Double Denim

In the early days of the working man, there have been denim jeans. They were introduced as sturdy trousers for factory workers. There probably isn't anything too trendy about a simplistic pair of jeans. However one day a genius decided to make an upper garment (either shirt or jacket, I am not sure) out of the same material, and so Double Denim outfits were born:

Probably the most famous pairing in the world: Denim jacket and denim jeans (worn by a couple of Red-neck hicks)

The reputable TheFashionSpot.com gives us all the inspiration we could need, including denim glasses!  Here's a quote that doesn't make a lot of sense but we're willing to follow blindly:

"in recent months, denim on denim has never looked so good"

Initially I went on the hunt for denim shirts in charity shops, and finding one in the first shop I entered gave me a good feeling. As a frugal person, I didn't part with my cash straight away. However this turned out to be a mistake, as every other charity shop I entered did not have anything remotely denim for the upper half of the body. As I had gone too far to walk back, i.e. I was basically back at my flat, I thought I would pick the shirt up at a later date. Once again a poor shout, as the Saturday of our hitting town, I was working all day and could only get to the shop before 09:30, which as you could guess was closed due to the sheer laziness of the volunteer staff. A quick phone call to James meant that it was now his problem to get the trendy clothing for the evening's activities. Luckily he found a whole selection in Primark, purchasing identical short sleeve denim shirts for the two of us.

The beautiful combination

So we once again met at the Gatekeeper in Cardiff to get a couple drinks before moving on. Walking down to town, I did not feel strange at all wearing the double denim, unlike previous trends which had been completely different than what I was used to. Gatekeeper had a few people in double denim outfits, and even some whom were just wearing a denim shirt and non denim trousers. However this made us blend into the background, and although accepted we didn't feel as though the trend was really hitting hard.

The crowds in Wetherspoons were just too indifferent to the double denim dose. Maybe double denim has become too much of a standard in today's society that people just aren't bothered any more. For all they cared we could have been wearing denim socks and belts (quadruple denim!) and they still wouldn't have bought us free drinks or thrown us out the fire exit.  However we had to test at least one other spot to confirm our findings.

Live Lounge called, and getting in at around midnight we caught the end of the band. This gave us the added benefit of seeing how the double denim reacted to live music. And the answer is; Underwhelmingly. It didn't hinder us, nor did it add anything. You may think that double denim is rock 'n' roll, however we just can't provide any evidence of that. So we stuck it out, and then some students we know from Cardiff Uni rocked up and provided feedback. Most of it was positive (although not as much as we were looking for) whilst other comments were fed by pure jealousy.

The jealously was fed by restricted access

We did make friends with another proper lad in double denim, he was up for a good time and dressed as we were. He got it!  What he got was that these shirts look almost like normal shirts with their delicate fabrics and subtle colouring but with the knowledge that any sweating you do will show up instantly and that if you fell down or walked into some sand paper your flesh won't be revealed.

 

Essentially one should wear double denim as their first foray into the the trendy world of high fashion. You won't get noticed for doing it but you'll be trying something out that according to many people in Primark looks really good. Not only that but once you get fed up of a shirt that looks like a normal shirt but with more negatives, you'll be able to fashion some form of short shorts and a belt out of it, thus a single denim can become another double denim in no time.

Double Denim; Safe, uninspiring but friendly.

The Cap

Caps make you interesting. Such was the stunning effect of wearing a cap, I think it is key this point is emphasised.

Caps are an item that is unique out of the trends we have experimented with so far. It not only has the ability to complete one's look but also has practical benefits the type of which are not seen in the Deep V or top button trends; head warmth and shielding the eyes from the sun.

The cap is also a trend that crosses boundaries usually not possible when delving into high fashion. Wear it during a trendy gig, playing a trendy sport, having a trendy business lunch or watching your favourite trendy TV show, no one will bat an eyelid of suspicion your way.

There's a good chance LL is doing all of the above here

So the caps in question...  It was agreed that we needed flat peaked caps as they were the most trend based style. One of the caps was a beautiful Lotus F1 team number that could be paired with any style of casual shirt, T or polo.

F1 Glory

The only cap I owned was not straight peaked so I needed to get shopping. It turned out this was even more necessary as the cap I did own sported Renault F1 team logos and this would have meant we both had F1 caps. If there was one thing we didn't want to do it was lead people into thinking we were trying an F1 trend.

