Calculatus Eliminatus: A Men's Fashion Blog

While I was out for an early dinner on Saturday night at The British Beer Company with my spouse, I just happened to be looking the crowd over while we having a brew before our meal came. At first there wasn’t anyone very exciting or unusual, but then I looked over at the bar area and I found my fashion violation. As I looked at this one man sitting there, the first thing that struck me was that he has a good sized man, but the red t-shirt that he was wearing was much too tight.  

It showed every bulge from the waist up and looked like it was generally impairing his breathing ability. The next thing that struck me very oddly was the fact that it was about 35 degrees outside and he was wearing a pair of green cargo shorts, which would have been perfectly fine if it were not the middle of winter. I’m sorry, but nobody is that warm all the time! The total outfit was topped off with a black newsboy cap, newly grown mutton chops and a scraggly goatee. It was definitely not a look that you’re going to see on the cover of GQ.

In my search for the “best dressed” of the evening, I didn’t run into anyone that came close to that category until I ran in to the grocery store before going home. I had waited to see at least one well dressed person walk into the pub, but no such luck. As I walked by the self-checkout isle, I spotted a man in a nicely tailored, short grey wool jacket. He was wearing dark wash blue jeans and a pair of black leather loafers. His look was simple, yet pulled together nicely. 

So, the moral of the story is: It doesn’t take a lot of effort to look good if you keep it simple. If “Mr. Mutton chop” had taken the time to put on a shirt that fit and a pair of pants, he would not have attracted attention for all the wrong reasons.

You have found the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, now it’s time to find a diamond engagement ring to suit her. Or maybe you just want to get her a nice stone for Valentine’s DayWhether you desire a moderately priced ring that doesn’t skimp on style or a classic masterpiece from the world’s most coveted jewelry designers, there are dozens of options that will set her heart afire.

Danhov

For more than 20 years, Danhov has created stylish engagement rings with narrow bands lined by several small diamonds. The designer uses this design technique to emphasize the center stone.

Danhov’s “Abbracccio Rings” feature swirled bands with settings that fit round, emerald, princess, and pear-shaped diamonds. The designer’s three-stone, split and double shank rings are also popular. The “Three-Stone Halo Pave” ring dramatically illustrates the past, present and future of love with two round pave diamonds flanking the center stone. The “Eleganza Double Shank” ring is an eye-catcher with a raised center stone and split-shank band that opens near the setting.

Danhov rings range from $1,300 to $8,000.

Cartier

Cartier is one of the world’s most famous designers. The luxury jewelry manufacturer has been an industry leader for more than two centuries, designing gorgeous jewelry for royalty, as well as the rich and famous.

Cartier’s line of pricey, classic-styled engagement rings are always popular. The “Ballerine Solitaire” lives up its moniker as the center-cut diamond is set upon an intricate band fashioned after a graceful ballet pose. Additional noteworthy selections include the “C’de Cartier Solitaire,” a stunning ring with a polished band that curves into the letter “C” near the center cut diamond, and the “Louis Cartier,” an understated solitaire diamond set between two “C’s” atop a polished band.

Cartier rings range from $525 to more than $50,000.

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co.’s signature light blue boxes are cultural icons, and their signature engagement rings are coveted by women across the globe. “The Jean Schlumberger Ring” is a sophisticated piece studded with several Tiffany diamond stones designed to look like bees. The 18K gold accents and contrast between diamonds make the engagement ring a royal stunner.  The “Tiffany Legacy” is another top choice, with a cushion-cut center stone flanked by graduated sided stones that look like interlocking beads. The Tiffany Soleste is classically elegant, featuring a cushion-cut diamond surrounded by two rows of beaded diamonds.

Tiffany & Co. rings range from $27,000 to over $100,000.

Tacori

Tacori offers a selection of artistic rings that match the stylishness of pricier pieces from Cartier and Tiffany. From three-stone rings with elegant and modern styling, to solitaire diamond rings set atop bands with the company’s signature crescent silhouette, Tacori jewelry produces top quality precious metals and gem stones at reasonable prices.

