SCOWL November 2014
£2.00
Fashion Power Brows through the ages We try out the High Defintion brow trend
Nixon in London
Interactive new store
A guide to subculture fashion
The Topman Special:
“Men hate Day to Night style having the same job as their wives...”
Men living in a female dominated world
CONTENTS
NOVEMBER 2014
3 Products: Work, Day and Night
Three perfect outfits ideal for work, day and night. This month we focus on new items available fromTopman.
4 News
Take a look at the latest stories in Men’s Fashion, including store openings and hot new collections for Winter to Spring.
6 Feature: Men in Fashion
Why are straight men such a taboo to the world of fashion? Alice King takes a look at equality in the work place and why we still face struggles in achieving successful careers in a female dominated industry. 2
8 Feature: Subculture Fashion
Nothing beats a bit of nostalgia. This is a beginners guide of decade to decade styles that dominated youth culture.
11 Reviews
We’ve tried and tested the latest fads so you don’t have to. Reviews of what’s hot and what’s not this month in fashion and grooming.
2
The
Work
£25
Day
Special £65
£28
£50
For those unadventurous with colour, there is nothing more suave for work than monochrome. Topman have an endless online range of white shirts. Black trousers are also available in various shapes and fits, but for an on-trend, smart cut- go for the slim fit. Stay practical too with an oversized bag and classic tassel loafers.
Night
£36 Daywear means the need for movement and versatility.. The Topman spray-on jeans are perfect for autumn, however, if you’re not confident enough to pull them off then just opt for the normal skinny fit. They are a timeless shape. There are plenty of amusing t-shirts with slogans ideal for daywear. Try teaming up with a pair of pumps.
£24
Evening wear is always a tough decision. Smart, casual or smart casual? Chelsea boots add a retro touch to modern cut jeans and combined with a roll neck jumper adding laid back attitude, you’re all set for a night at the pub, posh bar or underground club. For a more sophisticated look wear a fitted blazer over the top. 3
News
Lidl launches men's fashion range Li
dl is to sell a range of
men's fashion as the discount retailer steps up its plans to attract more British shoppers. The retailer will sell shirts for £6.99 and jeans for £7.99 as well as cotton jumpers, winter jackets, and shoes. The collection, which includes nine items of clothing, went on sale in Lidl stores today. It is the latest example of Lidl's ambition to expand in the UK, where it is attracting shoppers from traditional supermarkets along with rival Aldi. The launch of a menswear range, which will be in stores until Lidl has sold its existing stock, follows the success of a wom-
enswear range earlier this year. Lidl sold out of the women's clothing in just three days. Josie Stone, non-food buying manger at Lidl, said: “The response to our womenswear col lection was phenomenal. "It just goes to show that the British public is looking for fashion forward pieces at great value, which is why we wanted to offer a collection for men as well. "This new range continues with that concept of offering classic fashion pieces with a bit of an edge but without the designer price tag to match. "This Livergy menswear collection is only available as long as stocks last so we suggest heading down to the store as soon as possible so you don’t miss out.”
Forget Christmas jumpers-bring on the C Christmas suit hristmas jumpers?
Opposuit.com’s latest fad- Will you be buying? 4
Pah. They’re so last December. This year, why not consider giving your festive wardrobe a slightly more dapper vibe, with these self-proclaimed “ugly Christmas sweater suits”? The suits are available via e-tailer OppoSuits, whose website boasts: "An OppoSuit is the exact opposite of a regular business suit (apart from the quality and the fitting)." No kidding. Crafted in 100 per cent polyester, the suits come in three advent-urous styles, each bearing a striking resemblance to the sort cheap supermarket wrapping paper you would only inflict on a relative you don't actually like. And they’re yours for a mere £65. Take that, Savile Row!
