Memorial Day Weekend

When I began packing for a trip to New York City this past Memorial Day weekend and saw that the weather would be 80 and sunny two things crossed my mind. First was how can I fit 3 days of clothes into this new all-white duffle from H&M, second was that when we made it down to SoHo there are just going to be cork wedges floating all around these streets and I needed an outfit that, dare I say it, rivaled the cork wedge.

In case you've been living under a rock for the last decade, this is a cork wedge.

I know, tough to beat. However here's what I threw together to give these Women who know that men cannot resist these porous variation of the high heel.

Hat | Straw Fedora, $8.95 H&M

Shirt | Short-sleeve Linen button-up, Uniqlo $24.95

Shorts | White Linen Chino, H&M $24.95

Shoes | Boat Oxfords, Sperry $90

Accessories | Leather watch, Copper necklace, and oversized wayfarers (not pictured)

Everything is very light and airy because I wanted to look like a spring morning and also because we all know that Cork Wedge Season is also Sundress season, so light and airy is a must. The straw fedora is a mean look and if you open your eyes in NYC you will find that many people agree. Boston is coming around to the Spring fedora but you might get a look or two if you are outside the Newbury St. or Downtown Crossing areas.

When I wore this outfit down to SoHo on Memorial Day I didn't own this shirt, so I coupled it with a Lilac V-neck from Zara that worked out very nicely as well. Like any good outfit it's about commitment and in my opinion the Sperry Boat Oxfords just tie the whole outfit together. If you aren't ready for these shoes, a simple white canvas sneaker would suffice as well, but you should give these bad boys a look. The Cloud Series from Sperry is just amazing and possibly the most comfortable shoe I've ever put on, here's the same series in Brown and definitely my next purchase.

If you don't get a little tingly looking at these bad boys, you need to check your pulse.

So that's how to rock Memorial Day Weekend, or any spring afternoon where a walk is the activity of choice like a champion. So buy a pastel colored linen, wear a leather watch/bracelet to break it up, don't wear black, Swag the hell out of Spring and give every woman in a cork wedge that walks by something to look at.

Swag On

Committing to your outfit

In Boston I am seldom one-upped as far as attire goes. I am not even being arrogant here, its just not a very fashion forward city we live in, but progress is being made. That being said I clearly brought in the Silver medal at Foxwoods when I wore my new favorite look (the Ashton, thanks GabbyD) and my good friend/other half of the two-man-DJ team that is going to take over the world Jason Sifre rocked this.

On the off-chance you don't know him, he's the one in Pink

So there I am on the right, I know you are sick of looking at this outfit I apologize but I am literally obsessed with it. Jason, is the one in the Pink...with the bow-tie...a proper bow-tie I might add because like me, he dangers. See the commitment here? Just wearing a bow-tie to a wild occasion like Foxwoods with 1200+ classmates and you will probably look like a fool. But when you rock a dinner blazer with taped edges, simple pink shirt, and spend maybe 15 minutes on YouTube making sure you get that bow-tie perfect and you can make one hell of a scene.

Can you wear this outfit? Probably not. But the picture alone gives you 4 good examples of different dressed up looks.

1. Suit coat over fitted dress shirt and black pants

2. Simple pastel coloured button up and black pants

3. Dinner blazer with taped edges, bow-tie, and hot pink button up

4. Suit coat over untucked button up and dark wash jeans

From these 4 looks, all of which I consider a success on various levels, you should be able to look at what you wore and figure a thing or two out. My outfit? could have used a pop of color or accent with a pocket square Don Draper style.

Don Draper swag via Madison Avenue

Committing is an important part of any outfit. Pay attention to your details and don't be afraid to try small but wild accessories that set you so far apart from the crowd you can't help but get noticed.

"No one wears clothes for modesty, I'm all for breakin' necks"

Next time Foxwoods, because I will be back.

As we graduate and move forward, don't forget your Swag.

Swag On friends, Swag On.

You've invested in your education, now invest in a tailor

Waiting on pictures from a recent Foxwoods excursion, I am going to start it off with some mistakes I saw, that could be improved very easily. At the BU Senior event most of us decided to dress up. The girls looked amazing in high heels and dresses (yes, a pic will make it on here of that) and a lot of the guys wore suits.

