Hollister Coastline Cologne And Abercrombie Fierce - The Same?

So it's been a while since I last shopped at Hollister. The reason is not because I've not had time but simply because their recent styles just don't appeal to me.


I mean what the hell happened? Hollister used to design clothes that were basic, plain, preppy - the look I love. Now their lines just look the same as all the other high street - H & M, New Look, Top Shop etc.


On this visit to the Hollister store in Manchester Arndale though, I noticed what seemed like a newly launched cologne - Hollister Coastline for guys. Great - a new fragrance! Since I'm a big fan of the SoCal cologne I decided to pick up the tester bottle of Coastline and held the nozzle up to my nose for a sniff. Hmmm... smelled familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.


I rolled up my sleeves to try a spray on my wrists. Just in case you didn't know, it's best to test fragrances on your skin because there can be slight variations in smell depending on who wears it. Every skin is different and colognes can react differently.


I let it settle before walking out of the store with my girlfriend. On the way out I had smell of my wrist and again it reminded me of another fragrance from somewhere but I still couldn't quite put my finger on it.
So I started thinking - what does that fragrance remind me of. Instantly the smell took me back to America - shopping - malls. And then it hit me! Abercrombie Fierce cologne.


Since I don't own a bottle of Abercrombie Fierce cologne I couldn't compare the two. But I'm 99% sure it's the same smell.


WTF!! Is Hollister Coastline just simply Abercrombie Fierce rebottled and sold for a cheaper price? I mean the main reason why I never bought Fierce was because of the price tag so at least now that Coastline is available for £28 I can have the same fragrance for less.


Has anyone else tried the new Hollister Coastline cologne for guys? If so what are your thoughts? Does it smell the same as Fierce by Abercrombie and Fitch?

Gok Wan Cooking Chinese Food - At Lowry Salford Quays Food Festival

Oh My Gok! Chinese Food Cooking Demonstration

So recently i went to see Gok Wan at Lowry in Salford Quays for his Chinese cooking demonstration for Food Festival 2015.

We try to go to the Lowry Food Festival every year because of our love for tasty street food and home made delights.

This year was a bit of a let down due to the terrible weather. Manchester always seem to get the worst of rain and wind. However, seeing Gok made up for it.

There was big marquee set up in the main court yard of Media City UK and we arrived early after having booked our tickets online a few days before.

The audience was a mixture of both old and young generation and we sat ourselves down on the second row from the front.

The build up to Gok's entrance was funny and it seemed to get the crowd warmed up. The introducer asked the crowd "who are you here to see?". After announcing a few names and events he shouted "are you here to see Gok?".
The crowd responded and this wad followed up by Gok's camp voice from backstage "yes, you are here to see me."

There were laughter amongst the audience followed by Gok making his entrance on the stage.

Overall Gok's cooking demonstration was very entertaining and i liked how he got got the audience to interact by picking volunteers to get up on stage with him to make dumplings, or "cornish pasties" as referred to by one of the participants.

The funniest part of the show for me was when Gok almost set the place on fire. He overheated one of the woks and upon dropping in the oil it set ablaze. So what does Gok do? He starts to blow on the flame. #facepalm.
One of the assistants swiftly came to the rescue and covered a wet towel over the wok to stop the fire.

So after the show we decided to join the queue in the Lowry shopping mall to get up close and personal with Gok. Got his autograph and a selfie.

It was great meeting you Gok and can't wait for anothet show next year!

Why I Prefer Android Phone Over Apple iPhone

I'm writing this blog post on my iPhone 5 as I sit on my bed in a tiny compact but efficient apartment in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

I take frequent glances out of my window at the densely populated, small but efficient city to gather my thoughts. 

These two words "small and efficient" describe the country very well but it's a real shame that I can't use them again to describe my iPhone, whilst struggling to hit the right keys on the touch screen keyboard.

What Am I Doing In Hong Kong?

