ALL NEON LIKE

I am back after a long hiatus but let me take it from where I left off! Neon colours have been on the runways for a past few seasons and the trend has been trickling down ever since. Not the easiest colours to embrace, its best to have a little bit of the bright stuff. 

With winter not yet properly in and the mercury still shooting up, I am still in a summery state of mind. (Upcoming winter getaways to the beaches are just reinforcing that!). So my boat shoes are getting unexpectedly more run time! These boat shoes from Sperry fit the bill with their bright orange accents – I have gotten more looks with those on the street than from anything I have owned!

There are boat shoes and then there is that great pair of boat shoes. Though the brand is not available locally as yet, there are several options available; alas, none have the punch that these have (Sperry does boat shoes better than most anyways!). The classic camel tone of leather is contrasts perfectly with the orange accents. The detailing is great: the orange laces, the branded eyelets, the orange ribbed band on top of the base, the inner orange stripe, the boat & wave logo on the outer sides of each shoe.....

Among the interesting options is a navy pair from Lee Cooper with a green contrast inside and white laces and a black Benetton pair with unexpected yellow accents and a suitably maritime white & blue stripe on the inners.

http://www.myntra.com/Casual-Shoes/Lee-Cooper/Lee-Cooper-Men-Dark-Navy-Leather-Boat-Shoes/204446/buy?nav_id=18&searchQuery=men-casual-shoes&serp=7&uq=false#!

http://www.myntra.com/Casual-Shoes/United-Colors-of-Benetton/United-Colors-of-Benetton-Men-Black-Leather-Boat-Shoes/190149/buy?nav_id=18&searchQuery=men-casual-shoes&serp=11&uq=false#!

COLOUR THERAPY

I read a recent article in a mens magazine which gave tips such as introducing colour into one’s wardrobe. Colour has been a story in fashion for quite some time (Raf Simons particularly lauded womens collection for Jil Sander was the precursor of it all). But how many men – ahem, grown men can introduce colour into their daily wardrobes if that daily regime involves going to workplaces where orange trousers and pink polos simply won’t do.

So a great idea to re-energize the wardrobe could be through accents and accessories. While a jacket with an inside piping in orange would do the trick, that’s not the easiest thing to find. I have stumbled upon coloured socks and I think they are a sophisticated yet subtle way to creating interest. Socks are not the most visible garment but a sly pop of bright colour when you sit down will make the other person definitely reassess you! You can put a pair of matching shoelaces if you want to feel more giddy with colour! Bet those stolid dependable shoes would look brand new!

Colour therapy: Brightly hued socks

Flower Power

Floral mash ups at Dries Van Noten SS 2014 and Hawaii inspired florals at Prada SS 2014

Sometimes its difficult to find out whether the ‘street’ is inspired by ‘fashion’ or is it ‘fashion’ that is inspired by street. Case in point: the mens spring 2014 shows are awash with floral prints of all types. At Dries Van Noten, florals upon florals were piled spectacularly while at Prada tropical florals took a twist. Coming off a trip to New York, prints were all over the high street and why not, its summer! Appropriately there were lot of Hawaiian style prints with ubiquitous hibiscus flowers over shirts and shorts. There were wild tropical blooms on tees and shirts, which in my mind flowed off from a hit Givenchy menswear 2012 offering (this also flowed off onto womenswear on the high street). So were designers inspired by men on the street wearing florals? Come 2014, it will be the other way round; high street will definitely fall in love with all the heavy-duty flower power shown on the runways.

Tending to be minimal, I restrict my prints to my tees (come to think of it, I don’t even own any camo in my wardrobe!). But when change is all around, one can be tempted to change. Anyways, how does a normal man wear florals? Restrict it to a single piece and team it with typically masculine staples. Or choose a piece that ‘butches’ up the pretty print.  I bought a pair of floral shorts from Uniqlo – they are in a dull blue colour with a faded hisbiscus print in the most unfloral shades. They come in a comfortable cotton-linen bend and just end above the knee. I might get the hems folded to make them a bit more casual and wear them with a plain white shirt, sleeves folded and pushed up; add a pair of loafers or deck shoes and it’s a perfect weekend outfit.

 

Hibiscus print shorts from Uniqlo SS 2013

Zara had plenty of floral options but my recommendations include a tropical print sweatshirt (a very masculine item with a very un-masculine print). They also have floral shorts and floral shirts. More unusual treatments came at Ralph Lauren's Denim & Supply line where florals were stencilled or hand painted onto denim shorts.

Tropical print shorts or delicate tonal floral sweatshirt, both from Zara SS 2013

 

CELEBRATING THE OLD

I am back after a long hiatus and what actually got me back here was not something new that I noticed in the shops (physical or virtual) but a comment made by someone. I have a pair of what I call 'my office shoes' which are not really formal shoes but they just come handy whether I have to put on jeans or trousers. I was wearing these shoes on an official trip and an Indian gentleman in the hotel lift who had a strong American accent asked me where I got my shoes from. Before I could reply he asked me if they were American. My shoes are very much local and not American and I told him so. He just remarked they looked 'very American' as he left the lift.

Bemused at this I wondered what he meant by 'very American'. I had been to Los Angeles last summer and this 'Americanness' seemed to elude me. Well, my shoes were really in a bad shape then, having been worn almost every alternate day for last three years. They are genuine leather shoes from a brand called 'Red Tape' and look as if they have been used. The most distinctive feature about the shoes at the time of this 'lift incident' was that the shoe-laces had really taken to the wear and were fraying terribly. This had also excited a couple of stylists I had once bumped into a swanky mall.

So in the end, I assumed by American, he meant the shoes looked old but in a polite, appreciative way. What I am talking about is the difference between something old and something vintage. So it is with a loving eye that I celebrate my trusty brown shoes. I have another pair now and the shoelaces have been replaced and I polish them more regularly now than I did before, but they still look very old, very broken-into and I guess they only get better with age!