Grenson: My New Favorite!

I have worn many different designer shoes over the years from Cole Haan to Fratelli Rossetti, but my new favorite is Grenson! I cannot recall how I came about the website as well as what gave me the insane courage to purchase a pair of shoes that I had never touched, worn, or even heard of before, but Thank God I did.

This British designer makes the classics modern again with styles that will continue to transcend time. All the shoes I have purchased have been well constructed, comfortable, and adored by more than myself. Always well priced, although they have several different collections ranging in prices from affordable to "Damn, one day I'm going to own a pair of those!" Take a look at the website and you will understand what I'm talking about. Fortunately, they have a couple of sales a year and believe me I take full advantage before my size sells out.

Overall, I haven't dared to buy another brand of shoes since I've purchased my first pair of Grensons and I don't see myself changing that any time soon.

Cole Haan Has Done It Again: ZeroGrand!

Just when I thought Cole Haan was loosing its' strength and starting to become redundant with their shoe line, they slapped me in the face with the ZeroGrand! 


Known for their style and comfort they continued their legacy by taking the ZeroGrand to another level of fashion and fun. I was and still am a big fan of the LunarGrand. These shoes are like walking on clouds in bare feet, but with the ZeroGrand you're walking barefoot on air. This new technology of footwear will revolutionize the fashion footwear industry. Not only have they made these Men's brogue's lighter, but they kept the style fashionable to wear to work or play.

Cole Haan's ZeroGrand won't hurt your pocket either. At only $268 you will get the newest and coolest brogue at an affordable price that will definitely make your feet and wallet "Happy" like Pharrell; not to mention get you several compliments and stares as well.  

Frank and Oak: The Columbia House of Clothes, but Better!

Back in the day I was a victim of the Columbia House and BMG CD membership. Some of you might remember the set up: get 8 CDs for $.99, the cost of shipping, and the promise of buying 4 CDs at regular cost within two years. Each month they would send you a catalog of new CDs to buy as well as the CD of the month and you had so many days to decline the CD or it would be sent to you automatically. Well, after the government fined them for Negative Option Billing and the growth of music downloading, Columbia House and BMG merged and called it quits with selling music through the mail and started peddling DVDs.


Frank and Oak is an online clothing store that gives the buyer an opportunity to try-on the latest clothes every month when they become a member of the Hunt Club. With a Hunt Club membership the member receives clothes every month based on his three favorite styles selected, he has five days to try on his selections, he only pays for what he keeps and the other clothes are returned free of charge. Also, this membership comes with 8% store credit on all purchases as well as 30% off select items with exclusive Hunt Club Pricing. Now all of that sounds great, but there is a small catch. If the member fails to skip a monthly crate it will be sent to him and his account will be credited $45 and his filed credit card will be charged.

Judging by the gear they are selling this may be a match made in consumer heaven, but the only hesitation I have in becoming a member is I will forget to decline the monthly clothing crate and they will send me the clothes anyway and credit my account. This may become a nightmare for me and my absent mindedness, but for someone that lives in a limited men’s shopping scene and has to resort to online shopping its ideal. BTW, I forgot to mention that the clothes are reasonably priced!


If you have used or are a member of Frank and Oak, please share your experience(s). 

Michael Bastian: Bringing More Style to Uniqlo!

Finally, Mother Nature has decided to turn the heat on. With the rising of the temperature the less or lighter clothing we wear, especially to work. For most men the universal dress code becomes khakis and polo shirts. Why is that? My only guess is that it is quick, safe, and relaxing to wear in a work environment, but if you’re like me you’re not into looking like everybody at work and playing it safe takes on a whole new meaning. Well, Michael Bastian’s new line of Polo shirts for Uniqlo are stylishly safe and even better, affordable.

Michael Bastian’s polo shirts bring a unique sense of style that will definitely garner more attention than your usual polo shirt, but still give you the comfort and easy morning preparation you’re accustomed to. The most impressive thing, other than Bastian creating these polo shirts, is the price of these one of a kind shirts. You won’t believe it, but he priced the shirts at $19.90. Yes, that is not a typo! For $19.90 you can have a Michael Bastian polo shirt.

