Fashion Wednesday - Graphic Tees

Aite, its been 2 weeks since last FW entry. Today's topic is simple: Graphic Tees. 

The name speaks for itself. These simple articles of clothing are one of the most versitile things you can wear. They go well with pretty much anything you want to match. And with a billion colors and graphics design, rest assured you've got choices. 

Whether you like your graphics large, small, intregate, goofy, retro, weird, or down right simple, almost all the designs goes well with a pair of jeans. 

Pics to follow when my camera is working again. 

rOar

Fashion Wednesday - Hairstyle

Yes, I can hear the moaning and groaning on this already. Yes, hairstyle is important. How important? Just as much as you would dress well for a serious interview. 

A hairstyle can make or break a person's image. Choose whatever hairstyle that suits your style and situation. Dont go to an interview with an insane buzz cut, or go workout with a style that takes 2 hrs to complete. Whatever style you choose, know that you'll be stuck with it for another month before you can style it again. 

There are many different styles out there, and just as many different methods to acheive them. If your not into the style terms, heres a simple few. Cut: Simple, it just means cut. Layering: Cutting with a special scissors that only cuts a certain layer per cut. Buzz: Usually its the mechanical device that cuts with a straight edge. Often cuts in bulk. Feathering: A type of cut that makes the ends of the hair thinner than at the root. 

Theres a ton more ways of cut, so make sure to ask your stylist which ones are best to acheive your style. 

Now, style aside, color is just as essential in making a good impression. For asians, black is the standard base coat. If your into more fancy styles that only non-black colors can bring, then feel free to dye your hair. A common scene is the colors of orange and brown. Generally, this is good in bring out the layering effects in your hairstyle (layering brings depth to your head, fyi). 

If your into more complicated hairstyles, you can consider perming. Yes, the old paradigm is that only girls do perms. But times have changed. Guys can get 'manly' perms too (if you would believe that). Again, many techiques in this too. Beware tho, as this can get costly if you're not careful. 

Now, when you want to style your hair, there are many products out there that you can choose from. Generally, for guys, a hair wax is best, as hair gel is too messy to deal with. I would suggest using a brand called Gatsby, as their hair product "Moving Rubber" is good for the standard guy hair styling. Hair sprays are good too, but use conservatively. 

Lastly, most important key in hairstyling is maintaining your style for as long as possible. Unless you have money to burn, then chances are you want to make sure your style lasts as long as possible. We all know to wash our head everytime we take a shower. This is now even more important as you will now have styling products (wax) that you want off at the end of the day. If you want to maintain your hair, I would suggest using a conditioner (if you didnt know already). A good conditioning once per week is enough. If you have permed your hair, I would suggest getting hair cleaning products that contain amino acids, as the perming process have already done damage to your hair. 

Again, all this hair knowledge arent hard to obtain. A simple conversation with your stylist can go a long way in your fashion knowledge. If you're uncertain, you can always trust your stylist and have them give you a style they see fit. 

Happy hunting.

rOar

Fashion Wednesday - Accessories

Aight, heres a simple one. Men's accessory. What is it? And why do you need it? Simple. Men's accessory are stuff that are not your shirt, your underwear, and your pants/jeans. Things like hats, sunglasses, rings (gay, dont wear them), necklaces, belts, watches, tattoos, and certain shoes are generally considered accessories. Normally I would recommend only wearing no more than 2 pieces. So this would often times be a watch and a nice looking belt (with good belt buckle).  Why do we need them? Its not a 'need', but suggested. Like a wedding cake without the little bride and groom figurines at the top, the cake just isnt complete without them. The icying on the cake, if you like. 

