Shirts: how to spot quality

There are so many options out there when it comes to choosing a dress shirt these days that it can be tough to decide between what to buy. Many guys aren't even sure what makes one shirt better than another, so I'm going to point out a few things to look for on your next trip out.

Thread Count

Generally speaking the higher the thread count of a cotton shirt, the softer and better feeling the fabric is. This is due to the use of finer cotton in higher thread count shirts. This same rule applies to things like bed sheets.

Heavy Fabric

High thread count does not always imply heavy fabric. When it comes to cotton shirts heaviness is more directly related to the ply of the shirt. Heavier shirts are often two-ply, meaning there are two layers of fabric. An Oxford shirt is traditionally two-ply and these can still feature a thread count in the 80s.

Cotton Quality

Not every cotton is equal, and this means that sometimes the quality of the cotton can be more important than the thread count. Egyptian cotton is widely regarded as one of the most luxurious cottons on the planet, but the highest quality cotton actually comes from Sea Island, Georgia.

Other Stuff

Now, this does not mean that every high quality shirt will be made of the best cotton or even have a high thread count. The overall look of the shirt is just as important. Examine the details: look at the placket construction, check the buttonholes, inspect the collars and cuffs. Avoid any shirt that has loose threads still attached or that shows puckering at the seams.

These should give you some points to ponder the next time you go shopping for shirts. Looking for these qualities will help insure that you make the right choice.

The Scarf: hot trend this winter

This winter the scarf is back! In fact it may really just be getting here in the first place. Guys in Europe have long known that the right scarf can improve their look, while most of us in the U.S. have been sporting cold bare necks even on the most frigid of days. If you are new to scarves or just checking to make sure you're getting the most out of them, the following tips may help.

Size Does Matter:

When it comes to length, longer is better. You want a scarf you can wrap once or twice around your neck and still have enough length left to fall somewhere near necktie length. As for width... wider is also better. The newest trend is to wear a scarves so that they have some bulk against the neck. Now you do not want to look like you are wearing a neck brace, but I'm sure you get the idea.  

Color and Pattern:

Bold colors and patterns are very trendy, tartans for instance are a classic look that is getting a lot of play this season. Stripes are possibly the most popular this year and they can add visual length to your torso. When possible try to match some color within the scarf to a color on your shirt or coat, but the scarf does not really need to match anything you are wearing. Avoid paisley and other less masculine patterns unless you are trying for a particular effect.

Knots and Placement:

As a rule a loose knot just under the chin is the best look. If you are wearing a formal coat with lapels the scarf should go under them. If you are not wearing a coat or have a more casual look on top is fine. 

Avoid the Following:

Extra long tassels are never a good look for a guy. Fuzzy material or those strange knits that look like giant caterpillars are not recommended, unless you are an entomologist. Also the length should be long, not crazy. If the scarf is wrapped around your neck and it still falls below your knee it was made for a girl, probably a tall one. White scarves do not look good on guys and they don't stay white very long anyway so stay away from them too.

I hope these tips will help answer your scarf questions and maybe you'll try rocking one the next time you hit the town on a cold evening.

Tie Length: is too little too bad?

Picking the tie to complete a look is the tough part, but many guys come up short when they tie their neckwear. Proper tie length is a must for a professional appearance; too long and you look unkempt, too short and you look dumpy and juvenile.

So, in an effort to keep it simple here is the rule of thumb: the end of your tie should fall between the top and bottom of your belt when you are standing up. If you wearing a tie and not wearing a belt please stop reading this now and go play tag on the interstate.

If you have to err on one side or the other most people in the know agree that you should go longer rather than shorter, but I feel you should just retie your tie so that it works. Also don't tuck the skinny end into your shirt (this looks like you are a server at Friday's) in fact if you need to tuck anything in you've done something wrong.

Bruce Julian's Clothiers: store review

I have hesitated to write this review for fear that I can't be objective in my critique. I absolutely love this place. Bruce Julian is my favorite place to shop for clothes and quite possibly one of the best men's clothing stores in the southeast. They carry the regions most unique and stylish brands like Jhane Barnes, Alex Cannon, Haupt, Bobby Chan, Robert Graham, and many more.

Bruce himself works hard to find the next big fashion stars and often he stocks lesser known designer's lines. A perfect example of this is Luchiano Visconti a label out of Great Neck, New York. Visconti shirts are one of the best bargains going right now, offering the highest quality and fashion forward design for reasonable prices.

It might be prudent to include a word about pricing at this point. For the most part Bruce Julian stocks designer clothes but the pricing is in line with or only slightly higher than most department stores. What you get in return is top quality and more than anything else high style. Bruce is also famous for his sales, more often than not Bruce is having a 2 for 1 or even 3 for 1 sale on certain items. These sales sometimes include custom clothing... even suits!

Speaking of custom clothes Bruce Julian offers a huge variety of choices in custom tailored clothing. So whether you need custom shirts, suits, or pants this is the place to go in North Carolina.

Overall, the service and selection you will find at Bruce Julian's Clothiers far surpasses that of any other retailer in the area. So, if you want to look your best give them a try and tell them you heard it here.

Bruce Julian
www.brucejulian.com
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Arboretum

8128-300 Providence Road

Charlotte, North Carolina 28277

704-364-8686

Hours:

Monday - Saturday 10 - 7

Sunday 1 - 5

Blog Action Day: do your part to end poverty

Today is "Blog Action Day" a day set aside for bloggers all over the globe to speak out about a single issue, this year that issue is poverty. So, at this point you're probably muttering to yourself something like, "what can I do to eliminate poverty... this guy is crazy." Well, while I may be a bit off from time to time, I do have some good ideas on how we can do our part and best of all they can be fun. 

One way you can help involves eating. First figure out what you normally spend on dinner each night. Then take one week and see how cheaply you can eat and simply donate the difference to a local food bank.

Another idea involves shopping. Step one is to go through your closet and weed out all your old clothes. Next donate them to a homeless shelter or charity. Now shop for new stuff and fill that closet back up.

Maybe you're more of a social person? Get a group of friends together and donate an evening to a soup kitchen or other charity. This is also a great idea for a group date night.

OK, so those are my three ideas but you might have even better ones. So, I challenge you to come up with three realistic ways you can fight poverty and then... follow through with them!

Socks, Ties, and Everything Nice: to match or not to match

I have gotten a few questions regarding the proper way to match socks and ties with other articles of clothing. The goal here is to create a complete look so that all clothing components "go" or coordinate with each other. So let's start with socks.

In a conservative outfit socks are supposed to act as an extension of the pant leg not the shoe. Therefore they should be the same color or slightly darker than the trousers you are wearing. Matching your socks to your pants helps create a longer vertical line and makes you appear slightly taller than you would otherwise. If you work in a conservative environment or you are interviewing this is a good rule of thumb. However, if you have some freedom or are one of those fashion forward types you can push this a bit, with lighter colored or patterned or even brightly colored socks as long as they compliment your overall outfit. They can pull some color from your shirt and some from your pants, they can even coordinate with your tie. This look is a little more risky but it can actually make you look more fashionable if done correctly. This should go without saying but, never wear athletic socks with anything other than athletic wear, and please tell me you don't wear jeans to the gym.

Ties, on the other hand, are designed to pull your entire outfit together. They should use color and pattern to "tie" your shirt to your pants or suit. This can be done with highlight colors found in your other clothes or by contrasting the color of the tie with both your shirt and pants. The problems begin to arise when you go too far and pick a tie that has no connection to your other clothes. Another common mistake is to match too closely your shirt and tie. If your shirt and tie combination creates a "hidden tie" effect you need to start over. 

Try following these tips to make sure you complete the look the next time you dress up.

Funny Stuff From Class: the things people say

My typography class is currently designing conceptual billboards for local haunted houses in the area. During class the other day one of my students popped his head up and asked, "hey I want to have a guy hanging from a noose... would that be OK?" Another student didn't miss a beat and said, "as long as he's not black." Later in the same class a girl complained, "I can't make anything look scary." Two rows over someone said, "ask your parents how they did it." This really struck me as funny, call it a twisted sense of humor or whatever, I enjoy it when students interact on such a sharp witted level. 

To try and foster just such an environment I often find myself "zinging" a student in response to a complaint or insipid comment. In another of my classes a male student was explaining how he felt about workplace privacy when a female student interrupted saying, "Honey, I ain't nobody's fool..." At which point I cut her off and asked if there might be someone willing to adopt her. Once I walked into a classroom and everyone was being obnoxious, a student asked if I was upset and I responded that "if idiots could fly this would be an airport."

I guess the point of this post is that sometimes humor, even insults, can make us think. I'd like to leave you with one important thought, but I'm not sure you have a place to put it.

Rules We Follow: but never agreed to

Evidently there was a meeting at some point where some great minds came up with a set of behavior rules that most of us follow in our daily lives. While I agree with many of them there are a few that we might want to break if for no other reason than to entertain ourselves.

It is understood that when you ride in an elevator you are supposed to face the doors. I think that is ridiculous. Next time you're sharing an elevator with other people turn around and face them. Then you can start asking questions like you are a quiz show host.

You are also not supposed to have people ride in the trunk of your car. I can't explain the excitement created when you pull up to a gas station and pop your trunk to let out a passenger. You are guaranteed to get stares.

There are a lot of these rules set aside for public bathrooms. For example it is perfectly fine for women to go to the restroom in pairs or small groups, they can even hold hands on the way. Men however must go one at a time. From personal experience it is also against these rules to shake hands with anyone in the men's room. Eye contact is frowned upon and really is only acceptable if you are both washing your hands and making eye contact through the mirror. Also there is no looking down in the men's room. This is especially tough on those guys with low self esteem. Talking in the men's room is discouraged, but it seems to be acceptable if the conversation is held between two close friends or if the topic is sports related.

Next time you are looking for a few laughs try breaking some of the rules. You may be rewarded with applause or you may just get a bunch of strange looks but it will undoubtedly be interesting.

Traveling 101: what not to wear on a plane

I just got back from a trip to the west coast and I was stunned by what some people wear when traveling. It amazes me that people who ought to know better still wear shorts and flip-flops on a plane. I am not saying you should wear your Sunday best, but long pants and closed toed shoes seem obvious choices for those with even the barest margin of common sense. 

If you have never flown it might be important to explain that as soon as the doors close and the plane is preparing for take-off they cut the air conditioning on and it stays on high for the duration of the flight. Also the planes are "cleaned" between flights in a haphazard process that often misses things like gum in the seats or on the floor boards. Also the seats are narrow with little leg room, and they are bolted to the floor with thick metal brackets. So, you can see how stepping or sitting in gum, and stubbing your toe can easily occur. 

Once you reach your destination there is usually a long walk to baggage claim which may include any or all of the following: trams, escalators, elevators, moving sidewalks, stairs, ramps, and/or bumps. Also airports tend to transition between carpet and polished tile at random intervals, so shoe choice is important for these reasons and one more. Possibly the most compelling reason for wise shoe choice is the fact that airport restroom floors are disgusting. Sometimes they are flooded, sometimes they are slippery, sometimes they are sticky, and sometimes they are just indescribable, but 100% of the time you do not want to touch your bare foot to them.

So, the proper attire should be: long pants that are nice but not too nice, well constructed shoes that are comfortable, and layers on top so that you can adjust to the temperatures in the airport, the airplane, and your destination.

This means the following choices are out: high heels, sandals, shorts, your best suit, your favorite dress, and anything that might fall off and hit the bathroom floor.

Hopefully these tips will help you enjoy your next flight no matter where you are headed.

Drawing 102: perfect requires practice

The first time you do anything it is highly unlikely that you will be good at it. Drawing is no different. I can't count the number of times new students come to me before class and say, "I can't draw." It seems that they think drawing is some kind of god given talent that one either has or doesn't have. Drawing is like any thing else: the more you work at it the better you'll be. 

Many people also start out drawing subjects that are beyond the capability of most beginning artists. If the first thing you try to draw is a self portrait... well you're vain, but you're also likely to be less than pleased with the results. Start out with simple shapes like blocks and cones. As you master these you can build your more complex subjects out of these component shapes as if you were building them with Legos. Use a light pencil for this structural sketch work and then refine your lines until you are happy with the form. This process allows for mistakes and gives the artist the ability to easily correct those errors. 

Taking the time to complete many "studies" of a subject using this method will improve your skill at drawing and also enhance your familiarity with the nature of what you are drawing. 

Portrait Photography: make your model look fabulous

When taking portraits of people some photographers do not take into account the design possibilities that are available. Each model presents different strengths and weaknesses and failing to address those creates stale boring images. Portraits should be a creative collaboration between the model and the photographer, taking into account design aesthetics and the environment.

If your model is athletic and flexible you should incorporate this dynamism into the photo. Use angled lines in the environment to highlight angled poses and features of your model. Use stairs and railings as visual cues to avoid posing your model in a straight line. Bend their knees and stretch their arms to compliment the different lines of the stairs. While the result shouldn't look like modern dance it also shouldn't look like your grandmother posing in front of the fireplace.

If your model is muscular and strong try shooting them from above forcing a three point perspective view. This will make them appear almost super human with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. 

If you are shooting a more traditional pose make sure you don't take the picture at eye level. This distorts the subject and creates a pear shape that is not flattering for anyone. Try moving the camera to waist level or even lower to capture a more centered view of your model. 

Consider using a shallow depth of field for portrait work. This allows you to blur the background and force the viewer's focus toward the model. It is a good idea to take portraits with a telephoto lens for just this reason. The telephoto lens will have a shallower depth of field and it will allow you to remove yourself somewhat from the models immediate environment creating a more comfortable shoot for everyone.

Casual Friday: the ground rules

In the workplace Friday is usually the most laid back and casual day of the week. Few people meet with clients on Fridays and the focus is usually on wrapping up the loose ends from earlier in the week. Many companies have adopted some form of lower standard for workplace attire on Fridays and this can be problematic for some people. 

What is business casual? Can I wear jeans? Shorts? T-shirts? Well, if you have to ask... the answer is likely NO!

Sure, you can lose the tie on Fridays (in most work environments) but this is not the time to wear a sweatshirt and jeans. Basically, the standards are relaxed a bit... maybe the shirttails can come out, or you can sport those new driving mocs but that is about as far as you want to push the limits. 

The thing to keep in mind is that a casual work day is still a work day. So sneakers, and sports jerseys are inappropriate unless you are a professional athlete.

Instead wear that stylish shirt that you haven't been able to pair with a tie. Put on those slightly tighter slacks that look odd when you tuck a shirt into them. Wear those funky Robert Wayne half boots. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to throw on that Dsquared2 sport coat with the ticket pocket.

Buttons: to button or not?

Jacket buttons are a source of confusion for many people. Depending on what style jacket you are wearing you should button some of them but not all of them. Here are the basic rules:

One button jackets - button it

Two button jackets - button the top but not the bottom button

Three button jackets - button the top, your choice on the middle, don't button the bottom one

Four button jackets - button the top one, your choice on the middle two, don't button the last one

Five button jackets - don't buy them, if you have one don't wear it

More than five button jackets - see above

Working buttons on jacket sleeves - also known as surgeon's cuffs, leave the button closest to your hand unbuttoned on each sleeve and button the rest.

When you sit you should unbutton all your jacket buttons (obviously this does not apply to sleeves) before you sit. If you can't button any of your buttons you should buy a new jacket.

Outerwear: completing the look

Most people spend a fair amount of time considering what they are going to wear each day. Choosing the right shoes for a meeting or the tie that perfectly compliments both our shirt and our mood are common morning decisions. This process seems to stop when it comes to outerwear. For example, "Oh, it's raining... I'll grab my plastic rain slicker with the hoodie." This is not acceptable for anyone over the age of sixteen. 

Outerwear is fundamental to projecting your image, after all it is the first thing that people will see. If you have a fleece zip up on over a great looking shirt and tie, you are effectively committing fashion suicide. 

Pea coats, car coats, and even trench coats are regaining popularity and the overcoat and traditional men's raincoat have never gone out of fashion. These give you additional options and can make it seem as if you own more clothes than you actually do. For instance in spring you can pair a lightweight raincoat with a shirt and tie for a hip high-style look. In late fall throw the same raincoat over a blazer or suit jacket for a more formal structured look. 

The key when choosing outerwear is picking pieces that can do more than one job within your wardrobe. Removable liners help make overcoats more practical for winter, spring, and fall. Lighter weight outerwear adds versatility in that they can be worn over sweaters, and even other jackets. 

Take these thoughts into consideration the next time you reach for that winter coat your mom bought you for college, you know the one that makes you look like the kid from 'A Christmas Story.' Does that thing really go with any look?

Typography Tips: more than two is too many

Modern typography is blessed with an embarrassment of riches. There are literally millions of different typefaces out there from which to choose. However many of them serve very little purpose.

I recently ran across a font where the letters were formed by cartoon versions of Pittsburgh Steeler fans and the numbers were designed to look like players' jerseys. How many uses does this font have? It serves a niche market to say the least. 

Because there are so many different faces to choose from it is becoming more common to see fonts used inappropriately. Display fonts, those with bold designs or detailed decoration, should never be used for body copy. Likewise, san serif fonts should never be used for paragraphs or large areas of body text. 

The most prevalent problem is the use of too many typefaces on one project. Good typography requires either a concordant typographical design, meaning one font family is used throughout, or a contrasting typographical design, meaning two contrasting font families are used throughout the project. You see contrasting design in newspapers where they use a bold san serif typeface for headlines and other short bursts of information, and a more modern font with serifs for the body copy.

It is never good typographical design to use more than two font families on a given project. Look for examples of designs that break this rule and make sure you don't break it in your own work.

Sport Coat and Jeans: how to pull it off

Wearing a great pair of jeans paired with a nice sport coat can work if you know what you're doing. However, if you don't get the look right it can end up being the business casual version of a mullet. While there are exceptions to every rule some simple guidelines will help you look sharp and ready for anything.

A monochromatic color scheme is a great place to start. A charcoal colored button down shirt, black jeans, and a black sport coat create a classic look that most men can pull off well. Make sure your shirt-tails don't hang below your sport coat. If you decide to tuck in the shirt you have the opportunity to go flashier than normal with your belt (no studs or crazy stuff but push the envelope here a tad). If you want to rock the t-shirt, make sure it goes: a bright shirt will not work here. Instead try a black shirt with a muted design, or a high quality gray ribbed t-shirt.

If you go blue instead of black with the jacket, wear blue jeans and a white or cream colored button down. The t-shirt is not a great option here, but if you must, pick a cream with some texture or even a light brown. Also on the navy blazer you will want to avoid the golden buttons (unless you own a yacht and then go for it).

Mix in striped jackets, bold blazers, and other more aggressive options as you become more comfortable with the look. 

Shoes Say A Lot: make sure you send the right message

Dress shoes are an investment, they complete a suit or outfit and they are one of the first things that style minded people look at. Good dress shoes should communicate that you are a professional and that you are successful. Buying new shoes is a great way to make those statements but over the long haul, taking care of the ones you already own makes much more sense. 

Before we talk about shoe care, let's cover storage and protection. Leather shoes should always be given at least a day to 'rest' in between wearings. This allows the moisture that accumulates during normal wear to be released by the leather. If you wear the same shoes day after day, the leather will become too moist and will wear out quickly. Also when you store your shoes use cedar shoe trees to keep the form of your foot and to help wick away that moisture. Cedar also helps reduce foot odor. 

Caring for shoes is actually quite simple and requires only a modest investment of time and money. You will need a horsehair brush, two soft cloths, and some shoe shine or polish that matches your shoes. First use the brush to remove any dirt or debris from all surfaces of the shoe. Then apply shine to the shoe using one of your soft cloths; this will become your 'on' cloth. Work in small sections and apply only a small amount of shoe shine or polish. When you have covered the entire leather surface, use the other cloth, your 'off' cloth to buff out the shoe, leaving a clean and often shiny quality. Finally go over the shoes once more with the brush to remove the last trace amounts of polish and you're done.

Many men and women admit to judging others by first looking at the shoes they are wearing. Make sure the message you send with your footwear is a positive one.

Interviewing: it's a process of elimination

If you are interviewing for a new job you may think the employer's goal is to find the best candidate from all those who applied or sent in résumés. That is not the case. From the employers point of view they need to quickly weed out as many of the applicants as possible by whatever means necessary. 

Few interviewers have the time or inclination to sit through dozens of long interviews trying to figure out which prospective employee is the best. Rather they eliminate candidates based on dress, promptness, neatness, grooming, first impressions, and an infinite array of other seemingly minute details. 

Here is where you must do your part to insure you make the short list of interviewees that the employer will spend some time with. If you have a weird hairstyle or a nose ring, now is the time to make a change. The more professional you look, the more likely you are to get through this process of elimination. 

It doesn't seem fair that employers are going to be judging you based on these surface issues, but it is a fact of life and the sooner you realize this the better. This same concept holds true if you are meeting new clients, making a sales pitch, or even going out on a first date. In other words, when there is nothing to object to, people will take time to get to know the real you.

Don't be Sheep: go after what you want

Many of us are too concerned about appearances to actually express our real thoughts and feelings. We let ourselves be led around by the expectations of others or some preconceived notion of what our lives should "look like." Instead we ought to take some time to analyze what we want out of our lives and create a plan to make those things happen. 

If travel is a real passion of yours and you are constrained by your current situation, start looking for ways to create a life that includes travel. Maybe that means looking for another job or even changing careers. Whatever the case, you only get one shot in this life so make it count. 

Perhaps you are interested in a new position or opportunity at work. If you don't let anyone know about your desire for that position, chances are they won't ever know you were hoping to make a change. It is your responsibility to go after what you want, whatever that may be.

Think of today as your first chance to express who you want to be and tell someone about it. Work hard for the things you want and take pleasure in getting them. Don't be a sheep, instead be a billboard advertising the new and future you.

Inspiration: it's a two way street

Last term I taught a course called “Comprehensive Illustration” to two groups of twenty students. I have taught this course several times now and I find that it is always the highlight of my year. This year I specifically planned to push the students creatively and assigned projects with creativity as the central theme. As an example, one of these assignments required students to hand draw a scaled dimensionally accurate machine that would turn one type of animal into another. The students loved it and they turned in a variety of machines, from an assembly line that through a series of gruesome steps turns a zebra into an ostrich to a series of electrically charged holding tanks that morph an elephant into a goldfish.

The most interesting thing happened as these students churned out tough assignment after tough assignment. I became engaged in their creativity and excitement. I spent more time preparing for that class than I have in years. I constantly polished my lectures and reviewed tests and handouts like they were religious text translations.

I also solved many pesky little problems that had been plaguing my department for months. I created new forms for the committees I’m on, I took on additional courses to cover for a sick co-worker, I even cleaned my office. The transformation wasn’t restricted to work either. I donated my old motorcycle to charity and cleaned out my garage and turned it back into a studio where I can paint again.

At the end of the term I had the students each paint a small square, which when put together formed the image of an Asian American looking out over traffic on a busy street. It was a picture used by the U.S. Census Bureau to highlight immigration issues. The painting turned out beautifully and I framed it, in my garage/studio and hung it in the computer lab of the graphic design department. Hopefully it will remind the students of a wonderful semester of work and how each of them faced creative challenges, but it will definitely remind me of why I chose to teach in the first place.

Creativity and enthusiasm breed more of the same. Being surrounded by students who love what they are doing and who didn’t mind working hard to make something just a little better brings out those same feelings in me.

I believe that students are motivated by their professors but just as dramatically, maybe even more so, instructors can be motivated by their students.

Make a List: how to embrace change

Would you like to be happier with your life? Are you looking for a new job? Would you like to be more confident? All these situations and many more really boil down to a desire for change. While the examples above are generally positive changes we know that change can be negative as well: loss of a job, a break up, being forced to change careers, etc. The common theme here is change and it is up to you to make it positive. 

Some of the best changes you can make in life start out as negative situations that you can not escape. They key is to list your greatest talents and desires as they relate to the change in your life. If you lost your job, try listing the attributes of your ideal position. What would that job be? Where would you work? What type of environment would you like to work in? Focusing on how you can improve your situation should provide you with a set of guidelines with which you can embrace this change and how you can better yourself in the end. 

