Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Most men who are starting to shed some hair become frustrated at the prospects of becoming bald, however, if approached from the right angle, going bald can actually be badass. Style is all about confidence, and don’t let your head get in the way of being the confident gentleman that you are. We are going to show you some styles that will take care of the headache.

Thinning Hair

Shaggy Layers

You may not have to go entirely short if your hair is thinning up top, you can instead opt for a layered shaggy look to create that great out of bed style that women desire. Camouflage your thinning hair by working the hair towards the front to give it that intentional dishevelled look.

 

 Actor Ryan Reynolds illustrates the messy out of bed look

Crew Cut

If the thinning has become considerable, consider getting a military style crew cut. The crew cut is perfect for males with thinning hair because it helps to blend in your thinning hair with the rest of your hair.

 Bono from the rockband U2 demonstrates the crew cut

Bald Spot

Some men have sufficient amount of hair all over their head, except at the crown, and if this is an issue check out these hairstyles.

Buzz Cut

The perfect example to emulate for this iconic hairstyle is actor Jason Statham who has sported this tough guy hairstyle ever since he hit the big screen. A gradual fade towards the bald spot will help to give you that hot bad boy look that women crave.

 Women can't resist the badboy look

Close Shave

If your bald spot starts to become significantly worse, it may be time to reach for the clippers and take it all off with a close shave to give you that sleek silhouette. 

 Musician Seal with his supermodel wife Heidi Klum

Receding Hairline

Textured Crop

If you have a receding hairline, the best solution is to go for a textured crop like that of actor Jude Law. The receding hairline is blended in with layering in order to create a modern look.

 Actor Jude Law with his famous textured crop

We’d love to hear from you, let us know about your experiences with balding, and how you have coped with it. Leave your comments in the comments section below!

First Date Friendly Clothes

You just got that first date with the girl you’ve been eyeing for weeks now, and this means she finds you reasonably attractive, witty, and is willing to give you at least one chance to prove your mettle. She has seen you in your office uniform, workplace, school, etc. setting for a while now, and psychological studies have proven that first impressions are lasting when it comes to pairing, so you’ve got just once chance at impressing her with your casual true self outside of the usual setting. Granted that a positive attitude and self-confidence can’t be replaced with a dapper outfit, it does go a long way however! So let’s work on your image so that you can cross that important threshold and achieve the second date.

Opinions are entirely varied when it comes to a woman’s screening criteria for a man during a first date, however one thing is for certain. KISS—keep it simple stupid. The first date is not the time to bust out all of your peacock feathers and plumage, no woman wants to be outshone by another, especially not by her new date! The first date is a chance to get to meet someone in a relaxed, and casual environment, not an opportunity to show her how you look with a bow tie, or a three piece suit! Don’t forget that piece of advice mates, because if you go overboard on the style department you may commit a fashion faux pas in her books, and axe your chances of a second get together.

Simplicity is all about avoiding extremes, so don’t spring for your tight crotch enlarging pants, or that extra baggy pair of cargos...you want to straddle the middle as best as possible—spring for your fitted trousers instead. If you have a rather flamboyant style, try to be a little more conservative on the first date. Don’t show all of your style cards on the first meeting, you will just be an open book, intrigue and mystery, breed interest and peak desire.

To further carry on the topic of intrigue, don’t wear an excessively tight fitting top, and this applies to hard bodies, and especially the gents with a more flabby upper body. You want to keep her guessing, and let her imagination run a little wild and wonder what you are packing under there. Fitted tops are okay if you have Adonis’ pecs, but just don’t go overboard, capish?  Another thing that many people forget is don’t wear any t-shirts with huge beer, sports team, rock band, etc. logos on the front...a big turn off for many women who may not be as big of a fan of the featured item as you are—you’re not a walking billboard. If you are a t-shirt aficionado, it’s okay to wear solid colours, and layer with other items to capture your true personality! It’s okay if a small label such as Lacoste, or Hugo Boss is showing, just nothing dramatic that is emblazoned across your chest.

Your choice of footwear, and your watch are the two biggest draws on that first date when it comes to attire. You can be sure that your lady friend is going to check them out, so remember to keep it simple, and elegant. Clean those two items before the date, just to make sure that it’s perfect! And on a final note we’d like to remind you not to wear excess jewellery, keep the bling slightly muted on that day, because at the end of the day we want her to judge you by your personality, and not what you are wearing. Good luck mates!

Colour Your World, Wearing Colour

Spring is almost here, and that means it’s time to pack away the blacks and greys, and bring out the colour. Colour is undoubtedly trickier for men then it is for women, but if you follow the guidelines in this article you can be sure that your wardrobe will have a nice injection of colour this spring.

