In my opinion, three things make a man standout; his level of education,  God’s grace, and the size of his pocket. If we take away the first two out of the picture, we’re left with a man’s finances. 

Truth is, every man wants to be rich. Well, not every man, but most men want to be rich.   Wait! Who doesn’t want to be rich? Raise your hand up! Looks around… No one.   

The truth about this desire is that being rich is a task, but staying rich is a full-time work – that’s why Mark still works even though he owns Facebook.

People get rich on a daily basis but the money vanishes as soon as it comes because they don’t know the rules of money.

For instance, if you give a twenty-nine-year-old guy without financial knowledge a hundred thousand dollars, he’ll spend it on clothes, a car, and in the club. Certainly, he’ll start living his life for Instagram.

In the lines below, I want to share with you the very financial tips that have made me become financially stable within the last two years. I’m not rich, but I’m financially stable, to say the least.

How to be a better man financially!

Step 1

You need to read these two books;

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I first laid my hands on a copy of this book in 2009 but I had barely read it when a friend borrowed it from me and never returned the book. I regretted giving it out then after I read it two years ago. 

The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason. This book tells you the rules of money. It’s a real eye-opener. I’m not much of a reader, and I haven’t read all the books in my library. So let me not recommend any more books.

Step 2

Start doing the following…

1. If you’re a Christian, simply pay your tithe. A lot of people don’t pay tithe because of what some pastors do with the money. Well, it’s your choice. I choose to pay my tithe.
2. After paying your tithe, you’re left with 90% of your income. Take out another 10% from it and set the 10% aside as tithe to yourself. You’ll be needing this money. You now have 80% left at your disposal. This is the save before spending rule which the likes of Warren Buffet advocates.
3. Draw up a list of things you need, not things you want. Remember, we were taught the difference between needs and wants. The two are different.
4. Based on this list, make a budget. This is how you intend to spend your remaining 80%. Defer any items that can overshoot the budget beyond the money you have at hand.
5. Now, spend your 80% as you’ve budgeted. Don’t spend everything on your clothes. 
6. As you keep saving your 10% in step two, it keeps increasing. Don’t touch it. I personally use an account without an ATM card for this purpose. When the money is significantly large, it’s time to invest.
7. There are several things you can invest in. Look around your neighborhood and find a lack. For example, if there’s no barber shop in your neighborhood, you can establish one. It all boils down to how much you have saved from your 10%. Likewise, you can invest in cryptocurrency which is the in thing now. I know of two or three self-made millionaires who invested in Bitcoin in its early days. Be careful, else you may invest in fake currency.
8. Repeat the same process over and over again with the earnings you have from your investment in step 7. It’s only a matter of time before you become financially stable and well on your way to become rich.

To stay rich, you must learn to…

1. Avoid riotous living – incessant clubbing, reckless spending on items that depreciate e.g. cars. Instead, buy items that appreciate e.g. properties. Riotous living can destroy your finances before you know whats happening. Tyson spent recklessly, we know how he ended. 
2. Cut down on the number of women you hang out with especially the materialistic type. These ones can drain your pocket in one shopping spree and dump you the following day.
3. Roll with friends who share the same goals and have concrete plans to achieve it.
4. Stop living the Instagram lifestyle.
5. Spend time with loved ones. They can be a viable source of inspiration.
6. Explore other sources of income by discussing with business owners and partnering with them to solve their problems.
7. Repeat steps 1 – 6 over and over again.

I do hope someone has learned something new from this piece. When you apply these tips, people will want to know what you did that made you financially stable.

The post To Be A Better Man Financially, You Must Read This Now appeared first on Couture Crib.

I particularly loved the feeds of @rowanrow and @blakescott. There were others too, in fact, a lot of them that I loved. I can’t name them all.

Don’t get me wrong. I do know how to look good, but they looked smarter and better. So I started looking for patterns and I found out… they knew colors well.

Aside from knowing colors well, they also had the right accessories to complement their dressing.

With this discovery, I decided to try something new.

At this point, I should tell you I had a bland wardrobe… Pretty basic. I spent more on books and internet subscriptions than I did on my wardrobe. My wardrobe is still bland, but in the next few months, it would be overhauled.

So let me quickly share with you the tips I’ve learned in my quest to know how to dress smart.

