7 Things Guys Can Learn From Pitti Uomo (About Fashion)

Pitti Uomo is an annual men's fashion trade show, held in Florence, Italy.

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1. When in doubt, keep it simple and classic.



2. Use flannel in unexpected ways.



3. Layering is good.



4. Hats.



5. Keep the beard in-check.



6. The best fashion accessory is your lover.



7. And finally, this dude should be your hero.

..........

All images c/o STREETFSN

Man Tips From Allie

Dear Man*,

I can't stress how great it is when you smell good. It's not a necessity for general attraction, but daaaaamn, can I get a what-WHAT from the ladies on the subject of guys who smell good?! ("what WHAT!") Of course, this doesn't mean you must bathe in all Axe products. Eff NO, dudes. Us cool girls (you know, the ones you should be paying attention to rather than those lame skanks you think you can carry on a conversation with) can smell that shit from a mile away, and guess what the scrolly prompter in our minds reads: "D-bag alert, D-bag alert, D-bag alert." Yeah, scents like Axe are equivalent to trying too hard. You see, smelling good isn't hard to do. Step one: Go in a shower and use a simple bar soap such as Irish Springs. The scent will lightly linger on your body but WE. WILL. NOTICE. That's just how we're wired. We notice little things. Step two: After shower, apply deodorant. Old Spice is preferable. THAT'S IT! I swear to howdy. I hope this was a helpful lesson in bagging an awesome babe, all you guys who read my blog.**


*Meaning, heterosexual male populations
** No guys read my blog.

Wish List

Ok, so I got this idea from IMBOYCRAZY, and thought it might be useful in my current state-of-being...

"If you want to fall in love, and you’ve had bad luck in the past, or you’re just unclear/not sure about what you want in someone…… Make a wish list! it helps you be clear, daydream, and specify what actually matters to you!"

He totally gets my sense of humor and vice versa

I am the most beautiful girl he's ever seen

He is my best friend and vice versa

He's a good dresser, but he's not obsessed with what he wears; it's effortless

He's not afraid to say I love you, and says it often

Dances me around the kitchen when I'm making dinner

Thinks I'm pretty even in my sweats and without makeup on

He's quick-witted

He's fine with staying in and watching a movie on a Friday night

Inspires me and vice versa

Charms the pants off of me

Loves singing in the car

Treats me really well

Likes to snuggle and hold hands

Puts me to bed when I'm feeling under-the-weather

Buys me flowers for no reason

Loves my cooking

Like cats (and all animals, at that)

Challenges me to be the best person I can be

Loves my friends and family for who they are

Will take out the trash and go on errands for me on occasion

Let's me borrow his clothes from time to time

Loves Christmas and Disneyland

Loves to travel, especially with me

Gets along really well with children

The Man's Guide To Love

My current obsession is the web site, The Man's Guide To Love, which asks men from all over the country the very *simple* question: "If you had one piece of advice that you’d give another man about love, what would it be?"

The answers are FASCINATING! A lot of men go with the whole "the grass isn't greener on the other side, so stick with what you've got." Many say it's important to be yourself right off the bat. And a majority say to make your wife/girlfriend/partner happy no matter what!

Some are young, and some are old. Some are hilarious, and some are sad. Some are romantic; some, not so much (this is guy is such a d-bag). Some are practical, and some are idealistic.

There are even a few celebrities thrown in!

I'm almost done with watching all of them. Literally, addicted.

Dear Mr. Stipe

Michael Stipe is unbelievably handsome.
Talk about aging gracefully.

