Gentlemen's Fashion Guide: "Business Ready" Fueled by: The Michael Foster Experience
Gentlemen’s Fashion Guide with GQ insider Michael Foster
I always tell people, fashion is the clothes you wear; style is how you wear it. For me style comes in the details or accessories you choose to enhance your wardrobe. For me personally, the autumn and winter seasons give me the most opportunities to show my style. This is because in these months I can pull out different accessories that don't fit spring or summer. Accessory number one, the scarf. For me the scarf can take a casual outfit to "Casually Fly" as I like to call it. This is something I picked up on my first travels to Montreal and Paris, where it's in vogue to wear a scarf year round. How you choose to wear your scarf reveals your personality or simply how you were feeling at the time.
I'm a firm believer that the first thing women (or men) look at when trying to figure out a male's status is his watch and his shoes. Invest in a nice watch, and it will stand the test of time. One of my favorite watches is a DKNY watch that I bought used at a pawn shop for $30 fifteen years ago and I've only had to replace the strap once. From there you can add a bracelet and/or ring that match your watch. Your watch, shoes, and belt should all match. Don't get caught wearing a brown belt with black shoes, or vice versa.
The pocket square is a nice little piece of cloth that I use to accent my blazer and shirt of choice.
When figuring out what I'll be wearing, I start with the blazer. That's where I start because for my personal style I realize I'm a blazer man. With that being the case, I've found out how to maximize my blazer fetish. Every now and then I'll go to Goodwill and look at the blazers they have available. From time to time I'll come across a blazer that's great quality and fits my personal style. From there I take it to get tailored specifically for me and voila, for $30 ($5 for blazer and $25 for tailor) I have a brand new addition to the wardrobe.
When choosing the proper accessories for your wardrobe remember that these are the items that will truly show your style and who you are as a person.
Sincerely,
“The Michael Foster Experience”
https://www.theinnerelite.com/
Instagram: @themichaelfoster
A Singleton Reflection
By Michelle Reed
In 2017, we still evade depth. John Singleton has three movies black men and women everywhere can relate to on levels of love, loss, and trying to achieve greatness. Those movies are over 20 years old.
Canadian Film Centre
Boyz in the Hood, 1991
One of the many social perspectives of the African American male are his “inabilities.” This film depicts real life perspectives of men wanting better, those who believe there is nothing better, and how they coincide. It even explains how the government supplies their communities with the tools for deterioration.
Poetic Justice, 1993
This film depicts the struggles of loss. Black people beautifully exude creativity in all its forms that is influenced by life. With an all-star cast, this movie shows two people trying to defy stereotypes while letting their guard down to find real love.
Higher learning, 1995
What happens when you combine cultures who have never crossed paths, to one location, with common goal? There is a plethora of disregard and misunderstandings. Some are even easily influenced into racism in attempts to belong.
Singletons perspectives are real and raw. It gave such truth in the 90's that you can return to all of these movies to find something relatable even in 2017. As a creator he was the first African American and the youngest ever to be nominated for “Best Director.” There is education and art in his work.