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Friday 26 August 2011

Vintage Ties

“A top piece suit with an old vintage tie and a crisp white shirt, why you can’t go wrong sir”

Many guys in the world do not think twice about what tie they are buying. As long as it fits the color of their shirt then this will be good enough for them. Ties can play a huge role in setting an outfit apart from the rest. One way to really achieve this is with the help of vintage ties. Some of the patterns used say 20 years ago are rarely ever come across now which will make it unique and eye catching. I will always emphasize on this blog the importance of buying quality clothes made from quality materials. It is no different with ties. There is a reason that you can pay £125 for a plain black tie, and trust me it will look the money!

However it’s hard to get yourself to pay that amount of money for an item like a tie, after all you could buy a nice pair of shoes for that. Why not get the same quality tie for a fraction of the price? A vintage tie will look cooler and you can get say 10 for the price of one expensive one. A man can never own too many ties!

Where do you start looking and what brands / material to look for?
Brand affiliation is an article that will appear at a later date but the basics are that in my opinion a brand is a stamp of approval of quality. There is no reason why it should be plastered over your clothes and tie for that matter. Personally one of my favorite brands to look for is Ralph Lauren ties. They have done so many patterns over the years that it is guaranteed that you will find one for your taste. Moreover the likes of Gucci, Hermes and Christian Dior to name but a few will provide you with plenty other options. The quality of these top end brands will show, and should feel like a piece of pure silk around your neck. Yes they might have been worn before, but who cares? The invention of Dry Cleaning is a great thing.

http://www.oki-ni.com/invt/boa0819mul&cm_vc=productpage

Damn that’s a nice tie, oozes quality and at £50….

http://lookbook.nu/look/2159389-Fashion-fades-style-is-eternal

Friday 5 August 2011

Turning the pants down? Or is it here to stay?

“ Ermm why are your pants rolled up?”

As a lot of gentlemen will know reading this, one of the huge fashion trends to evolve over the past few years has been the notion of exposing those bare ankles by notching up their trouser legs. This trend has arrived from the ever well dressed men of Italy who have been sporting this look for years. By exposing your ankles there is a sense of freedom and naughtiness that men rarely achieve with their outfits. Women have been exposing their smooth legs for years and now it is the men’s turn to fight back with a bit of ankle.

How high is too high?

Come on guys we don’t want to scare all of the women by exposing our kneecaps do we? Two or at a push three rolls should be fine. From my personal experience I tend to not live up to this rule on a night out as the more confidence gained from alcohol the more those pants go up! It can end up being a bit like a high jump competition, the more the event goes on the higher the bar gets. (The bar being trousers) See what I’m getting at?

From every major city in England, guys are rolling up there trousers. When a trend usually becomes to public or mass engaged I will tend to back away and do the opposite as individuality plays a huge part in fashion. It is important that you don’t follow the pack and follow yourself! However as the guys over in Milan have proved this style has lasted the test of time, and the fact that it just gives that extra edge to your outfit that you need. In my opinion it is here to stay. So get your fake tan at the ready and slap it on those ankles.

Variations of this trend to make it individual

Something I have been playing around with for a while now is to actually make a V shaped cut on your inside or/and outside seam of your trousers. This gives you a bit of exposure but also looks really unique and it does get noticed. If you are brave enough to cut into a pair of new trousers that you have just bought then great, however If you are not then it’s the same old pants rolling I’m afraid. Moreover another option to play about with is not roll the trousers up asymmetrically. It can look very eye-catching to just roll one leg up higher than the other. People may look at you thinking what the hell is he doing but that is the beauty of fashion. Fashion is all about pushing boundaries so get out of your comfort zone for a while and try something new.

Something else that can look great when rolling up the trousers is to wear a pair of very bright. This will draw attention to your feet and hopefully those lovely pair of shoes that you are wearing. Nothing complements this look better than a great pair of tassel loafers.

Below are some examples of this trend and some new ideas:

Bright Socks from the Tommy-Hilfiger-Spring-2011 show




Non-Asymmetrical

The Pope Wears Prada

"Style" is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. Fashion is something that comes after style.”
John Fairchild

The Purpose of The Pope Wears Prada

The Pope Wears Prada aims to give the stylish gentlemen of the world just that little extra bit of style knowledge they need on a daily basis. The fashionable male is a machine like no other; it requires slim fit suits and vintage timepieces to keep it going. The Pope Wears Prada knows this and so it produces posts on style and fashion that readers can delve into. We are not about haute couture clothes; we are just striving for simple, timeless and classic style that makes a man a gentleman. Individuality is the backbone of the Pope Wears Prada, in fact the Pope doesn't wear Prada he wears a simple white sheet that makes him instantly noticeable and it oozes power. Simple yet effective.

The modern male doesn’t have money to burn. Style is like a savings account, It is about investing in clothes that are fit for future use whilst not blowing the budget. We scour the internet for some of the best items out there at the best prices and add a humerous side to our postings.

Please enjoy The Pope Wears Prada.

Thursday 4 August 2011

The Art of Successful Sale Shopping

Remember Sale is a very powerful word!
Sales aghh the wonderfull world of sales.

“Saaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!”

 
Congratulations you are now reading the first ever post on The Pope Wears Prada!! To kickstart this blog we thought that there would be no better place to start than with some top advice on the art of sales shopping.


Creating a wardrobe on a budget can sometimes be hard. Wouldn’t we all like to just go out and buy that new Acne leather jacket that we have seen on their newsletter? but come on! When you’re spending a month’s salary on a jacket you sort of feel it’s not worth it.

The word sale is one of the most powerful words that a retailer will use to draw you in and make you purchase things that you normally wouldn’t. Why the hell would they have sales on all year round if this wasn’t the case? It’s about spotting the true sales from the fake ones. Most of the time you see that sale items are generally last season’s stock, however that doesn’t make a blind bit of difference. Most items will look good for years if not decades to come if they are a timeless classic piece. Macs, Brogues, Leather jackets, Blazers, are all timeless pieces.

Make sure you get there first!

There is nothing more frustrating than shopping through a sale on a website to see that all the best sizes have gone. I mean a size 5 shoe? It wouldn’t even fit on my hand. It is a very good idea to sign up to all the newsletters of sites that you are interested in. They will give you prior warning to an upcoming sale and sometimes will let you as a valued member shop it first. Oki Ni are great at this and there sale is one the best around along with MyWardrobe.com.

Personally I cannot remember the last time that I bought a full priced item, it is very rare that I do because I know that I can find everything I need at a very large discounted price either on eBay or some of the other online retailers out there.

Here is a list of some of my favourite online retailers out there:

A great site that lists all the upcoming and current sales. Be sure to check this one out regularly!

An article on  the world of clothes and eBay is to appear soon.





Boutique online sellers that offer some awesome vintage clothes. Can be on the expensive side though.


Hot Items at Real Sale Prices: