CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

The extraordinary mens blog for the modern man
/

ONE OFF – LAB SERIES PRO LS ALL IN ONE FACE TREATMENT by Amanda Lewis

imageSo … your late…AGAIN! Not much time for getting ready before you rush out to brave what ever today holds.
So if we told you you about a product that just about does every thing, would you be interested?
Well – Clothes Make the Man slaps this on, straight from the shower and that’s it – skin care DONE. (TICK) At least your face is going to be well looked after all day long. So grab a trial size for a fiver and if you already cant be without it then you’ll like the new 100ml and free toiletry bag that you’ll get at Boots (the Chemist, that is) while stocks last…

image

/

The Force is strong in this one – #VansxSTARWARS range

Literally the buzz around the new Episode VII of the Star Wars franchise is palatable, even bordering on insane, every film magazine and website are running features on the most minute and insignificant detail. Whether it be Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) both being in the UK at the same time or a piece of at AT-AT walker being spotted in Abu Dhabi.

Now I could include such puns as, Out of the World Collaboration, Interstellar collection, taking off to a galaxy far, far away for an out-of-this-world range, but I won’t, as hard as it is. Simply, the Vans x Star Wars collection introduces a six-piece collection from Classics. Aligning with the Dark Side, Vans introduces two colorways of the Authentic featuring Boba Fett and Stormtrooper characters. The Boba Fett camo color-up compliments the bounty hunter’s disguise alongside the Death Star, Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper to paint a dark scene of the evil Empire. The second style surfaces in the Stormtrooper bandana print that mashes up one of Vans’ archived patterns with the Galactic Empire’s henchmen for a discreet, all-over arrangement. Yoda brings balance to the Force with his special takes on the Authentic and Sk8-Hi Reissue. Blended with Vans’ Hawaiian pattern and images of Yoda, the peaceful aloha motif covers the uppers of the low top and hits each quarter panel of the high top. As a tribute to the original film, Vans pairs the Classic Slip-On with the 1977 poster artwork from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and showcases the Era in comic-book style graphics from vintage Star Wars merchandise. Young Padawans and small Sith lords, sorry a lease in the force,  can enjoy the collection as well with kid and toddler-sized shoes featuring the Yoda-inspired art and comic-book graphics as well as two kids-specific Stormtrooper and Darth Vader prints.

The men’s range highlights the Yoda aloha and Stormtrooper bandana prints across a selection of tees, with an addition of a cap, backpack and sock pack dedicated to Yoda’s special pattern.

imageimageimageimage

/

Add a touch of St Tropez to your Life – Karl Lagerfeld’s capsule collection

imageNo I’m not talking about the leading brand in fake tanning, I’m chatting about the chic and stylish restort on the French Riviera, that’s right, no less then St Tropez has been the inspiration behind, Uber creative genius, Karl Lagerfeld’s  new high summer capsule collection, which turns city wardrobe staples into chic holiday must haves. Cobalt blue is the leading colour, in a fitted suit that makes the perfect outfit for a beach wedding. A variety of shirts, from light weight denim to blue contrast cotton, are seamlessly paired with white chinos and elegant raffia lace ups. A simple blue toned leather weekend bag is all you need to fit your essentials, including trainers, mirrored sunglasses and a light knight block coloured jumper to stay warm when the evening temperature drops, even though the atmosphere around you still sizzles.

The collection will be stocked in his recently opened Flagship store on London’s, Regent Street, joining the likes of Burberry, Apple and Barbour to share this increasingly desired postcode.

imageimage

/

Hairstyles for Summer 2014, we ask the Experts !

It looks like Summer is here and with that we start to think about certain things, mainly to do with our appearance, I need to lose a few pounds, where’s that gym membership ? And of course, I need a haircut. As always, we like to look after our readers and so we sort the advice from some of the leading hair care experts in the entire Goddamn world. We sort counsel with Mr Kevin Luchmun, TONI&GUY British Mens Hairdresser of the Year 2013/2014, Jordan Thomas, top stylist at London’s leading hair Salon, Soho’s FISH and of course the Award-winning, Jamie Stevens, who has styled the likes of Olly Murs, Christian Slatter and Kylie Minogue, to name but a few. Ohhh who just happens to be defending his title as British Hairdresser of the Year for the third time !

As Jamie puts it, “Whilst women’s hair trends tend to chop and change from one season to the next, men’s hair trends usually evolve at a more subtle pace with a natural progression from the previous season’s look to the current, which is great as it makes trends accessible for all.”

