Fancy Friday in Black and Brown

March 31, 2014
Fancy Friday
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Look Left, look right, then agree that black and brown are the most awesome colour combo.

It’s simple and classic though it very rarely see’s the light of day, till Fancy Friday that is.

Then, there are the 2 tone brogues, these guys are awesome, but incredibly difficult to wear, and if the rule is that your belt matches your shoes, well then, what colour do you match? What happens if like me, you have a belt that matches neither? I simply went for a black belt and let the blazer match the shoes, it still helps getting items in your outfit talking to one another.

Lets look at the details though.

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The camo bow tie was to pick up on the contrast collar of the blazer, it’s also got some black in it so helps blend in with the outfit overall I think.

To be able to make this all work, together, I thought a simple white shirt with the slightest texture was best, it has a nice french cuff, so the silver on the watch and cufflink could all work together - matching metal with metal is key, and perhaps a dressiquette post I need to wright up one day

bow-tie-and-lapel-flower

pocket-squarewatch-and-cufflinksshoes

So If you like this look, below are some online choices to help get you started, the exact blazer and shoes were impossible to find.

Blazer from Topman - Get similar here

Shirt from TM Lewin

Bow tie by Heywood1922

Pocket square from H&M - Get similar here

Lapel flower by Chanman

Pants from Topman

Shoes from Zara - get “kinda” similar here

Okay. Stay Fancy.

The House of Machines - Purveyors of AWESOME!!!

March 23, 2014
Shopping
1 Comment

outside-signwindow-signSo I’ve been wanting to tell you guys about this place for ages, its called The House of Machines and It’s hands down one of my favourite places in Cape Town. It’s the brainchild of Brad Armitage (of Vide e Cafe and &Union beer fame) Paul Van Der Spuy (of blue collar white collar fame) and Drew Madacsi (I dont think Drew is really famous for anything besides being Aussie) who basically wanted to combine there passions and create a place they wanted to hang out in.

I say ‘place’ because it’s not a coffee shop, though the Evil Twin coffee is incredible, 100% certified organic arabica, grown in Honduras and master roasted in Spain.

It’s also not a bar, though they have the most incredible house lager and a bar man called Nick who only makes prohibition cocktails, the kinda stuff that pre dates the 1920’s and is pretty much liquor on liquor. Go have the old fashioned and tell Nick I sent you (life changing) though don’t tell him I called him a bar man, he’s officially an award winning mixologist and his passion for making you the perfect drink is unmatched. Expect about 15min to get your drink, sit down listen to the story, it will be worth the wait, I promise!

They also make bikes, any bike you want, hand crafted from the ground up, yep right there in the La Macchina workshop at the back.

Lastly, they’re not a clothing store, but they have tons of rad Tee shirts, caps and shirts under the THoM Workwear clothing brand. These pics below should give you a little taste for the place.

(Sorry about the barrage of photos, but there is so much cool stuff in this place, I just couldn’t stop shooting.)

There is however one very specific reason I love this place and wanted to share it with you guys. It’s the small range of, lets call them gentleman accessories that they stock, the kind of dapper delights that make you wish your wallet was a little fatter (though they do sell some pretty fat wallets). I picked some of my favourite pieces out of their little display case to share with you guys.

coastersShoe-Brush pocket-knife To-Hell-With-Work---Hip-Flask Funnel Fine-&-Dandy-Comb Pocket-square Best-Intentions---Hip-FlaskSo…it’s my birthday in May. I’ll be happy with any of the above. Thanks.

If you guys wanna visit this place, and I suggest you do, it’s open everyday, except sunday till 5 and the prohibition bar is open Thursday to Saturday and you’ll find it at 84 Shortmarket Street in the Cape Town CBD.

Okay. Stay fancy.

Essentials No 5 - The Dress Watch

March 17, 2014
Essentials, Shopping
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Dress-watchIve always been a fan of the simple dress watch.

No bells and whistles, just a leather strap and a simple clear face. In fact as time has gone by, my watches have gotten simpler and simpler, dropping all the chronographs and date windows for something that, well, just tells the time really.

For ages I’ve been a massive fan of Uniformwares watches, and I guess I still am, but I recently picked up one of these Daniel Wellington watches and there is just something a little more dapper about them. The slim face, the slight detailing, It’s the perfect dress watch. Why? Well the slimmer the face the easier it is for it to slip under your dress shirt, it also fits the classic dress watch look, with its precious metal casing and leather strap.

watch-strap watch-rolled-up watch-backThe leather strap is what makes this guy feel more classic right? But wait, there’s a trick and it’s what made me love these guys. The straps are all interchangeable, but not only leather straps, lots of fun Nato straps too so you can dress it up or down and match it to your outfit.

