B.T.S.E. #4 for Men!

Hey fellas..we know you thought that we forgot all about your Back to School Essential #4 but we definitely didn't ...so here it is. Like we did for the ladies...we're going to do a brief post for you over layers...meaning cardigans, hoodies, and regular jackets. Layers are pretty much a back to school essential since classrooms can get cold. With that being said let's get into it..!

LAYER 1: The Cardigan

Cardigans are a very popular layering item that almost everyone should have in their wardrobe. We'll be covering the cardigan more thoroughly in our Fall Essentials Series that will start next week. For the basic things we can say about it is that they come in many different styles, colors, and prints. Also, they are a layer that can still be fashionable while keeping you warm. 

An outfit idea for this Black, Grey, and Blue Stripe Knit Cardigan is to pair it with this pair of Tan Woven Pants and a Plain Classic Tee in Mustard underneath to give this outfit some color. As far as shoes go you can do something similar to this pair of Urban Outfitters Canvas Plimsoll Sneakers in Black. Simple!

Moving on to LAYER 2.....A Regular Jacket

Now we know you're probably wondering how can we tell you how to wear a regular jacket...but really it's just a suggestion. Most of the time when you throw on jacket it might not go with what you have on because you just grab it and put it on so you're not cold. For a more put together look...we suggest that if you know you might need a jacket try to coordinate it with what you may have on or chose to wear. 

For instance let's say you went with something similar to this pair of Faded Grey Straight Leg Jeans and just wore them with this Black/White Graphic Tee. The outfit is pretty simple especially color wise...so if you find yourself getting chilly...throw on the Navy/Turquoise Colorblock Zip-Up Jacket and it'll add some color. As far as shoes go...you can do the same Urban Outfitters Canvas Plimsoll Sneakers that were suggested above but do the yellow color to add some more color to the outfit. 

LASTLY...LAYER 3....THE HOODIE. 

Okay we know you're probably wondering the same thing... a tip on a hoodie? ...Well it's not a big suggestion...just that you try to look as put together/presentable as possible with a hoodie on. Also...keep in mind the outfit you wear underneath just in case you get hot and want to take the hoodie off. 

For instance if you went with the Cream/Charcoal Striped Knit Pullover that's shown in the picture to the left you can do something like these Tan Woven Pants and a black tee paired under the hoodie. As far as shoes go you can do a pair of Red Chuck Taylor All Stars. It's a presentable outfit with or without the hoodie. 

Well fellas....that was our brief post over layers and a few outfit suggestions with them. Be looking forward to your last Back to School essential post Wednesday and look forward to the Fall Essentials series we will be doing starting next week! 

Summer Essential#1 for Men: Tanks!

     We know it's getting HOT outside and summertime is eventually coming up, so like we said yesterday, we'll be giving the fellas 3 summer essentials (in no particular order) over the next 3 weeks; and of course we'll be giving you tips/suggestions on how to wear these essentials in a few different ways. So sit back, relax, read up, and then go out and buy these items! Lol.

Summer Essential #1: Tanks

     When we say tanks, we don't mean wife-beaters, although the sun is beastin' and you might just feel like wearing one alone. The type of tank we mean has color to it or sometimes even print and is considered clothing and not an "undershirt:". So we chose 3 males (Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, and Ryan Gosling) that are quite fashionable and rock the tank look to show you guys examples of how to wear them.

Look 1: Tank and Cargos

     Look 1 comes from Wiz Khalifa. For his photoshoot with Dub Magazine , Wiz wore a grey tank top with black writing on it, cargo pants, and of course he had to keep it "Taylor Gang" with the red, high top chucks. He just went with some simple black sunglasses and watch to complete the look. So below we'll give you a couple tips on how to recreate the outfit, make your own, and of course cater the outfit to the weather.

     Let's start out with this Black Graphic Tank from Pacsun and pair it with these Olive Rothco Cargo Shorts. For shoes, go ahead and keep it "Taylor Gang"..lol. with a pair of Red High-Top Chuck Taylors. Instead of the sunglasses you could do these Black Framed Retro Clear Lens Glasses. Another option for the tank and cargo shorts is this White Graphic Tank and a pair of Black Cargo Shorts. For shoes, make the outfit stand out with these Yellow High-Top Chuck Taylors. Keep the glasses and you're set!

      Okay...moving right along to look number #2....Ryan Gosling wearing his tank with black slim fit/ skinny jeans.

    As seen to the left, Ryan Gosling (guy from The Notebook) is wearing a printed white/green printed tank with black skinny jeans. For shoes, he has on something similar to Toms. To recreate this outfit, start with this Bob Marley color themed tank also from Pacsun. For bottoms, instead of the black skinny jeans, try these Light Grey Chino Pants with a pair of  Charcoal Chambray Cordones - Toms. Another route you could go with the chino pants are to do this Blue Striped Ambiguous Tonti Tank with a the same chino pants except in the Taupe/Peachy color. Do a lighter pair of shoes like these Taupe/Blue Tree Block Espadrille Shoes.

