Wasabi Nights

Blaze a trail

This time of year (schizoid weather), most men are ready to shed their heavy parkas or pea coats and put something else on.  Next time you reach for a jacket, may I suggest a blazer. 

When you mention the word "blazer" in the context of wardrobe, most men think of a formal suit jacket.  This limits the true power of the blazer, (more accurately called a sport coat), because it's so much more than the better half to a suit.  Blazers come in many different styles, textures and fabrics.  Some are formal, some are classically casual, others are hip and modern.  Some blazers don't even look like your traditional sport coat due to their shorter cut and interesting fabric, such as cotton, fleece, suede, corduroy, velvet, linen or flannel. 

The best thing about a blazer is how it can add the finishing touch to your entire outfit.  How many times have you put on a nice business casual outfit, or a modern "going out" outfit only to hide it under your North Face jacket or your heavy overcoat?  

 

I found a perfect example of an "REI Guy" jacket dysfunctionally paired with business clothing on a blog by Elizabeth.  A blazer could have taken this man's outfit from senior in high school to successful entrepreneur in the five seconds it would have taken him to put it on.  For those of you who don't recognize him, it's Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook.  Sure he's worth a billion dollars (at least on paper), but that doesn't mean he looks any less goofy in his dress shirt, tie and North Face jacket. 

Investing in a few different blazers can actually give your wardrobe a face lift.  A blazer can help make comfortable pieces like dark jeans and an un-tucked dress shirt more appropriate for the business casual workplace. Business casual doesn't mean you can't still be comfortable. 

A nice blazer will polish your look, modernize your appearance and draw positive attention from others.  Many times, your jacket is the part of your clothing people see the most.  You would be surprised how often women notice the jacket men wear (for better or worse). 

 

Throwing a nice blazer on is also a great way to dress up basics like a t-shirt and jeans.  NOTE: the graphic T-shirts in the photos above make these outfits appropriate for casual events.  I do not recommend wearing graphic t-shirts in the professional business workplace.  These are just examples to demonstrate that wearing a blazer isn't always synonymous with "dressed up" or "formal."

 Daniel Craig is casually polished in jeans, white shirt and a pinstripe blazer.  Well done, Bond.

The man who finishes his business outfit with a nice jacket (compared to the man who disqualifies his outfit with a snow camping parka) looks more successful, affluent (no matter how much your North Face cost), and respected.  I love Patagonia, Mountain Hardware, North Face, REI, etc.  However, I love it best when it's worn appropriately.  Leave it on the trail boys, and when dressing like a man, wear your blazer.

-Lisa Bruckner Certified Trunk Club Consultant

Tailor this please

 
This man's outfit could be a nice example of something to wear in the modern business casual workplace, or out on the town.  However, there are two exceptions: the top and the bottom.  When I look at this man, my eyes catch (and my nose crinkles) at his neck line and his ankles. 

First things first, men, please wear an undershirt!  Unless you are a hunky movie star type or live in a tropical climate, showing off too much of your neck or chest is just plain cheesy.  If this man was wearing a nice, white undershirt and buttoned up his shirt one extra button, he would look more professional, polished and also more attractive!  Showing off too much of your chest can actually be de-masculating. 

The second problem with this man's potentially great outfit are the hem of his pants.  Please note that the man's rolled pant cuffs are not acceptable.  If your jeans (yes jeans!), pants, chinos, khakis, slacks, trousers, or whatever you like to call them are too long, please get them hemmed by a professional tailor.  Otherwise, you ruin a potentially great outfit by drawing all the visual attention to your unsightly cuffs.  It's a few dollars well spent. 

If you don't know how to find a good tailor, ask around.  Especially ask any man whose clothing you admire.  If you are single, asking a woman for help in finding a tailor is a great conversation starter.  

Get those pants hemmed sir; don't quit in the final hour. 

-Lisa Bruckner Certified Trunk Club Consultant

P.S. Just because you see women rolling their pant cuffs doesn't mean you can.  Fashion and style rules do not always apply for both genders equally.  Sorry guys.

Looking good casually on the weekends and evenings.

