By Andrew Regan
For many years, the domain of men's underwear has remained firmly divided into two camps: briefs and boxers. However, over the last few decades, the variety and trends in men's underwear have evolved significantly - so much that owning fashionable underwear has become as important to many men as owning trendy outer garments!
The revolution in men's underwear began in the 1950s, when underwear manufacturers began printing patterned and coloured undergarments. After years of simple, white underclothing, men were finally presented with more varied choices when it came to their underwear. However, the injection of "sex appeal" as one of the main selling points of underwear only really began in the 1970s and 1980s. The launch of 'designer' underwear, including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Jockey, sealed the status of underwear as essentially a garment to treat with pride once and for all.
In fact, the status of underwear became increasingly exotic with the production of a series of adverts in the 1980s and early 1990s. Mark Wahlberg, for instance, embraced his success as an underwear model for Calvin Klein to launch his ensuing career as a hip-hop star and all-round Hollywood hotshot. Similarly, the classic 1985 Levis commercial - in which model Nick Kamen stripped to his underpants in a Laundromat to the sound of Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' - is often credited with making boxers fashionable once again.
Today's modern objectification of mens underwear has led to a number of fads. For instance, in the late 1980s, hip hop stars pioneered the image of wearing jeans and shorts very low on the waist, in order to expose their underwear. The trend has lasted the test of time and is now popular with a wide variety of men, from hip-hop icons to indie rock stars.
Popular trends of the 'Noughties' have also inspired new underwear trends; bright patterns and bold colors adorn many of the briefs and boxers of 2007, inspired by a range of modern indie and rave movements. Gone are the days when black, grey or white boxers or briefs were all men had to choose from in underwear departments - various men's clothing retailers now sell men's underwear in a range of colors, patterns and stripes. What's more, 2007 has seen the Y-front return to the forefront of many retailer's underwear lines. So whether you're hankering after a pair of fire-red briefs, or you're keen to find yourself a pair of 1980s retro print Y-fronts, you're sure to discover the men's underwear that's perfect for you. So ditch those tighty-whities and embrace a new style of colorful drawers today!
Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist who travels extensively
Men's Underwear Takes The Plunge- Boxers, Briefs or Neither?
Men's Fashion Designer - Approach Them If You Are Less Confident About Your Style
By Adam Jaylin
Nowadays, men believe that looking good is an important aspect of their lives. Whether it is business or the social life, men are now more conscious about their looks as compared to the past.
The first impression always counts and a well groomed man is always given a second look. Now, if you are really serious about your looks, then you need to check out the latest trend in the men’s fashion.
However, you should develop your own sense of style and this doesn’t mean that you should merely follow the latest fashion trends. There is a difference between being stylish and blindly following the latest fashion trends. You would be a fashion victim, if you follow all the latest men’s fashion trend regardless of whether it suits your body shape or not.
For looking good, it certainly requires little amount of effort but ultimately your clothes have to suit your image, style and personality. One thing should always be kept in mind, that it is not about the clothes you wear but how you should wear them.
David Beckham might look good in a ‘sarong’, but that may not look good on you. So, you should wear that mens wears that suits on your body rather than following someone.
You need to maintain a balance between the fashionable and the basic clothes in your wardrobe. You would find celebrities and the models often overdo trends for media exposure and their look will not necessarily work well in the real world or for you. You should not get influenced merely by the brand name. The branded clothes may not help you to look good.
Lastly, it is advisable to get stylish with the dress you are comfortable with. Though, some men who feel confident can easily do this thing for themselves, but those who are less confident should approach image consultants or men’s fashion designers for their advice. Since, they have expertise in this domain area, they are capable of giving you a good piece of advice.
Adam Jaylin is an online shopping expert at Ukonlinemarket.co.uk that provides you the latest Fashion Clothes
Men's Formal Wear - How To Dress With Style
By Kelly Price
When looking at men’s formal wear you need to follow some simple basic guidelines to get an instant classic look which projects a sense of style.