Black, or navy blue, two-button suits with white shirts and a tie. While this is an essential albeit boring outfit for every man, the way to wear it properly is to make sure it fits.

Apolo Ohno, it can happen to anyone

Do you know why dress socks go so far up your leg? Because dress pants are supposed to stop at your shoes. Dress socks are designed so when you sit down and your dress pants naturally rise up your leg you don't show any skin. It's been this way forever, and won't change. The young persons solution to this dress-pants-sitting-down-dilemma is to buy them the same way they buy jeans: too big.

Having extra fabric so your inseams never pass your ankle sounds fine until you stand up and realize how frumpy you look. Get to a tailor and take those pants in. More than likely the 34/34 jeans you buy are the wrong size, same goes for dress pants. Buy a waist that fits because it is much more costly to take in a waste then simply hem a pant-leg.

The All-Black Maybach

See the pant lines? They fit close to the leg, and don't bunch at the bottom. See the suit coat? Bottom button is undone so when you sit/walk with a proper stride your jacket doesn't bunch or tug.

While I find this particular look a bit boring, it's still a great example of something that fits. Even the most expensive suits don't come off the rack fitted to your specific body so no matter what you dropped on that suit, spend the extra $50 and get it fitted. A good suit never goes out of style and you'll find many uses for it by changing a few small things. The all black look? Hope your going to a swanky restaurant ready to spend a bit of money because that's what this look says.

There's going to be a lottt of dress attire do's and don'ts coming up, so be ready and we'll get you looking like danger Formal this week.

Swag on grads, Swag on.

Sorority Formal Season

I will admit I am new to this one, but what a lucky S.O.B. I am to walk away from my first formal with this picture. There was a lot of pressure going to a formal with a good friend; needed to look good while keeping my title of, "that friend we have who is really into fashion."

I try not to panic, but I admit I did a little trying to figure out what to wear. Thankfully my date for the night had a request, a white shirt. ALRIGHT, that I can work with. However she didn't really say she wanted a white shirt, she sent me a picture of Ashton Kutcher and said "umm, look like this."

After trying on every combination of tie, suit, vest, blazer I own and Google imaging till my eyes bled, I pulled this outfit together. Here's a breakdown:

Shoes | Aldo black ankle boots - $115

Pants | Black Volcom dress pants (tailored skinny) - $75

Belt | Express - $35

Shirt | Express MX2 (love a good MX2 shirt) - $30 to $55

Coat | J. Ferrar suit coat - $120

Watch | Nameless, refer to this swag on post of everyday swagger

Big risk rocking up tie-less to a sorority formal where everyone (nearly anyway) is in full suit and tie. I knew my date was going to wear bright colors (God I love Spring and sundress season) and look like a million bucks. My job, don't draw to much attention to yourself and wear colors that look good and will almost never clash with your date's dress; black on white on light grey pinstripes.

Not sure how I pulled it off honestly. It doesn't hurt to have a picture with absolute stunners in it to distract you but A: Men don't crop out people from photos and B: They rocked totally different style dresses; one light and springy, the other dark and classy. Both looked amazing, neither clashed with what I had on. #bi-winning

I got lucky this round, so lets learn, look forward to sundress season, and swagg on

White Pants and Springtime nubucks

It's beautiful outside, and that means it's time to start looking like danger. Had a great experience shopping with Max Esposito and fellow fashionista Leah Garvin on Newbury Wednesday, and we went wild.

Here's my outfit for today, inspired by that afternoon on Newbury, lets break it down.

Shoes | English Laundry Oxford's in Grey Nubuck, $80

Pants | Zara Coloured Jeans in White, $40

Belt | Arbitrary brown belt that I didn't pay enough for and looks cheap, need to replace.

Shirt | Express Men's 1MX fitted in Light Grey | $40

Accessories | H&M

Sunglasses | Ray Ban New WayFarer RB2132 Black/Black, $120

So I wanted to look spring-ish without going overboard. The shoes, you can't really see but look a lot like this.

