Season Greetings

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Make sure you celebrate the season in style!

Love Monsieur Man

Fashionable Home

An apology reader’s, Monsieur Man has been somewhat M.I. A, I am currently in the process of buying and moving house, it is definitely a rather stressful and busy period. However the moment I move in there, I cannot wait to put my own stamp on things. Which got me thinking…… about the relationship between fashion and interior design: There is definitely a crossover.

It is a relatively known fact that new trends in interior design often come from fashion, and that is understandable as we want to have the latest and most interesting designs from the catwalk on our sofas, walls and curtains. 

‘I’ve long believed that the eye runs naturally from the catwalk to the kitchen’ Anna Wintour, Editor of US Vogue. Well if she is saying it, it must be true!

Here are a few of Monsieur Man’s favourite crossover designs; and what we will be taking inspiration from, for our downstairs theme: Greyscale.

In our eyes Versace Home, does this best! The main sources of inspiration include neoclassic, baroque and ultra-modern styles. The collection was designed for those of you with a strong taste for details and decoration. Versace Home often uses contrasting moods, mixing classic and modern, offering a variety of sophisticated hints and inspirations for very contemporary homes.

Dining Room Style

Bedrroom Style

 Living Room Style

To link home ware to menswear- Tonal greys is a huge trend on the  runways for winter and looked best at Hermes, where the bomber or flight jacket is given a clean crisp contemporary look for winter and updates the fuller blouson silhouettes of past seasons. Leaner in cut, this time round it has an edgier feel when worked in to white sheepskin at Hermes.

For the bedroom style detailed rich textures and fabrics are needed, this is exactly what the rich fox trim parka at Viktor & Rolf does. 

The Paul Smith ensemble reflects the living room fantastically, the trousers and parka represent where they have injected a splash of colour to the wall (painting) to break up the monochrome feel, and spot the pop art graphic shirt on the living room floor.

 “There are design principles that both practices share when creating furnishings in a space or an ensemble of clothing: determining a focal point, creating the silhouette, balancing proportion and details,” says Lindy Donnelly, who established her own interior design practice in 2003 outside of San Francisco, after 18 years as a fashion designer in New York.

So there you have it, research would suggest there is definitely a correlation between fashion and interior- well who wouldn’t want a fashionable home….. next step designing mine!  

Happy Birthday!

Join us in celebrating the first birthday of Monsieur Man!.... A year ago today Monsieur Man was born; we have had a fun filled year and travelled to different places around the globe exploring different fashion and lifestyle trends. We hope you continue following us, and look forward to the year ahead!

Transitional style....

It’s hard to come to terms with, but I always feel the August bank holiday symbolises the end of summer for us Brits! Which also means the end of the sunny weather, which leads me onto the next blog quite nicely…. Transitional fashion, from long summer nights, to yep you guess it …dark winter evenings!

As you can now see around the shops, we are entering the final phase of the mid-summer sales, meaning the majority of high street retailers will have fully switched to their autumn/winter collections by the end of August, if they haven’t already. Soon the only summer clothes you’ll find will be buried away in a dark corner complete with red tags crying out for attention.

With this in mind, Monsieur Man, is going to show you how to deal with tricky transitional season in style, along with detailing the key pieces you should have in your wardrobe.Not only is this a period of change for retailers, it’s a time when your wardrobe undergoes some pretty substantial alterations of its own.This period provides you with the opportunity to make some changes to your look. If you’ve been thinking about revamping your personal style for a while, then this is the time to do it.

Unpredictable weather in this period with huge fluctuations in temperature, humidity, heat, wind, rain etc. makes putting together all encompassing outfits extremely difficult.Tackling this issue can be a headache. It’s always so unpredictable, so the biggest key here is: layering, allowing you to strip when the sun comes out and vice versa- this just makes for a more effective and adaptable look! Good layering also allows you to get creative by trying new combinations of pieces or experimenting with your shape.

Why not try wearing one shirt under another, using your long sleeve polos as a jumper, stacking a denim jacket under your blazer, or throwing a knitted blazer on as a make-shift piece of outerwear? .

Choosing your pieces carefully is another great way to deal with the unpredictable weather and transition into autumn. For example, a fisherman jacket is a superb lightweight alternative to heavier outerwear when it comes to tackling the UK weather– wear over a simple Henley tee and you’re set.

As it gets cooler in the evenings consider knitted tops, merino wool jumpers, denim overshirts and heavier weight trousers – exactly the kind of items available on the high street now. For an example, here is a selection of new season pieces that serve exactly the purpose I’ve outlined above:

 

Allsaints Gotland Grandad Jumper

 

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  Reiss Astro Woolly Merino V-neck Sweater Aubergine
   
  
  
  He By Mango Washed Cotton Sweater
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Aspesi Slim-fit Lightweight Overshirt
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  Reiss Townsend Flannel Check Trousers Grey

On reflection let’s not be saddened by the dark winter months ahead, let’s embrace the awesome fashion that come with A/W, once you’ve invested in a few  transitional pieces you will be looking sharp in comfort – whatever the weather!