trendier

A bloke is a bloke is an UrbanBloke

A bloke, as defined by Wikipedia, is a British slang term for a man, also commonly used in Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. So, as one of my blokes tells me I haven’t written about something for guys in awhile, I decided to do just that.

Attention all men looking for great clothes, great prices and readily available sales just like all the women get! Here is a website that is targeted to…yup you got it… MEN!

UrbanBloke, which has only been around for the last 2.5 months since their launch on March 16, is an online flash sale site geared towards men. With over 40 vendors on board in less than 3 months, you gotta give these guys credit. With names like Ralph Lauren, Joseph Abboud and Calvin Klein you might as well check it out. (and let us know what you think)

Granted, they are still small with limited amount of product but with the help of my readers there is no reason why this cant be the next Gilt or Ideeli!

Use this link to login in and shop!

UrbanBloke Invite Code

PASTE... and not the kind you eat!

During a long day of walking around the city I ended up in Union Square. Anyone who knows New York City during the holidays knows all about the awesome craft shops set up all along the street.

While browsing through all the amazing handmade and unique stuff I bumped into a small shop selling the funniest t-shirts ever! I absolutely had to get one, actually two!

They are called PASTE T-SHIRTS and they will crack you up. Check out the one I got!


And the one my boyfriend got!


If you aren’t laughing (or at least smiling) then you have no sense of humor. Created by Jason Laurits, these shirts are super soft and are all hand printed in Brooklyn, NY. Shirts are $32.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

 

Pier Eleven- Bringing Fashion and Art Together!

You can't dock your boat at this Pier Eleven, but you can purchase artfully crafted “alternate wearable narratives.” Emphasis on the “artfully” as these clothes are designed by artists hand picked from around the world. And like any work of art, the more it's coveted, the more its worth.

Derived from the Pier 11 in New York City down by Wall Street, this Pier Eleven is set to bring the world of fashion and art together. (Use the code: pier11eleven to access the site) The idea behind this up-and-coming company is a complex one.

Each collection is comprised of a theme and piece. Artists, from around the world, with unique and vastly different styles, come together to create the pieces that will be showed in each collection.

Piece 102

What is so different about this company you might ask. Well, each piece in a current collection has a set price of $90. Once that collection is archived and the next collection is presented, the archived pieces are then subject to a complex logarithm that was explained as a “dynamic pricing model (DPM).” This DPM increases the prices of the archived pieces according to supply and demand. Confused yet? Simply put, once no longer a part of the current collection, the most popular pieces become more and more expensive as demand continues to go up.

One of the creators poses the question: “At what point is a consumer no longer buying a piece of clothing but buying into a piece of art?”

Each collection is artfully crafted and profound in many ways but something I found interesting about the actual clothing is that the current shirts have tags on the outside to represent a mobile gallery, similar to the tags you find in a museum next to a piece of art.

Bullish

 
The first collection uses black and white photography to express the theme while the second collection, which will launch sometime this January, will use audio to convey its theme.

Who knows, maybe the next time you purchase a piece of clothing, you might just be investing in your next piece of art.

A Proper Life Requires Proper Cloth

Every guy shopping for clothing has found that perfect shirt, only to discover upon trying it on that the shoulders are too wide, the torso is too baggy, or the arms are too long. Many a happy moment has been shattered by such discoveries. Luckily, a solution has arrived that doesn't even require you to leave your desk.

Proper Cloth (www.propercloth.com) was started in 2008 by a young entrepreneur from MIT looking to revolutionize the way men purchase dress shirts. The premise behind this web-based company is essentially "bespoke shirts via the internet, and you're the tailor". Men (or women trying to dress their significant others a bit more nattily) can visit the site and customize their dress shirts by fabric, cuff, collar, fit and more. 

They are not the first to come up with this concept, but after checking out the competition and speaking with Seph Skerritt, the creator of Proper Cloth, I found that their leg-up is not only in the 100 plus choices of fabric but also in a unique feature not seen elsewhere: the ability to choose a fit based on the fit of other brands, such as J. Crew or Brooks Brothers. With this feature, you are guaranteed a familiar fit that has worked for you before. Even after picking another brand's fit, you can still customize. Perhaps you like Brooks Brothers' shirts but wish they were longer? The website allows you to tailor to your heart's content.

Proper Cloth's website has a simple interface that guides the customer through the design process.  Additionally, for those based in in New York, Proper Cloth's home, private fittings are available to those in need of a little extra help.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Seph. Excerpts of the conversation appear below.

Sharon: With so much left to chance when purchasing clothing online, how are you able to put your customers at ease and guarantee satisfaction?

Seph: We've found that dissatisfaction is very rare. We provide the customer with all the information they could need to make an educated purchase that will result in the perfect shirt. If, on the off chance, they are not happy, we will take back any shirt, make the changes or replace the shirt completely and mail it back free of charge.

Sharon: What was your biggest challenge so far?

Seph: From the beginning we have experienced a diverse range of challenges, from kinks on the website to sourcing and inventory management. To date, the biggest was getting capital, which for a while came from my own pocket, as well as from friends and family. Right now the biggest challenge is getting the word out. It is a slow progress that requires a lot of work.

Sharon: Have you used your own services? If so, what is your favorite shirt?

Seph: Yes, one of my shirts that gets the most attention is this great blue shirt with butterfly accents on the collar and cuffs. But the one I love the most is just a simple plain white shirt that fits so perfectly I can wear it with just about anything. When you go simple you always look good.