Black Friday 2011

     I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving! Sorry for the 7 day hiatus. Good news, I did get to shoot a couple of new looks that I am excited to share! My break from school lasted a week, but I barely had anytime get in any posts. From going to Vegas for the Katy Perry Concert, family visiting for Thanksgiving, and losing hours of sleep for Black Friday sales, I felt like everything was non-stop!
     On that note I purchased everything I wanted for Black Friday. This annual sale event is the perfect opportunity to be thrifty! I made a strategic plan of the order to camp out at that night, and I must say it was successful. The only two stores I wanted to go to were Fry's and Urban Outfitters. I went to Fry's for an external drive for my Macbook Pro. I have a bajillion of files for graphic design projects and Seamed Right, and I thought it'd be useful to store/back the files up. I bought a 1.5TB Seagate for only $68. The Urban Outfitters shopping experience was insane! Their sale was an additional %50 off all sale items. I somehow went in an out of the store quicker than I anticipated. I maneuvered out of the madness and came out the store with 3 pairs of shoes and a gnarly Vans OTW-66 Starter snapback. I was stoked that each pair of shoe was a different style. The three shoes I posted are a pair of Polo Ralph Lauren Brawley Boats, Brogue Saddle Oxfords, and Urban Outfitter's 'American' Vans. The hat will be featured in a later look. Stay tuned for the post!

Thrift of the Day:
Polo Ralph Lauren Brawley Boat- Black Friday Sale $20
Brogue Saddle Oxford- Black Friday Sale $20
Urban Outfitter's 'American' Vans- Black Friday Sale $20

Retail:
Polo Ralph Lauren Brawley Boat- Ralph Lauren $99
Brogue Saddle Oxford- Urban Outfitters $68
Urban Outfitter's 'American' Vans- Urban Outfitters $60

Coolin' with Cola

Photography taken by Ron Alan Cruz
     In my previous post, "Primarily Graphic," I shared some of my t-shirt finds from a day of thrifting. I mentioned that I would incorporate the "Ciao Ciao" Tee in an future look. When I found this shirt I instantly knew what attire to put together. The red tee has a Italian saying printed in a Coca-Cola-esque font. For the colder seasons I usually think of somber colors when it comes to fashion. D&G's campaign did the complete opposite with their theme for their Men's Fall/Winter 2011-2012 Collection. Their underlying focus was vibrance in hue, with hints of pop, art, and graphic t-shirts.

     I am wearing a brown plaid blazer with a the red "Ciao Ciao" shirt underneath. The forest green skinnies I purchased at Buffalo Exchange. Saturated color with earthy tones are a great combination for Fall/Winter. To include the pop feel, I finished the look off with headphones and denim Nike Blazers.

Attire:
Plaid Blazer- Buffalo Exchange
"Ciao Ciao" Tee- Thrifted
Forest Green Skinny Jeans- Buffalo Exchange
Headphones- Ross $7
Denim Nike Blazers- Owned

Retail:
Blazer- Neiman Marcus $357
"Coca Cola" Tee- D&G $185
Green Skinny Corduroy- ASOS $64
Headphones- Skull Candy $150
Denim Nike Blazers- Owned

Re-Boot

     It is starting to get really cold in Cali, and boots are a definite a way to keep your feet warm. It is hard for me to come by the right pair of black boots. But in my opinion, black leather boots are a must have. I prefer military boots because of their vintage feel. These type of boots are designed for durability, and they will last long through wear and tear. Not only does black go with anything, but these military boots can be worn to look casual, sleek, or edgy. What I like about them the most is authenticity of their distressed look. They are broken in and super comfortable!

