Wednesday 31 July 2013

New articles online - Debater.org.uk

Two new articles that I have written for Debater.org.uk are now online. The first, titled "Censorship of pornography on the Internet is more complicated than Mr Cameron believes" it looks at the proposed changes to the law on access to pornography online and how these changes will influence us.

The second focuses on an issue that has been in the news this week - the abuse of women in the public eye on Twitter. Titled "Time for Twitter to take action against Internet trolls" it takes a look at the proposals for change.

As ever, please feel free to contribute your thoughts on the matter. The articles can be read at the below link:

http://www.debater.org.uk/UK.html

Today I'm Wearing


For another standard day in the office, I am wearing a slim fitting one button suit from Topman with a small collar slim fit shirt from COS. I love the range of shirts that they do - they all fit well, suit slimmer guys and this one comes in a vivid blue and has concealed buttons which is a nice detail. The pocket square is from Reiss. 

Monday 29 July 2013

A Rakish Wedding Look


We are slap bang in the middle of wedding season at the moment and there are loads of men out there that struggle with how to dress as a guest to a Summer wedding. It is one of those occasions where you can get away with being overdressed and should avoid underdressing. Keeping this in mind, I put together the below look for a lovely wedding that I attended over the weekend. Never being a fan of dressing down, I love being able to dress up. The navy double breasted suit is a favourite of mine from Reiss Menswear. I love the fit and elegance that only a double breasted can give you, and relish the chance to wear them, as they are normally too dressy for a day at work. I wore the suit with a plain white wide collar double cuff shirt, with gold skull cufflinks and a glorious dragonfly print, both from Alexander McQueen. The shoes, on the right side of smart, are from Paul Smith. To finish the look off, I wore my Marwood white lace mesh pocket square.

 

Navy double breasted suit from Reiss



Gold skull cufflinks and yellow dragonfly print tie from Alexander McQueen


Black formal shoes from Paul Smith


White lace mesh pocket square from Marwood London

Looking rakish on a Saturday night

For a family dinner and drinks with friend on Saturday night I went for a tried and tested look of shirt and trousers, adapted for the 21st century. This lovely shirt is from The Kooples. I love the Chinese collar and the slim fit. The navy chinos are from All Saints and the navy suede loafers are from Asos Menswear.

  



Friday 26 July 2013

Best dressed of the week - Mr Andrew Garfield



This weeks best dressed is Spiderman himself. Andrew Garfield appeared at ComicCon 2013 in skinny indigo jeans, black sneakers and this contrast colour bomber jacket from Burberry Brit. Skinny jeans and sneakers are a staple of Garfield's wardrobe and they really suit his long, lean physique. I love the vibrant colours of this jacket which are not too loud.

 


Thursday 25 July 2013

Old school style icon - Alain Delon



Luckily for young men of the 21st century, there is a plethora of fashion inspiration from old school style icons. Alain Delon was not only a fantasic and charismatic actor, he was also one of the most stylish men of his time. Dubbed as the French James Dean because of his good looks and talent as a actor, he is most famous for his role in Plein Soleil (Purple Moon) in 1960, based on the novel of The Talented Mr Ripley. The below images are just a few of the great looks from this great movie which I would highly recommend.




Delon was equally as stylish off screen as he was on. Favouring high waisted trousers, open collar chambray shirts, flannel suits and pleated trousers, they are all looks that he can get away with because of his good looks. It is not a difficult look to emulate but beware of unbuttoning shirts too low, as this can be more sleazy than rakish.


 


Premium mens underwear from Burtonwode



I have recently come across a relatively new brand "Burtonwode" which creates premium mens underwear. Created by David Huglin, the designs are made for supreme comfort and the creations are of the highest quality. The name of the collection comes from a motorway service station on the M62 which perfectly sums up this collection of great quality products from humble roots. I love the detail on these items, especially the contrast waistband. Each pair of boxers is made of 100% cotton, which are custom printed in a Carlise mill. They are then sent to London where they are cut and stiched individually. The final product is placed in a unique presentation box, with each box having a print individual to the design inside. The prices are very reasonable too - each pair is only £26 and orders over £50 are free delivery. Here are my pick of some of the best designs:

Classic birds in the bush (£26)

Classic baby blue with contrast waistband (£26)

 




Shop the collection at http://burtonwode.com/

Wednesday 24 July 2013

New collection at Topman - Le Marais



Always pushing the boundaries of modern menswear, Topman have this week launched a new collection entitled "Le Marais". Inspired by the hip, young and stylish young people that frequent the galleries, bars and streets of the Le Marais district in Paris, this is a strong new collection for the fashion giant.


For now, at least the collection is an online exclusive. The pieces in this range are elegant, tailored and slim fitting. It is also perfect between seasons, with knitwear not so thick it will suffocate you in the heat and shirts not so tight that you will be a sweaty mess. My picks of the best of the Le Marais range are below:

 

Black short sleeve roll neck jumper (£26) and black wide leg trousers (£34)

 

Green keyhole crew neck jumper (£32) and black cropped blazer (£75)


Shop the collection at ww.topman.com

Today I'm Wearing - Reiss



Anyone that follows or looks at this blog regularly will know that I am a big fan of Reiss menswear. The products are always bang on trend, smart, stylish and comfortable. Today for work I am wearing a head to toe Reiss look which is broken down as a grey one button slim fitting suit, a pink shirt (Drive) which fits great and has small collars which I am partial to, and a lovely butterfly print pocket square called Shark.


Shop Reiss in stores and at http://www.reiss.com/

The Rakish Gent and Cuckoos Nest Clothing



My recent blog post featuring the Spring/ Summer collection of Cuckoos Nest Clothing has been kindly linked on their fantastic website. I will say what I said in my original post again - they do brilliant quality T shirts and sweatshirts in a vibrant array of prints and colours. The Autumn Collection will be dropping soon so keep a lookout for that.

You can read the original blog post at http://therakishgent.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/shop-cuckoos-nest-clothing.html or at the website http://www.cuckoosnestclothing.com/Latest-News.html

Monday 22 July 2013

Oliver Cheshire for Marks and Spencer



Male model supreme Oliver Cheshire has added Marks and Spencer to the long list of designers and brands that he has modelled for (Dolce and Gabbana, Superdry, Orlebar Brown). He is seen in the images below, modelling the Autumn/ Winter 2013 range which celebrates the best of British manufacture and design. Entitled "The Best of British Collection" it is made entirely of British fabrics, designers and the results are timeless, stylish pieces that are great quality. Jumpers come in bright yellow, red and blue, crisp white shirts look brilliant with the thick and fitted woollen suits and tailored outerwear. The most covetable item of the collection is a Savile Row quality suit which will retail for £800 (seen above). Using Cheshire as the face of this collection is a clear attempt to have this collection (and Marks and Spencer in general) to the younger male market. The strongest piece for me is the grey Prince of Wales overcoat which is smart and can be dressed up with a suit, or down with a pair of dark brown brogues, white shirt and dark denim, a look not too dissimilar to Mr David Gandy, another male model of the moment. 

  


New articles online

Two new articles that I have recently published online have now been posted and are available to read. They are as follows:

Is there a real risk if we make cuts to Trident? http://www.atthegrapevine.com/politics/is-there-a-real-risk-if-we-make-cuts-to-trident

A new curriculum may not solve the problems with education in the UK http://www.debater.org.uk/UK.html

I hope that you find them an informative read. Please feel free to comment and engage in the debate. At The Grapevine and The Debater have some brilliant articles from some intelligent young people.

The Color Run UK

This weekend I participated in The Color Run which took place at the Ethihad Stadium in Manchester. It's a 5K run in which you are covered in coloured powdered paint every 1K you pass (pink blue, yellow and orange). At the finish line you are given a bag of powder which everyone throws on top of one another in an amazingly colourful and fun festival style way. The Color Run takes place in Belfast on August 24th and in Brighton on September 14th. It is a great, fun day out.

Head to http://www.thecolorrun.co.uk to find out more

Before


After 



The Topman Cuffed Trouser



Menswear giant Topman have introduced a new collection of cuffed trousers, which is now available to purchase in store and online. There are over thirty styles in total to be released over the next few months, all urban and sporty. I think that they are all very wearable and comfortable and a nice new take on the trouser.

  

Black cuffed chinos (£26) and Navy Star Print Joggers (£24) both available at topman.com