Found via The Sartorialist

LameLab

So, most of you already know that I am on LoveLab, an online personals service done through Seattle's alternative newspaper, The Stranger.
This has made my life a lot more interesting, to say the least.
Oh, I get the cream of the crop sending me messages, asking me out on dates. And when I say "cream of the crop" I am referring to a gaggle of men who are all in an early to mid thirties age range (WTF?). I don't know why this is. I don't know why somebody closer to my own age (say early to mid twenties) can't find me attractive. I don't know why these thirtysomethings are choosing to hit upon a young woman of my age; it's not like they don't know how old I am, as my age is on my profile. Why are none of these thirtysomethings taken yet, by someone born in their own generation?
I am about to give up my LoveLab profile. You see, I have had two strikes already counted up... and a lot of foul balls, let me tell you! Oh my god, that was awful, but I couldn't resist.
1st strike was "Peter." I really liked Peter. He was one of the very first guys I noticed on Lovelab... Plus, he wasn't old. And the full story behind him is a good one, so if you'd like to hear it, I'd love to tell you in person. With Peter it was one of those instances where we were sending each other the wrong messages for a drawn out period of time; which is easy to do in the online arena. So there was lots of flirting and opening-up, but no actual manifestation of a meeting. Conclusion, we were honest with each other, and (unfortunately for me) found out we were not on the same page. STRIIIIKE ONE!
Up to bat: "Alex." Alex was older than I would have preferred, but he was cute in his photos and sounded interesting. He also asked me out right away, which impressed me, compared to the previous ballplayer. So we went out. And I realized why Alex was still single at a slightly older age. He still had a lot to learn about the unspoken rules of dating. It wasn't a terrible date; there was just no attraction. STRIIIIKE TWO!!!
So after that I said to myself, "you know, you should just give this one more chance, Allie. If things don't go well a third time with a Lovelab guy, odds are none of the Lovelab guys are going to be any better."
Well, in the past week I have gotten messages from seven men, none of which are very good prospects. One 32 year old, one 34 year old, one guy who takes pictures of himself in his bathroom mirror, one uber Eastern-spiritual guy, one fireman with a bad haircut, one guy who blocked out a picture of his ex-girlfriend in his profile photo, and one guy who told me about how his mom threw her panties at Tom Jones. So.
When I was in 6th grade, I was on a girl's softball team, and I recall learning that four balls is equal to one strike. So if I count each of these prospects as a ball, I would technically have more than enough to cry "Strike three, you're out." Technically, I should be done with Lovelab.
But I just might give the guy who blocked out his ex-girlfriend in his profile photo a chance.
He's kind of cute.



A perfect picture of hopelessness, frustration, and maybe a little bit of drunkenness. Men will do that to ya.

Feminist Rant Monday

WARNING: THIS BLOG ENTRY CONTAINS STRONG GENDER-BASHING CONTENT THAT COULD LEAD TO THE AUTHOR BEING LABELED A MAN-HATER. BUT SHE IS ACTUALLY NOT. SHE REALLY LIKES MEN. A LOT. ESPECIALLY ONES THAT RESEMBLE JAKE GYLLENHAAL.

Dear Staight Men,

I don't get it. Why is your gender supposed to be the one that "courts"? Why do YOU have to initiate (in general) dates, relationships, kisses, marriages? That is probably the most idiotic convention I've ever heard of.

Because:

1) You are clueless... You rarely know a good thing when you see it,

2) You are lazy... You often do not put any effort into wooing a lovely lady,

and 3) You are little boys... You rarely have the balls to say, "hey, you are a quality person and I am genuinely attracted to you. Lets grab a cup of coffee." It's not that hard to do, you know. If I can do it, you can do it. Life is full of rejection, Men. 9 times out of 10, you'll probably get rejected. But that's the fun of romance. It's RISKY.

And I would do it, if I could. I would totally give you my number. But apparently, as a woman, I'm not supposed to. I'm supposed to sit back and wait for you to MAN UP, patiently, like a docile little lamb. If I did try to initiate something, I have been told that you would be taken aback by such "outright boldness". It takes away your sense of masculinity if the female makes the first move (Note: the author just threw up in her mouth a little bit). I don't see what would be wrong with that; after all, some of you have too much sense of your own masculinity. Yes, I'm saying I want to de-masculine-ize you, men of the world. Burn me at the gender-stake, why don't you!
"Men love the chase," I have been told. And so, Men, why do you not chase? Chase, dammit! I am throwing myself at you, in a sense. Not in a direct way, because that would belittle you and it would make me seem like an eager slut. I'm just saying that I'm trying to send you as many positive signals as I can, without actually telling you what I want: And what I want from you is to ask me out. Ask me, and I will say yes.

Sigh. For those of you who haven't figured this out already, this blog is aimed at a specific person. Who will never read this, I am assuming. But if you do read this... I'm sorry, especially if my assumption that you are too shy/busy/clueless to ask me out is incorrect. If you are uninterested in my hotness, just let me down gently.