Getting the right look with men’s formal wear is not difficult, if you follow the image guidelines below.
Your suit
In men’s formal wear let’s start with choosing a formal suit.
1. Style
Changes, but you can't go wrong with a single-breasted, solid color suit in black, grey or navy blue and always remember a single-breasted suit will make you look slimmer and sleeker in appearance.
In men’s formal wear a stylish suit can conjure up a number of images, all of them positive.
A suit can make you look powerful, mature, conservative, or sexy. Remember, most women love men in suits!
2. Fabrics and Patterns
Wool is always a safe option when buying a suit. It looks good and wears well.
Worsted wools are lightweight for spring and summer. Gabardine wools are heavier for winter. Wool Crepes are lightweight with softer finishes. Flannel wools are heaviest. Patterns for interview suits are limited to solids, stripes (pinstripe, chalk stripe, beaded-stripe, multistripe), Glen plaids, and checks (hounds-tooth, windowpane, and herringbone).
Picking The Right Shirt
Generally men with narrow faces can choose collars that are wider, to help broaden their faces; conversely, men with wider faces should choose collars that are narrower, to help lengthen their faces.
Ties
Suits come in basic styles and colors, but ties let you show your individuality within a formal look.
If you want to make a bold statement wear a patterned tie with a patterned shirt, make sure that the color schemes are the same and that the patterns go in the same direction.
Finally, don’t forget the Length: It should hit the top of your belt buckle and the deal width of ties is between 3 and 4 inches.
Men’s Formal Wear Combining Tie’s Shirts & Suits
When choosing a jacket-shirt-and-tie trio, match its level of color contrast to your personal colouring.
Your colouring consists of your complexion and hair color.
If you're coloring is high-contrast i.e. dark hair and light skin, or vice versa--your jacket, tie, and shirt combo should be high contrast, too. But if your hair-hide contrast is softer and lighter i.e. you're blond or gray-haired with pale skin, or dark-skinned with dark hair--you should go for lower-contrast clothes.
Two different scales For Balance When you're combining two like patterns in the jacket-shirt-tie triangle, they should be of different gauges.
If your suit has pinstripes 3/4 inch apart, your tie should have significantly broader or thinner bands. If your suit is a striped one (with lines more than an inch apart), your shirt's stripes should be narrower and closer together.
If you wear two different designs within the lapel triangle--say, a checked shirt and a striped tie, or a striped suit and repeating-medallion tie--they should be different scales in size If your shirt has a narrow stripe, your tie needs a wider stripe i.e. pair large with small.
De Emphasize
Choose clothes that de-emphasize your extremes.
If you're short, look for strong vertical elements: pinstriped suits, two-button jackets. If you're very thin, choose a jacket with wider shoulders. If you have a heavier build then Wear darker colors and go monotone from top to bottom.
Watches
The first thing to look for in a man's watch is a large face, as these designs are generally accepted by everyone as looking stylish.
Get a nice belt
Don't forget your belt you want quality, a good quality belt doesn’t have to be expensive and is money well spent.
Your belt color should be coordinated with your footwear - black with black, brown with brown.
Shoes
Black is the traditional safe color for work but Brown or ox blood colors can also look stylish.
You can also use a variety of styles including loafers, wingtips, round-toe, or the trendier pointy-tipped shoe.
Shoes are no place to economize on quality. For men, shoes are the final detail and are one of the areas all women notice.
FREE Image and Style Guides
Men’s formal wear can really make a great impression if worn in the right way.
Further information & FREE style guide for men
Image consultants can help you in terms of recommending items for your wardrobe and providing a personal shopper service.
Men's Fashion Tips: Matching Mens Shoes with Suits or Pants
By Leroy Fong
I have received many queries by readers on how to match their shoes against their other mens clothing, like suit or pants. Actually it is not as difficult as they think it is since the choices of colors for men's shoes are quite limited. Unless you have a taste for extraordinary colors, otherwise there should not be much problem coordinating dress shoes.
