Lounge

Excited to announce my partnership with Abercrombie & Fitch showcasing a few of their pieces that you can wear for any occasion.

Summer ahoy, keeping it simple and clean with Abercrombie & Fitch. I have always been a fan of the brand since growing up and loved to see a brand grow as I grow.

The brand transition was such a great move as they brought back old fans and brings in new fans.

One of my favorite piece from the recent collection is this light denim shirt. I can lounge in them at home or out running errands. Never have to worry about changing shirts to go out in public.

Get The Look:

Shirt: Abercombie
Pants: Urban Outfitter
Shoes: GREATS Brand

Business Casual 101

With warmer weather approaching us wearing layers is not ideal especially with a suit. I've team up with Banana Republic to help you dress accordingly to the hot summer.

I am not a fan when someone say to dress "business casual" to me that sound very vague. What exactly is business casual anyway? How can you be casual when you dress professional. Luckily for you, I've found out exactly what it means.

In my years of research business casual simply means dressing without a jacket. It is as simple as that.

Styling a summer shirt from Banana Republic to help me get ready for errands run during the week. Dressing casual is simple, but with a fitted shirt with great pattern I know that I will make a statement around town. Pairing the shirt with a fitted and clean black slack is the best way to go. In keeping theme with the casual I just finish it with a crisp black low top sneakers. A great outfit that I can wear for lunch to a business meeting or to dinner with friends to discuss weekend plans.

Get The Look:

Shirt: Banana Republic

Pants: Perry Ellis

Belt: Upton Belts

Shoes: Old Navy

Watch: Great George

Esemplastic

Everyone know the saying of "work hard, play harder", right? Well, I do believe that you do deserve to have fun and let loose once in a while. Working hard for your future is great and all. But if you not take the time to actually enjoy what you've been working hard for then you will end up losing yourself. That used to be my life when I was living in New York City. I was busy working and not living. Took me awhile to realize that your happiness is worth more than you think.

Today's blog post is your guide to rocking all black look, but don't get too crazy to the point you look goth (which in case if that is what you are going for then rock on!). I teamed up with Perry Ellis and Creative Recreation to show you how to can style your all black outfit effortless.

Step 1:

Make sure all of your black pieces are the same tone and shade of black. Let's get one thing straight. Just because the color is black, it doesn't necessary mean is going to be the same shade or tone. So double check.

Step 2:

Play with the fabric and texture of the pieces. When wearing one color head to toe, you have to play up the fabric to create some contrast in the look. That is when the smallest detail matters.

Step 3:

Footwear is very important here. You don't want match the color of the footwear completely to your outfit. Play it up by wearing a pair shoe with a white sole. For example, the shoes that I am wearing in this post is all black with white sole. Or a pair of white shoes would work fine too.

Get The Look:

Black Suit: Perry Ellis

Mesh Polo: Perry Ellis

Belt: Upton Belt

Shoes: Creative Recreation

Watch: Shore Projects

Settled

I've recently decided to take a unexpected turn in my life and moved across the states to California. I've been living back and forth between New York City and Michigan for while and it has been exhausted yet comfortable as I was used to the routines that I was doing. I've grew bored of the cities as everything is the same. I lost the passion and excitement I had for New York City. I needed a change of everything and just moved to California with an unclear future...I didn't have a job or anything line up in California. But I wanted to get back to who I was when I first moved to New York City. A young kid who was hungry for success and determined to make a name for myself.

Today's blog post is about keeping your outfit simple by playing with texture. Recently purchased this rigged texture sweater from H&M as part of the Selected By Beckham collection. I don't think I need to say much about this sweater as it speaks for itself. A simple design but bold piece to wear. The perfect bottom to wear with this sweater is just a simple back slacks and white sneakers.

Blending two different pattern pieces can be hard, but it can work when the two pattern compliments each other by having similar color tone. Playing up the patterns can bring your outfit from okay to phenomenal.

Get The Look:

Jacket: Forever 21 Men

Shirt: Bar III

Sweater: H&M

Pants: Perry Ellis

Shoes: Adidas

Throwback

I think we can all agree that you can never wear too much black or have enough black pieces in your wardrobe. I lost count of how many black shoes I have in my closet. It's always my first color option when buying new footwear.

One of my most recent footwear that I got is my "Duke" boots from Thursday Boots. I have been wearing them nonstop. They are so comfortable to wear. I can walk hours in them and not feel like my feet are numb from the pain. 

These boots can speaks for itself when paired with any of your looks. They are so stylish that you don't need to worry about it clashing with your outfit.

Today's blog post I am styling the boots with a very simple look.

Going for a rugged look, I am pairing the boots with a pair of nice black fitted jean. By wearing a fitted jean you keep the look clean and able to pair it with a loose shirt like the print shirt I am wearing. Finish the top layer with a simple jacket. An option piece is an oversize winter coat.

