Just an observation I've made. In many videos, articles, etc. when talking about how it is bad to wear logos on your clothes, the infamous Gucci belt buckle is often cited for reference. Wearing the belt buckle is seen as being pretentious because of the logo. The RMRS community in particular has made it clear that wearing company logos is the opposite of stylish. There is another belt who's buckle is the company logo. Anson Belts. Anson belts are seen often in the OOTD postings. Many here would probably recommend Anson Belts. They are often a sponsor for RMRS YouTube videos as well as other Style-Tubers. The question is, besides price and esthetics, what's the difference? Either way, you are wearing a company logo as a belt buckle. All this said, I wouldn't wear a Gucci belt if it was gifted to me. I don't like the esthetic. I have an Anson Belt box being shipped to me as we speak. Not sure about Anson but giving it a try. Fare warning, I will be challenging responses, not because I think people are wrong, but because I feel it is important to challenge perceptions. My goal is to make you think.

While not 100%, another Andy I needed….Its all in the mindset Stop telling yourself the BS story that it’s harder for you. That everybody else who became successful had it easier… That they had better circumstances… Better connections… More money… More opportunities… And you’re the one who got dealt the crappy hand. It’s BS. Millions of people have built the life you want from circumstances far worse than yours. They had problems. They had setbacks. They had disadvantages. They had every reason in the world to make excuses too. They just didn’t. The difference is they stopped wasting time convincing themselves why they couldn’t… And started figuring out how they could. Your ego wants you to believe your situation is different because that story protects you from having to face the truth: You aren’t where you want to be because you haven’t done what’s required to get there yet. That’s it. Stop making your circumstances special. Stop making your excuses special. Stop telling yourself you’re the exception. You’re not. Other people have figured it out. You can too. But first… You have to stop believing your own BS. ~ Andy Frisella

I want to have a group discussion here, and ask you what you think of this… and how you use contrast in your style? This right here is the trick that EXPLODED my fashion style, made it much more distinct, and also helped me feel more comfortable in my clothes and aesthetic. This took me years to figure out, so I’m going to sum it up for you in this post. As people, we are full of contradictions and depth, but one of the biggest flaws in style I think is that it often fails to really capture that depth, and it’s what made finding my own style so difficult. This ties into really struggling to find my identity, because to a lot of my family we all had these archetypes we fit into, and I wanted to find one that was so distinct I could be seen or noticed. And so I tried. And experimented. I listened to different kinds of music. Changed my friend groups. Really tried to get to know different types of people, and as someone who had so many different interests that ranged from sports, to art, to writing, to weight lifting, it was a lot! I went from nerd, to jock, to streetwear, to nerd streetwear, to fully goth, to alternative, to soft boy to… well you get the idea. But I’m actually really glad I spent a lot of time getting to know each of these styles, aesthetics, and lifestyles, because it helped me figure out what I wanted internally. It wasn’t until the summer of my junior year in high school that I got genuinely serious about upgrading my looks and style, and after spending a lot of time developing my interests, I had a better foundation for what I wanted to do. I give a lot of credit to this channel on YT called OnPointFresh, and a stupidly helpful app called Pinterest to helping me discover these styles better. But… I was stuck! And stuck for a VERY LONG TIME. Because I still had no idea for what I fully wanted to be. As a person myself, I had no idea what style fully represented me the best, because I… was stuck between two different versions of me that I hadn’t fully been able to accept were me, just yet.

First: a disclaimer. I am not a scent meister. I barely have a working nose. This is just a few thoughts on a large sampler pack I purchased from Fort Belvedere. A few years back, FB started reselling one of the few items not branded under FB: fragrances Roberto Ugolini. Among the large bottle we are accustomed to seeing from my smelly liquid vendors, FB also provided a 12-pack of 2ml samples. Details of this pack are here: https://store.gentlemansgazette.com/products/roberto-ugolini-sampler-set. My overall thoughts are threefold. First, most of these scents are just not that good. This appraisal is from my wife and me. Several I sprayed once and will never subject my house to them again. Second, two are really good and one is great. Oxford and derby are really good, with Oxford not only preferred in my house but seemingly from the hosts of GG videos where they say which sent they picked. The real winner: loafer. It is fantastic and the one where I will likely pick up a large bottle. The third thought is this: buy individual samples and not the 12 pack. There is too much noise therein and just a few winners. Again, I am not a scent guy, so take this with a big caveat in that regard.

It’s been a while since my last post, I’m alive and on the road to recovery with the knee surgery. I’ve been on the right path, physically moving along great and ahead of schedule per my doctor and PT team. BUT I wasn’t me. The lack of working, moving, really being able to do anything began to hit me hard mentally. I’d play it off fine to family, friends and colleagues, but I haven’t been fine. The second major surgery in 8 months and the excessive downtime finally got to me. My life had become a routine of getting up, PT, home to ice, make a few calls and then I was finished for the day. I was unable to go search for new opportunities, work out, cook, basically the things that justified my daily existence. I was at my breaking point and then I got the OK to return to 50% work, I can visit customers again and interact but no walking job sites, which I’m good with. I got this Andy Frisella motivation today and it really hit home to me as it opened my eyes to where I was and where I’m at. I didn’t adjust it as I’ve done before for language as I needed to hear/read it as written. While I know I still have a long way to go, two more months might minimum in the leg brace and PT through December at a minimum, I’ve found purpose again and will continue to improve. You don't change when you're comfortable. You don't change when it's "kinda bad." You change when you hate your life so much you feel fucking disgusted with yourself. When you look in the mirror and can't stand what you see. When the way you're living makes you sick to your stomach. When the cost of staying the same feels worse than the pain of changing. That's the switch. That's the breaking point. That's when shit changes. So if you're there now… Good. It means you're ready. Ready to rebuild. Ready to create the life you actually want. Disgust isn't the end. It's the beginning of everything you ever wanted. ~ Andy Frisella