Finally, here's the Men's Spring Summer 2012 Fashion Style Trend Guide, Part I.

My focus or want for the Spring Summer 2012 trends is 'something new', or the same but remixed. Meaning, some of this ish is getting stale. Okay okay not completely stale, but just redundant. For example, I've been killing Spicy Grilled Salmon Sushi lately, eating it damn near every day. Then one day I had it, and it just wasn't as good– flavors were there, they made it right in front of me so it was fresh, but my belly just wasn't rejoicing the same way it usually does. My taste-buds weren't savoring the flavors like usual, so I had to space out my sushi dining to every  3-4 days or so, allowing me to appreciate and savor it more. That's sorta what we have to do with some of the Mad Men 60's type style… we gotta pull back so that it can be savored.

There are a couple of particular trends that I'm excited about focusing on this year… two in particular one main one for spring/summer and another for fall/winter. I'll let you know what those are later. For now, in usual Urban Gentleman Style Guide form, check out some of the main Spring Summer 2012 the trends below:

Above: Iceberg, Frank Morello, Canali

Spring's Got the Blues. As usual right. Designers love to blue up their spring collections, so it's no different this year. From the schoolyard royal blue to classic navy to the airiest sky blue, all hues of blue are seen this season.

Above: General Idea, D&G, Louis Vuitton

Pattern Me Crazy. In keeping with a trend that we'll get into later this season, there's the overall trend of patterns. Stripes, flowers, native, camouflage, plaid, even polka dots and animal prints (in moderation). Options options options, you have to love that men have that now, not just options in colors or fits, but in patterns– schweeet!

Above: Etro, Yigel Azrouel, Giorgio Armani

The Formal Utilitarian. Another of my favorite trends is the mixing of formal wear with sportswear, in particular utilitarian gear. It's something that we saw alot of on the streets of Italy last year during Fall/Winter so why not bring it into the Spring. Back in the day, the mixing of casual and formal was throwing on a pair of sneakers with a suit, we've graduated from such simplicity and take things to a different place. Now it's throwing on a parka with that dress shirt, dress paints and tie, refined leather hard-bottoms worn with rolled-up cargo pants, rugged lace-up boots worn with double-breasted blazers.

Above: Kanye West, Balmain (Spring/Summer), David Beckham

The Basic White. Going all black has been in trend for awhile, now the opposite befalls us. Lately more and more celebrities have been keeping it simple, with high-dollar simple white t-shirts and white button downs. While some are going pattern crazy other's opt for the opposite, and you just gotta respect it… you just do.

Above: Calvin Klein, Versace, Thierry Mugler, Richard Chair

Bright & Bold. Designers and retailers alike really want us to pop into spring with some color– the commercials are relentless. While wearing bold and bright colors may seem like more of a girl thing to some, boys can do it to. I just implore you to do it in a more studious and conscious way. Don't just throw on a bunch of colors, mix a bold color with a neutral. Make your bold or bright color unexpected… all navy suit, with bright orange brogues -or- neutral base (top and bottom) with a bright colored jacket.

Above: Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani, Billy Reid

Back to Easy Fit. I'm such an advocate of well-fitting tailored clothes, but the looser fits designers are re-introducing are secretly making me happy. Why? B/c some people don't know the difference between tailored and too damn tight… if your junk is very visibly exposed maybe rethink it, unless you're a rock star (in real life or in your mind– can't hate on the dreamers). And if you're sagging with too skinny jeans, you really gotta rethink some things… this is a real issue :-/ So going back to looser fits may just be what the people need. Looser fitting more airy silhouettes are making its way back to retail thanks to designers efforts over the past few seasons.

More Spring Summer 2012 Trends:

(Many of the same ole oldies but goodies are still into play, mixed with newer or reemerging trends we're growing to love)

- Sockless. Same trend, different season.

- Crew necks. We retired the V-neck about 2 years ago, go crew or go home, more here.

- Camouflage. The new staple of the new Americana, the simple plaid, though still lovely, has been officially traded in for camo.

- Espadrilles.  There's alot of lovely new colorways for espadrilles this year, more here.

Check out Part II of the Men's Spring Summer Fashion Style Trend Guide, later this week and next, to "Get the Look".

Yasiin Dante Smith Bey aka Mos Def

Sometimes it's those simple defining pieces, that make you different. Gotta have the proper accessories to add that special uniqueness to your look. 

Take your pick: Sunglasses, Pocket Squares, Ties

 

(pocket squares and ties below, click the article title or "continue reading more")

 

 

Cindy Samoht

Mad Men is back, so far so good… better than last season anyway.

 

Socks socks socks– whether striped or native-printed they're the latest essential statement making accessory for men. Stance and Nigel Knox loaded us up on socks, so in a late winter shoot we paired them with a few new pairs of Toms, stylish threads from Onassis, and a few other pieces.

"playing chinese checkers"; vintage Gant plaid button-up; selvedge Levis: Nigel Knox skull socks; Toms desert botas; LRG belt, Nixon watch

A few years ago it was all about skull scarves, last year and the year before skull velvet slippers, this year you gotta have atleast one pair of skull socks.

LRG crewneck sweater; Meltin' Pot denim; Stance camouflage socks; suede Toms shoes

Toms continues to recreate their "buy a pair, we give a pair" espadrilles with newer styles like the suede cordones (featured above) to the canvas desert botas.

vintage Atlanta snapback; Onassis chambray jacket shirt; Onassis harem pants; UGG sneakers; LRG scarf

Onassis has created a perfect pair of modern harem pants, not too over-exaggerated and Hammer-like, but just enough dimension in the shape to a second-look. (You can't see it in the pic, but the crotch of the pants does sag a bit, which of course adds to the authenticity of it being a pair of harems)

More reviews, photos, and get the looks below:

Socks Review:

Stance– thick, comfortable great quality socks. Awesome array of styles, definitely stock up on these babies. 

Nigel Knox– light-weight classic socks, with nifty dandy-like designs.

Get the Look:

 

model: Quintin

Lands End sent us one of their jackets to try over the winter. While the quality of the coat was good, the sleeves were a bit long… we should have went with a size smaller. Spring just arrived, so it's a good time to catch those winter sales. They currently have alot, if not all of the winter coats (and clothing) on sale now, so check them out here.

coat: Lands End, sweater:LRG, shirt: vintage Gant, jeans: Levis

It's been a minute since our last headphone / earbud / earphone list. I think we laid down the last Top Ten Heaphones in… 2009?! darn time flies! Anywho, it's a new day, there's way more companies vying for that "best" title. We won't just straight up number them, but there are few really good ones out there that we have to highlight. Check out the summaries and product reviews of headphones below:

Soul by Ludacris SL100, $179.99

Soul by Ludacris. I can't lie, I had little expectations for the Souls… I figured Beats were the best because they seemed to be everywhere- on celebrities, in videos, movies, etc. Well, I was very pleasantly proven wrong… Souls are the best headphones on the market right now (atleast in the "Beats vs Souls" battle anyway), and anyone that tells you otherwise is just caught up in the hype.

I've been an "over the ear" headphone person for a long time now. I haven't used an "on the ear" headphone/earphone set since I was in 7th grade listening to my bright yellow sony sports cd player on the school bus. So when I got the on-the-ear Souls (SL100), I was ready to send them back… I knew I wasn't going to like them. But then I nonchalantly put them on while listening to my ipod on shuffle, and I was blown away. So freaking clear, ridiculously clear. I could hear every instrument used to create the beats and melodies… and the sound was perfect. Several comfortable hours later, I could straight up say I experienced music in a new way. That's some cliche' ass sh*t to say, lol, but it's true.  Beats by Dre give you bass, but if you want to hear your music, like feel as if you're apart of the track you're listening too, then Soul by Ludacris is the only way to go. The name is so appropriate. Get a pair of Souls, here.

