End of Summer

Another post that is as few weeks late.  I guess I saved all of these seersucker ones because I knew how sad I would be once I put my seersucker suits away until next year.  Here I'm rocking the often overlooked tan seersucker.  Because it is subtle, you can do alot more in terms of shirt, shoes, and accessories with tan seersucker. To really make a statement, I wrote this bright pink dress shirt that matched my tan and pink saddle shoes. These shoes were a steal on eBay. While the white sole really stands out it makes the shoe alot less dressy.  

To play off the pink, I wore this argyle bow tie that I actually got as a pair with a matching one for Harvey.  This outfit not only shows the awesomeness of seersucker it also shows that if done correctly you can wear absolutely any color dress shirt under a suit.

Red

Sadly, seersucker season has come to an end.  Spanning a 99 brief days from memorial day to labor day, it is always sad to say goodbye to my favorite fabric.  Over the past year, I have acquired almost every color seersucker suit except for the elusive purple and red white and blue. So of you ever find either of these please let me know! 

This photo shoot was taken a few weeks ago but I've been slacking on my posts so I'm just being to it now.  Pictured is my red seersucker suit that I found at a sketchy men's clothing store for $100. I think that it's one of the best finds I've found in a long while.

Because a red seersucker suit is quite loud it is best to keep everything else a little more toned down.  As with everything, you can never fail with a while dress shirt. While this multicolor polka dot bow tie is not exactly tame, the colors are muted and I felt that the colors went very well with the red.  I actually bought this fabric and had a lady on Etsy make me a bow tie. This was before i leaned how to make my own. To dress it down a little and add to the summer time flair I chose these beige canvas and tan leather saddle shoes by Cole Haan.

I am certainly going to miss summer and seersucker but I'm excited for Fall and all the tweed and pumpkin flavored things that go along with it!

Pretty in Pink

Pink, it's not just for girls anymore!  As weird as it may be, hot pink is my favorite color. It has the boldness of red but the playfulness of orange and when a it wears hot pink it usually stops people in their tracks.  

I had been wanting a jacket like this for quite a while and i was lucky enough to find this jacket at the Goodwill. While a lot of times I like to only have one stand out piece per outfit but this time I went for broke, with the matching pink and grey Cole Haan Air Coltons, and a hot pink and gold Michael Kors watch!

Sometimes you just have to go for broke.

Conservative but Not Dull; Day 2

Unfortunately, you can't always dress as loud and as fun as you may wish. Certain occasions, usually dealing with work require a certain look and dress code. The secret to great style is know how to work within a set of rules but still make an outfit your own.

In this work outfit, I went with a traditional color suit, gray, in a traditional yet fun pattern, Glenn plaid with blue, which I got for $100 T JC Penney and then made the accessories my own. The easiest way to make a dull suit pop is to wear either a pink or yellow dress shirt with it. 

As always, I love bow ties so I had to wear one with the more conservative outfit to lighten it up a little and It's almost impossible to go wrong with blue gingham. To make the outfit less top heavy, I went with these different but not extremely loud blue and brown Cole Haan saddle shoes. They make a statement without slapping you in the face.

Just remember just because you have to dress conservatively it doesn't mean you have to be boring.

Conservative but Not Dull

Last Thursday I went to a leadership seminar for work.  While I love to dress bright and flashy, I felt that I should dress a little more conservative for this event. But as you can hopefully see, conservative does not have to be dull and boring.

The standard business casual look around the world is a blue blazer and khakis.  I decided to go with that concept but take it up a notch. I am wearing linen khaki pants that are part of a suit that I got from the Goodwill for $20.  The blue plaid blazer, was also a thrift store find that cost all of $7.  The blue and white check shirt by Brooks Brothers was $4 at the Goodwill.  To add a jolt of unexpected color I went with the lime green polka dot bow tie from Marshals and the lime green trimmed pocket square from thetiebar.com.  The shoes are the only splurge on this whole outfit and they are blue canvas Cole Haan saddle shoes that were no more that $50 on eBay.  You'd honestly be surprised at how versatile blue dress shoes actually are and 9 times out of 10 you'll be the only guy in the room wearing blue shoes.

This outfit goes to show that you can dress conservatively but still how fun and show off your personality and style and you can do it all for under $100!

Boating Jacket

The boating or rowing blazer is one oldschool item of menswear that really needs to make a comeback. Yes it is loud, outlandish, and even a little gaudy, but that is what makes it so flipping awesome. You don't wear this jacket to blend into the background, you wear it to stand out and show off who you are. 

The boating or rowing jacket was started to differentiate different boating or rowing clubs most often from different universities. Believe it or not, a lot of collegiate sports teams wore blazers back in the day. I think that this a cool idea that would be really neat if it was brought back.

Unlike a lot of things I wear, where I mix and match different patterns and colors, I believe that this jacket deserves respect and should be the only standout item in an outfit. It is so bold that it demands it.  Like most anything, this jacket goes well with a crisp white Oxford shirt and khakis. I actually purchased this jacket on eBay for $25 which included shipping. Not bad for a jacket that retailed last spring for $300!  That just goes to show you that good, and often cheap, things come to this who wait.

All White, All Right

A white suit is honestly a very hard thing to pull off successfully. I snagged this linen one for less than $100 at Men's Warehouse.  The fit has to be perfect and the accessories have to be on point but the most important part is the shirt. Obviously, you can't wear a white shirt and you should never wear a black dress shirt because you will look like a tool, so your best option is either a lighter blue or pink shirt. Pink, although it is my favorite color, can certainly look Miami Viceish and unless you're tan, can make you look insanely pale.  I really prefer a light blue shirt and I really love this Chambray one that I got at the Goodwill. Because the white suit looks  so dressy, the almost denim, chambray shirt really helps dress it down a little and make it more fun. 

I really like this white and blue floral bow tie with this outfit because it makes the whole outfit look vintage. I went with the navy blue pocket square because it really popped against the white.  To bring it all together, I wore these bright-but-not-too-bright Cole Haan shoes that I bought for $30 on eBay and a blue woven belt that I got from JC Penney for $5. 

But no matter how awesome an outfit looks, clothes can never compare to the beauty of nature. Just look at these awesome sunflowers that my wife grew from seeds!  Now that's amazing!