7 OLD-FASHION Accessories BETTER Than Modern Equivalents
[0:00:00] Gents, your grandfather was a freaking genius.
Seriously, not only was he smart to pick up your hot grandmother, but he also had impeccable
taste when it comes to style accessories. [Music]
First up on the list, the classic comb. Believe it or not, combs have been around for over
5,000 years. One of the earliest tools that archeologists have found men actually made
and used and they had a wide variety of purposes. From personal hygiene to work tools to even
a musical instrument, combs have been around for thousands of years. They’ve been a useful
tool because they’re exactly that useful. Now, combs come in a wide variety of styles
and shapes. Usually, the larger combs with a thicker teeth, this is going to be just
for brushing the hair and generally styling it. For the smaller detail the smaller combs
like this, this is going to be for parting hair and for detailed work when it comes to
styling. One of the most common combinations you’re
going to see out there are combs that come with a combination of the thicker teeth and
the thinner teeth, so that you can style and you can generally brush your hair.
Now, here’s the thing. Your grandfather was a smart man. He carried a comb everywhere.
I know some of you guys are saying, “Antonio, my grandfather is bald. He doesn’t carry
a comb anymore.” Well, guess what? When he had those long lashes
locks, you bet he carried a comb because he wanted to style that hair. He wanted that
big pompadour looking good, putting in some of that hair product. Yeah, your grandfather
had style. Next up on this list, the shoehorn. Your grandfather,
he’s paying good money on nice shoes. He knew that footwear was a foundation of a man’s
wardrobe. That being said, he took care of his investment, he shined and polished his
shoes after every wear and he used the shoehorn, so he didn’t prematurely damage the back
of the shoe. You know what I’m talking about. When you
put on your shoes and it just doesn’t fit perfectly and you’ve got to press on that
back heel and what happens? It prematurely damages the back of the heel. Gents, this
is a problem your grandfather solved by owning a shoehorn and keeping it next to his nice
shoes. Now, on a pinch when you’re traveling, you
can use some business cards or even an old credit card. But, I recommend that you invest
in a really nice shoehorn like your grandfather had, a little bit longer one, maybe one that’s
a little bit ornamental in design. This right here whenever you show this with somebody
is going to be, “Yeah, this guy have style.” Now, guys, one of the problems with modern
accessories is most of them are cheaply made. That’s why, gents, I’m proud to bring
you today’s sponsor, James Crawley. They’re bringing back quality to men’s accessories.
Seriously, just look at the built of these collars stays, which is the next item on the
list. Now, collar stays as you may know fit in right
her on the collar of a dress shirt and they maintain a sharp point keeping the dress shirt
looking good. But, what you may not know is that most collar stays that come with even
expensive shirts are made out of cheap plastic. Gents, James Crawley is making their collar
stays out of mother of pearl. As I’ve talked about before, this is a classic material that
harkens back to the early days of classic menswear.
Another thing I like about James Crawley is they’ve got a variety of sizes when it comes
to your collar bones because as many of you guys know, there’s different sizes for different
shirt types. All the products you’ve seen in today’s
video so far, all the combs, all the shoehorns can be found over at James Crawley. Now, gents,
I see a lot of companies and what I love about James Crawley is that they separate themselves
from the pack by focusing in on high quality materials and high quality built. And, everything
such as this large cow horn comb is handmade in Britain.
Gents, I’m linking to James Crawley down in the description of today’s video with
the best deal you’re going to find out there on the web. Use it or lose it, guys. Take
advantage of this deal. An awesome new company, really like what they’re doing. Go check
them out. Next up on the list, suspenders. Here’s
the thing. Belts are cool, but suspenders rock. Now, the interesting thing is that suspenders
used to be the norm, but then WW2 came along and all of a sudden they started changing
up the style of pants because they wanted to save fabrics. They basically lower the
waistline. This saves a lot of fabric, but it also changed what we were using to hold
up our pants. Suspenders kind of went to wayside and we
started using belts. They were simpler, they didn’t do as good of a job, but they were
cheaper. But, here is a thing. For many body types
especially large men or really skinny men, guys, suspenders work so much better. And
the reason is simple. If your stomach is larger than your hips or if you have straight hips
and stomach, guys, what you’re doing is you’re putting pressure and you’re singeing
in on the waistline to keep your trousers up.
Gents, why would you do that if there’s a more classic elegant way to accomplish your
mission? The beautiful thing about suspenders is instead of putting all the weight and restriction
on the waist and causing a bit of pain there, they put just a little bit of pressure on
the shoulders and it allows you to wear your trousers looser.
Think about this. If you’re a big guy, this is a game changer and even if you’re a thin
guy and you want to have a little bit more style, check out suspenders because they come
in a wide variety of colors and styles and they really can up your style game.
Next up, gents, the classic vest. Now, vests were initially large pieces of fabrics that
messengers who rode horseback would wrap around their body to stay warm. Now, eventually they
developed into a piece of clothing an additional layer that provided warmth especially for
men that worked indoors in non-heated areas. These guys wanted something that would fit
under their jacket and keep their core warm. Now, over time, they made their way into formal
wear. In a period of fifty years, we saw a variety of styles from single-breasted to
double-breasted to two buttons to up to twenty buttons.
