Aesthetic Ian

5 reasons fit is important to your personal style.

Now as I have already said before, in part one of this series, fit is to me one of the most important aspects of personal style, because fit affects how your clothes look and thus your overall silhouette. Here are five reasons why fit is important in style, and styling outfits that work.

1. It determines your overall silhouette. – it’s easy to see that the way your clothes look and the shape they create has a lot to do with how they fit. Slim fitted clothes tend to be more form fitting and thus have a more cut or tappered shape. While regular fitted clothes create a more streamlined shape. Baggy clothes create a more bulky shape that makes the wearer seem larger and seemingly of meatier build. When choosing a fit for your pieces, it is then important to consider your overall silhouette. Thus it is important to try on clothes before you buy them to judge how they will shape themselves on your form. For tailor made clothing it is important to dictate how many inches excess you want in your pieces.

2. It increases or decreases your sex appeal – let’s face it, skinny fitted clothes have higher sex appeal than baggy fitted clothes a lot of the time. Tighter fitting clothes are seen as sexier by younger women. While older women prefer regular fitted(well-fitting) clothing on men. Depending on your audience, you can then consider this when picking your outfits. Personally I think skinny fitted clothes are more flattering to the form of muscular men while regular fitted clothes look better on bigger men who are not necessarily muscular. But still, to each his own. Depending on whether sex appeal is a factor for you it is important to consider this when choosing the fit of your clothes.

3. It helps your outfit look neat – the way a piece of clothing fits determines how neat it looks. Baggy fitting clothes have a tendancy to look less neat than regular or skinny fitting clothes. Also clothes that are too small are likely to look less neat. Thus moderation is important while choosing the fit to wear. Now don’t get me wrong, loosely fitted clothes made to purposefully look baggy do end up looking pretty good, and skinny fitted clothes are likely to make you look sharp and dapper. It’s important also to watch out for detailing and how the clothes are arranged on top of each other because this could make all the difference to your overall neatness. In an office setting i would recommend wearing a skinny fitted suit or a regular fitted suit for older men. It is then also important to ensure your suit is put together properly.

4. It determines other people’s impressions, of you – now I know in my first post about fit I talked about how every person is comfortable with a different fit and how you should pick one or more that you enjoy wearing. But in certain settings like in an office setting or for an occasion like a wedding, where you are wearing a suit. It is important to have your suit in either a skinny or regular fit. These two are acceptable especially in an office setting where how you dress may determine whether or not you keep your job. Or if you are going for an interview whether you’ll get the job in the first place. So no baggy fits in the workplace especially if the company is a more traditional suit and tie kind of office. Now to decide whether to wear a skinny or regular fit depends on your shape and build. For muscular and slim guys I would recommend wearing a skinny fitted suit, it looks much sharper and makes you stand out. A sharp suit gives the impression that you are productive and that you pay attention to detail. For plumper and bigger guys a regular fitted suit will look dashing and will flatter your frame.

5. It determines how functional and comfortable your outfit is – for casual clothes the fit determines how comfortable you are in your clothes and how much movement you can perform. Super tight clothes will restrict a lot of your movement and let’s face it, no-one likes to see a man in clothes that are too tight. So go for clothes that leave an appropriate amount of space between you and your clothes this will make you way more comfortable and allow you to move around comfortably.

So those are my five tips for better fit, if you enjoyed this article, hit the like button below and comment with which tip you didn’t know about before. Until next time, Au revoir.

Image credits: https://www.thesartorialist.com/ and my personal gallery.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. A loving review.

This story starts in the early hours of a Sunday morning, I have just finished reading Paulo Coelho’s the alchemist. It is the first Paulo Coelho book I’ve ever read. I have often heard a lot of good things about the man’s writing and I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about.

So this is a sort of review but more an unsolicited blab from my perspective. The alchemist is more than anything, an entrancing piece of writing. Beautiful, truthful and relatable in all the best ways. It has the feel of a tale woven by a master craftsman. The story begins with us meeting our protagonist, a Spanish shepherd boy called santiago, it then follows the most classic story curve in writing. Introducing us gradually to the boys hardships and to a seemingly unfathomable adventure that sees the boy sell his sheep and travel to Africa to find his destiny.

