Some guys may think that accessorizing dress shirts is a “woman’s thing,” but they are definitely limiting their look by looking down on this fashion trend.  If you’re trying to look fashionable and smart, add more flair to your image with a sexy scarf, a trendy watch, a funky tie, or even some hot new shades.  The secret about looking fashionable is taking a trend, and evolving it to match your unique personality so that you are really expressing yourself.  This shows the world that you are confident, and that you have substance and character. 

 this cool pic is heralded from NicoleL.

Dress up your dress shirt and professional outfits with a sweet pair of sunglasses.  They may seem inappropriate to wear in the colder weather, but that’s not true at all.  Even though the days aren’t warm, the sun can still be very strong in the winter and no one looks professional when they’re squinting their eyes while walking down the street.  A nice pair of stylish aviators like the ones seen above can really enhance your look by making you appear extremely bold and confident. 

 We have SmittenkittenOrig to thank for this one

Scarves are very in right now, not only because it is winter, but also because they make a professional outfit look really trendy.  Find a scarf that brings out some of your personality.  If you like wearing white dress shirts, wear a bold forest green scarf.  If you enjoy stripe patterned dress shirts try to match your scarf to some of the stripe’s colors.  For a bolder look try a fringed long scarf, instead of just a comfy knit. The more creative you get with customizing your dress shirt online, the more creative you can get with your scarf choices. This will give you character and personality, making people want to get to know the great looking guy behind the scarf.

 Kudos to Jayjay402 for this

One thing that many men overestimate is how much a watch says about them.  A man’s watch is his staple accessory for expression.  It’s a very subtle way to learn all about a man.  Just think about it, not only can you tell a lot about how much money people have - probably the least important indication of self-worth, but you can also tell all about their personality.  If they are bold, their watch will most likely be an odd chunky shape or metal.  If they are more conservative they will most likely try to project this image by wearing a very trendy named watch, something expensive and standard that shows they stay in that conservative box.  Wear your watch to show people how confident you are about your appearance.

For more style tips, see our dress shirt style guide.

Dsquared2

Amidst the strictly fashion-forward crowd that inhabit Milan during fashion week, Dsquared2 brought confidence and style to their collection with a mixture of different looks and perspectives meshed together, topped off with their signature-cut jeans. 

Leather, studs, and a splash of color brought together a glam/punk theme for Dsquared2’s collection. Male models strutted something manly on the Dsquared2 runway with class and sophistication to rival all of Dsquared2’s previous collections. Imagine if you will, fit men somewhat taller than the average guy who just happen to be extras on a sequel to Fight Club complete with the black eyes and fat lips – this is the 2010 collection for Dsquared2. 

My favorite look for the collection:

One of my favorite looks was a black overcoat with lining on the collar. The pants were classically cut and creased at the top. This is in addition to what looks like to have been a v-neck sweater that was more than a little transparent, slightly covered a black slim tie. A basic white shirt and black pointy-toed shoes topped off the look. Together, the ensemble glittered and screamed, “I was on a date with a married woman and her husband found us just as she was unbuttoning my overcoat!”

Prada

Prada is classic. Since its inception, Prada has made the man look as elegant as possible – but every now and then, like the man – Prada deviates from the script adding the element of surprise and intrigue. This was the case during Milan Fashion Week when Prada premiered its latest collection. 

This collection, ironically – showed more colors than Prada’s spring collection. Purple, yellow, and a vivid magenta took to the runway nestled in overcoats, blazers, suits, and cardigans to accentuate, while trying not to intimidate. Everyman doesn’t necessarily look good in every color. Still, Prada does a good job of bringing together their collection of color amidst their trademark gray, blue, and black. This year, khaki made a guest appearance that was just enough to tease the fashion senses without dulling them. 

My favorite look for the collection:

One of the things that I liked the most about this collection was the appearance of brighter colors. The collection comes off as a fresh perspective. My favorite piece epitomizes the feel for the men’s element of the Prada show. A light-tan overcoat with buttons impeccably placed on the breast and torso of the coat along with black/blue slim slacks dominated the model who also wore a yellow/brown sweater underneath with a basic blue shirt. I will say that Prada did a horrid job of choosing the model, which looked absolutely sickly in the look. Just the same, the perspective was strong and well-stated.

James R Sanders is a Guest Blogger and Fashion Muse for Blank Label's co-creation blog. You can also find his thoughts on Fashion and Brands at James Sanders at Large.

You never need a perfect match when pairing your collared dress shirt with a tie, but sometimes it helps to have a few tips so you don’t create a visual disaster. 

