Gifts for Men: More additions, Blueray movies

Blueray movies 300 and Oceans 13 are amongst many titles that are on sale this week @ Bestbuy for the promotional price of buy one at $29.99, and receive the second title free. Please check it out in the weekly advertisements in your local area.

Gifts for Men: New addition, Kenneth Cole Loafers

Being that my nick name, given by my Fiance, is the fashion stalker, I felt obligated to post this link to the loafers that I have been waiting to drop in price for the last 6 months. The price for these loafers is now $52.49, I first saw them this summer and when they went on sale at the Kenneth Cole store, I was too late because they had already run out of my size. These are the perfect casual Friday, year around loafers. Slacks, a button down shirt, and blazer, with these loafers is a no brainer. Check them out, I would advise you to hurry because sizes tend to run out quickly on this site.
Kenneth Cole " Feel Good Loafer "

Size - 13
Black #1
Cognac #2

Gifts for men #10, Levis & Ralph Lauren Polos

Last but not least are gifts #10 through >>>

I chose standard Levis and Ralph Lauren polos as my last items on my list. These items are always needed throughout the year. Blue denim jeans, and polos in different colors, how can a man go wrong with these 2 gifts.

Standard color polos that all men need
White
Black
Navy
Grey

Gifts for men #9, Uggz House Slippers

Since my fiance swears by the boots, I figure that the slippers must be legitimate. Go to nordstroms.com, they have several styles to choose from. I dont care what style I get, as long as they are black and a size 13 or larger. I hate receiving shoes in a smaller size than what I can wear.

Gifts for men #8, Coach Signature Embossed Leather Belt

Gift #8 is the Coach Signature Embossed Leather Belt. I think this belt is a great compliment to the Cuff link box.

Gifts for men #7, Coach Cuff link box

The 7th item is also from Coach. Can you tell that I believe in the quality of Coach leather? I am not really into all that embossed, and embellished monogram look that was made popular years ago. However I do like this item for the house. Every man needs a place to sit his watch, cuff links, and collar stays if need be,

Gifts for men #6, Adidas top ten tennis shoes

Gift #6, let me tell you that first and foremost, Zappos.com is the best source online to buy shoes. They offer standard, free next day delivery, and no tax on your shoes and purchase. So the price that you see is the price that you pay. Their return policy is awesome and it is just as easy to return the shoes as it is to order and receive them. With that said, I found these flashy Adidas Top Ten tennis shoes on the site. I happen to be a fan already of this particular shoes. Being that I own two pair already, I look for the most recent and cool colored shoes whenever they come out. These shoes are not for everyone, however they are an attention grabber.

Gifts for men #5, Coach weekend bag

Item #5 happens to be the gift that I have requested from my Fiance for the past 2 years. For some reason I always end up wanting something else when it gets closer to Christmas, however, months prior to the actual day, I always want this bag. It is called the "Transatlantic weekend leather bag". It comes in black and brown, and also has a small toiletry bag as well. If you can get past the price tag of $498, then this is truly a good buy.

Gifts for men #4, Kenneth Cole Boots

The fourth item on my list are these cool boots from Kenneth Cole. I saw these at the Herald Sqaure Macys, they immediately caught my eye. Not to mention that I also saw Ne-Yo wearing them during the Macys day parade. Not that I am a Ne-Yo stan, however it is cool to see a celebrity appreciating my taste level. These boots are more for the cold weather days, with faux fur lining, they provide a great looking boot

Gifts for men #3, Canon digital camera

Next on the list is a digital camera. No matter who you are or where you are, the memories that you encounter shoudl be caught on film. Unless you are in Vegas, because we all know, "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", you should not be without your digital camera. I have chosen Canon as my brand of choice. I have the Canon Rebel EOS SLR camera at home and it takes great photos. Now that I need a smaller, more compact camera unit, I will opt for the Canon Digital SD750 Camera

Gifts for men #2, Justin cowboy boots

The next item on my list is a pair of cowboy boots. Years ago I had the pleasure of going to the Justin boot factory in El Paso Texas. I found a pair of cowboy boots and became extremely attached. Cowboy boots add a certain amountof confidence to the gentleman who is bold enough to wear them. They make a statement at all times. Sometimes you dont want to hear the statement that they make, or that others want to speak, however they never go not noticed.

Top 10 Gifts for Men, Hamilton Watch

This season I have comprised my Top 10 gifts for men. This list is more about what I like than the rest of the world, however I feel like I have a pretty good gauge on the pulse of what men are looking for, so therefore the list was created. Take a look and tell me what you think. I have included pictures and links to pull up any and all items listed.

