Buckets & Spades - Men's Fashion, Design and Lifestyle Blog: ootd

Showing posts with label ootd. Show all posts

7 Jun 2017

A Natural Progression

Photography by Jordan Bunker

My working partnership with lifestyle blogger + writer, Jordan Bunker, has started to become a bit of a tagteam of late. The running order usual goes like this; plan to visit a specific area, do a little research, take in the neighbourhood's individual nuances, drink the coffee, and point our cameras in a aesthetically pleasing direction.

That's been the general narrative for a good 10 months now, and it seems to be working well for us. For this meet-up I suggested the location (Mayfair + Soho, London), tagged Jordan in, he grabbed the camera and got to work on fine tuning the settings, then Jordan tagged me back in for the finishing move. Just call us the Hardy Boyz of menswear...

In all seriousness though, working collaboratively with Jordan has felt like a natural progression for my blog. There's no hang ups or hidden motives. We're there to help each other, share our personal experiences as freelancers – in this extremely competitive industry – and learn a few things on the way. And believe me, I've learnt a lot from this man.

Friendship can come from the least likely of places, and I take a certain solace that some of the most important people in my life are those that I have struck up conversations with through reads blogs and using social media.

Some say social media is the death of real interaction – Personsally I don't think that statement could be further from the truth. If anything, this current digital age has brought our own communities closer together.

What's your take on real interaction via social media?

19 Mar 2017

Inspired by Everyday Beauty

Photography by Jordan Bunker

I've become totally obsessed with "everyday beauty". I'm not too sure if anyone else uses the term in the context that I'm thinking of, but basically, it's the intriguing colour combinations, shapes, textures and design details that tend to go unnoticed in everyday life. They haven't been designed by accident, but most of the time we walk past them without a second glance.

Paving stones that look like a school of swimming fish from above, the way the sun hits grey corrugated metal at 2pm, tower blocks that are lined up like a football team or something as mundane as a red sign that has faded to pink by the sun. I haven't quite mastered capturing these moments with my camera, but lately Yasumi's Instagram account sums it up perfectly.

Onour recent trip to Nottingham we weren't purposely looking for these little blips in the day, but the grounds of Nottingham Contemporary was full of intriguing angles and subtle nods to the city's once-thriving industry.

For this outfit I stuck to my current uniform of greys + navy; wearing this coated cotton bomber jacket by Jigsaw (similar here), soft cashmere jumper by Stockholm-based ASKET and these AnonymousIsm indigo-dyed socks which I picked up in Tokyo, with my straight-fit khaki chinos by Whistles and tortoiseshell Persol sunglasses.

Next time on your commute to work or walk through town take some time to look out for everyday beauty. What have you spotted lately?

Thanks for reading,

Mat.

8 Mar 2017

Talking Daily Uniforms

I recently found myself weaving through the unfamiliar backstreets of Mayfair early one Saturday morning. London on a Saturday is a totally different game to the "working week" – sure, Oxford Street is chaotic and at the British Museum it feel like everyone is trying to get topped up on art before it goes out of fashion. But Mayfair though, that's a totally different kettle of fish.

There's a little spot a few minutes away from Bond Street that myself and Husam Al-Deen have taken quite the fancy to. If you take a walk to the Gagosian Gallery early on a Saturday morning, the chances are you won't bump into any shopping bag-wielding tourists, rather, just curious gallery folk, and chippy security guards who enjoy nothing more than to shoot the breeze about their love of these distinct backstreets.

This clean, architectural backdrop felt like the perfect location to compliment these tortoiseshell sunglasses by Oakley; a shape that seems to work really well on my slim, oval-shaped face.

Photography by Husam Al-Deen

As for the rest of the outfit, I went straight for my current uniform of navy + grey; mixing the slightly different shades of blue of my Fairends cap, Lavenham vest + selvedge denim jeans by Albam, with a classic grey sweatshirt, Timex watch and the ol' faithful Nike Killshots. The best kind of outfits, for me, are the ones that don't always require you to check (and recheck) in the mirror – you just know they make you feel good.

I think we all get to a point when we have a daily uniform; whether that be wearing all black, going heavy on the denim, swaying towards a Scandinavian minimal style, or constantly being drawn towards bright colours. For me that uniform is navy. It's the colour feel most comfortable in, but also slightly anonymous, in a way – it doesn't draw too much attention to itself, yet feels like it has enough character to stand on its own. Greys, browns and tans work perfectly with it, and that's where these Oakley frames fit in just nicely.

I'd love to hear about your current uniform. What are you current go-tos at the moment?

Thanks for reading,

Mat.

This post is in partnership with Shade Station. Thank you for taking the time to support the brands + businesses that make this blog happen.