Add Pop, One Piece at a Time

That’s right folks, unless you want to look like the court jester stick to just one brightly coloured piece of interest to add pop to your outfit. The rest of your outfit should be relatively neutral so that your brightly coloured item draws all the attention.

Colour to Accessorize

The greatest way to infuse colour into your wardrobe is to focus on the accessories. The next time you go shopping, be on the lookout for coloured belts, as they are the ideal accessory to break up the monochromatic look of your shirt and trousers.

Money Talks

Generally speaking the more costly the garment, the richer the colour will be because of the expensive colour treatment processes that were used to attain the colour. Not just the dying process, but the fabric will also likely be of higher quality in order to absorb the dye.

Layer the Love

Something that people who are new to the world of colour often forget, and we can’t stress enough...layer your clothes to pull off the colour look with style!

Complement Your Skin Tone

If you are fortunate enough to have a darker skin tone you can get away with a bolder colour to add some flash to your outfit. Those with fair or extremely light skin will look ghostly white and pasty if they wear such vivid colours, so keep this information in mind.

Family Matters

You can wear whatever colour you like, but make sure that your pieces are from the same or adjacent colour families unless you want to look the motley fool.

Let us know your opinion about the use of colour, leave your comments in the comments section below!

Our Dirtiest Article, How To Laundry

We all need to do laundry, but some of us get our moms to do it...shame shame!!! But do you really understand all of the settings on your machine? Probably not, we’re here to help with a short guide to your washing machine and dryer.

 

WASHING MACHINE

Normal/Regular

This is the setting that you want to use if laundering your whites because the combination of hot water and strong speeds of the rotator will get your whites their whitest and kill the germs in the process! Basic undergarments such as underwear, t-shirts, gym socks, etc. are suited to this setting.  Avoid washing your other clothes in this setting because the scalding hot water may cause fading of colours...we warned you!

Permanent Press         

Coloured garments such as your dress socks, khakis, dress shirts (non dry clean type), polo shirts, etc. will be washed in this setting. This cycle is gentler than the one just discussed because the rotator will cycle at a slower speed. Interestingly the machine will first use warm water, and then rinse with cool water in an effort to reduce colour fade.

Delicates

This cycle should be common sense, if your garment appears to be delicate or very light weight it should be washed in this cycle. Make sure to check the labels though, because it might read dry clean only.

Hand Wash

No your machine doesn’t have this setting marked on it, however, certain pieces such as wool sweaters, silk handkerchiefs or those kinky silk boxers that you have secretly stashed away need to be washed by hand only. Wash them in a sink with lukewarm water and a small amount of very mild scent free detergent. Rinse thoroughly and then lay it out flat to dry...DO NOT wring or hang to dry as this can cause some serious shrinkage.

DRYERS

Regular/Heavy

For your most durable clothing that are made of heavyweight fabrics use this setting as it will apply the greatest amount of heat to minimize drying time. This setting will make your dryer extremely hot so take care not to put in any fragile articles of clothing into the inferno as they may shrink or colour fade.

Permanent Press

Just like with the washing machine, this setting is for coloured garments because the medium heat setting is designed to preserve the natural colour of the clothing. One helpful tip is to remove wrinkle resistant shirts and trousers before they are entirely dry, and hang them up to dry completely...this will make it less likely for you to have to iron the garments.

Delicates

Similar to the washing machine counterpart, this setting is for delicate garments which are not very tolerant of heat, but take care not to keep your knitwear in the dryer for too long or you will observe some serious shrinkage.

Air Fluff

Not a setting on all dryers, but this helps to soften and loosen out some fabrics that may become stiff after drying. When put to this setting the dryer will just oscillate the spinner at room temperature and rely on circulation to soften the clothes.

Let us know your thoughts about laundry, and if you have any tips share them with us! Leave your comments in the comments section below.

Watch Time Fly, Watch Buyer's Guide

So you’ve decided to upgrade your Timex Ironman that you had since grade ten, but aren’t sure how to select a watch that is more grown up. This article is going to teach you everything you need to know in order to get that perfect timepiece.

The first step in purchasing a decent watch is to acquaint yourself with some of the terminology that is used in the business.

Complication

This term refers to anything that your watch is capable of doing above and  beyond the simple task of time keeping. Examples are a chronograph feature, stopwatch, calendar, laser beam (yes those do exist).

Movement

The little tiny gears and cogs that make your watch tick. Swiss movements are the best, followed by Japanese in second place.

