Friday Faux Pas: Shirt and Tie Combos

One of the biggest hassles of my day-to-day is picking out my shirt and tie combos. Yes, it is tedious,  but it ends up being a major part of my style for the day, so what if they had a way for someone to make the decision for you? They do, and it comes in the form of those boxed up shirt and ties neatly packaged together and already paired up "perfectly" for you. There are an exceeding enormity of issues I have with this practice, but I'll try to narrow it down.

One of the biggest culprits of "style" that I know of.

For one, they are usually hideous combinations of cheap product that would otherwise have very little profit margin for the company if sold separately. And who do you think is in charge of combination selection? It's sure as hell not anyone you know or trust to pick clothes for you. Tu only time I might find this acceptable is if it's tuxedo furnishings for a strict black tie event and you plan to throw it all out the next day. Do yourself a favor and avoid the disappointment all together, because receiving compliments for your own hard work is much better than he "hard work" of someone you don't even know.

Check in tomorrow for a stylish celebrity influence and next Friday for another edition of My fashion faux pas!

Threads for Thought: The Long Shirt

As of this season, there has been an emergence of a shirt style that is typically reserved for your lady friend when she uses your shirt to sneak off to the bathroom in the morning. Although it is traditionally a man's clothing item, it has been lost in the women's fashion world for a while.

Just Kanye being Kanye...more stylish than everyone.

Tunics are distinguished by their classic fit in the chest and shoulders, but with a much longer torso that is designed to rest at or below your run-of-the-mill suit jacket. The garment stems back since before Socrates was teaching Plato a thing or two in the Aegean. Typically simple in design, they provide you with a blank canvas to work in more adventurous pieces around it.

Billy Reid seems to be up to speed on things.

My shirts might as well be considered tunics being as long as they are (I'm tall), but it has proved hard to find an actual tunic length shirt that I can get a proper look at; fashion is full of diamonds in the rough, you have to dig through some shit to find some gold. I suggest going in and trying at least one on before you make your decision on this style as it just might not be for you,especially if you're short.

Check in tomorrow for another edition of my Friday Faux Pas and next Thursday for more style pieces that deserve your consideration!

Wardrobe Essentials: The Tie Clip

You've thrown together your suit and tie, its all looking flawless, but it could use a little bit more to really put it over the top. There's one accessory that is repeatedly overlooked and can transform bank manager garb to finance guru.

Classic and classy. Find a reason to wear your tie clips.

Tie clips are effectively used to keep your tie where it belongs, over the buttons of your shirt, but a resurgence in popularity has brought this little accessory back to the forefront of men's jewelry. Traditionally found in classic silver and gold finishes, they are easy to pair with the color combos of your suit or to match up with the rest of your man decorations. But the adventurous will go for the bright and bold, whether its a unique finish or a flashy color, that really draws the eye in.

They even work without a suit jacket. Have fun with them!

If you're new to this item, start out with the classic piece in either silver or gold depending on your preference and couple that with a black clip with a matte finish. The veterans should be going for novelty, finding something conversational to change up their current offering. The most important rule of thumb is that the clip should never be wider than your tie and realistically shouldn't be more than 90% of the width, so keep that in mind when choosing widths. For this piece, The Tie Bar will be your best friend (and your worst enemy once you've spent your whole paycheck there).

This is where your tie clip should go.

Check in tomorrow for a style piece that deserves your consideration and next Wednesday for another wardrobe staple!