Pop art colour explosion!
‘The Hatman’ all ‘pop arted’ up!
Pop Art was huge in the 50’s and 60’s and it spawned a new breed of artist.
Roy Lichtenstein,Andy Warhol and David Hockney to name a few.
What you got with Pop Art was an explosion of colour,and graphic design like never seen before.
There were great debates in the art world,as to whether it should be classed as ‘art’ at all.
As this is a style/fashion blog though,I’m not going to go into that anymore,suffice to say that the only reason I’m even talking about Pop Art is to link it not so subtly to the following outfits I’ve thrown together for your viewing pleasure!
You may have guessed then,that the whole theme of today’s blog is…colour
Colour is everywhere at London Fashion week,it’s not for the faint hearted though,you’ve got to be brave!
Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol
“Sleeping girl” by Roy Lichtenstein
As for my Pop Art outfits…
Dress,Blazer and shoes all by www.newlook.com
Bag by www.topshop.com
“BLAM!!
Blazer,skirt and bag all www.topshop.com
Top by www.riverisland.com
Shoes by www.newlook.com
KABOOM!!
Blazer and shoes New Look
Bag and Top by Topshop
Disco pants by River Island
BOOM!!
Bag,Blazer and dress all Topshop
Shoes available at www.newlook.com
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Some ideas straight off the catwalks of London Fashionweek…
So there you have it!
Be brave and embrace the fabulous colours available to you,let out that inner peacock!!
Until next time…
Stay safe,dress bright!
Today’s new purchases…
Greetings followers…
In an attempt to smarten up my image the good lady and I took a shopping trip to our local town.
Whilst there is little there in the way of good shops there are your usual high street suspects.
Our aim was actually to buy some clothes for our ‘little man’ (who’s due in June!),not to be treating ourselves!
that didn’t really go to plan!
As the good lady is quite pregnant right now she’s struggling to fit into conventional clothing,so has to settle for the appalling maternity ranges out there at the minute.
Someone really needs to design some better pregnant lady clothes!!
My purchases were…
Grey jersey blazer £60 from River Island
Grey v-neck sweater £18 from River Island
Brown tortoiseshell aviators £10 River Island
this is how they’ll look as an outfit!
teamed with a classic white Oxford shirt,blue ripped skinny jeans and my beloved brogues!
A great smart casual look for the spring!
If we actually get one!!
Until next time…
Stay safe.
Geezers of the world,unite!
Men of Britain,the hour of the ‘geezer’ is upon us,cast down the sportswear,throw out the baggy jeans and trainers,there is a new ‘cool’…and I’ll show you exactly how to achieve the look.
Geezers have been around for some time.
Ever since the Kray twins terrorised the East End of London,there has been sharp dressed ‘gangsters’ with an eye for sartorial excellence.
These ‘thugs with style’ spawned a whole new breed of ‘blokes’.
I’m not condoning their crimes or their violence,but you have to admit,they were the ultimate in coolness for their era.
Ronnie and Reggie,style icons or mindless thugs?
(probably both!)
Guy Ritchie has made a career out of ‘geezers’.
His films which include ‘Lock,stock and two smoking barrels’ ‘Snatch‘ rocknrolla and not forgetting both Sherlocks,champion the ‘geezer’ as the new ‘anti hero’.
It was the first encounter for many of us with this type of male character,great performances from the likes of Jason Statham,Vinnie Jones ,
Nick Moran,and some great cameos from some real life geezer’s like the ‘Guv’nor’ himself Lennie McLean.
Guy Ritchie’s films are not just memorable for their colourful language or plot twists,but also for the fantastic wardrobes of the leading characters.
Statham is the ‘ultimate geezer’ he does it with consummate ease. He may be a bit type cast now,but his two roles in Lock stock,and Snatch were pure geezer genius.
How do you achieve the look without having to visit Savile Row?
I’ll show you how to look ‘cool’ on a budget and maybe with a luxury piece thrown in here and there!
The first rule of being a geezer is sharp suits or jackets,like I said earlier you don’t need to spend stupid money to achieve ‘sharpness’.
Then there’s the smart shirts,striped or plain,but slim fitting and clean cut is a must.
If you don’t want to do the whole suit thing,team it all with a clean pair of ‘super skinny’ jeans,roll them right up to show off your nice socks!
Then last but not least…the shoes!
Invest in a great pair of ‘brogues’ or ‘toe caps’,don’t scrimp on these, a great pair of shoes will stand out and last you years.
Below I’ve chosen a gorgeous pair of ‘half brogues’ by Loakes they’re British made in the finest leather and retail at £175! (Worth every penny!)
The luxury item…well,no geezer is complete without his ‘Crombie’ coat.