Get The Look:

Overcoat: H&M

Jacket: Topman

Shirt: Forever 21 men

Jean: American Eagle Outfitters

Boots: Thursday Boots

Luster

My daily essentials is not complete without a great sweater to add to my closet. I am a sucker for wearing sweaters as it is such an easy way to upgrade your wardrobe. 

Living in a state that have 2 season; winter and construction (Michigan joke for those Michiganders out there reading my blog). Layering is my daily life and it's easy to do with the right sweater.

Today's blog post feature a vibrate yellow sweater from H&M Modern Essential collection which is Selected By David Beckham. With a sweater so bold is it easy to style as you already know that is is going to be the key piece in your outfit. The only way to work it is by dressing around the sweater.

In keeping the sweater as the key piece of my look, I just wear darker clothing such as this grey texture jacket and dark grey wool pants. Finish it with a simple all black slip on.

Get The Look:

Jacket: Uniqlo

Sweater: H&M

Pants: H&M

Shoes: Tiger of Sweden

Modern Trail

Put on your Timberland shoes and head on an adventure. Create your the Modern Trail. The Modern Trail is your journey. At Timberland, their boots, shoes, jackets and sandals are made with your work, play and travel adventures in mind.

The Modern Trail is about everyday adventures, connecting with fellow explorers and sharing what's discovered. I am discovering my campus at Michigan State University during winter, a real life winter wonderland.

Keeping my look very simple and casual with a black shirt and black jeans as the attention will go to my yellow boots. In theme with my winter outdoor look, I pair it with a forest green bomber that is a favorite of mine.

Get The Look:

Jacket: 21 Men

Shirt: H&M

Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters

Boots: Timberland

Casually Winter

Winter in college does not have to be just sweatpants and sweaters all year. Play it up and layer it with some basic essentials that you will get attention on campus.

Of course, a puffy winter coat is the main essential of winter fashion, but you need the perfect one. I love my green and orange contrast coat from Aeropostale. The fit is great with a fur lining hoodie to keep my face warm for the chilly wind.

Another great winter essential is an oversize cardigan. One of my favorites is from 21 Men. A simple solid color with prints for contrast. The cardigan that is going to keep you cozy throughout winter as you will be wearing it not just going to class, but lounging in your apartment. I love wearing this cardigan with my jeans from American Eagle Outfitters. The jean with the perfect fit and soft fabric that is harsh against your skin.

The boots that can be worn all year long is one my favorites to go boots. The Clarks Desert Boots is my absolute favorite. The comfortable and stylish boots that you can wear all day walking around campus. They are sure to keep your socks dry from snow.

A fun watch at it own right, Shore Projects watch offers a wide range of watch faces and straps that you can switch to go with ALL of your looks. I went for a polka dots strap for my Shore Project watch to add some boldness to my causal campus look.

Get The Look:

Jacket: Aeropostale

Cardigan: 21 Men

Shirt: Gap

Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters

Boots: Clarks Shoes

Watch: Shore Projects

Piece By Piece

Today's blog post is about staple pieces. Buying pieces for your wardrobe that you can pair it with many outfits and year-long.

These staple pieces can be wore by itself or layer up together.

Let's start with the first layer; a simple white shirt. I love a fitted white shirt as it can go with under any sweater like this "Inside Outside" sweater from H&M. This is one of the piece #SelectedByBeckham. I love the neutral color of this sweater as I can wear it with grey pants or jeans for a more casual look. A perfect selection from H&M: Modern Essentials.

This spring you will see a lot of white jackets, more importantly, white leather jackets. They are becoming a hot issue in fashion as they add an alternative to the classic ones. The perfect jacket to help layer with your sweater. You can wear it over the shoulder or just wear it normally, either way, it is the perfect spring jacket.

One of my favorite winter jackets that get compliments often on the street. I love color and texture of this jacket as it pair perfectly with all of my outfits during this winter.

Get The Look:

Winter Jacket: Forever 21Men

Leather Jacket: Forever 21Men

Sweater: H&M

Shirt: Forever 21Men

Pants: Uniqlo

Sneakers: Nike Roshe

Bracelet: Enteresant

New Classic

Bringing back the classic look in a new way.

Thanks to Sprezzabox for their monthly supply of menswear goods, I was able to style my Darkoh suit with influences from Wall Street.

This blog post is inspired by the men of Wall Street. You can easily spot who works in Wall Street by the way they dress. They are known for strong contrast of colors, bold colors, expensive accessories, and of course, suspenders to make sure their wallet won't pull their pants down.

Although, I am not a fan of the typical shirts with thick lines, or a solid color with the contrast collars and cuffs. I decided to just keep my shirt a solid color. By keeping a solid color shirt, I can pair it with a funky polka dots suspender.

