Keep Your Feet Warm and Dry

One of the big questions being asked on NT's Dressing Better Thread is about what shoes to wear while still keeping it looking good. Many great options have been given like the classic L.L. Bean "Duck" Boots but the main thing for me is keeping your feet warm and dry. With winter here and snow a possibility, stick to rubber soles. Second make sure the shoes or boots are waterproof. Wet feet can lead to you not only being extremely uncomfortable but even getting sick. With temperatures dipping in the 30s here in New York, keeping them warm is key. Wet shoes/feet does not equate to warm feet. Frankly I recommend any boot that is going keep you warm and dry and has a rubber sole. Some are clunkier than others but sometimes you just need to put function over fashion.

Below: Cole Haan Quilted Air Rhone-$55 (a year ago from mrporter.com)

The Pair I've Ignored...and Shouldn't Have

Bucks are usually associated with Spring time and as a result that is usually when they are worn by most. I'm definitely guilty of this as I didn't bust them out this Spring or Summer and have sat in their shoe box for over a year now without being worn. I decided to take them out and wear them on Thanksgiving night for Black Friday and I'm glad I did. The color of this particular pair, which I featured a while ago, is reminiscent of the wheat on Timberland boots.

Details:
Cole Haan Suede Bucks via DSW-$50

The Devil Is In the Details...

Offered without much comment. Simply, it's always great when putting attention into your outfit, even if the details go unnoticed. For example the skull and cross-bone socks and tie. Granted no one could see the socks, unless I sat, but still attention to detail.

Details:
Trousers: Old Navy Tweed Pants-$15
Socks: Merona via Target-$2
Shirt: White Merona via Target-$22 (not pictured)
Sweater: Black V-Neck via Banana Republic Factory Store-$15 (not pictured)
Shoes: Johnston & Murphy via eBay-$35

Socks from Target's Merona Brand

Tie from J. Crew Factory Store

NT Camo Challenge

NikeTalk's Dressing Better Thread has a camo challenge this month and considering my career, wearing camp in a large dose isn't necessarily the most professional look to incorporate. As a result I added it in a small dose, as a pocket square.

Details:
Pocket Square: Michaels-$1.17
Suit: Indochino Brown Bootlegger Tweed Suit-$329
Shirt: Kenneth Cole via Macy's-$5.21
Tie: Perry Ellis Portfolio via Marshall's-$7

From Sometime Last Week

Offered with very few commentary, I wore this sometime last week and I really don't remember when. Pretty simple idea, layering without a coat by wearing a v-neck sweater under a blazer.

Details:
Blazer: Indochino Brown Bootlegger Tweed part of a suit $329 for the suit
Sweater: Banana Republic V-Neck via Banana Republic Factory Store $15
Shirt: American Living via JCPenney $5
Jeans: Gap Slim Fit via Gap $42
Shoes: LandsEnd Suede Loafers via LandsEnd.com $27

Accessories and Good Friends

Thank you to a great NikeTalk and friend for the kind gift. He sent myself and two others these bracelets, which are simple, uses natural materials and can be worn with anything! A simple bracelet is a great way to accessorize any outfit.

Part 3, One Suit: Three Looks-Today for Work

The Blazer/Jacket:
The final way you can wear a navy suit is wearing the blazer/jacket as a separate. A navy blazer or the navy blazer of a navy suit just as the trousers is great! Like the trousers, the blazer can be worn separately with not only the matching trousers but with khaki pants and dark denim. Originally I was going to wear khaki twill pants but being that it was Parent/Teacher Conference but still Friday I decided to with dark denim jeans. A navy blazer is a great way to add that sharpness to your jean and dress shirt look. Details are important, add a pocket square to give a great look. Also, a light gray shirt looks great with a Navy blazer. Tailoring is important, the jacket needs some tweaks but the fit is still pretty good.

Details:
Blazer: Calvin Klein part of a suit-$75 (for suit)
Shirt: Gray Mini-check shirt from Indochino-$76.33 (bundle 3 for $229)
Pocket Square: Pierre Cardin via Marshall's-$1 (I think, same one as always)
Jeans: Gap Slim Denim-$42
Socks (not pictured): Gray Argyle Socks-$3
Shoes: Florsheim Imperial-Gift

Yes this is my face...

