No Iron Dress Shirt” and costs about $15-$20, but I still iron it. It also comes in a variety of colors. I also have a much nicer one that was a Christmas gift from Banana Republic. I love it. Again look for quality. If the shirt feels cheap it is cheap and it won’t last long.

Last we have a patterned shirt from Banana Republic. This one is obviously a nice rich plaid pattern, but you can also look for gingham, striped, and even a very small subtle dot. (I’m talking so small and so subtle that you almost don’t even see it, okay people. No polka dots!)

What to look for:

            Again in all shirts, you want quality because these shirts will get a lot of mileage and you want them to last. Look for things like, “100% Oxford Cotton” “Two Ply” & “80 Thread Count Finish”. You want a structured, spread collar that will keep its shape over time. Look for the little plastic insert that keeps your collar from curling under and avoid a button down collar. Button collars are good for a more casual look. It’s important to make sure it fits around your neck. You don’t want to choke yourself, but you don’t want your collar hanging around your neck like a necklace either. Places like Macy’s and Nordstrom will have tailors who can measure your neck and tell you what size you are. Make sure it fits around your torso, and that the arm pits of the shirt are in your arm pits, not 3-5 inches away. Look for “Slim Fit” shirts.  Tailors can also bring the shirt in if it’s a big billowy mess around your torso. This can cost about $8-$15 depending on the tailor. (DO NOT go to a dry cleaners to get your shirt tailored, go to an actual tailor)

Lastly, learn how to properly iron your shirt. You won’t want to do this every time you wear it, but when you really want to look sharp ironing your shirt is the way to go. I’ll post again soon with instructions for ironing a dress shirt.

That’s that, people! Tune in next time for more wardrobe essentials.

Chris Stetson

Chris Stetson is a photographer and graphic artist in the Temecula/ San Diego area.

Find him on Twitter @csttsn or visit his blog.

           

            

What Do You Want to Know?

Hey Guys,

So sorry for the delay! I promise you we have two posts from guest writers coming to you soon! In the mean time, tell me what you want to know! Fashion for men can be very simple, but I want you guys to tell me what to write about. So, go. Tell me!

Guest Writer #2!

Hey Guys!

Tomorrow I should have another guest writer! My friend Justin is going to be writing about his experience revamping his closet and style since he started reading my blog. Justin is a graphic designer, film extraordinaire, philosopher, rice expert, and all around great guy. I'm excited to have him share his story on Southern Creative Men. Check in again tomorrow!

Purging Your Closet

***Guys! I told you we hadn't forgotten about you! Chris is still in process of preparing his next post (it's going to be an epic series) so I didn't want to leave you guys hanging too long. I wrote this post for Southern Creative but figured guys could totally benefit from purging their closets too. So, here it is. Enjoy!***

Yesterday I decided to go through my closet and dresser and purge them. I have loads of clothes and accessories that I haven't worn in months or even years. So, I decided to take my sister and her friend Julie's advice... sort of. Cate and Julie started a project called Twenty Pieces where they are going to live for a year with only twenty pieces of clothing. Now, this is what I call totally nuts. I will admit though that they had a good idea, so I modified it. After about two hours yesterday I filled an entire trash bag of clothes that I would be giving away and a whole other one full of clothes that had seen better days and needed to be laid to rest. I actually love doing this. It feels so good to clean out your closets and be able to close your drawers. 

I strongly encourage you to go through your closets and decide what needs to go. It's a great feeling besides the occasional mourning over something you once loved and are convinced you will love or wear again. Sometimes you can even make some money doing this. There are places that will buy your lightly-used clothes from you! I just give them to girls at my church that are about 10 years younger then me. It's kind of fun seeing my clothes being enjoyed still. 

This is not just a girl thing! Guys, you are often in need of this too. 

The goals: 

 1). Be selective! Get rid of anything you haven't worn in 6 months, or anything you don't fit in. If it looks like it has seen better days, toss it. If you have worn the same white t-shirt for 6 months, toss it and get a new one! White doesn't last that long. 

 2). Keep only what works. If it doesn't look great on you, you won't (or shouldn't) wear it. Keep your shape in mind and if you need to try it on again and be brutally honest with yourself. 

 3). Have fun! This isn't a chore, it's an opportunity to free yourself of some extra clutter.

If you are interested in going hardcore on this, check out www.twentypieces.org and let Cate and Julie guide you through the process. 

Have fun!

Ask Ellie Part 1

Alright guys, I told you I wasn't abandoning you! Welcome to the first installment of Ask Ellie! Here I will answer all your clothing/fashion questions. No question is too small, and there is definitely no such thing as a stupid question. Hopefully this will encourage you all to write me and ask me more questions!

Q. Is it ok to wear black and brown together? If so, how and when. - Stan, age 27. 


A. Yes. It is absolutely ok to wear black and brown together. Actually, black and brown together is something I really love. Pairing black and brown can be tricky though since you have to pay attention to shades and tones. Just make sure that the brown you are wearing has black tones in it (chocolate or rich browns have that). There aren't really hard and fast rules when it comes to black and brown, so it is going to just take some practice eyeballing what looks right and experimenting with different tones. Hope that helps!

Q. How do I pull off hats and make them look less feminine? - Francis, age 22.


A. It's all in the style. Clearly, if you're wanting to wear baseball caps there's nothing you really have to do to butch those up. But you are probably thinking more about fedoras or newsboy hats. With fedoras, I would say wear them with a more casual look like jeans and a t-shirt, think folk/indie rock star. Newsboy hats are way tougher to make look like you didn't just get out of rehearsal for your production of Newsies. A lot of it simply comes down to confidence. If you're going to wear hats, wear them with confidence. When you're confident in your fashion choices it makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, hats are just going to be more widely "acceptable" or used in different areas of the world and the U.S. If you're in England hats are all over the place. If you're in California, not so much. So this is really when it comes down to the fact that if you want to wear hats, wear them and rock them.

Q. What's your opinion on tucked vs. untucked dress shirts? Especially with a jacket. - Chris, age 22.


A. If you are wearing a suit or dress pants it is absolutely necessary that you tuck in your shirt. No exceptions. However, if you are wearing a dress shirt with jeans and a blazer, then it is totally fine to wear it untucked for a more casual look. If you are still trying to look more put together and dressy then tuck in the shirt and wear a belt with your jeans that matches your shoes. So, with jeans you can wear it either way. With a suit or dress pants, absolutely tuck it in. Have fun!

You Haven't Been Forgotten

Don't worry guys, we haven't forgotten about you. A great post is coming your way from our guest writer Chris Stetson. Good things come to those who wait, I promise!