I feel like I haven’t had much time to keep the blog current lately! Working full time, owning a house, and having a family with a 3 year old – I don’t have much down time now-a-days! My blog may not always be updated on the regular, but I definitely keep my Instagram account fresh – so make sure to follow me @BlueCollarPrep! Last month American Eagle reached out to me to style their Men’s Flex Cafe Denim – pretty cool! Check out the full post featured on their site HERE!
Lately I’ve been inspired to add some more dressier pieces and shoes to my wardrobe. I like to stop by Nordstrom from time to time to check out the newest shoe trends. Johnston & Murphy reached out to me just at the perfect time! I was super excited to get the chance to style their Allred Penny Loafer that’s sold exclusively at Nordstrom. Not having many dressier shoes, adding a classic silhouette to my wardrobe was a good way to start my loafer collection. These Johnston & Murphy 1850 ‘Allred’ Penny Loafers are made of Italian calfskin. I really dig the subtle variations of brown tones in the shoe. With it’s color and classic, clean style, you can definitely rock these out with a more casual look or dress them up even more with a suit. They fit comfortably and are true to size. I paired my J&M Loafers with a navy pair of slacks from Zara – my new favorite store for men’s pants, and a denim button down…always a big fan of throwing denim in the mix! My Calvin Klein vest is actually from my wedding day! I don’t get a lot of reasons to dress up like this in my day to day, but when I do get the chance, it definitely makes you feel good about yourself – all spiffy! I’m going to have to find more opportunities just to get dressed up lol Make sure to check out these Johnston & Murphy Penny Loafers at Nordstrom, or their full collection at www.johnstonmurphy.com!
Every wardrobe needs a good old tee – or a bunch of them in various colors and different fits. I think I have more plain white and grey tees than anything else. When you find that perfectly fitting t-shirt (whether it’s long and scoop neck or shorter with a v-neck) I almost always want to buy more than one just in case I don’t find it again! It’s good to know that won’t be the case anymore now that I’m familiar with the website Son of a Tailor. They create your perfectly tailored t-shirt – such an innovative and perfect idea! There’s 2 tee base options to choose from in 4 different colors (white, black, blue and deep blue). From there, they walk you through all the measurements you’ll need to take according to either your favorite tee or your body-shape. I actually based my measurements off of a few different tee shirts I already owned. I took the neckdrop from one and added a few inches for a deeper drop, took the length from another and added a few inches for a longer fit, and adjusted my body measurements accordingly depending on the fit I was looking for. Pretty dope that I was able to customize the tee to fit exactly like I wanted! To take the customization to the next level they provide free monogramming of 3 initials on the bottom right of the tee. I got BCP stitched on mine – my first BCP labeled shirt – and definitely not the last. Overall the tee is a great quality and of course, the fit is perfect! Son of a Tailor also provides Free Worldwide Shipping – which is pretty amazing…no one likes spending money on shipping especially if it was for 1 t-shirt purchase – so with it being free it’s a no brainer. Get 15% Off Your First Order Now With Code BCPTEE! Can’t wait to get a white one next. I might be customizing this fit a little differently this time around. Any questions on the measurements I went with for my black one feel free to email me!
I think I’ve had this GAP polo for at least 5 years now. You can’t go wrong with a polo…classic silhouette in a solid color – these tops are timeless. Although a lot of people may not agree I’m a top button up type a guy – I refuse to rock it any other way! These jeans are also GAP and are probably one of my faves – great skinny fit, with a few subtle rips. GAP is definitely my go-to for these types of simple classic pieces.
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Like I’ve said before I’m a big fan of Marshalls. I really enjoy browsing the racks in hopes of finding that (cheap) needle in a haystack. I really dig this latest tee I found – I’m a big fan of tie dye! Something about tie dye, especially in these colors, screams spring. I usually prefer really thin tees that are a little flowy and fall just right, but this one was a little thicker than my norm. Since the cotton is super soft it still has a really nice fit and doesn’t feel stiff like those cheap tees. I feel like I’d rock just about anything on a tee as long as it was a nice fabric and fit well lol – it’s all about the fit!
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Went to a Loyalty Day event at a local park with the fam last weekend. It’s a fun day with free food, free beer, music, races for the kids and a service to honor veterans. My little guy got to run his first race and scored a little trophy and medal – cutest thing ever. Going to the gym 5 days a week I can never have too many gym clothes and casual pieces. I usually luck out with name brand activewear from Marshalls, but recently snagged a few pairs of cotton shorts from H&M. Me and Nate did a little colorblocking with our black and grey pieces! I’m a big fan of the low-top Converse and PF Flyers for summer – feel like I can wear them with just about anything!
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Like I’ve said once before…sometimes I’m really just into wearing solids and everyday basics – with a few accessories. When you’re wearing a piece like this hat I got – you def have to keep the outfit a little simpler. These boots might be one of my favorite pairs and I’m constantly getting asked what kind and where I got them from – they’re the Beckett 8-Tie Boot Grey Felt Boots by Dr. Marten (unfortunately they’re an older model and no longer available). They’re more fitted around the ankle so to really be able to show them off I gave my Levi’s an old-school tight roll…an instant way to gives any pants that jogger pant look! I recently bought these new Ray-Ban Round Metal Sunglasses and really dig the vintagey feel of the shape of them. As always, my go-to bracelet is the limited edition cuff by Love Bullets – still on the hunt for more men’s jewelry!