The dating app for beardlovers
©bristlr
Nixon store opens on Carnaby Street A Nixon store has been
Nixon was founded in California in 1998 with its primary product being watches and watch accessories. These are now sold in over 70 countries worldwide. Nixon promotes the concept of ‘Horizon marketing.’ This is a range inspired by
“Carnaby in London and Le Marais in Paris, are just great retail areas that fit the brand. It’s about presenting a more complete experience, our way. We’re confident the stores will elevate the brand with consumers and show our retailers what we can
opened this October on Carnaby Street, London. The purpose of the new Nixon location is to increase the presence of the brand in the European market. This is the second European store, following closely after the new Paris lo- Carnaby welcomes another brand to it’s streets cated Nixon which was opened this September. Chad DiNenna, CoFounder of the Nixon brand said that he finds London ‘amazing’ and is ‘excited to start the next chapter’ in such a ‘great city.’ “It has always held an influential position in shaping a point of view when it comes to fashion, music, culture, design and style. The opportunity in opening the Carnaby space allows Nixon to be an active participant sports such as skateboarddo.” in contributing to the field of ing, snowboarding and surfThe store will include a world-class design through boarding along with other customisation bar inspired by our perspective, our brand water sports the workshops in which the and products.” The majority of products products are made. This alPhilippe Gouzes, VP of are made from high quality lows customers to buy beSales has said that this is a leather. spoke, one-of-kind items for brilliant opportunity to ‘grow Nixon CEO, Nick Stowe affordable prices. The servthe business’ and to ‘reach a said in the press release: ice includes engraving. broader audience.’
r.com
A new dating app called
Bristlr - "the Social Beard Network" - promises to connect "those with beards to those who want to stroke beards”. According to the promotional bumph, Bristlr, "much like Tinder, is a networking site for finding people you might like to meet up with. "Instead of asking if you're single or taken, or looking for men or
women, Bristlr simply asks you if you have a beard. You can find people near you who either have beards, or are looking to meet people with beards. "Bristlr also provides a beardrating option, so you can find out how well a potential date's beard ranks compared to other bearded locals." Why are we even surprised that such an app exists? We should be more surprised that it
London fashion bloggers have commented on their excitement of the new highly interactive and accessible store, particularly the interior design, which includes a wave table and a large watch wall. Nixon is situated on Newburgh Street, Carnaby, London. Carnaby is located a two minute walk away from Oxford Street in London’s West End. There are over 50 brand stores as well as independent shops and restaurants in the area and it is worldrenowned for its independent fashion houses. Carnaby is an iconic place for British fashion and was the heart of the Swinging Sixties, with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones being spotted there both shopping and socialising. After vintage boutiques were threatened with closure earlier this autumn, the buzz of Carnaby has been unaffected. Follow @carnabyLondon for more store openings and other updates.
hasn't been around for years. The internet is slowly swallowing every niche and fetish at an alarming rate. There already seems to be a dating service to cater to the most specialist of tastes, while the beard itself has been analysed, dissected, exploited and commercialised ad infinitum. A hook-up site for hairies is frankly long overdue.
5
This is a woman’s wo ...But it’s noth Fashion is dominated by women. It’s a sad truth we have had to accept.
Just like how people still expect women to pop babies out and spend the rest of their lives slaving away in some sort of spectacular mansion that their husband has paid for entirely on his own due to his posh job in the city. Or they have got a foreign nanny who takes care of the kids while the wife shops for yet another Chanel quilted classic in acidlemon. No. Let’s stop a minute. This is all wrong. We hear so much about feminists. About how they ‘burned their bras’ and threw themselves in front of racehorses. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they did that. As a woman, I am more than happy that Fashion women in generations previous to me risked their lives for equality and so I could live here today with the opposite gender and the same rights. BUT, what do we do when the dreaded tables are turned and men start to feel the wicked whip of gender roles smacking them on the back? Men and fashion should be harmonious. Everyone wears clothes and everyone appreciates the thrill of wearing a hot new shirt and parading around for all to see and of course,
envy. Karl Lagerfeld. Tom Ford. Giorgio Armani. For those of you men interested in fashion and unaware of those names... you’re welcome. I’ve introduced you to a whole new world of inspiration and wonder.
