Winter Accessories: The Beanie
With winter hitting down under and the cool weather really kicking in, warm winter clothing has now become imperative and what way to enhance your look than some winter accessories? Perhaps an awesome scarf, or wooly or even some cool cufflinks to make your look more complete without really trying. Thats why we are bringing to you a winter accessories series, so we can have you guys prepared for whatever the occasion this fine winter. And of course, the best way to start is with the almighty, trusty beanie of course! They’ve been around for ages, from when you were a baby to when you were a teenager at the footy or walking home from school on a freezing winters afternoon, they’re comfortable, practical and reliable and are definitely on trend right now. The grown up, new age beanie is versatile and comes in a variety of shapes and colours and can be worn with jeans, a shirt and cardigan, winter coat or even a suit if daring! There are a bunch to choose from, including some of our very own which are new and available in store! Try this winter accessory yourself. Happy Tuesday Annex Men!
Artist Roundup for the week
It feels like we haven’t done an artist roundup in a while Annex men and considering that there is plethora of new and exciting works emerging from an array of awesome artists, we thought we would give you our roundup of our three favourite artists of the week that we are currently digging.
Vittorio Ciccarelli
When do Italians get anything wrong? Along the pizza, Sambuca and of course the Sistine Chapel lets not forget their contemporary artists that are also killing it. Ciccarelli is a digital artist that creates photographic compositions mixing traditional and classic art with objects out of context including blister packs for pills or combs to explore the knowledge, attitudes and emotions that characterize the inner man. His work focuses on human nature in a playful yet symbolic way that is really interesting to the eye.
http://vittoriociccarelli.tumblr.com/
Kelly Colligan
Now this awesome Philadelphian chick oozes cool through her sculpture installations. Her human animal sculptures explore the relationships between animals and humans and open up ideas about how we react to our pets. They’re freaking adorable and pretty lifelike in certain aspects, its ridiculous. We are really digging all of her work right now!
http://kellycolliganartist.tumblr.com/
Vesod Brero
Oh and another Italian, we told you they are killing it! This guy is a bit more local yet nonetheless amazing. He has a small selection of oi paintings merged with spray painted fore panels as he re-appropriates classic and traditional artworks to give them new meaning and gives the viewer a new insight and vision thanks to the illusory movement in his geometric style work. We just love the way they look pretty much
Trend: 90′s Kid
Oh the 90’s, such an iconic era, the time of The Backstreet Boys, Oasis, Playstation, The Simpsons, Johnny Depp and who could forget the gorgeous babes from the 90s- Alicia Silverstone, Cameron Diaz, Carmen Electra and the list goes on!
And who could forget the totally rad fashion of the 90’s when icons like Will Smith and JT reined the awesome trends? Thankfully if you men didn’t already get enough 90’s fashion goodness back then, you can count your lucky stars the trends are back. Yep that’s right guys, we are talking everything from grungy flannels to modern preppy boat shoes, awesome basketball and baseball jerseys, aloha shirts and lets not forget the block coloured jumpers. It’s the era where your outfit was fashionable and comfortable- think a pair of loose fit light washed denim jeans with a cool pair of kicks, or a warm black leather jacket topped off with an oh so stylish crew cut. The 90’s are back, and here to stay for a while, and every designer whether it be Givenchy with their awesome panthers or Calvin Klein with their signature white crew necks, has taken the trend in their own hands to create some awesome pieces that will suit any man. So try the trend out this coming Winter, to bringyou’re your inner 90’s hipster- although you might want to keep the high shine gel in the past where it belongs.
Monday Style Inspiration
Happy Monday Annex men! We’re sure you are all ready to take on the week with a bang, ready for the next weekend to come, but for now, it’s still the beginning of the week and for your Monday-itis blues, we wanted to share with you our new fashion inspiration, the one and only Mos Def.
If any of you don’t know who this cool bloke is, Mos Def is a singer, rapper and actor, a super underground artist with killer lyrics and a bunch of roles under his belt in films including The Italian Job and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. His style is ever so cool, using block colours- both neutral and bright, as well as sharp tailoring and cool accessories to make his look fresh with an edge of vintage. It’s super easy to achieve, and perfect for Friday night drinks with the lads, weekend brunch with the Mrs or a Sunday movie.
Trend: The Roaring 20′s
With the recent premier of the long awaited motion picture The Great Gatsby, a film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, people worldwide have been going crazy channelling the crazy opulence of the 1920’s life in every manner possible, music, home décor, food and fashion included. Here at the Annex we are coveting anything Gatsby-esque in honour of the great man Jay himself. The style is clean and classic yet glamorous and decadent at the same time. Think crisp suits, hard top hats, “shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange, and monograms of Indian blue”. Enter a world where the men are wealthy and dressed to a tee and the women drip in diamonds, emeralds and rubies. So why not channel your inner Gatsby and try the raging trend today, perhaps a soft cashmere sweater or an all ivory suit. However far you want to take the trend, don’t forget the Cuban cigar and tumbler of aged whiskey!