 

It's Friday and if you're lucky, you might have plans to go out to dinner, see friends, go on a date, etc.  So, after you hang up your suit or your chino tuxedo, you might wonder what you should wear.  Wearing your "work clothes" during the weekend is not conducive to relaxation.  As a successful and busy man, you deserve some R and R from your work life when you go out on the weekend.  Dark denim jeans, paired with a blazer always looks confident and polished in a casually put together way.  David Duchovny shows us two perfect examples above.  Top your denim with a casual dress shirt, tailored fit polo shirt or a solid (non graphic) t-shirt.  If you don't need a belt to keep your jeans up, leave it off and let your shirt stay un-tucked for a nice weekend look and feel. 

 

Another option to pair with dark denim is a sweater.  You can layer it with an un-tucked dress shirt, with the cuffs folded back.  Or you can wear the sweater solo with a nice, white undershirt. Make sure your sweaters are well made and fit well (see above for examples).  A loose, sloppy sweater with sagging shoulders and a baggy waist can demote your look from fabulous to frumpy.

 

The key to pulling off this casually-polished look is to wear a nice pair of casual leather shoes.  Loafers, boots or modern leather lace ups are good options.  If you are on the edgier side, you can try some vintage or retro sneakers-like Converse or Stan Smiths (but I recommend leather shoes for most since you really have to own your sense of style to pull off the J.Crew sneaker and jeans look).  What you want to avoid is wearing any shoe that is designed for an athletic purpose.  Running shoes, cross trainers, tennis shoes, hiking boots, etc. do not make you look good unless you are doing an activity that requires them (and wearing the appropriate athletic clothing with it).  

Looking good when you go out on the weekend is just as easy as looking good at work, as long as you have the right pieces and can put them together in the right way.

-Lisa Bruckner, Certified Trunk Club Consultant

Are you depleted?

 

Quick!  Look down and tell me what's on the front of your pants.  Hopefully, your answer is "nothing." If you answered "pleats," then let's chat for a moment.  First, I want to know why you are wearing pleated pants. 

"I've always worn them"

"I like them"

"I have a large waist so they fit better" 

"I'm skinny so the pleats help me look bigger"

Unfortunately, pleated pants are not going to maximize your look for the better.  In fact, we learned a lot about pleats since they were the rage in the 80 and early 90's and discovered the following truths:

1) Pleats in your pants date your look considerably.  This isn't a trendy, hip thing, it's a fact. Pleats are no longer fashionable for the successful man and haven't been for over a decade. 

2) I like sweat pants, but that doesn't mean I should wear them to work, out to dinner, etc.  Same for pleated pants. 

3) I quote Trunk Club "Rule No. 662: Yes, pleated pants add extra fabric and extra weight to your physique."  A larger man, with a larger waist will in fact look even larger in pleated pants. 

4) Yes, the thin man will look bigger in pleated pants, but mostly in his hips.  A skinny man with big hips is not attractive.   

5) Pleated pants get puffy when you sit down.  It's hard to focus in the meeting when the man next to you has Elephantitis.

   

The answer my pleated pals is the flat-front pant (see center image above from Nordstrom.com).  Flat-front pants and trousers (dress slacks) are up to date, classically modern, flattering for nearly all body types and especially slimming for larger men.  Getting the right fit is essential to maximizing the benefits of the flat front pant.  While you are standing, they should lay flat across the front without pulling at the pocket corners or pressing your rear end into a flat shelf.  If you have lost your crack so to speak, they are too tight (this goes for all pants really).

As most women will tell you, pleated pants need not apply.  Update your look, polish your image and make the most of your physique with plain front pants.  This is one area you want to be depleted!

If you don't believe me, watch this:

Fashion for Men - Matching Pleated Pants

The G Spot

Most men have an obsession for the G Spot.  The one I am referring to is the Gear and Gadget kind.  Gear and Gadgets are a must have on your list.  Most of you are up to date on the latest and greatest and if you don't already own it, you are figuring out how get it as soon as possible. You shudder at the thought of being seen with outdated gadgets; making excuses every time you are in public for the reasons you haven't yet updated your cell phone, digital camera, laptop, etc.  Wearing or using outdated gear on the mountain, running, golfing, fishing, etc. is pretty much like taping a big L on your forehead.  Your image (whether you admit to the fact that it's important or not) is closely tied to how cool your gear and gadgets are.  The interesting part is while most men wouldn't be caught dead with a worn, outdated cell phone, they are complacent to wear worn and outdated clothing!  No matter how cool your gear and gadgets are, if YOU don't look cool enough to have them, get the tape and L ready. When is the last time you updated your clothing?  Can you remember when you bought those khaki pants, that sweater, those shoes, or that belt? Take a good look at your outfit.  Are you as up to date as your gadgets?  If not, your G spot may be G for geeky.