I arrived four days ago after leaving my home city of Manchester behind for a week. Two reasons for visiting Hong Kong -

1. My girlfriend's Chinese family ties

2. An old friend of mine moved here a year ago

I've been planning this trip for many months and expected to rely rather heavily on my smartphone to aid me on journey. Route planning, navigation, camera and video recording, as well as social media for keeping in touch.

Replacement Phone Needed

Therefore, when my Sony Xperia Z1 began failing on me a few months back I instantly decided to take action and hunted for a replacement phone to use whilst Sony decided whether they want to repair or replace my Z1.

The iPhone 5 was my first choice because I've been working in an mobile phone and electronics store at the time and got to play around with iOS devices a lot, particularly the iPhone. I've also been meaning to give Apple tech a try. I'm on a 4G data plan as well so a cheaper iPhone 4 or 4s was not an option.

Fault Infested Second Hand iPhone 5

Bear in mind this was only supposed to be a phone that I would use until my Sony was fixed or replaced so I decided to hunt down a decent second hand iPhone 5. I decided to buy the phone from CEX. Main reasons being that I already had some store credit with them after trading in a few games and gadgets before; and they give 1 year warranty on their phones. Makes sense right? I'll get the iPhone 5, it'll be a great little phone because Apple made it and CEX will cover me for any faults and I will have a hassle free time.

Wrong!

What a terrible mistake it was. From the word go, I had issues. I didn't even realise it was possible for a mobile phone to have so many common faults. Even my Nokia 8850 still works fine to this day. However, I guess some may argue that because the iPhone has so much more advanced features than the Nokia, there's more parts of it likely to fail.
I don't agree, the new features should be supported by technology that's built to last. Not fail all the time. Otherwise what is the point? My Nokia 8850 does the main things that a mobile phone is built to do - make and receive calls, send and receive text messages. There's also the added bonus of playing basic games of that time such as Snake. None of those functions have failed yet and the phone is over 15 years old.
Compare that to mobiles of our current time - what are the basic functions of a smart phone? Make and receive calls, send and receive text messages, connect to the internet through WiFi and cellular data. So is it fair to say that if a phone of the current time consistently fails on the basic functions of the current time, it should be label a crap phone?

I'm currently on my fourth iPhone 5 from CEX. The first one had cellular data connectivity issues. Yes you heard me right. I couldn't connect to the internet without using WiFi.

The second iPhone 5 that CEX gave me had severe battery issues. One minute it's at 50% and then the next it'll have dropped to 20% battery.

Off I go again to CEX to get another replacement. So this third one seemed fine - no issues with the battery, 4G connects fine and everything seemed great. Third time lucky? I think not!!
The proximity sensor was faulty. This is the little sensor that detects your face when you talk on the phone and disables the touch screen by blacking it out.

The good people at CEX were helpful and apologetic and gave me a fourth replacement with a larger memory capacity of 32gb from my original 16gb. Guess what... this iPhone 5 has also started to develop problems.

Please bear in mind that although these iPhones are second hand, they have all been Grade A (the best condition) ones. CEX uses a grading system with Grade A being the best.

I could rant on forever about faults and annoying aspects of my iPhone 5 but for the purpose of this post i'll just focus on the three main issues that pisses me off the most.

Three Main Issues With My iPhone 5

1. Poor Battery
This is the most common problem amongst iPhone 5 owners. It's all over the net and everyone complains about their battery life on their iPhone 5. I mean come on Apple WTF??!! Not everything however, is rubbish with this phone though. Like for instance the camera - it's great. Even though it's not as high in Megapixels as my girlfriend's Xperia Z2, it still takes some stunning photos. And the thing I like most is the way it snaps a photo as soon I hit the shutter button. Unlike the Z2, Z1 and other Android devices that takes a split second for the focus to adjust before snapping.
But i'd rather be able to last longer taking the photos though. As we've been out all day every day admiring the streets and views of Hong Kong my iPhone's battery dies guaranteed around 3pm everyday - and that's after a full night of charging to 100%. Sometimes depending on usage, i'm getting extremely low even before lunch time.
Absolute crap!
I'm also not hammering the phone at full capacity all the time either. I followed all instructions available online to conserve battery life such as closing apps, turning off back ground refresh and many more. I even have my screen brightness at around 25%.