Making a list is important because it may highlight skills or characteristics of which you were not aware. Are you good with people? Do you like solving problems? Are you good at math? Answering these types of questions will help fill your list with those hidden talents and desires that make you, well you. Knowing your strengths as well as your weaknesses gives you a roadmap that can help lead you to the perfect scenario.

Think of your current situation as being slightly broken... then describe what your "fixed" state would look like. Would you have more friends? Would you have a better job? Being able to visualize this "fixed" state gives you a target to strive for. Without a clear picture of what you want, you may drift into repeating past mistakes or even making new blunders. It is much like going on vacation: if you don't have a map you may end up anywhere. If your map is detailed and thorough enough you may end up in that perfect place.

Suit Buying: how to look good

When buying a suit there are a lot of choices to consider but the desired result is usually the same, "I want to look good in this suit." Unfortunately, there is no one size, or style that fits all, so let's break suit buying down by two basic body types.

If you are tall and don't want to appear taller avoid vertical stripes and stick to a three button jacket. Also try to choose a suit with pleated pants. The idea is to break up all the long vertical lines to create an illusion of width and substance. You may even want to get your pants hemmed with a cuff to create another visual break in the long lines of your legs.

Conversely, if you are wider than you'd like to be try a suit that has vertical stripes. Choose a two button jacket and avoid pleats and cuffs at all costs. Here the idea is the opposite, we are trying to extend all the vertical lines in your suit to give the illusion of height and reduce the width of your torso. Get your pants hemmed with a "full break" meaning that they fall all the way to your shoes with a slight wrinkle about 4-6 inches above the tops of your feet. It is important to get your suit fitted while wearing the style of shoe you will be wearing with the suit so that the break is appropriate for those shoes.

These two strategies cover the most basic suit choices, more details and other options including altering and ordering custom clothing will be showing up in later posts.

Drawing 101: avoid these beginner mistakes

Every artist has to start somewhere and if you are new to drawing it can seem pretty intimidating. This post covers a few mistakes that new artists often make. Avoiding these in your illustrations should help get you started off on the right foot.

One of the most common mistakes is using the wrong pencil. "Make your marks heavy and dark," is great advice for taking a standardized test but not so much for illustrating. You want a range of tonal values to choose from and a number 2 pencil is pretty hard and creates light shading. For average shading and medium toned areas try a B or 2B. When drawing highlights and light detail use a 4H. Dark areas and heavy shading might call for a 6B or even 8B which are softer and allow for easy coverage. 

Another common mistake happens when we try to take what we think we see and draw it. Does your favorite pet have an outline? Then why do you draw one? Outlining shaded drawings kills the effect of the tonal change between shaded areas. It destroys the illusion of depth and dimension. Sure, you can start your illustration by drawing the outlines of simple shapes and build it up from there, but these outlines should be very light and not visible in the finished work. 

Drawing every hair or blade of grass is yet another bad plan. You should create the illusion of hair or grass by using good shading technique and by adding details only to the few lightest and darkest individual components. When drawing leaves and foliage avoid using the tiny circles or scribbly ovals technique. Instead draw more crescent shaped marks and add shading in front and behind your marks to indicate the overall shape of the tree or bush.

Shadows are black, not dark gray. Do not limit your tonal range to a small spectrum of grays. Carry your illustrations from the lightest gray you can accomplish to the deepest black. This more closely resembles how we see the world and will make your drawings more interesting.

Remember these mistakes the next time you get ready to start a new drawing and make a plan to avoid them. This will help you become a better artist and boost your confidence.

Illustrator Tip: assign your own keyboard shortcuts

One feature Adobe added to Illustrator in version nine is the ability to create your own keyboard shortcuts. This can speed up the design process by allowing the user to create custom "quick key" combinations that make sense for their individual design sense. 

This feature can be found under the Edit menu (usually the last item in this menu). The user can apply custom shortcuts to either the Tools themselves or to the Menu Commands. Also, Adobe made this feature 'smart' in that it will alert the designer if a selected key command is already in use by Illustrator to perform another operation. 

Using shortcuts, either the default set or custom ones you create, will help reduce the overall time it takes to produce a design. Using this tip to save a few minutes here and there on every project will make you a faster and more profitable designer.

Voicemail: get your call returned

Voicemail is a convenience that almost all of us both love and hate. We love it when we use it but we hate it when someone we're calling does. We often do not get calls returned when we leave messages, and overcoming that problem is the focus of today's post. Let's assume that you are cold calling a new client, you get their voicemail, and your short term goal is to get a return call.

First the basics: don't leave any information that will predispose the client to making a decision one way or the other about your product or service. For example don't tell them you want to sell them advertising space in your company's magazine. Instead simply say that you are calling from (insert name here) magazine and would like to speak with them about "some ideas." Always leave your complete phone number twice so that they have time to write it down without replaying your message. 

Never ask for a call back at a specific time or within a specific time frame. This only serves to give the other party a reason for not calling. For the same reason never state in the message that you will call them back, even if you plan on doing so. 

Do not make cold calls on Mondays or Fridays. Mondays are spent "catching up" from the weekend and can be very busy. Fridays are often wasted days spent planning weekend activities and finishing up small "house cleaning" tasks from earlier in the week. Statistically, messages left Friday afternoons are the least likely to be returned.* 

Make your message an introduction and link it to something of interest to the client: an event or up coming function, a mutual friend or business associate, or even an interesting and applicable news item. The stronger this personal tie is, the more likely you will get your call returned.

Lastly, voicemail is like a small sticky note, not a full sheet of college ruled composition paper. Keep it short and to the point. If you tend to ramble, you should rehearse or even jot down a "script" before you call. If this "script" takes up two pages tear it up and try again.

*Hunter, Mark. Voicemail Survival for the Sales Professional  

Cell Phone Etiquette: together we can make a difference

Cell phones have nearly become a required tool in modern business. However as with any other tool there are best practices and social norms to consider. However, many otherwise civilized individuals are breaking these unwritten rules in some sort of twisted homage to the almighty mobile phone. Let us begin with the strangely uncommon common sense guidelines. 

Do not interrupt a meeting, lecture, performance, or other group activity by having your cell ring or even worse by answering a call. It is the height of rudeness to state through words or actions that "you people are not as important as this other person who might be calling me." If you expect such a critical call you have no business engaging in other activities, in fact you should probably call the other party to attend to your ultra important issue post haste. The only exception to this rule is if you are required by law to provide life-saving aid in case of an emergency. 

