Decoding the lead look
Hair: Medium length. All taken back and swept upwards to create a raised puff. Long sideburns slicing into the jawline.
Brows: Slim and narrow.
Face: A one day old stubble. Almond shaped eyes.
Lips: Thin but defined.
Others: Zippered full sleeve jacket in soft wool.
What it is: Activewear refers to clothes and accessories that you wear for mild to heavy duty physical activity. It now includes ‘athleisure’ a relatively new style that combines elements of both athletic and leisure clothing.
What it includes: Jackets (which are either sporty or very casual) with or without hoodies and normally with zippers and multi pockets, sweatshirts, track pants, clothing that uses stretchable fabrics (including jeans, pants), vests, full sleeve and short sleeve tops, cardigans, sports or casual footwear, smart watches, sports caps, and compression gear.
When to wear it: Active wear for sports, workouts, running, walking, dancing, and all other recreational activities that involve some sort of physical mobility. Athleisure clothing for day, casual or weekend wear. It’s also a great look for road trips, flights and even on a casual date or for a hook up!
Elements to look out for:
Movement: The clothes and accessories should allow easy movement of your shoulders, hands, legs, and feet. The idea is to be able to stretch at ease or even jump, without feeling restricted or worrying about what you have on.
Functionality and practicality: Look out for multiple pockets, space to attach, store and keep your gadgets. Ensure the fabrics (for clothing) are crease free, quick drying and that both the garments and accessories are durable and long lasting.
Comfort above all else: Active clothing can sometimes be very clingy, like second skin. Whereas the right athleisure clothing should have a fit, form and feel which is comfortable or relaxed. Softer fabrics are normally better and therefore preferred.
The colour palette
You may restrict the colours to light or dark shades of grey, black, white, and navy but I strongly recommend you include earth tones of olive, brown, beige, and bright or neon hues of red, yellow, blue, and orange.
Ensure the colours you wear complement and enhance your natural skin tone. It’s a good idea to sometimes match your clothes (and accessories) to the colour of both your eyes and hair. Men with light colour eyes are at an advantage, as their eye colour can lift and enhance whatever they wear.
Clothes and accessories
The sports and zipper Jacket
Sports jackets look trendier if they have strips that reflect and catch light. Choose a jacket that has very short collars if any at all. Your collar should be able to zip up till under the chin as needed. That’s the convenience of a sports jacket – it can always substitute a polo neck to keep you protected from the cold. Zipper jackets have made a huge comeback and fastening them is easy and fuss free. For the day, you can wear a vest or a regular t-shirt or full sleeve top underneath.
Most sports jackets will be in blends and are made with fabrics that will keep you warm during your exercise or fitness routine. You should ideally opt for ventilated and sweat resistant materials that do not crease or stain easily.
Keep the jacket length short and ensure that it ends at the waist and not the hips. Its best to combine your sports jacket with tracks. However, you may also wear them with jeans or anything casual.
Jeans: The ultra-soft, comfort fit dark blue jeans by Guess
Jeans transcend socio, economic, cultural, gender barriers and stereotypes. They can be worn for everything from casual to semi formal looks, day, or evening and from summer to winter.
Though jeans are best left plain, casual jeans can be embellished with loops, straps, buckles, studs, patches, and chains.
From the classic plain to the ribbed and frayed – jeans come in an array of finishes and fabric that have been weathered or treated. From naturally and artificially aged materials to stonewashed finishes.
I recommend: Check out the range of jeans by Guess, which are made with ultra-soft denim. They feel just as good as they look. Choose from an assortment of cuts, styles, textures, treatments and pick a pair that defines you!
Compression clothing
The sexy pair of Lite-Show winter tights from ASICS has a good fit.
If you’re fond of showing off your muscles, choose a breathable muscle shirt made from a four-way-stretch fabric that fits closely without feeling restrictive.
If you have the thighs, calves and legs to flaunt go for layered compression shorts with all the essential features – unrestricted movement, support, coverage and comfort. Shorts with a drawstring waist lets you customize the fit.
For your outside run, lightweight and technical fabrics are needed to tackle the cold. Pick a pair of compression tights that provides support and adds an element of style to your look.
I recommend: The very sexy and well fitted tights from Asics. These high quality compression tights will give your legs the perfect fit and form and are ideal for a workout, run, yoga or dance routine.
The high-quality leather overnighter from Da Milano, Italia
A bag reflects who you are, where you come from and often makes a statement even before you do.
Carry a smart leather bag to your gym or dance class, travel, or weekend leisure trip. Pick a style that you find easy to hold.
Choose real leather over imitation. Look out for a bag that has multiple pockets and is roomy enough to take your world with you.
I recommend: This classic, high quality, multi pocket wax leather bag by Da Milano, Italia. It’s spacious interior will accommodate your essentials and its soft leather exterior will feel good on your shoulders or wrist.
Boys and their toys
My pick of four stylish and very functional design based urban tech products to match this look:
1.The Segway Ninebot KickScooter Max G30P by HUSE
This sleek and multi-functional scooter is my pick of the most stylish urban & eco mobility option out there. A trendy grey base with yellow trimmings gives it a masculine look. It has three smooth riding modes: eco, standard, and sports, as well as an intuitive LED dashboard which displays maintenance signals, power levels and Bluetooth connectivity.
The scooter can be folded easily and carried anywhere, has a fast six hour full charge, a range of 65kms and a top speed of 30km an hour. The powerful front LED light allows you to be a night rider! The 10 inch pneumatic tyres offer a puncture free ride even on the most challenging roads and trails.
Ensure to keep safety in mind: a helmet and knee / shoulder pads are highly recommended. Rest assured, you will look just as cool on this as you do on your bike!
2.The Fitbit Charge 5
For smartwatch enthusiasts this is the most advanced health and fitness tracker from Fitbit which helps you keep a pulse on your fitness, stress, heart health, sleep, and overall wellbeing in a thinner, sleek design with a brighter, colour display touchscreen and a long seven days battery life.
The watch has a minimal and aerodynamic design which allows you to wear it with an assortment of looks. This variant is optimised for performance and engineered for a seamless fit. Fitness enthusiasts will love the 20 exercise modes, while high pressure users can get a stress management score making it more viable and practical for them.
In addition to managing your heart health, the watch provides a holistic view of other key wellness metrics through its app including breathing rate, skin temperature variations and your SpO2 levels.
3.The Helix Metafit 2.0 from Timex
In the more affordable category, this Amazon exclusive smartwatch keeps you connected and updated. It comes packed with a SpO2 Monitor, twenty sports modes, activity and sleep tracking as well as gives sedentary reminders.
The watch will keep you occupied with your email and social media notifications. In terms of look, the watch is rather bulky, which may work well for those of you who need or prefer a larger display. Music and photographic enthusiasts will love the fact that the watch allows you to control music as well as access the camera controls of your phone.
Available in five vibrant colour options and a strap change option.
4.WK Life neck smart relax pain relief neck and shoulder massager
This lightweight but heavy-duty massager for the neck and shoulder has 3 modes, 15 kinds of strength, 8 kinds of massage techniques, which allows you to freely combine massage techniques according to your personal preferences.
The multi-utility massager maintains constant temperature, delivers a hot compress, speeds up blood circulation and relieves neck pain. The airbag wraps the neck comfortably as it has soft silicone for gentle contact with skin.
A full charge can be used for 15 minutes daily for about 15 days. This is easy to carry and will relax your neck and soothe your muscles, just about anywhere.The author is an image, style and grooming consultant and trainer.
The author is an image, style and grooming consultant and trainer.
From HT Brunch, December 5, 2021
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