Tacori rings range from $3,000 to $10,000.

Verragio

Verragio Jewelry has staked their reputation on the “Lumino Setting,” a design technique that suspends the center stone to expose all sides of it to light. Verragio’s “Paradiso Three-Stone” ring perfectly illustrates the design technique as the Lumino center-stone diamond is flanked by round and princess-cut diamonds. The diamond encrusted band features an interlocking design that shimmers beautifully.

Verragio jewelry ranges from $1,500 to $8,000.

Another great contest, gents! This time we are giving a bunch of new AXE hair products!! These are the very same products the AXE team shared with guy celebs recently during the Sundance Film Festival. The set includes a AXE Hold+Touch cream, AXE Understated Look Cream, AXE Smooth and Sophisticated, AXE Messy Look Paste, AXE Spiked-Up Look Putty, and AXE Clean-Cut Look!

There’s only one way to score the bundle: Post a comment to this post telling us your favorite brand of old-school stick deodorant.

Please note contest is limited to persons in the U.S. One winner will be selected at random.

The deadline’s Tuesday, February 14, 2011 at 6 pm EDT.

Good luck, gents!

As I was looking at the menswear by Dolce and Gabbana for Fall, denim, plaid, and vintage looking jackets seem to be at the top of the list. Jeans have always been a fashion “go-to” in everyone’s closet, but today it plays a much larger part than ever before. The Dolce and Gabbana jeans for fall look like the old comfy bottoms that you would reach for day after day.

The denim colors range from lighter to the darker denim and detailed with a slightly lower waist, large patch front pockets or traditional style, and have been portrayed with the casualness of rolled pant hems. As it goes for accessorizing here, mens ties can work with this line of denim when its dark and if only the tie’s silk. Also, just as a personal preference, I’d stick to lighter colored ties with the skinny gold jeans shown above, like the ones I mentioned in “Men’s Fashion Advice: Ties for the spring.”

Also important, seems to be the plaid shirt and bomber style jackets. The plaid colors for this particular collection are a combination of muted and more vibrant buffalo plaid with the plaid size varying, but even with Dolce and Gabbana showing us several different plaid pieces mixed together, it still works well. The jackets are a little on the shorter side, which allows the layered shirt to show through.

Dolce and Gabbana’s fall menswear collection has also taken the baseball style and bomber jacket to another level with designer details. The bomber jacket comes has been seen in a combination of leather and knit, with sharp looking zippered details on the face of the jacket. As another casual piece of outerwear, the baseball- style jacket has emerged in unusual patterns, softer colors, plaid, and also can be seen with decorative zippered accents.

This particular collection manages to provide a look without geographical boundaries. You could easily imagine this man hailing a cab from Rockefeller Center, strolling out of a chic eatery on Sunset Boulevard, or hopping a ride in the back of a cherry red Ford pick-up down a country road. My overall impression for this style is, “Universally Casual”.

Their innovative ad campaigns are some of the most recognisable on the planet so unsurprisingly, Italian denim company Diesel are still leading the way in urban clothing designs for trendy young fashion lovers. In spite of recent controversy when one of their adverts was banned for causing offense; showing a women lifting up her T-shirt in front of a security camera, Diesel never failed to capture the flippant humour or diluted anarchy of fashion’s contemporary rebel youth.

Propelled by project collaborations with alternative culture mag Dazed & Confused in 2009 as well as some impressive slogan print-commercials, Diesel’s clothing collection has defined this generation as a bunch of cheeky fashionista’s without a single boring bone in their body. This season’s expanding selection of cool, customary clothes and exclusive signature denim is no different, offering a range of slick cuts and styles for an array of garments made readily available on the high street.

Continue reading →

…Duong Thai Huynh! Who told us:

On the Im-Pressed stationary paper, I would write to my boss:

To _____,

Since such a fine medium should not be wasted, I would like to use this parchment as a medium to express my feeling about you, “the boss.” I admire you’re leadership around the conference table and your ability to scare me into diving head on into the depths of mutual funds, the boring monochromatic world of finance at the economically shivering building of ____ & Sons Investment.

Continue reading →