2. iTunes
I mean come on this is 2015. Restrictions should be a thing of the past. Why can't I just plug my iPhone into my laptop and do what I want to do just like all other smartphones? Transfer my MP3 files, use it as a mass storage device etc. I can't even move my music from my iPhone to my laptop without arsing around with various apps.
As I have a Microsoft Surface RT that I brought with me on my travels, I don't think iTunes is even available on the Windows App Store.

3. Over Heating
This issue is worryingly annoying. We were walking around yesterday in a shopping mall and I noticed heat in my pocket. Yup sure enough, it was the same pocket that carried my iPhone 5. The back case of the phone was heating up so bad that I had to turn it off as I thought I was going to melt.
Then when I turned it back on later the battery life dropped to 20% all of a sudden!! WTF!!!

Conclusion

Don't get me wrong, the iPhone 5 can be a great phone. I love the handset design and size. It's simplicity totally wins me over. I detest the ugly home buttons on Samsung's Galaxy series phones and much prefer Apple's design.
Music through headphones and internal speakers is also a winner for someone like me who enjoys loudness!
Not to mention the sheer number of gadgets and accessories that are available on the market for iPhones. Even in Hong Kong my girlfriend has been struggling to find a simply protector case for her Xperia Z2. But for the iPhone, there is an accessories stall on every street corner!

But the most important factor of a smartphone is where the iPhone 5 becomes a total let down - reliability.
We rely so much on our phones these days that they've become a necessity. I could leave my flat one morning forgetting to bring my wallet and I could still survive as long as I have my phone. My banking app will allow me to withdraw money using my phone.
It's not just a communications device anymore. It's an organiser, entertainment device, wallet, business tool and much more.
Unreliability is unforgiving and all I think of right now is getting my Sony back.
 

A Visit To Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet

So this past weekend was the hottest weather us Brits have had this year. Just so happens that we planned our trip to go shopping at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet in Ellesmere Port. It was a little windy but overall the temperature wasn't bad at all. Makes me want to start getting my summer clothes ready - break out the pastel colours!!
There were a few shoppers spotted with shorts and t-shirt but I wasn't comfortable enough to do the same. Come on guys, it's good to be keen but it's only the beginning of March and there's plenty of time yet to show your legs.

Although the weather made up for it the shopping wasn't great. There wasn't many items of clothing that really stood out for me, both in terms of desirability and bargain factor. I remember back in the day when we would drive down to Cheshire Oaks and without fail we'd come back with a bag full of bargain designer gear. Maybe I've turned into a huge cheapskate? I don't know but stuff just don't seem to be as cheap anymore.

A few items of interest were as follows -

1. Ralph Lauren Polo sweater with a front zip which was only in a size XS and with a £25 tag.
2. Ralph Lauren Polo long sleeve t-shirt in a range of sizes at £20

Yeh, not bad prices but I guess I just keep comparing the prices to the ones we were used to the USA. God how I miss the land of the free!!

The rest of the outlets were nothing special. The usual designer / high street brands that you see everyday in any city centre shopping mall offering stupid sized clothes with a few quid off RRP.

Another let down was the fact that M & S had moved into the building that was previously the Food Court!!  Oh my god... why??? I used to love going to the food court to enjoy a good cheap and cheerful fast food lunch. Buy now M & S probably came along with their big fat wallet and made an offer that McArthurGlen Designer Outlets could not refuse.

So What Did We Buy From Cheshire Oaks?

A coin purse from Fossil for my girlfriend's Aunty who lives in Hong Kong. It's a gift for her as we will be visiting at the end of the month. I'm quite excited about the trip actually. I'm gonna get to see the Abercrombie and Fitch store in HK.

