I call it…Old Man Swag.

That’s right, you heard me correctly.

I’m sporting the Old Man Swag these days and you’re going to wish you were to once we’re done here!

First of all lets start at the origin of my revelation.

A few months back when we here in the south were battling that awful weather that just wouldn’t go away, I was watching an old rerun of Gilligan’s Island, and I just could not help but notice how Mr. Howell was killin’ it in the style department. So I said to myself “you know what? You can do that, you can rock the Mr. Howell look.” ‘

Examples:   

So that very next week, the glorious southern bell, that is the sun, came out of her hiding behind the clouds and showed her lovely face, returning the climate to a wonderfully warm and humid Sunny and 75.

So off I went to the thrift store to see what sort Howell attire I could acquire. When I arrived I was overwhelmed with my options.

There were beautiful Hawaiian printed shirts everywhere, chinos for days, and cardigans on cardigans, on cardigans. It was Old Man Swag Mecca! The only thing they didn’t have was the captain’s hat that I was looking for.( <— I was disappointed for real)

I bought 5 Hawaiian shirts, some chinos, and 2 other shirts all for about $15.

So not only does the Old Man Swag look incredible but its MORE than cost efficient!

So one you put one of these outfits on, its almost like your mentality changes. Most days I wear a pair of chubbies shorts, some moccasins and one of my old man shirts and I’m telling you it automatically brings my blood pressure down.

It’s like the clothing form of Xanax.

So I guess that’s perk number tres.

The next reason Old Man Swag is ,and should remain, in style is because it is down right comfortable. I am telling you that when old guys wear the things they wear its because its comfortable and it just doesn’t make any sense to them anymore to wear or do anything that makes them uncomfortable and I’m so glad I am learning that lesson early on.

So on this quest to achieve elderly coolness I discovered a number of people that truly rock the old man style and are simply misunderstood for it and these are the four best examples I could find:

First we have Charlie Sheen. You can always catch the Scheenster in a classic short-sleeved, button-up bowling shirt and a pair of moccasins or loafers with high white crew socks. It probably doesn’t get more old man than that and we all found out, in 2012, just how comfortable Mr. Sheen is with his lifestyle and just how much he cares what other people think. Wouldn’t it be great to have that kind of confidence. (<– dripping with sarcasm)

Next up is good ole’ Snoop Dogg. As you can see that Snoop likes to sport what is widely known to my generation as “The Cosby Sweater”. These sweaters are normally worn by elderly men who bought these sweaters when they were first in style in circa 1993. Like I said before, these clothes are like cloth Xanax, so that’s probably why always seems so relaxed.

Last but most definitely not least is the one and only George Freakin’ Clooney. Put quite simply, he’s the man. He can rock the absolute shit out of a Hawaiian style shirt and 90s weave belt like there’s no tomorrow. If Clooney does it, you should probably be asking yourself why you don’t.

 

Well if I haven’t convinced you by now, I’m probably not going to, but I know that I probably have. It has been awesome to see this style spread throughout where I live and it honestly does make the atmosphere a lot more pleasant. So do yourself a favor and head out get yourself some old man swag and just let all your cares go!

So until next time ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the weather and War Eagle!

 

Easter in ‘Bama!

Well ladies and gentlemen it was Easter last weekend and in the south this means a number of things.

if you’re from Alabama don’t pretend to not know what I’m talking about!

It means Easter Egg hunts, giant hams, new clothes, deviled eggs, allergies, women in funny hats, weather that’s too cold for those new clothes and seeing people at church that you haven’t seen since Christmas.

During the Easter season here in the south, we, of course, focus, or are told to focus, on the reason for the season which the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However the days and weeks leading up to this most holy of Sundays, one question very important, materialistic and stressful question looms in every southern man and women’s mind.

 

“What am I going to wear on Easter Sunday?!?!”

 

This may seem silly to the northerner or the outsider, in general, but every good southerner knows that when you walk into church on Sunday, as you make your way to your family’s regular seat on the same pew that you always sit on, that it is a fashion show of pastels, chevron, pearls, lace, high heels, polo, seer sucker, bow ties, suits and freshly polished shoes. So much effort is put into finding and perfecting these outfits, that I thought I would shine a little light on new and classic southern easter fashion for both men and women.

 

Pastels

  

Pastel dresses and suits are a classic go to for the southerner attending an Easter Sunday church service. One of the newest trends for the ladies this year was the peplum dress that you can see in the picture to the right. Printed, solid, and lace pastel yellows, pinks, blues, greens, and purples can be seen all over church parking lots every easter paired with pearls, heels, and a head of big, freshly hair-sprayed curls can complete any of these outfits perfectly.

