@Antonio Cent and All the fine gentlemen blessed to be a part of #RealMenRealStyle... *What I wore today. Any changes or improvements/fixer uppers needed to be made? Let's talk about what's going on with this outfit. Fellas let's get real and have a talk about any pros or cons of this ensemble. Let's not bash. Let's be honest and uplifting as well. Let's rate the outfit from 1-10 (1being lowest 10 being highest.) I'm open to any suggestions, compliments, ideas and tips that would help me grow as a better Distinguished Gentleman. H.B.O: Help (A) Brotha Out, lol 😉 😆...Your thoughts gentlemen... You Are #RealMenRealStyle #RMRS *Black short sleeve button up dress shirt *Light gray dress slacks *Over The Calf (OTC) nylon black dress socks *Cole Haan Classic Tassel Loafers *Black Cane... *Black Porkpie Jazz Hat (my #1 fave hat and signature look of my daily wardrobe) #CasualDapperMode #TerrificTuesday

While preparing the lamb shanks in the slow cooker for our dinner tonight, I opened up Spotify to have some background music and just picked a random Country Rock playlist to listen to. While listening, I got to thinking about how music will often shape fashion and the overall style of a person's wardrobe. For example, I was a 90's teen, and therefore a true grunge kid, wearing sloppy band tees and light-wash jeans whose hems dragged on the floor, and ultimately achieved the desired effect of shredding at the back, while my hair was close to shoulder length with a centre parting and floppy. In the 2000s post-grunge era, I was much more into heavy metal, hard rock, and punk, so it was a lot of black denim, black tees, Doc Martens, and studded belts and wristbands (How very monochrome). In both examples, I was very much of the era and blended in with all of my mates at the time in how we all looked and dressed. In our youthful years, I completely understand the desire to conform to a certain way of dressing that is concurrent with our pastimes and other stylistic directions, especially when it comes to music. We are trying to figure out who we are, find our tribes, and ultimately fit in, in a way that says, "See, I'm just like you". In fact, we are hardwired to do so, in most cases, because it feels safe. Over my life however, I have generally developed an incredibly eclectic taste in music and still to this day change up my weekly listening between the aforementioned genres, but also Rap and hip hop (both US and UK styles), soulful blues and smooth jazz, country, occasionally classical, and even dip into old Rat Pack stuff, plus many others, to the point now where I don't really align with any one style; I just go with what I enjoy in the moment depending on the mood I'm in and the activity/situation. This all got me thinking and led me to the crux of this post. I am curious: to what degree does music influence the way you all currently dress, if at all? Does it even matter anymore past the age of 30-40+? And if so, does the clothing change in a way that still fits and can be recognised to conform with that particular genre/style, but develops in accordance with a higher level of sophistication? Are there any other cultural influences that lead you to dress a certain way or wear certain outfits? I have my own thoughts on the subject, but I'd love to know what you all think.

Sprezzatura. 🇮🇹🇬🇧 My interpretation of Italian ease with English elegance, Ralph Lauren trousers, Salvatore Ferragamo blue suede loafers, a Brooks Brothers linen shirt and cotton cable knit sweater. Classic pieces, slightly undone. Elegance without looking too considered or at least, that’s the idea. 😉

So gents, Ive been having a “discussion” with my wife about Chelsea boots. I have these two pairs currently; the polished dark tan ones are my dressier boots for evenings, dinners and some more formal occasions, often paired with navy or beige chinos and appropriately coloured button down. The darker brown pair in the muted matte finish are my more casual daytime boots for things like casual lunches, or even maybe a weekend shopping trip etc, and I’ll often wear them with indigo jeans or my more rugged olive chinos (my fave combo), a long sleeve Henley, or t-shirt and overshirt, and I absolutely love wearing them. Here’s the thing though; my wife reckons that because they’re boots, both pairs are automatically formal wear, and should only be worn for formal occasions, and consequently I almost feel shamed out of wearing the darker ones for any kind of casual situation. I’d love to hear your thoughts to help clarify the situation in my own mind if nothing else. I have also got a pair of sand coloured desert boots on order for spring/summer casual wear, and I’ll be getting a pair of Thursday boots Captains soon too, for a more rugged look (can you tell I’m starting to really get into boots 😉). Oh, and for context, as I’m in Australia, I’m currently living through the cold Victorian winter.

So my nice new suede desert boots got delivered the other day and I love them. They have not been off my feet since I opened the box (did get a couple of funny looks from the wife when I wore them in bed 😂). Then I was in town yesterday and walked past a local denim store, and noticed that they had this tan suede bomber jacket on an end of season sale. I’ve not always been a big fan of bombers but I thought I’d check it out. They had their last 2 left, and only one was in my size. As I was trying it on the sales assistant quietly mentioned that this week there was an extra 25% off the already reduced sale price as they’re trying to clear stock, that made it a total of close to 70% off. “Shut up and take my money” I shouted, and walked out wearing a nice new jacket and boots combo that bookended my outfit beautifully. Also noticed they had a black denim chore jacket that I might grab at the weekend too, just don’t tell anyone 😉