The power of the Graphic Tee
It has been a while Annex men, but we are now ready and back to get into the swing of things just in time for winter with regular blog posts to keep you on top of your fashion choices during the cooler months. It is now the last weekend before we hit an Australian winter which is – to say the least – sometimes nail-bitingly cold, sometimes wet, other times warmer, and most certainly unpredictable. Our solution? Layering! That why the graphic tee is so awesome, its versatile, perfect to wear dinner jackets or trench coats for a smart casual look, underneath cardi’s for warmer days, or underneath jumpers which is perfect for when the central heating in buildings can get a bit too warm. The possibilities are endless, choose a tee with a subtle graphic for those who just want to try to trend or take from Givenchy and pick a real statement for the daring! Try it for yourself!
CITY INSPIRATION: NYC
New York New York, the city that never sleeps. It’s the city where Chinese take out is available at any hours of the night, there’s always some event happening in Central Park, or a production being filmed just around the corner. Its the place where ‘dinner on a budget’ means you only have to $1.50 for a slice of pizza. Where Nike kicks are a culture. Carrying a camera around your neck doesn’t make you a tourist, it makes you cool. Where acid washed denim and black leather are still acceptable. NYC constantly buzzing with different people, a melting pot of cultures merging together to make it one of the most amazing cities in the world. It’s inspiring, fun and it’s where the cool kids are. The cool kids that wear their sneakers with pride, rock that crew cut and aren’t afraid to take risks with their clothes. So take a page out of their book and be inspired by The Big Apple to dress in your coolest of gear this week…think relaxed street wear, loads of layering with a touch of swagger to keep you looking fresh for the ladies.
TREND: Knitwear
Happy Thursday Annex Men. In light of the weather taking a rather crazy turn compared to last weeks blue skies and warm days, what better to erm….celebrate the cool weather finally here than to discuss knitwear. In some ways, winter allows the modern day chap to experiment with different clothing- that quirky blazer or the weird textured jumper- and of course accessories are a must in winter (but lets leave that for another trend shall we?). Today we are discussing knitwear for the modern gentleman and how to incorporate the trend into your look and wardrobe. Sometimes a plain knit is your style and thats cool- chuck it with a pair of dark wash jeans and some cool boots and you’re ready to rock. But if you want to be experimental, check out this inspiration board for some ideas including how to wear little itty bits of knitwear i.e. the knitted bowtie or scarf! Try different colours, different types of knits- cable knit is one of our personal favourites- or even different shapes. Cardigans, jumpers, scarves, hats, beanies, ties and even pants if you can find them! Knitwear is really on trend for Autumn and Winter and as a bonus tends to keep you warm… Our personal pick are the knitted moustache beanies. Just sayin..
Tuesday Roundup
Oh Tuesday, it’s not exactly the beginning of the week but not quite yet the middle child and definitely not the end. It’s kind of the random day, you still have enough energy as it’s technically still the start of the week but its starting to ward off by the time you get home tonight. So to spruce things up and keep that mind going with lots of new things and ideas emerging we put a little random list together of what we –here at the Annex- are loving right now.
We are loving this awesome feature wall found at an art apartment in West Hollywood California. It’s a bit kitsch and playful and really opens up the room.
This Edi Desk Organizer created by designer Tommaso Bistacchi screams cool. Its simple and organized, holding everything you really need at your desk whilst looking suave and aestheically pleasing to the eye. For you unorganized blokes (or if you’re just really into cool looking stationery style items) take a note of inspiration! Check out all of Bistacchi’s work here.
As for an awesome blog, Why You Mad?! Has got to be the epitome of cool. It’s a men’s blog written by New Yorker Austin Ao-Xiong. His style is clean, simple and effortlessly gentleman-esque and he specializes in dudes seeking fashion advice from another…dude. Check him out.
And finally some food porn (a recipe) , for the love of good food. The good ol’ classic eggs benedict never gets old in our books. This BLT twist to the original is the perfect comfort food (yes even men do have those days) on a crispy morning which is sure to warm you up for any day ahead.
Happy Tuesday Annex Men!
Trend: Neutral Colours
So last week we spoke about how to wear bright block colours as a trend for the coming season, but this week, we have been inspired by another bunch of gentlemen to rock the neutral colour trend for those of you who like to keep it nice and simple with your clothing. The trick with wearing neural colours is keeping the clothing nicely tailored and getting the right colour combination to avoid looking washed out especially if the colours are light beiges and pinks/corals. Pastels can also be neutral depending on the type of colours you choose and don’t forget darker neutrals like dark browns and grey’s, which work well with lighter colours as well. Neutral head to toe can look mighty suave and mixing and matching different neutral shades looks even better.
