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!

Sharp Stylings #5

We can learn so much from yesterday’s fashion icons.  And living in a post-Mad Men world means we can even enjoy aspects of current male fashions! Every Friday, I’d like to start your weekend off right with a little style inspiration from either then or now. Hopefully, my fellow Mod enthusiasts will find the whole or some detail of the whole to appreciate and maybe even adopt.

Okay, here is where I risk losing some readers.

There's a certain cable program that a certain someone in our household just has to see every Sunday on HBO. And yes, I get caught up watching it as well... but only because it's on while I'm resting on the couch... sometimes enjoying the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. And, truth be told, True Blood is a pretty alright show. But I'm only watching it because my wife has it on! For reals.

Well, sometime ago last season, I was kicking back while she was tuned in to the vampirerotica up on the screen. But then, one of the characters caught my eye:

"Hello, my name's Russell Edgington and I let my threads sparkle for me."

"Dang! That guy's lookin' cool," I busted out! Yeah, that's right, this guy is dressed pretty hip. Now please put your "God hates Fangs" attitude behind you, stop being a hater, and admire what this dude is rockin'.

First up, the light color and fabric of that suit jacket. No, it's not a 3-button, but the peak lapel is thin and very well-shaped. And the color looks to be a neutral silver tone that can be adapted to so many color combinations. Imagine how much nicer this would be, though, if two more buttons were added to bring the cut of the lapel higher.

Dig that purple pocket square peaking out at you. I absolutely love purple. (It's been difficult though, thanks to memories of high school and college girls deciding to make the color purple their theme in everything they wore right down to accessorizing with purple lunch pails.) But purple just goes with so many things, and in this particular case, I think that pocket square just fits so well with the flowery shirt this guy's wearing. That's the key to the pocket square: don't match it exactly to your shirt but use it to pick up one of the less prominent colors in it.

Now let's get to my favorite piece here... the shirt! In addition to purple, I also love floral shirts! I think this harkens back the days of wanting those Modnick flower-power shirts seen in 1960s Playboy ads. (And yes, I eventually found one that I still have yet to wear.)

The flowers in Russell's shirt, however, look a bit more refined. And a great array of colors represented: grey, blue, orange, purple, lavendar... makes it easy to match up with almost any outfit. Just an amazing pattern to my eyes. [And If anyone knows what brand of shirt this is, please share!]

Although a 3-button coat would have made this whole thing perfect, the entire color combo and outfit choice are spot on for me. Makes me almost forget about those angsty Twilight vampires.

And if you dig shirts similar with floral patterns and are adventurous, you may want to look into one of these (if you can afford 'em): http://www.blaqua.net/collections/shirts

Remember When 'Trendy' Was a Bad Thing?

On my way in to work the other day, I saw a young man in oxblood loafers, black/gray horizontally-striped socks, dark, narrow pants with no break, dark gray v-neck sweater, light pink shirt, and an orange/blue patterned bow tie. The guy looked not necessarily mod, but definitely slick.

I don’t know about you, but for me, these last few years have been fantastic for men’s fashion! Thin lapels, narrow pants, thin paisley ties, knit square-bottom ties, narrow pointed shoes, bright colors, loud patterns… Years ago, we would have been laughed at for dressing like this. Now, Joe-Schmoes out there aren’t afraid to dress up in tighter, more colorful clothing. Once upon a time, most men were happy to spend all their days off in sports t-shirts, baggy jeans, and Reebok high-tops, but these days they're out there wearing suits more often, even outside of work. And yeah, I know it’s just the current trend with a limited life-span, but believe it or not, we can all benefit from it. 

No, these suits aren't perfect, but they're a step in the right direction!

We all can't afford bespoke clothing, but maybe a Macy’s weekend sale can fit into the budget. I tell yuh, Ben Sherman, Munsingwear, Hugo Boss, and even Alfani all have some nice shirts and ties out there for the buying. If you have a bit more cash falling outta your pockets, take a look at Ted Baker, Banana Republic, Paul Smith and Thomas Pink… great, great colors there! 

Banana Republic on the Mad Men bandwagon, that's alright by me!

Sixties vintage clothing is getting more difficult to find these days, but walk into a Ross or Nordstrom Rack, and you just may find a nice new Arrow or Ben Sherman button-down. In the market for some nice pocket squares? Pay a visit to your local Loehmann’s… you might be surprised! Heck, just take a look at this:

Stop rubbing your eyes... indeed, it's a NEW sweater!

Even Fred Perry, which I'm not super sold on (but I'll save that for a later post) has this vintage style polo for sale:

Photo from http://www.hisknibs.com/

For me, 'trendy' has always been a bad word, so it makes me feel a little dirty when I see that word in print these days because I know that what it's referring to is something that probably fits my taste.

Let’s face it… we’re living in a post-‘Mad Men’ world, and fellas, we gotta take advantage of these trends while they last. It’s all going to change as soon as AMC or HBO has a new hit period show on their schedule... one set in 1980s Wall Street! 

It's just around the corner and you know it! (Photo from http://www.allposters.com.au/)