Wasabi Nights

Ten Things Men Do That Are....Ugly

This man needs no explanation.  Plumber's crack, mullets, etc. are all ugly and I do not need to bore you with the details.  However, here are ten things I commonly see men do that are less obvious; but still ugly.

1.  When wearing shorts with boxers or boxer briefs, please sit carefully.  Consider viewer's angle and your leg position. 

2.  Swearing loudly.  Profanity is not something I endorse, but as a realist, I also understand it has a place in adult culture.  Swearing loudly however is just plain ugly.  Control yourself.

3.   Crossing your legs is fine, especially if you are wearing finer clothing.  However, cross your legs in such a way that we still believe you are anatomically a man.

4.  If your pants or jeans are frayed at the hem (and it's not an intentional fashion statement), they aren't pants anymore, they have become long cut-offs. 

5.  If your shoes used to be one color and are now a variety of colors/shades; it's time to polish or replace them.

6.  When you buy new shoes, it's best to buy a new coordinating belt.  Nothing looks worse than new shoes and a tired belt (or vice verse). 

7.  If you tend to sweat a lot, I suggest you invest in high quality undershirts.  They will help you look better and will absorb the majority of your perspiration; so the rest of us don't have to.

8.  If you have really hairy toes, please don't wear open toed sandals around people who don't know, and love you.  Your hairy toes scare us.

9.  When you tuck your shirt in, don't stuff it in your pants.  Put your shirt on, smooth it out all around you.  Then, pull your pants up, zip, button and belt.  STOP!  Don't futz with your shirt.  Just walk around the room twice and it will naturally un-tuck enough for comfort.  Men who fiddle with their shirt look like they are wearing a blouse.

10.  Big, baggy, clothing doesn't really look good on anyone.  It doesn't hide extra pounds, it adds them (unfairly).  And for you skinny guys, it doesn't make you look more muscular, it just makes you look sloppy.

I say all this with love and respect.  I just want you to look your best!

-Lisa Bruckner, Trunk Club Expert

Suiting the Man: Walker's Story

One of the perks of my job as a Style Expert is I get to meet great people like Walker and Angelina.  They have given me permission to share their story and this photo from a wedding they attended last weekend.

When I first met Walker, he was a bit unsure how a style expert could really help him.  He is a former linebacker who made the switch from knocking teeth out, to taking care of them (he is a successful dentist).  While Walker's outward physique changed (he dropped a considerable amount of weight after leaving the football field), in his mind he was still a LARGE man.

Walker likes nice clothing and unlike many men, doesn't mind shopping; it's just a matter of time and availability.  When we first met, much of his clothing didn't fit well; in part because it was difficult for him to select the correct size and fit since losing his extra linebacker weight.

Walker is a muscular, 6' 5" with long arms, a barrel chest and narrow waist.  Add to this challenge; Walker has good taste and appreciates details and style.  He says he is picky. I say he is selective.  He knows what he likes and has a good ownership of his personal style. 

While it took us a couple boxes to figure out what size Walker really was, he was patient, and very fun to work with.  Hendricks Park pays for all standard shipping so all he had to do was try on the clothing with me and share a few laughs as we figured out what sizes and brands fit him best.  I adore his girlfriend Angelina who made regular appearances during our consultations and we even did a mini Hendricks Park for women consult when she asked for advice on what kind of shoes to wear with her fabulous BCBG dress (the lavender one she is wearing above). 

In addition to outfitting Walker for his upcoming formal events, we also found him some great Joes Jeans, an awesome Canterbury polo and some great shorts (a plaid pair and a pinstriped pair) to enhance his existing wardrobe.

When I received this photo from Walker last night, I spontaneously gasped out loud and grinned ear to ear.  He looked amazing.  While I wish I had a full length photo to show you, at least you can get an idea of how great he looked in his navy, two-button, windowpane suit.  The crisp, white, dress shirt by Ike Behar and the uber chic windowpane, silk tie (it's a luxurious honey-gold with accents of khaki, navy and sky blue) were perfect coordinates with his suit. Many men are unsure how to wear more than one pattern at a time.  Walker's look above is a great example of how to balance patterns and colors well.  He looks like a stylish gentleman. 

They have another wedding to go to soon and they promised me a full length photo so you can see his entire look (including his new shoes which are very cool!). 

When I asked him if he received any compliments, Angelina quipped in that many people told him how nice he looked.  I commented that it's rare for a man in his situation to hear any compliments because they generally tend to go to the woman he is with.  Angelina didn't mind sharing the limelight (as I am sure she had her fair share!).  I think they both look fabulous and I can't wait to see more photos!

Thank you Walker and Angelina for sharing your story and for being such wonderful people to work with!

