Inspired by Isabelle’s talk of thunderstorms and rainclouds at Shiny Towers, I decided to source some foreign-focused fashion for those rainy-day dreams of tropical (and of course warm) destinations.
These t-shirts are (just in case you didn’t notice) based on posters and leaflets around Tokyo. Fashioned from 100% cotton, these could be based on pages from manga comics or, in the case of my fave, vintage propaganda banners shouting “Japan Create!” In bright colours and bold graphics, abandon any sense of gloom and widen your outlook with images of cartoons and lasers.
River Island isn’t exactly famed for being on-trend and it doesn’t pretend to be high fashion but let’s take a lesson from DJ Karl and embrace new things- be it high street or Grand Theft Auto 4.
Check out Shiny Media’s Christmas Present to you, part of our top 100 Fashion and Lifestyle blogs which we’re working on across our sites is the menswear top ten. Here they are in no particular order, enjoy!
Gear Crave Gear Crave is a stylish site crammed full of exciting product you will genuinely want to buy. It’s also goes easy on the clichéd machismo which is refreshing.
Style Salvage This site is unashamedly British and ‘indie’ (whatever that means nowadays!) and that’s why I love it. You can’t beat the Style Salvage for edgy yet accessible style musings for men.
It’s always a bit depressing when you see your heroes doing adverts; admittedly this French Vittel advert isn’t too bad but it still hurts to see the Thin White Duke hamming it up. Set in an imaginary flatshare he has with Ziggy Stardust and some of his other alter-egos Bowie is exasperated at their mineral water consumption (how selfish!) and wanders down the street to purchase another bottle of Vittel.
Mmm patent leather, the choice of the ladies’ (or man’s) man. I think more people should wear patent shoes, like Topman’s glossy red lace-ups (£45). You could slide up to your crush in a club a la main protagonist in Pulp’s Disco 2000 and go for a bit of leg swinging dance action. Very smooth. I think they’d look good with some flared slacks and a tight fitting shirt, and as a finishing touch add a fake leather belt from a charity shop with gold buckle. You will then surely be able to charm the pants off anyone you desire.
The word ‘Burton’ strikes fear into my heart, I immediately see identikit student types, the kind who appear on Shipwrecked and seem to think it’s ok to dress like a surfer. Even if you’re at university in Leeds, and it’s November. I’ve put my prejudices to one side for a second and tried to fine some nice things from Burton, they are after all one of the few high street stores for men. Steering clear of any t-shirt bearing the words retro, vintage, or anything in gothic script I managed to find this rather nice gingham shirt for £25. It seems like a similar cut to the flattering slim Topman shirts about so I reckon that’s a bargain. See after the jump for more Burton finds.
Get yourself down to Topshop this weekend because it’s cold outside and you need to look chic so look no further than their St Germain striped green and black cardigan (£35). Somehow the combination of minty green and black give such an air of aloofness that even if you decided to pair it with men’s leggings you’d give off icy cool vibes. See after the jump to find out what I’d wear it with.
Cult clothing label Cassette Playa have made a video showcasing their latest collection. Carrie Mundane, the brains behind the operation is apparently very busy working and playing computer games which goes to explain the pixelated characters and day-glo colours of her clothing range. She tells FUK on video that her clothes are like "going inside a computer game, you’re playing it so much you become the game." Mundane has worked as a stylist for M.I.A and dresses bands like the Klaxons and Trash Fashion.
Bobby Grindrod of Friends of the Bride was telling the Metro this morning about his love of dressing smart and dandyism. "I look at record covers mainly from the early ’70s" he said "They’re my influences, really; people such as Frank Sinatra and Bobby Gentry". The trendy young thing used to be a mod but found the rules of the dress code a bit too strict. He now prefers to stcik to the dandy style saying "It’s easy to be a dandy but much harder to be subtle about having that sort of strict style".
Japanese designer Yasuhiro Mihara’s latest collaboration with Puma throws up some pretty interesting things. Psychedelic patterns, gold leather, studs and rivet details gives your everyday sneaks an out-of-the-ordinary touch. Mihara also has his own shop in Japan, called Sosu (prime number) selling men’s and women’s clothing and accessories. My favourites from the Puma collection are the reptilian MY-25, they’ve got a fetishy touch but are kind of geeky at the same time. Fetish-geek, now there’s a new look!
Over at See Jack Shop he is discussing eyebrow grooming, but I’m not so sure that UK men are that up for some magnifying mirror and tweezer action. I’ve seen Japanese men with shaved eyebrows but apart from a few averted monobrow massacres and uber-gay men who also wear foundation you don’t see many groomed eyebrows. I can understand some careful snipping if you’ve got Healy-tastic eyebrows (see left), do you pluck your eyebrows?
I have a soft sport for Fly shoes, and at the moment Kurt Geiger have got some Fly Flag boots reduced to £45. It’s different without being try-hard, I like the utilitarian rubber heel and toe which is offset by the red stitching and golden suede. I also like the way they have a nostalgic feel without being to retro or costumey. Kurt Geiger have only got sizes 41, 42, and 43 left so best get your skates on if you love them as much as I do.
Joystick Junkies’ Space Invader tee is a brilliant way to pledge your allegiance to all things pixel-related. The design comes in a nifty foil print on a black ultrasoft tee. The company have got tons more computer/arcade game related tees and hoodies, so if Space Invaders wasn’t your thing you could sport for example, a 720 or Sensible Soccer tee. BUY IT
Check out Shiny Media’s Christmas Present to you, part of our top 100 Fashion and Lifestyle blogs which we’re working on across our sites is the menswear top ten. Here they are in no particular order, enjoy!
Mmm patent leather, the choice of the ladies’ (or man’s) man. I think more people should wear patent shoes, like 
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