A few minutes online and I came across this beauty

Brown and Diamonds

There was no way I was going to pass on a hat with diamonds all over the front.

So the night out...

Heading down Cathedral Road there was little attention, troubling or otherwise, and I made it across the river. Approaching the dingy alleyway next to Dempsys, a young lad walking the other way couldn't keep his gaze from my peak. It was pretty rude and even as we walked right past each other he carried on staring as if he had never seen a man looking this good before. There's a good chance he didn't realise jeans and a T-shirt could be complemented so successfully with a simple peak.

Once again meeting in the Gatekeeper (the keen eye will see that we are trying to keep the nights out Ceteris Paribus to ensure our results are comparable) I saw Rob when we were both at the bar. We were separated by approximately 5 metres worth of crowd, yet noticed each other instantaneously due to the peaked glory adorning our heads. That's right, the caps were a dead give away of our position, this could be a good thing or a bad thing, but at the time was a sure help. Rob was accosted by some elegant gentleman whilst he was waiting, whom lifted the hat from Rob's head and placed his own sweaty brow within it. This is a clear disadvantage of the cap, in that it is an easy article to remove from someone's body. However Rob did get the cap back, aquired his drink and swiftly got away.

Whilst having a beverage in the Gatekeeper I noticed that there were a couple of other groups with blokes in flat peaked caps, and also a group of Gothic ladies wearing trilby type hats (possible creating their own less trendy blog). However the reaction in the Wetherspoons was low if not non-existant, and we decided that we needed to get ourselves to Buffaloes, but not before a couple 'buccas each.

Now Buffaloes is a place where flat peaked cap wearing is not out of the usual, and we were expecting a warm welcome. However when ordering our first drink, the barman had a cheeky chuckle to himself over our choice of attire.

Nothing but Peak

However we shrugged this gesture off as jealousy and got ourselves to the dance floor to really make the most of the hats. There were clear signs of lust, but probably nothing out of the usual, so I couldn't say whether that was due to the hats. But by no means were there any signs of dislike or even hatred.

When we were in Live Lounge (finishing the night in our trusted Trend Neutral arena) the caps were an utter hit. Not only were they versatile in the fashion department, but they also managed to keep ones brow from showing signs of sweating. A group of ladies took a real shine to the caps, showing interest in the cap bearers as well as the caps themselves. No one in Live Lounge was put off by the cap, no one cared what shoes we were wearing or how ironed our T-shirts were. All that mattered to them was who the hell these men in caps were and how they could get involved in all the interesting things they had to say and do.

Look, this lady can't get enough of the cap action and had to capture it for eternity on her phone:

TTC image rights will be enforced soon

To conclude the cap trend, all that can be said is that if you don't feel you get your due attention on a night out wear a cap and it will all be about you. There's nothing you can't get away with and no one that won't try and get a minute in your company.

The Cap; adoration, brow mopping; trend diverse and pure interest.

Top Button Done Up

The trend covered by this post is one commonly worn by the hipster, that being the top button of a collared shirt done up. Now I know you may be thinking that I said the deep V was the hipster style, but it seems to transpire that the common hipster either likes to bare a lot of chest or none at all.

A quick search on Google for "top button done up style" confirms that this is a trend many people have been wanting to embrace but are never quite sure if it is for them. With this in mind we knew we had to find out. If people hated us then they'd let us know fast and painfully, if they loved it we probably wouldn't find out.  As with most things involving peoples opinions you'll only know if it is bad.

On preparation for this evening I ironed a few shirts in order to be able to match one with my style. However on attempting to do up the top button when trying them on, I found that only one collar fit. The next decision was shirt tucked in or shirt untucked. I plumped for shirt tucked in and sleeves rolled down. On meeting James, he had gone for the sleeves rolled up and shirt untucked. Therefore this blog should be able to report the reaction from both styles.

James and I met in Wetherspoons, a place where many styles meet and a sure place to find some people wearing similar clothing whilst others are wearing completely differing trends. Although there were some other people in the pub with their top buttons done up, they didn't seem to notice that we were of similar neck attire. In fact no one in the pub, not even the bar staff who were getting a good close-up look of the style, were the least bit concerned by our choice of trend for the evening. Having some cheeky shots, we got the hell out of 'Spoons to go find somewhere where our clothing would be appreciated.

