All about men's fashion: Part 3 - Collar Shapes.

The collar design is one of the essential features defining the style of every shirt; the collars of the early shirts were cut in various ways. The fundamental distinction is that between the stand-up collar and the turn down collar.

Some of the collar shapes.

THE WIDE TURN-DOWN COLLAR - The wide turn-down collar is the most formal, and at the same appears the least conspicuous collar style. The gap between the collar tips may vary.

These are also the examples of turn-down collar. I vaguely remembered reading somewhere that Ronald Reagan said, "its possible to make long neck look shorter by wearing a wide collar, just as a short neck can be made to look longer with a narrow collar".

THE CUTAWAY COLLAR - This elegant collar shape has many names, mostly it’s called the cutaway, or the spread collar. The name refers to the typical way in which the collar tips are cutaway to the sides. In fact this design allows a free view of the neck tie knot. The cutaway looks more elegant than the extremely turn-down collar.

THE PIN COLLAR - The pin collar, on which the collar tips are connected with pins of various designs, is also a very American collar style. Sometimes the collar design looks very elegant. The pin collar can be worn with collar tips which are relatively close to each other.

THE BUTTON-DOWN COLLAR - this design has a special stature among collar designs. It looks just as good with a necktie as without. Someone who wears this collar with a necktie look very "dressed up", nevertheless, the button down collar looks less formal than other designs.

THE TAB COLLAR - this design is very famous in USA than in other parts of the world. It was supposedly first worn by Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII on a journey to the USA. Americans adopted this style with enthusiasm. The small strap emphasizes the knot of the necktie very elegantly. However the collar cannot be worn without a necktie.

All about men's fashion: Part 2 - Choosing A Shirt.

I guess there is no need for introduction, so let’s cut the chase and move on to the important stuff..

First of all, how to choose a good shirt. ..

Some good shirts at a glance.

Collar bones - a good shirt has a removable collar bones. Most collar bones are made of plastic but some outfitters offer brass collar bones. Whatever they are made of, they give the collar the right curve and prevent the collar tips turning up. This can be particularly important when the shirt is worn with a neck tie.

Split yoke - as people generally have shoulders of different heights, a split yoke can be used to adjust the fit of a shirt precisely to the man's stature. On ready-made shirts split yoke is just a detail and suggests expensive work.

Buttons - traditional buttons are made of mother-of-pearl. Mother-of-pearl buttons are so hard that they will break the needle of sewing machine.

Sleeve - on a good shirt the cloth of the sleeve is pleated several times where it meets the cuff. In addition there is often a small button above the cuff that prevents the sleeve opening up to reveal the arm in an unflattering way. in very good shirts the button holes are horizontal, and not vertical. On the very best shirts it is hand sewn, of course just like the other button holes.

Gusset - a Gusset a triangular piece of material is usually added for reinforcement in the corner between the breast and the back. This detail can be seen in all good shirts. 

All about men's fashion: Part 1 - The Hair

Gentleman: dictionary definition says,
* A man of gentle or noble birth or superior social position
* A well-mannered and considerate man with high standards of proper behavior.
I'd say Gentleman is a person with a good sense of fashion.

This and future parts of the blog will be about men and their timeless fashion.

Basically i'll go from head to toe, obviously i don't know everything about fashion but i'll try to share everything, well almost everything about men's fashion.

Lets jump in to the first installment - THE HAIR

Lets be honest, HAIR real or artificial plays a significant role in every man's life. one haircut can change a man's look to a great extent, speaking of haircuts; choosing your hairdresser is important. recently did i realize that there is a degree for a hairstylist, you need to graduate from cosmetology school to be a qualified hairstylist. 

As a kid i loved going to a hairdresser, the joy of visiting a hairdresser is completely different. i loved watching all the men who were chatting together, dozing or reading a newspaper while getting their haircut. I'm sorry for all those men whose hair was cut at home by their mother. it feels different when your hair is cut by a professional.

WHAT SHOULD I APPLY TO MY HAIR??


Hair cream:

Hair creams, mainly consist of FAT, oil or wax. one of many classic products of this kind is Brylcream. i don't know how many are fans of good old Ronnie Raygun's hairstyle(RIP Ronnie), these creams can give you that look. these creams are effective on men with thick wavy hair. unlike hair gel, hair creams do not dry out the hair.
Brilliantine hair pomade is a reminiscent of Vaseline, it is recommended for thicker hair. it has beneficial effects on dry scalps.







Hair oil:

After hair creams and pomades hair oil is the third fat based hair grooming product. Hair oil is recommended for very dry hair that is difficult to control. However hair creams and brilliantine are better for hairdressing because they can be applied more evenly than oil.

