Listen Up Guys: Wallets

Maison Martin Margiela
I carry a huge purse everywhere because most of my life needs to be available at any given moment but guys must pare down their lives to just a few things and keep it in a wallet - do it right.

1) Buy a nice wallet. I know you don't want to drop a ton of money on a wallet but you're going to take it out of your pocket every day in front of a ton of people. Get a nice one. Don't spend $800 on it (unless you can and want to) but plan to spend around $200 for a decent one that will last a while. Don't go for the duct tape wallet or anything with velcro on it unless you are under 20. Then go ahead and do it but know that it will have to go eventually.
Look for a wallet that's made of nice leather (they should be leather unless it's made of something that's at least as wonderful) and has a few slots for cards.
2) Do NOT overstuff your wallet. You will look like a dork and your pants will wear out where you're keeping it. Put in a credit card or two an your ID. That's it.
That enormous lump on your ass because you have 80 receipts, $100 in cash, 35 business cards, and God knows what else does not look good from behind.
3) Keep It Simple. Although I love the faux wood one below, if you don't plan on replacing it when the world is over that look you should stick to a plain color and a simple design. I think brown leather wears better than black and looks really good once it's a little worn.
You can get simple ones that still have personality. Check out the black Atmosphere wallet by Hlaska below (Tod's has a few with some cool simple design additions as well). It's edgy but the design won't make it look dated in 2 years.


Both Hlaska $125
Gucci - $230
Tod's Italian Leather - $245 (These are my favorite)

Listen Up Guys: You Can Wear Color In Spring Too.

It's spring. Well, to be fair it's spring where most people live. Girls will start dragging out colors like mint, sherbert, and Cerulean soon (for a lot of you guys, that's light green, light orange, and bright blue). Anyway, I have noticed that while most women have a completely separate wardrobe for fall/winter and spring/summer. Most guys simply exchange pants for shorts and be done with it. I have some guys friends that bust out their token pink button down in spring but that's about it.
Guys, if you are not so into wearing a bright orange shirt this spring here's my suggestion. Wear spring colors with grey. Not black. Also, rethink the pink button down for god's sake that has been done, done, and done. Replace it with light orange so that you won't look outdated. Grey also looks good on any skin tone (that's why I like the washed out black shirts on you vs. the brand new black). Look at what the black suit does to skin tone vs. the grey. In winter, it looks okay but for spring the grey makes you look healthier.
Mix the color in your tie with grey work slacks vs. going for the whole shirt in a bright color. You can also mix these colors in the striping or pattern of your shirt for a look that's more subtle.
Look for these colors ok? Banana Republic ($44)

LacosteJCrew ($10)

Listen Up Guys: Dress Pants

Ok, I know you all have dress pants out there. Not suit pants, but those dress pants that you wear to work and not much else because making them look casual is a little tough. Last week I saw the most perfect dress pants outfit that I have ever seen at Barrique's and really wanted to ask the guy for his picture but wanted to avoid being creepy so I'll just have to verbally re-create it for you. You can wear them anywhere you want to appear to have some style (like dates or out on the town) and look so much better than if you wore jeans and a button down (and so much more personality) First things first:
1) Shoes - Dress pants do NOT need to be worn with dress shoes. This is the best way to make them look more casual. You can wear them with this kind of shoe:

Victorinox
or rock them with these. Ignore the grey pants this guy has on and imagine the grey pair of dress pants that you have sitting in your closet for Monday morning meetings or interviews. They have to be a little tighter at the bottom (you can have them tailored to fit this way and this look is huge right now). They go really well with beat up Converse as well.

2) Belt. Another great way to make your dress pants look cooler. Take that boring leather work belt and put that away for weekday wear, if you're brave, rock a studded belt instead. If that's not your style, try a belt buckle that you can find at just about any vintage store.

Rag and Bone
3) Shirt. This one is important. Blazer and T-shirt is the easiest so I suggest starting there. There are a couple of rules with this. Do NOT go with the T-shirt from the 5K you did last summer. In other words, use one of your good T-shirts. I'd suggest one that's black if you're unsure but I've seen some really cool pairings with colored and vintage shirts (like the D.A.R.E shirt you still have in the closet somewhere.)
If you want to go with a white tee and a casual blazer, that looks good too if you went the belt buckle route.