Matching Belt And Shoes

belt shoe combo above the ankles

It’s well known and established to have matching belt and shoes. The fact that you’re even on a fashion blog in the first place means you have some understanding of fashion. Black with black, brown with brown, tan with tan and so on and so forth. I don’t wish to bore you with the basics. With this post I intend on helping you with some tips as to how you go that extra mile and really match your belt and shoes.

2 Essentials – Black/Brown & The Tanned Belt

Black – The black belt is a must. Don’t cheap out here. I have a few black belts but the belt I’ve been wearing for the last year is a beautiful Tommy Hilfiger leather belt. I bought it on sale from House of Fraser for £26.

TOMMY HILFIGER Leather Belt

Black belts go well with everything, mostly because they go unnoticed by many. Having matching belts and shoes in black is the easiest thing to do. People with a keen eye will notice your belt and they will have a new found respect for you when they see the quality of your belt. This is something that has brought about many compliments for me, I recommend grabbing yourself a nice thick, genuine leather belt, preferably with a small designer logo on it.

Brown – There are a hundreds of different shades of brown. Finding one to match your shoes will be difficult. I solved this issue pretty easily. I bought a standard brown belt for £10 from Marks & Spencer. I’ve owned it for ages and it matches loads of stuff. If you put the belt next to the shoes, it would be slightly off but who cares. Not all of us have the money to own fifteen different belts.

John Lewis Reversible Leather Belt, Black/Brown

Tan – If you have a hard time matching brown with brown you will most definitely have a hard time matching tan’s. You can’t really have a tan belt that goes with everything. I wouldn’t advise having a basic tan belt, best thing to do is take your shoes with you when you go to buy a belt and just place them next to each other.

Can You Be Too Matchy?

Matching shoes and belt is a must. It’s never too matchy, don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise. With that being said, matching more than your belt and shoes, like the other types of leather accessories are a bad idea. Wearing leather driving gloves or carrying a leather briefcase that matches your shoes and belt will look far to pretty. If pretty is your thing, go for it.

Extra Tips

Leave The Belt At Home

It’s better to leave the belt at home and go out with your brown brogues by themselves than wear an off belt with it.

Same Store

As with the picture above, many good retailers sell belts that perfectly match their shoes in store. If you’re buying a pair of beautifully blended oxblood/brown shoes and the same store sells a matching belt – buy it! If you let that opportunity slip you may never find a matching belt again.

how to match your shoes and belt

Don’t Buy A Blue Belt

Except if you’re following the previous tip and you are buying that belt specifically to match a pair of bad-ass blue loafers, avoid blue belts. Match tan with tan, brown with brown and black with black or blue.

Always Have Matching Belt And Shoes – You Can’t Afford Not Too.

Matching Belt And Shoes

Nike Team Training Mini Duffle Bag

Nike Team Training Mini Duffle Bag

I’m sitting down at my desk one morning just spinning around on my chair at work, bored as hell. Then I look up and see this small manly handbag with “NIKE” printed boldly on the back, it looked so neat and tidy – I wanted one. Went straight up to my colleague and asked him where he got it from. Unfortunately for him, he paid £25 for it.

Do I mind having the exact same bag as someone else at work? Nope. As long as I look good I’m happy.

He got it off Amazon and thankfully for me it was sold out. After some googling I managed to find a few different links. Good news, I ordered mine for a fraction of the price he paid – £18 from John Lewis.

Diversity

The obvious use is for the gym, it’s strangely big enough to carry my trainers, tracksuit, t-shirt and a bottle of water. It’s also small enough to hold comfortably hold my lunch box, shoes and book for those working days. One handy feature is that there is actually room to unzip one end of the bag and extend the bag by about 50%. This proves great for all those weekends away. However, let it be known, the bag loses all its s*x appeal when you extend it. Only use in emergencies.

Nike Team Training Mini Duffle Bag

Whether it’s the gym, work or a short break away – this quality Nike bag will do the job.

Appearance

When walking to the gym, I always hang it on my shoulder using the long strap. This keeps the look of the standard gym bag, which is neither good nor bad. However, when walking to work, I make it far more fashionable. The shoulder strap is removable, I tuck it away inside the bag and carry the bag in one hand using the soft holdall handles. Due to the compact size of the bag, all the weight is in one position and the bag holds shape fantastically well.

Nike Team Training Mini Duffle Bag
Nike Team Training Mini Duffle Bag

Price

How often do you find bags costing £18.00? – no brainer!

Conclusion

Gone are the days of me walking to work with my lunch in a shopping bag. I no longer have to walk to the gym with a half empty bag or carry some huge bag on holiday with me. This Nike bag is compact, functional and cheap. If only Adidas would create one similar (being the Adidas fan that I am.)

Uniqlo Extra Fine Merino V-Neck Jumper

Although the weathers heating up its not exactly leave your jacket at home kind of weather and I find spring is generally the best times to buy winter things like jumpers & coats, as they are always cheapest coming up to summer. If you go shopping in london often then you definitely know Uniqlo, mostly popular in the asian countries but have grown massively in recent years. Generally known for their lightweight clothes and rainbow like colours. Sounds like a great company, it is, I bought a jumper from them 4 years ago and still wear it often these days and hasn’t lost it’s colour or shape, unlike my Zara jumper I bought for double the price two months ago.

MEN Extra Fine Merino V-Neck Sweater cover 2
Jumper Under Your Suit.

Wearing jumpers is a fantastic way to look dapper and add a layer onto your outfit. They can be worn under your suit or over a t shirt with some dark jeans, great for smart & smart/casual outfits. This Uniqlo jumper is actually fantastic, made from 100% fine merino wool, which may not sound that nice as the wool we think of is the itchy one people wear on TV. This wool is really fine, compact and really thin making it feel exactly like a cotton jumper except when you stretch the fabric it will bounce back into shape unlike cotton ones which just stay stretched out. The jumper feels soft inside and out so feel free to give your belly a rub after lunch.

The V-neck neckline allows you to wear this over a shirt with a tie on without the jumper covering your beautiful windsor knot you spent 5 minutes getting perfect in the morning.

Priced at £24.90, ranging in sizes from XS to XXL and in every colour under the rainbow, you really can not fault this wonderful jumper. I would definitely recommend grabbing a few while you’re at it.

Uniqlo Extra Fine Merino V-Neck Sweater

Ikon Black Stardust 2 Shoes

Ikon-Black-Stardust-2-Shoes-cover-big

Ever heard of the company Ikon? No, me neither to be honest. I was just shopping around online and found myself on the Schuh website having a look at some shoes for work. Ikon shoes is a pretty unknown company to me so I did some research as I hate cheaply made shoes and before I spend money on my outfit I need to know who I’m buying from. I already know Schuh pretty well so I spent some time on google. I found out a bunch of stuff I don’t care about like that they started in the 1990’s. But the good news is they have their shoes being sold in many different retail stores which is always a good sign in a brand. What’s more important than that, are the reviews written by other customers. It was good to see the Ikon Black Stardust 2 Shoes have fantastic reviews online.

Here’s a few;

Neil McDonald
3 Stars
Really nice looking shoes, but a very narrow fit. I’m a size 11, but they were way too tight for me. I exchanged for a 12, but the extra length looked odd. I don’t think I’m cut out for pointed toe shoes!

Anonymous
4.5 Stars
This is my second pair of these shoes, the first ones wore out after a year as the heel broke off but i had to get another pair as it is so comfy and stylish.

Daniel Crampton
5 Stars
Great shoe. One thing i’ve learnt though. Always buy a size above. I know this sounds daft as i’m a Size 11 normally but these are way too small in your normal size. Great shoe and have bought time and time again. Very happy.

Ikon Black Stardust 2 Shoes

These stardust Ikon shoes are quite basic in the fact that they are pretty much just standard black pointed shoes. Made from 100% leather and finished off with a nice polished look. I’m not going to say these shoes are any different to what else you could get on the shelf but priced at £55.00 with free delivery you can’t really go wrong.

