Fashion Forward #9 - To Summer Is A Verb

I borrowed this logo from the awesome blog Summer Is A Verb

Indeed, 'to summer" can be used as a verb and nowadays many a people frown when it comes up   in conversation. While it is indeed tightly bound to the Prep world, a degree of snobbishness and the whole summering in Nantucket habit, I like to use it just for, as one of my dear friends likes to say, "shits and giggles" to gauge my friends' level of abhorrence to the expression.

A gorgeous family on a beach on Nantucket

To come back to the idea that brought this famous Preppy Handbook mème into my mind, August, the month I consider to be the pinnacle of all summer gaiety and debauchery, is upon us and I realized I did not talk about summer accouterments at all.

Grown up in Europe, my image of swimwear was, how can I put it, dimensionally curtailed?! Though not as huge a fan of Speedos as was in my childhood, my opinion on size when it comes to any kind of shorts stands. The beaches of America are sadly laden with over-sized, monochromatically afflicted swim-tents. Even GQ saw the problem rising and decided to say something in one of their 2009 summer issues.

GQ featured a couple of guys that had some size problems with their swim trunks in June of 2009. What the sad part is is that so many guys with great bodies choose to hide them in these over-sized ugly board shorts, instead of showing off their hard work in the gym to the rest of the beach. If you've got it flaunt it is almost appropriate in this case.

Though it is a tad late on the summer timeline, here are a few swim trunks that veer away from the all too familiar and sometimes boring solid swim trunk. Summer is about being spontaneous and ebullient, so why not show your inner happiness through what you wear on the beach!

1. Ralph Lauren Molokai 6" Floral Trunk - Jacobian Floral - $59.99; 2. Parke and Ronen - Chilmark Bikini - $90; 3. Ralph Lauren Molokai 6" Floral Trunk - Blue Paisley - $59.99; 4. Lilly Pulitzer - Capri Trunk - Daquiri Pink - $90; 5. Parke and Ronen - SSI Sunset Ivy 4" Swim Short - $95; 6. Parke and Ronen - NDM Navy Del Mar 4" Swim Short - $95

I really hope all of your summers have been nothing short of amazing and I am looking forward to transitioning with you all into Fall, my favourite season!

Keep It Cool

Temperatures are finally rising almost all over the northern hemisphere, bringing with them longer days, vacations and happy summers. If I were to ask anybody what their two least favourite things about summer were, the answer would most likely be heat and sweat.

Heat is definitely not an element we can adjust, other than running inside to the AC climate and sweat is  dependent on many biological factors like genetics, diet, weight and hormones. While the latter can be addressed in many ways, that will be covered in a future post.

What SoFla guys would look like without AC

Going back to heat, while it's not very easy to change the actual temperature of your surroundings, preventing its detrimental effects and how you physically feel it are definitely more approachable  issue. Sunlight, besides  its possibly harmful UV component, also brings heat to whatever it touches.Wherever you may be during the summer, you'll most surely feel the heat. Your body responds to heat by sweating, however this leaves the skin dehydrated and smelly, neither of which are desirable in our society.

Therefore, continuing on the same line as my previous post, Of Scents and Manly Sensibility, that dealt with using essential oils to manufacture your own natural products, I would like to introduce you to Men's Body Mists and how to prepare them for yourself.

Women have been using Body Mist for a while now and it's very likely you've seen one or more women extract a spray bottle out of her purse and spray it on her arms, legs and cleavage. What Body Mist essentially does is rehydrate the skin and mask some of the sweat's smell through addition of essential oils. What's left behind leaves your skin feeling refreshed and cooled. I can see how most guys would not feel comfortable doing that in the summer, so I won't push it on to you too much. But remember, dehydrated skin ages much faster than moisturized skin!

The general market does have a few options to offer when it comes to Men's Body Mists (same-ole-same-ole as Women's, maybe with use of other essential oils).

Silver Falls' Men's Body Mist - 4oz. - $8.5                                   Mailelani Men's Body Mist - 5oz.- $5

If you don't want to order it, or you would like to dry making it yourself from pure ingredients, here are two recipes I found online, on Snow Drift Farm's website.

Clear Body Mist I

This easy recipe uses polysorbate 20 to emulsify the mix. The perfumer's alcohol will clarify it. Leaves skin feeling cooled and lightly scented.

6 oz. perfumer's alcohol + 1 oz. perfumer's alcohol (set aside)
1 oz. polysorbate 20
1/4 tbsp ylang ylang
1/4 tbsp tangerine
Mix together the alcohol and polysorbate 20. You should have a clear mix. Add the EO's. You should have a turbid mix. Allow to sit for 12 hours. If the mix doesn't clarify, add another 1 oz. alcohol and allow to sit for
several more hours to clear.

HINT: Add a little glycerin to your facial, body and room sprays. It helps keep the water in place on your skin, and in a room spray, it helps the scent linger a little longer.

Clear Body Mist II

Add a little more perfumer's alcohol and polysorbate to emulsify absolutes and resinous oils such as patchouli.

8 oz perfumer's alcohol
2 oz. polysorbate 20
1/4 tsp. vanilla FO
1/4 tbsp jasmin absolute
1/4 tbsp patchouli EO

Mix all ingredients together. This should result in a clear mix. If not, allow to sit for several hours. If it still doesn't clear, add 1/2 oz. more alcohol.

Remember that as any recipe, a little divergence from the path can be quite rewarding. Experiment with different combinations of essential oils to produce something more to your liking. The Healthguide.org recommends Cedar-wood, Rosemary and Lavender for use in Men's products, however I absolutely love citrusy oils and also almond and peppermint scents.

