Details, Honey.

Welcome back y’all! This time around we’re talking about details. I’m sure some of you have heard, the devil is in them. So I guess we are trying to channel that energy…?

Lol…this ain’t it, changing the channel.

Details…details…details. First lets talk about the pants. My mom sent me a picture of these when she was out, (She’s got that vision) and I fell in love.

If the pants were just black and red they would be cool, but grays addition makes them amazing. On top of that the lining on the inside is white? Ugh.

I guess this is where I should remind ya’ll to explore your clothes. If I hadn’t rolled up the pant leg, I wouldn’t have discovered that I was given two styles for the price of one. Sure, curiosity killed the cat, but I’m POSITIVE it was a stylish death and that’s what we are all looking for right?

Better Channel.

I paired the pants with my favorite (and only) white sneaker, Converse, Jack Purcell’s. If anyone is looking for a white sneaker I highly recommend these.

  1. The construction really accentuates your ankles and doesn’t make your foot look like a flipper (Ducks foot).
  2. Also they’re easy to clean. If you aren’t gonna clean your white sneakers…don’t buy white sneakers fam, a not so humble opinion.
Bottom of the shirt lines up with the grey lining *Muah*

Next, a black, dual texture, asymmetric Tee from Zara. The shirt is nothing to overlook though, the varied fabrics and non-traditional hem line, really give it its own character without fighting the pants.

The pants really do all the work here. When you’ve got a piece this vibrant its cool to relax with the rest…or you can ignore everything I said in these last two paragraphs and F*** it all the way up.

You know Me.

This is definitely my “uniform” vibrant, fitted, intentional, and showing a little chest. Honestly, its totally unnecessary to go this far, but that’s my thing, I like to push it.

The point here is to show that with an eye for details, you can do almost anything. I’ll break it down.

The middle accessory in my hair, the lining of the dress shirt, the buttons on the dress shirt and my shoes are all gold. Usually when I am accessorizing I recommend reminding the eye of the theme.

That means my top, middle, and bottom all remind you “oh yeah, gold”

Genuinely looking at my Shoes.

The shoes…I love these things. I don’t get to use them very often for obvious reasons, but looordie looordie the red, cyan, green, and gold make them much more versatile than you’d expect. That’s why it works here, the shoes pull everything together (pants, shirt, and watch).

Resisting looking at my Shoes.

The grey drawstring of the pants pulls the polka dots on the inside of my sleeves.

Exits that Way

I had a great time during this shoot to be honest. It’s all about good company and enjoying the journey. I hope you all are loving yours as well. I’ve got an interesting switch-up coming next week…See you then!

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Guess We Have to Embrace this “Summer” Weather.

Yeah, so I know I said my next shoot would be sunny. Technically, since I didn’t even do one this week I haven’t lied to any of you. I honestly would have felt bad if I uploaded a sunny picture. After you read this you would look back outside and BAM! clouds. I’ve spared you that brief depression. You’re welcome.

Didn’t Lie Tho.

Okay, Clothes. So in both of these shoots I’m dressing down formal pieces. I mean, WAY down. Both outfits at their core are sweats with a coat or a dress shirt.

I’m never this serious…its all a lie.

Some people have told me that I overthink things…after some thought, I DON’T THINK SO. I believe everything makes sense. Just ask a good question. So how can we pull some dusty sweats out, throw on a flashy dress shirt, and it all come together? Why does it work? Honestly its really easy…it hit me as I was typing this.

Thinking makes us human…overthinking makes us…?

Number 1. FIT, My base (refer to my first post to define base) in both outfits mirror the structure and fit of formal wear. This way, if the color is rich enough, (you don’t want any faded colors…it may cheapen the look which wouldn’t pair with your formal wear very well) it doesn’t even look like we’re bummin’. Oh, but we TOTALLY are, and we love it.

Number 2. TEXTURE, Take a look at my grey sweats. The texture is called tweed. There are tons of different types with different texture patterns, but all you need to know is texture makes pieces look classier than their texture-less counterparts. I mean, just look at the black pair of sweats vs. the grey pair…Which looks more expensive?

Dancing While I’m Supposed to be Still.

For everyone that has checked out my previous posts and given me feedback/love, I greatly appreciate you! I’m really excited for my next two shoots…got some interesting ideas for y’all!

Das it.

What Happened Last Should Inform What Happens First

*Checks Weather

This shoot was unbelievably Seattle. I woke up and checked my weather app to see a sunny 63 degrees. Then I looked out the window to aggressive overcasts and no trace of my daily dose of vitamin D (the sun) .

*Still gonna flex

A way I could describe my relationship with Seattle’s cloudy days is this. “Fine, i’ll be my sun”. Sure it sounds vain, but every time I feel a forecast related, spiraling depression, I look at my fit in my reflection and remind myself that I have to let the weather influence my vibe. In the end I control it. My look makes me happy so the weather can do what it wants…(That was for all my friends in Seattle experiencing our beautiful “Summer” weather).