 

     Last but not least, tip/look #3 comes from blog favorite, Chris Brown. He is seen in 2 different printed tanks but both are paired with denim jeans.

       In the picture on the left side, Chris Brown has on a New York Knicks fitted with a USA navy blue graphic tank. For bottoms, he just went with a pair of denim jeans and cuffed them and. As for shoes, he has on Nike Zoom Huarache Sneakers. In the picture on the right, he has on a printed navy tank representing the American flag. Again, he paired it with denim jeans and this time he went with white high top sneakers. To recreate this outfit, begin with this Printed "Freedom Ride" Tank and throw on these Grey Straight Leg Jeans. For shoes do a pair of these Nike Dunks customized with Ink Blue, Neo- Turquoise, Green Spark, and White. Hat wise you could do this Black Chicago Bulls Snapback (just a suggestion...whatever team you prefer..lol). Another alternate to the denim with the printed tank would be to do a jean jacket instead of denim jeans. Start out with this Green Graphic Tank and pair it with this Levi Jean Jacket. For pants do these Levi Tan/Khaki Carpenter Jeans and put on a pair of Ivory Vans for the shoes!

     Well fellas...I hope you guys thoroughly enjoyed this post, because we sure enjoyed writing and researching it for you! We also hope that it was informative and at this time you're grabbing your keys and wallet to go out and get these tank looks. ;-) Lol

Wednesday's Tip for guys: Plain Tees

It's Wednesday...so you know what that means...a tip for the fellas! You know how it goes..the ladies got a tip on how to incorporate a plain tee in their wardrobe, so now you will as well! EVERYONE knows how versatile a plain tee can be, it can go a long way, meaning it can be dressed up or worn casually!

Let's start with casual. To the left, you see Chad Ochocinco in a purple V-Neck Tee, with a white "wife beater" layered under. For pants he went with Grey Jeans and shoes he just put on some white sneaks! He kept the outfit very, very simple but made it stand out with a splash of color as far as the purple v-neck goes.This also goes to show guys can still look good and masculine in "feminine" colors. Summer is coming up, (thank God for no more rainy, cold weather)so if one wanted to make a simple outfit like this stand out that caters to the weather they could do the following: A Charcoal Grey Tee or even this Dark Navy tee that has a "grayish" tint to it, a white wife beater layered under, a pair of brightly colored Cuffed Docker Shorts , and some White Canvas Sneakers or for a "preppy look some White Sperry Boat Shoes . One could also pair a Black V-Neck Tee with a pair Utility Green Cargo Shorts and some Tan High Top or Low Top Chuck Taylors. Just a few options of how to make the casual outfit pop if you want to add some color to the subtle/casual pieces.

Moving right along, we have Usher in a more "Casual-Dressy" look as far as wearing a plain tee. He has on a Heathered Mocha-Colored Tee, with a Olive Green Button Up layered on top, brown belt, Light Wash Jeans, and Tan/Mocha High Top Sneakers . The outfit is pretty casual as far as the tee, jeans, and shoes but the layering of the button up sorta gives it a dressy feel to it.If you wanted to re-create this outfit and kind of make it your own regarding color, you could do a Green Heathered Tee layered underneath a Black Button Up -1 , 2,  these Turbo Wash Jeans, and something like these Grey/Black Supra Skytop Sneakers. Also, if you wanted to switch it up and do a print button up you could do this Blue and Black Buffalo Plaid Shirt , Onyx Charcoal Heathered V-Neck,  paired with some Grey Jeans , and Shoe 1 , 2 , or 3.

Here again we have Usher showing us a different way to wear a plain tee, the dressy way. He is seen here in a plain black tee, charcoal gray blazer with black trim, and charcoal gray jeans. He went ahead and paired it with some black lace-up combat boots. This is a look similar to Justin Timberlakes' blazer outfit in the "Blazers for Men" post. This look is really easy/effortless to achieve. If you wanted to make it stand out and "your own" you could change the colors up like so: A Light Gray Cotton Shirt Jacket , a White V-Neck Tee, Dark Indigo Colored Jeans, and Black Combat Boots. To make the outfit/colors stand out try the following: Striped Steel Gray Cotton Shirt Jacket, Ruby V-Neck Tee, Light Gray Jeans , and the Black Combat Boots of course! .....(P.S.... As a girl, I just went and bought this outfit for myself...lol.)





Hopefully through these 3 different looks of dressing a plain tee up and down, you got some insightful information as well as, inspiration for an outfit. These looks are really easy to achieve..so go for it! :-)