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow. “
The alchemist talking to Santiago in The alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

This story encompasses all the aspects of a good story, romance, war, adventure and longing among other popular topics. But what amazes me is not the story itself, but the depth with which it is crafted and narrated. The alchemist is deep and entrancing and based in a lot of universal truths. Mr Coelho conveys themes of pain, love and strife in a way that is almost biblical. The experience of reading the book was almost spiritual for me, some of the passages and interpretations of topics like love, leave you with a more metaphorical and idealistic but also practical and realistic view of how the world works. I loved the characters of first, the Shepherd boy, Santiago, the alchemist and the crafty gypsy at the beginning of the story.

I finished the book in three days, and with about 400 pages I am very proud of myself. I would recommend this book to anyone who ever reads this article. Paulo Coelho I agree is a genius writer and I am looking forward to tearing through his collective works. Also if you want a copy of the eBook, leave your WhatsApp number below in the comments and I’ll be happy to share it with you for only ksh 50.

Fundamentals of Style: 3 Types of Fits.

Hi reader, first I would like to thank you for checking out my blog, I’m Ian. I enjoy writing about clothes, style, sneakers, fitness, relaxation, and about anything else I find interesting. Subscribe to my blog to get a notification every time I publish a blog.
So today I want to write about fit. Fit basically means the tightness or looseness of clothes around or on your body. How your clothes fit is according to me one of the most important aspects of style. In finding and creating your own personal style, I feel it is important to consider the fit of your clothes. In this blog post, we will check out different fits and talk about why you should consider fit when buying clothes.
There’s a lot of different fits that are considered stylish, some that are common are:
1. Skinny fit.

This is the perfect fit for suits, skinny fitted clothes are more likely those that have been tailored. Either they are custom made from scratch for you specifically or have been altered in some way by a tailor. You could also find a garment that’s skinny fitted in a store. I love this fit, skinny fitted clothes make you look taller and leaner, more often than not. A good way to tell if a garment fits you in a skinny fit is to pinch the fabric and if it is about an inch or less, that item is a skinny fit.

2. Regular fit.

Clothes that are regularly fitted have a bit more fabric to spare. If you pinch the fabric, the excess is more than an inch, and closer to two inches and up to three inches. I enjoy this fit in jackets and sweatshirts. Regular fitted clothes are popular in contemporary street style but can also be incorporated into more dapper outfits.

3. Baggy/loose fit.

This fit is bold, dynamic and often insanely comfortable. It is also the basic fit for dad jeans. This comes with the implication that you may end up looking like a dad when you wear it. I personally try and stay away from baggy clothes but a lot of well dressed men are able to pull it off. In street style, the baggy fit has become instrumental in recent years, seemingly pouring over from hiphop style of the 90’s onward.

A super loose fitted pair of denim pants.

Personally, I don’t think you’re relative size affects the fit you wear. I think it is mostly a matter of personal preference. It is possible for you to be stylish, wearing any kind of fit. Thus, and this may be an unpopular opinion, I think there is no ideal fit out there. There’s not a perfect fit that looks good on every guy out there. Instead I think, fit is relative and everyone does have a fit that is ideal for them.
My advice, wear what you think looks good on you. It is not only way easier, but also may end up having you in clothes you feel more comfortable in.

Image credits to the sartorialist:thesartorialist.com

29/12/19 Something real.

Haunted, by an inherent loneliness, something so deep and so crippling. A kind of crippling that quietly and slowly made me push away and hide from any real relationships or interactions. The will to be alone seems to always creep into my thoughts, a little demon nudging me to abandon all who are dear to me in any sense of the word. Fear of attachment, my only enduring bad trait that had now availed me with this loneliness. In a crowd or alone the feeling seemingly creeping like a ninja and only showing itself as it strikes. I no longer have friends, but it could then be argued that I never did. A life far from what I would design but also not as terrible as it could be.
A hopeless piece of poetry to keep me at the edge of my seat. I would beg for more but I am assured by life that worse is coming. A need to form relationships seems to present itself in every interaction a need to be wanted,loved and endered. But at the presentation of flourishing relation, the katana glints in the shadows and a shriek of pain comes like a burst of beautiful symphony and for a second if you look closely you could see the menacing grin on my face as I relish the power. The ability to give and take pain and bliss as if a god I have metamorphosised into. Love not truly being a prospect as I had given it to those undeserving of it and taken it from the faithful companions who seeked to worship at my altar. Still not understanding the complexities of this random but undoubtedly beautiful creation. Lost in a world that is not mine to control but only to behold and play subject to. In the end the loneliness sticks, I am unable to escape it and now my days are more deliberately planned and reflected on and as I wake up I need to remind myself how to carry on. Thanks to my dark disposition.

