En Vogue in Brown Brogue

Energy lost. That's all I can sum up the mood of this morning when I woke up wanna go to the office. Feel a bit drained since I forgot to take my dinner last nite, due to membuta right after Isya' straight into the morning. Thank God these days Isya' is so early before 8.30 pm; which is perfect to doze off after the prayer. Yesterday it's so damn tiring - too much going on in the day that I don't even bother to finish my lunch (it's still in the tapau thing in my fridge, though!). Oh, did I say I forgot my dinner? Sort of coz I had three donuts earlier since the Big Apple Aliens are still in stock kept in my cold storage. But c'mon... I should ate something nonetheless coz that's how I can maintain this weight, right?

Thankfully today is my casual Thursday, so my timetable is empty - only that I have to focus on my research as my other Thursdays are. And the mood is also going a bit underwhelm since no meeting with the earth dwellings are in my schedule. That's why i chose to be looking a bit rustic with a little twist.

If one of my 'underwhelm' Thursday I've chosen the Paul Smith grey lace-up brogues, today I went for its sibling - the chocolate brown. I bought this at Paul Smith's online store last year's Summer Sale when the shoes went marked down like I can't believe it was. Without hesitant I hit the 'BUY' button and a couple of days later it arrived safely to my home at Tottenham. (pronounce as Tot-nem okay... unlike some newsreader here call it Tot-ten-hem. Baaahaha! *gelak guling2*) 

And to go along with it is none other than the grey suit by River Island, paired with the dark choc slim shirt by COS and the wool tartan tie from Uniqlo. I love pairing the grey ensemble with a brown shoes, coz that's how your GQ style point would be judged really. Grey + black - that's too common. Grey + dark grey shoes - that's too streamlined. But grey + brown - ding! There's a new dapper in town!

Oh, btw... while you're reading this I already change my suit to black. Why... coz it seem I'm not feeling the vibes anymore when afternoon come. Need to look much edgy than this morning though! (boleh tukar2... mcm vampire dlm Twilight pulak yer? ahaks!)

to go along with the choc brown theme this morning is the brown leather strap watch by Pulsar

Shoe of the Day

Is today Monday? Oh, no... it's Thursday. Man, I was contempt to believe today is Monday given that it was actually a 'weekend' yesterday. Or to be exact, the Deepavali break. Suddenly it was a bit deja vu to have that 'Monday blues' feeling again. Yet, anyhow it was a relief to realise that there'll be another day for work before the weekend arrives. Sooo ecstatic though, coz something BIG is gonna happen this weekend.... (what's that? I shouldn't tell).

Since today it was practically a 'Research Only' day for me in the office, I can go a bit underwhelm when it comes to accessorizing. No meeting with people, no attending seminars, no human contact whatsoever, It's just me being in the office and started crunching numbers in front of the PC and reading all those journal papers. So, I decided to wear the grey suit again; and to go with that is by pairing it up with the dark grey lace-up Miller brogues by Paul Smith. Quite understated polished-meet-rustic look of the day.

What I love about the brogue is the dip-dye element of the leather material which happen to be hand-colored by the shoemaker. It brought a hint of rustic feel to it. I also like the almond toe, the punched wingtip details on the shoe front, and the extra little neat features like the floral innersoles and the red tip  behind the ankle. It adds some fun factor to the otherwise plain brogue. I think it does bring the underwhelming feel that I wanted for the day. Just to blend in without being too prominent (like I used to!).

Oh, tonite I'm planning to go to the Deepavali 1Malaysia Open House at Little India in Ipoh. What should I wear? Hmmm... the embroidered churidar kurta I presumed. :)

Which Leather Wallet Are You?

If someone really into psychology stuff, then he or she might've been able to read someone's personality based on their wallet. Wallet is not just a thing to store your money, coins or credit cards - it's also a symbol of style. An epitome of your inner soul which is an evidence how you project yourself. It's also a portrayal your wealth status - how thick is your wallet seldom perceived as someone who is 'loaded', while a thin wallet is erm... quite skint. Yet, this could be an exception though since some 'loaded' people like to go out without any cash notes inside since nowadays the payment system are mostly cashless. Even me myself, I hate to bring lots of cash since it'll make my pocket even heavier to carry!

And about the material, leather or fabric, these could also tell who you are. To me someone who still uses a fabric-type wallet, he's not a true adult. Still kids in his mind, since only teenagers and kids are the one who uses those stuff. Buy a leather wallet instead coz leather is perceived as more serious manner, plus leather tend to age gracefully over the years that make them much supple to touch.

Anyway, which type of wallet are you? Bi-fold, tri-fold, zippered? Or just a card wallet instead? I'm using the long wallet - the Brazza from Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite collection, which is so versatile coz there's everything in there: multiple credit card slots, many cash compartments, plus the zippered case for coins which I think is the best I could get. I love the color which is very masculine from LV signature canvas fabrication (with leather inner lining). It might not be any men's choice, coz so many times it get mistaken as women's wallet. Even my niece used to say, "eeee... macam beg pompuan!" Tak kesah la beb. Maybe next, I probably get the Taiga Brazza, coz the textured leather is very nice. And for casualwear, I like using the leather zipper wallet from Jimmy Choo x H&M. At least it fits well into my pocket unlike Brazza! 

[pix from mr. porter]

My pick for the casual wear? The Jimmy Choo x H&M leather zipper wallet.