This led us to Floyds. Now Floyds is an upstairs club, which is so small that from the bar to the DJ booth is one big (and when I say big, I really mean kind of small) dance floor, filled with what can only be described as; lads trying to get some, and girls willing to be got. Meeting a couple of friends there, we hit the 'bukas hard and got to the dance floor.

The style of the day (chin rolls included)

Once again our stylish accouterment was unnoticed. It seems that the top button done up is just too standard. Maybe it is too much of a norm. We kept dancing the night away, however all the men in Floyds were just scouting for the next available lady to grind onto, and all the ladies were looking away from us waiting for someone to jump aboard, meaning that we couldn't get any real feedback as to the value of our style. 

So on to Live Lounge it was...

James rocking the done up button and rolled up sleeve option

When in the Live Lounge queue, we started chatting to a chap who was telling us all the benefits of Live Lounge assuming that we had never been there before. Now this wasn't your everyday chap, this guy had his top button done right up! Oh yes, he had seen us from a mile away and decided that we were the sort of blokes he could crack a conversation with. In this conversation, whilst still queuing, we told him that we were from Basingstoke and here on a Stag do with one of our mates and he quickly informed us that we were in the right place for a Stag Do. He took our word as gospel, and this is the crux of it Ladies and Gents, albeit the 'top button done up' style is no longer out there or readily noticed, it makes you seem trustworthy. In the picture below you can see this guy (left with his button done up) cheering on our honoury stag (on the right bearing all the chest he wants).

Our new friend and our Stag

The rest of the night was followed by chance meetings with our top button friend, but no notice from anyone else on our choice of clothing set up.

Neck bloatage didn't make things too easy. One definite downside of this trend is that when the dance moves are getting more enthusiastic you are not able to increase your breathing to compensate. This tended to result in a fair bit of stopping followed by unwelcome hugs and banter from various lads and all you can do is breath heavily and drip all over them.

The top button crew, and associated Stag

So what did we make of this trend? Well firstly, no one seems to care about it anymore. Too many people have been wearing their shirts and polo shirts with the top button secure for so long that it is commonplace now, it is hardy worth the effort of doing up the extra button (or buttons if you are risqué). The only added value of the top button seems to be the warm feeling others seem to get, confining their trust in your every word (this assumes that the top button was the reason we were trustworthy as opposed to our brilliant lying skills) and invading your personal space. Of course, as stated at the beginning, this muted reaction could be the ultimate sign that it is well liked and respected by the common club folk.


The Top Button Done Up; Joining of like minds, trust, but altogether boring.

The Deep V

The first trend for this trendiest of social experiements is the Deep V. This is a top mainly sported by hipsters, but in Cardiff it is also worn by the Valley folk that come to town on weekends. So the day before we were set to wear the V necks, we headed into Cardiff City centre to find the appropriate tops. Unfortunately it was not as simple as walking into Primark and picking one up on the cheap. It seems that we have got to the scene a little bit late; searching round Cardiff not finding anything remotely deep or V shaped. We did notice, however, that there were a lot of people wearing a similar top which was not in the V shape. On Googling this at home I found out this was a Scoop. Many of the people looked much like this Douchebag below:

One deep scoop

However we had already planned our first outing, and Deep V's it was, so stubbornly we went on searching. James managed to find something worth investing in from the Officers Club. Two V neck T-shirts (which were relatively deep) for a tenner. Done deal.

So on the night of the first trend, which happened to be a Bank Holiday Sunday, it was time to try on the V. My God did it seem low, I am not one for the V neck and I felt uncomfortable. So much so that my walk into town was increased by 10-15 minutes as I tried to find a route with the least amount of observers. Meeting James and his girlfriend in the Gatekeeper it was under-way and time to watch people's reactions.

You can see below that we went for the blue end of the colour spectrum, what you may not be able to see is that each V also comes with its own handy chest pocket.  The chest pockets were for lady's business cards adding a lucky dip element to the night for our fellow partiers: who would get a call back and who would be discarded?  Let me tell you by the end of the night these were full pockets (and all were discarded - this blog isn't about meeting women).