Light Gray Mini-Check Shirt

WDYWT..Parent/Teacher Conference

Gave the navy suit a breather, literally and figuratively and switched it up today for Parent/Teacher Conference.

In regards to giving the suit a breather, although I could have probably worn the navy suit again, paired it with the same shirt and tie from today and no one would have likely noticed. Airing out your clothing is important especially with something like a suit that may not be washed or dry cleaned after ever wear. Simply leave your jacket and pants out in an open space overnight and just let it breathe, just put it away in the morning.

The gray suit is one of the two suits every man should have, the other being a navy suit. Both the pants and jacket can be worn as separates as well due to the versatility of the color. This is not in the "for less" category but what should be noted is that regardless if it's a bespoke suit or a suit off the rack it should fit perfectly. Remember a $1,000 suit can look terrible, while $100 suit with proper alterations, can look like a $1000 suit.The shirt is from Target's Merona collection and the tie was an eBay pick up.

Details:
Suit: Michael Andrews Bespoke-$$$
Pocket Square: Pierre Cardin via Marshall's-$1.50
Shirt: Merona via Target-$23
Tie: Calvin Klein via eBay-$6
Tie Bar: Banana Republic via BR Factory $3.50
Shoes: Florsheim Imperial-Gift

Mixing High-End with Low-Suit: Bespoke, Shirt & Tie: Target & eBay

 

Part 2, One Suit: Three Looks-Today for Work...

The Suit:
As mentioned yesterday, I want to try and demonstrate the versatility of a simple navy suit. Today, with a parent/teacher association meeting later this evening I chose to go with wearing the navy suit as well a suit. Navy again is staple color that can be pretty much worn with every possible color combination that you can think of in regards to shirts and ties. Still, the following saying comes to mind "Keep it simple, stupid." Usually this means a white shirt with a conservative tie color, still you can keep it simple and ditch the plain white shirt as I do here. Instead I went with a white shirt with a navy mini-check, as it plays on the navy of the suit and on the navy of the tie.

Mornings in NY are in the high 30s to low 40s now                     Under the pea coat

I know it's not easy to tell (iPhone pictures) but the shirt does have a mini-check in navy blue. You will also notice that although I'm using navy blue to refer to the blue hue I'm wearing, there are really 3 different types of  "navy" blues going on. At the end of the day as long as they either provide some contrast or are near the same shade you're fine. In addition, the white pocket square and silver tie bar are great accessorizes to take the look a "step above the rest."

Why wearing a navy suit with black shoes has ever been a question is besides me. Yes you can wear black shoes with a navy suit. I personally prefer brown but after seeing Wisith's entry yesterday, I was inspired to go with the black.

Always add some fun flair when you can, like with the socks, yes those are sharks. Still kept in the "blue" family though.

Details:

Suit: Calvin Klein via website-$75

Shirt: Michael Andrews Bespoke via MAB-$210

Tie: Perry Ellis Portfolio via Marshall's-$5-10 (I don't remember)

Tie Bar: No Name Alligator Type Tie Bar via eBay-$3

Socks: Unsimply Stitched via TheDailyDeal Voucher-$.50 (actually were $12 for 2 pairs but I have an $11 referral credit)

Shoes: Banana Republic via eBay-$35

Part 1, One Suit: Three Looks-Today for Work...

The pants:

This week I'm going to try and show the versatility of  a navy suit and a dark gray suit. To start off the week, I went with demonstrating how a navy suit broken into pieces can be worked into 3 different looks. With the temperature in the high 40s, lows 50s, being warm and staying warm and first and foremost.

Look 1: Pants-Breaking up the pants of a two piece navy suits, gives you a perfect navy trouser. Navy trousers or a navy suit can be paired with literally any color in your wardrobe. In this case the navy pants allow you to change it up from a blazer and pair it with a sweater or in this case a cardigan in a light gray. The shirt; again although it can be paired up with any color, I kept it simple and profssional with white and light blue check shirt with a gray slim thick cotton tie. The great thing about the cotton tie in this look is that it is so thick it mimicks the thickness of a wool tie making it fall/winter appropriate.