Do not set your ring tone to anything other than a ring or tone. Tinny sounding music, no matter how great the song, is never a welcome surprise in any setting. We do not need to know that you love disco or that at heart you think hip-hop is "da bomb."

Do not carry multiple electronic devices on your belt. This does not make you look more professional... it makes you look like a geek. The only exception to this rule is if you are Batman.

Avoid wearing a bluetooth or other headset when you are not on the phone. If possible avoid this even when you are on the phone. The 'Judy from Time Life' look has never caught on and it is unlikely that you are the individual to "set it off." Plus, it is often hard for us to determine if you are talking to us, yourself, or someone on your phone.

Finally, a word on pagers... no. 

I hope these few tips have helped, and rest assured more electronic device guidelines are headed your way in a later post.

The Pygmalion Effect: pick your friends carefully

In George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion a professor wagers that he can turn a poor flower girl into a lady of high society. The concept is that individuals try to fit in by adjusting to their surroundings. Those surroundings include the expectations of our peers and authority figures. The idea is a powerful one and yet often disregarded in modern times. 

It is applied often enough to animals, we marvel at how fast they adapt to changing environments. How a once wild tiger can be trained to perform tricks and amazing acrobatics. How a parrot can speak and ask its owner for food or water. We are impressed by these adaptations but fail to carry the comparison to our own friendships and associations. 

The bottom line for us is that we generally live up to the expectations of the people we are around. If your boss thinks you are a very dependable person, you tend to be more dependable than you otherwise would be. If your friends think you are the funniest person they know, you tell jokes and act funny more often than you would otherwise. So far this sounds pretty harmless but there is a darker side.

If someone's boss thinks they are incompetent, or incapable of completing a task that person often lives up to that expectation by failing or underperforming. If your boyfriend is jealous and believes you are seeing someone else, you are actually more prone to engage in that behavior based on his expectations. If your friends think you are a dreamer with no real future... well you see where this is going. So, what can we do?

The most important thing to be gained here is awareness. Be aware that the people around you have a good deal of influence on who you are and who you will become. This means that there will be times when ending a friendship with a person who does not think highly of you will be the best thing you can do for yourself. This also means that if you surround yourself with people who respect and admire you, you are more likely to live up to those expectations.

So take stock of your life and identify those people who are negative influences. Weed as many of them out of your life as possible. Also begin to seek out positive influences when meeting new people at parties or work functions. Try and add one or two positive influences every week and see how quickly your outlook and situation improves.

Customer Service: don't discount it

I have a client that owns and manages a few restaurants. During one of our first meetings we sat down with his marketing person to discuss ways to bring in new patrons and increase repeat business. One of the first suggestions from the marketing guy involved coupons. My client immediately cut him off saying, "I don't discount my food." This seemed harsh and closed minded until I realized how important his statement was. In many businesses the first reaction to poor sales or a slow month is to discount the product or service. This will attract new clients and increase business, but it may not help the bottom line. In fact discounting an item often establishes a base price in the mind of the customer. 

If I buy a can of peas for 75 cents this week am I likely to be happy when they are more expensive next week? This is one of the most important concepts when it comes to customer service. You must look at your business through the eyes of your clients. If I have to pay more next month for a product I bought on sale this month it appears like I am not getting a good deal. 

So, if you can't cut prices how do you create more business? Promote what you and your company already do well. Advertise, promote, highlight, and emphasize what you are doing right to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Often this comes down to good customer service. Most of us are willing to pay a premium for good service and attention to detail. Many business owners are willing to offer better service and more attention to premium customers... it is a perfect scenario. 

Spend some money where it will improve your customer service. Ask employees what would help them to serve your clients' needs. Implement a few of the best ideas. This will increase employee "buy-in" and show the customer that you value your staff. 

Eliminate poor performers who are not living up to high standards of service. For every complaint you receive about an employee rest assured ten other customers left upset without saying a word. It is vital to your long term success that you keep only energetic, qualified, and happy staff members. This sometimes means you will need to provide more training for new hires or even additional training for current employees, but in the long term you will be rewarded.

Keeping a constant focus on customer service will not only grow your business but also keep that growth for the long haul, something specials and discounts can't do. So when it comes to good service, never discount it.

Suit Buying: a few points to ponder

When buying a new suit one is faced with many things to consider. I will attempt to help clear up a few of these choices and explain what to look for in a quality suit. First, if you are buying a suit for a specific occasion, say a wedding, funeral, job interview, etc. you should make sure you understand what is appropriate in the areas of color, style, and weight. 

Most traditional occasions like those mentioned previously lend themselves to a conservative suit. Conservative colors include navy blue, charcoal gray, and black. Pinstripe patterns in those colors where the stripes are very thin and hardly noticeable at a few yards are also acceptable. Bold stripes or window pane patterns are not terribly traditional and should be avoided for these situations. 

As for the style of the suit, a two or three button jacket with a notched lapel would certainly fit the conservative mold. A one, four, or five button suit is really more of a fashion statement than a sign of respect. The notched lapel is a traditional American look that has become the standard. Peaked lapels are a bit more fashion forward but they can be acceptable if they are conservatively colored. No notch lapels are most often reserved for tuxedos and at any of these functions unless you are in a tuxedo it can be a strange look. 

When it comes to suit weight the issue is comfort. Heavier weights are often worn in cooler weather and lighter weights are designed for warmer temperatures. The year round or all season weights that have become popular help to bridge that gap. If you are buying one traditional suit that you plan on wearing year round go with the all season weight or a light weight and buy an overcoat. If you are buying several suits or money is not a concern then buy what you like. 

One thing you must consider is the fabric. Good quality worsted wool will last the longest, look the best, breathe quite well, and costs near the middle of the fabric pack. Polyester will wear quickly, look shabby, breathe like plastic, and cost the least. Polyester blends offer very little improvement over straight polyester as the stronger polyester fibers will wear out the wool or silk fibers quickly. Silk and other natural fibers have their benefits but often do not last nearly as long as worsted wool. 