[0:05:03] What happened? Two words – indoor heating.
Seriously, we no longer functionally needed them once offices maintain the temperature
of at least 60 degrees. But, here is the thing, gents, even though they’re functionally
not required anymore, you wearing a vest you’re going to look so much better than all those
other guys just simply wearing a dress shirt with dress slacks. Gents, take a cue from
your grandfather and bring the vest back. Next up on the list, gentlemen, we’ve got
cufflinks. Here is the thing. Your grandfather knew how to rock jewelry. Seriously, he didn’t
have to wear a whole lot of rings, he didn’t have to go with a gold necklace. He understood
that on his clothing, he could bring in jewelry pieces which would help him stand apart from
the crowd. Now, cufflinks come in a wide variety of styles.
You’re going to see those that have a decoration metal on the front and then on the back, they’re
going to have a toggle piece. This is going to allow it to go through the hole because
you got to have cuffs there specifically made for cufflinks and then you can turn it right
there on the back. The only issue with this is they can break.
Now, one of my favorite styles is the solid piece cufflink. And this is where we’re
going to see both on the front and the back similar designs, sometimes maybe different,
but that back design is going to be smaller and it’s going to allow the cufflink to
pass through a little bit more difficult to put on. But, what I like about this one solid
piece, so this could last you your entire lifetime.
Now, there’s also chain cufflinks which are really cool. Your grandfather probably
had a few pairs. But, I also like fabric cufflinks. These are a little bit more modern and what’s
nice about this is you can pick them up, you can add variety to your cufflink collection
and they are a more informal type of cufflink. And, let’s talk about formality versus informality.
Cufflinks in general are going to be more formal, but that being said, you can bring
them into your everyday style. I’ve got friends that simply they want to wear dress
shirts, they don’t wear jackets at all, but they wanted to bring a little bit more
style, a little bit more pizzazz to their look.
So, he, my friend, Andy, went with all basically French cuffs on his shirts and he always wears
cufflinks. He doesn’t wear jackets, but this right here sets him apart. He’s in
a hot area of Texas and for him, he just really likes the look.
Next up, we’ve got tie clips and tie chains. Your grandfather understood that these actually
had a functional purpose and that was to keep your tie out of your food. Seriously, you’re
at a restaurant, you’re about to have some soup, all of a sudden your tie pops out and
guess what? Goes right into your food. That’s what you don’t want.
So, wear a tie pin. I take that back. Don’t wear a tie pin. Tie pins, tie tucks, those
are actually sometimes going to puncture and damage a silk necktie. Now, if you’re using
a wool or a woven tie that’s got a little bit actually the pin can go right through
without damaging, that would be fine. But in general, I would recommend tie chains or
tie clips. Tie chains are a little bit harder to find
and some people are either not as functional. I like them, they add a little bit of style
up, but tie clips you can look around a wide variety.
And to answer the eternal question where do you wear a tie clip at? I think that they
should be worn a little bit higher. So starting from the top if you get to about the third
to fourth button, to me that’s about the perfect area. But, if you decide to wear it
lower because functionally you feel it serves a better purpose down there, then go for it.
Next up on the list, the badger hair brush. So, most of us when we apply shaving cream,
we use our hands and that can get the job done. But, guys, if you want to have a better
shave, if you want to make sure to better evenly distribute, you want to share something
that your grandfather used, go try a badger hair brush.
Now, you can also try synthetics. They’re usually going to be a bit rougher, but the
badger hairbrush has been around for over a hundred years, even longer than that. And
this thing does a great job of evenly distributing your shaving cream.
Oh! And if you’re making your own cream with shaving soap and a shaving mug, then
you definitely want a badger hair brush. The next item on the list that your grandfather
would say get rid of, guys, the lint remover. Okay. It can work, but most of these honestly
are a waste. Instead, get a good clothing brush. When you try a good clothing brush,
not only are you going to get rid of all that lint, but you’re also going to dislodge
any food or any materials any dirt any grime that gets on the jacket after a daily wear.
You can also use this on shirts, you can use this on your trousers. Guys, a clothing brush
is going to save your clothing. And let’s talk about razors. So, your grandfather
would cry if saw you using this thing. Nah, he would actually wonder how do those fifteen
blades actually work. But, the point is is this razor right here causes a lot of razor
burn, it causes a lot of bumps on a lot of different men out there.
So, maybe you want to try a single blade, and I’m not going to say that you have to
go with the straight razor, the cut throat razor, yes, has that reputation because you
can injure yourself and it does require a level of skill. But, you can start with a
safety razor. This right here, classic, has been around
and it really for most guys that are dealing with a lot of issues I talked about, improving
your razor can really level up your shave and over time, this is very economical.
Now, what about old school etiquette rules? Should you follow manners in today’s modern
world? Guys, I address that in this video right here. I had a lot of fun with it and
we talk about some of the old school manners that should probably disappear and other ones
that should stick around. So, guys, go check out this video. I think
you’re going to like it. [0:09:49] End of audio