It turns out that a lot of guys are afraid of the bold tie.  They are unsure how to match it.  When to wear it.  If it will offend people.  But we’re loving bold ties especially the new wool, plaid tie trend. 

 awesome visual courtesy of Rigmarole

Bold Ties & Neutral Shirts

Bold ties go with neutral dress shirts. Remember that! If you want to be daring and try out a bold, plaid tie, understand that matching it with a bold shirt can be an eye sore.

A bold striped tie is good too. It’s dashing for a subtle, but sophisticated look.  But again, it’ll only be flattering with a neutral shirt. Otherwise the boldness of a crazy dress shirt and tie can be a real dressing disaster. 

The most important thing when matching bold ties with shirts is to try to pick up on the tones of the tie.  If the tie has any color in it, you should take this into consideration when matching it with a shirt.  A simple pale gray shirt will look great with many bold ties, but sometimes it’s nice to pair a bold blue tie with a pastel blue button-down or sweater.

Bold Shirts & Neutral Ties

Bold shirts are great, especially for the party scene.  If you’re trying to celebrate in a hot plaid print but still want to look formal, check out a laid back tie.  Bold printed shirts and bold printed ties are too much of an eye sore, think about them as too much of a good thing.  If you want to wear a bold striped shirt, or a loud colored shirt, you should think about wearing a toned down tie.  Some great toned down ties this season are charcoal tie options, matte on silk striped.  Charcoal is a great color for a colder season because it’s a change from simple black tone, but still dresses up an outfit. 

Neutral Ties & Neutral Shirts

There’s usually no such category as bold tie with bold shirt.  But, if you can pull off that look than you are one very lucky man.  However, pairing a neutral tie with a neutral shirt can work out well.  Some of our favorite neutral ties include a dark charcoal wool tie, dark forest green silk, and dark purple silk tie.  The dark charcoal wool tie will look good with any pastel colored, neutral button-down you pair it with, that’s why this tie is a hidden gem.  However, if you want something more exciting, try a dark forest green tie with a pale beige, green or gray dress shirt.  The green tones match best with beige-brown, pale green, or pale gray tones and complement each other.  Another option is to match a dark purple silk tie with a pale purple, gray, brown or even pink dress shirt.  Purple tones match best with lighter purple, pale grays, browns, and light pink tones.

This post was written by Danielle Bentz, marketing maven and custom men's dress shirts co-creator for Blank Label.

Ever since I got involved with this custom men's dress shirts company, my friends consider me an expert on men's dress shirts. Not just styling, but how to iron them, how to fold them, even how to care for them. I wish we had all the answers. But my answer is probably just as good as their's.

But here are 7 humorous ways how NOT to wash men's dress shirts:

1. Spray it with Febreeze and hope that funky smell will go away so you can wear it again without anyone noticing. I don't even recommend this in emergencies.

2. Applying a bleach pen to stains, and then just wearing the shirt again because it's odorless and now without visible stains. Come on man, throw it in the washer!

3. Only handwashing that one part of your dress shirt where you spilled spaghetti to get the color and smell out. If you're going to go through the trouble of washing one part of your dress shirt, wash the rest of it while you're at it!

4. Dunking it a few times in hot or warm water mixed with deodorant soap. First of all, please use laundry detergent if you're really going to handwash for clothes. I've seen men make this mistake this before. It's sad how many guys I know who don't know how to properly do laundry.

5. Excessively steaming it instead of just throwing it in the wash or taking it to the dry cleaners. Sure, the dry cleaners puts harsh chemicals on your shirt and can damage the shirt overtime, but steaming your men's dress shirt is not a proper way to clean it.

6. Washing it with your other favorite dress shirts. This is a HUGE faux pas. It's true that your dress shirts get jealous of each other. You never know which shirts will come out of the wash, and which will never return (no, I'm just kidding about this one).

7. Waiting until the last minute when you run out of dress shirts, and clothes for that matter, to hit the laundromat.

 courtesy of dobenjamin

Anyone else have funny recommendations for how NOT to wash your men's dress shirts?

Suggestions for how to properly wash a dress shirt? Might be an idea for a follow-up post.

This dress shirts article was written by Danny Wong for the co-creation blog.

This growing trend in denim wear is getting hot, but is it for you?  A lot of girls are already accustomed to turning up their jeans for a collared denim look when wearing flats, or sneakers.  However, does this look translate well for men?  

 one classic example of what we're talking about thanks to lostwithoutwords

Men’s magazines such as GQ are offering this look as the new single-man sheik.  So what’s the issue?  Well to be completely honest, although this new style can take your denim to a new sexy extreme, it can also make you look shorter, like you don’t have enough jean to cover your legs, or just plain like a tool.  Men who value their fashion and sex appeal should be daring to try this turned up jean style, but be careful to follow a few steps.