society and that they MUST be mothers, and MUST be married, and MUST be beautiful. We can blame Disney, Barbie and reality TV. We rarely stop to think about what men are taught to believe and religiously follow. Men are meant to be strong and superior, taking on macho
jobs inbclude those who work in factories Problem. All those men are gay. Obviously being a homosexual man in this industry is in no way an issue. Being a homosexual man in any industry is not an issue. Fashion has to be camp. It centres so profoundly on colours and textures and prints that any guy specialising devotedly on the subject automatically transfers himself onto the other team, whether he is or not. Women are taught from a young age about the ideals of
roles of discipline and DIY. Classically, men should be muscular and intelligent; however the 21st century fights against this. On top of all the other expectations, men are now incessantly pushed to look their best too. In the heat of a society that seemingly focuses entirely on the Beauty Myth, men target disposable incomes on grooming and clothing. Yet ashamedly this neglects the careers they pursue, leaving fashion untouched professedly by all het-
erosexual men. Wrong. “The UK fashion and textiles sectors as a whole employ an estimated 600 thousand people, making the United Kingdom the third-largest fashion employer in the EU-27 surpassed only by Italy and Germany” according to fashionunited.co.uk. This includes the less glamorous side of fashion that many temporarily smallminded of us forget aboutfactories. Men make up a majority of those working to produce our clothes, but why are they not present in the fashion mags? Why are they not designing clothes? I spoke to male fashion student, Jake Lee, 22, about the stick associated with heterosexual men in fashion. Jake describes being in this position as being an ‘uninvited wedding guest,’ blaming the education system for its lack of diversity. “I guess most straight guys feel it dents their rep as a "lad" and hate the idea of being in the same job as their wife! other. I noticed at colleges and schools especially it is not really put out there in an inviting way for guys to feel comfortable in
orld... hing without a man. taking it up. Straight males are guy with a beer belly and seen as a big threat to such a beard posing with a Fendi huge part of life forged by bag. And we are told that women in an environment that they thrive in.” A collection of Jake Lee’s designs Fashion needs to re-evaluate itself and open up a more diverse attitude. Things are beginning to change but it’s the start of a slow process that many sat comfortably at the top of the fashion hierarchy strongly oppose to. We now have brands dedicated purely to plus size women and are establishing a continuously broader mind when it comes to the concept of ‘bigger is better.’ On the other hand, ‘plus size men’ are not represented in the fashion industry at all. We have brands for those who are described as ‘freakishly tall’ or ‘larger sized’ but these are just average men. that’s because that is not what Men are just as concerned WE want to see. When did with body image; they just WE decide that? If that did know how to hide it a bit bethappen, it would be considter. The only male models that ered by the high fashion world are genuinely iconic are those as ‘charity.’ who are ‘pretty,’ in other words The question is, why do feminine, rather than mascustill amuse those who cannot line. You will never see a bald see past muscles and expen-
sive fabrics only available from the far corners and deserts of Timbuktu. No one
glares at Harry Styles and thinks “Why are you here?” on the front row of a Givenchy runway. Yet the next day the papers will be plastered with rumours of Harry Styles’ apparent ‘gay affairs.’ As soon as he joins the fashion forces, he is ‘gay.’ The media is ignorant
enough to suggest that he has to bat for the other team if fashion is an interest to him. What some people lack is the pure inspiration to pursue such careers. Neither gender holds any creative hold over the other, so the media at every platform should stop suggesting this. With generations moving on, we are welcoming a more openminded and enthusiastic youth who could change the face of fashion forever. Similarly, women must break the barriers of maledominated worlds, like construction and engineering. The message is that each unprejudiced individual must strive towards careers that suit them, regardless of the heavy hold of society’s beliefs upon them. If we change, the media should follow and therefore the world of fashion.