-Lisa Bruckner, Hendricks Park

How to Roll Your Sleeves Well

NOTE: On Monday, 8/3 I posted this article for a little under 2 hours.  I temporarily removed it because my gracious sleeve model's site was down for server updates.  Out of respect to him, I waited to re-post until his site was back up.  If you missed the article the first time, I hope you enjoy it now. -Lisa

In the modern world, business-casual attire is replacing the formal business suit.  I, personally like to see men do business in a nicely tailored suit.  It's elegantly powerful and frees men from the issues of what to wear and how to wear it.  However, until the pendulum swings back in my favor, the ever so comfortable business-casual uniform will prevail.

For those of you in the business casual world who appropriately wear a dress shirt to work (commonly referred by men as a "button up"), I applaud your efforts.  However, those efforts often go unnoticed when you don't know how to roll your sleeves up well.

I recently had a conversation about just this issue with a fellow blogger from the uber cool, man-friendly website 21gent.  He graciously agreed to be my model for this article and demonstrate the highs and lows of rolling your shirt sleeves.

Men's Sleeve Rolling Etiquette:

1.  If you roll your shirt sleeves in the business workplace, please do so respectably; keep it neat, tidy, polished.

2.  If you are layering a sweater over your dress shirt, simply roll the cuff back once over the end of your sweater sleeve and push the sleeves up to your mid-forearm for a business casual look.

3.  Wearing a tie?  Please don't roll your sleeves at all. Keep them cuffed and polished (unless you are making a fashion statement and then all bets are off).

4.  If you are wearing a dress shirt without a jacket and tie, unbutton your cuff, and carefully fold it back twice; ensuring it lays flat and never goes past your elbow.

5.  I encourage you to roll your sleeves when you want to look polished but not stuffy in semi-casual attire.  For example: when wearing a dress shirt tucked in with denim or casual pants (without a tie or jacket).

6.  If you roll your sleeves up above your elbow, this is called a short sleeve shirt!

Unfortunately, I see men do this regularly in the business world.  The man in the photo (above) looks like he is ready to go, the man to the right looks like he is ready for a fist fight.  Rolling your sleeves up this high is also the classic college dude look.  You decide, are you a dude, or a man?

When you roll your sleeves up too high, the sleeve material bunches up and creates a funny looking shape for your biceps.  For men with a larger physique, rolling your sleeves up this high will create a very unbalanced appearance when you are dressed well everywhere else. 

7.  Surprisingly, the most attractive way to dress is actually to show less and make people think more; leave something for the imagination.  When you roll your sleeves just twice and they lay flat across your forearm, it actually accentuates your hands in an appealing way (you often hear women talking about men with strong hands, or the size of his hands, etc.). 

8.  You may need to play with the buttons on your sleeves a bit to determine which ones should be un-buttoned for you to get a smooth fit after you fold it. 

9.  If you need to roll your sleeves three or four times for it to lay flat against your forearm, you are probably wearing the wrong size shirt (e.g. your sleeve length is too long). 

 10.  Some men only like to roll their cuff back once and then push it up the rest of the way.  If so, iron your cuff back in the morning so as to create "fabric memory" to aid you in your efforts.  No matter how cool your cuff lining is, it's not a great look when the cuff is a wide cone around your wrist.  Many men see models in catalogs wearing their cuffs like this (see left); however they are simply modeling the cuff lining-not how you should actually wear it! I recommend folding it twice.

Thank you to 21gent for agreeing to model his sleeves for this article. He is a true gentleman; which is probably why I like his site so much, despite the fact that it's content is solid manspeak (it's great for you men out there though!). 

-Lisa Bruckner, Hendricks Park

How to care for your clothing: Will it shrink?

If it's made of cotton, you are pretty much guaranteed it will shrink if you put it in the dryer.  Cotton doesn't shrink a great deal (if at all) in width; but can significantly shrink in length. 

For those of you who buy wide, baggy clothing with the idea you can shrink to fit, you are probably in for disappointment.  However, if you are hoping to lose an inch or two on the length, throw it in the dryer on high and there is a good chance your wishes will be granted.

If you love the length and fit of your pants or shirts, I don't recommend you dry them.  Wash them in cold water (if they are machine washable) and then hang them to dry.  However, remember that you may need to touch them up with an iron since the dryer is like a huge steam iron and you are missing this step when you hang dry.  See my previous post about how to prevent wrinkles.

One of the most common washing instructions is "Machine wash cold, tumble dry low."  Danger Will Robinson!  Danger!  I think many textile manufacturers believe, we as the consumer, know their fabric will shrink if we follow these washing instructions.  On the contrary, we as consumers blindly believe if we follow the washing instructions, our clothing will look exactly as it did when we first bought it.  I expect you all know by now, this is far from reality.

If you don't care if you lose an inch in length (or more depending on what it is), go ahead and tumble dry.  However, if you need every last millimeter of length, or love the fit as it is, ignore these instructions and wash on cold and hang dry.  Your clothing will last longer and look better for it.

Perhaps the washing instructions are a marketing ploy to get us to buy more clothing since we keep shrinking our favorite clothes when we "machine wash cold and tumble dry low."  Apparel Manufacturers, heed my advice: I don't know about you, but most men I know are aversive to shrinkage!

-Lisa Bruckner, Hendricks Park