I almost bought the Ralph Lauren Polo sweater but when I went back to the store they had a queuing system set up to enter. There was no way I was going to queue up to get into a Ralph Lauren outlet, so we left. And that was that... true story!

Whilst we're on the subject if you get a chance check out my post on shrinking a Ralph Lauren Polo hoodie. Leave a comment too.

Wishlist Wednesday 4th March 2015

To keep up with blogging regularly I've decided to post my wish list of apparel that I'm digging right now (or at the time of posting). The wish lists can consist of clothing items, outfits, accessories and gadgets - stay tuned!!
So today's wish list basically comprises of an outfit that I would really love to get hold of right now. The reasoning behind this is mostly due to the crappy British weather that we are currently having right now and generally how I am feeling - COLD!!!
We're going to go up from the bottom.

1. Shoes - Timberland Premium Rust Lace Up Boots

Bring on the snow, wind, freezing temperatures and all the other crap that winter weather can throw at us! These Timberlands are sure to keep me moving. The high ankle coverage is perfect and I find that keeping my feet warm does wonders for the rest of my body. If my feet are cold then I struggle getting the rest of the body warm.

2. Socks - Jack Wolfskin Merino Winter Trekking Socks

These socks have it all - Merino Wool, cushioned sole, cushioned shin, warmth and style! What more can you ask for in a winter sock?

3. Pants - Guess Brit Rocker Jeans

Not too tapered and just enough bagginess at the ankle to fit over the Timberland boots.

4. Top - Abercrombie & Fitch Hoffman Mountain Tipped Polo

Polos are my favorite style of top and i much prefer them to normal tees. I prefer having the collar - gives me a sense of security rather than the bare round or v-neck that a t-shirt has.

5. Jacket - Abercrombie & Fitch Lake Placid Wool Parka

Again from my favorite brand Abercrombie & Fitch, this wool parka jacket is enough to keep me warm in the worst that British winter can offer.

So i hope you guys like my Wishlist Wednesday and be sure to leave a comment.

Hollister Clothing Sale UK - Mens Shirts and T Shirts

It's Sale Time - What I Love About Hollister Clothing

Today, i'm excited because, i am going to talk about one of my favourite clothing brands, Hollister by Abercrombie & Fitch. Actually Abercrombie is my favourite and Hollister is one of the 'lifestyle brands' that they own.

Now i know there's going to be alot of haters out there. "WTF Hollister? That's clothes that annoying teenagers wear!"; "kids clothing, really?" and blah blah blah.
So let me explain myself. Firstly, i love the styles, fit and feel of Hollister clothes. Similar to GAP, they don't 'over design' like some brands do.
Second, so what if i want to stay in touch with my youthful side?!! Yeh, i'm getting on abit hitting the big 30 but i still feel young at heart. The thing is, i'm from the Far East and typically people of our race tend to look a lot younger than our actual age. Seriously, a couple of years ago when i still smoked, i got asked for ID buying a twenty pack at Tesco!!

American clothing tends to appeal to me more than others. I really dig the American lifestyle and the whole image created around their clothing. With the whole beach theme, Hollister creates the Southern Californian lifestyle image very well. Our visit to LA was much loved and Hollister reminds me alot of our precious time in the sunny city of angels.

With tough competition from retailers such as H & M, Foreever 21, Abercrombie have been reducing their prices on their lines alot. Although Hollister was created to be a lower priced brand than Abercrombie, recently i've seen alot of further reductions in their lines.

So lets move on and take a look at a couple of sale items i recently bought.

The Hollister Mens Shirt

Not usually my style but i love the fit on Hollister shirts and i'm getting my wardrode ready for Spring/Summer. This Woods Cove Shirt was bought from Hollister outlet in the Trafford Centre, Manchester. It features "Muscle Fit" style and hugs my waist nicely. No frumpiness at all. What i also love about Hollister mens shirts is the short length. The shirts can be worn like and fits like t-shirts. The palm tree print is not tto overpowering either. The subtle colours don't create that 'in your face' look you would sometimes get with pattern prints. I personally prefer to roll up my sleeves whenever i wear long sleeve shirts. I'm also trying to move away from logos on clothes so this shirt is ideal. Not a single seagull embroidery in sight!!