1. Don’t get too anal.  If you’re usually OCD about a lot of things, this style may not be for you.  Think about how many times you would have to fix your pant leg if one side was folded up higher than the other as you walk around town.  This style is meant to give you a laid back, careless fashion, so don’t worry about the neatness of the cuff. 
2. Don’t over-fold.  One cuff is enough.  If you start multiple layers of cuffs by folding the pant over and over, your look will become cheap and overworked.  Chill with the folds.
3. Don’t show your bare skin.  I’m sure your ankles are very manly and sexy, but no one wants the make their jeans look two sizes too small…helloooo redneck.  Make your look fresh and buy pants that you can fold once without baring skin.

Most men do not know how a dress shirt should properly fit. Also, most off-the-rack men's dress shirts never fit right because standard sizes are set up to fit 'well enough.'

Here are a few ways to tell if your men's dress shirts fit:

1. You can comfortably button up your collar without choking yourself. The collar should be big enough for you to slip in a finger or two, and should not feel tight. It should not feel loose either.

2. The sleeve length is perfect when your dress shirt's cuffs just end at your wrists when your arms are at your sides.

3. The dress shirt's cuff is only a little bit wider than your wrist, but not wide enough that you can pull your hand through your cuff without unbuttoning.

4. The chest circumference of your men's dress shirt fits right if you can comfortably move your arms without too much restriction, and the seams connecting the body of the shirt to the sleeves are resting on your shoulders, not above your bicep.

5. The girth (waist) of your dress shirt is only a few inches larger, circumference-wise, than you are. This way, there isn't excess baggage from your dress shirt around your waist when your shirt's tucked in, and that it's not so tight that your seams are close to splitting. When baggy dress shirts are tucked in, they give the impression that you have a muffin-top, regardless of if you're an athlete at 170lbs or a lean 135lb man.

6. The dress shirt is long enough to fit your preference, whatever that may be. There are special dress shirts that are meant only to be worn tucked in, others that are only meant to be worn untucked, while some are long enough but short enough to wear either way.

Most dress shirts you buy at your normal retail store will not give you the fit that you need. For me, I would never buy a dress shirt unless it was slim fit with a 14-14 1/2 collar size. Finding a shirt with those size preferences was a nightmare though. The market was 'too small' for all big retailers to serve. A slim fit dress shirt with a 14-14 1/2 collar would fit perfectly in all areas except the collar. I truly needed a collar that was 15-15 1/2, but shirts that came with that collar size were too big in ALL other areas. In my old shopping days, I had to compromise the fit of my collar to have a fit that worked on every other part of my dress shirt. But you shouldn't compromise your comfort and style (I was never able to button the top button without feeling like someone was choking me, and I couldn't comfortably wear a tie this way either) by buying just any dress shirt off-the-rack. Shoot for bespoke tailoring, or get custom men's dress shirts that you designed with the perfect fit in mind. You can start designing your own dress shirts online with our dress shirt design app now.

This post was written by Danny Wong for the co-creation blog, trying to convince men to adopt co-creation and forget about buying off-the-rack.

Source: constantinb

First off, we're NOT promoting plastic surgery as a gift, but this was a pretty hilarious photo. Second, this would have been more appropriate pre-Christmas, but oh well.

Thoughtful gift giving is one of the more meaningful things you can do in a friendship. Remembering that your pal said he needed to fix the shelves in his living room would make buying him a tool kit a simple gift that just means more than, "hey, here's a tool kit I got you." You're telling your friend that you care and that you listen.

Now, you're not always going to know if your friend has any needs, and sometimes needs are time-sensitive, like if James needed a new showerhead because his isn't working well. He'll probably replace it before the next gift-giving holiday comes around. But before he does, consider going out and geting him a new showerhead, the one with premium features because he needed one and because you wanted to make it extra special so it has 6 different settings and three levels of intensity.

That goes to show you that you do not need a socially-accepted time to celebrate your friendship by giving a gift to someone that's special to you. In fact, the recipient doesn't even need to need anything for you to give them a thoughtful gift. Sometimes good things come from your heart and they're spontaneous.

There are a lot of great DIY (do-it-yourself projects) out there that'll allow you to create an affordable and handmade gift. But there are also a number of really awesone Design-It-Yourself projects that let you create something very special for your friend without having to pull out the old craft kit, or needle-and-thread.

For a Design-it-yourself gift for guys, you can always design him a few dress shirts online, personalized with HIS own label, and colors and patterns that say something special about his character and personality. This is a great gift especially if your male friend works in an office space where wearing a dress shirt is an everyday thing, except maybe on Casual Fridays when we likes to wear his funky polo shirt and favorite pair of Levis. But he'd be quite proud to wear a dress shirt you designed for him because it's individually made and one-of-a-kind.

I mean, if you're really in a pinch and need to ever give someone a gift, this might be a really good idea... or you can gift-wrap plastic surgery. Ha! They'll love that.

This post was written by Danny Wong, Lead Evangelist for Blank Label, shamelessly plugging how awesome they are at making custom men's dress shirts on the co-creation blog.

courtesy of one dustin diaz

Charcoal is scorching all other fabrics to be named the color of the season.  As white is to summer, charcoal is to winter- the perfect blank canvas to dress up an outfit while still looking uncomplicated. If you’re willing to try this fresh new trend then check out a charcoal men's dress shirt that is guaranteed satisfy any appetite for fashion. 

The Charcoal fabric looks fresh against black suit jackets or blazers.  It will keep your paler, winter skin-tones stand out, unlike brighter tones that will wash you out.  It also makes a great seasonal piece because the solid charcoal fabric is dressy without overdoing it, which means you can wear it on many occasions.  You can wear it to that dull family get-together, and still look fresh when you leave for the bar afterword.  It will give you a look that we’re calling sophisticated casual.  Because it’s a shade below full-on black, it doesn’t overwhelm your outfit into the category of “over-dressy.” 

Another great thing about owning a charcoal button-down is that it’s a chameleon piece, meaning it looks great with many different outfits.   A charcoal dress shirt makes a mean combo with a pair of blank dress pants and black tie.  The subtle contrast makes your outfit seem more sophisticated and put-together but in a very minimal effort kind of way.  Pairing it with a colorful scarf makes the scarf and shirt show off in their contrast.

Pick out a fabric that best matches your personality.  If you’re more of a bold, take life by the horns kind of guy then make a statement with what you wear and go with a really deep charcoal fabric for this season.  Try this shirt with a pair of really dark-wash dress jeans or black dress pants, and dress it up with a black matte tie.  But if you’re more of a subdued fashion enthusiast try out a pale charcoal that still makes a statement under a black blazer but won’t give you an overstated look.  The pale charcoal looks great under a black or even dark brown leather jacket.  With leather huge this season, it shouldn’t be too hard to find one that looks great when paired with your charcoal dress shirt.

If you want to experiment even more with custom men's dress shirts, try out my personal favorite: a dark charcoal shirt with black collar and cuffs for a funky, stylish look.  

This is article number two from fresh new Blank Label Marketing Intern and our Co-Creation Blog fashionista, Danielle Bentz. Any feedback for her, she says she can take it ;)

As I often discuss, there are a lot of trends out there with a lot of good-looking people promoting them; however, we know that there are just some things that will never work on us, will never look good on us, and should never touch our bodies or even come near out 25m periphery. Now, besides the spangle jumpsuit and the feathered fedora, a rather subtle perpetrator of style cataclysms is the infamous and notorious “boot-in.” Now, what is the “boot-in?” This overvalued look is one in which men tuck their jeans or pants into their boots, thereby producing somewhat of an equestrian look (or a nouveau riche hipster get up at the appropriate bloc party.) Alright, I understand that this sounds and looks kind of cool, and we are tempted once in a full moon to just go crazy and tuck that shit in. Why not? Johnny Depp does it.

 courtesy of jjwphotos2 

Well, good gentlemen, believe it or not, shoving your jeans into your boots has a much more detrimental effect on your overall look than you can imagine. The only way it could work as splendidly as we so  often hope is if you have REALLY long legs and a considerably proportioned body, the boots are a perfect height (ankle, calve, knee, depending on your build) and your clothes in corresponding looseness to the said boots. Look at that list. Gross. Just thinking about all those specifications makes me want to plop down on the couch in my underwear with Cheetos. However, if you do NOT fulfill at least 80% of those criterions, you risk making your legs look extremely stumpy and short, your torso look incommensurate with the rest of your body (in the sense that your chest may look the same length as your legs), and overall, make you look at least 5lbs heavier. Still, perhaps the most thwarting aspect of the “boot-in” is that it ultimately makes you look like your trying way too hard. When it comes to men’s fashion, I really do believe that the simplistic approach is the best: t-shirts, canvas tennis, jeans, flannel, etc. On special occasions you can bust out the three-piece or the leather loafers, but overall there really is no need to push so much. You’re a man; you don't wear bangle earrings and nail deco for a reason. The “boot-in” can be an overbearing detail that can either add a simple touch to an equally simple outfit or make people chuckle at you in a pitying manner. I’m not saying NEVER do it, I’m just suggesting that you shouldn’t necessarily strive for it. Simple, simple, simple: I can’t stress it enough. Do not forsake a substantially quality outfit by the subtle, yet deadly activity of taking your pants and slipping them into your elongated footwear!

This post was written for our Co-Creation Blog by Youmi Park, Blank Label's crazy vixen Fashion Muse. If all this talk about boots makes you want to buy a new pair, well, frankly, we can't help you there, but please do go ahead and design custom dress shirts online.