GOTSTYLE

After our previous guest post by Alen Sadeh on office shorts, Shawn Hewson from Bustle reached out on Twitter to deliver his two cents on the growing trend.

Here’s a snippet from an interview with Sharp Magazine regarding shorts in the office:

Shorts at the office – this has been a source of intense debate among men everywhere (and I don’t mean soccer kit shorts on Fridays, think a crisp, fitted pair that you can wear with a light blazer). Some guys are game to pull it off, some wouldn’t go near it. What is your verdict?

I think the answer to that depends on the nature of your “office.” To my office, yes, you can definitely rock that look. To my old office (at a Bay Street law firm), definitely not; too fashion forward. Bustle has actually showed the shorts and blazer look on the runway for the past couple of Spring/Summer collections, including our latest, so I guess that means I’m a fan of the look, just as long as it’s executed properly – with the right amount of attitude, and sense of irony.

We agreed that it depends on your attitude (how well you can rock it) and your work environment (it most likely won’t work on Bay street). In a neat little summary of photos from his S/S 2011 collection, here are a few trending looks with Bustle blazers & shorts that may work in your office (and one that will not).

I’ll admit buying for the store is one of my favorite things. I have a specific viewpoint of how I want the Gotstyle guy to look (edgy sophisticated) with a specific action (clothes to get laid in or dominate in business), but it’s not as glamorous as it would seem.

Since we don’t sell super expensive designer clothes, I’m not sitting in the front row of fashion shows next to Kayne West. Instead it’s a mix of showroom appointments with existing brands and hunting at trade shows for new brands or the next big thing.

I just got back from New York for the first round of trade shows for Spring 2012. There were four different shows at four different venues, each with a different viewpoint and each showing at least 100 plus brands at each. It’s kind of like a flea market for clothes (but they are all cool brands or up and coming designers and buyers from around the world are all hunting for the next big thing, brand or trend). Here’s a picture from the Project show and a video from Capsule.

Some sneak peeks for next Spring? COLOR! From all shades of sorbet, different tones of military greens and beiges to bold and bright primary colors. The best thing is that color is shown in everyday basics, so they’re easy to work back to solid neutral tops and blazers. Here’s Hardip, designer for Plain Jane with his Spring 2012 collection.

Found some great jewelry that adds color and is well priced coming in for Fall and Holiday.

And a killer new collection from Adidas SLVR. I always found it interesting that high fashion is never affordable for the customer who covets it the most, namely young fashionistas who can’t spend $300 on a designer shirt or $1,500 on a jacket. This collection is newly designed by German designer Dirk Schoenberger, offering an ultra-clean, ultra-modern and innovative collection that every fashion guy can afford, and start at an XS. Shirts range from $125, blazer $350, leather jackets $850. We have some pieces coming in for holiday this year.

Stayed at the new Mondrian Hotel in SoHo, great location at a good price (for New York) and includes breakfast. Chowed down at Momofuko (can’t wait until they open in Toronto!!), STK for some great steak at a hopping spot (even for a Monday), and very glad that I made time to check out Sleep No More, a surreal play that takes place in an abandoned hotel in Chelsea. The audience walks around silently in masks while the play happens around you. Another must see is the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan; even if you don’t care about fashion, this exhibit is awe inspiring, both in the creative genius that McQueen was and how they curated the show.