Another year has gone. Time to come to our senses and get rid of things we thought made us look cool and fashionable but did just the opposite. And, time to start investing our hard-earned money on things that are timeless and classically stylish.
It's a new year and it's time once again for W.A.R. -- my annual What to Acquire and Retire list.
ACQUIRE:
1. French Cuffed Dress Shirts – These shirts, for me, are the ultimate in gentleman style. It’s the easiest way to get an instant upgrade. Not a lot of guys realize that this seemingly formal dress shirt can also be worn as smart or business casual with no tie and, yes, even paired you’re your favorite pair of jeans.
2. Cufflinks – When you stock up on French Cuff Shirts, you will obviously need at least a couple of cufflinks to match. Men have very few accessory options and cufflinks are one of them. It’s a nice detail to accentuate a crisp shirt paired with tailored flat front pants. Whether you’re conservative or edgy, there’s a pair of cufflinks that suits your personality.
3. Dress Watch – Another must-have accessory for the discriminating achiever is a good dress watch. Your watch is probably the best indicator of your status in life. As you become more successful and have a little more extra cash to spare, upgrade your timepiece to something you can actually pawn to bail you out when you find yourself in debt later on in life.
4. Tailored Shirts – For those of you who haven’t realized it yet, the era of wearing loose and frumpy shirts went away with pleated pants (which were the only types of pants that could tuck them in). You don’t have to be skinny to get tailored shirts. All you need is, well, a tailor. What sets tailored shirts apart from off-the-rack versions is that way it conforms to your specific body type, giving you the right silhouette and fit. Tailored shirts tuck in perfectly, without the blousy effect.
5. Corduroy Jacket – Celebrate the New Year and kick up your style a notch by adding another layer to your party wardrobe – a corduroy jacket. It’s a versatile piece that’s best worn with jeans or khakis. Choose a chocolate or dark brown color with fine to medium cords.
6. Dress Socks – Beef up your inventory of dress socks so you won’t ever have to wear sports socks with your slacks. If you’re still one of those who wear white sports socks with your office attire, get used to your salary, you’re not moving up for a while.
RETIRE:
1. Tie bar – I know, I know all the foreign men’s magazines are showing people wearing tie bars or tie clips with their slim ties, but honestly, have you ever seen anyone where this and not think, “What government office does he work at?” Sorry, this just doesn’t work the way they used to back in the 60’s. Peace!
2. Baller I.D.s – Enough of Lance Armstrong wannabes already. We have to bid goodbye to baller I.D.s the way we successfully snipped those pesky friendship bracelets off our wrists (and ankles). Besides, have you smelled your baller I.D. at the end of a long day? Nasty!
3. Fedoras – And pretty much all types head gear that’s not worn for sports, environmental protection reasons (i.e. extremely cold or hot weather) or as part of a period costume. Again, just because you see it being worn by your Hollywood idol or on the pages of foreign magazines, doesn’t mean you can pull it off. In the case of fedoras, it’s just plain T.H. (trying hard)!
4. Gold Buckle Belts – Nothing says “I’m old and outdated” better than wearing a gold buckle belt. It doesn’t matter if it’s branded and cost you an equivalent of a pair of shoes, when you wear one, you might as well clip a pager on it. Platinum is the new gold. Even the credit card companies know this.
I hope you all had an enjoyable and meaningful long holiday. Heard in the news, there'll be more of those this 2009. Happy New Year!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I Love This Cake!
It's one of those rare times I'm writing about something that's not related to Style and Grooming and I'm only really doing this to share my latest find with y'all.
It was my Mom's birthday yesterday, December 1, 2008 and I was looking for an extra special cake to give her. She's very picky with food so I was careful to choose something I'm sure she would love and not be able to say, "I can make a better one."
I saw a print ad of red Ribbon's new cake, their Coffee Walnut Bavarian, and the way it was described seemed to fit the bill of what I was looking for. And, I was not disappointed... and more importantly, neither was my Mom.
She loved how it was creamy but light at the same time; and the trace of Kahlua blending delightfully with the walnuts and chocolate chips was just perfect.
I learned from the people at Red Ribbon that this is only available for the month of December, so you cake lovers better hurry or it'll be another year before you taste this masterpiece.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Can You Smell Me?
Q: My carpoolmates think I wear too much perfume. They’ve actually requested if I can put on my perfume when I get to the office already. But I like wearing my perfume after I take a bath because I like to smell good and it makes me feel clean. Should I change my scent or look for other carpoolmates?
-- Andrew, Caloocan
A: I think you’re missing the message of your carpoolmates, amigo. They’re not complaining about the scent of your cologne per se, but rather how much you put on.
As a general rule, the best way to apply cologne is to keep it subtle – think appetizer portions vs. main course.
It’s easier to control your application when you use a spray-on cologne vs. one that comes in a regular bottle because the cologne is dispensed in less concentration and is regulated by the spray nozzle.
For spray-ons, position the spray nozzle one (1) foot away from your body and spray only twice; one on each side of your neck.
If you have a regular cologne bottle do not splash the cologne the way they do it in baby cologne TV commercials. Do not pour cologne out on your palm and apply from there. Use one finger over the bottle opening, tip the bottle over and evenly apply cologne on each side of your neck, just below your jaw line.
Too much cologne tells people you either didn’t take a bath or are overcompensating to hide body odor. So, in this case, less is more!
-- Andrew, Caloocan
A: I think you’re missing the message of your carpoolmates, amigo. They’re not complaining about the scent of your cologne per se, but rather how much you put on.
As a general rule, the best way to apply cologne is to keep it subtle – think appetizer portions vs. main course.
It’s easier to control your application when you use a spray-on cologne vs. one that comes in a regular bottle because the cologne is dispensed in less concentration and is regulated by the spray nozzle.
For spray-ons, position the spray nozzle one (1) foot away from your body and spray only twice; one on each side of your neck.
If you have a regular cologne bottle do not splash the cologne the way they do it in baby cologne TV commercials. Do not pour cologne out on your palm and apply from there. Use one finger over the bottle opening, tip the bottle over and evenly apply cologne on each side of your neck, just below your jaw line.
Too much cologne tells people you either didn’t take a bath or are overcompensating to hide body odor. So, in this case, less is more!
Loosen Up My Buttons, Baby!
Q: What do you think about shirts with button-down collars as an officewear or with a suit?
-- Stan, Greenhills
A: It’s perfectly fine for officewear with a tie and even for business casual. I’m not too hot about using button-downs for suits though unless the buttons are neatly hidden under the collars the way G2000 does it or using a snap on automatic button popularized by Giorgio Armani. Button-down shirts with visible buttons on the collars, for me, distract from the overall neat and polished look that you would like to exude when you’re wearing a suit.
-- Stan, Greenhills
A: It’s perfectly fine for officewear with a tie and even for business casual. I’m not too hot about using button-downs for suits though unless the buttons are neatly hidden under the collars the way G2000 does it or using a snap on automatic button popularized by Giorgio Armani. Button-down shirts with visible buttons on the collars, for me, distract from the overall neat and polished look that you would like to exude when you’re wearing a suit.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Revenge of the Nerds
I’m four-eyed and proud.
The anti-nerd movement in the 80’s gave glasses a bad image which caused most of the visually challenged to promptly trade theirs for contact lenses.
But now, with technology driving the Information Age, we are experiencing the real revenge of the nerd. We’ve all seen the triumphant return of Peter Parker and Clark Kent. Geek is now chic!
Personally, I really prefer glasses over contacts. Apart from the relief from all the discomforts from wearing contacts, like dry eyes, I find that glasses gives me more flexibility and options when it comes to the overall look I want to project.
If I need to look all serious and professional, I wear my silver, conservative frames, which go well with any business attire. For more casual or social functions, I go with the rectangular, horn-rimmed glasses my wife gave me for Christmas.
This pair matches most of my casual or night-out clothes, which tend to be dark-colored.