1 Mar 2017

Spring Ready

Clothing by Jigsaw, Glasses by Bailey Nelson

Last week we took a trip over to Yorkshire to recreate six of our favourite SS17 menswear trends, for Victoria Leeds. The guys from the shopping centre challenged us to create the outfits using clothing selected from their stores, so in just a few hour - with Nik behind the camera - I made half a dozen outfit changes and find six suitable locations. That was intense!

Take a look at our take on the SS17 trends.

Neutral Basic (above)

A simple way to transition from the cooler times to the warmer months is by sticking to a neutral theme. You won't find any patterns or loud colours here, instead we've used a look combination of pastels, beige, stone, with the navy blues tying it all in together, all from Jigsaw.

Clothing by Hackett, Reiss + Paul Smith, Sunglasses by Bailey Nelson

Versatile Utility

Utilitarianism has been a big story in men's style for a few seasons now, and it shows no sign of slowing down throughout this year. Details are key here - utilising garments with enough pockets to fill up with your daily essentials, showerproof materials for them inevitable downpours and versatile layers for warmer evenings.

Clothing by GANT

Technical Outerwear

Technical outerwear is right up my street, and a daily go-to for anyone in the North of England. Think less "countryside explorer" and more about the suitable daily commuter gear. GANT is coming up good with this blue rain slicker and practical layers.

Clothing by Whistles

Sports Luxe

As I originally come from the North West of England it's hard to take me too far way from my sportswear roots, and Sports Luxe is one of the biggest trends for SS17. Swap nylon + cottons for cashmere and merino blends, and switch out the running trainers for premium white leather sneakers. Whistles is your go-to for this trend.

Clothing by Paul Smith

Americana Holiday

One of my favourite trends for the warmer months is this year's holiday-appropriate Americana vibes. You'll find me wearing stone colour slim chinos worn with an all-over print revere collar shirt, canvas sneakers and classic wayfarers. Paul Smith + Bailey Nelson stocking everything you'll need for this one.

Clothing by COS

Minimal

Taking on one of the cleanest trends for this Spring Summer; COS providing us with soft tailoring, subtle textures and a minimal colour palette. The store is the perfect stop-off for this Minimalist look.

Which is your favourite look out of the bunch?

This Instagram Takeover was created in partnership with Victoria Leeds. Thank you for taking the time to support the brands + businesses that make this blog happen.

20 Feb 2017

Love for the National Theatre | Oliver Sweeney SS17

Marmelos Sneakers by Oliver Sweeney | Chinos by Whistles | Cap by Percival

Boxstead Mac by Oliver Sweeney | Sweatshirt by Sunspel

Let's call this one teamwork. The beauty of Instagram is being able to discover + easily connect with people you may have never come into contact with. I started chatting with Photographer Husam Al-Deen just at the start of last December, and it wasn't long before we were sitting in a central London coffee shop, brainstorming ways in which we could collaborate together.

We got chatting about our love of sneakers, architecture, printed magazines + menswear – so it was decided, we'd making something happen in the new year.

Red Sneakers (coming soon) by Oliver Sweeney | Socks by Form&Thread

Vilarcia Knit + Osimo Sneakers by Oliver Sweeney

Outfit | A Continuous Love for Denim

Denim is universal. Never has one single fabric transcended such a wide range of generations, cultures and industries as this humble woven fabric. My relationship with denim started when I was a youngster; I remember my elasticated stonewash jeans, which I proudly sported with a shell-suit jacket, WWF t-shirt and Bart Simpson basketball sneakers. 80's kid and all.

My style has moved on, of course, but rather than denim falling out in favour to a more grown-up alternative, the fabric has just been reappropriated to fit my lifestyle. See, that's the beauty of denim; it's versatile enough for it to slot into most people's lives without ever really making much noise – sticking with us until it's time to trade in for a new pair.

When I was a teenager I went through various denim phases; ripped, bleached, flares, skater, skinny, patchwork and even white with pink stitching (that's art college for you...). But in my early 20s I traded all of those in for simple indigo blue jeans. After I stumbled into the world of unwashed indigo-dyed denim I never looked back, and nowadays that's all you'll find in my wardrobe.

These British-made Japanese Selvedge jeans by Albam have become a second skin, the 3.5 year's hard wear shows across the pockets, knees and thighs. They're the jeans I grab when I need to do some jobs around the house, nip out to the shops, go for a quick cycle or pack for a work trip when the weather isn't looking so hot. The way they've worn is totally unique to my job, what I carry and how I've have treated them.

Is there a type of clothing that has been with you since you for a long time?

Photography by Jordan Bunker.