Tuesday 24 February 2015

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.

Tuesday 17 February 2015

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.


Monday 9 February 2015

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!

Wednesday 4 February 2015

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.