London Fashion Week shows Rooms Men

If it’s on the catwalks in Paris, and is being called a London design initiative, then we are absolutely convinced that in the near future the focus and importance in recognizing Men’s Fashion and Styling will be equal to that of the over-saturated female market.

We recognised a gap in the market a year ago and thus MenStylePower was born. And now the world is catching up. We’re proud as punch.

International design initiative ‘LONDON shows ROOMS MEN’, is a joint collaboration with British Fashion Council (BFC),  Centre of Fashion Enterprise (CFE) and Fashion East.  And this season fourteen of London’s leading menswear design talents were taken to the Men’s Paris Fashion Week, to increase their media presence and develop their businesses internationally. What does this mean? It means that men, who have always commented to us that they cannot find anything brilliant and dashing to wear, now have an innovative and first class enterprise backing their concerns.

‘LONDON shows ROOMS MEN’ launched at Tranoi’s beautiful new venue Tranoi Parc Royal (The Loft) in Paris 3rd Arrondissement (Marais) last month. The new initiative enabled the menswear designers to sell their collections with the support of International marketing, media and sales advisers. As a designer, you just could not ask for more – it’s like finding the Golden Ticket from Charlie’s chocolate factory!

Caroline Rush, CEO (Joint) of the BFC, comments “’LONDON shows ROOMS MEN’ has been successfully running for four seasons and extending this to some of the best emerging menswear talent in the UK is a very exciting project. We are confident that this new menswear initiative will give our innovative menswear designers the means to further their global profile and businesses.”

The support offered to emerging menswear designers by the BFC, CFE and Fashion East represents a growing interest in menswear in the UK and is a reflection of London’s quick response to identifying design potential. ‘LONDON shows ROOMS MEN’ represents a selection of British talent supported by BFC’s Newgen Men sponsored by Topman.

MAN showcase and the Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE) or are special guests such as Christopher Kane Men’s and Jeannette’s Pop Up shop.

NEWGEN MEN, sponsored by Topman, was launched in September 2009 alongside a dedicated Menswear Day at London Fashion Week. Growing from ‘MAN’ a single show on the LFW schedule, these schemes, which offer business support and showcasing opportunities, have been instrumental in raising the profile of new British designers. In a move which mirrors the initiatives that have supported womenswear designers over the past few seasons, ‘LONDON shows ROOMS MEN’ aims to build on the success of NEWGEN MEN, highlighting the growing talent of menswear designers in the UK to an international audience.

For those of you who are interested in support new London talent, the following designers are definitely worth a look see. Having such heavy hitters back these guys and girls is a real honour. So go to town with perusing through their websites!

Cheers. Stig & Stylemeister!

‘LONDON show ROOMS MEN’ in Paris designers include:

Bernstock Speirs

Blaak

BOYOstudio

Carolyn Massey

Christopher Kane Mens

Christopher Raeburn

MIHARAYASHUHIRO + husam el odeh eyewear

James Long

Katie Eary

KTZ

Lou Dalton

OMAR KASHOURA

Tim Soar

The Wrap on Scarves

It’s getting chilly down under (the MSP’s HQ), so we thought we’d give our fans a few tips on how to wear scarves this winter.

Scarves are versatile accessories that instantly lift your look and and add a touch of colour and dashin’ style to wardrobe and they keep you really warm against the cold, frost and wind. However, many dudes avoid scarves because they’re not sure how to wear them other than just plonking them on your shoulder … so … here are just a few examples to help you wrap that scarf with style. Enjoy!

First impressions count & girls don’t want to interview

Summer was a great girl with luscious, long, black locks, a quick smile and a fun, bubbly personality.

When Tom first saw her he was intrigued by her sharp mind, gentleness and genuine joy. He too wasn’t a bad specimen, with a kind heart, a shy smile, great guns, and quick wit.

They’d met through mutual friends and they quickly became part of the same crowd, hanging out at barbeques, dinners and beach parties.

