Beryll was founded in 1998 in Austria. Sigmar Berg, its creator, trained as an architect. He is now based in Santa Monica. In his approach to design, he attaches great importance to matching glasses with the shape of the face, and the choice of materials. The sunglasses are handmade in Italy.
You can identify them by the crosses on the arms. Initially they used a silver cross, but increasingly the logo is more subtly set into the frame. Beryll wanted his glasses to be recognisable for their design rather than the logo.
My favourite: the Conte. Its square shape is particularly suited to oval-shaped faces. The frame is polished acetate and the lenses are polycarbonate. This lighter material offers greater comfort.
The lenses are UVA and UVB treated. They conform to the Australian standards (one of the most demanding in terms of sun protection). Let’s not forget that although sunglasses are pretty, and a fashion accessory, but their main point is to protect your eyes from the sun!
On sale at Les Plus Belles Lunettes du Monde at the price of €245 (ouch! But see below for a 5% discount on sunglasses and 10% on glasses!).
Do you know what Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain all have in common? They all died at the age of 27!
The Swedish brand Whipping Floyd (founded in 2001) took this as a starting point to launch their "They all went to heaven at the age of 27" t-shirt collection. This collection offers an interpretation of the life of these artists. It’s a bit of a sick idea! But I love it…
On sale at Royal Cheese at €45
Here is the next and last instalment in our range of hoodies. Some might criticise me for a lack of originality, but talking about hoodies without mentioning BAPE is a bit like talking about hip-hop without mentioning Biggie! But stop right there! Let’s not get distracted, let’s get back to the question in hand.
Founded by Nigo in 1993 in Tokyo, it’s one of Pharrell’s favourite brands. Globally known and respected in hip-hop circles, each piece is deliberately made in limited numbers to keep them desirable and rare. They used to sell for high prices, and weren’t always worth the money, but fashion isn’t about being rational, is it?
BAPE positions itself as top-of-the-range and fun streetwear, their hoodies are unusual to the point of being a bit weird: bright colours and all-over bling are key (you either love it or hate it!). You can, however, find some more discreet styles, that concentrate a bit more on detail…
The production is detailed and the materials are chosen with care. You pay a premium for unusual styles, so don’t bother trying to find them for less than €300 in stores! The distribution is highly limited, and it is difficult to predict new arrivals, but it’s always worth checking Colette in Paris.
(There are many sites offering BAPE at really low prices, but I’ve not tried them out and can’t guarantee the authenticity of products… You’ve been warned! 
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Find below main cosmetics brands for men. We already spoken about some of them in our cosmetics testing
As I’m trying to make you understand, watches are not just everyday objects. The watches I will show you today are unusual, in that they use wood in their construction.
You will agree that the watches I have chosen do not reflect the tribal trend with its one-size-fits-all ethnic mix that you’re quite frankly better off avoiding once you’re no longer a teenager.
So wood, yes, but here used more like with certain aftershave bottles, because it’s sort of masculine and refined… (OK, the one in the middle isn’t very masculine, but I hope you get the picture). I’ve also chosen wood for another reason: you don’t expect to see it on your left arm, it draws the eye.
Let’s get acquainted. From left to right:
My selection is most certainly not exhaustive. It’s worth noting that Nixon do a lot of wood watches, particularly the Rotolog styles that I like best.
See you soon.
You probably don’t know anything about Wodul! And I didn’t know anything about them until a few days ago either. I found this long-sleeve green t-shirt on YesStyle. I just loved the colour! And it also let me finally find out whether YesStyle was any cop, which I’ve been wondering about for a while.
This Hong Kong-based site offers a wide range of fashionable clothes and accessories at affordable prices (especially given the current dollar exchange rate). There are Korean brands such as Jbros, Mafia People, Npfeel, Portfranc and The Boys and Japanese brands Grace Hats and Scopy.
Among the clothes I ordered, I received this t-shirt. And I wasn’t disappointed by the colour and cut at all! It’s got a deep v-neck, so you can wear it either alone in a “look at my chest hair” style, or on top of another t-shirt as shown below.
As for the material, it’s just as I expected: really not thick at all! You can’t really tell that it’s supposed to be a jumper as the description would lead you to believe (“sweater”). However: at only €20, you can’t really complain.
Overall, YesStyle is like an Asian-style H&M: fashionable, but not great quality. Sort of disposable fashion! But it is definitely practical: you might not have enough money to spend more and for things like t-shirts it’s really rather good! More to come soon 
$32 from YesStyle
This is the first part of our sunglasses special. Oliver Goldsmith is an English brand created in 1926 which saw its heyday in the 60s. At the time, it was represented by the actresses Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren.
In 2005, Clara Goldsmith, the founder’s granddaughter relaunched the brand using her grandfather’s artistic heritage. Around 30 models were re-released. And this new era came with new icons: Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Jude Law, Jessica Simpson and Gwyneth Paltrow all posed for Oliver Goldsmith.
And this year, the arrival of designer Brian McGinn (an Irishman? Yes sir!) aims to bring new styles whilst using the know-how and hand crafted 100% British style.
My favourite: the “Carl”, with its large acetate aviator frame. These are distinctly retro sunglasses available in tortoiseshell, black, transparent and green!
On sale at ESPLE, 40 rue Saint Sulpice Paris 6 (see the discount voucher below) and for non-Parisians from Men a la Mode (€198). Discover the rest of the collection on the Oliver Goldsmith site.
It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: as promised, here’s the the latest installment in the hoodie special. And this week, all eyes are on Sixpack.
Created in 1998, it was one of the labels that were part of the street culture movment. Avant-garde and ambitious, this daring brand made waves. It launched unknown artists, constantly searching for new talent, a quest that eventually opened doors to the International stage. The label forged itself a name and an image, and the whole community welcomed it: from artists to DJs, graphic artists to writers, fans and newbies, everyone was interested.
And today its reputation is made, as you can see! The artwork is remarkable and so is the quality! Mainly known for its unusual t-shirts, the brand offers some styles as hoodies! And they’re rather good, worth a look…
They’re available from €115 from their online store, or from Lazy dog at the Citadium.
For many, watches are the best way for men to wear jewellery. Definitely a much better way than a bracelet, chain or pendant, signet ring or leather wristband.
However, choosing a nice watch is not the easiest of tasks. The range of products available is very wide, and this is a purchase that must be looked upon as an investment. Particularly for those who don’t want to, or can’t afford to buy several.
My aim is not to help you choose a nice watch but to give your wrists a breath of fresh air this summer. In order to do so, I will over you several selections over the coming days. However, I won’t tell you which watches not to buy, there are too many, and of course: it’s a question of taste!
I’ve deliberately decided to show you a few unusual styles, which aren’t necessarily tasteful or stylish, but that set themselves apart from the rest. As an introduction, and to make you wait a little:
Definitions: Watch
- 1. Box fitted with a face, containing a clock movement, that one wears to know the time. A definition that makes you think that dictionary compilers have strange habits, and wear watches in order to know the time.
- 2. Case worn by a person that contains a stored energy mechanism that propels a mechanism that measures time and shows the time as it passes. That’s more like it.
To be continued… (at the end I’ll give you a good adress, and we might talk about automatic watches).
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