Here We Go!

To Sock or Not To Sock?!

Welcome everyone to Manscape Monday! I decided to start this blog with the intention of informing the male population of simple ways they can improve their style, grooming habits ('manscaping' cough cough), and any other random thoughts I have about looking good. All on a limited budget! I don't believe you have to have loads of cash to look good. You just need the right information, know when to shop, and have a bit of ingenuity (or rely on mine).

I know there have been many times in my personal life that I have wondered how to follow a certain fashion trend, groom my facial hair better, take care of my skin, or even tie a tie. These are examples of the many topics we shall delve into together.

Entering into the blogging world is a scary thing for me as I will be sharing some of my deep dark secrets and learning with the rest of you. I'm excited to research certain topics myself, now that I have the motivation to do it, and give my computer a bit more typing love.

As you may have guessed from the name of this blog, I will be posting a new post every Monday so stay tuned to what is in store... Even if I'm only posting for my own eyes I will stay faithful but would appreciate any comments, questions, relevance scale ratings, and advice you would have.

(Ok I'm shutting up with my introduction now...)

For this week's topic, the 'Maiden Voyage' as you may say, I've decided to tackle a fashion trend that has come up quite frequently in Britain the last couple years and is avidly making an appearance in the US. That is the 'let's never wear socks no matter what shoes we wear' fad. Now at first I was a bit apprehensive when I saw guys walking down the street in loafers, vans, toms, etc. with their trousers rolled up showin off a little ankle. I mean, come on! When I was young we would have said, "uh, excuse me, are you expecting a flood?!" and now it's a legit trend. But I digress. Once I came on board with the trend I was faced with a rather embarrassing problem. I want to look fashionable but my feet REFUSE to smell like roses after I've been walking around in shoes with no socks all day. Gross. I tried everything! Baking soda, baby powder, even rubbing deodorant on my feet before I put on my shoes but nothing could keep the smell at bay.  *I wish I was joking about that last one but sadly it's true. I thought to myself, 'if it works for my pits why won't it work for my feet?!'* Every time I visited a friend's house and they had a no shoe rule I was faced with an embarrassing predicament; offend by my smelly feet or by not abiding by the rules. There was NO WAY those shoes were coming off so you can guess which direction I headed!

The other option was to wear super low cut ankle socks. The only thing about this, though, is you can still see a bit of the fabric, even if you buy the same color sock as your shoe. And it looks dumb. Ugh. I was at a 'whit's end' until I discovered LOAFER SOCKS! Seriously. Where had these been all my life?! All my problems were solved with a $12 purchase from Journeys.

The socks are designed to only cover your toes and heel so that no matter which shoe you choose your socks will not be on display. I have been using these socks for the last two weeks and LOVE them. I've gone back to buy several more packs because I love them so much.

 See! (I know these ones are purple. I've been wearing them so much they're the only color I had that was clean. They come in other, more masculine, colors and patterns I promise.) 

 I love that you can even wear them with low-cropped  boat shoes. 

It's a huge trend right now to wear Vans with no socks so I thought I'd snap this quick shot on my way to work to show you they work with any shoe. 

Basically, if you're thinking about following the new no sock shoe craze but are scared of having awful smelly feet (gross) then go buy some of these socks! I got mine at Journey's; $12 for five pairs (here's the link to order online: http://www.journeys.com/product.aspx?id=227073&g=guys) or you can also search Amazon for: loafer socks, liner socks, no show socks, etc. 

Go feel free to follow the trend without leaving a gross smell in your wake. Do it! 

Hope this helped! Feel free to leave feed back, comments, questions, and tune in next Monday for more practical fashion advice. 

Keep lookin' good!