Style Fail

While waiting for the train to pass, I noticed a man standing in front of my car with his briefcase in hand and overcoat on.  He definitely receives applause for trying, which is an important first step!  However, pretty much everything I could see was a style failure.  The first thing I noticed were his pants were too short.  If people can see your socks when you are standing up, your pants are probably at least 1 to 2 inches too short.  Trousers should have a 1 inch drape over the top of your shoes.  This inch is very important!!  Just because they are long enough when you are barefoot, doesn't necessarily mean they are long enough with shoes on.  Second, a coat should always fit the man wearing it.  This man's overcoat is about two sizes too big.  The overcoat dwarfs him and makes his legs look shorter than they really are, diminishing this man's height considerably.  This man is actually quite tall and slender in build, but his overcoat is shaped for a larger, wider man as the shoulder seams hanging down over his biceps will tell.  Lastly, his socks don't match his trousers (they were actually almost white in appearance in real life!).  A common mistake men make is to think people won't see his socks (so who cares), or to mistakenly match his socks to his shoes or shirt.  A man's socks should always match his trouser (pants) color.  Think of your socks as extensions of your pant legs.  Navy trousers, navy socks.  Khaki trousers, the same shade of khaki socks.  An interesting print is fine as long as the dominating color of the sock matches the color of your trousers. 

It's great to have style, just don't fail in your attempt. 

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should

While some business sectors have remained fairly stable in their dress code, others, especially the tech industry, have lowered the dress code to pretty much anything you want (as long as you are decent).  This freedom may seem like a wonderful gift, but the reality is, it's a Trojan horse.  Without a standard to adhere to, without the peer pressure to look presentable, many men (and women) have fallen into the trap of wearing whatever they please regardless of their position within the company.  The most interesting part of this phenomena is the fact that appearance plays a large role in how we feel about others.  Many men say they don't worry about how they look because "no one cares."  Yet these same men will also list off the greatest fashion offenders (in their opinion) within the company.  When you ask a man about someone, he will usually state their title and then describe their appearance.  When describing other men, they commonly use clothing as a descriptor (versus physical attributes which they save to describe women!).  For example "Joe is the CFO.  He always wears these Mr. Rogers sweaters but he's only 34."  So, if we naturally form our opinions about others based initially on how they look, then what do your clothes say about you?  The moral of this story is that people do care, regardless of what they say and how lax the dress code is.  Just because you are allowed to wear whatever you want to work, doesn't mean you necessarily should! 

 

Hot and Bothered

If you've ever eaten wasabi (the green paste that comes with sushi), you will understand the following description: a white, blazing pinch that races up through your nose.  It charges your senses and awakens your mind.  If you eat too much in one bite, it's like a slap on the face!  The best part; you are willing to take another bite.  When most humans slow down in the evening, my mind starts eating wasabi.  I write (in my mind) page after page of journal entries, short stories, novels and now blogs.  Since I joined the Trunk Club revolution, my mind has been on overdrive writing "dear gentlemen" blogs about ways to help men dress better.  Living in Eugene, OR, land of the fashionably confused, I see daily fodder for my nightly wasabi feed.  As a Trunk Club Consultant, I feel obligated to share my knowledge and expertise to help men dress more successfully.  While I may be too hot and bothered to sleep, at least you can get a tip, a thought and perhaps a laugh or two out of it.  Bon appetit!

Welcome to Wasabi Nights

My name is Lisa Bruckner, and I created this blog as a place to offer modern recommendations and tips to help men look their best.  Since I tend to write late at night when my mind is most active (like I just ate wasabi!), I named the blog Wasabi Nights.

As a men's style expert, I work virtually with successful men around the globe who want an easier, efficient, and fun way to buy their clothing.

I would love to hear from you and I welcome your ideas and inquiries.  Thank you for visiting Wasabi Nights!