Stripes Socks

James Marsden in the previous August Men March 2011 issue. (Pardon for the cropped photo coz the other half is on the other page of the mag!).

I love the pairing up of stripes socks with the navy-soled brown shoes. Kinda fresh take on how to wear the shoes in a non-traditional way. I presumed that the socks are from Paul Smith, who's known for its nice looking collection of stripes, varies from monochrome to multicolored. If you search online or in-stores, you might be lucky to get 'em discounted as it fly off the shelves very fast.

Looking at the pair - I love that at least the blue on the socks quite match the blue scheme on the sole, which anchor the look together. Freshly brilliant.

scanned pix from august men march 2011

A Bike on Your Cuff

My colleagues at the uni has a new craze right now: cycling. It's a massive craze that they have many cycling activities going on for months now which is quite astonishing. From the 40-km ride that they had earlier this year, to the one climbing up the hill which saw not many people to conquer (coz most are ...ehem.. big size!) and even cause injury, to the jamboree with the gathering of various cyclists throughout the country. Truly, this is a huge craze. Nevertheless, I think cycling is an awesome sport coz not only your stamina is tested, but it's a great exercise to the lower body section too. Don't believe me? Then ride a bike now and go up a hill... then you probably have a good idea of what I mean!

A friend of mine, H, keep on asking me when am I gonna buy a bike? Coz apprently he recently bought one though his cycling is only limited to his neighborhood area. I asked how much he has to pay to get a good bike. It's a cracking RM2700! (almost £600) Just for a bike, are you kidding me? I'd rather buy another iPad2 for that price! Then I can download any cyling app, so that I won't have to ride an actual one, ahaks!

I know back there in London cycling is also a big thing. They even have a special bicycle lane on the side of the road coz so many people like the idea of healthy living and going green. The Mayor Boris Johnson is a keen cyclist, and even chase a thug one time with his bike. David Cameron also always cycle to work, prior his job as a Prime Minister (now he wouldn't have to do it anymore, right... coz his office is right down the house at No. 10!). And I heard you can also find huge number of bike in Holland as well as in the worl'd most-populated city, China.

Btw, if you're not a keen cyclist or the one who think spending RM2700 for just a piece of two-wheel, you might wanna get this bike instead. Cost very less (and size very small), it's the bicycle cufflinks from Paul Smith in black enameled metal, and Shanghai Tang in silver. These one for sure will 'ride' on your cuff in style. And the best part - you won't have to worry about the punctured tyre! 

 

Bicycle cufflink from Paul Smith @ Mr. Porter.

'Traditional' bicycle cufflink from Shanghai Tang.

Spring Trend: Print Shirts

One of the biggest trend for Spring is print shirts. It never fail to reappear every year since it has become a staple not only in the fashion magazines and on runways, but also in real life by which people wear it on the streets. In fact I think it even started to become a seasonless thing as it also seen in some fall/winter collections.  

Nowadays prints not only focused on the classic florals, but has elevated into diversity. The silhouettes of animals, shapes of flying butterflies, splattered paints, micro polka dots and stars, and even aeroplanes has made its way into creatively forming some kind of prints on men's shirt. Some examples are shown here, taken from Mr. Porter website - showing that men also is no more afraid to look fashionable in prints (just like moi in previous floral shirt).

So, which one is your choice? The one by Richard James looks pretty cool. Kinda have that McQueen vibes in the SS11 collection. If you want something much bolder butterflies, you might find it at Roberto Cavalli (as being worn by Arthur Sales in the ad campaign). 

[pix from mr. porter]

Highstreet Vs. High End: Knitted Tie

The last time I wore my knitted tie to the office, my colleague, R, asked whether what I'm wrapping around my neck is socks. "Kau pakai stoking ker?"  She asked. I think it's funny coz I can't blame her when she mentioned that since my tie does look like a pair of socks in a way. Probably because both share the same 'attributes' - they're both knitted!

My encounter with knitted ties is not too long ago - back in 2008 - when I dropped by at Uniqlo Oxford Street and found they got a great collection of knitted ties in various colors. There's horizontal stripes, plain and dotted pattern. And yes, they're all have 'blunt' square in the end. And one of them is this one. (click here to read previous post).

What I'm quite surprise is that Paul Smith also has a similar version of the 'dotted' pattern in the new SS11 collection. The look and all is almost similar, if not the same, with the one that I got from Uniqlo. While this Paul Smith cost a whopping £84, my highstreet knitted tie cost only £7! See the price difference? So, which one would you choose? Only you can decide. 

Btw, if you look closer, the dotted pattern resembles 'hearts'. Brilliant, don't you think?

Going Brogue BigFat Style

Chelsea Boots: What's Your Choice?

Chelsea boots. It's the best of all footwear that any man could wear. A quick one to slip in too since there's no need to mess around with the laces. I, myself have more than 15 pairs of Chelsea boots - and I think they're the best investment for the support of down under. I think wearing a pair of Chelsea boots benefits in many ways: 1. there won't be any trouble of people stepping the back of the shoes when you walk unlike if you wear loafers or lace-ups. 2. you can easily fix the 'trousers length-to-shoe' issue, a problem that I sometimes encounter if the pants is too long that the end gathers too much on the ankle side - so, wearing Chelsea boots can easily fix that. 3. They're versatile since it can go both ways, casual or formal. And 4.Wearing boots will make you look rock'n roll. Definitely!

With so many Chelsea boots out there, which would be your choice?

[pix from mr porter]