Skulls & Crosses

I recently worked up the courage to reach out to one of my favorite accesorry designers, Tevin Vincent, and asked him if he would be willing to allow me to feature his products on my blog. I had been following for months before I even started blogging and just felt an immediate connection with all of his products when I stumbled across them by chance on Instagram. They're fun, edgy, and have this sort of appeal that catches the attention of most people instantaneously. So, with that said, I sent him and email and to my surprise, he agreed to have me feature his products! We went back and forth for a bit and he asked me to choose some accessories from his site and in turn he would send them to me sample. When I got them, I immediately fell in love! Below are two sample bracelets he sent me. One is a black beaded bracelet with a silver skull; the other a jewel embellished cross with maroon beading. Once I saw them, I knew exactly what I wanted to wear them with. 

I pulled out my statement blazer since I felt that the maroon and black in the beads would complement the royal blue lining and tobacco color altogether. Then, I found some other simple blues and whites in my closet to pair it with. Since summer is starting, I felt my self-made shorts would be a nice fit for the weather; the white button-up was sort of a given since it would keep me coolest. Shortly after that, as I ransacked my room for accessories, I was lucky enough to find my vintage brown leather belt whose color was almost identical to my blazer. How lucky is that?! Shoes are usually the last thing that I choose for any outfit, so once I had the tops and bottoms chosen, the shoes were almost a no-brainer. I went with my Generic Surplus dual-toned oxfords and, as might see at the bottom, wore them without socks. (Sockless is allowed in the summer!) Overall, I love this outfit because it's casual and dapper and has the E-D-G-E that I am always dying to add, and it was all thanks to Tevin. As he would say... Thanks my dude!

To check out more of his merchandise, go to www.tevin-vinent.com. I can promise you that you won't regret it!

 

 

Cotton H&M Blazer (Similar), White H&M Shirt (Similar), Blue Chino Shorts (Similar), Skull Bracelet (Here), Cross Bracelet (Here)

Wake Up and Smell the Flowers!

One thing that I can very honestly tell you is that I have never really been a big fan of floral up until recently. Why? Well, most floral prints that I have seen in the past are always a little too bright, a little too bold, and a little too much. However, the print has been done more frequently and as always, with practice comes perfect. Picture to your left are some examples of floral prints that I love. The subtlety again, as I have mentioned before with the likes of camouflage and stripes, is key. Look at the Billabong tank top on the bottom right of the image; using neutral tones and soft hues, the floral print isn't offensive in any way and may in fact be wore successfully by anyone who's willing to try it out. There are those men though who find that floral patterns are too "feminine" for them and are unwilling to try something new but if you notice the tie pictured above, you'll see that even some menswear accessories are incorporating a little spring trend. Alongside the ties, shoes are being slammed with floral prints as well, such as the unisex Doc Marten shoes pictured in the top left of the above image. Now, for those of you who ARE adventurous, I would suggest the more vibrantly colored tops, such as the Panama shirt by +Topman. Now, on your right you can see how I played around with a floral print. I was lucky enough to find these shorts at a Goodwill months ago and shortened them a bit to fit my style. Then, I paired the shorts with a simple loose-fit pocket tee from +H&M that I purchased last summer. I personally love that the shirt matches the hint of green in the leaf patterning on the shorts. I threw in some neutral browns to match the earthy feel of the shorts as well. Florals are fun to play around with and if you really are looking into trying some out, I would suggest +ASOS and TOPMAN; they're usually always keeping up with these trends way better than I am. Again, thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Let's go on a SAFARI!

