Wardrobe Basics for Men #3: Trousers

This post is a part of Men's Style Month on Sugar and Spice. Like it's sister series, Wardrobe Basics, this limited edition series - here for one month only - will feature three options for each "Basic" that every man should have in his wardrobe. This week's "Basic" is trousers. For men, this encompasses two options: casual (jeans) and smart. Every man's wardrobe should have at least one of each.

For the casual option:

SAVE: ASOS Light Wash Slim Jean

SPEND: Morning side straight jeans by Ralph Lauren

SPLURGE: Stitch detail jeans by Alexander Mcqueen

For the formal option:

SAVE: ASOS Slim Fit Check Trouser

SPEND: Burberry Brit Five pocket trousers

SPLURGE: Rake Prince of Wales check trousers

What are your Wardrobe Basics?

Wardrobe Basics for Men #2: Jackets

This post is a part of Men's Style Month on Sugar and Spice. Like it's sister series, Wardrobe Basics, this limited edition series - here for one month only - will feature three options for each "Basic" that every man should have in his wardrobe. This week's "Basic" is jackets. For men, this encompasses two options: casual and smart. Every man's wardrobe should have at least one of each.

For the casual option:

SAVE: Superdry Military Blazer V.10 Jacket at ASOS

SPEND: Navy Quilted Richmond Puffa by Polo Ralph Lauren

SPLURGE: Black Track Jersey Biker Jacket by Marc by Marc Jacobs

For the formal option:

SAVE: ASOS Slim Fit Grey Jacket

SPEND: Chocolate Moleskin Blazer by Polo Ralph Lauren

SPLURGE: Navy Gold Button Wool Blazer by D&G Dolce and Gabbana

What are you Wardrobe Basics?

Men's Style Month: Special News

Style Icon: Johnny Depp

This post is a part of Men's Style Month on Sugar and Spice.


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The second male Style Icon of this month is the enigmatic Johnny Depp:


Sources (from left to right): #1; #2; and #3.


Johnny Depp is a man who is not afraid to play with his style and experiment with what he wears.

Depp is rarely seen without a hat on his head and more specifically, a fedora:



Sources (clockwise from top left): #1; #2; #3; #4; #5; and #6.


Not only does he choose to retain his own sense of style in his every day life, he takes this style with him when he plays a character in a film and incorporates him own opinions into the costumes:



Sources (left to right): #1; #2; and #3.



Whether out and about in his adopted home country of France and dressed in a tee and jeans, or dressed up a tux for a red carpet event, Johnny Depp always makes sure that he adds a few personal touches.

I love Johnny Depp's style. What do you think? Would it get a little bit exhausting having a man on your arm who accessorises more than you?!

If you have missed the previous style icons featured on the blog, check them out here.

Tell me, who is your male style icon?

I am also looking for bloggers who would like to write a guest post for this series, about their Style Icon, please get in touch if you would like to get involved.

How to... Choose a present for the man in your life:

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This post is a part of Men's Style Month on Sugar and Spice.

Buying present for a man if the bane of many a woman's life. Clothes don't seem to have the same sort of appeal that they do to another woman and men don't really tend to "accessorise". Top of most men's wish lists is the latest gadget which more often than not is somewhat more than we had budgeted for. So, what do you buy?

Here are my five top tips to a stress-free present buying experience:

1. Take him shopping. Sounds silly? But I have actually discovered quite a few ideas for presents for the boyf simply by walking him through a few stores and him stopping to point out things he likes.

2. Steal his amazon wish list. Or ask him for it! Most men I know have one and they provide a very easy solution to the what-so-I-buy-him dilemma!

3. Book a hotel somewhere you both really want to visit. Or a train ticket. Or a flight. You get a break too! Or a ticket to a gig you've both been wanting to go it?

4. Cook for him. Not like you do every other night of the year! Make a really special meal. Maybe you sampled an amazing meal on holiday together and you could replicate it? Or just a combination of his favourite dish, favourite dessert and favourite bottle of wine?

5. Vouchers. If you're really stumped, everyone always appreciates a voucher that means they can choose exactly what they really want.

What do you choose when you're shopping for the man in your life?

A Woman's Touch

When I posted my "How to..." post on Wednesday (How to... Wear a tux (as a woman!)), I had little idea that one of my favourite bloggers was posting pages from Vogue US's 2004 shoot of Gisele Bundchen dressed in masculine clothing with a feminine twist. Check out this spread over at Shannon's post, A Touch of Boyish Charm. I love the waistcoats she wear and my particular favourite shot of the shoot is the second:

Source: Vogue US via The Simply Luxurious Life

As much as I am a fan of the "boyfriend" look - boyfriend jeans and boyfriend cardigans feature heavily in my wardrobe - when it comes to masculine dressing, I prefer tailored pieces that fit the female shape. Sure, a boyfriend cardigan looks great thrown on over a light summer dress but the boyfriend look tends to be more of a casual look. The masculine look (above) is much more work appropriate and adds a quirky twist to business attire. I am so on the lookout for a fitted tailored waistcoat now! Of course, I couldn't help but start the search already! Here are my waistcoat picks:

 What do you think of the masculine look? And what of the waistcoat choices? Tempted by any of these?

