17th March 2010
Article by: Jacob Kamara
Accessories are a fantastic way to liven up a plain (boring) outfit. With summer coming and hopefully a bit of heat (however doubtful that seems), the ability to layer and add things like scarves etc to perk up an outfit goes out the window. This is where the accessory comes in to play.
I wear brooches a lot, mostly because they’re so easy – pin it on and off you go. The best part of using a brooch to accessorise your threads is that you can make them yourself. I have brooches made out of an array of little items, from fridge magnets to the innards of old watches, even computer chips. It’s so easy. You can buy brooch pins for literally pennies, add a touch of super glue and in a few minutes you have yourself a new, one-off brooch.
With the Grunge trend still staying strong for SS10, chains are another good way to accessorise. One day during Fashion week I wore a 3 piece suit. Sure it was nice and dapper, but still just a charcoal suit. What did I have to pimp this bad boy out? Lots of necklaces, a 1930’s type hair piece and a few leather bracelets. Hmm! After a bit of rearranging, I had a chain embellished body harness and a feathered pocket chain.
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16th March 2010
Article by: Duncan Copeland
My fellow FashionBeans writer Yvadney recently noted that one of the big up coming trends for spring is taking your look back to simple, no nonsense masculine style. So when penning my grooming article for this week, I thought what better way to compliment this trend than with the most masculine of accessories, the beard.
I know, I know, it was only last week that I was championing the advantages of a great shave. But don’t worry, I’m not abandoning my grooming credentials and auditioning for part in Castaway II, growing and maintaining a beard takes just as much knowledge and attention as the perfect shave. But before we delve into the grooming theory, you need to acquaint yourself with some shining examples of what a good beard looks like, and some horror show examples of what to avoid.
The Good…
These gents, most of them style icons in their own right, are perfect examples of how to do facial hair properly. There are some very different beards styles here, but there is one constant throughout – they are all well cared for and very well groomed. Kanye shows us how to detail impeccably, Russell demonstrates that even with a bad hair cut, you and your beard can look great, while Prince William proves that if the future King of England can pull off a beard, then anyone can.
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12th March 2010
Article by: Jacob Kamara
Fashion week around the world is a place where fashionistas can spread their avant-garde, fashion wings. London Fashion Week AW10 was no exception.
LFW saw men take on skirts, fur, even heels, in fact this year the male of the species was definitely not fading into the background. Imagine a beautiful, country manor house surrounded by peacocks; that would be the best way to describe Somerset House on Menswear day.
There were times when I just sat, drank coffee, (*ahem*, Champagne) and watched people strut around in their killer heels, plumage and all.
I know not all of you guys want to look like a bird that’s so full of itself it hurts. And practicality prevents us from strutting down the street in a pair of architectural laser cut heels.
So I have carefully selected some great, slightly less avant-garde street style looks from this year, which you can adapt and interpret into your own style. Enjoy…
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8th March 2010
Article by: Luke Todd
Introduction
Time to be shady about events.
It happens twice every year, four if you’re a real stickler, but leave the pedantic geography teacher at the door. I’m talking about seasonal change. No matter how prepared you anticipate you are; you never are. The first day that the sun arrives is the day it all goes tits up.
You end up fighting with the single Mum holstering two melting, sticky ice lollies for the best spot on the green. She, at the same time, seems to be employing her shins to carry her two brats from; both of whom are in equal stickiness. The sun, in all its rarity seems to bring about a plunder of nostalgia amongst middle aged men turning the park into Vietnam with Frisbees and badly monitored chest hair. And you can’t help but notice the whale from across the way that may as well sun-screen her back with a paste brush for efficiency. But don’t worry about that just yet. It is not of course until you stand in complete cynicism of your Summer wardrobe that you realise “you weren’t ready were you?”
A true gentleman would approach his Summer wardrobe the same as he would his Winter: with care and intelligence and with a heavy advancement about it. He would define who he is, who he wants to be, what trend he will emanate. He would write all of this down. Then he would throw it away.