The Crombie featured below is an original,and at £695 is indeed an investment piece!
Let me know what you think!…
Jacket,waistcoat and jeans all by Topman
Shirt by Emmett of London and Shoes by Loakes
Jacket,shirt and jeans all by Topman
Crombie coat available from www.countryattire.com and Shoes by Loakes
Jacket and Jeans both Topman
Shirt by River Island
Crombie coat as before and Shoes as before
There you have it, ‘Geezer style’ without the cockney accent,shotgun or criminal record!
Remember fellas’ as the song says (zz top)
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“Every girls crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man”
Products on this post are available from…www.selfridges.com (Emmett of London)
www.topman.com
www.countryattire.com
www.riverisland.com
www.loake.co.uk
Until next time…
Stay safe.
Today I am dressing like…an Action Man deserter
As the title says,I am dressed like an Action Man…slightly balding,soft round the edges,tattooed Action Man!
In fact if a kid got an Action Man that looked like me he’d be like “has Action Man given up?” or “Daddy my Action Man hasn’t got a six pack like normal…”
Toys like Action Man and Barbie are great examples of the body beautiful,perfectly honed with six packs and perfect boobs…nothing like real life then!
The original Action Man was far more rugged looking with his signature scar,buzz cut hair style and ‘eagle eyes’.
The later reincarnation of him became too plastic and too ‘comic book’.
In the early days too his outfits were direct replicas of the various armed forces around at the time.
I remember with fondness having an awesome SS officers outfit for one of mine,pretty sure that now due to political correctness this would be frowned upon…
Can you just imagine to keep everyone happy you would have to have a soldier from every side represented…
I can just see the posters in Toys ‘R’ Us’ windows…
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Due to popular demand the Action Man Taliban Rebel has sold out
Or maybe not!
Back to the reason for the blog!
If you like military you’re in luck because its still everywhere!
Refer back to one of my earlier blogs “Viva la revolution!” to see what sort of things look cool…
My outfit today consists of…
Shirt from River Island £32
jeans from River Island £30
boots from New Look £24.99
Teamed up with this hat…
And my look is complete!!
Fact of the day…Barbie didn’t get a belly button until the early noughties…
Until next time…
Stay safe.
R.I.P High Street of GB
Hey there folks!
Sorry for the lack of blogs in the past few days but my real job has got in the way lately.
It does that now and then,still it helps pay the bills and keeps me out of trouble.
I write to you this post as a concerned “Hatman”.
The great British high street is in a poor state.
Several big name companies have already fallen foul of the recession,and as I am writing this post another with 25 years history is about to go under.
what has happened to our beloved high street,why is it in such a state,what can be done about it?
All relevant questions…
Not all the answers are positive though…
what has happened, is that several of these companies have struggled to move with the times,the recession has hit everyone but consumers are still spending,they’re just trying to get the best for their money.
Take HMV for example.HMV have suffered for several reasons…firstly (and the most damning!) consumers are downloading more music and films than ever before,hence no need for CD’s or DVD’s,and secondly you can generally buy the same products far cheaper at the supermarket.
There are a few positives out there,several of our established clothing brands are still performing well,they have quickly realised that you have to have a sound online offer as well as the great products in their stores.
E commerce is huge business,failure to recognise this is financial suicide!
I also think that the consumer is in a tricky situation in that where once they had a part of their income as ‘disposable’ they now find themselves having to be a lot more savvy.
It’s no surprise then that some of the ‘value‘ fashion retailers are performing well.
Now being an ‘old fashioned’ (or just plain old!) kind of guy,I love the buzz of feeling the product,or trying the product before I commit to a purchase.
I don’t get that buzz from shopping online,I would hate to think that in the near future all shopping will be done online,faceless,less personable and with little or no human contact.
I hope too that the great salesmen and women are not replaced with automated stylists and ‘shopping carts’.
There is still a place on our high street for for the real shopping experience,where you come away feeling valued and well advised.
these places still exist,in a tough financial climate of staff cuts and budget bashing,there are still great people in our stores that make our high street the best in the world!
Patience…patience is what we all need to show.
Next time you have to stand in line for more than five minutes,don’t give up,or curse the poor assistant…times are tough,give them a break,but definitely,definitely spend your cash in a store with real people in a real shop!
We need to save the high street before it disappears forever.
Can you imagine a world without Selfridges,Harrods,Harvey Nichols,John Lewis,and many,many more…
I can’t bring myself to even contemplate it!
I know that’s the way forward,we all want to do things without complications,quicker and easier,but at the same time we need to preserve our heritage.
Thanks for listening!
Until next time…
Stay safe.Keep spending!
Today I am dressing like a Victorian villain!
Greetings!