Wardrobe Basics for Men #1: Footwear

This post is a part of Men's Style Month on Sugar and Spice. Like it's sister series, Wardrobe Basics, this limited edition series - here for one month only - will feature three options for each "Basic" that every man should have in his wardrobe. This week's "Basic" is footwear. For men, this encompasses two options: casual and smart. Every man's wardrobe should have at least one of each.

For the casual option:

SAVE: Bensimon GEYSLY trainers

SPEND: Converse ALL STAR CORE OX trainers

SPLURGE: Pataugas BOUND trainers

For the formal option:

SAVE: Hush puppies KENSINGTON shoes

SPEND: Geox RAUL shoes

SPLURGE: Hudson RAFFERTY shoes

What are your Wardrobe Basics?

Take That gentlemen

As a woman and a fashion obsessed woman at that, I have found myself spending an increasing amount of time each day pouring over the musing and images of many a blogger (see here). But most of these bloggers are women. This month's Men's Style theme was something of a diversion for me and for the blog. I'm not sure how it will go down with regular readers but I hope that even if it doesn't appeal too much, you'll stick with me. Everything you normally love about the blog will be back to normal come 1 February. (Or nearly everything! I have a few special features planned for you too.)

It is no secret here that I live with my other half, affectionately know here as "the boyf". Now, I am ashamed to say that whilst I like a man to be well dressed, I never seem to be particularly helpful in picking out clothes for said boyf. Maybe this month's theme will help me to be better at this? Maybe.

I make no claim to be an expert on men's fashion and style, therefore. I know what I like and what I don't like but I do not feel qualified to define this. I'm sorry to say that more often than not on the streets of the UK, I don't like what I see: butt-exposing jeans; ill-fitting shirts/trousers/coats/anything (!); mismatched colour combinations; and many many more crimes against fashion. It seems I am not alone in my belief that British men could do with smartening up a bit, indeed Patrick Gant - recently crowned Menswear Designer of the Year (2010) - agrees: "It makes you want to cry how scruffy everybody is".

My research for this month's posts have led me to some blogs that can claim to be an authority on how to be stylish as a man:

Style Salvage: A fabulously stylish Menswear Blog written by two long-time friends from across the UK. My favourite part of the blog is its celebration of all things British in fashion; from Dr Martens to Harris Tweed and Cheaney. Of course, it comes as no surprise that one half of Style Salvage is the boyfriend of uber-stylish blogger Susie Bubble.

The Sartorialist: The original street style blog. No one does it better. It might be exclusively men's style but when Scott Schuman turns his camera to the men folk, he always snaps the most stylish of men. And many of them, it would seem, are Italian.

We Have No Style: Ok, so this blog isn't entirely mens' style based but these two certainly have style and are worth a mention here.

It seems that men's fashion in the past decade has become as changable as women's fashion. With increased interest in the catwalks for Men's Fashion Week, so the pressure has been on to create a new "look" each season. A more traditional and dapper look seems to have been lost. Whilst it might not appeal to most men, I did find an interesting article on my journey through the internetz: Take That: style icons for older men. But gentlemen, think about it this way: the ladies go mad for the Take That men, so learning a few style rules from them might not be such a bad idea?

How do you like your man to dress? Or if you are a man, how do you like to dress?

Style Icon: Ryan Reynolds

This post is a part of Men's Style Month on Sugar and Spice. I have chosen four well-dressed, well-groomed gentlemen for the Style Icon series:

The first, and this week's, Men's Style Icon is Ryan Reynolds. Consistently well turned out, the American actor dresses just as a man should:

Sources: photo #1; photo #2; and photo #3.

The X-Men and The Proposal star manages to wow, on the red carpet:

Sources: photo #1; and photo #2.

And off it:

Sources: photo #1; photo #2; and photo #3.

Early last year he was chosen to be the face for Hugo Boss fragrances:

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Of course, being gorgeous helps, just a little bit!

If you have missed the previous style icons featured on the blog, check them out here.

Tell me, who is your male style icon?

I am also looking for bloggers who would like to write a guest post for this series, about their Style Icon, please get in touch if you would like to get involved.

How to... Wear a Tux (as a woman!)

This post is a part of Men's Style Month on Sugar and Spice.


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The tux seems to be the fashion forward look of choice for red carpet events. Here are my tips for rocking a tux as a woman:

• Keep the jacket short/cropped;

• If you are daring enough - go bare under your tux jacket!

• Go all out and add a trilby;

• For a real impact, choose a white tux, like Stella McCartney above;

• Wear heels;

• Accessorise - add a bit on bling in the shape of a cocktail ring or some statement earrings - to keep the "look" feminine.

Would you choose a tux over a dress for an event or party? How would you style it?

Men's Style Month

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I don't know if I have many - or even any - male readers but just in case there might be a lone man reading this blog I have decided to christen January: Men's Style Month.

Don't worry, ladies, I won't be forgetting all about you this month. Promise.

There will be a whole host of some special men's fashion focused posts; from Male Style Icons to Wardrobe Basics for Men. I am also looking for a make blogger or two to write a guest post for the blog, check out details here and let me know if you would like to be involved.

Of course, as I have already demonstrated, us ladies can learn a thing or two about dressing from a man.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this month's posts, just let me know.

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's weekend.