The V's at the start of the night

Initially we could tell that people were longing for the V's to be deeper. Many of the women were looking from face, down the V to it's point with disappointment all over their faces. We concluded that this disappointment was due to the V stopping before it reached the trouser department! The barmaid that was serving us was giggling to herself as she looked longingly at our manly chests, it seemed as though it were a giggle of humour, but clearly was the similar giggle a school girl would make went talking to a boy she liked as he makes the lamest joke ever. Others in Gatekeeper didn't seem to notice how deep the V's were, so onward to Buffalo Bar it was.

Buffalos it the sort of place that kooky people and hipsters are most likely to be seen. However, upon arrival all we found was a chap upstairs dancing by himself. It was a sort of break dancing style which one would perform before doing the actual moves that are impressive. This just made it look as though he was taking up a lot of dance floor without actually justifying it with any flips or spins. He was also wearing a dirty scoop (in vest form), and for this reason we didn't value any opinion he may have had on our deep Vs or our much more conservative style of dancing.
 

V or Scoop?

Below you can see James attempting to get the most out of his Deep V .

A wider Deep V, and on the left a God Damn scoop!!!!

The night ended in Live Lounge, which is a neutral place in terms of style. We thought here our trendy threads will have the most impact of getting a reaction. With a large crowd, the Vs were initially unnoticed, and even at the bar the bar-staff were not showing signs of liking or disliking the style. In order to mix things up, potentially creating our own style, James and I rolled up our sleeves to create a Deep V vest (essentially showing the finger to the traditional scooped vest).

A new style?

This incurred a reaction very quickly, and the reaction was people copying our style. As the saying goes, 'Imitation is the greatest form of flattery'. People were clearly keen on the rolled up sleeve Deep V. I even had a female tell me, out of the blue, that one of her friends had a boyfriend. I wasn't sure which it was, because she didn't seem to point at any of them as she said it, but good for her. The girl that told me, I would assume, did not however, and if she did... well... goodness, each to their own I guess.

It also turned out that the deep V enables friendships to form in a much quicker time frame than usual. This is because the added intimacy the V makes others feel towards our gentle selves results in them feeling they've known us and our chests for a lifetime.  This is demonstrated in a blurry photo:

Note the look of genuine friendship

To summarise the significance a Deep V wearing has had on the general public, in the time between penning this in draft form and adding some touch ups, Lewis Smith was spied wearing his own Deep V on TV, word travelled faster than we could have envisaged. OK that doesn't summarise the Deep V, but to do that in words is an unlikely thing.  

The Deep V; friendships, extra chest, sports stars and a general lack of understanding.

Trend The Consequences

Taking risk with clothing isn't really a thing that we (the TTC writers) do.  Jeans and T-shirt maybe with some comfortable trainers is the standard.  When things are going to get real crazy or classy, it doesn't matter which, the shirt with rolled up sleeves and black work shoes come out.  The nearest to standing out is with the use of some bright colours or a bit too much chest on show.  Having watched a lot of TV it always looks like there are many other styles out there.  I for one will never forget how odd Little Mix looked during their X Factor journey, but odd is only my opinion and it led them to victory and riches - 2 things of key interest to people including me.

A number of trends

So this is an introductory post for Trend The Consequences, and as a start I thought I would give a quick overview of what is going to go down over the coming weeks. Two powerful men are attempting to find the Ultimate Outfit, and to do this we are going to sport different trendy clothes on nights out in Cardiff and see the reaction we get. The best reactions will score a trend highly, and vice versa. Then at the end of the summer we will be sporting the best trends together to create the Ultimate Outfit, which on a night out will make us the coolest people ever!!!!!! (Imagine the above photo with 2 men that can bench press numerous oxen while squatting 50kg instead of 4 ladies)

Other than cash the most important thing is the realness of our prose. When people react in positive ways we will milk it, when they hate us we will admit our failings in their eyes and when nothing happens because the trend is too subtle for common eyes we will not claim something impressive happened.  We also won't claim our experiences are transferable to women in the same trends, the world today being as it is we aren't qualified to make such assumptions.

Trend The Consequences is the only acceptable trend guidance for men who aren't very inventive; and rest assured, when the Ultimate Outfit is revealed your mind will be blown away and you will be online getting the outfit you need.