Overtime Tom became increasingly enchanted with Summer and her great personality. He started vying for her attention in the hopes of scoring a date but each time she’d laugh him off gently. She’d smile easily at him, and chat and laugh but he just could not get her interested in him in anything other than being a casual pal. Worse still, he could tell she never gave him a thought after they parted company each time.

Then came the day their friends hosted drinks after work. Tom sauntered into the bar in a beautifully tailored, form fitting D&G suit and … Summer nearly passed out. The ‘Tom’ standing before wasn’t the slouchy baggy pants, oversized T, Nike tottin’ homeboy she knew. He looked like a smart, successful and confident man and in one moment, she too was enchanted.

Months later, after they were engaged, Summer let him in on what had changed her mind about him – his new-to-her, elegant style had made her consider that he was a man worth taking seriously.

True Story!

Tom learnt a powerful lesson – what you wear and how you wear it leaves others with a very strong impression of who you are. Your style is tied very closely to your identity and more than that, to your image. Tom burnt his oversized jeans and Ts and bought shares in D&G.

Style is for real men, not posers.

Right now all over this planet, decisions are being made on who to promote, who to date, who to hire and who to fire; with a strong emphasis on the overall impression that the subject leaves on the decision maker.

Although ‘MENSTYLEPOWER’ does not in anyway promote image over character, we do encourage gentlemen all over the world to take the time to think about how they are perceived – what does your image say about you? Are you Shabby? Flabby? Crabby? Or Sexy? Seriously, ask yourself the question and if you can’t honestly answer it, ask a chic – your sister, girlfriend or gal pal.

Do you get compliments on your style often? Do you enjoy the feeling that comes from being told you look good? Or do you only get that feeling on Sundays at church, or at funerals, when you drag out your only suit?

Your image strongly determines your career path, your personal happiness and your self-confidence. It’s elemental, right?

The problem is, many men simply don’t know what to wear or how to wear it.

This what you’re going to learn from us: Style involves understanding how to wear clothes that suit you. One guy can throw on a pair of jeans and T-shirt and looks great, while another guy can wear a T-shirt and jeans and look horrible.

Most men don’t suit most high-fashion trends so DON’T wear it simply because it walked down of a runway in Milan. There are quirky men who can carry off ‘quirk’, but most men can’t.

Alternatively, the homeboy look – oversized, really sloppy pants hanging off a man’s waist – gives the impression the man is just as sloppy in his private life.

The tight, bum squeezer is also a no-no! Others won’t easily trust you’re comfortable with yourself (and your sexuality) if you’re constantly mincing around in overtight trousers and jeans.

When you’re trying too hard it doesn’t work. When you’re trying too hard or not at all, it shows!

MENSTYLEPOWER focuses on helping you make a great first and lasting impression that’s unique to YOU – individuality rules and reigns in our world!

MENSTYLEPOWER will give you the confidence to try something new because looking good is not complicated – if you have a few simple, key, modern and yet comfortable and elegant wardrobe items.

And because we believe that style is also about character MENSTYLEPOWER discusses the importance of character, integrity and chivalry as attributes of the stylish man.

Take the ride with us and become the coolest YOU in town.

Men jump on the Beauty Bandwagon

‘Maybe she’s born with it’, ‘Easy, Breezy, Beautiful’, ‘Because You’re Worth It’ – Over the years, these cosmetic taglines have become extremely well-known due in part to the A-list celebrity talent that represents each brand.

Cosmetic endorsements have become the coveted partnership among female actresses in Hollywood.  Traditionally, the beauty industry has focused most of its efforts on women, but within the past year alone, advertising for men’s personal care lines has skyrocketed due to the growing potential of the male beauty trend. All over the country, men are becoming more beauty conscious and are unafraid to let their meterosexual side shine through. As the boundaries begin to blur within the beauty industry, marketers are working to shift their attention to the growing male audience for what looks to be the biggest year for male beauty products that the industry has ever seen.

