Traveling Case...Get One

I'm surprised I didn't have one of the earlier, it's probably because all the ones you see in luggage sets are made of the same fabric as the suitcase and aren't at all great looking. I've seen leather ones before but they are usually in the $40 range and above, which I know is way more than I want to spend. Marshall's has a great selection of leather traveling cases for about $12.99 in beautiful brown leather. They carried both brown and black leather by Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. I'm a big fan of brown leather as it looks great with everything and is simply a classic color. 

Here's mine from Marshall's from Tommy Hilfiger and it fits quite a bit of stuff. It was $12.99 but I got it as part of something I exchanged from my Secret Santa gift from NikeTalk.

Get Squared...Again!

I ordered another pocket squared from Etsy's Get Squared for $5 shipped. I ordered the white one with black trim which can be worn with pretty much anything.

Merry Christmas!

No post today, just enjoy being with your family and enjoy the blessings that you have been afforded in your life.!

Khaki Chukka Boots...Understated and Under-appreciated

Chukka boots are probably one of the few types of shoes that seem to be really under-used by most men. It is very rare that you see someone wearing an actual chukka boots, yet with the proper last/shape they can look great with jeans or with a suit. First, chukka boots and desert boots are not the same thing. Desert boots have a round toe shape and usually have crepe sole, chukka boots have a more pointed rounded toe; similar to a dress shoe and the soles vary.

You tend to see chukkas and desert boots for that matter in many shades of brown, specifically darker browns. You rarely see them in lighter shades, like khaki. The color might turn off people due to them being such a light color. However, they can be paired with pretty much everything you could pair a dark brown pair of shoes with. Get a pair with a black sole to add some contrast. Here is a great example; this pair by LandsEnd.

All Your Shoes Don't Have To Be Brown or Black

Simply not all your shoes need to be brown or black, men get too comfortable alternating between brown or black, granted with brown comes a plethora of shades. However I highly recommend getting a pair of gray leather shoes. They go with almost anything, especially in the dark blue family. Here's my pair that I picked up at Kenneth Cole Factory Story over a year ago for $20, down from $150.

NikeTalk's Secret Santa

One of the guys on NikeTalk, Grizzlyboy aka Jason, helped organized a very successful secret santa exchange. None of us on the thread really know each other personally, but we all have extreme respect and admiration for one another as adults and members of the thread. My Secret Santa Return of Bama aka Carlin is a great member and I was able to get him a few things, no pictures unfortunately. I sent him a white/red micro-check dress shirt, white/baby blue micro-check shirt, two ties, shoe trees, a shawl cardigan and shorts and a t-shirt from H&M.

The best part was wondering what my secret santa got me. Domc03 aka Dominic got me some awesome stuff, a white/red polka dot tie knit tie, wool socks, a denim shirt from Ralph Lauren which unfortunately was too snug and a white shirt from Marc Jacobs that too is too small.

Here's a pic:

Thankfully Dominic was more than understanding and he let me know where he got the shirts from. I went to exchange the shirt but they had nothing similar on in my size so I exchanged it for a few other things. I picked up a Henley hoody, some beautiful pocket squares and an amazing leather accessories case.

All Three

Geoffrey Been Pocket Squares

Tommy Hilfiger Travel Case

Treating the Women in Your Life Right...Christian Louboutin Booties

Offered without much of a comment, simply, sometimes you just have to treat the women in your life right and show them how much you appreciate and love them. Yes that doesn't mean you have to buy expensive gifts. For my beautiful wife and I this is no different and we treated her sister, my sister-in-law, although more a sister than anything to a nice little gift.

She's 20 years old and a second year law student...enough said.

Alfani Wingtips, Great Look at a Great Price!

These Alfani's are absolutely beautiful. The last is amazing, the cognac color used is equally as amazing  and the price even more. Macy's has them for $99.99 but were recently marked down to $49.99. If you have a Macy's card knock another 20% off of that, bringing them in at $40 plus tax.

Tom's Tom's Tom's Tom's...(In the Tums Jingle Way)

I had originally bought the Gray Tweed looking Tom's but I honestly completely forgot that I even had them. During Black Friday I saw that they had a Black, really more Charcoal Wool pair with sherpa lining on the inside. Considering the weather, these are appropriate for the time of year, yet still the shoes are breathable enough that they don't make your feet warm during the spring or summer. Definitely size up on these, as the sherpa lining adds to a usually easy fit.