Details: 

Cardigan: Gap via Gap Factory Store-$15
Shirt:Van Hausen via JCPenney-$3.50 
Tie: Gap via Gap Factory Store-$7
Tie Bar: Banana Republic via Banana Republic Factory Store-$3.50
Trousers: Calvin Klein via Calvin Klein's Website (Part of a Suit)-$75 (for the suit)
Shoes: Florsheim Imperial Wingtips via Gift

 

Shirt: Van Hausen, Cardigan: Gap, Tie: Gap, Tie Bar: Banana Republic

 

Trousers: Calvin Klein, part of a two piece navy suit, Shoes: Florsheim Imperial

Shopping Around Matters...

Too many of us ignore stores that have a history of catering to an older demographic and don't even bother to walk in to see what they might have. Some of the stores that come to mind with this are stores like Sears and JCPenney. In regards to Sears, many are fans of LandsEnd are quick to order online anything from them but don't realize that their local Sears store carries it with usually the same sales.

Now JCPenney's is definitely a little different than Sears. In regards to menswear many of us think of polyester suits, oversized everything but this past year under new direction things have changed. Nick Wooster has teamed up to revamp their entire men's department and although the polyester suits are still around, there is a vast selection of cotton, wool and flannel suits. With this has also come an influx of basics in modern fits. Ordered these about 2 weeks ago, and had them shipped for free to the store, for only $11.51.

New Favorite Shirt

The shirt is the same one worn in the previous post. Baby blue gingham shirt with French cuffs, rounded cuffs as well. The pattern is subtle which allows it to be worn casually, yet worn with a suit and tie. Probably not a super popular choice for many but I really do like it. Detail on the cuff, "RRA" on the sleeves, my beautiful wife's initials.

Wear a Suit but Don't Look Like One

My beautiful wife and I went to a good friend's mock thanksgiving this past weekend in Baltimore. I wanted to keep it dressy without being too overly dressed up. I chose to go with a suit sans the tie. Wore a gingham baby blue and white dress shirt and a matching pocket square. Wearing a suit without a tie is a great way to balance looking great, not being overly dressed but not being under-dressed either.

Details:
Suit: Calvin Klein Navy Striped 100% Wool Suit-$120 via CladMen's Final Sale
Shirt: Indochino Gingham Shirt-part of thedailydeal.com's Indochino deal; buy a suit and get a shirt free. However $99 if bought separately.
Pocket Square: Merona via Target $1.50
Socks-Gap $2.25
Shoes: Florsheim Imperial Wingtips-Gift

Today...We Move Forward!

Tomorrow we'll be back on some new posts.

Move Forward!

A Wardrobe on a $750 Budget!

A younger NikeTalker, still undergrad asked a great question about how to shop on a budget. His program requires him to dress in business attire 2-3 times a week and as a lot of us know, in college, money is scarce. A fellow NT'er Wisith gave some great suggestions in regards to what to get, like a navy or gray suit, a couple of shirts, etc. but I wanted to give a few more details to him and to everyone else, so here they are:

1. A navy suit, personally as a first suit, considering your budget I'd do a navy suit. The reason for that, in my opinion, although gray is great, the navy jacket will be more versatile with separate trousers. The navy suit can be worn as separates, and the navy blazer will be incredibly versatile to wear with everything from dark denim to other trousers like gray and a khaki colored pant. H&M and Uniqlo-you can get a suit for about $150. (Left: $600)

2. Trousers: In addition to the navy that will come with the suit, I'd get a gray (honestly light gray or heather gray would be fine) and khaki colored trousers. Both of these would go great with a navy blazer and are incredibly versatile in regards to what shirts you can wear. Get solid, not striped, flat front, no pleats. I recommend either cotton or wool, or some type of blend of the two. H&M, Uniqlo, Target, JCP, Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, you can likely find these two. I believe you can get these two four about $30-40 each, no more and don't be surprised if you find them for less. Lets assume, $80 for both at the highest. (Left: $520)