Subcultu
Fashion never fades. With the increasingly popular trends of the subcultures that influenced the fashion of each decade an
TEDDY BOYS Strongly associated with rock and roll music, the Teddy Boys were the birth of the sensationalised violence and gang culture which would be linked with subcultures for decades to come. They mimicked the style of 40 years previous, combining tapered trousers with long jackets- always tailor made. The 1950’s bought about the beginning of rebellion and this meant that male interest in fashion had become widely socially acceptable. The Teddy boys are named after the Edwardian period, which was a huge influence in the cuts they opted for. Velvet trim jackets were paired with highwaisted, ankle-showing drainpipe jeans. Footwear often meant smart, therefore brogues and oxford shoes were common. With hair styled into effortlessly coiffed quiffs, Teddy boys
NOW THEN spent their time listening to smooth jazz and filling diners with the thickness of cigar smoke. For inspiration‌ THINK ELVIS.
ure style
charity shop shopping and vintage clothes, we take a look at d how they are still influencing our fashion choices today. There have been a continuous series of Mod revivals, but it was in the Swinging Sixties that the trend blossomed. The word ‘Mod’ comes from the term ‘modernists’ because they listened to modern jazz and took an inteest in modern art. George Melly referred to them
NOW
as ‘clothes focused working-class men’ and the group began as a rebellion against American consumer culture. Mods were as significant as they were because they were first generation since the end of war that had spare cash to spend on clothes and music
MODS
rather than contributing finances to family life. Women started taking the pill meaning that promiscuity was common and somewhat acceptable in the realms of youth culture. This led to the birth of Stanley Cohen’s ‘moral panic theory’ which suggested that the media demonised the Mods and similar groups, presenting them as ‘folk devils.’ This theory cannot have been helped by the amphetamine that surrounded the social life of the subculture. In terms of fashion, tailor made suits of French and Ital-
ian design were common. Their haircuts were also influenced by the style of these countries. The ‘Hard Mods,’ who later transformed into the Skinheads, wore Levi jeans with Fred Perry and Ben Sherman shirts in paisley and checked prints. Stereotypically, the Mods were always sat upon a scooter (preferably of Lambretta or Vespa branding) with parka jackets to prevent dirt getting on their mohair lapels, spent their time shopping down London’s Carnaby Street and spent their weekends ‘fisty cuffing’ with the ‘Rockers’ on Brighton pier. Look no further than the Gallagher brothers, Miles Kane and Bradley Wiggins.
THEN
9
NOW
THEN PUNKS
10
With an anti-establishment view, the Punks were much more politically directed than the subcultures before them. These were often left wing views; however, they did support a whole spectrum as long as anarchism was at the centre. Originally at the height of popularity in the seventies, Punks have transformed into other groups (New Wave and Emo for example.) The style that Punks adopted directly came from music that they listened to. Punks revolutionised body modification, covering themselves in tattoos and piercings. Their clothes often replicated this, with plenty of metal studs and safety pins attached to their tartan
the shaven heads they elected as their hairstyle with the main influences for their distinctive manner of dress being West Indian Jamaican rude boys and the Mods. In clothing terms, button up polo shirts and smart Ben Sherman’s were teamed up with braces and acid wash denim, as well as Harrington bombers and denim jackets, to form an almost clone army of the subculture. This immediately recognisable look traditionally also sported army boots or Doc Martin’s.
baggy trousers and band logo t-shirts. Footwear has to be appropriate for skateboarding, a sport frequently connected to the group, so brothel creeps and converse completed the seemingly threatening appearances of the Punks.