HAIRSTYLES:

Until the 1970's the short back-and-sides was the most basic haircut. Majority of men still have their hair cut along these lines, however men have always worn long hair as well.

some of the classic hairstyles over the years are:

* The Italian look: A man with dark, curly hair can carry off this classic south European look. It loses none of the attractiveness with increasing age and slowly graying hair, as Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli used to have.

* The Aristocrat: This style is classic among men's haircuts. Longer hair on top, no layering the ears uncovered, and short hair on the nape(back of the neck) such as the one worn by Prince Charles. Someone who wears this hair will always look well groomed.

* The Dandy: The Development of the pony tail has been most interesting. in the 1960's it was real rarity, but now its no longer unthinkable. the men's pony tail such as the one worn by Karl Lagerfeld, is remarkable. I think the dandy look is for an  environmentally conscious music student or a pleasure-seeking millionaires kid.

* The Eternal Youth: Well this hair style has lost its definition, this hairstyle has always tousles, falls into the eyes and it needs to be constantly thrown back with a short movement of the head. This is a classic boyish look. this hairstyle looks fabulous on men with light or blond hair.

CHEST HAIR:

well chest hair has been and always will be a controversial topic. some people say that a man should remove his body hair because he also cuts the hair on his head and face. others regard a haircut and shave as the normal minimum of body care, but removal of body hair as the expression of an excessive desire to control the way one looks. 

In India and Europe; there is always a tendency to let the nature take its course.  Its difficult for a traditional Indian man to imagine himself doing something to get rid of the vigorously sprouting hair on his chest, back and legs. Well i guess the thinking is changing now, thanks to the american counterparts. 

The proponents of body-hair removal mostly came from United States, where people use ingenious cosmetic methods to modify their appearance. However, just the thought of going through the painful process of having their hair removed is disagreeable for many men.

Maybe we should just accept the way we are, instead of wishing for things we do not have.

HAIR BRUSH:

* Round Hair brush:Round hair brushes are generally used to give a curl and definition to hairstyles. The basic rule is that the smaller the round of the brush the tighter the curl. For shorter hair, use a smaller brush and curl strategic pieces of your hair. For longer hair, round hair brushes can be used for curling the ends, or just straightening hair. A larger round hair brush is best for longer hair.

* The royal brush: my personal favorite, I think every man should own this brush. I guess G.B. Kent & Sons still make their famous brushes by hand, as a result they are very expensive. I think Kent & Sons still use wild-boar bristles unlike plastic or metal. 

There is so much more, but let me stop.  if there are any errors, please excuse me and leave a comment. i'll try to correct them:)

BRAIN: Sleep and Dreams

One thing i'd like to understand more is human brain - but the fact is, its the most complex & least understood part of human anatomy.

One of the facts about human brain is  - Its much more active in the night than during the day. Logically speaking you can argue that your brain does much complex calculation when you are awake but in reality its not true. your brain is active when you are asleep. Scientists don't know yet why this is but research is still going on.

Broadly speaking there are different stages of brain activity and each activity is differentiated by analyzing the brain waves.

BRAIN WAVES: 


Beta waves: beta waves are the waves associated with day to day activities when you are awake. these waves are very low in amplitude and high in frequency. (non technically - these waves are small & very close to each other). These waves are non consistent and this is expected as the brain does all the calculation s related to day to day activities.

Alpha waves: alpha waves are the waves associated with states of relaxation, for example when you are meditating. These waves are of high amplitude and low frequency.

Brain waves during sleep.

Generally there are 5 stages of sleep. stage 1 & stage 2 of sleep is characterized by theta waves. stage 3 & stage 4 of sleep is characterized by delta waves and finally stage 5 is REM sleep this stage is generally associated with dreams.
   
Theta waves: theta waves are the waves associated with light sleep. these waves are of higher in amplitude and lower in frequency when compared to alpha waves.
stage 1 and stage 2 of sleep is characterized by theta waves. These stages are light stages of sleep, in fact if someone is woken up during these stages they will often report as not being sleep. If u are a student i'm pretty sure you will be stage 1 and stage 2 sleep during your lectures.

Delta waves: delta waves are the waves associated with deep sleep. these waves are highest in amplitude and lowest in frequency.
delta sleep is our deepest sleep, its very hard to wake up a person during delta sleep. when the sleeper is awakened from delta sleep he/she will be usually sleepy and disoriented.

REM sleep: well this is an unique stage of sleep. this stage is generally associated with dreams, btw REM means rapid eye movement.
when a sleeper is awakened during REM sleep, great majority of them will  report they were having a dream.

Usually during your sleep you'll dream every 90 minutes. At first the dream time will be less and gradually the dream time will increase.

Another interesting fact about human brain is, Scientists believe that more you dream the higher is your IQ. if u dream more go ahead and boast that you have high IQ :)