Unique

Apart from the standard things you would expect from any shoe, there are some unique things about the Ikon Black Stardust 2 Shoes that really grab my attention. The back of the shoe has an embossed Ikon logo and the sole has this amazing graffiti spray on the bottom, even though no one will see it.

Ikon Black Stardust 2 Shoes

Driving Gloves from Black.co.uk

Men's Black Leather Driving Gloves cover

Do you drive? If so, do you own leather driving gloves? If you don’t drive, I ask you the same question…

Do you own leather driving gloves?

As a kid we all watched the movies and saw the main actor speeding in his ferrari/aston martin with some suave leather gloves, and then pulled out the automatic gun and started kicking ass. Well leather driving gloves make you feel like that. When I wear them I feel like at any moment a 4×4 truck is going to swing around the corner shooting at me and I’m going to have to pull out my assault rifle and end them.

Is that feeling of badass’ness worth the £45 these leather gloves would cost? Hell yeah.

Men’s Cognac Leather Driving Gloves

The Company

Black.co.uk is among the more unknown companies in the UK probably because they don’t have any retail stores. They look after their customers pretty well and if you sign up to their newsletter you receive 10% off which is £4.50 off these gloves. They also deliver to anywhere in the UK for free, which would normally cost like £3.50.

The Gloves

You could probably get these in fake leather for like £10 on the market. These gloves are made from 100% real hairsheep leather which is strong yet really soft on your skin. The gloves have the standard design you would expect from driving gloves with knuckle vents and perforated fingers which is used both for comfort and ventilation.

Available in two sizes, small & medium and in two colours, black and brown. I personally recommend brown.

Men’s Cognac Leather Driving Gloves

Click the images below.

Men's Black Leather Driving Gloves 1
Men’s Black Leather Driving Gloves – £45.00
Men's Cognac Leather Driving Gloves 2
Men’s Cognac Leather Driving Gloves – £45.00

Get The Look #4

get the look #4

I haven’t done a get the look post in awhile and you guys have been bugging me for it, so here it is.

This weeks Get The Look is based upon two of my favourite colours. Black & White! These two colours aren’t generally consider to be peoples favourite colours but could you live without them? Black and white are the two most simple colours you could ever wear. They fit perfectly into all outfit combinations and are almost completely neutral. This outfit today is very simple and won’t cost much at all, but if you get it right, it will look amazing!

get the look #4

The Suit

Wearing a black suit is really easy, theres not much thought needed with it, simply just wear black socks. The only problem with black suits is finding a quality one, there’s too many cheap ones out there. The two suits I’ve added below are from Moss Bros and TM Lewin – two giants in the suit retail world. Both of these suits are quality, I personally prefer the Franco Suit from TM Lewin as it’s a blend of polyester and wool. The Moss London Black Mixer Suit is still a quality suit, however as its a blend of polyester and viscose it falls slightly short compared to the Franco Suit.

Franco Suit Jacket
Franco Suit Jacket By TM Lewin – £149.00
Moss London Slim Fit Black Mixer Suit Jacket
Moss London Slim Fit Black Mixer Suit Jacket – £129.00

The Shirt

The shirt is very simple black and white checked shirt. However purchasing a black and white checked shirt isn’t an easy choice and it should be done with care. You need to know the difference between a weekend/summer checked shirt and a business formal checked shirt. In this look, the shirt is single cuffed, although I believe a double cuffed would suit better, both are fine. Understand that in order to pull off this look, you need a firm shirt, with solid collars that are not flimsy and look like you mean business. I found it really difficult to find shirts that are similar quality to the one in this picture. I did however manage to find one I really liked from ASOS.

ASOS Smart Shirt with Long Sleeves in Gingham Check – £20.00

ASOS Smart Shirt with Long Sleeves in Gingham Check
ASOS Smart Shirt with Long Sleeves in Gingham Check – £20.00
ASOS Smart Shirt with Long Sleeves in Gingham Check
ASOS Smart Shirt with Long Sleeves in Gingham Check – £20.00

Bow Tie

The bow tie in this outfit is really simple, its a basic black bow tie with white polka dots. You could also wear a grey bow tie with white polka dots and that would go perfectly with this outfit as well. Where you buy your bow tie from is pretty irrelevant really, you can buy them from many different retail stores but I’ll be nice and offer you a few.

