Gifts For the Mod Male in YOUR life!

The holidays are upon us and I'm sure some of you are stressing out on just what to get that special Mod (or other sartorially-minded) guy in your life. And if you're reading this blog, I'm just going to assume that guy isn't the type who's satisfied with a DVD of the NFL's greatest touchdowns, a tribal tattoo around his bicep, or anything Ed Hardy.

Well, I'm skipping Mod Gone Wrong this week to offer up some clothing accessory suggestions for you. Heck, I know if my wife were reading this blog (ahem), she wouldn't be stressing so much.

First off, what every style-conscious fella needs: a new pocket square! Might I suggest a visit to the Kent Wang site for a range of beautiful, colorful pocket squares itching to jump into a man's breast pocket:

A couple of fancy Kent Wang pocket squares.

Don't forget to check out their selections of ties, cufflinks, socks and more, too!

Speaking of socks (oh boy, here he goes again), don't believe the old myth that men get bored with the gift of socks. I mean, how can any clothes-minded guy not get excited with the types of socks I've spoken about before, in addition to the types offered by Bugatchi Uomo:

Seriously... with socks like these, who needs shoes?

Y'know what else is always a great gift idea for the dapper gentleman? Ties! And right now, Munsingwear (Penguin) has been putting out some nice, simple, thin ties that have been catchin' my eye:

Do I wish they had paisley-patterned ties? Of course, but ties like these would work well on an everyday work-attire basis.

Men's jewelry, including cufflinks and tie bars, is also a great way to go, but I tend to steer away from contemporary brands and stick with the ol' vintage variety, because they just don't make 'em like they used to. And your best bet for great vintage pieces? Ebay, of course!

Unfortunately, I shouldn't be sharing these because I WANT THEM!

But since I'm in a giving mood, I'm GIVING you the opportunity to bid.

Must... resist...urge to... bid...

Maybe your favorite Mod male has enough clothes and accessories already and you're tired of losing closet space to him. In that case, why not look into getting him a nice male fashion book? Here are some new ones out that would look great on the coffee table:

Hollywood and the Ivy Look

A book on the sapeurs!

Sharp Suits... essential coffee table decoration!

Well, I'm all suggested out. Hopefully, some of these ideas will steer you in the right direction to getting that man in your life a bit more spiffy for the holidays.

BUT WAIT! 
 It's Christmas and I'm in a gift-givin' mood! A while ago, Karen Finlay of the 97 Things To Do Before I Turn 97 blog tossed me the idea of having a giveaway and now I'm using it.

Over this past weekend, we were all at a local music shop/art gallery, VAMP (which I'd highly recommend for GREAT jazz/soul/and more records, and located at 547 Athol Avenue, Oakland, CA), and I found a couple of vintage Ernst ties* I thought would be nice to give to a lucky MOD MALE reader!

2 vintage Ernst ties, one in a tiki-esque pattern and the other in red/brown stripes.

But on top of that, I'm throwing in a pocket square to match along with a pair of brand-new, that's right, BRAND-NEW, Bugatchi Uomo socks!

Black pocket square with red/brown patterns.

Black Bugatchi socks (one-size-fits-all) with half a chocolate argyle pattern.

All you have to do is one of two things:

1. Become a follower of this blog, if you're not already, and leave a comment on the blog telling me what your favorite clothing accessory (male or female) is. Or,
2. 'Like' the MOD MALE Facebook page and leave a comment on the page, telling me what your favorite clothing accessory (male or female) is.

Contest will end next Tuesday, December 21st, at 6:00pm PST. That evening, I'll put all the names in a bowl and pick a name at random. (And If you 'share' the Mod Male status update for this post on Facebook and suggest your friends like the page or become a blog follower, I'll add your name TWICE to the bowl!

On Wednesday, December 22nd, I'll announce the winner on this very blog! That's right, this contest will last one week only!

Ladies, I know you don't have much use for any of these giveaways, but they'd make great belated Christmas gifts for either your boyfriend, your husband, your good friend, your brother, your uncle, or your dad, even!

Mod Male gift giveaway!

*FULL DISCLOSURE: the striped tie does have a slight snag, but if you keep your suit jacket buttoned up all night long, no one will be able to tell!

Mod Gone Wrong: White Socks

Hi! We're The Lambrettas and we like white socks and sneakers!

Yes, I used to wear white socks with suits. Worse yet, I used to wear white tube socks with my clothes. It was never a 'style' thing on my part... I just didn't give socks a second thought. I've learned my ways since then.

I've always seen the wearing of white socks with suits as more of a Mod Revival/2-Tone kind of thing. I don't know how it started, but if you look at photos from that period, white socks are everywhere. What's worse is the white socks with short pants/trousers! Why would you want to show off white socks in what might otherwise be a nice outfit?

Imagine a guy struttin' down the street in a sharp tie, well-tailored suit, white socks, and well-shined shoes. It's like watching a great horror movie on VHS that warps during the twist ending before returning to normal during the credits. (For those who remember VHS.) It's like getting lost in your favorite soul 45 only to have it skip over the beginning of the fade-out. It's like... well, you get the picture. White socks are like The Nothing in The NeverEnding Story: no imagination.

Well, I implore you to learn from the mistakes I made as a 17-year-old Modnik, especially when it comes to white socks and highwaters. As the British say, always remember to

Sock It To 'Em!

No, I'm not talking about these.

I was doing a bit of research this weekend and realized something: socks really get the short end of the stick whenever anyone describes a Mod ensemble. Oh sure, we can talk about how many buttons a jacket has, what type of collar a shirt has, flared or straight-legged trousers, ties/scarves/ascots, or what types of shoe shapes we all like... but what about socks?

I perused a few Mod books to see how much they've been discussed, and other than mentions of red socks with Hush Puppies and the Rude Boy preference of white socks, the books were pretty silent on the whole thing. I had a memory of a sock mention in the Mods book, but was disappointed when I found the passage. After Richard Barnes talks about how he and Pete Townsend were in awe of the clothing selections they found while shopping at His Clothes, he ends on a downer note by letting us know they only had enough money "for Pete to buy a pair of socks. I don't think he ever wore them."

Yeah, socks sort of fall by the wayside when it comes to a Mod wardrobe. Heck, I'll admit it... they weren't something I thought a whole lot about until recent years. When I first started started dressing more Mod, I was satisfied with white gym socks to go with my loafers and tapered Dickies pants. As my style got more refined and I got a clue on how to dress better, I kept my socks pretty conservative: dark dress socks in navy blues, blacks, dark greys, and dark browns. Some solid-colored, others slightly patterned, but overall hidden in between more stylish shoes and patterned or colorful pants.

But then it hit me... why aren't socks exploited more in a Mod's outfit? Let's be real here, many of us still tend to wear pants cut a bit above the top of shoes... highwaters, if you will. Personally, I've moved away from pants with a negative break... I'm just not at all into the Thom Browne look. But I still like my pants with no break, y'know, to show off some sock.

So, if I'm going to show off some sock, let it be colorful and exciting! Isn't that the best thing about a Mod look? The little details that make an outfit stand out? Soon, I started replacing the more drab 'safe' socks, with those of brighter colors. These days, I try to get the socks to match a color in my shirt or tie. If the socks are going to match the color of my pants, I try to use a lighter tone with a stand-out pattern (or darker tone, depending on how light the color of my pants are).

And right now, the sock industry is alive in styles that would make 1960s Carnaby Street proud! One of the best brands currently rockin' the sock world is, of course, Paul Smith. I'm sure you know this already thanks to the many fashionable, non-Mod guys out there, strutting down streets and experimenting with his multi-striped socks:

Paul Smith Mononuke socks in pink.

And, heck, he's even got op-art patterned socks to dig on:

Paul Smith op-art socks in blue.

Luckily, there's a great shop a block or two from where I work, called The Hound, with a nice display of sock styles in the window. I fell in love with the Marcoliani brand that they carry, which offers socks in vibrant colors and in patterns that include vertical stripes, argyle and more!

It's like Fruit Stripe gum... for your feet!

You can never really go wrong with argyle.

Another brand The Hound turned me on to was Robert Talbott which had some beautiful socks with monotone color blocks, in addition to other patterns. I'm not sure if they still have those available, but here is a pair I was able to get my hands on:

But hey, sometimes you may not want your socks to have crazy patterns, especially if you're wearing loud, patterned trousers. All companies above have some great solid-colored socks as does Mes Chaussettes Rouges, which I learned about from the Shoe Snob blog:

All of the colors of the rainbow, in sock form!

Now, I'm not against conservative sock wear, because many times you just need to bust out the navy blues and blacks to keep things simple and elegant. But every once in a while, bring some excitement to that little space between shoe and trouser leg! It's time to start extending your dandy sensibilities to your sock wear. After all, if you're going to wear short pants, give people a reason to take note!

Paul Smith socks featured on GQ.