Woke up later in the day. Hit the gym, showered, dressed again, went shopping & now cooking. Also, playing one of my style icons; Barry White. Came to the realization that as a single man, I can do what I want; when I want. I'm trying a bake chicken recipe at 10:30pm... YES! 😆 WOTD - Dad's Seiko 5 SOTD - Tom Ford Tobacco oud

You might recall my post from a couple of weeks ago when I lamented about a sweet pair of Allen Edmond Oxfords that I had found at a thrift store.They were too small for me, sadly, so even with the unbelievably low price, I left them and walked away. Well, a couple of days ago, I was in the same store and surprisingly, they were still there. They were still loudly calling my name, but I knew they didn’t fit, so it made absolutely no sense for me to spend the roughly $10 to buy them. But, they finally broke through my sartorial defenses, and with another 20% off, they came home with me! Add to them some reconditioning cream, some Safir polish, a topcoat of clear wax and some new strings, and I am now the proud owner of some gorgeous shoes that I still cannot wear! But they’re sure pretty! Can anyone here wear size 8D?

Had a 7:00 Rotary meeting to be followed by a WFH day. Let me get the OOTD out of the way. MTM Black and White Houndstooth, Hanna Donnegal Tweed black w white flecks, black cotton long sleeve polo shirt over a grey Glen plaid shirt, yellow/gold Robert Talbot tie, Levi’s button front black 501 jeans, Pendleton Socks, Salomon black trail runners, Seiko Model 5 automatic. The Tie- I and a few others in this community come from an era where the outfit I have on today would be extremely casual for a workday. On any given weekday every middle to higher end restaurant at breakfast, lunch and dinner would be full of guys wearing a tie. In my college days in the early 1980’s it wouldn’t be terribly unusual for guys to don a tie to go out on a weekend on a date or with a group of guys if they were headed to a nice series of bars. In Richmond, Va where I spent the majority of my 20s and 30’s from about Thanksgiving through the end of the year most dinner parties through the end of the year - guys wore ties to each other’s house. The Tie especially a tasteful classic is the one garment that can “tie” together the entire ensemble. That’s what today’s OOTD is trying to portray. In trying to find a way to upgrade my black w black polo and jeans combo- I grabbed the glenplaid shirt and a yellow with black pretty formal styled tie. This allowed me to upgrade with the sportcoat ( except for the hat - the last item chose). I could blather on about the sad loss of ties in menswear and how the degradation of men’s classic style has coincided with it but I would rather stay on the positive side. Why not learn the art of adding a necktie to complete an ensemble. It’s as much a feature of completing a color combination as it is about formality. The bland department store monotone outfits of the past 10-15 years has A ) guys all look like a GAP ad and B) afraid to add colors and accents that finish an outfit. I challenge any guy who rarely wears a tie to take their significant other out, even if to an Applebees quality restaurant and tell her that your wearing a tie (enough time in advance- gals get funny about being out dressed). Or do like @Alan Dormire and @Chad Smith and I, wear a tie on a wfh day. At first you might feel very weird. But think of it like that first day at the gym, or singing in public, or casting a fly rod, or using a new driver.

Alright gents - we’re kicking off a fun challenge starting TODAY. We often talk about leveling up our style. But the truth is, no man decides to level up just because he bought a new suit. He buys the suit because he first decided he was done playing small. We all have a "Line in the Sand"—that specific moment where the old version of you no longer fit the man you wanted to become. Today, we’re kicking off a 3-day challenge to honor those stories. This isn't a "who looks best" contest. This is about the Turning Point. Whether it was a promotion that felt out of your league, a breakup that forced a reality check, or the day you became a father and realized you had to lead by example - we want to hear about the moment you stopped cutting corners. HOW TO JOIN (Super easy) Drop your story in the comments under this post. Use this quick format: 1. The old you (What did "average" look like for you then?) 2. The moment (What was the specific wake-up call?) 3. The shift (What was the very first change you made?) 4. The result (How are you showing up differently today?) Optional: Feel free to attach a "Before" photo to show the physical side of that internal shift. HOW THE CHALLENGE WORKS - Challenge will run for 3 days (starting today until Jan 19th) - Post your story in the comments of this post (not separate posts) - Our team will personally pick the winner at the end - Winner will be announced next week Monday Jan 19th - Winner gets a surprise gift from Antonio 🎁 WINNERS WILL BE PICKED BASED ON - Detail and quality of your comment (70%) - Thumbs up from others (5%) - Paid members will have plus points. RULES & LIMITATIONS - Must be Level 5 or higher to win - Free shipping (USA only; forwarding addresses accepted) The floor is yours. What was the moment you decided to level up? Let’s hear it below. 👇

Forgot to share this with you all (the end of last week turned into an auto repair cluster...) On Tuesday January 6th I hit a major milestone. I've now lost 200 pounds since August 23rd 2024.