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BOYZ II (FASHIONABLE) MEN
The latest male gear being sported on the urban sidewalk runway
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Sometimes it seems like men are neglected when it comes to tides of fashion. Maybe it's just our guy friends, but they all seem to be wearing the same black Converse they've worn since middle school. As it often takes a miracle to get them to don something other than that favorite ratty T-shirt, we get pretty excited when any new fashion items are introduced into their meager wardrobes. So, when we noticed a few more looks popping up on more daring fashion forward guys, we took note. Here are a few of our favorites:
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Wine Botas
: Now that drinking out of a disposable plastic water bottle is akin to smoking a cigarette in front of a baby and SIGG water bottles have become a staple of the Park Slope mom set, what's a hipster guy looking to get hydrated to do? Apparently buy a Spanish wine bota, fill it with cool water, and sling it over his shoulder to wear while sauntering around the city or trekking up a mountain. We hear that guys are not only using botas for water, but are discreetly filling them up with red wine or whiskey and taking them to the beach for a little fun in the sun. However they're using them, we think the rustic adventurer look is a good one.
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Club Med Style: Despite the summer sun being tempered by near-ubiquitous rain clouds, guys are taking advantage of their staycations by dressing like Robin Williams in Club Paradise. If you remember that not so long ago, these same guys wore their staple black t-shirts and black denim cut-offs even to the beach, it's almost shocking to see them going to parties and concerts in '80s surfer shorts and Hawaiian shirts. Young men, outside of the Florida Keys, are now embracing their inner Jimmy Buffet fan and chilling out in tropical gear while dreaming of cheeseburgers and margaritas. It's not without irony that these young men are dressing like a mixture of Hunter S. Thompson and a retiree ready to play the penny slots. Sure, they didn't choose to make Summer 2009 the summer of lazy days and afternoon drinks, but in between job searching and freaking out about their futures, they certainly aren't going to waste away in Funemploymentville.
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Male Brooches: Young women have been poaching brooches from their grandmothers for years, but lately we've also been seeing stylish men decorating their chests with bronze and silver. Artsy trendsetter types are not only digging through garage sale bins to find the perfect pin, but they are even taking the time to hot glue gun plastic thrift store trinkets to pins. Those who prefer a less flashy take on the look are creating fabric patches that are then safety pinned on to a shirt in a post-punk manner. (And no, we don't mean the kids who haunt St. Mark's Place, as we know they've been doing it for years.) Guys we talked to are saying that this is an easy, cheap way to spruce up their existing clothing without spending too much money. It looks like we won't be tossing that old, ratty shirt any time soon after all.
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* trendcentral articles are designed to be trend reports, not endorsements * The Intelligence Group is a trend-forecasting and marketing Consultancy focused on Gen X, Gen Y and Tweens. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated studies, The Cassandra Report, Tween Intelligence, Latino Intelligence, and Mom Intelligence, contact Alina Goncalves at 212-277-5299 or via email at agoncalves@intelg.com.
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