Just Give Me Blue Skies, Sunshine, Love.

Spring is definitely supposed to be on its way and nothing makes me more happy than seeing the return of blue skies, of warm sunlight and of budding romances that blossom with the cherry trees.

Ralph Lauren - Garrison Wool Crested Blazer ( $1295 )

Spring/Summer 2010 will be an "Ode to Nature" where vibrant colours such as that of this beautiful Ralph Lauren Blazer will resonate with the warm weather.

Here are three of the proposed colour palettes for this following season. I can't say I can choose one over the other but definitely look into different possible combinations and chromatic artifices (palettes courtesy of FashionTrendSetter)

As coats became the new thing in fashion in Mrs Wintour's vision while designing the infamous September 2007 Issue of Vogue Magazine, this SS season, blazers are in for the natty urban gent.

Ralph Lauren - Maidstone Crested Sport Coat ( $198 )

Don't forget that straying away from the classical colours can sometimes make a statement no navy blazer could ever make. 

Beautiful Persian Orange Blazer - notice how the apparent brightness of the coat is subdued by the dark pants and the matching handkerchief

Roll Me Up In Spring

Roll me up in spring and summer,

Lift me way above the clouds,

Show me sounds of endless summer

Give me never-ending crowds.

For us lucky ones that don't live in the north-east of the U.S., the weather has been steadily improving, bringing with higher temperatures and sunny skies. This is one of the turning-points of the year in terms of fashion, as one transitions from the Fall/Winter wardrobe to the Spring/Summer one, and one of my favourite things about spring is that the weather is chilly enough at times to wear a few lightweight layers but warm enough that you can shed the heavy Fall/Winter wool blazers.

Something that I keep seeing here in Europe is guys rolling up not only their shirt sleeves now, but also the sleeves of their blazers and cardigans. And although the neophyte's first reaction might we wondering why not just take the blazer off if you're too warm, the actual reason behind rolling one's sleeves has nothing to do with the temperature outside.

The whole trick to doing it, as our friends as Fashionbeans.com put it is pushing the sleeves on the jacket to just below the elbow and then folding the sleeve until it covers the ribbing, all this while remembering to have your cuff done up.

This look first came into mainstream view by means of Miami Vice, although the t-shirt under the rolled-up blazer look is not the best of combinations. I would advise either wearing a polo underneath and thus eliminating the need to roll 2 sets of sleeves or sporting a lightweight shirt that won't bunch-up too much when rolled. As for bottoms, some nice shorts look best in my opinion( but please no cargo shorts, burn them if you own any) or a nice pair of chinos that complement the look and give tribute to spring and summer( think spring colours, earthy pastels this year). 

In terms of shoes, if you choose the shorts recommendation, I would suggest going sock-less and sporting either a pair of loafers or a pair of nice leather oxfords or brogues. If you're not a fan of that either, go with the all safe boat shoe.

Items are, in order from top to bottom, left to right: Rugby - COTTON JERSEY CLUB BLAZER ( $168), photo courtesy of The Sartorialist, Rugby - SKULL BUTTON NAVY SPORT COAT ($398), Rugby - FOOTBALL CLUB FLEECE BLAZER ($79.99), photo courtesy of Swagger NYC.

Are you UNIQLO?

Whether you live in SOHO or not, you should have heard of UNIQLO by now. This Japanese Brand has been slowly expanding in the West since its official opening in 2005 totaling 58 stores outside of Japan and has managed to impose itself on the US market despite it having only one store in SOHO, New York City. The amazing thing about this store is that all their items are under $100 without compromising the quality.

I had heard about UNIQLO a while back but it caught my attention again recently, when one of their suits was featured by Star Trek's Chris Pine in the June edition of GQ. I must admit I was a little surprised with how good the suit looked on the new Cpt. Kirk. Browsing around UNIQLO's website, it's a little hard to picture how the clothes they sell actually look like, when all you get is a picture of the item as if it were on a hanger. This is one of the things I find very annoying with some online clothing stores, UNIQLO included. They don't show their clothes on a real model, be it a mannequin, a hot new actor or any average Joe. It's true I can see where they could be coming from, not wanting to type-set the image of the brand by the physique, physiognomy or racial category of their models, as other brands like Ralph Lauren or Burberry do. But regardless of their reason, not seeing how the item you want to buy fits on the body is a great turn-off from actually purchasing anything. I'm surprised some clothing designers haven't done their online marketing research yet.

All business aside this azure/baby-blue summery whipcord suit is just the epitome of what a light modish suit should look like. What I like the most about it, past it slim on-the-body look, is that when paired with a white shirt the whole suit works together to bring all attention to one's face. A very interesting article I just read by GQ/Esquire writer-at-large Tom Junod talks about the influence his father's fashion tips and grooming advice have had in shaping him as a person. One of the tips that he considers most important and applicable is "always try to wear white to your face, never brown or grey". As you can see, the suit's light hued colour doesn't take all the focus, that together with the white shirt which slightly contrasts the rest of the suit and Chris' face creates a nice profile that accentuates his facial features and bronzed skin. All this at a very affordable price of $120(Coat + Pants) and little extra for possible alterations from a good tailor and you're still way under the price range of similar quality suits. You can order the coat ($79.50) and the pants ($39.50) separately or together directly from UNIQLO, by calling their NYC store at (877) 4-UNIQLO (toll-free) or e-mailing them at (917) 237-8811.