Maybe I am not everything I think I am.

So if you follow me on social media you probably know that I’ve been reading the subtle art of not giving a f*ck by Mark Manson for a few weeks now. I recently got to a chapter called, “you’re wrong about everything (but so am I)”, and in this chapter mark talks about a law he developed called, the law of avoidance. Manson’s law of avoidance simply states that the more something threatens your identity, the more you avoid it. He gives the example of a friend of his who was a party person, always going out and drinking and partying. This friend always said how much he envied those friends of his who had settled down and had lifetime partners and families. He always wanted this for himself but still every night he went out to party. Mark argues that this is because the party person was a way this friend of his viewed himself and that he was afraid of settling down because it would challenge this view of himself. While reading this chapter I was overly aware of my own sense of identity, how much I have taken time to try and find out who I am and to define myself. It occurred to me that even at home, where I live with my mom and sister I created a narrative in my head that I didn’t know how to cook certain meals and I didn’t for a long time. Always shying away from even trying to make these meals because in my head I was the guy who made specific dishes. This was a belief that crippled me in a way, even though I couldn’t see it. Lately I’ve chosen to drop this belief, this construct and yesterday I made one of those complicated meals and it felt so good later to taste what I’d made and how good it was.
I realize that these constructs are all around in my life. I have these concepts of myself in school, at home, at work, mentally, physically and psychologically among other aspects of my life and I am now aware of them because they are the things I tell myself everytime I’m anxious and I think everything is going to sh*t. I agree with Mark that we should never be comfortable in our own identity, that by embracing uncertainty we are able to do alot more, we are not afraid to try things and to have them fail. Because until we abandon those ideas we hold about ourselves, we cannot be able to effect change, you can’t be able to leave that abusive relationship or to ask for that promotion or even cook that dish you keep wanting to make.
I think it takes great courage to abandon what we think of ourselves. Those concepts we hold so dear, but only by doing this can we truly grow and change. So instead of defining yourself in so many words as maybe an underdog or, assuming that when you do decide to take a chance and maybe publish a blog, or write a screenplay or start a podcast that people are going to hate it or ignore it. Instead define yourself in more generalized ordinary ways, be a student, a writer, a runner, a creator and not the best or the worst but simply that. This, Mark offers as a recommendation on how to live a better more fulfilling life. Avoid being narcissistic by assuming that special things will happen to you, and accept simply that you are ordinary, that you have ordinary dreams and that your problems are ordinary. I know it’s counterintuitive, but lately I have discovered that to accomplish certain goals you have to stop trying to accomplish them.

After my concussion.

Most times,
I’m talking to myself,
Thinking to myself,
Where I would rather be,

This life is good,
And full of quality,
Still I feel like there is something different for me,
I never dropped the dream mentality,

Visions of furs and lights,
Stay haunting me,
Parties in the hills,
With models and Kings,

I envision myself floating in space,
Even though the possibility is doubtful,
Crimson strings of galaxies,
And enough darkness to bury me,

I sit here in my reality,
Grateful but yearning for some type of artistry,
A life on the road,
The life of a painter,

In a city of art and obscurity,
Or a cover on a magazine,
For being the most beautiful dreamer,
My dreams may never be,

But at least the sleep,
can comfort me,

11/1/2020: CRIMSON DREAMS.

Before I drift off into peaceful slumber I’d like to recount a place of wonder. Where horses with leathery wings ferry bedazzled princesses and their hunchbacked lovers to heights of crimson and peach coloured clouds. Where grass grows on trees and flowers blossom in the warm rays of sunshine and a one eyed goat summons me into the depths of enchanted shrubbery where menacing bugs watch from barks of fallen trees as we smoke a stick of red incense and let the dreams set in. As we meditate on caterpillar legs and the satisfaction of watching them shuffle. Dusk approaches and owls hoot us to sleep under the blue stars and the cold of the night seems to ignore our transcendent silhouettes. I take a bite out of the yellow apple and it’s morning again and the sun is shinning,birds are singing and I can’t help but think what a beautiful escape this is.