Pastel suits and button down oxfords are pretty much a guys staple all the time during the warmer months, here in the south, but they are a classic Easter staple as well. I think we like to rock the button up Oxford because its not just a one occasion shirt and can be dressed up and can be dressed down. For example, I can wear the Oxford to church with a bow tie, khakis, and some wing tips, and then immediately after church remove the bow tie and throw on a pair of coordinating colored shorts and some moccasins and be ready to take down any small child who tries to find more Eggs than I do. The suit, of course, is a little more elaborate and is usually sported by the young professional crowd.

Chevron

Chevron, for some reason, has become a huge deal in the south. I’m not sure why but it has. Chevron is the simple diagonally lined pattern that you see on these dresses and it can be worn by any girl or woman of any age. What I mean by that is, is that it is not seen as inappropriate for any age. This, I’m hoping, is one of those trends that is just a flash in the pan.

Polo

 

This next classic is for the southern gentlemen out there. POLO. I love Polo and everything about it. It is appropriate for every situation in life so I wear it as often as possible. No, I am not someone who cares about labels but I am someone who cares about the way I look and understand that in you must look nice and dress appropriately in this world to make and when it comes to that I choose to wear Polo 9 times out of 10.

Polo is classic for Easter in the south and looks phenomenal. When picking out out a short sleeved polo style shirt or one of their Oxford button downs you just can’t go wrong.

Now as for your pants selection Polo gives you a ton of options. You can wear a classic pair of Khakis ore a navy blue and look awesome, not just on Easter Sunday but any day.

Or if you’re feeling a little more confident, and want to show that you’ve got a sense of actual style, you can choose to pair that shirt you just bought with an awesome pair of colored slacks shown above.

 

Seersucker 

Seersucker is simply a type of pattern that is traditionally a striped cotton with alternate stripes crinkled in the weaving. This pattern can come in any color and is traditionally reserved for occasions such as Easter, Father’s Day, beach weddings and other southern occasions. As you can see you can find seer sucker in just about any color and it is an awesome choice for your Easter attire. 

Well that pretty much sums up your classic Easter style in the south and especially in ‘Bama. It’s simple and its classy and its just how we like it! Until next time ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the weather and War Eagle!

Red Clay Brewing Company

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How To Look and Feel Like a Dapper Dan Southern Man this Spring and Summer in Alabama.

Well ladies and gentlemen its March here in Alabama the beautiful, and that means a lot of things to a lot of people! To Alabama college girls it means “I better eat as much celery as I can between now and spring break and I had better be as artificially tan  as I can be before I get an actual tan at the beach!” To Alabama guys it means finally being comfortable. As a guy from Alabama I know this to be a fact. March means warmth, March means spring, March means potential, and March means looking good. I love spring and summer Alabama style! It’s classic and unique and can only be pulled of by the Dapperest of Dans. Short shorts, button ups, loafers and bow ties are just a few things that you’ll need to pull off the look this summer and below you can find the who’s who and whats what for spring and summer guy’s fashion in Alabama.

You absolutely have got to have these Clark or Minnetonka  loafers for a plethora of reasons. The first reason is they’re freakin’ ridiculous comfortable and we all know that that is the most important factor when it comes to summer in the south. Second reason being that while being comfortable they look stupid good on just about everyone and they are appropriate for every occasion. Say you’re headed down to the river for a day of pier sittin’, fishin’, and tubin’…just throw your shortest shorts on, a button up, and these loafers and you’re not only ready for a hella relaxing day on the river but you could walk into any local restaurant and still be dressed appropriately. I call it “Old Man Swag,” I don’t know why I call it that, it just seems appropriate.

 

Next up on this list of class and style are some good ole’ lady killing socks. We all know females love a good lookin’ pair of socks, especially when their guy is wearing them. So this season I’d keep my feet dry with the ridonculous designs given to us by Stance. Reason number two to have a couple of pairs of these on hand at all times, starting now, is that March is the official beginning of wedding season and what better way to spice up that boring old suit or tux than with bad mamajamas.

These socks will be sure to impress anybody and everybody as well as making the statement you know exactly what you’re doing with your life and are confident enough to break the mold from regular old black, white, and brown.