Simple oxford in nubuck, classy, but a little dangerous. The pants, woo, I took a leap of faith on this one. Max and Leah gave me the okay to purchase them and I'm really glad I did. The top is what gave me the most trouble, I wore the grey button-up because I didn't have a v-neck that was either white, black, or grey. I panicked and wore the button up, which was my first time wearing it because I consider it rather dull. But when you are wearing white jeans you can't just swag out with what ever the hell you want, you have to be careful. The line between "that idiot is wearing white jeans" and "wow, he looks good today" is a fine one.

Don't go overboard, but try new things always.

It's a beautiful day, walk down to Newbury and if you don't have the money, try some things on that are straight danger and find a new Spring look.

Never stop, and Swag On

Everyday watch, everyday hair, and Desert Boot season

So I decided to put up what I wore today, despite not having a complete pic of my outfit (but it is similar to my outfit fit from the first party bus, white button down and jeans)

Although I am excited for Boat Shoe Season, for those who danger it's also Desert Boot season, and that's something to get tingly about too.

I have a number of desert boots, but if this is your first time around the block, go with Clark's (the Original) like I did today

Now I decided to rock a solid cuff on my jeans, just because it's spring, it's finals, and I'm the only guy who is not going to be in sweatpants around BU, I though I would draw attention to myself.

Alright next up, my watch. I have maybe 5 because I like a variety and they don't bury you with your money so I continue to buy things I technically don't need. I love watches. A good picture of a watch is like porn, only to read on and find that a lot like Marisa Miller I can't afford the $xx,xxx price tag to have it in my life. So I started disecting what makes a watch look good. I found this nameless piece in NH and wear it more than my $300 and up watches.

This watch is clean, leather strap is key, strong bezel and even has a little weight to it which surprised me.

The last bit is something I have been fighting with for awhile. So I spike/flop my hair into some kind of BS fauxhawk, that I think looks decent. Now I don't suggest copying my hairstyle, but odds are you need some kind of paste/pomade/gel to get your hair to look the way you want.

I had been using CREW FIBER for awhile, but I prefer to do my hair every day and at $20 for 2oz, it was starting to cut into my shoe fund, which is unacceptable. I tried Garnier, Axe, Big Sexy Hair (also pricey) and finally came across THIS:

Suave Styling Paste | $3 (target)

Three dollars...When I saw the price tag I thought for sure it had to be a lie, or a terrible product. But I owed it to every guy out there who buys different kinds of gels every week and stays frustrated. This stuff is great, it might be as much as $4.50 at a CVS or Walgreens, but I would have gladly paid $10 for this. You need very little, and at sub-$5 you can look better everyday.

While writing this I cuffed my jeans above my ankles, just to try it out. We Danger.

Swag the fuck on people, happy warm weather days

$50 Oxfords and $85 Converse worth buying

So there's this unspoken rule that I'm about to break. More or less, you shouldn't buy sub-$100 shoes after college. This goes for all forms of shoe, running, dress shoes, casual shoes, $100 will get you a decent pair of kicks in any category. There is always the Chuck Taylor exception to this rule, where you think it's acceptable to drop $40 on a pair of classic chucks...Don't. Upgrade to Jack Purcell's for an extra $20 OR danger like I do and get something like this.

Jack Purcell Brogue Leather | $85

Broguing is just such a money-look on a good set of shoes, but I digress. So I was kicking around looking at shoes as usual and came across a pair of $70 marked down to $50 Docker Oxford's that I think are worth it. They are at Macy's and they are a classic, simple, brown oxford that may not last you as long a a $100 pair, but a go to pair of shoes you don't have to worry about, that also match 99% of your wardrobe seems like a decent idea to me.

Dockers Gordon Cap Toe Oxford | $50 (macys.com)

A brown cap toe oxford will never go out of style, matches nearly every set of pants you own, and can be dressed up or down for work or a night out. $50? That's 5 Long-Island Iced Tea's at best. Man up, and drop that half-century note on a timeless look from a quality company.

Keep it simple, keep it classy, and swag on.