3. Shirts: Go with a semi-spread collar and stick to the basics. White, light blue and lavender, would be my 3. If you want to add another 2, go with a striped white with blue shirt and a white and blue check shirt.  Honestly you'd be good with 3 shirts since you only need to dress in business attire 2-3 days, I'd max out at 5, for budget reasons. Dappered.com did a great post on 10 essential shirts to have, here's the [URL=http://dappered.com/2012/11/the-dress-shirt-top-10-hierarchy/]link[/URL]. Personally I'd stick to option 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Granted lavender wasn't one of their options. Target and JCP have great deals on shirts and the Target brand ones are actually liked by a lot of people and come in a spread collar, and usually sell for about $23. You can get the white, light blue and lavender at target for $23 a piece. Total: $69. Add two more, and lets say those are at most $30, Total: $129. (Left with 3 shirts: $451; Left with 5 shirts: $382)

4. Shoes: Based on the budget constraints I'd honestly go to JC Penney and buy the Stafford Ashton Brown wingtip and if you want a black pair as well, get the Stafford Ashford Black Longwings. The great thing about the navy, gray and khaki colored trousers is that they go great with both colored shoes but IF you only can do one pair, do the brown Ashton's. Brown will honestly look so much better with gray, khaki or navy. One pair $60, two pairs $120. (Left: $320-$390 with 1 pair, $262-$331 with 2 pairs)

5. Ties and bow ties: Ross and Marshalls have been great places for me personally in regards to ties. The great thing about the shirt options and trouser options, is one they can be mixed with each other and will go with mostly any tie or bowtie. Ties at Marshalls runbetween $10-$13. Get 5-7 ties, in colors that you like, navy, gray solid and or striped are good starters. Probably $50-70 for all of them.  (Left: $200-$340 depending on amount of shirts and shoes bought)

6. Sweaters: Honestly get some v-necks, 2 or 3 and a cardigan. V-necks, light brown, navy and another neutral color. Cardigan, gray. Old Navy has v-necks for $13 right now, cardigan probably no more than $30 from Old Navy or Gap Outlet. (Left: $140-$280 depending on amount of shirts and shoes bought)

7. Accessories: Socks (by Merona), tie bar, pocket square. Small things but they can make take your outfits to the next level with these small touches. Target has some really nice socks, from plain navy and gray to socks with designs and color. Socks is where you can go a little "crazy" and are a nice way to add some "pop" to your outfit. Socks at target $2.50 a pair, get yourself about 5. Pocket square, a simple white cotton one in your breast pocket of your navy blazer will look great. Target carries some white ones, if you have a Walmart, they sell a pack of 6 for $3; obviously more than you need but for $3 why not. Tie bar, simple plain steel colored tie bar. 2"-2.5" in width, depending on the tie width your buying. eBay, where I got mine, has them for about $3-4, Nordstrom has some as well, from thetiebar.com for $15 with free shipping. In all about $30 at most for these things. It'll leave you with some money in your pocket still.

Sorry for the long post but I know as someone who likes being a bargain shopper and someone who has been on a budget in the past and still shop like I am on one here and there I thought that it would be helpful to break it down a little.

First Sneaker Pick Up in a Year!

I have stayed away from sneakers and haven't bought a pair in about a year. Usually I'd have 5-8 pairs of the new Kobe by now but I just got the VII about a week ago thanks to a friend. I don't know what I'll be wearing them with...highly doubt that it will be with typical everyday wear but likely a basketball and gym shoe.

Crazy Day! But a Post Nonetheless...

This storm has done some crazy things to people. Going into the city today you could definitely see how bad things are. Literally no gasoline almost anywhere in the city, thankfully we made it home.

The picture below is from yesterday and it's also doubling as my entry to our bi-weekly NikeTalk contest. The current challenge is incorporating sneakers into "dressing better" and I think you can definitely see how you can fit in sneakers into your "dressing better" repertoire.

The only thing I'd change from the outfit is the sweater as I think the lines make me look wider than I really am. Other than that, if I were to switch out the sneakers for some moc-toe boots, or wingtips the outfit becomes a "dressier" outfit. I would have likely switched to a solid navy sweater.

Breakdown:

Sweater: Aeropostale (Gift), Shirt: white with blue vertical stripes by Van Huesen ($12), Jeans: American Rag ($7), Shoes: Nike "Knicks" Dunks (Gift)