Thrift of the Day:
Military Boots- Thrifted

Retail:
Homme Timper Boots- ASOS $180

The Wetsuit

Photography taken by Ron Alan Cruz
     I have been extremely busy lately, and I apologize for not posting as often as I would like to. Focusing on my last semester of college and juggling auditions in between has left me with no time for leisure. On the brighter side, today marks the official first day of my graphic design internship in Los Angeles! The location of the office is right next to the Beverly Center and the view is amazing. Although I am caught up with my career, I can never be too serious. I am all for work and play. With this outfit I wanted to share the genius creativity of Mark McNairy. Although this look was inspired by his Spring 2012 Collection, I decided to post it because of its relevancy to my outlook on life. The driven message behind McNairy's collection was "Have Fun. Life is short." (GQ)

     This look combines sophistication with the right amount of playfulness. I am wearing a navy blue blazer. Underneath, I chose a white button up to emphasize the accent of white buttons of the blazer. The red tie is by Christian Dior that I had thrifted. Amazing find right? The distressed zebra printed board shorts I had found in my drawer that I had for a few years. You just never know when things will come back in style! Ladies, who says men can't enjoy a pair of shoes with red soles? The shoes I found are almost identical to the Dirty Buck Suede shoes from Mark McNairy's Collection. Can you believe they were thrifted? These are my current favorite pair!

Attire:
Navy Blue Blazer- Thrifted
White Button Up- Thrifted
Christian Dior Red Tie- Thrifted
Boarded Shorts- Owned
Suede Shoes- Thrifted

Retail:
Navy Blue Blazer- J.Crew $995
White Button up- H&M $40
Michael Kors Red Tie- Nordstroms $50
Animal Print Shorts- no reference
Dirty Buck Suede Shoes- Mark Mcnairy $385

Shoenami

     California experienced a couple of showers this week. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share what type of stylish footwear to use for the wet weather. Usually, the length of rain boots go up to the knee and not many men are daring enough to try and pull off that look. It's hard to come across a rain boot that is a suitable length or even shoes convenient for the rain. Fortunately for me, I happened to stumble upon these, what I like to call, "rain shoes." The outside of these shoes is made of thick forest green rubber. The shoes are completely waterproof and the inside is lined with thinsulated insulation that keep the feet warm. The ankle trim contains a beautiful plaid pattern stitched against rich brown leather making it aesthetically pleasing. I couldn't find any other rain shoe similar to these thrifted ones, besides the common L.L. Bean Mocs. I listed some other trendy options below.

Thrift of the Day:
Rain Shoes- Thrifted

Retail:
Bean Boots- L.L.Bean $79
Plastic Mocassino- Vivienne Westwood $255
Rubber Slip-On- Sperry Top-Sider $60

Thrift or Treat

Photography taken by Ron Alan Cruz
     Halloween is always fun because you get to see how creative people can get with their costumes. One of my favorite movies as a kid was "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." I was fascinated by the way cartoons and humans existed in the same film. After thinking of what I wanted to be for Halloween, I decided to bring Roger Rabbit's character to life. But of course, I have to put my own spin on it. The "do it yourself" mentality is the best way to go when creating a costume because you can achieve exactly what you've imagined. Not only is it a more reasonable cost, but the overpriced costumes aren't usually what they are worth. The concept for the shoot was to make it look like I got caught/framed making it look more humorous and animated.

DIY Costume Breakdown:
Overalls- The overalls were thrifted. They were actually blue denim, but I set them in bleach for a day to strip its color. Then I used Tulip Fabric Dye to transform the overalls into solid red. I used large yellow buttons that I found in my grandmother's sewing treasures. Using a photo reference, I sewed the buttons according to the correct spot.

Rabbit Ears- I found some all white bunny ears at a local thrift store. The band that wrapped around my head had an outer layer of fur, but I chose to strip it clean. I took the band and painted it with acrylic black paint to match my hair.

Bow Tie- The fabric used to create the bow tie was purchased from Wal-Mart. I cut the fabric up, folded it, and held it together with hot glue. I used a single sheet of yellow felt material to create the dots.

White Loafers- The white leather loafers were thrifted and I chose them to represent Roger Rabbit's feet.

Nose- I used my grandmother's lipstick to create a red nose.

Yellow Gloves- I purchased dishwasher gloves from the $1 Store