A recent report by Global Industry Analysts predicts that the world market for men’s grooming products is projected to exceed $33.2 billion by the year 2015. The men’s grooming market has expanded significantly from the traditional shaving products and deodorants and now encompasses other categories including skincare, hair care and bath products. Because of this, leading beauty brands and manufacturers have reorganized their marketing initiatives to capture the growing male market. Proctor & Gamble recently negotiated a partnership with Texas based supermarket, H-E-B, to create a new men’s personal care section. Unilever has made men the focus of their biggest 2010 product launch for Dove Men, claiming that there is a $700 million opportunity to increase the men’s personal care market. Whether through promoting masculinity or utilizing celebrity endorsements, beauty brands are jumping at the opportunity to gain awareness and increase sales within the male market.

Here are some of the male celebrities and athletes who are proving that personal care products aren’t just for the girls anymore:

Drew Brees and Dove Men: Brees was announced the first spokesperson for Dove Men back in February. Brees helped Dove Men launch their new product immediately after the 2010 Super Bowl where he starred in a “Victory Shower” commercial and posed for print advertisements.

Patrick Dempsey and Chris Noth for L’Oreal Men: Both Dempsey and Noth will be using their charm to promote some of L’Oreal for Men’s new products. Dempsey was featured in a North American ad campaign for L’Oreal Paris Men’s Expert new hydra sensitive line of gentle skincare products. As an avid user of the L’Oreal Men’s products, Sex and the City actor Noth has become the new face of L’Oreal Biotherm Home anti-aging skin product.

Kelly Bires, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (JR Motorsports) and Suave Men:  Just this month, Suave Men announced their partnership with Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports and driver Bires. Suave Men will be sponsoring a head to head challenge, donating the winnings to Earnhardt’s foundation. Suave Men will also become Bires primary sponsor.

As the men’s beauty trend continues to rise, don’t be surprised to begin to see some of your favorite male actors and athletes confess their loyalty to their favorite beauty brand.

From: First Call Blog – http://www.octagonfirstcall.com/celebrityconsulting/Blog – April 8th, 2010

The Daily Shave

Facial hair. You either love it or hate it. You love it when it makes its debut in your early teens and announces your entry into manhood. You similarly hate it when it doesn’t sprout at all, and you spend you’re the best of your high school days infront of a mirror, coaxing the growth of a single filament like a prize winning rare orchid gardener and announcing, with loud whoops of joy, the minute hint of a wispy strand on your prepubescent chin.

Fast forward to maturity – You love your bristles when your girl asks you to rub them over her face. You hate it when you have to trim them very other day in the midst of a global financial crisis which has led to the over inflation on the price of razor blades, let alone those fancy high tech gadget-a-ma-thingy shavers you keep wishing for and never getting at Christmas.

Either way, short of castration, and pricey laser treatments, most dudes have to live with the reality of a bi-weekly, if not daily, depilatory duty as part of their morning ablution process.

So old boy, here are a few tips to make the process somewhat easier to undertake.

1. Avoid shaving first thing in the morning. Your face would still be puffy due to the fluids that collect in your face tissues over a night’s sleep, and the perfect shave would be hard to get.
2. Stubble should be wetted with warm or hot water before shaving. This swells the hair shaft allowing the blade to cut the hair, not your skin.
3. Use an exfoliant such as a facial cleanser or scrub to get rid of dead skin cells and open up the pores of the skin to prepare it for a close shave.
4. Thoroughly massage shave cream into stubble. A vitamin and Aloe Vera based shave cream will provide a close soothing shave and protect against razor rashes and burns.
5. Use a sharp blade. A dull blade is responsible for many shaving cuts as it drags over your face and catches your skin along with the hair of your beard.
6. Rinse the blade often in hot water when shaving and use slow short strokes. Take your time.
7. Shaving with grain means shaving in the direction of how the hair grows on your face. It is always best to shave this way. Shaving against the grain can cause redness, rashes, razor burn and ingrown hairs, which are all painful.
8. After shaving, apply an oil-free moisturizer to soothe and protect the face. If you prefer an after-shave, check the label for alcohol. Dryness and stinging sensations are by-products of most after-shave products whose primary ingredient is alcohol. It may feel good at the time, but alcohol based after-shaves are actually irritating to many complexions.
9. To feel better about yourself and your chinnny chin spikes, consider getting involved in the World’s Greatest Shave, a mass shearing event that aims to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation to fund free services to support patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders. www.worldsgreatestshave.com.