This is the hard left…

The last two posts were crazy colorful so I decided to take a hard left. White and black. Its common knowledge that these are easy shades to work with, so I had to put my own flare on it. Believe it or not, you can take white and black patterns and pair them with similar ease.

Try me, cover the necklace.

Unrelated, here’s a quick exercise. Take your thumb and cover my face and my necklace in the picture above…does the outfit look unfinished? I recommend throwing dynamic accessories on top of a plain canvas, it normally brings everything together!

Make due with what you’ve got that’s my final tip for this fit! The first two variations of this fit are intended for warmer weather while the zip up (duh) is for these trash clouds. Either way, a simple alteration to your fit changes its utility…the weather doesn’t have to pull a Stalin (dictate) on your wardrobe decisions!

It could use something.

Each fit can prove a point! Between this fit and the next which do y’all prefer…which looks finished?

Time to compare…heh.

A teachable moment! The difference in the outfit lies in one of the guidelines I follow and referenced in my last post. I’ll leave that to you to figure out. If I just told ya you might not retain the advice. Its worth committing to memory!

The Rest is Up to You!

Needless to say, I love sharing! I’d love to see some of the outfits you all put together. Send me a picture of your fit for the 4th or anything really. I’ll give my impressions! Much Love y’all.

Different Vibe, Same Concept.

This was the second shoot I did with one of my good friends Khang. There was one thing that really stood out about the entire experience. As much as I wanted to give off the serious “datz a model right dere” look, when we were kicking it, my smile kicked in the door. I guess that’s what happens when you work with a friend.

That sky tho! I looked outside and had to bring my spring/summer wardrobe out. Most of my closet is geared for winter so it took me a while to find a pair of spring shoes (Seattle’s weather is unforgiving to whites and creams). But since we had some sun I had to pick up these shoes from TAFT. They scream “yeah the sun is out, so am I”.

When I was putting this fit together I hesitated mixing polka dots and stripes, then I realized that cuffing the pants stops the outfit from looking too chaotic. So if anyone is looking to expand their pattern play, try to break up the patterns with a neutral (in this case it was my ankle). It isn’t a MUST, but it definitely makes the outfit easier to work with.

Anyways, monochromatic stuff. Even though this outfit feels and looks completely different than my first post, I followed those same loose guidelines. I have an odd number of pieces (peep the belt). I’m basically rocking all navy blue and my accent color (basically my statement) is tan hat and belt. The tan totally gives the outfit a voice.

Which outfit do ya’ll like best? Anything I shoulda touched on? Lemme know, Much love!

So, Monochromatic Outfits are Always Poppin’.

So, here I was really channeling my Black Panther Vibes. I love the costumes in the film. If you remember when T’Challa wasn’t in armor, then that’s the look I’m going for here. Slim fit, monochromatic with one statement piece. In this case that piece is called Batik, a traditional Indonesian/Malaysian, suit of sorts. The one I’m wearing is Malaysian.

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve almost always had an interest in statement pieces. When I go through my closet, I have to remind myself that its okay to own a basic T-Shirt (Actually its a must, be better than me) but what is a statement piece? What is an easy way to wear one? Let me paint the picture.

When some people go shopping they see that one jacket, scarf, or pair of shoes that screams their name. It’s that feeling that you’ve struck gold right? Then you’re hit with reality, you have no idea how to spend the gold, it would sit in your safe and deteriorate. In plain English, you ask yourself: But what could I even wear this with? The answer?

Almost Anything.

Without a supporting cast, a statement piece is bound to look chaotic. Whenever I work with a statement piece, I default to a uniform color (monochrome) to support it. In the picture above I was having a hard time incorporating the parka (above) and batik into my wardrobe (its just crazy colorful) so I threw on a pair of joggers, a long line Tee, and some Chuck Taylors, all black. Since most of my statement pieces are Bombers, Overcoats, Jackets, or Robes, I call whatever my Pants, Shirt, and Shoes are, the “Base”. I have a couple loose guidelines I follow when I wear a monochromatic outfit.

  1. A General Recommendation: Dress in odd numbers. I don’t know what it does to the eye, but odd numbers tend to have a stronger aesthetic impact. Pants, a shirt, and a jacket will almost always look better than simply pants and a shirt. Shoes don’t count by the way… we all have to wear those, PLEASE wear those.
  2. And More Specifically: With a neutral, monochromatic base, you can use almost any color top. In my book neutral bases include Black, White, Gray, Earthy Greens and Browns. With a Vibrant base I recommend playing with a neutral statement piece (you can get colorful with it, but it is really difficult to pull without some practice).

I’ll continue to upload examples and explain the logic behind them to give ya’ll a good idea of how to play with monochromatic outfits, but I’d love to hear if you thought this was helpful or not. Throw a comment below, or just email ya boy. This is my first post so I’m really interested in constructive criticism and feedback! Much love!