Author: The Chic Geek

Buying Men Christmas Candles

Written on November 21, 2022.

Candles make a great present anytime of year. Who doesn’t love a candle? But, some of the ‘luxury’ big boys don’t offer such great value, you can just be paying for the name and the packaging, while, some of the smaller brands can look a little too handmade and don’t have the slickness when it comes to packaging and quality of fragrance oils. You want richness and also something that will suit your coffee table or sideboard. You also don’t want to gift the same thing as everybody else. I present to you Beaufort London. I’ve been a fan for ages and their smokey shtick will have you fantasising about having your head blown off by a cannonball while below deck on HMS Victory. Which man isn’t going to love that?! The Fathom V candle, an aquatic scent taking its name from Shakespeare’s The Tempest,...

M.C. Overalls England’s Oldest Workwear Brand Celebrates its Community Of Crafters

Written on November 15, 2022.

Established in 1908, England’s oldest workwear brand, M.C.Overalls believes in the power of self-expression, nurturing creativity and the value of working hard. Creating durable, gender-neutral and versatile daily staples. Clothes to work hard for the hard-working. The latest campaign combines the values of the past to champion its current community of creators. The creative explores the brand’s mission statement of ‘We Work Hard’ through a literal interpretation of the product being a blank canvas, combining this with analogue photography techniques and using subjects close to the brand and its values. The brand’s distinctive style of heritage workwear staples with a modern twist is just as at home adorning a model on the catwalk in Paris as it is on the back of a brewer in...

must have Laird Utility brown Harrington Jacket

Menswear Product Of The Week The Contemporary Blinder Jacket

Written on November 15, 2022.

Forget Beaky Plinders, I’m channelling a slimmer and sexier Kim Jong-un, this season. There’s something about all shades of brown right now, it’s become the new men’s navy and is far more available then it used to be. Brands used to tell me they didn’t make brown because nobody bought it. I just hear ‘chicken & egg’. Rich and warm, it suits the autumnal light right now. Laird Hatters, those of the famed baker boy style caps worn on the mean streets of Birmingham, have a ready-to-wear – ready-to-order? – brand doing the best in affordable made-in-england outerwear. This Harrington – I feel it’s more of a trucker to me – jacket is made from 400g heavy military grade twill, fully lined in blood red, with riveted buttons and double...

Splash or Cash? Coloured Dad Runners

Written on November 15, 2022.

You can have good or bad ‘Dad Trainers’. If you get the dad trainer right, you’ve taken a slightly off-cool brand or shoe and made it your own. If you get it wrong, you look like one of those CEO/dad types who wear jeans that are too tight and a quilted gilet. You know where I’m coming from. Hoka is firmly on the cool side of Dad Trainers and fits into that category of ageless, slightly geeky tech sportswear. It was while perusing in Zara that I saw these as a double take for the distinctive Hoka orange contrasting ombré colouring. The Zara trainers are much brighter in real and are a decent homage at nearly a third of the price. You’re welcome! Left & Below – Hoka – Mafate Speed 4 – £160 Left...

Robin Williams Y Project Jean Paul Gaultier shirt

Get The Look Jean Paul Gaultier Robin Williams

Written on November 14, 2022.

Selling out fast, Glenn Martens presented a collection for Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture arm in February 2022. Martens was inspired by iconic archive JPG trompe-l’oeil designs of naked bodies which have been reinterpreted and printed on jersey, denim and tailoring for both men and women. Slightly longer and more revealing than the shirt Williams was wearing in the 1990s, the new collection is a perfect foil for that lockdown body. Front & back! Y Project x Jean Paul Gaultier – Body Morph Pyjama Shirt in Black – £475 from LN-CC

Tried tested men's bioeffect moisturiser serum expert review

Tried & Tested BIOEFFECT

Written on November 8, 2022.

BIOEFFECT is the cult Icelandic skincare brand using biotechnology and Barley EGF – said to have results comparable to botox – cultured in an ecologically-engineered greenhouse in Iceland powered by sustainable geothermal energy. The EGF Serum delivers proven results with only 7 pure ingredients. Other products in the range are the Hydrating Cream and the EGF Essence, a light, hydrating face essence enriched with EFG, a volcanic exfoliator, body serum, face masks and pure Icelandic water to prep the skin for serum and moisturiser. BIOEFFECT – EGF Serum – 15ml – £129, Volcanic Exfoliator – 60ml – £32, Hydrating Cream – 50ml – £95, EGF Eye Serum – 6ml – £69 TheChicGeek says, “BIOEFFECT was founded by three...

must have jw anderson pigeon clutch bag cult

Menswear Product Of The Week The Pigeon Clutch Bag

Written on August 23, 2022.