A man who carries himself with dignity and pride will define who he is through his actions. He will only want to be who he has become. And he will characterise the trend, not allow the trend to characterise him.
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5th March 2010
Article by: Ben
Hello loyal readers, it’s been a while! How have you all been? Enough with the small talk, you are here for one reason and that is fashion. As you may of noticed I have taken an extended break from doing what I love, and that is writing articles for this great site. This is because I have been secretly redesigning parts of the site and planning new and exciting features for it. It has taken a while and is still very much a work in progress, but I am sure the end result will all be worth it as we become even more interactive and hopefully easier to use. My writing team have done an excellent job of covering all the new trends and collections in my absence, so I hope you have been as impressed with them as I am.
With that out of the way, I want to cast your gaze toward what I feel is an essential item for this Spring/Summer… the denim shirt. As you may have read on this site, the denim shirt has become increasingly popular in the fashion circles towards the end of 2009 and now right into 2010 as many of the catwalk previews heavily featured denim for S/S 10 (check out the D&G show below for example). I personally picked up on the trend early last year and fell in love with the new types of denim shirt. No longer do you have to be a stereotypical cowboy as there are so many styles, washes and types of denim shirts around. Whether you are looking for something light and ‘airy’ like a chambray/cotton mix or something thick and heavy to use as an oversized jacket, you will find it within the highstreet and designer collections this year.
This new versatility in the denim shirt is what has made it essential. In the look book today you will find casual looks, formal looks, and relaxed formal looks as I show you how you can mix it with items already in your wardrobe. We need to be aware of the double denim basics throughout the article, but like I have mentioned, there are more washes than ever to mix and different cuts which can give off a very different aura depending on how you use them. By the end of the article I hope to have you all convinced that this is a look you can own this year.
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3rd March 2010
Article by: Luke Todd
Style Shrink Introduction
“So tell me when you first developed your fear of socks and sandals…”
Over the next few months you will see the FashionBeans site grow even bigger and sexier. And the writers… well they’ll just grow sexier and sexier.
I’d love to be able to tell you all the exciting upcoming features that are going to be added to the site but if I told you I’d have to kill you; and steal your shoes. –Mainly because Ben would kill me… and steal my shoes.
And I like my shoes!
But because I love you (and Ben is yet to find out where I live) I will let you in on one little secret. Dedicated to the sartorial stylings of you dapper chaps, I will preview what will soon become a regular on-site feature: Ask the expert.
There is usually an article on FashionBeans for everyone, for every style, for every occasion. But sometimes there is just one pressing question, one fashion conundrum, one potential lawsuit that troubles you. Thankfully, we can help with two out of those three!
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1st March 2010
Article by: Jacob Kamara
Editor Introduction
Quite a few of our beloved writing team attended London Fashion Week and all of them came back with different interpretations of the runway shows, what they think was going to be big for the year and what they liked/disliked. Over the coming weeks you will find some of the team writing about key pieces and trends that are going to be big this year and in more detail. Jacob happens to be our lovely high fashion expert so he has kindly wrote a quick round-up as to the key trends he spotted at the event, which he will undoubtedly expand on in the coming weeks. He also got some great street style shots to look out for, a couple of which are featured in the article below.
I must make you aware that at the moment we are not a site where you will find collections of runway images/videos etc. as we like to focus on helping men expand their fashion and style by picking out the key information you need to develop YOUR fashion sense and be right on trend throughout the year. You can find all the latest news, as well as some amazing runway video/photos on the London Fashion Week website.
So take it away Jacob…
Hello loyal “beaners”, (as our lovely Luke Todd has branded you.)
I have been busy, busy, and busy.
Just returned from London Fashion Week and slept for a day, and I am happy to say Menswear for AW10 is AMAZING!
So I am going to spill the (Fashion) beans (nothing like starting an article with a bit of cheese) and give you a brief run-down on what’s going to be filtering through to the high street for autumn / winter 2010.
