Hey guys! I hope you are well. How Autumnal are these pictures?! I really do love the Autumn, and we’re having the most odd one in years, It was 15C the other day…In November! That is quite insane.
I have been talking with Finaest, an Italian boutique set up by Luca Gianmaria Catalano, which offer luxury fashion with history and the best craftsmanship. I discovered this light blue shirt, from the label Santillo. Santillo was founded in 1970 and is a family run business, with a high emphasis on quality craftsmanship. All their shirts are hand made from high end Italian cloth, and offer both bespoke and ready to wear products.
The shirt feels amazing and I love the fit. I have tried to do a close-up shot so you can see the quality of the cotton which is remarkable. It has no front placket, often called a French front placket, and Australian mother of pearl buttons. You can get this shirt in light blue, or other colours at Finaest here.
I wore the shirt with some navy blue chinos, my Jaeger grey jacket along with Kurt Geiger derby shoes. The outfit is finished off with a D&G watch and classic white pocket square. Remember to check out more of my fashion tips, including what to wear this Autumn.
I love retro gaming! I was lucky enough to be born when I was, and so I had games machines like the NES, and a few SNES and Sega Megadrive consoles too; Those to me are my childhood, and when I got a bit older came the PlayStation/Dreamcast/N64 generation; and I had the best one, the PlayStation.
Between those I had others, in the handheld department I had an Atari Lynx and SEGA Game Gear, I also had an Atari Jaguar, and computers including Atari ST along with a whole host of Amigas, including a few Amiga 1200’s, which was probably my favourite in the computer department.
If you live in Newcastle you’ll know all about the Fenwick Christmas window tradition. Each Christmas the window is dressed up in a Christmas or themed way, and is always a must see for everyone in Newcastle. Last year it was Alice In Wonderland, and this year’s window was unveiled last Friday. This year the window is a traditional Christmas scene, with a story about Santa’s sleigh crash landing on the roof of Fenwick.
This has been a Fenwick tradition for years, and also a tradition here on my blog, Michael 84 😀 What kind of Newcastle Lifestyle Blogger would I be without the Fenwick window featured on it! 😛
p.s. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, I will try to replace them with better ones if I can. It was daytime and I had to battle with families and small children!
If you’ve missed out on all the previous ones, you can see all the ones I have covered right here on the blog below:
After a few weeks of rumours and kit leaks, Adidas has officially unveiled the new Spain shirt which is designed for Euro 2016 in the summer. I have seen these pictures, and I am unsure what to make of it at the moment.
It’s a lighter red design than the last one, and is a more traditional red colour as they’ve had before. It has triangular patterns, which is supposed to represent the way Spain plays football, a geometrical formation.
One of the great things about living in the North East is that we have so much great stuff! We have Newcastle, the city, where I live. There’s the day life, shopping, eateries, scenery and plenty to do, with some of the best nightlife in the UK which you will all know about if you’re a regular reader of my blog 😉 Then to the South about 20 minutes drive we have the Metro Centre, the biggest indoor shopping centre in Europe! Yes, Europe, and it’s in the North East of England…Not Paris, not London, the North East! Since we’re close to the coastline we have some great beaches too, and three seaside towns in a row, namely Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay. I was doing some photos at the beach for an upcoming blog feature, suede jackets in Autumn, so I decided to share a couple of pics of Tynemouth.
There’s a few beaches, including King Edwards Bay which is a Blue Flag beach. I walked along from Tynemouth to Cullercoats and took a few snaps. I was only there for a short time so I only took a few pics…In the future I may feature all three places in more detail; They’re all such cool little seaside towns 🙂
The great thing about it is all three are so close together, so you can easily walk through them all…They’re also all on the Metro line, so you can walk to/from each place or jump on the Metro to get from the centre of Newcastle to any of the three places.
I’ve bought a lot of high end jeans from high end fashion houses such as Balenciaga and Dior, to denim brands such as PRPS, Nudie Jeans and True Religion, and how can I forget Evisu, who use premium Japanese denim in most, if not all their jeans.
Good denim is well worth the money, from the fit to the finishing, you can tell the difference in a good pair of denim. If you’re a regular reader then you’ll remember I got a pair of Nudie Jeans Selvedge denim which are fantastic, and fast becoming one of my favourite pairs of denim I own.
Why is everyone obsessed with travelling? At least, that’s how it can seem sometimes.
But I actually think travelling is overrated. Not going places, not having holidays, but the travelling itself, and everything about it.
Let me explain…
For a couple of years now I have said I wanted to do one thing; Travel to different places. My aim is to go abroad at least once a year…If you are a frequent traveller or one of these who thinks jet-setting is the meaning of life, or you use the word ‘nomad’, that will not seem very ambitious.
Why I Hate Travelling
If you love holidays and love to experience new things then you’ll wonder how someone can even ponder not liking to travel. The end result of it all is almost always great, but it’s the build-up, the preparation and tedious planning which is something I hate.
The winter is upon us which means one good thing if you’re a Rekorderlig fan…The Premium Winter Cider is back! I had my first one last year, and loved it, and as you can see, it won’t be my last.