ENJOY!! and Happy Holidays

Since men are defined by their watch and their shoes, I have chosen the first item because I happened to run across it in Macys and I liked it immediately. This Hamilton watch is guaranteed to be in all the men's magazines next spring and fall.

Bypass the middle man

Why is it that whenever a man wants a good looking suit, he has to go to the local department store to get ripped off by the high price mark up cadence that is being offered by the national monopoly of the moment. You can make a dash for any type of 3 day suit broker, example S&B, 3 day suit broker, S&K etc, however you tend to only get what department stores have either passed on, or dumped because of excessive inventory. Now in some cases this is not a problem. For the male who is a casual shopper and does not mind looking at more than one place to find the deal, or the man who is willing to wait for the price he wants to pay for that suit he has been eye balling, these locations are legitimate. However what about the guy who wants the fashion forward seasonal suit of the moment, right now, at the price he wants to pay, this is the problem, there is no place to get them. The factories who are local and willing to sell suit to the main deparment stores and chains have not stepped out of the box enough to start to gain the money that they are leaving on the table by delivering to third parties. So in esscence, the suit that you are about to purchase has exchanged hands a minimum of 3 times, and been marked up all along the way. So that suit that costs you $300, for an average today's man suit, should have cost you about $75.

Bacco Bucci Shoes

Recently I stumbled across the Bacco Bucci website. This website isnt bad, it offers the customer a chance to see the entire seasons assortment in its catalog form. The catalog is clear, concise and to the point. This particular brand of shoes tends to cater more to the athlete and more fashion forward customer, however I believe there is a shoe on this website for everyone. Check out the site and let me know what you think.

Europeans do it better

So upon my return to the states from abroad. I have concluded that european men and women simply dress better than people in the states. Now this is totally my opinion, if yours differs, who cares, this is my blog, just kidding. However I am serious about Europeans dressing better than Americans.

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to London and to Italy. Lets first talk about what I saw in London.

London is the best place to go if you want to find great variations of dress shirts. They have the standard british spread collar, which is my personal favorite, as well as the 2 button tall collar with the extreme wide spread collar to accomodate the over size tie knot that a lot of gentlemen are wearing these days, as well as all the other standard cuts that you will also see in the states. I was surprised to see many stores dedicated simply to one particular item, not all over the place like most stores here in the states. If the store intended to sell dress shirts, then they displyed dress shirts in a major way. the merchandising as well as the customer service in this city was awesome.
The one thing that I did not care for was the fact that every store seemed to be on the same sale candence. So that meant that whatever store we went to pretty much had the same promotion as the one previous.

GQ magazine August issue

Please take a look @ this months GQ magazine for the article on "Suit your shape" this article breaks down how men without the cookie cutter body styles should buy quality suits that fit their physique. I picked it up, @ the local grocery store while my girl shopped of course, and could not put it down. It really goes into detail on what shoes should be worn, the lapels that shape the shoulders, as well as the designers which look the best on the focus body type. The entire August issue is worth reading, I just found this article the most helpful.

Let me know what you think

APPLE, AT&T, CINGULAR, IPHONE FRENZY

I dont know what to make of this frenzy surrounding the I phone. I mean the world went bananas when Verizon dropped the motorola Q phone, and in just six months, the phone went from $400 to $99 for the christmas holiday. Now with the backing and superior technology that apple seems to give it's products, I am sure that the new I phone will not meet the same fate as the motorola Q, however, I would be hesitant to jump into a new phone that would cost me $499 for the 4 gig, $599 for the 8 gig, with a minimum of $60 a month phone bill, not including roll over, taxes and service charges, on a 2 year contract. You do the math. You are looking @ 2K, $2000, on the lowest rate plan that cingular, of excuse me, the "new at&t, has to offer. Lines have already begone to form in most metropolitan cities.

"Customers were camped out at Apple and AT&T stores across the nation. The gadget, which combines the functions of a cell phone, iPod media player and wireless Web browser, will go on sale in the United States at 6 p.m. in each time zone.

At Apple's flagship store in New York, the line snaked around the block as would-be customers brought a dog, an inflatable couch and good spirits". (Yahoo news)


Everyone wants to be the coolest person in the office with the newest phone. I am just saying, be careful, but if you do buy the new I phone, please enjoy it and let me know how you like it.

