Bespoke Post- Dutch Oven

At your mark,

get set, 

bake!

In-tuned with my recent guilty pleasure, The Best British Baking Show, monthly men's subscription box company, Bespoke Post delivered a classic kitchenware right to my door- the cast iron dutch oven from Old Mountain. This cast iron Dutch oven is as legit as they come (you can tell as soon as you lift it) and I can't wait to try out some recipes like these. The Bespoke Post box included a couple of other kitchen essentials, a silicone trivet from Meridian and a multipurpose Mexican kitchen cloth. Now, I'm all set and ready to expand my repertoire. Make sure to check out their other uniquely curated boxes!

#bespokepost #boxofawesome

Scents 101: Tous Man

Spanish brand TOUS reached out and asked if I'd like to try out one of their newest colognes, TOUS Man. They sent it along with a description and I encountered a whole new set of vocabulary I wasn't familiar with. The cologne smells great and I couldn't quite put my finger on the best way to describe the scent to others. So here goes, I did a bit of research and found this handy glossary from In To The Gloss, thanks!

Top Notes: Orange, Grapefruit breeze - Which means, it's the lightest note and the first thing you smell.

Heart Notes: Mint, Guaiac wood - They lie somewhere in the middle of the notes and usually deal with florals

Base Notes: Tonka beans, is from a seed and is very vanillic with a hint of cinnamon. Vetiver, is an essential oil from the roots of tall grass form India but can also be found in Haiti.

In short I would describe this scent as light and fresh. It smells better and better as time time goes by.

Shawl Collar sweater- Banana Republic | Long Sleeve Tee- Mack Weldon

Photographer: Dan Murphy 

NYFWM Spring/Summer 17 Pt.1

New York Fashion Week: Men is probably one of the most exhilarating, physically exhausting and fun weeks of the year. The third installment of NYFW:M was a total success bringing dozens of menswear designers to show their Spring/Summer 17 collections. One of the highlights of the week is New York Men's Day which is a special gathering of amazing designers showing under one roof. Here are a few of my favorites- starting with PLAC.

PLAC as I've mentioned before no the blog is a Korean brand and their cool kid style is always prevalent in every collection.

Style notes- Notice the bold and thin stripes. Choose your favorite and add a jacket to break it up.

Love the combination of darks on neutrals.

Everyone needs an oversized navy raincoat.

Max n' Chester definitely impressed me this time around. You should have them on your radar.

Curly hair and airy fabrics, loving all the details- even her red lips.

You can't go wrong with this light blue color palette.

Neutrals and blue hues- classic.

A closer look at the relaxed cut of the suit.

Photgraphy- Phil Van Nostrand

Review: New York Men's Day

Pt.1
New York Fashion Week: Men's started off with a bang as several designers gathered once more to show their Fall/Winter 2016 collections. Take a look at some of my favorites presentations including Krammer & Stoudt, Max n' Chester and PLAC. They take us to worlds of whimsy and ultra cool. See for yourself!

Krammer & Stoudt

Model- Josh Beech

Max 'n Chester

PLAC

Photography by Phillip Van Nostrand

Pier59 Studio Turns 20

On October 27 the fashion community gathered to celebrate Pier59 Studio's 20th anniversary. Pier59 opened its doors in 1995 and since then there have been over 50,000 photoshoots within its doors. The event was hosted by Fern Mallis, creator of New York Fashion Week.

Fern Mallis

I remember when I freelanced for GQ and going to Pier59 with racks and racks of clothes and being part of some amazing editorials. Now, for this event I was invited to attend as media to cover the celebration and to boot I styled a couple of their guests including Sean Harju and Nathaniel Visser from Soul Artist Management. 