Now, you've heard of big cities being called "Urban Jungles" but how about throwing an "Urban Safari" into the mix? That's right. Safari-like styles are beginning to make an appearance this Spring/Summer '13. However, don't think that safari styles mean you have to wear bold animal prints or crazy African-like patterns - it means just the opposite. This trend is aimed more toward men who aren't comfortable wearing those bold prints and flashy patterns. Having more of an earthy feel to it, this "urban safari" uprising is more focused on use of olive greens, khaki, or ochre (light yellow/brown/red) for it's clothing; natural fabrics, such as cotton or silk are also found heavily incorporated as well. Now I think that the earthy feel is what I enjoy most about this style. It kind of has a subtlety that is needed every now and then. Sure it's nice to stand out and maybe bring attention to what you're wearing, but sometimes it's best to stay under the radar and simply enjoy wearing an outfit for yourself and not for others.
Now, here's my attempt at this trend. In the photo you can see me wearing a khaki sleeveless coat with multi-pocket detail and a belted front. Some people are a little turned off by this style, but I personally loved it. Instead of the belt that the coat came with, I decided to kind of make it my own and use a vintage Christian Dior tie that I had lying around my room. I paired the coat with some navy blue chino shorts and a navy blue v-neck that I got from American Apparel. Overall it was a pretty simple look to throw together, and I wouldn't mind wearing a similar style again at some point. Now, if you're interested in trying it out or reading more about it, HERE is an article from Fashionbeans which contains the full story, plus some additional outfit inspirations. Thanks for dropping by!

Nautical but Nice

Today I'm wearing more of a nautically inspired outfit in some of my favorite pieces of clothing. Here I'm wearing my navy blue Foreign Exchange military jacket paired with more blue in my navy & white striped top from H&M (out of season). I've paired them with a simple styled skinny jean in charcoal grey and my white canvas Lacoste L27s (very comfortable for a lazy day). I always love wearing blue for the simple fact that the color can be worn so many different ways. It just never gets old to me. What about you? What's your idea of a timeless color?

Red, White, and Blue

Today I felt a little more playful and wore denim on denim. My entire outfit consisted of my denim jacket purchased at +Forever 21, paired with an almost salt & pepper-like hooded sweater from +H&M, as well as my favorite bright red denim jeans and brown +Steve Madden Troopa boots. It's one of my more laid-back outfits as opposed to the proper Oxford look I go for at times, but I love being able to dress up (or down) certain articles of clothing. Can't wait to rock this denim jacket for an edgier grunge look soon. Lately my style has been taking a turn for a bit of a retro 90's baby look and I love it. The denim jacket in this picture is the first step toward the style I have been trying to adopt. Now, I'm not looking to permanently alter my style, but add a different element to it so that I can remain playful in many different ways. Something fun that you might be interested in knowing about me is that I only like to wear colored denim jeans. Red, white, and blue are my go-tos. What do you think about my outfit? Pros? Cons? Don't be afraid to share!

Fashionista, or Woodista?

Ever hear of a wooden watch? Well, try this one on for size. +WEWOOD, a sustainable watch company supporting forest conservation, specializes in edgy, one-of-a-kind watches. Made for both men and women, WeWOOD is making its name in the fashion industry with an earthy-chic design made entirely out of wood. With varying styles and colors made from woods like blackwood, maple, and mahogany, the line is making a huge impact. Be sure to visit their website to learn about their watches and find out how you can be a Woodista.

Summer Throwback!

 

I'm constantly posting pictures of outfit collages, but never any pictures of my own outfits. So, today I'm sharing one of my favorite Spring/Summer styles. Although it's a little dated, I can't help but love the pop of color from these turquoise corduroy shorts that I was lucky enough to find at Target. I bought them in every color they had in my size (not sorry) and knew they would go well with just about anything. I wanted to make sure the color popped, so I paired the shorts with a simple cotton button-down from H&M and my pair of Original Penguin Chukka Boots. I found that the brown hues went really well together and felt really good wearing the outfit out. And even though the weather here in Stockton isn't nice enough for me to get away with wearing this, I will definitely be bringing out a similar style in just a few weeks (fingers crossed!), you should all do the same. Also, be sure to check out some of two of my favorite go-to websites, ASOS and Topman, to find similar styles. Thanks for following! :)