Waiting on the sales

If you are like me, then you are waiting for the right time to buy yourself some nice things @ a reasonable price. I have the nick name amongst my friends as the "fashion stalker". I will see something that I like and stalk that item until it goes on sale, for however long it takes, I will wait on it, if that item is worth having. that is my dedication to this fashion life.

So this brings me to the point. Coming up next weekend, you are going to see the mother of all sales for this season. I shop for the future, meaning I shop for next spring/ summer, this summer. Next week 4th of July weekend, all retailers will be on sale. You will not be able to walk into a store next weekend and not find something in the store on sale. Its just a fact, everyone wants to get those last minute markdowns into the system, all retailers want to pad this season to get those bonuses, or better yet reach that strectch goal to obtain big money. In any case you get the picture. Retailers want to grab your attention with sales, and they want you to walk out of the store with a lot of merchandise.

Tailor Made... yeah right

Recently I read an article in Esquire magazine, one of my favorites, that spoke on the rules for purchasing a suit. Upon reading the title, I continued with the body of the article hoping for an elaborate detailed list of things to look out for when purchasing that quality suit. I received the following.


1. When in doubt go with 2 button
2. Beware of the saleperson on commision
3. No two suits are cut the same (not really helpful)
4. Listen to your tailor. (and who might that be?)
5. More elaborate pattern, less often to wear. (not bad advice)
6. Try to take the suit outside in the daylight. (now what stores allow this?)
7. Reputable shops offer tailoring. (again not really helpful)
8. Dont order suits online. (why not, if you know your size.)
9. a 3 piece suit means business. (good advice)

So this bring me back to the title of my post. Where are these great tailors. The average person, meaning you and I, have to go down the street to our local cleaners in order to receive a sub par alteration. Meaning the changes made to your garment never seem to truly fit your body, and they end up costing you more in alterations than what the suit was actually worth. The art of the masterful tailor is long gone. No longer do you get sons following in their father's foot steps in order to one day become that master tailor. Nowadays we are comfortable buying that box cut suit off the rack and hoping like crazy that it fits.

A great tailor is like a virtuous woman, when God blesses me with the location of one, I intend to marry them for life.

Wide Leg Dress Pants / Trousers

Years ago I was shopping with a buddy of mine when he went on an excursion looking for wide leg trousers. I had no idea what he was talking about. These were the days where baggy jeans, and loose fitting tee shirts were my norm. So to hear someone speak of "wide leg trousers", it naturally peaked my interest. If you are like me, then the idea of traditional fitting dress pants/ trousers don’t sit well with you. Historically most designers have stayed in the box with their make and model of traditional dress pants. Meaning they give you minimal room in the seat of the garment, this does not go over well for men with larger hind parts, the room in the thigh regions never give you adequate circumference to be comfortable, and if you do want that comfort you have to jump up 2 sizes in order to obtain it which then throws off the waist of the garment which even a great tailor can not fix or else it looks like your back pockets are kissing. Now that was slightly long winded, however I want you to understand my frustrations with tradional trousers, and embrace the wonders of the improved wide leg version.

Now I know what you are thinking, "why would I go out there and buy wide leg pants to end up dressing in the likes of Michael Irving, Steve Harvey, and Erving Magic Johnson"? This is a good question, why would you? These gentlemen, although well dressed have taken the silhouette of wide leg trousers, and suits for that matter to another level. Almost parallel to dressing like a clown, or the zoot suit wearers of days ago. Now I will commend these gentlemen for taking the initiative to dress like a grown man should, however, trading in a XXXL white tee shirt for a XXXL suit is not that big of a step. Suits and trousers should compliment ones physique without making that person uncomfortable. Clothing is made to enhance the appearance of that person wearing it, not drown them in fabric. Enough ranting.

Wide leg dress pants/ trousers offer what the gentlemen of today are looking for. From the athletes, to business men, to every weekend church service goer, the wide leg pants provides that man with the additional room necessary to feel relaxed and good about there appearance.

Now that I have told you about why they are so good, and important to have, let me tell you where to buy them. No this is the hard part because I have only seen them in one place. Now every designer every couple of years tries to incorporate one pair into their assortment for the season, however one store in particular, carries them as a basix model, year after year, with a variety of fancies to keep you coming back for more. The store I am speaking of is Bachrach Men’s Clothing. This store operates roughly 40 doors mostly in the Midwest and the east coast, however they do have a catalog business, as well as an internet site with is user friendly. I encourage you to go out there and take a look for yourself. Try a pair on, and then come back to this site and post your comments. I can almost guarantee, you will not be disappointed.