I hope this helps with your suit shopping, in later posts on this subject I'll cover fitting, and body types. Also, look for reviews of clothing stores and other businesses in the coming months.

Grilling Tips

If you are anything like me you enjoy grilling outdoors. I live in an area where I can do this year-round but I find that I grill more often in the warmer months. Partly it is more pleasurable to be outside during warm weather and certainly it is a relief not to heat up the house with the oven on warm evenings. Regardless, of why we're out there grilling let's make the most of it. 

Many people have a tendency to overcook meats on the grill. One possible reason for this is that recipes for grilling tend to be less specific about times and temperatures as grill temps vary wildly from one model to the next. Another factor is the experimental nature of grilling. Compared to a kitchen it is a not as structured, and let's face it, often the less experienced cook "mans" the grill so to speak. 

So here are some tips for insuring you give your grilled meats the best chance at making it to the dinner table perfectly done.

Let meats reach room temperature before they hit the grill. If we move meat from the fridge (or God forbid the freezer) to the grill we are going to burn the outside of the cut well before the center reaches its target doneness. So, keep meats in the fridge until they are completely thawed and then "rest" them at room temperature for 15 minutes or so just before they hit the grill. This will allow them to cook through more evenly.

Take meats off the grill a few minutes before they are ready. You can expect most cuts to move one category closer to well done even after removing them from the fire. In other words, even though you have cut the heat off the meat is still cooking. If you are grilling a piece of meat at 400° and you turn the burners off the meat does not instantly drop to ambient temperature. Rather it slowly cools down to room temperature and while it is cooling it is still cooking. So take meats off the grill just before they are finished cooking so that they hit their target doneness on the platter not the grill. 

Resting meat on the platter is another area that often gets overlooked. In our rush to serve "before it gets cold" we end up with wet juicy plates and meat that seems dry and spongy. Resting the meat on the platter for 5-10 minutes allows the meat to reabsorb its juices and keeps us from having to wipe our plates several times before serving them. This is especially true with roasts and other dishes that you are going to cut before you serve. A flank steak or london broil that is not allowed to rest turns into a bloody mess on the plate.

All of these tips apply equally well to chicken, pork, lamb, and other meats. Try to implement these tips the next time you grill out, and see if they don't improve your results.

Tipping: over tip for poor service

Think back to the last time you had poor service while dining out. Did you tip? Did you tip less than normal in hopes the waiter/waitress would get the message? If you did tip less than the norm you are probably reinforcing unwanted behavior. Think about it, will the waitperson remember you fondly or are they more likely to think you are a miser and that you deserved the less than adequate service you received? 

If your intention is to make a point you should over tip. A waitperson usually remembers someone who tips above the norm, especially after poor service. In fact they will probably feel a bit guilty about their treatment of you. So, the next time you dine with them they are far more likely to take better care of you than if you under tipped previously. 

Over tipping for poor service seems counterintuitive, yet it makes perfect sense. Wait staff get paid primarily through tips and it is in their best interest to develop relationships with those patrons who tip well. So, if we tip well we get treated well.

Obviously, this suggestion only makes sense if the restaurant in question is one you plan on patronizing again.

Creativity: developing good ideas

"You're so creative." Many of us have heard that over the years and honestly, it makes some of us cringe. Many "creative" people don't feel terribly radical or unique, they have just had some good ideas in the past. The cringing comes from worrying about what happens if we never have another good idea. There are plenty of strategies out there for developing creative ideas and many of them work. You just need to overcome almost everything you have ever been taught. 

More to the point you need overcome the way in which you were taught. "Stop drawing in your book." "Stop talking." "Listen to this..." "The correct way to..." "You should always..." These are common phrases teachers use daily to keep order and maintain student focus. While I'm not saying classrooms should be chaotic and every teacher is a curmudgeon, I do think some effort should be focused on developing creativity. 

When I run brainstorming sessions with my design classes, I am always amazed at how afraid students are to contribute ideas. Brainstorming, when properly done, accepts any idea, no matter how offbeat or crazy. Later ideas are vetted to weed out those that are less likely to produce the desired results. What's interesting is that many of the greatest ideas come from the offbeat or crazy column. For example I was running a brainstorming session where we were to develop a television commercial for a compact car. The target market was women 18 - 24 buying their first car. When polled 85% of this group claimed they wanted reliability above all other features. The most common response to "Why do you want to buy a new car?" was some variation of "reliable transportation to and from work." Some other key features mentioned were power, safety, look, style, and keyless entry. 

So the session was off to a bad start, we had ideas ranging from the carpool ad to the coffee run. Standard stuff that would impress exactly no one. So I asked for ideas that the group would NEVER put in this car ad. I got several puzzled looks and questions but I stuck to it and things started rolling. Then I got "beavers" "aliens" "death" "garage sale" "toilets" "egg salad" and then when the initial spurt was over I expanded on each one. For beavers we began adding other animals that weren't good for car commercials. We ended up with a bunch of animals listed and we went on like that for a few minutes. At the end the board was covered with ideas. 

When it came time to narrow them down I asked for each group member to give me their worst combination of three listed ideas on the board. Then we voted on the worst of those and the winner was "Dead Zombie Cows." 

The Commercial

Close-up of a woman wearing a black cocktail dress walking on a cobblestone street. The cobblestones are shiny from a recent rain and her black high heels provide the only sound as they click nervously along the road. Alternate wide overhead shots showing how alone she is and close-ups of her shoes striking the stones with the night sky as the only backdrop. Then a quick cut to an extreme close up of black fur and a grunting, groaning sound fills the air. The woman stops, looks in every direction, looks down at her small handbag and starts to dig out her keys. She starts walking again. Cut to a close-up of cow snout and vapor escaping a wide nostril... more grunting. The click of heels on stone increases and we see the woman turn toward a dimly lit parking lot. Cut back to a tight shot: the heard of dead zombie cows! Back to her, you see over her shoulder the shiny black coupe. Her hand finally emerges from her bag with the keys. The cows are close now. She is almost to the car now and hits the remote. Close-up door locks unlocking. Close-up the turn signals and headlights blink once. Close-up cow face, eyes blink and look confused. Girl gets in the car and puts her key in the ignition. The engine starts and she shifts into reverse. She backs up almost to the herd of deadly bovine zombies. Then she shifts and floors it. The cows look at the receding taillights and then at one another. They shrug and walk off. The tagline is spoken and displayed: The new (insert car make), and (insert model)... always reliable.

