Circa 2012

This is so late; the annual dinner was in May, and I write about my outfit now.

Anyway, I decided on an outfit that looks like the one below.

The combi was

1. blue gingham shirt (new, from Uniqlo)
2. blue tie (SMA's very own)
3. light grey blazer (existing, G2000)
4. dark grey pants (existing, G2000)
5. dark brown oxford shoes (existing, Pedro)

I bought the same gingham shirt in black also, so if I'm lazy, I can use that for 2013. Use my dark grey suit, pair with black gingham shirt, and find a suitable tie. Tada.

"Variations on a Theme" - the light grey blazer

The annual dinner at my workplace is coming up again. Time to think about what to wear. 

Quick recap

2009 - black blazer, maroon striped shirt, black pants

2010 - light grey blazer, white shirt, black tie, dark grey pants

2011 - dark grey suit, black shirt, black tie

2012 - ???

Not so keen to buy another new suit, so I think I will start by going back to my light grey blazer.

Yet another white sneaker

Recently bought a pair of Puma Rio sneakers, to supplement my long suffering pair of boat shoes, which I've been wearing almost every day.

After a long search via nearly all the branches of Isetan (I had $80 worth of vouchers from them), and after trying to get a non-white leather sneaker, I ended up with yet another pair of white sneakers.

Next target? A pair of desert boots.

Last minute shopping, last minute lucky

Only managed to buy my suit and shoes on Friday evening.

Revisited Vivocity, with priority to get a nice pair of shoes first. Tried 2 designs at Bata, but found my feet in between sizes. Pity, as the brown colour was just the right shade, although the shape of both designs was a bit too pointed.

Next stop was Pedro, where I found a pair with a classic design, but in a interesting shade of greyish-brown, plus a beige colour sole.

Tried at least 4 sizes before I found one that fitted. Mission 1 completed ($113).

Next, I went to G2000 to try the suits there. Went to the 'slim fit' section and tried on one with a dark grey colour.

The jacket fitted well (staff rightly chose size 46), and I proceeded to try the matching pants. Again I was lucky that it fitted well (except the pants being a little long).

Mission 2 accomplished, I went home a happy bunny. ($199)

Between a rock and a hard place

2nd day of shopping for a suit.

The suits seem either too skinny (Topman) or too loose (G2000).

The other issue is cost. For something that I will wear less than 5 times a year, buying an expensive suit is quite wasteful.

Tomorrow is D-Day. I better get sufficient sleep for another day of suit hunting tomorrow.

I have to admit that perhaps part of me is thinking of wearing last year's grey blazer again, but maybe with a black shirt, instead of the white shirt I wore last year. If so, the only missing piece would be a nice pair of shoes.

Suiting up again, and fashionbeans

While searching online for ideas for a suit, I came across this great website, with a running series of fashion basics for men's fashion.

http://www.fashionbeans.com/category/mens-fashion-basics/

Meanwhile, my hunt for a grey suit continues...

Stand Out From The Crowd: Sachin On Fashion

AskMen.com
I previously wrote about the dreaded monotony of the T-shirt and jeans combo, and Askmen has given some great suggestions also in the link above.

Suiting up

It's a bit early to be thinking about what to wear for a formal dinner in 2011, but I thought I should pen down my Eureka moment before I forget it.

Was wondering how to follow up on my 2010 outfit, a grey blazer, white shirt, black tie, dark grey pants, and brown loafers.

First thoughts were a grey suit with black shirt underneath. I then got stuck, as this look normally looks better without a tie.

My Eureka moment came when I saw someone with a dark grey shirt & black pants office attire on my way home. It then became apparent that a black suit with dark grey shirt would look great. Rounding this off would be a black tie and a pair of nice black chelsea boots (or a simple pair of black oxfords in a pinch).

Well that's one thing sorted. But I still don't know what to replace my knackered sneakers with...

Hot & humid weather = T-shirt & jeans? How to break the cycle

How do you cope with the recent hot & humid weather? (global warming is upon us). Many have lamented about the sad state of affairs of what men wear in Singapore. Well, global warming isn't helping us in this respect.

I have pretty much given up, and wear T-shirt and jeans almost everyday. And I'm one of the lucky few who don't need to wear long sleeve shirts and pants. But how do you fight the weather (a.k.a. break the cycle of wearing T-shirts everyday?)