Moving right along to another southern essential. The next item on the list, along with the loafers, I think are imperative to looking and feeling good in the summer time. (or at least they are for me) Chubbies shorts are having what they call a “shorts revolution” and I have fully enlisted in the “Cargo Embargo.” You all should know right up front that I am not a fan of the “capri” short,the cargo short, or the board short. These three impostors should all be burned and, as the good people at Chubbies say, your thighs should be liberated. These shorts are durable and stone washed before you even get them so they are already broken in and comfortable. Best of all, these shorts come in every color that you could think of and the company is constantly cranking out new pairs of shorts so the customer is never bored and has plenty of options. These even come in an American flag print and the company recently produced a tuxedo line of shorts. As someone who hates wearing long pants this is easily my favorite find of the last two years. I , personally, own eight pair and wear them all the time.

This next item was a bit of a surprise to me and I think to everybody else, but the 90s throwback button-up shirt came back with a fiery vengeance and will probably be even more prevalent in the approaching warmer months. The best thing about these shirts is the fact that the best place to find them is your old man’s storage bin or the thrift store, which means that you’re getting a shirt for free or for no more than $5. These shirts scream fun, look cool, and are more than affordable. The more outrageous the design the better

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Of course the ever stylish Polo and Brooks Brothers should always be included for those occasions that require a collar and of course to go with your new “appropriate for every situation” Chubbies and Clarks that you’ve just purchased after reading this blog.

The last thing that I feel is essential on the southern collegiate gentlemen’s Christmas list is the Bow Tie. The bow tie is back and it isn’t going anywhere. Bow ties now come in all sorts of different styles and prints and can be bought for extremely reasonable prices just about at any department store and on numerous online stores. These are appropriate for formals, weddings, Easter Sunday(You don’t want to wear a bow tie every Sunday because then you become “That Guy”), and pretty much anywhere else you want to wear them.

These items are sure to secure you in the best dressed club anytime of the year and make excellent additions to your spring and summer line up of go-to, lady-killin’, boat-ridin’, beach-bummin’, beer-drankin’ outfits.

Alabama Music!

This is a band straight out of Birmingham called St. Paul and the Broken Bones. These guys are just your regular everyday looking people that have all the soul in the world! I am hoping to get with these guys in the next few weeks and really get to know them and show you guys what they’re all about! It was just announced that they will be playing at Bonaroo this summer, which as we all know is a huge deal for any band! So give these guys a listen and be transported back to a time where music had a spirit and a soul that was personified through the feelings that were translated through the emotion in a voice. Enjoy!

Red Clay Brewing Company…The Premier Brew Pub in Opelika Alabama.

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Photos that inspire…

It has been an eventful week in most southern states, especially Alabama and Georgia. Hashtags like #Snowcation #Snowpocalypse and #Snowmageddon were trending all over the state. Some of the best Images of the snow can be found on the ABC News website where a plethora of Associated Press photo journalists have created a slide show that shows every aspect of the Winter Storm Leon in all his arctic glory. Here’s the link:  http://abcnews.go.com/US/slideshow/southern-snow-storm-22280146

The next slide show is from the New York Times. The slide show is called “In Alabama, the Day of the Big Game (Really Big)” with all the photo credit going to Dustin Chambers of the New York Times. These are not the most exciting pictures that could have been taken on the day of this year’s incredible Iron Bowl but I though the pictures were beautiful because it showed how calm and naturally beautiful the plains can be even on the biggest day of the year. Here’s the link: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/11/30/us/201311-30-ALABAMA.html

The final slide show that I have I was very excited about because it takes a local and state story and movement and puts it on a global scale. There are many eateries and restaurants opening in Alabama that are focusing on providing fresh and local food to there customers and supporting the local economy. Turns out they are doing the same exact thing in Paris, France as shown to us in the New York Times by photo journalist Liz Alderman. The movement in Paris is a bit more detailed than ours in Alabama. Parisians are demanding that the government require all dishes that are not prepared with fresh ingredients be marked as industrialized food on the menu. Here’s the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/business/international/in-france-a-battle-to-keep-menus-fresh.html?ref=multimedia

Do you think that Alabama or the United States should make moves toward labeling dishes made with industrialized ingredients?

And Here We Go…..

Well hello and good day to you all! My name is Jon Harrison and this is Trending In Bama! Trending in Bama is a blog dedicated to promoting the incredibly beautiful and inovative things going on in the great state of Alabama. I am a proud Alabamian who is a true believer in the products and the people that come from this state. I believe in the resilience of the people and the rich culture that goes with every different region of Alabama. From the melodies that flow from Muscle Shoals to the radiant white sands of the Gulf, and everywhere in between, there is something happening in Alabama and it deserves to be seen and heard. Throughout my travels in the state I’ll be covering events, breaking news, fashion, food, and the Alabamians that are making us all proud to live here, and I encourage you to come along with me! I’m looking forward to this journey with you, now lets get going.