Although the Skinheads originated in the 60s, their prominence in society was not until the eighties. In the late seventies, the style was readopted and became related with far-right movements, adopting the dark culture of the so named ‘paki-bashing.’ Yet the group was not initially based on politics. The name obviously comes from
SKINHEADS
THEN
NOW
Come at me Brows
WE live in a world where met-
rosexual men are seen as powerful (look no further than David Beckham) rather than embarrassing. Hair is important, clothes are important and smelling good is very important. Now there is an innovative new way to make a statement, but this time with your facial features. It’s the brows. Eyebrows have become the biggest fad since neon and meggings (men’s leggings). It’s a tragic truth. There are millions of cosmetics available for brow grooming; pencils, gels, powders. However, the HD brow treatment is still the most popular and most efficient. HD is more about the design and shape of the brow than the
procedure of removing the hair. It focuses on the contouring and definition of the face rather than just the shape of the brow. Amongst the hype, I went to try out the treatment and to test if it’s really as spectacular as it sounds. At iBrows, located at Marble Arch, London, the stylist and beauticians welcome you into the comfort of the stylish and sexy salon easing all intimidation. A five minute walk from Selfridges, iBrows has a prestigious following for unisex grooming. Once fully relaxed, the HD brow process could begin, including seven simple steps. The first step is preparation and assessment. The stylist analysed my face shape, deciding on the perfect shape of brow. This bespoke service is thorough. Secondly, tinting is done. This is when dye is used to match the colour of your hair. This service is available to all skin and hair colourings. A patch test should be conducted 24 hours beforehand. Step 3 is the waxing. This is painless and its purpose is to remove all excess hair making the brow into the shape that you and
your stylist decided in your consultation. An after-wax lotion is then applied to soothe the skin. The next step, trimming, is completed using specialist scissors which eliminates unruly hairs to create a streamline brow. At this stage you can really see the brows taking shape and realise the intense difference the treatment has made so far. Step 5 is the most dreaded one- threading. This is done to blend the hair into the brow area and get rid of that fine baby fluff. Tweezing is the penultimate step. This is the final stage of shaping, completing with precision and flawlessness. For the final stage, a skin calming tonic that closes pores and soothes sore skin is smeared above the eyelids and the whole brow area. This is an
anti-septic, therefore preventing any bumps to the skin. Mineral powders are applied to the area to blend with skin and calm redness. A gel known as ‘brow beater’ that looks like mascara is brushed against the hairs to set them into place. The stylist then uses a brow palette to create a dramatic look. When the HD brows are complete, a home care plan is discussed. It’s recommended this treatment is done every 4-6 weeks. The final result is vivid for those who have the treatment for the first time; however it’s not for everybody. I believe it suits those with darker hair or bigger features as it softens sharp features for women and adds a more chiselled effect for men. If you already have soft or rounder features a more angular structured shape can look out of place. On the other hand, the treatment is available at most salons, and costs just £25.50 With Simon Webbe admitting to following the trend, it’s not just the pretty boys who enjoy this cleancut beauty fad. Embrace your inner metrosexual and go HD.
Dirty Velvet
THE struggle of finding the perfect t-shirt is very real. Finding one that you like, which fits right and that is in your price range can be a daunting task for anyone, including men. Many high-street retailers and online clothing
Mainline
ESTABLISHED in 2004, Mainline Menswear originated from stores in Scarborough, North Yorkshire from here they created their very reliable website and at present offer you one of the largest and most comprehensive ranges of men’s designer clothing online. Offering fashions
brands fail when it comes to putting out fashionable, comfortable and most importantly affordable clothing. Dirty Velvet Clothing accomplishes what many could not, incorporating high quality material and unique designs and making them affordable and fashionable. Created in 2006 by two self-proclaimed “renegade designers”, Dirty Velvet sought to create “clothing for gentlemen rebels”.
and trends to suit men of all ages, Mainline strive towards catering for every man and every budget! To help them to achieve this there are a range of key areas of the business that all come together seamlessly to bring their customers one of the best online shopping experiences around! As you can imagine, I was very happy to receive a package from Mainline full of Levis goodies! I was very impressed with the impeccable service and the prompt arrival of my parcel – as was my other half who is benefitting from their great range!
In next December’s issue of SCOWL...
LONDON LIFE
From brogues to boots
CONFESSIONS OF CITY RETAIL WORKERS
What’s hot in footwear
Pretty Green Win the entire collection of next seasons jackets
NY Fashion Week A men’s only show?
Top Male Models
Our biggest man crushes