Ah. Now that you resemble a freshly shorn lamb, here are some utterly useless facts about shaving:

1. Gillette Pakistan’s planned “Shave it and Break it” event in Karachi on March 30 2010 – an attempt to break the Indian record of mass shavings – was cancelled due to threats from ‘Islamic extremists’ in the area.
2. The history of shaving takes us back into the Stone Age, around 100,000 B.C. when Neanderthal man first started pulling hair from, painting, and tattooing his body. He also enjoyed filing down his teeth for some reason, too. Ancient cave paintings inspected today will indicate that early man discovered other ways to remove hair from his face; in the beginning, he simply plucked them out using two seashells as tweezers. In fact, tweezers have remained throughout history as the most popular grooming tool ever invented, used by both “civilized” men and women to painfully remove body and facial hair.
3. The Pharaohs of Egypt probably liked a good shave every now and then, of course using nothing less than the best made from gold and silver. Archaeologists have found razor relics that date back as far as the fourth century.
4. The average shave will trim away somewhere between 20,000-25,000 hairs from a man’s face.
5. Shaving cream was only made for men until the industry specifically targeted women in 1986 by manufacturing the whipped magic specifically for women!
6. Shaving cream didn’t always come in aerosol cans; the method wasn’t even introduced until 1950.
7. Shave gels weren’t even thought of until the 1970’s.
8. Only about 30% of men who shave use an electric device to shave.
9. Historians believe that caveman used clams and shark teeth to shave with – 20,000 years ago-in the Stone Age!
10. Nearly 70% of women prefer a clean-shaven man.
11. Some archaeologists think that many warriors shaved their heads before battles so opponents didn’t have any hair to pull … maybe they were discouraging by the practice of scalping?

Happy shaving gents! Oh and COMING SOON : Facial hair styles and which looks can make or break your bristly reputation …

Secrets to a Great Six Pack

Wouldn’t it be great if we could all get rid of ab flab and sport a muscly six pack for the world to see? Or at least for your girl to bumpily run her fingers over? A six pack in six months? Oh, sweet joy. However, it’s easier said than done and ab crunches and exercises can get very boring, repetitive, tough and annoyingly slow to visibly shift any fat.

Help is now at hand … You no longer need torture yourself with thoughts of how hard it is and give up! MSP’s health guru has compiled the best possible info for you to: a) gain your six pack more effectively and, b) eat better to maintain your new hot physique (or at least the one you’re dreaming of).

A. The not-so-revolutionary method of staggered sets!!

Staggered sets are a method of exercising a stubborn body part or fitting in one because of time constraints. It’s been a time tested fitness strategy for decades and may end your ab-training quandary.

The idea is simple; in between a set of an exercise perform a set of an abdominal exercise. For example perform a set of bench presses followed by a set of crunches. After a brief rest perform another set of benches followed by another set of crunches. Keep this format up until you have completed all of you sets of presses and move to your next exercise. If your next exercise is pull-ups for example follow each set of pull-ups with leg raises until you have performed the required number of sets of pull-ups.

This type of workout keeps your heart rate elevated and by performing more work in the same amount of time you normally exercise, burns more calories.