Urbanears Plattan, $59.99

Urbanears. I've been admiring Urbanears for years now. The simple monochramtic, modern yet vintage style speaks to me. These probably have to be some of the most stylish headphones on the mass market, if not the most stylish. They're just so classic, I can't see these not being hot.

I don't know if people usually own more than one pair of headphones, but the Urbanears Plattan would make as the perfect "second" pair if you have an expensive first pair. I could imagine leaving these at the office or around the house, or they could even be reserved just for travel if you don't want to risk loosing your $300 pair. You can buy a pair, here.

NuForce-NE700X. Battle of the Buds is what I like to call it, lol. Earbuds come with pretty much all electronics these days, namely phones and mp3 players. So we all know how uncomfortable they can be. Most pairs are sufficient and can do their job, but I've been searching for a pair that are notches above the rest in comfort and sound. I haven't tried them all, but NuForce makes a nice pair. Check them out, here.

V-Moda Vibrato. We've always been fans of V-Moda, especially since they decided early on in the process to not only make their headphones forward thinking in technology, but also in design and style. So with all that good stuff said, the V-moda Vibratos are just as sleek and stylish as the crossfades. Get a pair, here.

Custom pair of Fanny Wang 3000, $349.95

Fanny Wang. Funny name, but these are in line to compete with Souls, Beats, and the other heavy hitters. The Fanny Wang 3000s are their top of the line pair, featuring a switch to go from regular mode, to ANC (Active Noise Canceling), to Bass Boost (which gives you bass that is stronger than Beats by Dre, depending on who you talk to). Besides the awesome ability to change how you hear the music, another main difference, or bonus rather, with Fanny Wangs is the customizability of them. They have a solid collection of colors that you can use to customize just about every part of your headphone– inside/outside band, ear muffs, center disc, sound chamber, even the cord.  You can order your first custom pair, here.

I'm not a hardcore audiophile (a person with a strong interest in high-quality sound (usually music) reproduction), but I do love to hear my music the best way possible. These five (2 on the ear, 1 over the ear, and 2 earbuds) definitely are some of the best on the market. Feel free to comment on your favorite headphone/earbuds below.

While many of the newer watch companies seek to create "cool rubber" watches, Nick Blum went the opposite direction. He created a line of attainable luxury watches, that sport quite the unique look. I can honestly say I can't remember seeing a face shape like the one BlumLux watches tote– it's sort of a curved in quadrilateral, most resembling a rectangle.

Passion-Diamond (Rose Gold BlumLux watch). I opted for rose gold because it's most in trend, but the all black with the hint of rose gold on the face seems like it'd be quite swanky.

My first impression of the watch when opening the box was hip-hop mogul, it was just a bit too ostentatious for my immediate taste. But the more I looked at it I began to "see" Beverley Hills millionaire or cocky international traveler– the style grew on me.  I think the key to wearing such a bold watch is letting it speak for itself, meaning keep your clothing relatively simple while wearing it. A crisp white button up, navy trousers and lace-ups. Or a simple t-shirt, great pair of denim or printed shorts, and pair of shoes that have a simply elevate your look. Basically subtle and classic colors, for the most part.

 

Get more pics and looks to go with your BlumLux watch below:

visit http://www.blumlux.com

*song plays* “Reunited and it feels so goooood…”.

Lol, okay, so my last post was an intro to the new GS. Now after spending quite a weekend in viva Las Vegas I'm ready to get down to the nitty gritty. Overall, the Lexus GS is a nice automobile. The time I spent driving it and testing out the features, made me re-remember what I love about the car. The new Lexus GS is what I'd call– "safe, comfortable luxury," that's the best way I can put it.

In the Las Vegas Desert: A fleet of Lexus… Lexues… Lexi… what is the best plural of Lexus. I guess I'll just say Lexus vehicles.