His first key trend for the season is called The Man’s Bang. Whilst last season was all about hair swept back off the face, this season sees it brought forward into a fringe with a 90’s inspired feel, seen on celebrities such as Jake Bugg and on the catwalk at Christopher Kane, Burberry, Topman and Phillip Lim. Great for disguising a receding hairline or a bad face day, the fringe is versatile as it can work on a more extreme level, keeping it short on the back and sides or it can be worn with more length on the sides for a contemporary Beatles inspired cut. Wear with texture as opposed to keeping it too neat, from natural curls to choppy texture created with cutting and styling techniques on straighter hair. Blast dry hair forward and use a matte clay to achieve a messy, unstructured look, such as Matrix Design Pulse Beach Clay. image

Next up, we back the, Slick Back, The biggest look last year was undoubtedly the slick side parted look. Still proving popular into 2014, evolve this look with a defined undercut and wear grown-out length straight back for a classic 20’s inspired look as seen on the likes of actor Michael Pitt. If you’re more clean-cut than disheveled, this is a great look for you. Keep the look sleek and straight on finer hair to wearing it with more texture and height through the top on medium to thicker hair. For those of you avoiding the severe undercut opt for some length on the back and sides to add a softer finish, a bit like Leonardo Di Caprio in the Wolf of Wall Street. For more of a wet look slick finish opt for a gel such as Matrix Design Pulse Defining Edge to help achieve a distinctive slick lookk, using a bristle brush to finish. For a softer version opt for a wax to manipulate the hair into place – a little. Kevin agrees with Jamie and believes, “This SS14 it is all about a return to vintage. Whether it be deep side parted looks reminiscent of the 1920s, as seen at E.Tautz at London Collections: Men, or 1990s grunge style with wet-look locks, a la Baartmans & Siegel SS14 show, hair with a history is key! Products play an important role in creating these styles with gels taking centre stage for wet-look hold whilst pastes are great for moulding tousled textures with a Great Gatsby finish! Try label.m’s Extra Strong Gel for that Kurt Cobain grunge feel whilst label.m’s Power Paste is perfect for the tailored 1920s look.”

image

Last up we have one for the more adventurous of your readers out there. The Man Bun is set to be THE style of Summer 2014, says  Jordan Thomas.  Jordan gives his top tips on how to achieve the effortlessly  cool style of Jared Leto: 

• Make sure hair is completely clean with Sportfish Hair, Face and Body Wash • Work a pea-sized amount of AquaFish Fishgum through the ends of hair to give texture and choppiness

• Pull hair back into a low bun and secure with a hair band

• Sort out those flyaways by smoothing hair with an extra blob of AquaFish Fishgum  SportFish Hair, Face and Body Wash.

Jamie’s backs Jordan on this look saying, What started out as a practical way to keep grown-out longer hair off the face has developed into a hipster hair trend, with stars such as Jake Gyllenhaal, David Beckham and Harry Styles rocking the style to Joaquin Phoenix, Alex Ebert and Jared Leto making it into an acceptable red carpet look. If you’ve been working the longer hair look the Man Bun or ‘Mun’ as its been coined is a great way to bring you into S/S’14. Whether it’s worn higher or lower on the crown, slicked back wet or dry, keep the ends hanging loose to avoid it looking too much like a classic women’s ballerina bun, whilst facial hair keeps it looking the right side of masculine. Sprinkle a texturising powder when styling to avoid the hair looking too clean or styled, such as Matrix Design Pulse Mega Dust and go with a little light gel wax to manipulate the hair back and hold it in place.image

/

The Great Haxby – Haxby Collective

Michael Dow and Timothy White, both, by their own admission, are design freaks by nature, emerge from different backgrounds, one blue collar, one White collar,  to form a new luxury menswear brand, Haxby. They both traveled the world to source and recruit the most acclaimed craftsmen and material suppliers, from Los Angeles, London, Switzerland, Italy, and Japan – uniting them under one roof in the pursuit of true luxury.

Now unlike, most brand who start off with the top half of the apparel categories, Haxby have concerned themselves with the other sections of this spectrum. With its inspiration deeply rooted in fine Savile Row tailoring, Haxby’s vision bridges the gap between contemporary sportswear and bespoke sartorial techniques and traditions. What results are the following products created in limited edition batches ensuring that details and materials are of the highest caliber:

imageDenim – Japanese or Italian selvedge denim is sourced from the world’s leading denim mills and shipped to Los Angeles where the Haxby design team oversees the cutting and sewing of each pair. The finished product is then outfitted with 24k gold-plated zippers, buttons and rivets.

imageEyewear – each pair of Haxby sunglasses is handcrafted at the 100+ year old Masunaga factory in Fukui, Japan. Haxby sought out this iconic manufacturer to create its line of hand-sculpted glasses, with 24K yellow or white gold inlay, because of their unparalleled level of attention detail and strict adherence to traditional Japanese craftsmanship.

imageSneakers – while sneakers have transcended the athletic arena and have become acceptable in the business casual world, Haxby takes the notion a step further by introducing a new cordovan leather sneaker. The same leather used in the world’s most coveted footwear is treated, buffed by hand and appropriated in Haxby’s timeless design.

imageBelts – the combination of Swiss watch-making precision and impeccably woven fabric and leathers culminate in Haxby’s unique belt collection. Swiss craftsmen create buckles in stainless steel and sapphire glass while fabrics, woven with precious gold and silver thread, are sourced from Savile Row’s legendary Scabal.