So, when you need to be creative try to be the opposite of a good little boy or girl and who knows what you'll come up with.

Anticipation: make it work for you

In the immortal words of Lemmy Kilmister, "the chase is better than the catch." Put another way sometimes the anticipation of something is better than the actual experience. How often do we feel let down by the reality of a situation that we have been looking forward to for months? I feel it is very important to enjoy, even to relish the anticipatory emotions leading up to every "big deal" in our lives. Too often we downplay expectations hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the experience. This does not allow us to fully enjoy or take advantage of the warm fuzzy feeling that we generally call anticipation. Why do we deny ourselves this basic pleasure? Chalk it up to lowering expectations, avoiding disappointment, fear of failure, etc. The point, in my view, is that any time we are given the opportunity to feel good about something, we should take it. In fact looking forward to things is a sign of high self-esteem. The optimist has several serious advantages over the pessimist. For example optimists are happier, healthier, and more successful than pessimists.* Pessimists on the other hand do tend to be more realistic than optimists. So, which would you rather be: healthy, happy and successful or realistic and tempted to slit your wrists? I'll take happy anticipation every time!

For those practical people out there think of it this way: optimists visualize positive outcomes. A pessimist sees themselves failing and often this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are about to make a sales call and you visualize it going badly you may unconsciously contribute to that failure by making a bad pitch or communicating negative feelings non-verbally to your client. If you walk into the same meeting with positive anticipation you can unconsciously pass positive messages to the client and even improve your sales pitch. Do you think professional athletes warm up with thoughts of failure running through their heads? Rather, most high performing pro athletes anticipate success during every practice. They visualize that perfect play, the last minute buzzer shot, the long pass for a touchdown, being the first to break the tape, etc.* Can you apply this to your work, to your life? 

The next time you are looking forward to something and your friends or even the little voice inside your head tells you, "don't get too excited" make sure you remember you have a choice in the matter. Take responsibility for your own happiness and choose to mentally frolic in your anticipation. Just before your next presentation or project take a little time to anticipate success and embrace the idea that this next experience will change your life in the best possible way.

*statistical information on these topics can be found in Human Relations: Strategies for Success 2nd Edition by Lowell H. Lamberton, Leslie Minor-Evans

Proximity & Correspondence

The design concepts of proximity and correspondence are two of the most important when it comes to organizing visual information. Creating good visual organization is really about building relationships. For example a photo with a caption underneath, we understand they are related because of their proximity to one another. Think: the closer the components are, the stronger their relationship. As for correspondence, we also establish relationships based on visual similarity. If a bit of blue underlined text turns out to be a link on a web site then we will naturally assume that the next bit of blue underlined text we come across on that site will also be a link. This type of perceptual organization goes back to prehistoric times when man had to categorize things like berries that were safe to eat and those that were, lets say gastronomically challenging. If one yellow berry made our tummies hurt we would be unlikely to try another similar looking yellow berry (correspondence) or, for that matter another berry from the same bush (proximity).

What does this mean for the designer? Well, it is a guide of how to make design easy to interpret for the end user. Take a catalog of home goods as a practical application. To make the catalog easy to interpret the designer should place the item's picture very close to the item's name, description, and price. This establishes the relationship between those elements through proximity. Also each item title, description, and price throughout the catalog should look the same. This means using the same font, size, color, and style for every title, another for every description and so on.  This seems obvious now doesn't it? Yet, how many catalogs have pictures with little inset numbers or letters which we as the customer must track down and match with an item description on the facing page? This design faux pas also exists in many popular magazines. A page of celebrity pictures from a charity event has inset numbers and we are to find their counterparts in a paragraph of text about the event? 

These concepts are powerful outside design as well. In fact they help explain a lot about how we interpret the world around us. Let's say you are in the parking lot of your favorite discount store... how about Target? As you are walking from your car you see an older man (70 or so) and a young girl (8-9). They are close to one another and walking in the same direction. What do you assume? Grandfather and granddaughter? Pedophile and victim? Either way you have given them a pretty powerful relationship based solely on proximity. Say you continue into the store, shopping for a greeting card and pet food. In the greeting card section you run into a woman wearing a purple and white striped sweater and green corduroy pants with brown clogs. After you overcome your gag reflex you pick out a card and head over to the pet section for cat food (you now have a cat). In the pet food section you see a guy wearing a purple and white striped long sleeved knit shirt, green cords, and brown sandals. Do you assume coincidence? No, you build a relationship in your head. Two escaped mental patients, performers of some kind, people who lost the same bet, married couple with no taste, etc. Thus you have built a relationship based on correspondence. 

Pay attention and note how often these two concepts help shape your reality and make sure to use them on your next design project.

Introduction & The Hardware of Fashion

For those of you who don't know me I am a graphic designer living in Charlotte, North Carolina. I worked in the printing industry for ten years before striking out on my own. I began The James-Winston Company in 1999 and it has been my great privilege to work with some great clients over the years. I look forward to adding many more to that list. I have a master of science degree in print media from The Rochester Institute of Technology. I currently chair the graphic design department at King's College, so right now my days are pretty full.

This blog will undoubtedly cover a wide range of topics that I can't predict, but I am sure it will hit design topics, modern style, some photography, lecture notes (great for those of you in my classes), things I find amusing, and probably some finer points regarding food. 

I will keep posts short, sweet, and more or less to the given point. Please feel free to comment or drop me an email here. 

Today's topic: The Hardware of Fashion

OK, this is a little thing but it really says a lot about an individual's taste and style. If you have metal bits showing in any part of your "outfit" they should all match. Sounds simple right? Unfortunately it evidently escapes the majority of people I see out and about town. So if you have shoes with some sort of buckle, a belt, cuff links, a watch, and a ring they should all match.

A few words about wedding and engagement rings... many people feel that these are the only exception to this rule but I disagree. I have several bands and swap them out depending on what I am wearing that day. I guess it could be seen as extravagant to have two engagement rings but hey, who doesn't want another rock?

Think about this next time you are getting ready in the morning are you breaking this rule?