Many will argue that Tom's are feminine but frankly it's all about how you wear them and how you carry yourself. Although my wife has the same pair; I'm pretty sure, it's what you wear it with that will determine how feminine or masculine they look.

Gray and White Dress Shirts

First lets differentiate between dress shirts and button down shirts. A dress shirt is a shirt with a collar that has buttons among the placket, the collars usually come in everything from semi-spread collars, spread collars, tab, straight collar, etc. A button down shirt, is a shirt in where the collar buttons down to the shirt.

As someone that has too many dress shirts, well over 30 or 40, one of the color patterns that I have underestimated is the combination of white and gray or white with black (more gray than black). My wife got me my first white and gray shirt when she ordered me the 3 shirts from Indochino (which I need to post) and I've bought two more from different makers in the past couple of weeks. This Alfani one from Macy's is a great example of a subtle white and gray/black pattern on a dress shirt, which can be worn with plenty of trousers combinations and sweaters/blazers.

Price: $12 on clearance

Proper PJ's

You should probably invest in buying some proper PJ's. Granted this is coming from someone who usually sleeps in basketball shorts and a gray t-shirt. However, having a nice pair of PJ's is a good way to differentiate between lounging around clothing (basketball shorts and a t-shirt) and sleeping clothes. Gap and Gap Factory has had their PJ sets on sale, anywhere from between $16-20. The set does consist of a t-shirt, but the t-shirt is a heavier, flannel material, and the pants are clearly PJs. I went with a simple black and gray color pattern.

Shoe Trees...Can Never Have Enough

Just got these in about 2 days ago but being that I was in Baltimore just opened them up this morning. They are cedar shoe trees and right now Jos A. Bank has them for $7.50 when you buy 3 or more. No free shipping code anymore but checkout their store if possible.

Yesterday's Fit

Sorry for the delay in posts, just a busy week. Here's a quick post of what I wore yesterday, Tried a color palette of blues with a hint of gray. Navy trousers, navy tie and a light blue gingham shirt to be exact with a gray cardigan to break up all the blue.

Notice the spread of the collar, not a complete cutaway, but spread enough to have that nice spread look.

Here is a better look without the awkward angle. Again very simple, baby blue gingham shirt, navy tie. With a pattern like gingham the best thing to do is to wear a solid color tie in the same color family as the shirt, in the blues in this case.

Chest down- Navy Trousers and my trusty Florsheim Wingtips. Details below...

Details:
Cardigan: Gap via Gap Factory Store ($15)
Shirt: Indochino Gingham Shirt with French Cuffs (part of a deal)
Tie: Perry Ellis Portfolio via Marshall's ($10)
Trousers: Arizona Twill Trousers via JCPenney ($5.45)
Shoes: Florsheim Cognac Wingtips via Florsheim's Website (Gift)

What I Wore Yesterday

Kept it simple:
Brown Tweed Blazer by Indochino (part of a suit)-$200
White with Black Mini-Check Alfani Shirt-$12
Arizona Twill Khaki Trousers-$5.50
Lands End Moc Toe Boots-$32
Pocket Square Camo from Michaels $.92

Get Squared...for Cheap!

With the holidays around the corner and with many people wondering what to get someone, well here is an idea what to get the guy who you know loves wearing pocket squares and you don't want to spend $20, $30 on one single pocket square. If you want to support small business as well while you're doing your shopping I highly recommend, Get Squared on Etsy. Chad, the owner, provides great customer service, replying to e-mails literally within hours, and the quality is great! 100% cotton pocket squares AND Made in the USA...oh and did I mention Free Shipping! Actually let me mention the best part of it, no pocket square is more than $6.50, the 2 limited edition ones, all others are only $5...again with FREE SHIPPING, no code or anything needed.

Being that it is a small business the selection is limited but Chad sticks to the basics. The 6 options are as follows: (click on any of them and it'll take you straight to Get Squared's page)

1) White with Medium Blue Contrast Stitching-$5
2) White with Black Contrast Stitching-$5
3) Black with White Contrast Stitching-$5
4) Black with Red Contrast Stitching (Limited Edition)-$6.50
5) White with Red and Green Contrast Stitching (Limited "Holiday" Edition)-$6.50
6) Navy with White Contrast Stitching-$5

I bought the navy with white contrast stitching on Small Business Saturday and received it yesterday in the mail. Simply great!

Details: Navy with White Contrast Stitching via Get Squared-$5

***Please note that I bought this and that it wasn't given to me to promote Get Squared. Just want to support small business AND give you guys a chance at a great deal!