The face of your shape primarily dictates the frame that suits you best. The rule of thumb is to pick frames that provide a complimentary contrast to the shape and create balance for your face. See what comes closest to your own face with the following common shapes:
If you have a round face, you’d like your glasses to give you a thinner and longer appearance. Angular narrow eyeglass frames that are wider than they are deep, such as a rectangular shape, can achieve this for this facial type.
Because of its balanced proportions, the oval face is considered as the ideal shape. This is also the easiest and most flexible shape to pair with because most frames will tend to work. Frames that are as wide as the broadest part of the face (e.g. walnut-shaped) that are not too deep or too narrow work best.
Oblong shaped faces are longer than they are wide so the objective is to minimize the length to achieve the right balance and proportion. Choose frames that cover as much of the center of the face as possible in order to minimize the length.
If you have a square face, you’d like frames that can make your face look longer and your jaw lines. Frames that have more width than depth and narrow ovals complement this facial type.
This is also sometimes referred to as a base-up triangle shape. If this is your face, your objective should be to minimize the width of the top of the face. Frames that are wider at the bottom and use very light colors and materials can achieve this for you. Rimless frame styles also work best on this face type.
The Base-Down Shape is the opposite of the heart-shaped face, where the face has a narrow forehead that widens at the cheek and chin areas. To balance out the broader lower part of the face, favor frames that are heavily accented on the top region like those that are semi-rimless (heavy top, and no frame at the bottom).
In choosing the color of your frames, eyewear experts say to consider eye color; but, since Pinoy eyes generally just come in either black or brown, what’s important to consider is for the color of your frames to reflect your personality and what will match 80% of your wardrobe.
The anti-nerd movement in the 80’s gave glasses a bad image which caused most of the visually challenged to promptly trade theirs for contact lenses.
But now, with technology driving the Information Age, we are experiencing the real revenge of the nerd. We’ve all seen the triumphant return of Peter Parker and Clark Kent. Geek is now chic!
Personally, I really prefer glasses over contacts. Apart from the relief from all the discomforts from wearing contacts, like dry eyes, I find that glasses gives me more flexibility and options when it comes to the overall look I want to project.
If I need to look all serious and professional, I wear my silver, conservative frames, which go well with any business attire. For more casual or social functions, I go with the rectangular, horn-rimmed glasses my wife gave me for Christmas.
This pair matches most of my casual or night-out clothes, which tend to be dark-colored.
The face of your shape primarily dictates the frame that suits you best. The rule of thumb is to pick frames that provide a complimentary contrast to the shape and create balance for your face. See what comes closest to your own face with the following common shapes:
If you have a round face, you’d like your glasses to give you a thinner and longer appearance. Angular narrow eyeglass frames that are wider than they are deep, such as a rectangular shape, can achieve this for this facial type.
Because of its balanced proportions, the oval face is considered as the ideal shape. This is also the easiest and most flexible shape to pair with because most frames will tend to work. Frames that are as wide as the broadest part of the face (e.g. walnut-shaped) that are not too deep or too narrow work best.
Oblong shaped faces are longer than they are wide so the objective is to minimize the length to achieve the right balance and proportion. Choose frames that cover as much of the center of the face as possible in order to minimize the length.
If you have a square face, you’d like frames that can make your face look longer and your jaw lines. Frames that have more width than depth and narrow ovals complement this facial type.
This is also sometimes referred to as a base-up triangle shape. If this is your face, your objective should be to minimize the width of the top of the face. Frames that are wider at the bottom and use very light colors and materials can achieve this for you. Rimless frame styles also work best on this face type.
The Base-Down Shape is the opposite of the heart-shaped face, where the face has a narrow forehead that widens at the cheek and chin areas. To balance out the broader lower part of the face, favor frames that are heavily accented on the top region like those that are semi-rimless (heavy top, and no frame at the bottom).
