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.

One of the most important, and yet surprisingly overlooked, things in a startup is morale. We’ve got a small team of four, so we're pretty clued-in on know how everyone’s doing work-wise, but also how everyone’s feeling emotionally and motivationally. All four of us are dedicating our lives to this, whilst still doing ‘the day job’ to feed the family, pay the bills, buy the food, etc. Living two lives is tough. Special kudos should be given to Zee, our Chief Interweb Builder, he’s just crazy, hundred hour work weeks are the lighter weeks. And he's got the fam too. As I said, crazy. But it's one of situations where I'm glad he's on our side to help us provide amazing men's dress shirts online. 

Getting the support from friends and family always makes this a little special. I want to take this opportunity for the kind words from our loved ones and those of us who've seen us toil behind the scenes and cheer us on from the proverbial sidelines. But let's be honest, we're decent people, and family and friends kind of have to give you a bit of encouragement every now and again. What's made this week really great is ... you.

It's kind of all worth it when people visit what you've built and buy what you believe in. We invest a lot of time trying to understand users (people who browse the site) and even more time speaking to customers (at least those who reply back to my emails thanking them with a caveat of looking for feedback). We're racking our brains trying to figure out how to enhance the experience for you, so I can say we totally, totally appreciate the people who do go to that extra effort of dropping a few words of commentary. I also want to say a special thanks for those who’ve taken the extra step of sharing us and our launch with their spheres of influence by blogging about us;

Johnathan Bell  from Guy Style Guide – Definitely one of our favorite male fashion bloggers threw us a plug in A FAQ for Finding the Perfect Dress Shirt

Michael  Tornato from the Trendy Dwarf – A true lover of fashion who has supported us for a while wrote this really in depth piece about us Blank Label … Do YOU like the Creative Types?

You can also find us in District Cut, DC’s Premier Men’s Fashion Blog who titled an article Exclusive Report | Blank Label

A post with an interesting twist comes from The Momentum of Failure on Creativity is a privilege, not a right. Blank Label isn’t here to judge. That’s my job

Brandon Crittle from Metro Style Men gave us a good plug on Express Your Individuality with Blank Label and he followed up suit by creating and purchasing a really cool shirt of his own

Serious kudos goes out to Dave Baldwin of men’s fashion and lifestyle megablog Thrillist, who reached out to us well before we were anything really and was in addition was one of the very first to post about us. Can’t wait to give you a hi 5 when we see you wearing your Blank Label custom dress shirt around Boston. 

Stay posted on more updates on Blank Label from Fan Bi and Danny Wong, on our Co-Creation Blog, as we journey beyond our first week and onto a crusade to change the way men shop through mass-customization and co-creation, starting with custom men's dress shirts.

Burt Reynolds. Tom Selleck. Borat. What do they have in common? They’re all loyal members of the mustache clan. Being female and somewhat envious of men’s ability to accessorize with their facial hair, I have always been in awe of the mustache. While dating a man with a mustache is beyond my capabilities (a furry face isn’t fun to kiss, guys), I happen to appreciate, albeit ironically, the bushiest of mustaches. As a child, I was actually afraid of men with mustaches, referring to them as “mustachio men”. I still use that term liberally, in fact. In a moment of pure whimsy, I have even drawn a mustache on myself and giggled uncontrollably. What is it about that tiny strip of hair that gets to me? I don’t know. But apparently I’m not the only one. Cool kids around the country are throwing ‘mustache parties’ in honor of the famed lip fur. At a proper mustache bash, everyone, and I mean everyone, must come wearing a mustache, be it real or fake. Ever catch yourself absentmindedly drawing mustaches on the faces of models in a fashion magazine? Well, here’s your chance to do it to your friends. Test drive your own mustache, make fun of how closely your friends resemble evil dictators, and have a ball at your own facial hair free-for-all. My older sister informed me a while back that she was attending a mustache party without a mustache, and I shook my head in disapproval. How could she betray the ‘stache? Not everyone is cool enough to rock the look, I guess . . . but I’ve got lots of respect for those who can.

We don’t endorse growing an actual mustache because they really AREN’T for everyone, but they certainly are fun to play with!

Anyone have great stories about mustachios? If not, we can talk about Borat’s mustache.

Oh, by the way, has anyone checked out the Mustache Bandana yet? Sickk.

[Image Source: Ollie Crafoord]

This post was written by Blank Label's Blogger and custom men's dress shirts stylist Anne Marie Jackson for our Co-creation Blog.