You can incorporate a variety of abdominal exercise in your training and switch with each exercise. Crunches, leg raises, Russian twists and abdominal machines can all be incorporated in this program.

For the most part, you will not deplete your strength for other body parts by using this method, just remember to focus on the exercise at hand and not rush through your workout. In other words don’t look past one exercise to another.

Staggered sets can also be used for other body parts. If you have a problem developing your calves, you can perform a calf raise in between a set of curls or rows. The concept of staggered sets is to provide extra attention to a neglected or slow growing body part without staying in the gym longer than necessary. Here is a sample workout you can use as an example for an upper body workout:

Set 1:

Bench Press 12 reps

Crunches 25 reps

Bench Press 12 reps

Crunches 25 reps

Bench Press 12 reps

Crunches 25 reps

Set 2:

Pulldowns 10 reps

Leg Raises 20 reps

Pulldowns 10 reps

Leg Raises 20 reps

Pulldowns 10 reps

Leg Raises 20 reps

Set 3:

Shoulder Press 10 Reps

Twisting Crunches 20 reps

Shoulder Press 10 reps

Twisting Crunches 20 reps

Shoulder Press 10 reps

Twisting Crunches 20 reps

Set 4:

Curls 15 reps

Machine Crunches 15 reps

Curls 15 reps

Machine Crunches 15 reps

Curls 15 reps

Machine Crunches 15 reps

Set 5:

Dips 12 reps

Seated Knee Raises 25 reps

Dips 12 reps

Seated Knee Raises 25 reps

Dips 12 reps

Seated Knee Raises 25 reps

After this staggered set workout, you will stagger out of the gym one-step closer to that ripped midsection!

B. The Six Pack Meal Plan

Go for 4-5 meals a day. This will help tame the problem of overeating. If you starve yourself at breakfast, you’re going to hog out on lunches. So better you fill up the tank in small quantities as and when your body requires it. You don’t have to starve, but you have to optimize eating. The breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day. Reason: Your daily activities will take care of the calories consumed at the breakfast. So your body will be fueled for your daily routine. Remember, it is not worth starving yourself and falling ill. The key is to eat right. And dinners should be kept a bit on the lighter side, as there is no activity for the body after dinner (except for a few insomniacs). If the calories consumed during dinner are not burnt (and they won’t be) they will be absorbed as fat. So remember, heavy breakfast, light lunch and lighter dinner. And throw in some snacks in between, from those given later in the article.

First let us be very clear on what is good and what is bad for the six pack diet plan. For one, excess is certainly not good. Excess eating or excessive under-eating for that matter is going to work against you. One can’t go off fat. Unfortunately, fats are required for daily bodily processes and body needs to be supplied with those. Same goes for carbs. Overdoing the protein isn’t good thing either as protein isn’t very easy to digest.

Now that we’re clear on that, let us define how much of what is required. Fats should be kept to their minimum requirement. On the other hand, you have to substitute carbs with protein and fiber. Yes. A good high fiber diet will help the metabolism and will help you feel full without adding any unnecessary calories.

And what foods are recommended in the six pack diet plan? Well, anything that comes in a pack or a can is better kept away. Processed foods generally have a lot more sugar than is required in a six pack diet plan. Also if you’re looking at cooking, stick to boiled and roasted foods, rather than fried foods. Fish and egg whites are the best thing for six pack diets. So pack your meals with tuna, salmon and even chicken. Sushi is supposed to be one of the best diet foods. Also you can add all those leafy vegetables and fruits which happen to be a good source of fiber and daily vitamins. A high fiber diet will also go a long way. But remember, not all fruits may be good for the diet. Among the tried and tested ones, raw apples are really good. You can also substitute the white bread with brown and white flour with whole grain flour. Other foods include oatmeal, whole grains and sprouts. I know it looks like a pretty raw deal, but with a bit of creativity and inventiveness, you can make the best of a bad deal. Club the spinach with roast chicken and brown bread to make a diet sandwich. To spruce up your oatmeal you can add prunes and raisins. Sugar free ice-cream once in a while is not bad either. Nuts and almonds make a pretty good mid-meal snack option. And yes, drink a lot of water.

