The Owls: Agi & Sam x Topman Collection

Over the past three years, British design duo Agi & Sam have succeeded in injecting the landscape of British menswear with their unique sense of style and humour. When I started seriously considering starting up my own blog a few years ago, Agi & Sam was one of the first British labels I was instantly drawn to. Seeing the models come down the runway clad in those vivid digital prints that have become part of the Agi & Sam signature was a really captivating sight. The ladies might cling to their Mary Katrantzou and Peter Pilotto prints but I’m pretty sure Agi & Sam have been really instrumental in making print cool again for menswear. 

Three seasons on and the buzz surrounding the East London designers is phenomenal. Releasing an exclusive collaboration with high street powerhouse, TOPMAN is a stroke of genius. With London Collections: Men fast approaching, this is the perfect time to introduce their label to a much wider audience. 

The designers took inspiration from their East London neighbourhood and the sporting spirit of the 2012 Olympics as the starting point for their 20 piece collection. What better place to start than Britain’s favourite sport? Yeah we’re talking football! The duo created a complete kit for their imaginary team, ‘The Owls.’ Watercolour feathers, speckled egg shells and owls are motifs used across the entire collection. I really love the way they’ve taken a stereotypically masculine idea of sportswear and supercharged it with their tongue-in-cheek humour and expertise in print and colour. Aside from the sportswear, the collection boasts a strong range of suits and shirting in slick silhouettes. 

As a HUGE fan of the watercolour ducks and chickens that punctuated their AW12 runway collection I’m chuffed that they've added a charming avian touch to this new capsule collection. I’m totally obsessed with the white, owl print football jersey and that double breasted suit in the speckled egg print. ‘The Owls’ collection launches on June 4th.

Side Note: It took me ages to find out the name of the handsome brunette modeling this collection. For anyone who cares, his name is Tom Middlehurst. I love his boyish charm, chiseled cheekbones and freckles...definitely my male model of the moment!

'Tis The Season To... Party - Top 5 Blazers

Whether you're looking to make a big entrance at your end-of-year shindig at work or a fancy family dinner, a statement blazer can really uplift any dreary outfit. Rich velvet and jacquard are some of the go-to fabrics for this time of the year. In terms of colour, the festive season is the best time to experiment with deep, full-body colours like navy and oxblood, subtle metallics will add an extra bit of sparkle but nothing says class more than black.

The great thing about a statement blazer is that you don't need to bother too much with fussy accessories, paired with a sleek shirt, tailored trousers and a great pair of brogues you're guaranteed to achieve the debonair look a la Daniel Craig. Here are my top 5 show-stopping blazers:

Reiss 'Goodwood B' Velvet Blazer - Reiss
TOPMAN Black on Black Metallic Jacquard Blazer - TOPMAN
Paul Smith Navy Floral Print Blazer - Paul Smith
Balmain Satin Trimmed Velvet Blazer - Mr Porter
TOPMAN Red Skinny Tux Suit Jacket - TOPMAN

Red_White_Blue

BLEU06 wishes our American brothers a great Independence Day tomorrow, whether you’ll be heading down to a beach party, barbecue or fancy dinner, we’ve put together some 4th of July-inspired looks to put you in a patriotic mood.

Lacoste Eastport Coated Canvas Bag - Lacoste
TOPMAN Stars and Stripes Denim Shorts - TOPMAN
River Island Plaited Wristbands - River Island
DC Pool LE Shoes - Urban Industry
The Quiet Life Painted Stripes 5 Panel Cap - ASOS
Reiss Rovner Crew Neck Top - Reiss

Paul Smith Double-Breasted Wool-Blend Twill Blazer - Mr Porter

Dolce & Gabbana Solid Classic Shirt - Matches

TOPMAN Stone Skinny Smart Trousers - TOPMAN

Grenson Archie V Brogues - Grenson

Nick Bronson Knitted Silk Tie - Liberty 

Bald Eagle Brass Brooch - Etsy

TOPMAN Fall/Winter 2012 Look Book

TOPMAN’s Fall/Winter 2012 Look book has been released and it looks like a winner. I’m loving the moody, darker palette which really suits a British winter. It’s seems to share quite a few similarities with the TOPMAN DESIGN FW 2012 collection shown in February. Models, Jester and Jackson Rado were photographed by Laurence Ellis and styled by Harry Lambert and Stevie Westgarth. 

The collection boasts a variety of popular trends at the moment. There’s a real sense of proper, British style seen in the three-piece suit, it’s also clear that the Aztec/Tribal trend is going anywhere. I love that TOPMAN have given it a more modern twist. The choice of fabrics and colour palette are on-point and as usual, tailoring is impeccable.

If you’ve been following some of the stuff I post, you might have noticed that I LOVE bold, intricate prints. I literally gasped when I saw the orchid-print shirt below. It’s got the same sense of symmetry and florals that Riccardo Tisci so effortlessly used in his SS12 collection. I’ve been waiting for a great print like this and I definitely think TOPMAN’s take on this trend is a step in the right direction. My other top picks from this collection are the shearling lined peacoat and the baseball jacket and hat combo seen in the last picture.

What do you think of TOPMAN’s Autumn/Winter line-up?