We went to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where we became amateur racers of sort– racing around the track, going through courses, really seeing how the GS could handle. And not only was the ride smooth, while going unmentionable miles per hour, I felt really safe the entire time. This was especially true  when the seatbelts automatically started tightening during some of the less than polished moments of driving/racing around the course.

Another high point of the new GS is their Enform system. This reminds me of the iDrive system in BMW's that I'm used to, except for they seem to have way more stuff…. Voice-enabled apps let you perform local searches with Bing, make restaurant reservations through OpenTable, and get movie tickets via MovieTickets.com. You also have the ability to check in on Facebook and search for business, shopping, restaurant and entertainment reviews on Yelp. Then finally there's Internet radio with Pandora® and iHeartRadio.

Besides that it provides the usual GPS, emergency road assistance, DVD audio and video compatibility, etc that most cars provide these days.

Check out the technical specs and more photos below:

Lexus oh Lexus, the memories…. I used to feel so cool driving my older brothers Lexuses to school. Between the ivory metallic SC430 and black-on-black frogged-eyed GS– I was stuntin' at 16, lol. One of them later on traded up into a big body LS (white with peanut butter interior, and red painted calibers). So, I grew up very familiar with their brand, and from a young age I was able to experience the famous Lexus mix of reliability and luxury.

That said… can I be just a wee bit honest here? I hate to say it, but over the past few years I did start to feel like Lexus had sorta kinda lost its, well…. swag. Not in all areas of course, their trucks and sports cars always go super hard (you can park a shiny new LX570 in my driveway any day of the week (hint hint)), but I was beginning to sleep on the sedans. That's why I was super excited to learn that they were launching their new 2013 GS this year. And even more excited when they invited The Urban Gentleman out to experience it in person… it's about time we were reunited.

Once the weekend commences I'll have more details and real life experience specs on the GS. In the meantime, check out Lexus's first ever Super Bowl Commercial:

You likee? Keep your eye out for it on Sunday.

In the meantime we'd like to do a little bit of Lexus Trivia. Answer the question below for a chance to win:

- A one-year Pandora One premium subscription

- 2 movie tickets a month for a year from MovieTickets.com

- A $100 OpenTable dining card  (All courtesy of Lexus).

QUESTION:

What year did the Lexus GS go on sale?

Answer correctly and you can be the lucky winner! The winner will be announced Superbowl Sunday of course. So get to tweeting and facebooking @LexusGS @TheUrbanGent #Superbowl #GS #Winning

We've recently teamed up with authentic Italian denim brand Meltin' Pot for a closer look into their Fall/Winter denim collection. We had the opportunity to create 4 looks for Meltin' Pot, check them out below:

"The 90s Kid": I created an updated 90s look on Ben, by using the Meltin Pot Misfits which are truly skinny jeans, the jeans are paired with a Meltin' Pot shirt/jacket and topped off with a vintage buffalo plaid coat. To properly accessorize I opted for a classic Atlanta Hawks snapback, gold watch, and a 90s kid closet staple– LA Gears.

Meltin Pot Items Worn: shirt/jacket (red white black )– MS007 T7183 RS05; black denim– MISFITS D1401 RK002 (Also featured: vintage LL Bean Jacket)

"Urban Cowboy": Simple and southern, I paired a Meltin Pot denim shirt with the perfect dark denim Meltin Pot braces/suspenders jeans. To accent the double denim I added a pair of limited edition cowboy braces and tan rugged boots. This look stands alone well, but to push it a bit further I accessorized the look with a simple native print scarf and a gold pin. (cowboy hat optional, lol).

BUY THE LOOK, here.

(Also featured: Limited Edition Trafalgar braces (use code RODEO: to get 10% off), and UGG Fallbrook boots)

"City Hermit": This look really ties into our urbane wanderer trend quite well. As if he's living in the desert, the city hermit wears a muted color palette to blend in with his environment– streets and buildings instead of sand dunes and stone plateaus. For this look I introduce my own spin on ombre, by creating color blocked ombre (see more details under Fall/Winter Tips). I start from the bottom with beige desert boots and I build up the color with beige and khaki socks, khaki slim fit Meltin' Pot chinos, and of course a double dose of brown-olive with the Meltin Pot callum shirt, and light-weight coat. I added a few optional hard-hitting accessories with the watch, camouflage scarf, and a heavy duty Chrome Pawn backpack.