Or i could go for the fully buttoned up hipster look =P

The Hollister Graphic T Shirt

Just a simple but effective graphic tee really. Comfortable and well fitted. Kind of shows my gut abit though... i gotta work on my sit ups. I love the bears head graphic print. It also has oriental patterns and again no seagull - i'm digging it alot. Don't get me wrong, i'm not a complete Hollister fan boy. When it comes to t-shirts, i'm absolutely against the ones that have "HOLLISTER" printed all over them. Too in your face for me thank you very much. Those jog pants with huge Hollister writing all over them are also not my cup of tea.
I can't wait for the weather to warm up so i can start rocking these clothes. Anyway, that's it for now and stay tuned for more fashion talk from the FashionFanBoy. Leave your comments - good or bad. Hate or love.

Young & Reckless Clothing - Street Style From Los Angeles

In the year before (2013) we took our first trip to the states. It was a well planned out driving holiday and we drove the Route 66 from Chicago to LA, me and the girlfriend. I'd love to talk about this trip but it requires a whole new blog of it's own.

Along our driving trip we came across many shopping outlets and malls. We got to experience the American fashion brands and clothing stores that are not available here in the UK. In one outlet named Pacsun I came across this long sleeve tee with "Young & Reckless" branding on it - an LA based clothing brand inspired by casual street style. I've seen it before... where was it from. It soon came to me. It's been worn by members of Krewella, a progressive house, dubstep music trio that I regularly listen to. Check out ne of their popular tracks here.They can be spotted rocking Young & Reckless clothing on some of their videos.

I bought the tee ofcourse, and it was on sale for like $5!! Bargain!!

I've taken the liberty of assembling a few of the men's tee shirts and tops below, so that us Brits can purchase safely from Amazon.
If you're into unique casual street wear with high quality designs from the states then check it out. What I like most is that you don't see anybody rocking this brand here in the UK.

Are Nike Air Huaraches Comfortable

Brief History of the Nike Air Huarache

The year is 1991 and a new revolutionary wave of running shoes hit the world by storm. They were the Nike Air Huarache.

I remember back in the early 1990's when kids were rocking these shoes. The original white, blue and green design that still looks amazing today. I couldn't afford a pair of Huaraches back then as I didn't have a job and I was still in school. My only way of getting a pair was through my mum. Since I was playing basketball for my school team at the time it was a choice between the Nike Air Huaraches ond the Air Jordan 6 and of course the Air Jordans triumphed over the Huarache.

Fast forward a couple of decades and the Huaraches are back with a vengeance. This time around I'm not missing out again. My lovely fiancé has bought me a pair and oh my god what a pair of trainers they are!

So How Comfortable Are The Huaraches?

The most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever worn in my lifetime! As simple as that!

One piece of advice though is that the shoes were designed to really hug your feet and the leather / rubber strap that provides support behind your heel doesn't have much flex. Therefore, don't expect your usual shoe size to fit when wearing the Nike Air Huaraches. I recommend going size 1 to 1.5 up from your usual. This will provide a better fit with the Huaraches.

I'm usually a size 8.5 to 9. The Air Huaraches I have are size 10 and fits very comfortably.

The air bubble and air system by Nike have been around for pretty much forever, and they do feel very comfortable however, the Air Huaraches are in a league of their own! It really does feel like you're walking on air and you actually get to enjoy walking / running.