Here are the headlines from ‘the Hatman’ today…
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BONG!
Archaeologists confirm that the remains found in a car park in Leicester are those of King Richard III.
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BONG!
Leicester City Council are concerned now that there will be a spate of amateur archaeologists digging up the car parks of the city trying to find more dead monarchs!
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BONG!
Britain is in a state of shock as latest figures show that the ‘chav’ problem is larger than first thought.
‘Chavs’ have been sighted in all major towns and cities,frequenting JD Sports,and McDonalds restaurants.
Government advisors have told the public not to worry,and to read ‘the Hatman’s’ blog,if they have any concerns that they are becoming a chav!
So there you have it,you’re in good hands!
my look for today is (as my older less stylish brother called it “a bit Jack the Ripper”!!)
an homage to bygone years…with a twist!
*I can’t say that I was intentionally trying to look like a 19th century serial killer,but I can see his point!?
From top to bottom then…
Bowler Hat in brown felt £35 from Leicester Christmas market!
Multi Check shirt £70 by Ben Sherman
Burgundy quilted jacket by Lavenham £30 from eBay (bargain!!)
Skinny jeans £19.99 from New Look
Brown brogues £55 by Topman
*moustache and tattoos are an optional extra
Until next time…
Stay safe.
Regrets I’ve had a few,but then again too few to mention…
As Frank Sinatra sang…in “My Way”…I have had a few regrets,losing countless days to alcohol or illicit drugs in my late teens/early twenties,getting into fights with people twice my size,cutting my toenails too short…but never,never any of my tattoo choices.
I got my first tattoo at 21. That’s late by some standards! (especially if your mate does them from his kitchen and he’ll tattoo anyone for a tenner!)
My first experience of tattooing wasn’t great.
Tattooists are often given a bad press,they are painted as ‘badass biker dudes with attitudes’ or ‘ex-cons’ who learned to tattoo with hand made tattoo guns whilst they were doing time,or generally that they look at people with no tattoos as freaks.
The first tattooist I went to was not impressed that I wanted a tribal tattoo ( they were all the rage in the early 90’s!!)
I remember the girl receptionist coming back to me telling me “he hates doing tribal designs!”
Great 😩
I’m not filled with much confidence at this point…
I sat for my tattoo,I was basically butchered for 2 hours,bled badly,and scarred badly.
Is this supposed to happen?
As a tattoo virgin I couldn’t answer my own questions,and to be fair at the time,tattooists in my home town were not the type of people you would get into that type of conversation with!
A week after my first sitting I was eager to get my ‘half done’ ink finished.
I got fobbed off for two weeks,the guy who did my tattoo,kept coming up with excuses on why he couldn’t finish my design,from…
“your skin type doesn’t heal as well and if I tattoo on top of your skin now it will make the ink bleed…”
and… “Yeah sorry mate but you’ve got some sun damage that means that your ink will come out blotchy?!…blah,blah….
all garbage!
not a great experience!
I did eventually get my first tattoo finished!
Now…heed my words…you will become addicted!
People who say “I only want one tattoo” are delusional!
it won’t happen you will want more…guaranteed!
My next tattoo experience was much better,I was now part of the ‘club‘.
I was proud of my ink,it may have been a bit cliched,after all I had the classic ‘tribal’ designs on both arms,it represented a huge change for me.
Years later,and several tattoos later,I get asked quite often “do you ever regret any of your tattoos?” and (my personal favourite!) “what will you look like when you’re an old man?”
To which I answer “no”and…
“an old man with tattoos?!”
There are though some lessons to be had here…and I apologise on advance if you think I’m preaching (I’m not honest!),but please consider the following points before you get ‘inked’
Once you’re ready for your tattoo,remember this…
“a good tattoo isn’t expensive,it’s priceless!”
You get what you pay for!
Your relationship with your tattooist is like the relationship you have with a trusted hairdresser (not in my case!),you trust him/her to do a great job for you,but you also need to remember that this relationship is a two way thing…don’t act like a dick,or that tattoo you wanted to say “SWAG” might end up saying something completely different!
Stay away from the “scratchers”who tattoo you at the drop of a hat usually from their garage or kitchen!
There’s far too many health risks involved…
“Nice tattoo,shame about the hepatitis!”
Anyway I digress,my first few tattoos,now faded slightly,and probably not as meaningful as my latter,are as much a part of me as my receding hairline,my scars and my imperfections…
Would I change them…not ever!
(for the record I would definitely like to change my hairline!)
Hope this has been useful for you if you’re considering a tattoo.
For those of you out there who will never get a tattoo,remember its only skin deep,don’t go ‘hating’ on someone just because they’ve chosen a different path to you.
Until next time…
Stay safe.
The style Viking 