In choosing the color of your frames, eyewear experts say to consider eye color; but, since Pinoy eyes generally just come in either black or brown, what’s important to consider is for the color of your frames to reflect your personality and what will match 80% of your wardrobe.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Beach
The beach used to be a place you could escape from everything – where you can wear anything you like, be who you really are and no one will care. Nowadays, that’s just not the case anymore.
Summer is the time when finding parking in Manila’s usually full clubs and bars is a little easier. Why? Well, it’s the time of the year when the city’s beautiful people and bonafide partyfiles trade concrete for sand – it’s one big soiree! So, if you’re one of those who will make this annual pilgrimage to Boracay, Bohol or Palawan you wouldn’t want to be caught dead looking like a castaway. Following then are some things you may want to consider to be a beach DUDE instead of a beach dud.
1. PREPARE YOUR BODY
In this age of abs worship and healthy living, guys need to prepare for the beach the way women lose weight for their wedding. This is your chance to show people the results of those long and hard hours at the gym. Consider that you will be half-naked for a good 70% of the time. No one wears t-shirts while swimming anymore; okay, maybe I know two…
Preparing your body is not about getting 6-pack abs or being runway model fit; though, that wouldn’t hurt. It’s just about looking overall healthy. Those love handles that most of us have are okay. You know you’ve got a bit more work to do if people mistake you for the Michelin Man.
It would also save you the stares if you would shave, trim or wax off lush body hair growing on your chest, back and treasure trail. I hate to be the one to break the news to some of you, but the Austin Powers look is not mojoreffic, baby.
2. WEAR THE RIGHT SWIMWEAR
Let’s get this out of the way… no matter how much of a swimmer’s body you have (or even if you’re a real swimmer) skimpy Speedos™ have no place in the beach.
Ask yourself, would you walk around in public in your briefs?
Okay, so you’re being smart and you ask back, well, how come it’s okay for women to wear a two-piece bikini? And the answer -- it’s because they look hot in them, duh! A short survey also showed that men want to see women in skimpy bikinis, while majority of women don’t even want to or are even embarrassed to look at men wearing Speedos™. So if the girls ain’t looking, who’s checking you out (wink)?
All’s not lost though for this water-proof brief… we’ll get to that in a minute.
So what to wear in the beach? Stick to the trusty board shorts; now made more contemporary with a slimmer cut and comes in 4” or 8” length. If you’re vertically challenged, favor the 4” length shorts if you don’t want to look like you’re wearing cut-offs.
One of the hippest, but sadly not locally available, swim wear brands right now is Parke & Ronen. Check out their website (http://www.parkeandronen.com/) to get an idea of the different board shorts styles that suit you and just get the closest local equivalent.
3. HIDE THE BULGE
Very few, and we’re talking 1 out of the 35 guys I asked, go commando (i.e. wear no form or type of underwear) under their board shorts. And, the main reason, to “keep from flopping around” and letting other people know just exactly what size you are; don’t forget the water can get cold.
By now, you should have figured out that when you get out of the water, your shorts will cling on you like Glad Wrap™. So, if you’re not wearing anything under, you might as well not be wearing anything at all.
This is where Speedos™ actually come in handy. Instead of wearing ordinary briefs, which are not tight enough and can also fall off, using Speedos™ as your swim underwear not only keeps your manhood from prying eyes, they also give your crown jewels better protection against jellyfish or other curious sea creatures looking for new habitat.
The beach is the human species’ watering hole, where all gather to congregate and cool off from the scorching sun. And, much like what happens with our animal counterparts, this seasonal gathering also becomes the venue for displaying our natural attributes that allow us to attract and/or keep our mate. So as you pack your bag for your white sand getaway make sure you, well, “BRING IT”.
Summer is the time when finding parking in Manila’s usually full clubs and bars is a little easier. Why? Well, it’s the time of the year when the city’s beautiful people and bonafide partyfiles trade concrete for sand – it’s one big soiree! So, if you’re one of those who will make this annual pilgrimage to Boracay, Bohol or Palawan you wouldn’t want to be caught dead looking like a castaway. Following then are some things you may want to consider to be a beach DUDE instead of a beach dud.
1. PREPARE YOUR BODY
In this age of abs worship and healthy living, guys need to prepare for the beach the way women lose weight for their wedding. This is your chance to show people the results of those long and hard hours at the gym. Consider that you will be half-naked for a good 70% of the time. No one wears t-shirts while swimming anymore; okay, maybe I know two…
Preparing your body is not about getting 6-pack abs or being runway model fit; though, that wouldn’t hurt. It’s just about looking overall healthy. Those love handles that most of us have are okay. You know you’ve got a bit more work to do if people mistake you for the Michelin Man.
It would also save you the stares if you would shave, trim or wax off lush body hair growing on your chest, back and treasure trail. I hate to be the one to break the news to some of you, but the Austin Powers look is not mojoreffic, baby.
2. WEAR THE RIGHT SWIMWEAR
Let’s get this out of the way… no matter how much of a swimmer’s body you have (or even if you’re a real swimmer) skimpy Speedos™ have no place in the beach.
Ask yourself, would you walk around in public in your briefs?
Okay, so you’re being smart and you ask back, well, how come it’s okay for women to wear a two-piece bikini? And the answer -- it’s because they look hot in them, duh! A short survey also showed that men want to see women in skimpy bikinis, while majority of women don’t even want to or are even embarrassed to look at men wearing Speedos™. So if the girls ain’t looking, who’s checking you out (wink)?
All’s not lost though for this water-proof brief… we’ll get to that in a minute.
So what to wear in the beach? Stick to the trusty board shorts; now made more contemporary with a slimmer cut and comes in 4” or 8” length. If you’re vertically challenged, favor the 4” length shorts if you don’t want to look like you’re wearing cut-offs.
One of the hippest, but sadly not locally available, swim wear brands right now is Parke & Ronen. Check out their website (http://www.parkeandronen.com/) to get an idea of the different board shorts styles that suit you and just get the closest local equivalent.
3. HIDE THE BULGE
Very few, and we’re talking 1 out of the 35 guys I asked, go commando (i.e. wear no form or type of underwear) under their board shorts. And, the main reason, to “keep from flopping around” and letting other people know just exactly what size you are; don’t forget the water can get cold.
By now, you should have figured out that when you get out of the water, your shorts will cling on you like Glad Wrap™. So, if you’re not wearing anything under, you might as well not be wearing anything at all.
This is where Speedos™ actually come in handy. Instead of wearing ordinary briefs, which are not tight enough and can also fall off, using Speedos™ as your swim underwear not only keeps your manhood from prying eyes, they also give your crown jewels better protection against jellyfish or other curious sea creatures looking for new habitat.
The beach is the human species’ watering hole, where all gather to congregate and cool off from the scorching sun. And, much like what happens with our animal counterparts, this seasonal gathering also becomes the venue for displaying our natural attributes that allow us to attract and/or keep our mate. So as you pack your bag for your white sand getaway make sure you, well, “BRING IT”.
Face Your Problem
Q: My girlfriend has been telling me to get a facial. She says it will improve my complexion and make me look younger. I haven’t done it because I think it’s a total waste of money and I think it’s so gay. Am I right?
-- Richie, Quezon City
-- Richie, Quezon City
A: I’ve never been a fan of facials myself. Not for the reasons you site though, but I just don’t like my face being touched by a stranger; most especially if they are not a certified dermatologist. That said, though, I am an advocate of men taking care of their face and skin.
If you think about it, we need to be more conscious of facial care because of the tremendous stress we subject our faces to by shaving everyday and generally being more exposed to the sun, the elements (e.g. dust) and pollution vs. our lady loves.
Read between the lines, mister. It’s not about having a facial. What your girlfriend is really telling you is that you’re beginning to look old and weary. Since us men like the D.I.Y. (Do-It-Yourself) concept when it comes to fixing things, let me give you a simple D.I.Y. routine to rejuvenate your skin -- cleanse and moisturize at least twice a day. And, when you’re ready for the next level, you can throw in “exfoliate” in the process. I’m not there yet.
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