Dreams Loud & Awake By The Muted City Lake

Continuing the feel of fusion, this recent look takes three trends and colours them together into a uniformed staple way of being adventurous without drowning in attention seeking colour. A military man battles into a cohesive agreement with a sailor to establish a muted pallete, where toughness finds serenity by the sea. A Vivienne Westwood t-shirt offers a playful twist, a Topman macintosh has a silky silver water ripple to it while also embodying titan armor strength, and the nautical holdall clashes perfectly with the chunky military boots. By adapting all these trends in the same pallete doesn't wash the ideas away, but more ropes them together. And in this instance, grey was the colour of choice, echoing muted vibes from the likes of Phillip Lim. I've included some editorial examples below of the splicing of 'the sea' in different atmospheres. And be sure to subscribe to the Brighterman youtube channel for upcoming videos of me offering styling tips such as this mixture of trends. It's an exciting project in the pipeline from a great accessories company. http://www.youtube.com/user/BrightermanTV

Colour My Life With The Chaos Of Trouble

One of my favourite things to do is fuse trends together; I can be such an erratic man-about-town-and-mind, that tattooing a single style to my silhouette isn't a good idea. After all, a wardrobe has so much more life and colour to it when there's a treasure chest of activity within it. And I also like to evolve my outfit successes and failures, making a happy marriage of tops that previously left me lonesome. So why not bring Winter's influence into Spring, and keep the seasonal chain running through in subtle ways. Take a clash of a bohemian gypsy with an androgynous city man. Accessories that involve an earthy trilby and playful bow tie with a mystical and gothic sheer shirt teases the trends together, and I love the corrugated rust trousers that bark out of chunky military boots. The pieces are from my friends at Brighterman, where they also put together a video of the look in mind as a memory. I'm going to be collaborating with them more during the Spring, showcasing video snippets of tips to style ideas and bring them to life. Keep tabs through their site and channels at http://www.brighterman.com/ / http://www.youtube.com/user/BrightermanTV / http://brighterman.com/blog

I'm also sporting an inspired bag from Hackett's new collection that really personifies the tailored man with a twist. The light and dusty earth colours work wonders for my bohemian ideas with a difference. Check out more of the collection at http://www.hackett.com/

Rise & Shine

So the sun has finally come out of the clouded closet, and while it might not be hot enough to put a first class stamp of constant wear in my postman shorts, I've rolled up most of my trousers to harmonise with the heat. The three quarter length look is usually associated with the more bohemian inclined and designed, but I like to think it equally suits the black and white pallete. With some black socks and blood red brogues, I look like a gothic Victorian boy with a camp streak that's coming through. I'm also wearing possibly one of the comfiest t-shirts in my current collection from the charming brand RISE. I love the minimalist design that looks like a canvas from the Tate Modern museum that lost its way into a wonderful wardrobe. No doubt I'll be wearing it throughout the sunshine period. To check out some of their designs, head to http://www.risecollective.us/

Consoler Of The Lonely

One of my guilty admissions is the convict-creep into a friends' wardrobe when they're away to seek out styles that I'd never usually consider. My brother back home is a lover of punk, and his clothes are just as striking as the tattoos that landscape his body; and in a past post I weighted myself with his biker jacket that looked like a weathered animalistic shell of sorts. But thankfully my flatmate in London doesn't quite go to the extremity with this clothing form of leather weaponry, with a light jacket that has equal darkened pop. It's very much on my 'to buy list', because there's suprising charm in toughening up Spring with a jacket like I'm wearing below. Wearing a H&M jumper underneath that looks like smooth slate, the clash of hard and soft collages into something wonderful. And a designer who I can't get enough of recently that mirrors this is Damir Doma; the layer-upon-layer of earthy textures creates the idea of a weathered traveller with secrets, tales and intrigue within the style and threads. It's dark but also inviting; a vibe I'm set to convey next week on a photoshoot with the always creative Constance Phillips. I've posted some gothic inspiration of the gothic graveyard concept we're going to try and bring to life, and will post the images as soon as they're done.

Strangers In The Silky Wind

There’s nothing worse than working in an office when the sun attends the sky, where the room fills with invisible tar that sticks and clings to uncomfortable clothes and expressions. Thankfully the fashion industry doesn’t stick like treacle to conventionally predictable shirt and tie styles that unconsciously crave this parched attention and persona. Christopher Shannon is a designer I’ve raved about on many an occasion, and there’s never better a seasonal time to indulge in the urban luxury when the humid office environment calls for comfortable and high-heated style. The trousers ripple and contort like melted silk, exuding sportswear charm with the stylish silver coating that make them appropriate for business intentions. Rucksacks corset the body like colourful shielding, and holdalls have a gritty quilt texture to them that again fuses together the city worker with the sport enthusiast. So with this in mind, I’ve sprinted into work in melting silver trousers with braces from www.brighterman.com that can be overlapped to create this rucksack corset idea. Hope everyone else is finding their own inventive little ways of funking up the stereotypical scenes out there.

Polaroid Dreams & Beautiful Freaks

I recently collaborated with mens' accessories website www.brighterman.com . Their wasp coloured braces instantly stung me with inspiration to daydream back to my bohemian genes, and what better timing aswell with the recent injection of sunshine. The jewellery on offer is also a wonderful treasure of trendy rust, with bolts and keys looking like sacred pieces from the lord of the rings.

Spring's Red Scars

In my review of London Fashion Week, I couldn't tame my love for James Long's delicate web of tweed. He has a knack of finding ways to thread and untangle material in such a spellbinding way, with inside-out jumpers that mesh and tie-dye like rodarte-art, to tweed blazers that have a softness but extreme construction to them at the same time. So with this in mind, I romantically kissed my wardrobe with the addition of a dusty pink blazer that has all the vintage swarv' charm I admire, but in a quirky colour that calls for the city and clubbing environment. Without doubt the best print of influence to come from Somerset House this season.

Aquarium's Key

Without realising, a print of denim I've always been shy or dismissive of is the ice light blue. Maybe I was guilty of associating it with the 90s pallete ,when baggy wasn't a form of ghetto-funk but more a case of ill fitting jeans from a shameful supermarket. But in a bid to lighten up my style in time for Spring, I've bought some twisted seam jeans from Topman in a cartoon blue that I'm seriously fond of. They have an industrial appeal that's been tamed and acid washed to the eye, and teamed with my 'Another Man' t-shirt that looks like a chemistry close-up, there's something slightly aquarium and alluring about this introduction to the freshly faded blue. And it seemed convenient that the first editorial I came across today from Miharaysuhiro dipped into a rustic ocean with jackets that look like a marbled dip-dye ocean, and tops that look weathered with treasures from the depths of the sea.

I also thought I'd mention an award I've been nominated for which I'm so chuffed about. The trendy mens styling brand KINGS have included me as a potential King Of Style, and it would be great if you could spare a minute or two to pop to their facebook page and click a little vote my way. http://www.facebook.com/kings1965?sk=app_7146470109 x