Obviously, I wasn’t the only one waiting for these shirts, because Uniqlo started selling them live online on May 20th and before I was able to boot up my computer that day I was unable to order the shirts I wanted, because they were out of stock. I quickly contacted Uniqlo’s customer service via email and within 24 hours they replied letting me know that all stocks had been replenished. I was able to grab a couple of the ones I wanted, before they were sold out again. They came a few days later and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and style of the Bastian polo shirts. As promoted by Bastian himself, they are comfortable and stylish. I will be going back to get some more!

Wallabee Run: Clarks With Style!

In the past when I heard the word Clarks the first impression that came to mind were shoes an unfashionable, middle age or older guy would wear, but now I would actually want to see the shoe before I judged it. You see Clarks have made it the thing to wear their Desert boots or Chukkas as some call them, but now they have a new player in the shoe lineup and it is the Wallabee Run.

This low cut shoe looks great and feels better than it looks. This shoe does not say Clarks to me when I look at it even though it is the lower cut version of the original Wallabee. Unlike the original Wallabee, it has a thinner sole without the heel and this makes it more stylish and appealing; instead of a Herman Monster platform shoe. It comes in five different styles: Black, Tan, Taupe, and Navy Nubuck and also in Tan Leather. Zappos is asking $125, which is the same price in the stores. I went with the Tan Nubuck and I’m very pleased with shoe for the reasons I listed earlier.

So if you’re looking for a nice comfortable, stylish casual shoe that will garner some attention when you stroll out this summer, you might want to take a look at the Clarks Wallabee Run. You will not be disappointed.

Old School Baseball Gear

After watching the movie, 42, I had the desire to buy a Montreal Royals baseball hat. I've always been a big fan of Jackie Robinson and other Negro League baseball players, so after seeing the movie I had to get some type of paraphernalia to pay homage to him. And Lord behold, I found two sites selling them. J Crew (www.jcrew.com) has a Montreal Royals hat made exclusively for them by Ebbets Field Flannel, which lead me to research Ebbets Field Flannel and boy was I pleasantly surprised!

Ebbets Field Flannel (www.ebbets.com) is the best old school baseball paraphernalia sports shop I've ever come across. They carry everything from baseball hats to clubhouse jackets. Their pricing was very comparable to J Crew, but they had bundle deals that you have to go with or you will be throwing away money or not taking a free item or two. All the materials used to make their pieces come from the original manufactures of the authentic designers, which gives them the genuine look and feel of the originals. And for you football and hockey historian fans, Ebbets went as far as to make jerseys of historical football and hockey teams.

So if you're looking for some cool authentic gear that speaks historical volumes when you enter the room, you better check out J Crew and Ebbets Field Flannel asap!

J Crew Factory Is A Come Up!

One of my favorite songs right now is Macklemore's Thrift Shop! The beat is banging and unique, but his lyrics personifys my take on the fashion industry. I'm always trying to find a "Come Up!" I hate paying full price, because I know the clothing industry is a 100% to 1000% mark up depending on the brand as well as retailer. So when I'm shopping I'm willing to pay only what I think the item is worth and whether or not I need it in my wardrobe. I used to be an emotional buyer, but over time I've been able to reel that in and be more conscience of what I buy and my budget.

I've always been a fan of J Crew since Millard "Mickey" Drexler took over the reigns and revamped the men's look. I had finally found what I was looking for in the J Crew style, but most importantly, it fit me perfectly without having to have it tailored. Most designer clothing doesn't fit athletically fit men, but I've found J Crew to fit just right. Now, don't get me twisted not everything at J Crew is inexpensive, but I will say everything is well made.

But here's the "Come Up" I was talking about earlier. J Crew has an online factory store http://factory.jcrew.com and the deals are the bomb. If you're like me you'll wait until the price is right, like Bob Barker, before you'll buy an item. Nothing hurts worse than seeing something you paid full price for one day be half off the following week. I've been burned like that before on several occasions, but I vowed never again. I started to show some restraint and before I knew it I became more of a practical, fashion shopper. My rule is "if it comes down to my price range and my size is available then it was meant to be," other than that no go.

J Crew Factory is always having sales, so be patient. I've been fortunate to get several suits at 30-40% off by waiting a few weeks. Yes, even on this site I wait for sales. A penny saved is a penny earned and on this site you can save a lot of pennies. So if you want to pop some tags from home just get on J Crew Factory and get your "Come Up" on. It's F#%@ing Awesome!