Black with White Polka Dots Bow Tie
Black with White Polka Dots Bow Tie – £8.99
Reclaimed Vintage Polkadot Bow Tie 2
Reclaimed Vintage Polkadot Bow Tie – £16.00
Ted Baker Spotted Print Bow Tie
Ted Baker Spotted Print Bow Tie – £40.00
Jack & Jones Knitted Bow Tie
Jack & Jones Knitted Bow Tie – £15.00

The Bracelet

Bracelets are easy to come by and not a necessity in your outfit. However, you can wear whatever type of bracelet you prefer with this outfit and it will pretty much go. In this look, the wearer is wearing a plain bead bracelet and a metal link bracelet. Here’s a few;

Tassel Bead Bracelet
Tassel Bead Bracelet – £5.00
Beaded Tassel Bracelet Multipack
Beaded Tassel Bracelet Multipack – £10.00
Lovebullets Barrel Bead Bracelet
Lovebullets Barrel Bead Bracelet – £35.00
Designsix Chain Bracelet
Designsix Chain Bracelet – £12.00

The Lapel Pin

Lapel pins are a great way to add something special to your outfit. In this look it’s just a simple musical note pin but you could replace it with any silver lapel pin. Don’t spend too much money on these, you can get them for pretty cheap. I would recommend having a look on ebay here so you can find your taste.

The Pocket Square

Pocket squares are among my favourite pieces of an outfit and are so simply to apply. This look is no different, just a simple checkered pocket square.

Black Bow Tie And Pocket Square
Black Bow Tie And Pocket Square – £10.00
ASOS Pocket Square With Polka Dot
ASOS Pocket Square With Polka Dot – £6.00

That’s All

Have fun creating your own look and let me know how it goes.

Ted Baker Spotted Print Umbrella

ted baker spotted umbrella

So it’s pay day, and in the spirit of spending money for no logical reason what so ever, I have the perfect buy for all of you. What’d you think about Ted Baker? Love it right? Well, ever thought about owning a designer umbrella?

Sometimes buying designer socks, scarf’s, hat’s and other accessories including umbrellas can be cheesy and tacky. I absolutely hate when people wear designer clothing or accessories that are just plastered in the designer’s label or logo. Gucci or Louis Vuitton are great quality products yes, but when their items are covered in the LV badge or the Gucci ‘G’ it just looks cheap. There are other designers that aren’t as expensive but look better with their simplistic look. Obviously you want people to know you are wearing something designer, so you still want the brand to be visible enough for everyone to know just not too obvious. Ted Baker are great at doing that and this umbrella is a great example of it.

Ted Baker Umbrella

So guess what? £20 for a designer Ted Baker Umbrella, what’d you think?

Well the umbrella isn’t anything flashy, it’s just a simple compact umbrella that closes up into one of those pouches combined with a basic plastic handle. So as you can imagine it’s pretty easy to carry around and you can just leave it in your draw at work for that unexpected shower at 5pm on your way home form work.

To keep things simple and elegant; the umbrella is plain black with a Navy/Purple Ted Baker logo on one side. On the inside lining are light purple polka dots.

If you own some nice shirts, some decent shoes and some dapper suits then this umbrella is for you. It completes you!

However, if your wardrobe isn’t up to scratch yet, then don’t waste £20 on an umbrella, go invest that on the necessary items like suits, shirts & ties.

Ted Baker Spotted Print Umbrella

ted baker spotted umbrella
ted baker spotted umbrella

ASOS Oxford Shoes in Leather

ASOS Oxford Shoes in Leather - Above The Ankles

We all, without exception own a pair of plain black shoes that are absolutely essential to our wardrobes. One thing more important than owning a plain pair of black shoes is keeping them looking fresh and clean. There’s probably nothing worse than having muddy shoes or scuffed tips of your shoes. Keeping them looking brand new and shiny isn’t always as easy as people make out and if you are anything like me then you will probably need to buy a new pair of shoes every 2-3 months. Looking for the right pair can be a little annoying.

