Fall Essential Series: Essential 1 for Men!

Hey Fellas!!! We told you this series was coming and well....it's here....Our Fall Essentials Series!!! By the way this series will last approximately 7 weeks and will cover all the items needed to contribute towards a fashionable fall wardrobe. So....let's get into it!!

Fall Essential 1: The Cardigan!

Now we put the cardigan as a part of our Back to School Essentials- Layers  post but we didn't cover it as thoroughly as we will today. 

• Cardigans are one of the most versatile items that one can own because of the effortlessness it takes for an outfit to go form casual to dressy with just a throw on of a cardigan. 
• They're a layer that can provide warmth while still providing style because we know some jackets and sweaters can be bulky and mess up an outfit. 
• It can be the very thing that will make an outfit/polish it off. 
• They come in many different styles, colors and prints like stripes and vintage.

With that being said....we'll show you some celebrities in cardigans and how to get the same look for less! 

The first cardigan look comes from VintageMahogani. favorite, Chris Brown of course. He is giving us an example of a pretty casual cardigan look. 

He has on a red/black buffalo plaid cardigan layered on top of a plain white tee. He paired the top and cardigan with some slightly cuffed, dark denim cut-off shorts and a pair of gold high-top sneakers. 

We really love this outfit and we'll tell you how to get a similar look!

Start with this Navy/Cream Vintage-Style Cardigan and pair this underneath White V-Neck Tee. For shorts do something like these Taupe/Khaki Raw Hem Shorts and slightly cuff them like Chris' shorts. Then for shoes you can do a pair of high top sneakers like these Black Vans California Waxed Switchback Sneakers or even these lo-top Black Chuck Taylor All Star Slim Leather Sneakers. 

Moving on to Cardigan Look 2: The Dressy-Casual Outfit...

Kanye is seen to the right wearing a plain white tee and a white cardigan with pink, rust, and blue accents. We can't see the bottom of this outfit but he probably had a pair of dark denim jeans and sneakers or even moccasins. 

To get a little similar look to Kanye's...start with this Black/Cream Color Block Sweater Cardigan. You can put this Heather Grey Heathered Knit V-Neck  underneath and wear these pair of Red/Maroon Chino pants. As far as shoes go you can do something like this pair of Black Plimsoll Sneakers. 

For the last look...A Dressy Cardigan Outfit. 

Okay, for the last look we'll be showing you we got a picture of Chuck Bass from a show called Gossip Girl. He dressed his cardigan completely up. If you look to the left, you'll see that Bass is wearing a Navy/Red argyle print cardigan with a pink button-up layered underneath. He then paired it with a pair of grey slacks and we can only imagine dress shoes. He polished the outfit off with a white/navy/red tie. 

We absolutely love the color combination of this whole outfit!

To get a look similar to Chuck Bass' dressy cardigan outfit, start with this Black Button-Up and you can do something like this  Red/Black/Grey V-Neck Tipped Cardigan to put over it. For pants and shoes you can do this pair of Black Slacks and these Charcoal Feathers Canvas Stentorian Oxfords. Then to polish off the outfit go ahead and do a printed tie like this Red/Black/Gray/White Narrow Striped Tie 1 or Striped Tie 2  since you do have the outfit plain black all the way down.  

Well fellas...that's all we have for this post. We hope that we gave you a few nice outfit suggestions you can see yourself wearing and feel free to leave us a few comments! 

Special Edition Post: Business Casual Wear for Women#2

Today we are doing a special post on business casual wear for women as a gift to one of our blog supporters, Nikki. She suggested we do a post to help her out since she is a working woman in the corporate world now. (Look at her now! lol) So sit back, take notes, and then go out and purchase a fashionable work wardrobe! :-)

Now a couple of great places to get a fabulous business wardrobe from are Express and the Limited. So we're going to give you some examples of looks and items from there then show you how to achieve them!