The guys and gal from SOUL ARTIST MANAGEMENT: From left to right- Nathaniel Visser, Filip Wolfe, Greg Chan (Agent), Xander Evitts, Leah Heyman (Agent), Melchior Domenique, Christophe Sanchez-Vahle (Agent), Sean Harju, Bryce Thompson, Justin Hopwood

For Natahniel Visser the goal was to have him in a cool but smart look. He's wearing his own jeans partnered with a blazer from Scott Langton and a Prada shirt. Sean Harju went for an all black look. He is wearing a black jacquard tuxedo jacket from Bonobos with a Calvin Klein shirt. Here's a closer look at Sean's look.

With over 200 models in a attendance they both stood out for all the right reasons.

Here's to many more years of creating iconic images at Pier59! Congrats on this great milestone.

The Man's Guide To Decorating

With the season changing I think its time you rethink your living quarters and take a look at these friendly decorating pointers. I had Kalam Dennis from AptDeco.com answer a few questions on how to start decorating and furnishing your place. Plus, as you read on you'll find some helpful hints on bedding, like what does thread count mean and more!

When buying furniture, what piece of furniture should one start with in the living room? Does it even matter?

It's best to start with a piece that you truly love—whether it's a sofa, a rug, a credenza, or a coffee table. Once you've found something that gets you excited you can plan around it without compromising your space. Of course everyone needs a sofa, but that might not be the piece you want to build around.  I'd suggest shopping around in all categories until something catches your eye. You can then start building from that piece outwards.

How can I get the most from the AptDeco website?

AptDeco has an absolutely huge catalog at every type and price range that encompasses all of New York, D.C., and the surrounding areas. The catalog also changes every day based on sellers posting and move-out dates, so it's important to know what's there and be able to act fast.  The catalog includes lots of filters to help you get specific. If you only have a broad idea of what you want, the Collections and our Shop By Style sections are a great way to get some inspiration.

Are there brick and mortar locations too?

In their own way, thousands of homes across NYC and DC are AptDeco's brick and mortar locations. But we do not keep a storefront or warehouse for furniture pieces.

Where do you recommend men can get inspiration ideas for decorating their homes?

When decorating it's good practice to visit furniture stores near you to get some inspiration. Much like fashion, furniture is a big seasonal industry and with the change of season comes a change in style. Designers also tend to recommend homeowners to visit boutique or small hotels around different neighborhoods to explore their takes on interior design. Another great way to get inspiration is through our popular Pinterest boards, which have been hand-curated by our designers, or by following sites like design-milk.com or designsponge.com to discover the latest trends in design.

Now that we've discussed furniture I think there is another dimension least thought about by men- how the room smells. The sense of smell affects greatly how a person feels about a room and if you have a guest over you want to make sure to make them feel comfortable in every way. One of my favorite candle companies is Diptyque. This French company has been around for decades and they have mastered the art of creating alluring scents for men and women. For men, they recommend scents with a woody base like OUD, described as a woody and leather scent, intense and rooty. Other scents like the classic Feu de Bois and Amber also fall under the woody family and are great options. If you prefer a more floral scent the Baies scent is the one for you, which is a combination of red fruits and rose.

Did you know Greg Shugar founder of the Tiebar.com put together a great website called ThreadExpirement.com specifically designed to make men's live's easier when it comes to all our bedding needs? Not only will you find bed sheets made with men in mind but also the Bedding University. This tab will clarify all those bewildering terms like thread count, weave and what's the difference between a comforter and a duvet. You're welcome!

A Week With Frameri

I was invited to try out Frameri, a Cincinnati based eyewear company and meet with founder Konrad Billetz in NYC. It was a pleasure to meet Konrad and talk about what motivated him to start Frameri. I'm always up for a great origin story and like any great origin story we have to go back to the protagonists childhood. At the age of 11, Konrad was shot in the eye by a BB gun. Doctors said he was going to go blind, but he didn't. Unfortunately, he was left with bad eye sight and has worn glasses ever since and with that the frustrations that come with having to get glasses. In July of 2014 he launched Frameri, a site where anyone can go and find a variety of styles handmade in Italy to choose from. What makes them different is that the eyewear is designed from an industrial design perspective so you can replace the lenses. Which means you won't have to get new glasses as your prescription changes. Just get new lenses or you can get more frames and just switch the lenses, either way its a win-win. Speaking of switching lenses- that's exactly what I've been up to this past week. I wore the Drebbel frames and switched lenses depending on my mood, weather, activity etc etc. Loved it.

