Manly Monday

Hello, fashionistas- both male and female! Welcome to yet another fabulous Manly Monday! I have the amazing pleasure and honor of introducing our amazing guest blogger for the week: Aaron Hartman. He is here to give all of you guys an Accessories Boot Camp- So without further adieu, here is Aaron with his take on accessories!

Alright men. Line up. Does a soldier go into battle wearing only his camo pants and jacket? No, a soldier’s outfit isn’t complete without a gun and an arsenal of other tools at his disposal. Similarly, no fashion conscious man should strut down the street in an ‘outfit’ consisting of just jeans and a tee-shirt. Fellow Manly Monday contributor Justin Komins covered how to build a sleek look without the graphic tee earlier this summer; now it’s now time to add to that using the fashion worlds answer to the gun and tool belt. Welcome to Accessories Boot Camp!

Lets start with possibly the most important accessory in a man’s arsenal. An item no outfit should be without: the belt. Functionally speaking an extension cord or giant rubber band would do the trick, but try to go for a belt that adds that little something extra (something you should strive for with all your accessories). As a general rule of thumb, belt color should match shoe color. Wearing brown loafers...find a brown belt. The fashion world makes it easy on you, plenty of nice leather belts come with a reversible buckle so you can have a standard black and brown belt all one. Try this Hugo Boss reversible brown/black belt with silver buckle, great for the business casual office or making those jeans a little more formal on date night.

When going casual, don’t be afraid to stray from the rules- look for fun patterns, designs, and material other then leather to mix up your wardrobe. A nice solid color D-ring belt makes wearing shorts acceptable for a man out of high school and not employed by the US Postal Service.

With autumn around the corner, be prepared to hit society’s icy battlefield ready to fight the cold. Scarves are my favorite accessory and is a vital piece when those leaves start to change. Care-packages from home are nice on the war front but leave grandma’s hand-knitted scarves for family holiday parties. If your closet looks like that of a spy’s, filled with dark solid tones good for sneaking, use a scarf to add a splash of color. Remember to keep material and pattern in mind. If you are already wearing a cable knit sweater, then avoid a heavy thickly woven scarf. On the same note, if you’re brave enough to wear a bold patterned shirt, make sure to pair it with a solid color or toned down scarf. You can never go wrong with a classic, so start your collection out with the always-in-fashion Burberry scarf and I promise you’ll be looking to expand your selection in no time.

If aesthetic appeal isn’t enough for you, remember this- Scarves are great for those transitional fall days where there is a crisp breeze but a full sweater is just a bit too warm.
Lastly, I wouldn't be much of a drill sergeant if i didn’t teach how to use your equipment properly. Above is a helpful YouTube video on a few different ways to tie a scarf.

A soldier may still use a back pack, but if you’ve gone from schlepping algebra books to stock portfolios its time for a new bag. While a Louis Vuitton briefcase is never going to steer you wrong, feel free to keep it a bit younger and look for an over the shoulder messenger bag. If you want to avoid man purse jokes, look for a bag that is large enough to carry a laptop. In this case size matters, the larger the bag, the less jokes about murses you’ll hear, I promise. Steal from Her Royal Army and check out Storm London’s collection of bags. Their Abbey line of men’s flap bags are a great, simple leather bag perfect for carrying your notes from lecture or the laptop you need for that big presentation.

If you’ve had enough leather check out Andrew Christian’s Vintage Paratrooper Canvas Bag, probably not suited for deployment in the office but a great bag for carrying everything you need on a jaunt around town.
Alright men that’s it for Accessories Boot Camp. This is enough to help you survive on the battlefield, but any veteran will tell you this was just the beginning. Stay tune for more Manly Mondays to find out how to become a decorated soldier in the men’s fashion world.

Thanks for reading everyone, hope you enjoyed this week's Manly Monday- Thanks again to Aaron for contributing this week!

Stay Fabulous xoxo

~Miss Glamour Giirl & Aaron Hartman