First we're going to start with tops and the different ways you can wear them!

     The Button Up: Button up shirts are really versatile as far as pairing them with skirts, trousers, and even jeans. In the picture to the left, the model has on this Purple/White V-Neck Striped Button Up from the Limited or even if you wanted to do a plain V-Neck Button Up (comes in 10 different colors!). Now it is short sleeve, so if you get cold in the office or you aren't allowed to wear short sleeve you can throw a blazer or cardigan over it.

     If you wanted to pair this button up with a skirt, try this Grey Pencil Skirt (The Limited) or this High-Waist Seamed Pencil Skirt (Express) instead of doing a plain black one, or if you want to do a plain black skirt High-Waist Seamed Pencil Skirt (Express). For shoes, try a pair of black pumps.

     To pair this skirt with a pair of pants, try a pair of these Grey Slacks or Black Slacks from the Limited or this pair of Slacks that come in Grey and Black from Express. Pair it with the same pair of shoes listed above and you're set!

Moving right along to a what is considered A Blouse...

     Blouses can be versatile as well..as far as pairing them pants and skirts. For example take this Striped Blouse/Tank that the model is wearing in the picture to the right. If you wanted to do that blouse, throw something similar to this Green Cardigan also from the Limited over it. For pants..keep it simple and do a pair of plain colored pants since the top half is rather busy. You could do this Black Contour Waist Skirt or Black Slacks. You could even try these Black Ankle Pants (if allowed) and tuck in the blouse. For shoes keep it simple with a pair of black pumps.

Now that we got the tops category taken care of..let's move on to bottoms....specifically skirts. Skirts as you know can be worn with button-ups, blouses, and sweaters. In this portion we're going to tell you how to wear printed and colored skirts.

 

  

      For example..The High-Waist Seamed Pencil Skirt in red in the picture to the right . Do a plain black camisole tucked in and you could throw this Off White/Black Polka Dot Cardigan over it or you could always do a Plain Black Cardigan. For shoes...keep it simple with a plain black pair of pumps since the skirt is red and especially if you do the polka dot cardigan.

  

     If you didn't want to do a colored skirt, try something printed like in the picture below.

         <----   The featured item is a Navy/Black/Cream Textured Skirt. You could easily pair it with Melon Orange Petal Detail Tee and do a pair of nude pumps. This gives it a pop of color so the outfit won't be a snooze with plain colors.

    

 

   

  

     Another color we haven't discussed wearing is tan. For example, the High-Waist Buckle-Back Skirt in tan like in the picture to the right, could be paired with a printed blouse like this Printed Side-Bow Top. Throw an Off-White Cardigan over it and you're set. Keep the shoes simple...maybe a chocolate brown..since your blouse is printed. If you wanted to do a printed shoe, do this Dart Cardigan in Red and a black camisole layered underneath and do a leopard print pump that is appropriate for the office.

Fashionable office outfits are just as easy to achieve for pants as well!

  

     For example, the Wide Waist Band Pants in the coffee bean color shown in the picture to the left can be paired with this Sheer Button-Down Blouse in the ivory color. Make sure you layer a camisole or tank  underneath it..maybe this Sequin Racer back Tank in ivory. For shoes, try a muted color like nude.

If you wanted to do a plain button down instead of a blouse you could do this Tailored Button Down in the ink color. Believe it or not..this would look great with a pair of leopard print pumps (Again..appropriate for the office).

This color pant would also look good with the melon-orange petal detail listed for the printed skirt above and you could do a nude shoe as well.

In the picture seen to the right...the featured item is a pair of Light Grey Slacks, you can where these with a blouse or a button down.

 For instance, Navy Floral Print Tie Neck Blouse with a grey camisole layered underneath. You can do a pair of red pumps to bring out the red flowers in the shirt or you can keep it simple with a pair of navy pumps.

If you wanted to go for a more "tailored look" try this Tailored Button Down in either of the colors they have, specifically one to give the outfit some color. After you decide what color shirt, layer this Black Ruffle-Back Vest on top and then for shoes just do a pair of simple black pumps!




We really hope we gave you guys some outfit ideas that you really like and will purchase to wear to the office! Thanks for reading...don't forget to follow the blog and comment on the blog/post!

Look for Less: Guys "Glamour"

Okay fellas, to play off the ladies tip yesterday for the week, we will be doing a "Look for Less" post for you as well. Now we know it may sound a bit funny-style whenever we say "Guys Glamour" but the fact of the matter is, guys can look glamorous/sophisticated as well. Of course your sophisticated outfits won't be as cheap as the ladies prices, but we will do our best, as always, to give you some options at stores that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg in to get these looks. Sooo..without further a due... here we go..!

     Look number 1 comes from none other than Trey Songz. Trey has a pretty great sense of style and looks really nice in sophisticated, clean-cut looks! To the right he is seen in a more casual, clean-cut look. In his photoshoot with Rocawear he wore a grey and black sweatshirt with a pair of white pants. Something about the color white makes an outfit look sophisticated if worn properly. We can't see his shoes, but we assume we went with something black. Maybe some black boat or loafer-type shoes.

     To get a similar look to Trey's that kinda caters to this extremely hot weather were experiencing, try a lightweight sweater/sweatshirt like this one ---> Insight Pullover in this "red"/coral color. Make sure it is fitted so it can still be a clean-cut look as a sweatshirt and you roll/push up the sleeves. For pants you can do this pair of extremely light Grey Fitted Pants if you're not into skinny jeans or these... Light Grey Super Skinny Jeans if you are. To finish this look off do this pair of Dark Navy Sperry Boat Shoes  and you're set! 3 simple pieces that can be mixed and matched with something else can create one casual, clean-cut look.

Moving right along to look number 2...

    

    

      Look number 2 comes from Tyrese. He is seen in the picture to left wearing a simple, clean-cut out fit, that is a bit dressier due to the leather jacket. With his almost mocha-colored jacket, he just did a white v-neck with a pair of dark wash jeans. He then did a black belt with a pair of brown and black low-top shoes.
     To get a look similar to Tyrese's, start with this Black Faux Leather Moto Jacket from Urban Outfitters. Just pair a V-Neck Tee under to keep the simplicity of the outfit. You can also go 2 different routes with the tee, color like the teal blue one to make it more casual or plain white to keep it simple/sleek. If you do the color tee route, you can try a pair of grey jeans like so.....Grey Levi Jeans or if you did the plain white tee, try these Grey Chino Pants.
     You guessed it...shoes will depend on what color tee and bottoms you chose. For the causal look with the jeans and pop of color under the jacket, try this pair of Grey 2 Strap Mid Sneakers. For the black, white, and grey look you can do something similar to either pair of these black shoes.. Oxfords or Wingtip Shoes.

    
     Last but not least, a full suit look. This look comes from Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo...knows how to "hang a suit" so that's definitely why we chose him for this look. He is seen to the right, with his wife Lala..both of them on point! Carmelo went with a tan suit, white and navy checkered button-up, a white/navy/tan tie, and a pair of darker tan shoes. The colors flow well together and that's the type of look we are going to suggest!
     You should definitely invest in a suit and a great place to go is Express! Take this Gray Suit and pair it with this 1MX Fitted Shirt in the Royal Purple color. For a tie, try either one of these ... Purple Striped Tie, Purple Plaid Tie, or Black Solid Tie. Then as far as shoes go, do a plain black pair of dress shoes like these Cap-Toe Dress Oxfords (out whatever type of dress shoes you prefer) from Dillard's! Simple, right to the point, but a great look!


     We hope you got some information from this post that you can use. Looking sophisticated as a guy is definitely a bomb look. Whether you do a casual, clean-cut look or a suit, there are a lot of options!  

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! :-)