TOPMAN DESIGN Spring/Summer 2013 Show

London Collections: Men starts on Friday, and one of the highlights of the event will be the TOPMAN DESIGN SS13 Collection. So here’s your invite to the show on Friday. It will take place at 12PM UK Time (13:00 CEST / 4am PST / 7am EDT). Like last year, TOPMAN DESIGN will be tweeting each look before it hits the catwalk so make sure you’re following the TOPMAN Tweetwalk. You can do this by following @TopmanUK. So get involved, your tweet may be featured on their live twitter feed. The hashtag for Friday’s show will be:
#TOPMAN
Hit the play button bellow to watch the show

TOPMAN x NEWGEN: Menswear Rules Britannia

TOPMAN and NEWGEN come together for another brilliant collaboration to celebrate the upcoming showcase, London Collections: Men. The collection is launched on the 7th of June and features designs from top NEWGEN menswear designers Lou Dalton, Katie Eary, SIBLING, Christopher Shannon and James Long. £5 from every purchase will go towards The British Fashion Council's Princess of Wales Charitable Trust which supports young designers.

I’ve got my eyes on the Katie Eary and SIBLING t-shirts, what would you pick? 

Sh*t Guys Should Know About Fashion - #6

From my personal experience, fashion can be pretty hard to follow if you don’t know what people are talking about. So I thought that starting the Sh*t Guys Should Know About Fashion segment would be a great way to unravel most of the jargon you hear or read about fashion. 

If you’ve got any confusing terms to add to the list, just drop them in the comments section and I’ll be happy to help!

Today’s mystery fashion term is:

Wishlist - 21

Today is my 21st birthday so I decided to put together a wishlist to celebrate it. I’ve lovingly added links to each item just in case you want to buy them for me get them for yourself. So without further ado, here’s  my list of everything a guy should have on his 21st birthday:

1. ILLESTEVA Leonard Framed Wooden Glasses -  Mr Porter
2. MULBERRY Tony Oak Natural Leather Bag - Mullbery
3. ADIDAS Men's JS WINGS 2.0 - Adidas
4. TOPMAN Engraved Collar TIps - TOPMAN
5. TIMEX X J.CREW Timex Vintage Army Steel Watch - Mr Porter
6. TIMEX X J.CREW Set of Two Straps - Mr Porter
7. AMI Double Breasted Wool Canvas Jacket - Matches
8. BOTTEGA VENETA Pewter Multicolor Washed Cervo Duffel - Bottega Veneta
9. BURBERRY PRORSUM Printed Cotton Jersey T-Shirt - Mr Porter
10. ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Leather Skull-Embossed iPhone Case - Mr Porter

1. 11.   THE LITTLE KNOW-IT-ALL Common Sense for Designers by Robert Klanten  - Amazon

1. 12.   DIPTYQUE Patchouli Scented Candle - diptyque Paris

1. 13.   SPECK SeethruSatin Case Macbook Pro - Amazon

1. 14.   MIANSAI Utility Rope and Anchor Bracelet - Mr Porter

1. 15.   MOLESKINE Plain Softcover Notebook - Moleskine

1. 16.   CRIMINAL MINDS Box Set Season: 1- 6 - HMV

1.   

          17.   ETRO Paisley Linen Printed Scarf - Mr Porter

1. 18.   RALPH LAUREN BLACK LABEL Slim Knitted-Silk Tie - Mr Porter

1. 19.   THE GREAT GATSBY Penguin Hardback Classics - Amazon

1. 20.   TOMS English Herringbone - TOMS

1. 21.   LOST Box Set Season: 1- 6 - HMV

Sh*t Guys Should Know About Fashion - #4

From my personal experience, fashion can be pretty hard to follow if you don’t know what people are talking about. So I thought that starting the S**t Guys Should Know About Fashion segment would be a great way to unravel most of the jargon you hear or read about fashion. 

If you’ve got any confusing terms to add to the list, just drop them in the comments section and I’ll be happy to help!

Today’s mystery fashion term is:

What I Wore Today #1

The weather seems to be improving so I decided to put together a look, incorporating dome of my favourite spring trends, most importantly prints. Here’s hoping the lovely weather continues!

I’m wearing: TOPMAN Aztec Pattern Shirt, TOPMAN Skinny Chinos, Converse All Star Ox Low Woolrich Fabric Upper in Black and Red

Sh*t Guys Should Know About Fashion - #3

From my personal experience, fashion can be pretty hard to follow if you don’t know what people are talking about. So I thought that starting the S**t Guys Should Know About Fashion segment would be a great way to unravel most of the jargon you hear or read about fashion. 

If you’ve got any confusing terms to add to the list, just drop them in the comments section and I’ll be happy to help!

Today’s mystery fashion term is:

London Fashion Week AW 2012 - Topman Design

The TOPMAN DESIGN show was definitely a monochrome affair, with models taking to the runway in various tones of black and grey. This was probably one of only a few London shows that featured a really reserved colour palette but it made up for that in texture and layering. You can tell from the images that they’ve used quality fabrics. What I loved about this collection was the great, slim silhouette and the attention to detail. I really liked the idea of the cinched waist with the overcoat. My favourite pieces would have to be the fur lined biker jacket and the shaggy overcoat below.

Here’s a big shout out to everyone that watched the TOPMAN DESIGN live stream from my blog, thanks for the love!

Images via: londonfashionweek.co.uk

TOPMAN DESIGN - AW 2012 - LIVE STREAM

Here’s your invite to the TOPMAN DESIGN AW 2012 show tomorrow at 12.15PM (UK Time). TOPMAN DESIGN will be following in the footsteps of another well-loved British label with their very first Topman Tweetwalk. After seeing Burberry’s fantastic Tweetwalk yesterday, which featured cinemagraphs instead of still images, it’ll be really interesting to see if TOPMAN can raise the bar even further. Make sure you’re following @TopmanUK to get involved, your tweet may be featured on their live tweet feed. The hashtag for tomorrow’s show will be:
#TOPMANLFW
Hit the play button bellow to watch the show