Manly Monday!

HAPPY MANLY MONDAY! I am so happy to bring back a fabulous Manly Monday post by one of my fav manly bloggers, Aaron Hartman! So without any further adieu, here is Aaron :

With Valentines day come and past I’ve heard a lot of the same things from girlfriends with significant others of the male variety. “Guys are so hard to buy for.” And compared to girls, of whom, many are happy with the old standards like flowers and jewelry, guys can be difficult to make a gift purchase for. And unless your man is fond of prepackaged meat and non-perishable cheeses, a gift basket delivered to his office are out of the question.

So what is a girl to do. Take advice from your friendly neighborhood Manly Monday writer of course! What I propose to you fashonistas is the Manly Monday Morning Gift Basket, everything your man could need to get ready for the day packed up for him in a nice neat basket. While every man’s basket should be tailored accordingly to their taste I propose you this blueprint...

1) A nice button down and tie combo:

Try to find a color or pattern that your man doesn’t have (just be sure not to stretch him to far out of his comfort zone, not everyone is ready for a pink paisley button down). Choose a color to make his eyes pop. More important than anything though is buy a shirt that fits him correctly. There’s an epidemic out their of baggy billowing button downs, lets put an end to it. John Varvatos has some great patterns, and all of his shirts fit amazingly. As for tie, introduce a knitted one to his rotation, check out Valentine for some great options.

2) An accessory

You can look back at my Accessory Boot Camp post for ideas but I might also suggest getting your man a nice pair of cuff-links. It’s a small detail on a man’s outfit that adds a real nice touch (shop for them at Tiffany’s and have some fun checking out everything else there). Another option is the suspender. I myself am on a personal mission to bring this look back into the mainstream and let me tell you I’ve been getting a lot of support and encouragement. Ben Sherman has some fun suspenders that don’t make you think “is this guy a middle school math teacher?”

3) The undergarments

While a nice new pair of underwear is always appreciated, think lower, all the way down to his feet. There’s nothing like putting on a fresh pair of dress socks. Another great chance to add some color to his wardrobe that he might not add himself. There are also some great undershirts out there made of some truly soft fabrics. Check out Calvin Klein's undershirts and tanks for some quality fabrics.

4) The Travel Item

If your man spends a good part of his morning commuting find something to add a little more style to his subway ride. Perhaps a nice leather travel case for his kindle or iPad? If you have a coffee drinker why not go eco-friendly and get him a nice ceramic travel mug, Crate and Barrel has some classy, clean cut ones to add to the gift basket. 

Well there you have it ladies, a great gift idea for the next time your man deserves something special. Get them all to make one great gift or spread the love out and give your beau a little something nice to brighten up his day. And never forget that a home cooked meal is something that never goes out of style. 

Thanks for the great post, Aaron- Happy Manly Monday, Fashionistas!

Stay Fabulous xoxo

~Miss Glamour Girl 

Manly Monday!

Hello fashionistas, both men and women- Welcome to yet another FABULOUS Manly Monday! We have the honor of hearing from one of our favorite guest bloggers today, Aaron Hartman (who previously posted an accessories bootcamp for men that was AMAZING...Click here if you didn't get the chance to read it Fab-YOU-lous: Manly Monday). So without any further adieu, here is Aaron with his advice for all of the men readers....


There as always been a phrase in men’s fashion that has bothered me. “Boxers or Briefs.” It’s so limiting. Not to mention the two options are, in my opinion, the most boring of options. The truth is men have a lot of choices for the cloth downstairs. They run the spectrum of simple and functional, to completely aesthetically based. I like to have my day-to-day run somewhere in the middle.

I look at underwear in particular light. As I towel off from a shower in the morning and open my underwear drawer, I look inside too see a wealth of options. It maybe a random Tuesday, with no prospect of anyone seeing my underwear but me, but damn it, I want to look my best. Most days, I wear underwear just for me; my own little secret outfit choice I wear to give my self-esteem, and internal sex appeal a boost.

 Feel free to use that same mentality, or find your own reason to get away from boxers or briefs (ugh).  Start simple, if you’ve only ever worn boxers since puberty  (cause lets be honest we all know that as kids we only had tighty whities), go ahead and try the hybrid boxer briefs. And do yourself a favor and get a color other then grey, white or black. I think the reason I love underwear so much is because no matter what color I am wearing it always goes with my outfit. I don’t have to think about whether it matches or not. So take that mentality and go out and get a fun color. Express makes some great bright fluorescent colors this season, give them a try.

Once you are comfortable in boxer briefs its time to move on to big boy pants. This next cut is my personal favorite and almost exclusively what I wear. The square cut trunks. Take boxer briefs and cut off the boxer part and you have a pair of trunks. Covering a little more skin then briefs (and providing some much needed breathing room) trunks offer a great balance of sex appeal and functionality. I started my trunks collection at H&M who sells them in variety packs. It’s a great way to get started on having a great underwear collection. I was worried that H&M underwear would wear down fast but they have lasted me a couple of years and still going strong.

Alright now for the advance lesson. I am going to contradict myself now and say that it is in fact okay to wear briefs after the age of 10 with one important rule. Don’t buy Hanes. I don’t care what Michael Jordan says; you need to go with better quality underwear if you are going to pull of this look. Freshpair.com has a great selection for shopping online. C-IN2 is a good go-to brand in particular but there are a lot out there. The important part with briefs (and why I say to avoid Hanes) is the fit. Go out and get a designer pair of briefs that fits, trust me no one will be calling them tighty whities any more. Once you’ve mastered these looks then you can go crazy- Nothing will be too ridiculous for you.

Thanks for reading, fashionistas! And once again, thanks to Aaron for guest blogging!

Stay Fabulous xoxo

~Miss Glamour Giirl & Aaron Hartman  

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