Manolo for the Men Fashion and Lifestyle Advice for Men

March 24, 2013

The Growth of Men’s Fashion

Filed under: Men's Fashion — theMaterialist @ 10:20 pm

For many years, fashion has been the domain of women. The major fashion shows around the world were geared towards women with designers creating extravagant haute couture dresses and clothes for females. In the past, men’s fashion always seemed to take a back seat but with demand increasing, things are slowly beginning to change. The fashion industry has finally discovered the huge marketing potential in men’s fashion and at the same time, more males are becoming increasingly style-conscious. Even men, who may not appear to be so interested in clothing combinations from the outset, grumble at the limited selection of options they have in stores that cater for both male and female fashions. Sociologically, this could be due to a whole range of reasons, from urbanization to the glamorization of top sport stars.

Business fashion and accessories
There is, in fact, one exception within the fashion realm in which men have always played a dominant role and that is the business suit. In the corporate world, dress codes are geared towards men and there are clear and precise guidelines on what that includes. For many years, the sector has been and in a certain way still is a male dominated sector. This is a trend which has found its way into the business fashion world. For men, this brings the huge advantage that one always knows exactly what to wear. Even if the dress code for a business invitation is not precisely stated, one can be sure to always be on the safe side with a suit and a tie. After all, in more corporate sectors it is always better to be slightly overdressed than the other way around.

While the streamlined business fashion for men has the advantage that not much time and effort is spent on finding the right outfit, it also makes it somewhat difficult for the style-conscious man to set himself apart and create his own unique style. Here is where stylish accessories can come into place and create that unique look that will get the wearer noticed. The most stylish and popular accessories are, without a doubt, stylish luxury watches. For example, sophisticated men’s watches by Ulysse Nardin match almost any business suit and are a statement of style and confidence. It is the unique combination of fine craftsmanship, art, technology and functionality that make high-end watches the perfect accessory for the business world.

March 12, 2013

The Monkstrap for Men

Filed under: Shoes — Harry X @ 10:18 pm

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about monkstrap shoes, mainly because they appear to be the men’s shoes of the moment, and because they occupy a unique place on the fashion spectrum. Monkstraps are what I would call shoes of intermediate formality; more formal than loafers, but less formal than wingtips or cap-toe oxfords. And because of this, you can wear them with almost anything from all but the most formal suit, to trousers and sports coats, or even jeans if you’re bold enough.

In my mind, however, the monkstrap’s strongest associations are academic. I think of it as something worn by smartly-dressed English professors in brown tweed suits, the sort of shoe that is exactly fussy enough, and exactly stylish enough to make you want to read poetry out loud to a classroom of lovely young coeds.

MensDesignerShoe.com has a wide selection of monkstrap shoes. Here are three of my favorites:

Moreschi Bristol Calfskin Monkstrap

The Moreschi Bristol Calfskin Monkstrap in black or brown, is a simple, luxurious, traditional Italian monkstrap. I love that brown color.

Santoni Suede Double Monkstrap

Double monkstrap shoes are especially hard to pull off without seeming overly dandyish. However, the suede finish of this double monk strap from Santoni negates some of that.

Stemar Cremona Suede Monkstrap

Finally, if suede is your thing, I very much like these simple single monkstrap shoes, the Cremona from Stemar, as being something that you could wear everyday, with a huge variety of outfits.

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