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Nothing’s more festive than visiting NYC during the holidays. Like most kids, Nathan’s a big fan of choo choo trains, so we decided to take the train down – it was his first time on the train. We took metro north from White Plains and Nathan was beyond excited. He was so excited on the train he had us and the passengers around him cracking up. We went down on a Saturday, which happened to be the same Saturday as Santa-Con, so there was a bunch of youngsters getting buzzy on the train. I’d be lying to say I didn’t want to go home grab my Santa getup and go to the bar…there’s a good chance next year at this time you’ll be seeing a blog post of myself at Santa-Con lol. We started at Grand Central where Nathan was mesmerized – he’s been here before but he’s finally at an age where he gets excited over evertyhing and is like a sponge taking it all in. It was hysterical…The Santa’s from Santa-Con were like celebrities – everyone at Grand Central were asking to take pictures with them all – wish we would’ve gotten a shot of it! We made our way over to Bryant park and shopped the holiday huts. One place really stood out to me – CLIFF – they sold cork accessories…wallets, belts and more all made of cork. We stopped at the Bryant Park tree, watched some of the ice skaters then stopped at Le Carrousel which me and my soon took a ride on. Being that we had a lot to do in a little bit of time we stopped to get a dirty water dog for lunch and kept it moving. From there we headed up 5th for some shopping and to see some of the holiday window displays. Nathan kept asking about the big toy store that we promised to take him to so that was our next stop. Helpful hint…at this time of year the line for FAO goes around the block. If you have a stroller they let you right in. So no matter your kids age grab a stroller! Across from FAO I got a little lost in watching some street dancers and had to be pulled away by my wife lol Next stop…Rockefeller! Nathan was in awe of the big tree. He kept telling me to get closer and closer…so we pushed and squeezed our way all the way until we were right under the tree – I think that was the closest we ever got. Tough task with a stroller. After the tree we stopped for some food. We wanted to keep it casual since it was a long day and Nate was getting tired. We stopped at the British Pub, Cock & Bull where they had a large assortment of tap beers, some cool signature cocktails and some really good bar food. I got the Steak Sandwich, which had Sliced Hangar steak served on toasted Baguette with Balsamic Caramelized onions, roasted garlic aiolo and melted stilton cheese served with hand cut french fries. Their fries were really good – almost like McDonald’s fries, really thin, but you could tell they were hand made and they were well done – just the way I like them! My mother-in-law got the crab cakes which were also really good – and my wife got her usual burger. After dinner we made our way back to Grand Central. Next year we def want to get a hotel in Times Square, like my wife’s family used to do every year, and start that tradition all over with Nate!
We’re always looking for fun, new things to do with my boy. He’s your typical boy who likes climbing, jumping and just being a maniac. Did some Googling and came across this place we’ve never heard of in CT. Compared it to a few others in the area and this one seemed to have the most activities, so we headed to The Children’s Movement Center in New Milford, CT. It was one of the bigger gyms we had taken him to. Inside it had 2 sections: one for little kids and one for older kids. We didn’t explore the older section but it had really cool activities like a climbing wall, large trampoline, zip-line and a surf machine. The younger kids section had a ball pit, bouncy house, trampoline, some creative swings and a McDonalds styles obstacle course. Nathan was so excited he didn’t even know where to start. The large obstacle course had a little bit of everything – ramps, steps, rope bridges, large yoga bouncy balls and 2 large slides. His favorite thing, though the least active, was the ball pit. This ball pit had a ball cleaning machine that they used at night, 3 days a week to clean and sanitize all of the balls. When playing in the pit, the kids are able to put the balls in this hole that shot the balls back out and then dropped back in the pit. This seemed to be Nate’s favorite thing to do…the process of cleaning the balls lol. Nathan gets so excited every time he sees a bouncy house – we both got our bounce on. He makes jumping and landing on his butt look so easy and painless – not so much for me anymore! We’ll definitely be going back to The Children’s Movement Center. We all had a blast – and it was only $10 for just Nate – even though mommy and daddy got to play too. Maybe next time he’ll give the swings another shot and spend some more time on the trampoline. Since it was a gym day I kept it casual. Got these new jogger sweats from Urban Outfitters – joggers are really the only sweats I like wearing at the moment. Layered my new UO Zanerobe short-sleeve hoodie over an extra long H&M long-sleeve tee for that casual streetstyle look. Thought these retro looking Adidas sneakers fit with this casual street style well. Topped the look off with a Carhartt beanie. Love these – my son’s got the same one!
Before heading to the bar for football, me and the fam went apple picking. I’m not really a jersey guy, but still wanted to rep my team so I went with the NFL Team Apparel short sleeve polo. Being today was a little chilly and it felt like fall, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to short-sleeves so I layered it with my wool insulated plaid GAP vest. Lately I’ve been having a harder time finding a decent pair of jeans. My wife is a big fan of American Eagle, and she kept suggesting I try there. I was totally against it because I felt like if I shopped at American Eagle it would be nothing but clothing for a teen. After being reluctant to shop there I finally gave in and tried on a pair. These have a decent fit and give off that distressed look. They have a slim cut leg and fall on the boot nicely. This is my first pair of GRAVIS Shoes. These are the trekker boots. GRAVIS is a Japan based extreme sports brand. I was a little reluctant buying a boot from a sneaker company but turned out I really like these a lot. I like the rugged look and they have the comfort of a sneaker. These don’t have the premium materials you might find in a high-end boot but they are waterproof, which will hopefully help them last. Wifey picked me up these neon camo Under Armour socks to keep up my sock game. This is a Victorinox Swiss Army CHRONO Classic Men’s Watch Model 241123. It has a swiss quartz movement (battery operated). The dial is blue with gold subdials, and the case is stainless steel and Gold-PVD. I really like how the gold and silver look with the navy blue. This is my first Swiss Army watch. It came with a silver and gold stainless steel band and I switched it for today with a Crown and Buckle NATO strap.