To complete the look of the Wall Street you got to make sure you have your accessories in order. You tie have to be in contrast with your suit. You suspenders got to be over the top. And your shoes, they are the thing that puts the whole looks together. Stick with a wingtip or brogues, but no square-toed shoes. They are tacky.

Get The Look:

Suit: Darkoh

Shirt: H&M

Suspenders: Weekend Casual

Tie: Jack Sartori

Shoes: Aldo

Watch: Daniel Wellington

Phone Case: Stil Mind

The accessories in this look came from SprezzaBox. Sign up for their monthly supply of menswear. Effortless style for just $25 a month.

Challenge

Happy New Years everyone!!

This year, I want to start challenging myself, I want to push my creativity and comfort zone in what I can do and cannot do. 2015 was a great year for me as I left behind a 9am-5pm job to focus on doing what I love and to be "free". I have never regrets any of decisions I made as I know that it will help me learn and succeed.

2016 will be a game changer for me as I want to inspire others more and give back. I want to have a voice and share my experiences, struggles, and overcomes. I am lucky to have a platform like this blog and my social media channel to do so.

As part of my new year goal I have teamed up with Bulova newest campaign #BeBulova to showcase their Military Collection (shown above). The idea behind #BeBulova is that as visual storytellers, we want to tell the stories of innovators and creators who embody the DNA of the Bulova brand. They want people to showcase lifestyle to accompany their content that speaks directly to their brand.

I am giving away a brand new watch from the Military Collection on my instagram. All you need to do is share your #BeBulova with an instagram post tagging me (@datswhatupp) and (@bulavo) in that post. Also, make sure you are following both of us on Instagram to be consider in the contest. The contest will ends a week from now. See below for the guidelines;

Guidelines:

1: Follow @Bulova and myself (@datswhatupp) on Instagram.
2. Make a post on your IG sharing your #BeBulova story and tagging both @Bulova and myself (@datswhatupp) to be consider in the contest. Also, tag some friends you think would be interested in entering.
3. Winner will be announced a week later.

Today's style post is how to style the Bulova watch for a sporty chic look. The Bulova watch from the Military Collection have a very sport feel to it with the nato strap. It allows you to dress casual or dressy depending on the occasion.

I decided to style this watch with a double-breated blazer from one of my suits. I am a huge fan of mixing and matching suits as you get more looks from it. I paired the blazer with a blue and white checkered print pants. For accessories, you can always trust SprezzaBox to help you add some boldness to your looks like the tie and handkerchief. Finish the look up with your favorite pairs of white sneakers.

Photographed by Kim G.

Get The Look:

Blazer: Darkoh

Pants: H&M

Tie and Handkerchief: Sprezzabox

Watch: Bulova

Sneakers: American Eagle Outfitters

Peanuts x Lacoste collection

In honor of the 3D wide animation “The Peanuts Movie” out this year, Lacoste partnered up with Peanut once again after the success of their 2010 collection.

The 2015 collaboration showcase a seasonal set of the brand's signature polo shirts in grey, white, and navy, as well as a navy sweatshirt. 

The tops feature whimsical scaled-down graphics of your favorite Peanuts characters, including Snoopy and Charlie Brown, interacting with the iconic Lacoste crocodile. Pieces from the collaborative project will be offered in both adult and children sizes, available now online and in-stores.

Thanks to Lacoste and Peanuts I get to relive my childhood and played dress up with my favorite character from the show; Snoopy!

Cruising through the streets of the Upper West Side on a nice Fall day we were able to shoot with beautiful houses and colors in the background.

Today's post, I am styling one of the the most timeless and iconic piece you need to have in your closet. This staple piece will help you create a classic outfit.

I am talking about the classic Lacoste polos. They have became such an iconic piece throughout the years. Remember, they are definitely investment pieces, so don't be afraid to splurge on certain ones if the time is right.

The Lacoste polos are so easy to wear and style. All you need is a nice pairs of fitted jeans or pants. The perfect footwear to style it with is some clean white sneakers for a sport chic look; or a nice pair of loafers for a more sophisticated style.

Remember to share your best lacoste polo with the hashtag #MyLacostePolo on social media to be feature on their site.

Shot by Kim G.

Get The Look:

Polo: Lacoste

Pants: H&M

Sneakers: American Eagle Outfitters

Watch: Daniel Wellington

Timeless

The first day of Summer was yesterday, it is time to update your wardrobe to add some summer pieces to your outfits. One of them is color suits!

One of my favorite colors to wear in a suit is burgundy/maroon. Just any rich plum colors because it is very elegant and timeless.

Having a summer suit is easy to wear because all you need to pair it with is a simple shirt, and of course, tie and handkerchief for late night dinner.