Look for the collar

• a well-fitting polo T-shirt will almost always look more smart, and more mature; do consider one with "dri-fit" material for better breathability
• rugby jersey-styled collars always look good; do wash them well, as most of them come in white collars
  

Don't forget your accessories

• wear a belt; go for a different colour; use it as a style tool, not just to hold up your pants
  
• backpacks are for school; they also make sweat accumulate at your back; sling/messenger bags have been in fashion since Crumpler made such bags cool enough to wear with office attire.
  
• the more adventurous can also consider jewellery, e.g. chain necklaces or bracelets
  

Material world & colour

• corduroy makes a stylish alternative to jeans
• also consider those G2000 casual pants; versatile enough with a dress shirt or a T-shirt
• the daring can try coloured jeans, but keep the bright colours to one piece (e.g. avoid a bright colour shirt with bright colour jeans)
  

Run away from running shoes

• most running shoes are not stylish enough for streetwear, although there are some exceptions
  
• classic sneakers have been popular since the adidas superstars made them cool. converse chuck taylors are evergreen; my favorites are retro white sneakers; they go with almost any attire
  
• or consider a leather casual (slip-on, chelsea boot, desert boot etc)

Layering is still possible (but indoors)

• cardigans, hoodies, and retro track jackets are still possible indoors where there is air-con; in fact, most air-con in Singapore are too cold, so these are maybe more a necessity than an option
  

The final (brown) jigsaw piece?

Went shoe shopping today.

The Bata store at Peninsular is one of the bigger Bata branches, and I managed to find 2 suitable "candidates". But their price (on the wrong side of S$100) blew me away.

Next was Aldo. I liked this, the Jakubowski.

Price? Supposed to be on sale for S$122. Went to Robinsons to take a quick look too.

I then went to Suntec to visit Hush Puppies, Tracce, Everbest, and Clarks. Passed by BeetleBug and Pedro in Citylink. Not suitable shoes spotted. Maybe I'll try the Clarks store in Ion Orchard, but I think I've pretty much exhausted my options.

A strange (grey) twist in the tale

Another torrid heaty day. Another long (lots of walking) shopping day.

But I finally bought something. But it was not what I was expecting. After going through circles and circles of suit shopping, I had given up, and wanted to try something leftfield.

But the more I thought about a black cardigan look, the more I was concerned that I would look under-attired. So I went to Raffles City with some doubt as to what I would eventually get.

After a few rounds of seeing the same outfits in the same shops (ala last weekend), I decided to get a grey blazer instead and pair it with perhaps black pants and a black tie.

Saw a few grey blazers before I settled on one from G2000. Now to try out a few colour combos to see which one will work. I may still have to grab a nice pair of shoes from now till Saturday to complete the look...

p.s. above is a quick screen-grab from the G2000 website. Actual blazer I bought has a peaked lapel, and has fine pinstripes.

Alteration of plans?

3 articles on suit alterations in Singapore.
Altered to Suit - What to look for when buying a suit and how to get alterations done
3 myths your Singapore bespoke tailor doesn't want you to know
Snip Tuck

And one tailor spotted right in Sengkang.
http://hotailor.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, I'm contemplating going a leftfield route. Thinking of a black cardigan and black tie combo instead of a grey suit.


Missing ingredients; a black cardigan, black tie (maybe skinny), and nice black shoes. More items, but more versatile than a suit for casual wear.

So I went shopping again today. Saw one example in Topman, but it was selling at S$70. Went by Muji and another example selling for the same price, but it was a mesh material (not solid enough). Finally found a good example at Centrepoint (the new Basic House brand), but it was in a Navy blue colour.

Alarm bells are ringing...

p.s. couldn't find a black cardigan at the following stores
Bossini
Fox
G2000
Giordano
Uniqlo

Suit shopping is tough

Part 2 of my search for a suit (see Part 1 below).

Slept through most of Saturday, so only managed to go shopping today. Tried out a few suits at Topman and Zara, but couldn't really find "the one".

Either the material/colour is a bit "off", or the fit is not 100% right. Maybe I'm too harsh on a off-the-rack suit. Got really tired in the end, and went home empty-handed.

Time is running out...

Grey suit, black shirt, dark-brown shoes?

My company annual dinner is coming up soon, and I'm once again fretting over what to wear.