Some things that are best avoided are packaged foods, soda, alcohol and sodium-rich foods. Red meat isn’t a good idea either. Watch the cheese and mayonnaise intake as well.

Typical Six Pack Abs Diet Plan – To get you started, here’s a sample meal plan you could follow:

8 am: Breakfast
- Egg white omelet, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast

11 am: Snack
- Turkey sandwich with whole wheat bread (NO cheese or mayo!!).

2 pm: Lunch -
 8 ounces of top round steak, 2 boiled red potatoes, 1 cup of cottage cheese (make it non-fat)

5 pm: Snack
- 1 chicken breast, 1 cup of steamed brown rice, 1 small salad.

8 pm: Dinner
- 8 ounces of fish (salmon/tuna), 2 cups of whole wheat pasta, 1 small salad.

So go ahead, WORK THAT BODY! And write to us when and if you get any results! If it doesn’t work, you just ain’t crunchin’ as hard as you need to!

The Stylemeister. (excerpted from ‘Less Fat in Less Time – Rich Fitter – www.exercisegroup.com)

Smell like a romantic millionaire jet fighter pilot!

If you do one thing this week, let it be watching Old Spice’s take on male tanginess … seeing their new crackin’ Superbowl ad is the most hilarious genius 30 seconds you’ll have spent in a long time … it’s also a great reminder gents, that to the ladies, there’s nothing quite like a yummy smelling and CLEAN man …

“We’re not saying this body wash will make you “smell” into a romantic millionaire jet fighter pilot, but we are insinuating it.” Old Spice. Swagger.

Watch it here: Old Spice – Swagger

The Innie on the Undie

Let’s get to the bare essentials fellas. You wouldn’t wear jeans from 1999, so why are you still wearing the same drawers you did in middle school?

The Stylemeister and Stig Of Style have been chatting about dressing from the inside out over the last month. It’s taken us a while to get to the underwear section of styling, as we wanted you all to warm up to discussing how to keep the your best mate snug as a bug in a rug.

Now, while researching this very important topic, we’ve come across some very interesting female conversations of late and they go a little something like this. If they see a hole in your undies, you’ll never see her again. If they see faded sagging cotton, the night is called off; if they sense that you’ve had the same pair of drawers for the last 20 years and you’ve secretly written a Lifetime Achievement Awards speech about it … they’ll tell all their friends and those friends will tell their friends and (you get the picture) — you won’t have a date for the next decade!

So, before your lovelife gets shunted into 2020 when your body has evolved into a prune, update your underwear collection so you smell roses before the world comes to an apocalyptic end.

I know a lot of you may be freaking out about the cost of a tiny piece of cotton, but let me remind you; A woman who spends money on lingerie is going to expect her man to update his drawers. You love the lingerie …. enuf said.

Now we’ve just had Valentine’s pass, we’re hoping you guys also gave yourself a good update in the drawer department, with a pair of any of the following; Calvins, Gaultiers, Gallianos, Ginch Gonch, Hanes, HOM, Bjorn Borg, Davenports, Diesel or Macpherson for Men.

While we’re on the subject of brands, I want to highlight the following English designer to you that not a lot of people know about. His name is, James Tudor ( http://www.jamestudor.co.uk). We LOVE what he’s doing. It’s English, cheeky, masculine and different. Get yourself a pair for 23 quid.

Roger that.

Floss with Colour

Boom Boom Pow!

Don’t be scared of colour, especially if you have olive and dark skin. It gives you a distinctive pop – the stand out factor at work and at play, distinguishing you from the boring, safe black pin stripey crowd. Look for bright jackets and trousers and mix and match for max effect.