BUY THE LOOK, here.

"Untitled": It was hard for me to come up with a name for this look, but basically it focuses on the simple, yet stylish and manly "guy's guy". You know the man who watches sports, and likes style, but doesn't want to overdo it. He refuses to wear "that skinny shit", lol, but he's all about tailored, well-fitting clothing. For this look Ben wears a thermal shirt and vintage game-worn Georgia Tech football jersey underneath a Meltin' Pot's fur collar pilot's coat. And for his denim I chose Meltin' Pot's carrot fit jeans (the worn-in wash on these are fantastic). I keep the manliness going with a thick pair of navy/white knit socks, tall boots, vintage Navy hat, and optional rugby striped scarf.

BUY THE LOOK, here.

(Also featured: UGG Carnero Boots)

10 FALL WINTER MEN'S STYLE TIPS

Ankles on Display: That's right fully displayed, but socked up of course. Play around with fully displaying your socks this season. Meaning roll up our pants or push them up above your thick textured boot socks. You'll end up with a clean layering of boots-socks-pants.

Plaid on Plaid: Plaid on Plaid on Plaid (you gotta say it like "stacks on stacks on stacks" though, lol). Plaid, ahh, boring right? Well let's revitalize it a bit. This summer we added army fatigue to it to give a boost, now just get raw with it– add plaid on plaid on plaid. But different pattern plaids, and in those cozy winter textures.

Colorblocked Ombre: Ombre is basically shades of color or different gradients of a color, usually going from light to dark. While women see this trend in their dresses, jackets, etc. men mostly see the ombre trend in accessories and maybe t-shirts. Well, we've put our Urban Gent spin on it, and have created "colorblocked ombre". Start from the top or bottom and gradually increase the intensity of the color you're wearing. We started with cream shoes, khaki and cream socks, khaki/olive trousers, then solid bold olive-brown shirt and jacket.

Braces/Suspenders: 'Tis the season for manning up, basically its getting cold so beards and 'staches are growing out. Complete the look with a pair of braces– that means they should button on, not clamp .

Hint of Pattern:  Last year it was all about the hint of camouflage, now it's more all inclusive. Add a touch of something extra to your 'fit with a patterned highlight, whether it's camouflage, native prints, or anything else you may like.

Sock Season: Yep, it's sock season, and we're getting giddy like little kids, hehehe. Because these days a man has to have a couple pairs on deck that are pretty much specifically to be seen by those who gaze upon him. Patterns of all shades and sizes and colors are appropriate. (check back in a few weeks we're gonna have something special for you sock fiends).

Denim on Denim: An Urban Gent oldie, but goodie. In the summer you double-denimed with lighter colors, for winter do it with darker denim. Add a few cowboy details to push it up a notch.

Preppy Hints: As much as I love classic prep gear, it's getting a bit hackneyed, right?! Yea, it is, so let's slow it down before we hate it and go the complete opposite into grunge-wear or something. To ease up on the prep, let's keep it to the accessories, like scarves.

 90s: Add a little 90s to your look whenever you can– snapbacks, simply oversized sneakers, gold accessories, whatever fits the bill.

Simple Accessories: It's fine to overdose here and there, but keep accessories simple. They should compliment not overtake your ensemble… think hat, watch, and patterned socks.
 

 

MORE PHOTOS of EACH LOOK below:

URBAN COWBOY

Another great place to get braces for your jeans is The Suspender Store. Check out their western collection, here.

CITY HERMIT:

 

"UNTITLED"/"SIMPLE MANLINESS"

UGG Hannen Boots

Creative Director/Stylist: Cindy Samoht // Model: Ben Swann