After last year's cop-out (I used existing separates in my wardrobe), I'm keen to get a proper suit this year. But no black suits please.

I'm considering the above combo, and have been window shopping around to find a suitable buy. Managed to see a few suitable grey suits at Zara, Topshop, and Robinsons (a new brand from Korea called Mind Bridge).

The search continues this weekend. Still wondering if I should blow up to S$300 on an outfit that I'll probably end up wearing only once a year (or even less, if I don't want to wear the same suit every year). Our hot & humid weather isn't exactly suitable for wearing suits too...

Postscript (29 April 2010): something like this? Looks nice, but I wonder what tie to wear with a black shirt...

GQ Guide to Dressing on a Budget

GQ.com

"25 rules that will make you a better-dressed, more cost-conscious man..."

Nice suggestions by GQ. Too bad J.Crew and H&M aren't available in Singapore.

Problems afoot

I was "stuck" with a $50 shopping voucher recently. After months of procrastination, I finally purchased something just a few days before expiry.

After hovering around the shoe department, I finally bought a pair of retro sneakers (Nike Tennis Classic CL Pack). With the limited range of footwear at that store, I was going to use the vouchers on a pair of Adidas Country sneakers, when I spotted the Nikes selling for a lower price. My target requirements were (leather; casual; affordable), and they seemed to fit the bill.

Unfortunately, after a few weeks of wearing them, they remained uncomfortable to wear. The thick sole (first thought to provide cushioning) ended up giving me pain in the ankles and knees. My $30 Bata shoes in contrast was comfortable even though it had a thinner sole.

Now nearly 3 months in, the situation has improved, to the extent that I can tolerate a day's worth of wear.

But I'm already looking to the next purchase, perhaps a pair of Desert boots or maybe Chelsea boots.

New kids on the block

This blog has been dormant since September. The curse of the "blog post in draft mode" refuses to go away.

In the meantime, here are a couple of men's fashion websites I've come across recently, for your internet surfing (read: time-eating) pleasure.

Men's fashion portion of the New York Times Style magazine
manshion.
Style section of GQ
magnificent bastard
men's fashion section of Guardian newspaper
Off The Cuff
Permanent Style
Style Savage

Some of them have been placed on the "blog list" on the right part of this blog. The timestamping feature makes it easy to know when a particular website is updated.

And a nice one to cap it off.
The Sartorialist

(p.s. I sent in a request a while ago to NLB to recommend the book that Scott Schuman launched recently. It was approved, and you can now find it in several library branches)

Saipan Black

Shoes | CHROME | Official Site


Just discovered that Chrome, the company that makes messenger bags, now offers a shoe range too. My pick of the range is the Saipan, a Converse All-Star wannabe, but with enough different details to stand out. The red on black look is killer too. And just look at the sole below.

Pleasantly distracted

Note: This is not a blog post on men's fashion. (hence the "distraction" title)

I mentioned this to my friends a while ago (more than a month ago, I think).

I've been noticing these 2 fashion trends among women
.

The Dress

I've seen so many women wearing dresses recently. Perhaps its a return to being feminine. A subset of this "dress" trend is the belt as an accessory to the dress. I think it works for some dresses, as it helps to "break" the dress visually, and also providing a splash of contrasting colour.

The High heels
The other trend is the high heels (3-inch onwards). And the highlight doesn't just stop at the height; I see more & more daring designs and colours on these high heels.

A "deadly" combo
When a lady combines both trends (dress + heels), its a deadly combo. Some manage to carry the look without looking too out of place in a MRT train, with just the right amount of class to make a "grand" entrance when the train doors slide open. :)

Bag the big prize?

A remark by a friend got me thinking; was my messenger bag due for "retirement"? A quick search of my other blog revealed that the bag was already 4 years old. Sure, it's still going strong, without major tears, and is super versatile. But getting another bag (perhaps more formal-looking) to alternate is tempting...

One recent trend that I've been noting is the tote. More men are carrying this bag once confined for women. I have to say that most tote bags specifically designed for men are not that functional. The nice-looking designs tend to be square in profile, which means your stuff goes into a "Grand Canyon", and fishing things out from your bag could take quite some effort.



I suppose the change in profile is part of an attempt to differentiate from a typical women's tote bag, so that a guy looks metrosexual, and not girly with a tote.

So what next? I'm slowly gravitating to a leather duffle or messenger bag...