PLAC Spring/Summer 2016

PLAC's Spring/Summer 2016 was inspired by the song "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire. PLAC wanted to convey a positive message to the younger generation having conflicts with society. The collection was also inspired by sportswear and military looks but still using energetic colors and clean design. Proportions were also a significant factor found through each look. You'll still be able to find classic American pieces like the sweatshirt and denim but done with the PLAC point of view.

A great example of how they play with proportion. Love the bandana too!

The jeans are camouflage. You almost missed it didn't you!?

Pictures of presentation by Phil Van Nostrand

The sweatshirt still remains a must-have for net spring.

Mack Weldon's Next Level T-Shirt

Fashion icons like James Dean and Marlon Brando have shown us how cool we can look when wearing a t-shirt. The masterminds at Mack Weldon have made it their business to take the t-shirt to the next level and so they have. They've added something special to their t-shirts that make it ideal for the hot summer that awaits us- silver. Silver makes their t-shirts antimicrobial and anti-odor, which will be music to your nose when riding on the New York subways when its 97 degrees outside. Now you're ready for summer.

 

Details, Details! The ladder stitch.

photographer: Erika Dickstein at HagueNYC

Gilded Age F/W 2014

Gilded Age is a menswear brand inspired by the industrial revolution, arts, and poetry of old New York and the North East. Their Fall/Winter 2014 collection is inspired by artist and poets - specifically Edgar Allen Poe and others of the symbolist movement. As we all know they were all very cheerful chaps, just kidding. The collection combines the ever-so-cool Gilded Age sensitivity with the symbolists' darker expressionism.  Check out the video by Abner James where he evokes the experience of creating and make sure to visit the site to see more of the great collection.

Go For Silver

Jacket- Puma | Sweater- True Religion | Jeans- PRPS | Sneakers- ASOS

Photographer- Ashton Do

Stylist- Alejandro Lopez

Model- Sean Harju at Soul Artist Management

Groomer- Erika Yeap

You might've seen it online or walking around NYC, you know what I mean, the all black look with white sneakers. If you want to stand out from the rest and really want to take it to the next level try out some silver sneakers like these. It's easy to just pair them with your favorite jeans and varsity jacket.

Probablemente lo has visto en un sitio web o caminando por la ciudad de Nueva York, sabes a que me refiero? La tendencia de vestir todo de negro pero con tenis blancos. Yo sugiero que si realmente quieres ser diferente ponte los tenis de color plateado como estos. Es facil de combinar con tu jeans y chaquetas favoritas. 

Tahaanga Shirts Are Coming Your Way

I'm all smiles with my new Tahaanga shirt. This shirting company is ready to bring you some great fitting shirts. The shirts are made with the latest technology making them wrinkle resistant, moisture- wicking, quick dry and non-iron. Make sure to check them out and try them on for size.

Shirt- Tahaanga | Bow Tie- Beau Ties | Watch- Skagen

The Seiko Astron Watch

I was invited to take the new Seiko Astron GPS Solar watch for a spin around NYC as part of a sponsored post for Socialstars, #AstronElite. 

The first thing I noticed when I put on the watch is how light it was. Other watches of the same style tend to be heavy and bulky this one is none of these. There are a couple of things that make this watch special. For starters, the Seiko Astron watch is powered by all kinds of light. Taking technology to the next level the watch receives GPS signals and can identify the time zone, time and date using the global network of GPS satellites. This watch is perfect for the man that's always on the go. With the Seiko Astron watch all you have to do is put it on. You won't need to ever change the battery or adjust the time. Now that's luxury.

Blazer- Jack Wills | Shirt- GAP | Tie- UMotive | Watch- Seiko Astron | Cardigan- J.Crew

Jeans- True Religion

Photos by: Philip Von Nostrand