Here's my four factors of comfort -

• Ease of slip on - at first it may feel a little odd trying to put the shoes on. This is mainly because of the one piece sock type design and the rear sandal type heel support strap. Provided that you got the right size for your feet (as mentioned above) you should have no problems slipping on these shoes once you get used to it and you figure out where to put your fingers.
• General feel around the foot - amazing!! I've had shoes, pumps, trainers in the past where I've had to "wear into" them. There's no need to do so with the Huaraches. Straight out of the box, slip them on and off you go. Again i'll mention the one piece sock style design because it is simply comfort on your feet at it's best. It just feels like your wearing socks with an incredibly soft sandals. There are no parts of the shoe whatsoever that irritate, dig into or feel loose on the foot.
• Heel comfort - honestly speaking, the first time I tried on the Huaraches, i felt softness between the ground and my heels like i never felt before. As you can see, the soles are very thick and look very soft, cushioned and comfortable. Believe me they really do feel the way they look. I believe heel cushioning is a major factor when determining comfort because when we take steps, we land with our heel first and then the rest of the foot follows. I could walk for hours with these!
• Weight - although not as light as my Converse Chuck It canvas shoes, the Huaraches are still very light for their type of shoe. I know you can't really compare apples to oranges but lightness still plays a big part in a shoe's comfort factor. Initial glance at the Huaraches may indicate a certain amount of weight because of the large thick sole and the sandal style straps. However, pick one up and you're assumptions immediately are flushed down the poo hole. Very light trainers indeed!

Air Huarache Verdict

Quite simply put, the best shoes I've ever owned. Delivers both amazing style and comfort. I can't believe I missed out on these shoes in the nineties!

The only cons with the Air Huaraches are -

1. Too many chavs wear them. Common as muck these days.

2. The build seems abit low quality. I expected better standards from Nike. See below picture where adhesive residue can be seen just above the soles.

These cons are however, just a few small pebbles on a mountain full of tough rocks!

Stocking Up On Primark Clothing Sale

Okay here goes. I have enjoyed my fair share of high street brands from River Island to designers such as Ralph Lauren Polo and more. I'm quite picky when it comes to shopping for my attire. Generally most of my clothes have bird logos, eagle logos and moose logos however there are times when I impulse buy or spontaneous shop. Especially when I find cheap, rock bottom prices!

As much as I hate to say it, I queued up at the Primark counter in the January sales to pick up two items - a knitted jumper and a smart wool over coat.

Not that I have anything against Primark. I've bought a couple of items from there before, here and there.

I've just never spent much time in their before because the place always seems to be packed out like a 25% extra free tin of sardines! I like to enjoy my shopping time and enjoy my own personal space (which is one of the reasons why I much prefer shopping in USA).

I also find the quality in their clothes to be below standard. But that's a different story.

So the jumper set me back £5!! Yes, you heard it right, £5!!! I've been under the weather a lot this winter and need more clothes to keep me warm so this fits the bill right? The only thing that puts me off is that it slightly resembles hipster fashion, which I'm not too keen on.

The jacket - £20. Another bargain! Although the main reasons for this buying  decision was due to my girlfriend's appreciation for it and due to a couple of guys on different occasions who kept staring at me in admiration while I was trying on the jacket. One guy even complimented on how well the jacket suited me. If a random stranger tells you the jacket looks good on you, it's got to be bought right?!

Anyway, conclusion?

Primark ain't as bad as I thought. I only had doubts about it due to previous bad experiences and giving it a second chance, seems to have paid off. Will definitely shop again in the near future. Spring /Summer season lines should be out soon.

Watch This Space For Fashion Dos and Don'ts

So I started this blog like almost two years ago in the hope that I can ramble on to you unfortunate readers on the interweb about stuff I like and things that amuse me. Mostly fashion and clothing related stuff.

So typical of me. I stuck with it for three blog posts and never came back. Until now that is! Yeh baby, it's 2015! Beginning of a new year and a new me!

This time around I'll stick with it.

A little background on me - 36 year old male who still thinks he's 21. Used to hate fashion but has now grown to love it.

I blame it on his fashion design professional girlfriend.

Make sure you follow this blog as I will be posting a lot more from now on. I can't promise you cutting edge latest in fashion and celeb news but I can promise you real life experiences and stuff that interests me.