Back to Basics, Part Three: How to Buy Jeans

Jeans! Oh… JEANS! But how is a girl to find the perfect fit. Someone once told me that the average woman tries on 19 pairs of jeans before she finds one that fits right.  My first and best advice with jeans is to try and try again.

Piece of advice number 2:  Don’t go too cheap on the jeans.  The $25 pair of jeans does not fit or last like the $80, $100, or $200 pair.

I suggest Buffalo, 7 for All Mankind, and Joe’s Jeans. Buffalo is the most cost effective.  I like Buffalo because their jeans come in different lengths and cuts.  7 for All Mankind are my personal favorite because I have never met a pair of 7’s I didn’t love.  Joe’s Jeans are a favorite of many people. When going on a personal shopping trip with clients, Joe’s Jeans are my go-to brand because they fit lots of different body types.

The rise and cut of the jean is very important. The “rise” is the length from the crotch to the waistband.  In-store, you probably won’t ask or be asked for an exact measurement. The label will say low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise.

(F.Y.I: low-rise jeans DO NOT look good on most women. Low-rise jeans are often the culprits that cause the dreaded muffin top. If the jean’s rise hits higher on the waist the muffin top becomes less of an issue.)

The “cut” (or the leg opening) of the jean is the next important part to consider.  The “cut” of the jean is defined by width of the leg opening, compared to the width of the jean at the knee.

For example:  Straight legged jeans have the same width at the knee and the opening. Flared jeans will have a much larger width at the leg opening versus the knee.

Here are some examples (the opening has been folded up to the knee bend):

Skinny Leg Cut Jean — The leg opening is smaller than the width of the knee.

Straight Leg Cut Jean — The leg opening is about equal to the width at the knee.

Bootcut Jean — The leg opening is slightly wider than the knee width (presumably, to fit around a calf-high boots)

Flared Jean — The leg opening is much wider than the width of the knee.

The skinny jean has become very popular in past 7-5 years. HOWEVER, If you are self-concusious about your lower belly, hips and/or thighs, skinny jeans are not the jeans for you. Skinny jeans will only serve to exaggerate the size of the hips and the thighs. The best cuts for those of you who are concerned about the lower belly, hips, and/or thighs are wide legged straight cut jeans or boot cut. Straight legged and boot cut jeans will give you a balanced look from waist to ankle.

The wash of a jean (or the color) can be important as well. Darker washes are usually more flattering on most people. Other washes can be flattering if they are “discolored” in the correct places. When looking at a wash make sure that the lightest part of the jean is on the top of the thigh (bellow the pockets and above your knees) and that the side/seems of the jean (inner and outer thighs) are darker. The slight differences in color between the top of the thigh and the sides create a slimming effect!

Notice how the wash is a bit lighter on the top of the thigh and darker on the sides

So to recap what IS important when shopping for jeans:

• The Rise
• The Cut
• The Wash

What is NOT important…. THE NUMBER! The size on the tag is not important, no body can see it but you. What others will be able to see that you have tried to squeeze a muffin top into a teenagers low-rise skinny jean or… that you have chosen a classy pair of jeans that fits you perfectly and looks great on your body! Now that you have the knowledge you need to pick the prefect jeans… heres to happy shopping!

The Language of Men’s Clothes- Part Three

Part Three: the yoke of the shirt and the all important… TIE!

The Yoke- The yoke of a shirt is the piece of fabric that rest across the shoulders. The yoke allows for movement and can be altered to make the shirt fit properly.

The shirt above has a single yoke panel, or is simply called a plain yoke. The shirt bellow has a split yoke.

Now for the TIE!

Lets start with a little history first.  The tie is thought to have originated during the Thirty Years War of 1600’s. The first known publication on how to tie a tie (or a cravat has they were) appeared in September of 1818. It was called the Neckclothitania. The following is a page out of the book:

The Neckclothitania was prints as a joke, making fun of how many knots and methods had come along.

In Today’s world there still more knots and methods of tying ties than one person can count but two knots that are generally wore by most men, the full windsor knot and the half windsor knot. Bellow are videos of how to tie these knots.

For more information on the subject of ties visit The Art Manliness.

The Language of Men’s Clothes- Part Two

This post is going to be all about collars. There are loads of collar details that make choosing the right dress shirt a little more involved than one first thinks. Lets get started:

There are three things to consider when looking a a collar: 1)the collar point length    2)the collar point type    3)the collar spread.

image source; gentlemansway.com

The point length: The distance from the top of the collar fold to the bottom of the point, measured on the edge of the collar opening– The point length varies from shirt to shirt. Point length is matter of tremendous worry because the point length affects the way your face looks. Men with long, oval faces should not choose collars points longer that 3 inches because this will make their faces’ appear to be longer than they are. On-the-other-hand,  a man with a short, round face a should pick collars with a longer point length because the points will lengthen and give the appearance of a thinner face.

On the left is Jude Law who has a long, oval face. You can see how short his collar points are. On the Right is Elijah Wood who has a shorter, round face and is wearing a collar with long points:

The point type: The style of the the point classified by its features– the features of collars point can clue you into the use of the shirt. For example shirts with button collars are less dressy than a shirt without buttons. Here are some illustrations of a few collar point styles you might run into:

The spread: the distance between the points of the collar– Bellow are two examples of the most common spreads. Note: There are MANY MANY more including modern spread, combo spread, and curve spread. Like I said the two spreads I have chosen to show here the most common and most have the most agreed upon definitions out there. The wider the spread the dresser the shirt! The spread is probably the most important feature of the collar because of the tie (if you plan on wearing a tie with a wide knot DO NOT choose a modern of slim spread collar).

Traditional:

Wide:

Long Lengths for Spring 2011

 

This is what I’m dreaming for spring to summer 2011…

… All-in-all think new 70’s glam (but without the music and the sparkles)!

Main lesson: mind your hem lines.

1. Mixed prints- The Key is to mix small and large prints together and matching color palette (like blues with other blues, and purples with other purples or dark reds).

Miu Miu Spring 2011, source; Gorunway.com/ photo by: Monica Feudi

2. Bright color- Feel free to rock the craziest color you can (note: not everyone can pull off yellow, orange, etc… be sure to experiment to find the best brights for your skin tone).

Michael Kors spring 2011, source: style.com

 

3. EXTREME hem lengths:

• Long (like covering your shoes long) wide legged pants

Akris spring 2011, source; fashionising.com

• REALLY short skirts and shorts

Marc Jacobs spring 2011, source; style.com

 

• Dresses and skirts that are pass the knee, tea length, or brushing the floor

Chanel spring 2011, source; style.com

 

D&G spring 2011, source; searchingforstyle.com

 

Jil Sander spring 2011, source; getty images

4. Funky-chunky shoes- ***I know these shoes are FANTASTIC, but remember don’t get them if you can’t walk like a lady in them… there are so many options out there…

From left to right, source; style.com- Top row; Bally spring 2011, Brian Atwood spring 2011. Bottom row; Calvin Klein spring 2011, 3.1 Phillip Lim.