As with all Rekorderlig flavours this one is really nice. It’s so crisp, and even though the ingredients sound like something I wouldn’t usually go for, they work in a drink and Rekorderlig get the combinations just right for a really refreshing taste. The apple cider is infused with vanilla and cinnamon which is perfect for the winter season.
Something else which is unique is that this drink can be served hot or cold. Warm up the winter, or chill out with the refreshing drink, it’s up to you. Personally I prefer an ice cold drink, so that’s what I will always go for 🙂
Autumn is a really good season for jackets of any kind. First of all since it’s after summer it’s getting cold, and gets progressively colder, which means a jacket goes from a casual item you may throw on, to a piece of clothing which you can’t leave the house without. There’s a huge amount of different jackets to wear, from a traditional leather jacket to a cotton bomber, a nylon light jacket or a light quilted jacket, there’s plenty on offer. However a favourite of mine for Autumn has to be a suede jacket.
I got this suede jacket last time round from Nelly. It’s by Jofama from the King 1 line, a Swedish fashion house specialising in premium fashion and leather. It’s a navy blue suede jacket in biker style, and I just love it. To wear it feels really premium and luxurious, the fit is brilliant and there’s lots of detailing such as the diamond quilted shoulders.
Suede keeps you warm enough when the temperatures are starting to get a little bit lower, and this style will keep you looking cool too 😉 Be wary of the rain, suede is not good when it rains, you can get protective sprays, but if you know it’s going to rain you probably want to choose another jacket.
I took these photos at Tynemouth Beach which I have never featured on the blog before. I forget that living in the North East we have so many great locations, the city is so good, there’s plenty of idyllic spots and we have a few blue flag beaches too!
I wore the jacket with my 90’s reissued Calvin Klein T-Shirt, A.P.C denim and Ultra Moire Air Max 1, all pieces which are favourites of mine 🙂 (Watch by D&G and Ray Bans, it was sunny! 😛 )
What do you think of the suede jacket trend? Read more about my favourite men’s fashion trends for the season and beyond.
I’ve only gone and got myself an iPad Mini 2!! So this is a strange time to buy this, but I can explain all! 😉
I have an iPad 2, and had it for a hell of a long time, over 4 years in fact which is a lifetime in technology terms. It’s been a great thing to have, but it’s getting a bit old, slow and tired, and although it’s been useable, it has seen better days. Even before I bought that I wanted a bigger iPad, but there was no such thing at the time. Last year the iPad Mini 3 was released, and the Mini 2 came down in price, I think it was £279 for a 32GB which was so tempting! There were rumours of a larger iPad in the works, so I held off.
iPad Pro Announced
Several months ago I got what I (thought I) wanted, a larger iPad was announced to be released in November. I was excited, and planned on getting one when they were released. But Apple just stated “November” with no actual date, and not even a price for the UK. The speculated price for a 128GB model is £799, and I was happy to pay that, until I got thinking (also with help from watching the Microsoft Surface keynote).
Hello iPad 2 Mini!
The iPad Mini 4 is now available, and they’ve kept the mini 2 going, with an even better price of £259 for a 32GB. This was now far too tempting, and after a few weeks of contemplating I have finally upgraded and got myself this brand new iPad Mini 2 and couldn’t be happier.
So Why The Change Of Mind?
It’s simple, the iPad Mini 2 fits my lifestyle. I wanted a big pro, but when I thought more and more about it, and what I would actually use it for myself (rather than what it can do for other people) I figured out that it would be a bit of a waste. What do I use my iPad for? Reading web pages, a few apps, and that’s about it. I love my iPhone, and use that a lot, and rarely use my iPad if I’m honest. I wanted a pro for the large screen and big space to put lots of films, but really, I watch films on my far larger and better TV via blu ray, so I don’t think I would watch many at all, even though it seems like a really good idea. The iPad Pro is also untried, and doesn’t have a few things that other new Apple products have such as 3D touch, so it’s almost old before it’s even been released!
It seems a bit odd to go from a regular size iPad, want a bigger one, and in fact buy a small one, but that’s how it’s happened! 😛 I’ve been using it for a little while and love it, it feels so much faster and all round better than my iPad 2, which has been good to me. Why not the Mini 4? I don’t think the higher price justifies it, other than the fact that you can get it in gold and it has slight performance benefits.
I will be using this as a reader, probably a few apps and that’s about it. It’ll be good for reading blogs and doing social media, and should last a couple of years, and for £259 you can’t really see better than that. I don’t think I took full advantage of my iPad 2, and used it sparingly, but I think with this one being smaller it fits perfectly as a coffee table device, and can live on a bedside table too.
As for the Pro? I’ll put the idea of getting one on the back burner for now. I may get one sometime in the future, it just won’t be now, or I may not get one at all, and get an ultrabook like a Dell XPS or a Surface Pro, or Surface Book which are proper computers for just a bit more money.
Welcome to Michael 84 – A men’s fashion blog and lifestyle guide from the UK. You’ll find the best in fashion, style, male grooming, fragrances, travel, tech and modern living.
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