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26th February 2010
Article by: Luke Todd
Introduction
Hello to you who I now collectively refer to as ‘fashion beaners’.
Welcome to the men’s fashion round-up of the past weeks. This edition contains everything from news & shoes from your fashion gurus and jeans for the man of means, here on FashionBeans!
That was either incredibly cheesy or equally genius!
The opening months of the year are huge in the fashion calendar. Ignorant of the fact you have broken potentially all of your new year’s resolutions (which I hope didn’t end up in arrests), you can indulge yourself for weeks in style.
With New York & London fashion weeks opening just weeks apart there is plenty of room for inspiration for your SS10 wardrobe. Over the next few weeks the FashionBeans team will be working hard to bring you up to speed with all the latest collections and putting together look books that will hopefully act as a guide for you to build your own style on.
Men’s Fashion News
Introduction over it is time to put on a pair of ridiculously dedicated specky nerd glasses and give you a quick rundown of my top picks from the most recent fashion news:
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24th February 2010
Article by: Duncan Copeland
America, the home of Hollywood, the Statue of Liberty, baseball, Elvis, the Simpsons and errrr Britney Spears? Love it or hate it, you can’t get away from the USA and its global influence on our lives and our fashion. But rather than taking style inspiration from obvious American icons like Kanye West or George Clooney, this spring it’s all about going back to school – Stateside.
Across the pond here in blighty, we don’t go on spring break, or summer camp and our idea of football doesn‘t involve shoulder pads and cheerleaders, but the All American style has never been closer to home. Inspired by classic American sportswear this trend has a modern edgy feel, with a nostalgic nod to the 50’s that makes it stand out, particularly in the UK. It can only be described as ‘campus chic’.
So lets start with the basics. The good news is that most of you guys will already own a few of the key items and your look will start to take shape fairly quickly. Remember how your wardrobe was full of pastels, shirts, nautical tees and tailored shorts last summer? Well you can use these items as your style base. Although this is a more relaxed, casual trend it has an obvious preppy influence so your current wardrobe can be adapted to fit. Think dirty pastels, light blues and yellows for shirts, polo’s and summer knits combined with either dark denim or beige chino’s. Here are some of my tops picks from the current collections:
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22nd February 2010
Article by: Luke Todd
In 1964, Hardy Aimes would have reluctantly redirected you from ‘Shorts’ to ‘Beachwear’.
He would have stated:
The natural desire to relax is often the cause of abandonment of all standards of taste. It is the Italians who arouse our admiration, but examination of their technique shows us that they are prepared to spend as much as much money and time on their beachwear as their town outfits. He will never wear shorts except at the water’s edge.
In 2010, Luke Todd would share his insight with a cheeky wink.
He would state:
The natural desire to relax is often the cause of frustration at the sight of your Boss and his repellent mustard tie, this in all his abandonment of all standards of taste; (and decency for that matter). It is the Italians who arouse our…moving on. It is no longer a faux-pas to spend as much money and time on your beachwear as your town outfit. Nor is it deemed undesirable to take note and merge the two….
Coming up shortly I will be giving you a short introduction into this short article I wrote… whilst wearing shorts.
Nothing short (okay I’ll stop now) of an innovation for SS10, the short suit has shown more leg than any other tailored trend at this year’s New York & London fashion weeks. Many will lack the want or cojones to fashion a man-skirt. I will firmly say my (albeit open minded) cojones were non-existent whilst reading that article by JK. The short suit is the next best legs-at-large option and never before has tailoring tied in with the season’s casual trends so well.
The short suit oozes 30’s school attire with the sartorial twist of the Savile ‘Golden Mile of Sartorialism’.
Inhabitants of Savile Row will foretell that a suit is not considered a suit unless the jacket and trousers are made from the same cloth. So consider the short suit a contradiction of this rule. A rebel if you will. The little sh*t who always went home with a detention slip forced to the bottom of his school bag.
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