These guys have just landed in South Africa (well, kinda, they’ve slowly been making there way into tiny boutique stores and markets) You can now get the full collection online at Kiph.

Happy shopping people!

Okay. Stay fancy.

Fancy Friday in pink and green

March 17, 2014
Fancy Friday
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Full-length-frontFull-length-back Sure, todays not Friday, I get it and yes, I know this was last weeks outfit, but I’m playing catch up here people.

This was however one of my favourite ever Fancy Friday outfits, I loved how it was for the most part so simple and ordinary and how those bright pops of colour really just helped bring it all together.

The entire outfit is built around that tie, I was in the mood for something floral and so I built everything around the colours in the tie.

medium-shotWith the blues and blacks in the outfit being quite neutral the colour on the tie was accentuated with the green pocket square and cerise lapel flower. It was really that simple, and I think it worked really well.

That is the trick though, is trying to let your details stand out individually but work together as a whole, so that all the small things, down to the green tie clip help pull everything around it together.

Here are some close up details

pocket-squaretie-clipLapel-flowershoes

Most of these items above are really old pieces from my wardrobe and not really available online anymore, I have however done my best at putting together a similar outfit if you wanna attempt this kind of look.

Blazer from H&M - Get similar here

Oxford shirt from the Gap

Tie from Topman - Get similar here

Lapel flower fron Chanman

Pocket square from ASOS - Get similar here

Tie clip from The Tie Bar

Chinos from Topman

Shoes from boutique in Barcelona - get similar here

Okay. Stay fancy.

Sartorial Sunday in suits and sneakers

March 9, 2014
Sartorial Sundays
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IMG_9141A while ago my friend Murray said he wanted to start wearing sneakers in a formal way, we both only wear dress shoes and have a similar sense of style. I wasn’t entirely convinced, I barely own any sneakers and the ones I do are all have quite slim profiles as I hate bulky shoes.

Then I caught murray out the one night wearing his skinny blue chinos, button down denim shirt and a pair of retro nike sneakers. I was sold. Somehow it maintained a level of formality that I generally don’t like stepping out of.

So I did some research and found some really cool inspiration online for the whole suits and sneakers vibe. The one that really stood out was this outfit from the bespoke dudes, a navy double breasted suit with some killer retro adidas sneakers, that really just work here.

See, what I think makes it work is offsetting the balance of the very casual sneakers with a level of detail in the formal wear. Even so, it’s a fine line between too much and too little (and in this case you may wanna stay on the side of too little) as you want to maintain the dapper details of your outfit without seeming like you went to the gym and just forgot to pack your formal shoes.

How does this gentleman do it? Well, small things like the turn ups in the trousers not only keep it formal, but it also means the trousers don’t fall on the shoe and so give some nice separation to let the shoe pop. The pocket square is also a nice touch, but it seemed like the perfect place to stop, a lapel flower or tie clip may have just been too far.

So, I think the trick is to treat them the same way you would any accessory, you need to make sure that something in your outfit is speaking to your shoes, that way it will never appear like a mistake. I also think the shoes have a big role to play, and right now ( Because it’s the trend) it appears that retro sneakers achieve this look best.

Rather than recreate the look (or looks) above the way I usually do, I thought I would rather put together an outfit of how I think I would wear it. Lots of different textures, some nice pattern mixing in the pocket square and the tie which pick up on the red in the shoes, and then a simple white shirt to help keep it casual and some suspenders so as to eliminate the need for a belt.

Get the blazer here

Get the pants here

Get the shirt here

Get the suspenders here

Get the tie here

Get the pocket square here

Get the sneakers here

Okay. Stay Fancy.

Tie of the month - Wyatt

March 8, 2014
Tie of the month
1 Comment

We had such an overwhelming response to the Friday Tie Day giveaway I did recently on the blog that the gentlemen from Friday Tie Day have decided to offer my readers $20 off there first tie.

Yep. Seriously.

For those of you who don’t know what Friday Tie Day does, well, they’re like a book of the month club, except instead of a bunch of papers arriving on your doorstep every month, you can a beautiful tie. Every tie is different and everyone has a story behind it. Above is Wyatt, he was the February tie, a nice charcoal number that I decided to style up in a very monochromatic way. It’s a wool/silk blend and has the most amazing zig zag texture.

So, if you like Wyatt, or wanna check out any of the other ties go visit Friday Tie Day here and enjoy your $20 discount! It’s a pleasure!

Okay. Stay fancy.

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