Color Blocking Trend for Men

One of my favorite trends this summer is "color blocking".  Color blocking is when you combine different colors that support and compliment each other. This hot trend has been extremely popular amongst women, and easily so. I mean, what girl doesn't like bright colors?  Color blocking can also be done by men, however, it takes a very confident man who is not afraid of color to successfully pull it off.

Yesterday, I was perusing through my tumblr account and came across this picture of actor Lance Gross on his personal tumblr page:

He totally nailed the "color blocking" concept here.  He took (what appears to be) a light aqua colored blazer and put it over a blue t-shirt and white pants.  Also, notice the grey "flower" on the lapel of the jacket. And I can't help but to notice the blue watch on his wrist.  Very nice and well put together. And it also doesn't hurt that he is very, very easy on the eyes. Lance wore this outfit to an Edge Magazine anniversary party. *side note* I wish we could see what shoes he paired with this outfit.

Here are pictures of  some other men who are also capable of pulling off color blocking:

Kanye West has the color blocking concept down to a "T" in this picture.  He used tan, orange and turquoise to achieve his look.  All three colors compliment each other and look good together.  Good job, Mr. West! (and again, I would like to see the shoes)

Model Taejahn Taylor appeared in a color blocking spread in GQ Spain Magazine called "Ola De Color" back in June 2011.  The spread includes this picture along with many others of the handsome model rocking several different color blocking looks.  

I came across this picture on tumblr.  This young man successfully pulls off color blocking.  The colorful background makes his outfit "pop" even more.  I don't know who he is, but I found this picture on his tumblr page: hawkchronicles.tumblr.com

It is nothing more refreshing than seeing a man that is confident in his own skin.  It really takes a man with an impeccable style, who is not afraid to go outside of the box, to pull off color blocking.  The age old theory that only women can wear bright colors has now turned into a myth as proven by the pictures in this post.

Women, what do you think of the color blocking trend for men? Would you want to see your man in bright colors? Or would you prefer for him to stay inside the box? 

Are there any men reading this that has tried color blocking or wouldn't be afraid to try it?

R.I.P. Aaliyah

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of Aaliyah's death.  I can't believe it's been 10 years already. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the bad news.  I didn't want to believe it at first and hoped it was a bad rumor.  I still cry to this day when I think back to that tragic day.

I am dedicating this post to Aaliyah because she was definitely a trendsetter who was way ahead of her time.  Even though she is no longer with us her legacy still lives on.  You can see her trendsetting styles being carried on today by many artists and entertainers.  Here are just a few examples:

Aaliyah was famous for the "hair over the eye" and highly arched eye brow look as you can see being worn by singer Cassie Ventura.

Recently during the promotion of her "4" album, Beyonce poses for Complex Magazine and strikes a pose very similar to one that Aaliyah did early on

Ciara, who coins herself as a singer/dancer much like Aaliyah, borrowed most of her dance moves and wardrobe selections from the late singer as seen in the photos above.

Beyonce strikes another pose for her Dangerously in Love album that is similar to two that were previously done by Aaliyah.

Beyonce's dark, dramatic eye make-up for her Sasha Fierce album is similar in comparison to Aaliyah's in the above photo.  She even has on a similar top.

As you can see, Aaliyah is the originator of many trends that you see today.  She made it popular to bare your midriff by wearing cropped tops.  She had and still has many women in the gym today trying to flatten their tummies and obtain great abs.  Aaliyah wore long, flowing tresses that many women weren't wearing back then.  Today, you see a lot of women donning the same hairstyles Aaliyah wore 10 years ago.

On the 10 year anniversary of her death, many celebrities shared memories of Aaliyah.  Peep the video below to hear what they had to say:

R.I.P. Aaliyah....You are truly missed....

Old Navy Uses Poor Grammar

Old Navy has a new line of college and NFL team tees called "Superfan Nation" with a variety of products reading "Let's Go" for dozens of college teams.  The writing on the t-shirts omit the apostrophe in "Let's", so instead it reads "Lets Go".

Anybody that knows me, knows that I am a stickler when it comes to spelling and grammar.  So, to see this grammatical error printed on t-shirts by a large company like Old Navy just hurts me to my heart.  And even though the error has been pointed out, the t-shirts are still on sale on Old Navy's website.  You can go here to see for yourself.

Before the t-shirts launched, schools had been hopeful that they would be a good way to promote their brand to those who may not be hardcore fans.  Emails to Old Navy's parent company, Gap, were not immediately returned.  With that being said, it looks like the t-shirts are here to stay, at least for now.

What's sad about this, is that a lot of people probably wouldn't have even noticed the poor grammar had it not been pointed out.  What's even sadder is that a lot of people probably don't even care that it's written incorrectly and will still buy the t-shirts.