Here’s where I come in;

Shoes are just as important for men as they are for women. You want something classy and simple. With black shoes you want them to have that solid black look with a slight shine. The ASOS Oxford Shoes in Leather have that shine and much more. Oxford shoes are a timeless classic with great shape and great colour.

You want a 100% leather shoe and once again the ASOS Oxford Shoes fits the shoe perfectly. Complete with an almond toe finish you are probably thinking this shoe will cost in the region of £60-70. Well you would be wrong on that account. Designed by the ASOS team these bad boys are being sold for £36.00. Bargain? I think so.

ASOS Oxford Shoes in Leather

Get The Look – #2

above the ankles get the look

This is by far my favourite pic of the week, I can also see that you guys loved it just based on the sheer amount of likes on Instagram. I guess we all liked it for different reasons, mine personally was the bag, I’m actually shopping for a bag now so that could be why. Some of you said you liked the check suit, others the colour and the fit. Whatever your reason here’s how to get the look..

The Look

Comprised of Blues & Blacks this look is simple, yet complex. We all love blue in our outfits, it’s an easy colour to work with, we just understand it. Yet when take that navy blue suit; turn it into a double breasted suit and throw over some checked patterns, you get a whole new ball game. Worn with a simple white shirt, a plain black tie and a simple black leather strapped watch, some might say this look is a little too plain and simplistic but then again that person would be stupid. Combine all of the above with some killer black brogues and a sexy mens black holdall bag – you are a winner!

The Suit

Moss Bros London Slim Fit blue Check Suit

Asos Sisley Tartan Suit Jacket In Slim Fit

Asos Vito Check Suit Jacket In Slim Fit

Premium Grey Check Skinny Fit Suit

Voeut Navy Check Three Piece Suit

F&F Navy Prince of Wales Check Slim Fit Suit Jacket

The Shirt

Next Plain White Small Collar Shirt

TM Lewin Fitted Plain White Luxury Twill Shirt

TM Lewin Fitted Plain White Twill Cutaway Collar Shirt

ASOS Smart Shirt with Stripe Tie and Pocket Sqaure

ASOS Smart Shirt In Long Sleeve With Cutaway Collar

Gant Pinpoint Oxford Shirt

The Tie

Burton Black Tie & Pocket Square

Next Black Plain Tie And Pocket Square Set

Next 2 Pack Black Spot And Plain Ties With Pocket Square

M&S Spotted Tie

M&S Plain Tie with Stain Resistance

M&S Plain Textured Tie

Kin by John Lewis Mercer Knitted Tie, Black

Black Brogues

ASOS Oxford Brogues in Leather

ASOS Brogues in Leather

ASOS Oxford Brogues in Leather

River Island Smart Brogues

Moss London Black Brogue Shoe

Holdall Bag

Ted Baker Melbor Holdall Black

Fred Perry Classic Barrel Bag

House Of Fraser Howick Leather Holdall

ASOS Leather and Nylon Holdall

Next Signature Black Leather Holdall

Topman Black Premium Doctors Holdall

Calvin Klein Black Gym Duffle Bag

Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall

Alexandre Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall

Understated and sophisticated, this premium black leather holdall by Alexandre of England is the ideal choice whether it is for an overnight stay or a long weekend away. It has been crafted using the finest pebbled leather and has a subtle pouch pocket detail to the front so that you can easily access your travel documents. Internally, the holdall has one zip pocket for added security and a double pouch pocket. The holdall has a carry handle as well as a detachable adjustable shoulder strap for ease. Pair this with the matching wash bag to complete the set.

Alexandre Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall 2
Alexandre Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall 3
Alexandre Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall 4
Alexandre Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall 5
Alexandre Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall

Priced at £85, down from £170, we can’t really have any complaints. £85 for a real leather travelling bag, deal!

Alexandre Savile Row Alexandre Leather Holdall