Always remember that formality of dress shoes begins from the darkness of its color. For example, black is always the most formal color while light brown is the least formal. So you should match your shoes against your suits or pants based on the occasion. If you are attending a formal business dinner, then naturally black shoes are your ultimate choice rather than brown shoes.
Of late, there are more men wearing light brown or camel colored dress shoes against their dark colored suits or pants. These high contrast creates a very trendy style which I personally like. However, we should also note that this combination gives a more casual feel toward it.
What if the suit or pants are brown-based colors like olive or chocolate colors? Must we definitely wear it against brown shoes? Not necessarily, black shoes are just as fine. Of course, brown shoes would let the color flow very smoothly but black is still a color that can fit nicely. Remember that black is the color for formal.
Lace-up shoes are one step better than slip-ons for their formality. At the same time, lace-ups are split into Balmoral and Blucher types. Refer to Mens Dress Shoes Styles for their differences. The latter is always considered less formal because of its open throat design.
So remember that whether you want a formal or casual look would depend on your choice of two criteria: the dress shoe style and its color. My brother actually has a gray shoe that is blucher styled with pointed tip and polished patented leather. Due to these various combinations, his dress shoe actually looked almost formal against dark colored pants and yet with a tinge of stylishness.
To find out the best dress shoes available, visit Men's Shoes Review to learn more.
Men's Shirts - Fashion, Not Just Function
For many, the average men's shirt is simply a garment of utility - one that is worn by men across the world for reasons of function and not necessarily fashion. But this attitude belies the hundreds of years of trends in men's shirts. From the typical collarless shirts with billowing sleeves worn by classical painters to the modern formal button-down shirt, men's shirts have captured the imaginations of both designers and ordinary men for generations. In the twentieth century in particular, a range of different shirt styles have proved popular with men of all ages.
One of the most important developments in men's shirts over the last hundred years, for example, has been the invention of the polo shirt. The polo shirt, or 'tennis shirt', was created by legendary French tennis player Rene Lacoste in 1929 as an alternative to the stiff dress shirts and ties typical of tennis attire at the time. In the 1960s, Ralph Lauren propelled the polo shirt to new heights as a prominent item in his 'Polo' collection; and since this time the polo shirt has become so popular that it is now a standard category of clothing - although it has fallen out of favour with most tennis players.
The granddad shirt has also been a long lasting trend in men's shirts in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These collarless shirts have been popular with men in warm countries for decades and have seen a variety of incarnations throughout the years. The Nehru Jacket, for instance, is a South Asian version of the modern granddad shirt that was popularised by the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s and early 1960s, and has since been prominently worn by a number of celebrities, from the likes of Sammy Davis Jr to Steven Segal. Today's granddad shirt preys on bright colours and an ethno-bohemian vibe that appeals to a variety of men's fashion trends - from festival clothing to smart casual summer wear.
The button-down shirt has also been one of the most influential men's shirts in fashion history - but memories of how it was created tend to be somewhat hazy. Some fashion experts claim that the button-down collar shirt was invented by an American shirt manufacturer who was inspired by an English polo match, in which players had their collars clipped down to avoid flapping in the wind. Others say that button-down shirts were created in New York, when their inventor (as yet anonymous) attached his collar to his shirt with buttons in a fit of annoyance at the oncoming wind.
But whatever the origin of the button-down shirt, its impact on the men's shirt industry has been historic, as button down shirts are now worn in both formal and casual contexts. Today, short-sleeved men's shirts are often worn with skinny jeans, large belts and tailored waistcoats for a fresh and informal look that still exudes smart chic. And with men's shirts available in a variety of colours - from grey to raspberry - and in a variety of floral and striped patterns, it's clear that evolving trends in men's fashion are far from over.
Adam Singleton is an online, freelance journalist and keen amateur photographer. His portfolio, called Capquest Photography is available to view online.