What is your opinion on the Superfan Nation tees? Would you still be willing to buy one, even though it has a spelling error?

Meet Your Match with MAC's Matchmaster Foundation

After two years in the making, MAC Cosmetics is proud to introduce its new Fall 2011 Matchmaster Foundation for virtually all skin tones.  It contains SPF 15 and is long wearing for up to eight hours.  Matchmaster SPF 15 Foundation uses translucent pigments to create a formula that enables a fully personalized finish influenced by the subtleties of your own skin tone.  It reveals rather than conceals your skin's natural undertones with its demi matte finish.



Matchmaster SPF 15 Foundation is available in 14 light to dark shades:

You can find your perfect match at MAC counters on September 22 for $32.50.  Will you be buying?

Teyana Taylor - New Face for French Jewelry Line Nouss Sommes

Teyana Taylor recently did a photo shoot for French jewelry line, Nouss Sommes, known for its "Jesus Piece" pendants.  Nouss Sommes has taken the faces of major contributors to music, fashion, film, photography, and pop culture and turned them into "Jesus Pieces".  Grace Jones, Spike Lee, and Michael Jackson are a few of the miniature pendants found in the collection.  Each are available in black, gold, and old silver.

You can view the rest of the collection and place an order here.  You can also see some other pieces not shown on their website on their blog at www.noussomesblog.blogspot.com


Here are some of the photos from Teyana's hot shoot:

*Photo Credit: http://noussommesblog.tumblr.com/

While I don't think that I'll be sporting a "Jesus Piece" anytime soon, I feel that Nouss Sommes could not have found a better person to represent their unique jewelry line. I've always loved Teyana Taylor's eclectic style, not to mention her body is ridiculous! I love the pieces they dressed her in for the shoot. I immediately noticed the neon background....similar to the one used in Beyonce's promo pics for her "4" shoot (you can see one of the pics up top in my header).

Here is a "Behind the Scenes" video from the photo shoot:

What do you think of Teyana's shoot and the French jewelry line? 

Atlanta Fashion's Night Out

On Monday, August 15, 2011, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced Atlanta's participation in Fashion's Night Out for the second consecutive year in a row.  The fashion event will take place September 8-12.  Atlanta will be joining hundreds of cities that are also hosting Fashion's Night Out events. In Atlanta expect to see special celebrity guests, fashion shows, concerts, as well as appearances from some of your favorite designers.  Exciting events and various pop-up shops will take place between Lenox Square Mall, Phipp's Plaza, and Atlantic Station.  Free shuttle service will be provided to transport shoppers between Atlantic Station, Midtown, and the Westside Provisions District. How convenient is that? You can find out more information about this event on the Atlanta FNO website http://www.fashionsnightout.com/ or on their Facebook page



Mayor Kasim Reed announcing Atlanta's participation in FNO 2011

There will be over 30 participating retailers.  Some of them are Bottega Veneta, Juicy Couture, Karen Millen, and Intermix to name a few.  Click here for the full list

The FNO 2011 Collection includes tote bags, t-shirts, and baseball caps ranging from $15 to $50.

These commerative items can be purchased now from various retailers online and in-store.  Click here for a list of both online and in-store retailers. Forty percent of the proceeds will be donated to the New York City AIDS Fund.  Act fast, as most of these items are expected to be sold out prior to the week of FNO.



Battle of the Red Soles

French shoe designer, Christian Louboutin, lost a lawsuit against Yves Saint Laurent for adding a red sole to the bottom of its 2011 shoe collection.  Louboutin is suing YSL over the its latest shoe collection stating that the red soles are "virtually identical" to his signature red soles which he had trademarked in 2008.

French shoe designer, Christian Louboutin, pictured with some of his famous red soled shoes

A federal judge denied Louboutin's request for a preliminary injunction.  Judge Victor Marrero dismissed the argument ruling that "Louboutin's claim to the color red is without some limitation, overly broad and inconsistent with the scheme of trademark registration established by the Lanham Act"


There are four particular shoes in the YSL 2011 collection that are all red and happen to have red soles: the Tribute, Tribtoo, Palais, and Wood Stock.

YSL Tribute

YSL Palais

YSL Tribtoo

YSL Woodstock

Anthony Dreyer, professor of trademark law at Fordham Law School stated "Louboutin will have to show that customers or the public have been confused by Yves Saint Laurent's replication of it."  Dreyer further states that few customers will go into Neiman Marcus in search of Louboutins and mistakenly drop $1,125 on a pair of Yves Saint Laurent's pumps.

What do you think? Do you think Yves Saint Laurent's red soles replication will cause confusion among consumers?