Pigeons at LFW week is nothing new, but one that disables one arm is. JW Anderson’s quirky and silly 3D printed pigeon clutch back is pure Trafalgar Square magic circa 1985 minus the bird shit. Ridiculously impractical, sometimes you just want something and you don’t know why. If the brand restricts the numbers it is guaranteed to become a cult item. Pre-order now. Left & Below – JW Anderson – Pigeon Clutch Bag – £650

Indie Lee beauty review tried tested chic geek men's razor best

Tried & Tested Indie Lee

Written on July 27, 2022.

Indie Lee – Active Oil-Free Moisturizer – £47, Banish Solution – £20, Brightening Cleanser – £34 In 2008, brand Founder Indie Lee experienced a health crisis that led to a general lifestyle re-evaluation, and that included looking at what she was putting on her skin (after learning that up to 60% of what we apply to our skin may be absorbed in as little as 26 seconds). Sourcing the world’s finest ingredients and formulating with the help of leading, like-minded chemists, Indie Lee & Co. intrinsically blends nature and science and utilises alternative ingredient solutions to bring the most efficacious products to market without sacrificing safety. TheChicGeek says, “I asked for the most male facing products to try and was recommended to try the...

menswear sustainable welcome edition Castart Antwerp men's the chic geek

Label To Know Castart

Written on July 27, 2022.

At the recent Welcome Edition trade show in East London, previewing the new SS23 men’s collections, I stumbled across the Belgian brand, Castart. Based in the fashion capital of Antwerp, Castart is a colourful and eclectic brand perfect for the chicest of geeks. Launched in 2018, the name ‘Castart’ is French for ‘cheeky man’, because the cheeky man doesn’t tell the stories to others, he writes the stories himself, says the brand. Materials Castart’s materials are sourced from ethically responsible suppliers around the world. They work closely with manufacturers to constantly develop new, environmentally friendly production techniques. Despite their global outlook, they remain focused on crafting garments suited to individual tastes which give their clothing its timeless and...

made for resale retail trends fashion kidswear collective Selfridges

ChicGeek Comment – Made For Resale

Written on June 16, 2022.

The secondhand, resale and pre-loved market is booming. Recent research from eBay Ads UK found, from a survey of 1,000 consumers, that consumers are increasingly turning to shopping for second-hand goods as the cost of living crisis deepens and ‘climate consciousness’ increases. 25% of UK consumers bought secondhand fashion in 2021. A quarter of those surveyed said that they try to upcycle or repair their current belongings before buying anything new, and 20% reported that they frequently buy second-hand, upcycled or refurbished items. Left – Kidswear Collective at Selfridges In January 2022 searches for ‘upcycled’ rose 40% on eBay UK compared to the month before, and searches for ‘second hand’ and ‘repair kit’ rose 24% and 21% respectively. Searches for ‘pre-owned’ rose...

gallivant fragrance gdansk amber ambergris review tried tested chic geek men's razor best

Tried & Tested GALLIVANT Gdańsk

Written on June 5, 2022.

GALLIVANT – Gdańsk – 100ml Eau de Parfum – £145 The Polish Baltic city of Gdańsk is the inspiration behind the new fragrance from award-winning London- based perfumery GALLIVANT. Gdańsk, the eleventh perfume from the brand, is an exploration of mysterious ambergris, of sperm whale fame, and the fantasy accord we know as amber. Warm and spicy in the opening, with plum, honey, cardamom, nutmeg and saffron. A rich, woody heart with leather notes, cistus absolute, sustainable sandalwood oil from New Caledonia, patchouli, and incense resinoid – with a light touch of rose. Finished with a deep, earthy, smoky ambery base of tobacco absolute, cypriol, styrax (liquidambar), vanilla, musks and ambergris. Founder and Creator Nick Steward says “Poland is a country close to my...

menswear labels to know harago matchesfashion indian embroidery

Label To Know Harago

Written on May 10, 2022.

India is famed for its embroidery and hand-work. European designers such as Dries van Noten and Jupe by Jackie have long championed the skills and imagination of Indian craftspeople, tailoring the designs and quirky graphics to appeal to western eyes. Label To Know But, a new homegrown, Jaipur-based brand, specialising in Indian embroidery, has hit the menswear scene. HARAGO was launched by Harsh Agarwal in 2019 to showcase and support the artisanal heritage of his native India. Stocked at Matchesfashion and SSENSE, the trained economist, who worked on solar energy projects, and completed an internship at the UN in New York, finds inspiration in the diverse expressions of traditional craftsmanship seen across his country. From block printing, handloom weaving and tie-dyeing to...