Now, dont go over board. Know what styles suit you. And for god sakes, dont wear rings on your finger. Unless your married or gay, there should be no reason for you to wear them. 

rOar

Fashion Wednesday - Layering

Its Wednesday again, and today's topic is layering. What is layering you ask? Layering is a technique of wearing certain articles of clothing on top of each other to create depth to one's appearance. Most people do this without realizing it. Generally, layering is focused on the upper body, so not much details will be done on the lower half. The important key here is knowing how to wear it to make it work. Heres an easy example of basic layering: Think of men's business suits; for your upper torso, you got your shirt, your tie, and your jacket. First, you got your shirt in the inner most layer, then the tie in the middle, then the jacket provides the outer most layer. The V-shape of the jacket and the tie brings the focus onto the upper chest area, thus creating a broader upper body physique.

Generally, there is no rule as to how best do layering. Its personal taste. But the key is to make sure that all your clothings match each other when wearing them on top of another. This includes taking notice of color and texture. What I would suggest is knowing which body part you want to embellish. Normally, this would mean the neck and upper chest for guys. That being said, simple layering is always the best. Avoid wearing too much or too little when doing layering. Remember, fashion only exists between -5 to 40 Celsius. Layer accordingly. 

Here I've shown some simple layering:

Single layer: Plain white shirt

Double layer: Plain white shirt with thin striped sweater

Triple layer: Plain white shirt with thin striped sweater and black tie

This is a very simple layering example that I've shown with 3 elements: white shirt, striped thin sweater, and a thin black tie. Here, the focus is on the upper chest and lower neck area. Notice in the triple layer, the striped sweater is unbuttoned. This was done on purpose so that the sweater and tie won't conflict with each other. This also elongates the upper body, thus creating the illusion of extra height to the wearer. The black tie opposes the light colors of the rest of the body, thus drawing attention to the center of the body. As you get more experienced with layering, you can use layers to add more definition to other layers, bringing out more of the contrasting color themes or physical appearances. 

When layering is done right, it can add some serious extra points to one's appearance. Again, personal taste is very important, so it'll take some trial and error to find your niche. 

Happy hunting. 

rOar

Fashion Wednesday - Color and Texture

Alright, I thought it'll be interesting to help all those guys whos had been called a bum or those whos been complained cus of how they dress themselves. Now, I'm no fashion guru nor do I want to become one, I'm just here to share what I've picked up in the past 3+ years. 

Many people overlook the importance of their outer appearance. Unfortunately, clothing often cover roughly 80-90% of our bodies. So its vital for guys to at least be aware of what they're wearing to avoid making mistakes. Think of it as an investment: you invest in it, and often its return/reward is having others having a good opinion about you based on say, your first impression. 

That being said, I only want to talk about fashion on a daily basis. No BS on how to dress like characters in ficticious dramas or movies. Just everyday good looking joes. 

Todays topic: Color and Texture. 

Because whats fashion without color and texture? Here, I give you a few rule of thumbs: 
1) Do not wear more than 3 different colors on your body. 3 significantly different colors mind you. Just because different shades of one color looks different, it does not make it okay to wear them all at once. 
2) Generally, 2 textures are good. Anything more and its risky to still look good.
3)When in doubt, go white. Black/white, khaki/white usually are good themes. 

Now, in terms of color, remember: your jeans are considered one of the three you're suppose to have. So that leaves two colors left for your upper body. What you do with them is up to you. Generally, light colors gives a more friendly appearance, while dark colors gives a more mysterious feel. If your red shirt has patches of blue in them (less than 15% say), then that shirt is still considered red. But if any color on your clothes is takes up more than 15% of the clothing, you'll have to consider it as multi-colored, and adjust it accordingly.  

Understanding texture is more tricky than knowing what colors to wear. Because there are so many textures than the pallets on the rainbow, its up to your personal taste. Wheather you like plain, pleated, or stripes, it doesnt matter. As long as you keep each texture away from getting into each others way, you'll be fine. 

Here are some examples of textures that I own: 

'Wife-beater' texture

Wool texture with discrete strips

Stipe texture

Pleated texture

Dont worry if you still cant get your colors and textures to look good just yet. Its not as easy as it seems. Hell, I'm still learning about it as I go. But its just like learning to type on a keyboard: at first, the alphabets are all over the place, but with more practice, your fingers just know where to hit.

Happy hunting.

rOar