Grunge Scoop

A particularly momentous day last year was when Trend The Consequences first appeared on the internet, braving the world in a couple of Deep V T-shirts.  Since then the UK has gone crazy for a Deep V; so much so that where last year to find a Deep V we had to turn to bohemian boutiques like The Officers' Club - places known for superior style and grace - this year Deep Vs feature in every store going.

Primark, George @ Asda and H&M stocked too many types and shades of V to even contemplate and why would you when Deep V was the choice for Summer 13 not 14.  Instead let's smooth out the bottom of the V and form a kind of U shape - a Grunge Scoop!   You wouldn't think there's any difference between a Deep V and a Grunge Scoop, but there must be otherwise they would have the same name.

More of a U than a V

A scoop is the perfect tool for showing that bit of male chest that is usually hidden but without needing to look desperate with a full blown V.  This way when someone spots a trap or upper pectoral exposed to the air you can pretend it was a big misunderstanding.  The other useful feature is that if you ever feel not enough of your upper back or neck are on show you can level out the scoop to be equal front and back - never hide the front scoop completely though otherwise you may as well forget vanity and indulge in another of last years trends, Top Button Done Up.

A man configuring his scoop for fully forwards

We decided to meet up and slip into our scoops together.  They felt right and looked even better.  Walking towards town we knew all eyes would have been on us if there had been any eyes anywhere.  Instead we arrived unobserved and with an inkling the uneducated masses were out buying last years news; a Deep V.

Undeterred we both gave our scoops a little stretching, to ensure a full amount of upper pec was visible, and gambolled to the bar with the hope that silly people would talk to us.  A clear consequence of the scoop was it made you feel dashing and theatrical without actually looking particularly noticeable itself, thus we appeared to most like a couple of well dressed normal men with an unexplainable strut.

The Scoop in a natural environment, outside a betting shop

As it was Bank Holiday Sunday a number of our fellow lads were with us.  They seemed pretty impressed by the scoops, a quote from one even being

"it's good to see a scoop"

With such confidence boosting reviews coming our way from a usually reticent blog fan, we knew that we probably hadn't stretched the trend far enough.  A disheartening realisation soon turned to renewed vigour for trendiness when we realised that without looking too-obviously good we could get close to people and canvass opinions on the lack of clothing below our necks without scaring them off.  

Understated

Doing this, we quickly came to the conclusion that people didn't especially notice the Grunge Scoop and while they had a feeling we looked good they couldn't pinpoint the actual source of awesomeness.  Even in Live Lounge, where people are usually surprised by anyone dressing up fancy, the consensus was that we looked damned good but the scoop wasn't definitely the reason.  At this stage we had a feeling that because it was bank holiday our local Cardiff folk hadn't a care or interest in the world and certainly had no concern for how much material was missing from 2 men's T-shirts.  

Extended scoopy goodness

In spite of the lack interesting opinions we were both very happy with ourselves due to the exceptional airiness of our scoops.  Cheap fabric and with a loose fitting collar combined to keep us perfectly temperatured all night.  Good heat regulation and a subtle but knowing trendiness is as close to perfection as we are going to get in 2014 and that's the real difference to the basic 2013 Deep V; in a V you are likely to be overly hugged by your material, in a Grunge Scoop it will waft gracefully around a happy and nearly dry torso.

Apparently this is a photobomb, so it seems the scoop doesn't warn off the general population

The Grunge Scoop: chest, mysterious classiness, dryness