A summer suit can be casual or formal by pairing it with the right pair of shoes. For the casual look, I like to wear it with my favorite white vans or any slip ons. For the formal look a nice wing tip or monk-strap often does the trick

Get The Look:

Suit: YesStyle

Tie & Handkerchief: H&M

Shoes: Stacy Adams

#CKMinute

Last month I had the honor of working with Calvin Klein showcasing their new campaign called #CKMinute showcasing their newest watch line, which is now available online and in store.

“I don’t always know where life takes me, but one thing I know for sure is my Calvin Klein watch will get me there on time. ”

— Dathias Hoang

Calvin Klein #CKMinute campaign is about showcasing the minutes in your life, your city, and the way you live. Find your moment with Calvin Klein.

In this blog post I am wearing the SS15 suit collection from Calvin Klein. It's soft and light material makes it easy to wear for the summer because you don't feel hot in it. By keeping up the summer theme I added a white shirt with a mesh shirt from the Calvin Klein SS15 collection. I figured that this outfit needed a pop of color so I added my favorite red slip on to put the whole look together. An easy summer look that anyone can put together.

Get The Look:

Suit: Calvin Klein

White Shirt: Topman

Mesh Shirt: Calvin Klein

Shoes: ASOS

Watch: Calvin Klein

Sunglasses: Calvin Klein

Derring-Do

Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it. But sometimes it is fun to be bad.

The second installment of my style post in styling your favorite suit into different looks. In my previous blog post I kept it very minimal and easy to wear from day time to night time.

Today's style post is more edgy and stylish than the first. I'd like to say that this look is about bringing the edgy side of you out. The dark side where you don't let it shine much, but now you can in how you dress. Sometime being bad is just half as fun as doing good. Style is about being creative and often time you get to play with it.

One of the best thing about a simple suit like this one, you can play with it by styling it with  pattern/print shirts to add some edge or contrast to the suit. In this look, I added a a tribal influenced shirt to pair it with the blue suit. With just one piece of clothing I turned this suit into more of a night out outfit rather than something you would wear at the office.

Now let's talk about adding accessories to this outfit to complete the look. This made sound weird, but this fur lining leather jacket is one of my accessories to this look that helps bring the edgy feel. If you ever want to feel like a bad-ass I recommend you investing in a pair of leather jackets. They are the ultimate bad-ass jacket that is trending every spring. Adding some two chains to the mix helps bring out the gold prints in my shirt. Keeping my wrist game on point with the helps of the Daniel Wellington team by providing me with this rose gold watch.

This year footwear is all about the monk straps. They are the men's stylish dress shoes as they bring class and touch of masculine to your look overall. They are very easy to pair with casual look or formal.

As I my style evolve through out the years I like to experience and see what works for me. I am becoming more daring on how I style my suits because I do not like to be typical with it and play it safe. It does not always have to be suit and tie. So have fun and add some prints and leather to your suit. Be bold with it.

Photography By: Hague NYC

Get The Look:

Jacket: 21 Men

Shirt: 21 Men

Suit: Darkoh

Chain: Thifted

Shoes: Topman

Watch: Daniel Wellington

Juncture

Hello,

Hope everyone is doing well

This week style post will be a series of 3 looks featuring a three-piece suit from Darkoh. I will be styling this suit into 3 different style that is ready to wear for any occasions.

The commitment to buying a suit is tough because they are very expensive, and you want to make sure that the investment is worth it. You want to make sure that it is the suit that you can wear it many times. One thing that I will confidently tell you is I always recycle my suit into different looks. I can get at least 6 outfits from one suit by styling it with my other wardrobe.

The first look of this series is very simple and causal as it is practical for day to night time look. Putting together the 3 piece and keeping it crisp with just a plain white shirt. The attention should be on the suit no need to try any harder for it. I would say that this look is more of a night time for dates or causal wear at the office. If you want this look to be more formal, then just add a nice solid color or pattern tie and handkerchief for a quick up-do to the outfit.

Any look isn't complete without a nice pair of shoes and accessories to go with it. In this case a nice pair of loafers and a classic watch. This summer it is all about loafers. They are the the summer dress shoes as they are easy to slip on and adds such a classy feel to any looks. I went for a brown loafers for this blue suit. One thing to keep in mind when wearing all in blue is finding the right color of footwear to balance it is. The best colors to wear is white or brown. They will balance out the all blue look so you won't look like you are part of the Blue Man Group.

One watch that I always pair with my suit is the classic Daniel Wellington watches. They are really the watch for all style as they are go from formal to casual by switching out the strap for leather or nato band. From now until the end of April you can get 15% off all Daniel Wellington product using my promo code "datswhatupp".

Photo By: HAGUE NYC

Get The Look:

Topcoat: Topman

Suit: Darkoh

Shirt: H&M

Loafers: Topman

Watch: Daniel Wellington