 

Schematic of Movement

Quartz

Quartz is a type of crystal, and some watches keep time by measuring the oscillations of the quartz crystal inside the watch.

 

 Quarz crystal

Self-Winding

Also known as kinetic or automatic, this refers to a type of mechanical watch that is powered by the normal movements of the wearer’s wrist.

 

Self Winding Movement

Water-Resistant

Pretty self explanatory, but please do not confuse this to mean that your watch is “water proof” so it is advisable to remove your watch when taking a shower or swimming, unless your watch is rated 5Bar or water resistant to one hundred meters.

Collectible watches are those that were made between 1935 and 1985, anything older than that is a vintage. A few years back a vintage watch sold for $11 million dollars. If you are one of the fortunate few who are able to get their hands on a true vintage watch make sure to ask for original documentation to back up the dealer’s claims about the authenticity of the timepiece. This paperwork will have a serial number that has to match with what is imprinted on the body of the watch. It doesn’t matter if you are purchasing a $100 watch by Fossil, or a $65000 masterpiece by Patek Philippe your watch is a valuable instrument and that is why it is important to make this investment at a reputable seller that can provide certificates of authenticity. Spending money on a counterfeit can prove to be a costly affair if the knock off is unable to accurately track time. And a true watch connoisseur will easily be able to expose your fake.

The strap on the watch can be made of various materials such as rubber, leather, or metal. The order of value for the metal from highest to lowest is as follows:

Platinum

White gold

Pink gold

Yellow gold

Steel (however this is more valuable than platinum if the watch was made during the steel shortages of World War Two).

Metal straps are considered bold, and leather more elegant. A gentleman invited to a tuxedo mandatory party will always wear a watch with a black leather strap. A watch with a metal strap pairs well with jeans, however, if it is a sleek and strong design it can go well with a suit for the office. Watches with rubber straps are ideally suited for athletic activities as they have the ability to sustain the trauma that can be unintentionally thrown at them.

In terms of value a watch that is fully mechanical is of more value than one that has a quartz movement, and that is why these watches also command a higher price. So if purchasing a time piece that is to become a family heirloom select one that is mechanical. You may also choose to opt for a watch that has a chronograph function (stop watch and distance measuring features), and these watches are typically large and will get much attention from people because of its muscular stance on the wearer’s wrist. However if you purchase a fine time piece it is imperative to maintain your complex piece of machinery by having it oiled and cleaned every three to five years because the internal oils will have started to break down by this time. Find a reputable watch repair centre to perform this type of work, and usually you can find qualified professionals that are trained to work on your particular model if you carefully read the service manual that came with your watch. Depending on the quality of your watch the average repair can cost anywhere from $400 to half a million dollars. If you own a Swiss watch it can take up to a period of four months to overhaul your watch and re-lubricate the internal components because the entire watch is carefully taken apart, and then lovingly put back together.

So what exactly is the difference between a $100 and a $30000 watch? Well as a rule of thumb any watch that is above $2500 is entirely hand-made and is not mass produced. Each year the company will produce say 500 units of that particular model for the entire world. It is like owning a little piece of coveted art on your wrist. A cheap “Made in China” watch will keep track of the time no doubt, however, a genuine Swiss watch is skilfully crafted by the hands of a man in a tiny workshop in Geneva, and his family would have been making watches for generations. This man’s bloodline has been lovingly making watches for Kings, Queens and heads of State for centuries. You are buying into a piece of history, a piece of tradition, and that is why you are paying the premium. Just to give you an idea of the value of Swiss watches, "Chopard" a company based in Switzerland recently released the world's most valuable watch, costing a cool $25 million dollars.

Brother Sharp Brings Newest Trend? Homeless Chic

A homeless man from Ningbo, China has been taking the internet by storm and fans of his fashion sense have dubbed it as “homeless chic”. The 35 year old man, although impoverished, has been applauded for his ability to co-ordinate clothing. He is even noted to strut about town with sheer confidence while gazing into the middle distance like professional runway models. He has often been observed pushing the envelope by frequently mixing women’s attire into his wardrobe as well.

 

Dare to be different

 

Summer apparel

Brother Sharp versus Dolce Gabbana 

 

Front Page News Around The World

 The man from Ningbo has a legion of followers, and a dedicated fan base on facebook who have called him names such as “Beggar Prince”, “Handsome Vagabond” and most prominently “Brother Sharp”. The idea that homelessness can be chic is not new as it has been explored previously in Ben Stiller’s satirical film Zoolander, featuring a similar look called “Derelicte”.  We would like to hear your views about Brother Sharp’s unique look, leave your comments in the comments section below!