Outfit of the Week #105

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Welcome to Outfit of the Week #105! And this week we will be looking at this outfit!

Photo shared by Escurridizo69 on Flickr.

This is a really cool outfit however I really have no idea which fashion designer did this piece and this isn't the only outfit paired with black opaque tights and I thought that black opaque tights were out of fashion for men but nope it seems like it is here to stay!(I hope!) The model spots a very cute smiley on his T-shirt and a very interesting styled grey blazer with what it seems like leather fittings in the hands area and the shoulders. Interesting combo with the black shorts and black opaques with maroon coloured leather sneakers. This outfit doesn't require too much of an extra cash to buy from flashy fashion labels. Actually looking at some of the other photos, I felt that pairing up leather shorts (as shown in the bottom photo) with this outfit would look pretty good too!

I should get myself a proper fitting blazer!

What do you think?

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

In Focus: Knittex 20 Den Smart Tights

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Today we will be taking an in depth look of a unique pair of tights by Knittex. As you all might have know that Knittex has graciously sent me 2 sample pairs of their men's collection of their hosiery products, one of which is this "Smart" 20 den tights and the "Sporty" 100 den Opaque Footless Tights, you can read the review of the latter in here (You might probably notice the package saying 30 den but actually in its physical form.. it has been corrected to 20 den)

The Smart tights was packaged in a very classy rectangular cardboard packaging with the tights wrapped around a card in a clear plastic envelope which I find it useful to store my tights. Packaging is style is identical to that of the Sporty Opaque Footless Tights.

At first I got very mixed feelings as I am not a big fan of sheers at all due to the fact that sheer tights typically do not last long. I was more meticulous at handling and putting them on, I usually would use gloved hands to put on my tights and these sheers were no exceptions because no one likes having snags in their tights right?

Putting them was quite a bit of an experience because I didn't want ruin them so soon, when I actually rolled them up all the way to my thigh I found out to my horror, the right inner thigh part of the tights had a very tiny snag mark and I wasn't too sure if I caused or not, but it wasn't so bad as that part of my legs wouldn't show.. But it didn't matter as I wore jeans because it was working day for me. They seem to glide very well up my legs and under long pants, it was actually quite easy to wear them provided that your legs are dry of course! I also noticed a matt shine to the tights. The boxer and socks were made of higher denier content, opacity looking like 80 denier.

I wore them for the entire work day at the gallery taking enquiries, I'm usually tasked to work in the studio as a photographer but specially for that week I was assigned to the gallery, so I thought I try the Smart tights under my jeans.

These tights are designed to be worn as undergarment as well which is something I really like about Knittex tights. They actually felt really comfortable and smooth, so much so that I forgot that they are actually still on! And well I have to say that though these don't cost a lot but in terms of comfort, they fall under the category of excellent hosiery brands. Not the sort you pick up from the drug store.

Double breasted jacket: H&M  Shorts: HUSH PUPPIES  Shoes: TOPMAN  Glasses: H&M  Legwear: KNITTEX   Bag: ZiNC   Model & Photographer:  A. LUCIUS. KUNSTWERKE FABRIK

Price: 16.54 Polish Zlotys which equates to about US$5.26 or GBP 3.45

Material content: Polyamide 88% & Elastane 12% with gusset

Sizes: 3, 4 & 5 M, L & XL

Colours: Black

Pros: Nice glide, comfortable, stays in place, good size ranges, inexpensive & unique.

Cons: Snag easily due to denier level, you can wear them for extended times only if you have taken very very good care of them & a lot more care is needed to handle them.

http://www.knittex.pl/sklep/kolekcja-meska/rajstopy-1/smart

In conclusion I would like to describe these tights to be a little bit of an adventure for me, the adventure of putting them on and not ruining them so soon and the adventure of actually enjoying how they felt on my legs. I am rating these 2.5 out of 5 stars. If you are really into something unique and sheer or just something to wear under your mundane working attire in lieu of your socks.. try these! :)

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

Weekly Vibe #20

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Welcome to the 20th edition of Weekly Vibe! This week has been full of ups and downs for me, mostly the downs, but thank God I'm looking at the bright side of things! I'm really glad I finally started the LFFM Digest early this week, I actually took a month or so to write the first one actually, the reason why I took that long was that I needed a lot of research and relevant pictures and of course not to mention.. the "disease" of procrastination. But I hope you guys actually enjoy reading the 1st LFFM Digest! 

In the recent news, there has been buzz about  Mantyhose in New York, you could read all about it here. So far the reactions are quite mixed. Well I feel that Mantyhose is a very niche fashion item, not every man will dare to wear them or get caught wearing them with shorts. I had an interesting experience myself last evening, I had on one of the Charnos Navy Blue Opaques with cargo length shorts and when I boarded the train bound home, I noticed 2 Caucasian women looking at me and giggling. Hahahahaha! I really could care less personally. I'm sure if I wore a Ushanka, I will most likely get the same reaction. It is a common trend for artists to be dressed differently, just look at fashion designers, photographers, painters & anyone in the art scene, we stand out! Why be normal and be someone else? We want to be ourselves and people.. just be yourself because everyone else is taken! 

Chan Kraemer, one of the pioneers and the driving force and also my personal inspiration has revamped the Mantyhose.net site. It looks pretty neat right now! I really liked one of the articles he wrote about "Pantyhose For Men / Mantyhose: Not unisex fashion.":

"It’s an old question: are mantyhose just rebranded women’s pantyhose? Are these guys wearing ladies’ garment at the end? Chan Kraemer, founder of mantyhose.net (formerly: e-MANcipate.net) says he doesn’t want to see mantyhose as some kind of crossdressing issue.

“Its genuine male fashion, intented for everyday men” he says. “It’s no way about the weakening of the male idea. Men have strong, muscular legs. Show your mantyhose-decorated legs and you’re saying: here are my legs, they are strong enough to carry me, and I am carrying the whole world – my family, my job, and all the others who rely on me.”

“Its not a surprise that men used to show their legs for centuries, if not for millenia, as a symbol of their strength and manhood. And yes, ladies do find the male legs sexy.”

My salute and hat's off to Chan! I would really love to meet and talk to him in person! For the men out there who have hosiery as part of their fashion wardrobe, Chan has got to be the best inspiration!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh