Floyds Man

Following the unprecedented success of our first true foray into the cut-throat world of bespoke fashion, we thought it best we give it another go, this time trying to evoke warm feelings in the more sophisticated reader while not abandoning our nightlife roots. What we got was actually the day to day look of the Floyd's barman, a man we hold in very high esteem, both a snappy dresser when those around him look revolting and someone who can pour a Jagerbomb like no other (sadly the Floyd's Red Bull substitute is very poor).

This is not him but other than the human body inside the clothes there's little difference

Curating the look

We knew a tie was required to achieve a dapper look, but with a summer club environment a full suit would have been an erroneous choice. It was clear the sweater vest of suits was required; the waistcoat. Wearing nothing but ties and waistcoats, although daringly chic, would provoke an adoration from female fans that would be purely a sexual based emotional response to our bodies and not the covering garments, therefore the choice to add in a sharp white shirt, trousers and varying levels of bicep bulge (see below) was taken.

Regrettably when we went to Floyd's and hit the bar sporting big grins and a certain swagger, we were left underwhelmed when the barman served us our jagerbombs without so much as a batted eyelid, the very least a man would expect. We walked away feeling like phonies, but that was the last time we felt less than 110% such was the adoration afforded towards the outfit as we progressed through the sweltering Cardiff streets.

Buttoned up or not?

Thinking back to our idol, the barman, we realised he is a waistcoat buttoner with no rival, always tightly fastened so as not to knock over a pricey bottle of spiced rum with an out of control waistcoat flap. Torn, we tried both out near some cars, to great effect:

Loose and flappy vs. tight and controlled

 Agreeing that, actually, buttoned up was dumb we never spoke of it again.

The black and white combo provides a striking UV juxtaposition

Difference to a business suit

As readers of this blog, it's not stretching it to picture us as perfectly successful businessmen, but how would dressing in what could be grossly mistaken as business attire fair in bustling Livelounge? This fear was compounded during the walk to Livelounge, when a deeply uneducated neanderthal asked, "why are you wearing suits?", despite the distinct lack of suit jacket. We walked away from this, because obviously the UK's educational system had failed him, how could we have helped now?

Fearing we would be singled out as public enemy number one - CityBankers/England Rugby Team – and wedgied, we kept a low profile, not doing anything that would give a false impression of massive wealth, such as buying bacon flavoured vodka or having overly polished shoes. To great relief we found ourselves embraced in the bosom of acceptance and laddish antics thus demonstrating rolled up sleeves and a waistcoat only highlight your fondness of both a good time and organic bulgur wheat.

Final Thoughts

The only particularly cutting comment of the night was when we were rudely compared to a waiter, other than that the look was warmly welcomed.

A note, there are in fact two Floyd's barmen who dress and look the same, we can confidently say they are twins and not just one man in different ties as we have seen them pouring jager side by side.

The sweet breastage of a TTC blogger

Straw Fedora

It's been said that the straw fedora is the most versatile hat in a modern gents walk in hat rack and this year it is available everywhere in a range a colours that will blow your mind. From the cheap and very pleasant offerings in Peacocks to the lavish charcoal wool offering from Harvey Nicks, there's no reason not to get one.

Pimp Mutha F*ckin' Daddy
When we met in the Gatekeeper, we got our drinks and were heading to find a table to sit. This is where we were stopped by a gentleman who asked us about our hats. Gladly we talked of the straw fedora and its benefits, to which he seemed perfectly agreeable with. At the end of the conversation he asked my name, and when I started to speak he immediately stopped me and said, 'No, now it's "Pimp Mutha F*ckn' Daddy"' as he held his hand up for a handshake. With the shock of my unbeknownst recent name change, I felt more comfortable with the idea of a hearty handshake; but oh how wrong I was. This is where a complicated series of hand shifts and tantric holds started and I came out feeling as though I had just performed some form of rigorous hand yoga. It was unclear whether this chap thought I was part of some secret society in which this was the secret handshake, but whatever had gone through his head at the time, the fedora had clearly been an influence on his thought process.

Shocked I still have the ability to hold a glass after my hand workout

Style and More
The fedora offers classic grace and charm, but not only that, it provides one more key benefit.
Being naturally pasty lumps of muscular goodness, that would only induce mild jealousy at an albino fashion show, we are often victim to the harsh reality of sunburn when caught short of emergency sun block. The beauty of a straw fedora is that it instantly provides us with the protection we need to be able to leave the house between the peak sun hours of 10:00 - 17:00, with only factor 50 sun cream on the tips of our noses.  This is a liberty we were unaware of prior to Summer Autumn 2015, previously resigned to spending the cruel British spring, summer and autumn hidden away, hoping for rain.

What is shocking here is that this guy clearly does not have the traps for wearing a vest in public

Night-time Robbery
As ever with the nights we test trendy hats, this was one trend that was easily stolen. Whilst walking to our final venue (the classic Live Lounge), my hat was removed from my head in one simple swift motion. Providentially, I spotted the rogue a while before crossing his path, so had the knowledge of his planned attack ahead of time. Instead of stopping him taking it, I felt that providing the deviant opportunity to get robbery out of his system early in the evening may save a fellow hat bearer the trauma at a later hour.

Shamefully hatless

This theme continued through the night, with more crafty thievery than could even be conceived by Abu in Disney's Aladdin.


Chomp Chomp

Luckily this didn't deter us, we carried on with our night regardless.

Why do they feel the need to take our hats?

Through the rest of the night, the hats received good feedback, some genuine: "I love 'um" as well as "Love your hats, I really do".

Instead of stealing, this is compassionate sharing

However some was potentially less so when we received what seemed to be a classically legitimate complement: "You've got a nice hat Bro" but then later the same guy, "You're rocking that hat Bro" which basically cheapened everything he had previously said.


Elegance

The real highlight, we enjoyed a whole night out without succumbing to nasal sunburn.

Two Tone Tunic

We decided to do a trend based entirely on the smooth style of Kanye West, the Two Tone Tunic.  While you may find other men wearing such items - where the material goes almost down to your knees but you wear trousers to ensure it isn't a skirt - they all look terrible. We put this down to many an overweight male adorning the so called muumuu (like Homer when he got even bigger), which has many similarities to the tunic, but used solely for comfort and breathability whereas a real tunic provides both style and sophistication. Our aim was to find some items that wouldn't clump us in the same deplorable group, but instead look wondrous as shown below:

I guess if Jesus wore a tunic, why shouldn't Kanye!!!

Now in keeping with the Summer/Autumn theme that we are testing here at TTC, the tunic falls right into our remit. The length provides the warmth that may be required on an Autumnal evening, the colourful mixing gives a Summertime vibe.

Buying Experience
This proved tricky.  Unfortunately our favourite Cardiff boutiques weren't stocking any tunics as they were all still in London and Milan, so instead we had to turn to Primark and other such places to put together a suitable item of our own.  Yes, Trend The Consequences has branched into garment creation.

A sartorial masterpiece

Practicality
Its seems more and more common that as we walk down the highstreet, men are wearing jeans that are ill sized. We here at TTC know that skinny jeans are quite in at the moment, however this is not what we are witness to most of the time. A skinny pair of jeans would still come up around the waist, but what is becoming obvious is that men are not buying the correct waist size jeans with a skinny fit, but going for many sizes too short.

This is apparent as most of these people have the waist of the jeans hanging well below the waistline of their underpants. We have put this down to the type of person sporting these jeans, and my reasoning is thus; basically every person that you see wearing this style is usually a hipster douchebag that most likely doesn't work, as that would obviously be helping "the man", so attempts to sell his pathetic hemp clothing on the streets of camden. This means that they don't have sufficient funds to purchase adult clothing, so buy child jeans as they aren't subject to V.A.T! This is why their leg clothing choices end up both skinny and not able to be pulled up to the correct height.

Alright mate, you may think you're all that, but sell that smartphone and get some clothes that fit!

The big issue is that this is now becoming more mainstream as celebs, such as the Beiber, start taking the style on. Now the common man may feel as though he wants in, but is less enthused about getting his posterior out (reasonably so). The tunic however can bridge the gap, with the wearer being able to adorn the low waisted jeans, but covering the underwear with a colourful tunic. Win bloody win!

Reaction
During the evening, it seemed positive vibes were coming our way, but without any actual praise being spoken. Although one point during the evening, we met a nice Irishman (having clearly been enjoying the black stuff) who was very favourable to the two tone tunic. He seemed fond of the length, and the colours that were provided. This was until he found out that we had put the tunic together ourselves, and that it was not simply a shop bought item. It was unclear where his true distress lied, as his anger made his diction even harder to grasp. However we put it down to his pure fondness of capitalism and not because of the tunic's method of creation.

Verdict
The Two Tone Tunic is a trend that tests the character of a male fashion blogger.  People will say you are wearing a skirt or that no man needs two colours arranged in parallel on their top, these are things that could well turn you back to simple scoop neck t-shirts.  But give the tunic a chance and you will open your world up to a choice of two colours (or more?), interesting folk and a chance to be like Riccardo Tisci for one scintillating night!

Summer - Autumn 2015

Its been a while since we've posted, however we have been working away in the background trying to find new trends. But this is a lot easier said than done. Whilst doing the previous few years at TTC, we've noticed quite a shocking trend, and that is that the fashion websites seem to regurgitate the same fashion tips again and again. Clearly the head honchos that call the fashion trends for the year are about as imaginative as a paedophile choosing his beard style. For example Vogue have given floral as a 2015 Spring Summer trend here, and the eagle eyed reader may even see that they have had a audacity to point out the fact that they've provided this fashion tip two times in a row. Obviously when TTC went on the hunt of peoples view on Floral in 2014, we got great reviews.

Hence why it appeared in our SS UO 2014

So we can't really be surprised when the general public then decide to repeat our findings the following year. But it does make the process of sporting the latest trends a bit difficult when we have already tried the seasons tips out.

This is the reason why we have gone for a new season of our own creation, the Summer/Autumn season. This will allow us some artistic license to take some ideas from Autumn and some from summer and come up with some outfits that would be fitting for the common man during the transition phase between Summer and Autumn, This is even more important in a year where the weather has been crazily mild during the Autumn months.