How To Dress Smart: An Inexpensive Guide

Previously, I had the following in my wardrobe…

• A black, red, and grey colored trouser.
• An orange colored chinos shorts.
• A white shirt.
• Another black shirt.
• Some jean trousers.
• And some native Nigerian men’s wear (I’ll talk about this in another article).

I bought the following items to complement the ones I already had in my wardrobe.

• A pair of brown leather dress shoes.
• A brown leather wrist watch (something simple that matches the color of my brown shoes).
• A pair of white sneakers.
• New high-quality Adidas sweatpants (I’ve not had one of these before cos the ones I saw in the market were all low quality).
• I had my tailor sew a pair of white trousers for me.

Having assembled the new items which didn’t cost me much, I set out to note my colors and my wearing routine.

After several hours of feeding my eyes on the Instagram feed of these fashion icons, I learned…

Brown Color Is Awesome But…

Yes, the color brown is awesome but it has a few rules you should obey. I’ll share the rules with you. I bet some of you want to ask me if black and brown are ok to wear. And some others want to know if shoes and belts need to match.

Let’s quickly get started.

1. Brown and black can go together if you know how to combine them appropriately. Black, brown, and navy are three neutral colors that can go with any color. But care must be taken to make sure you don’t look out of color.
2. It’s not a must that your shoes and belts need to match. If you want to wear such, I’ll advise you to make sure they look exactly the same before you wear it. Adding a brown wrist watch to the mix isn’t a bad idea. However if you’re wearing a black suit, for instance, don’t wear a brown watch to complement your brown shoe and belt. Instead, wear a black watch.

When You Wear

In this section, I’d like to point out something you should do and not do when you’re wearing a specific piece of clothing.

1. When you wear suspenders, wear a jacket except if you simply take off your jacket for pictures.
2. When you wear black shoes, you can wear absolutely any color you want.
3. When you wear a certain color of shoes, please match the color with your belt if possible except when you are wearing white shoes.
4. When you wear a trouser, wear a belt. It may seem fashionable to leave your belt loops empty, but it doesn’t show how smart you are.
5. When you wear a plain trouser, don’t hang your keys and phones on your belt loops.
6. When you wear a tie, wear one that fits your body shape. If you’re slim, opt for a medium sized tie.
7. When you wear sunglasses, take it off if you’re in a shaded area.

Avoid

Here are three things you should avoid if you want to look smart.

1. Avoid square shaped shoes like a man dressed in white avoids grease/mud.
2. Colors like yellow, pink, and orange are quite loud. Keep them at bay from your smart wardrobe.
3. Avoid wearing “rush cleaned” white sneakers. Take some time to clean your sneakers after each use.

Now, I’m going to share with you a few pictures that’ll help you look smarter, after all, you’re reading this article because you want to learn how to dress smartly.

Let’s split this into days.

Day 1.

Black shoes with a black belt and a black wristwatch to match grey colored trousers and a black shirt.

Remove the black and replace with brown except for the black shirt.

Day 2

Brown shoes with a brown belt and brown leather watch to match a black trouser and a white shirt.

Remove the brown and replace with black.

You can opt for a pair of white vans sneakers if you’re going to an informal event. Wear a black belt.

Day 3

I think I’ll go with a white trouser with black shirt paired with brown shoes, brown watch, and brown belt.

Day 4 – Casual cool evening

I’d opt for the Adidas sweats and a pair of white vans sneakers. A matching white round neck vest with a brown bomber leather jacket will do great. Or you can keep it simple with the white round neck vest only.

Day 5

An agbada or senator wear would do. It has to be crisp though, not like the oversized or overtight types I see a lot of guys wearing.

For the next five days, you can mix things up and see what looks great on you. Keep your mirror standby, you’ll need it.

Parting Words

I sincerely believe you enjoyed reading this piece. Personally, I’ve got some fashion and wardrobe goals for the next few months. I’ll probably let you know what’s up as soon as I’ve done a major overhaul.

The post How To Dress Smart: Here’s My Own Flavor appeared first on Couture Crib.

Here are the 5 popular suit colors that every man should own.

Lest I forget, you should wear what suits you with these colors in mind.

1. Blue Suit: Blue colored suits are quite alluring and ideal. It is by popular demand, the most preferred suit color for interviews although any color could do just fine except of course for shouting colors like red, yellow and pink. Men with lighter skin shades will appear more pleasant in blue colored suits than men with a darker complexion. Just like the grey colored suits, blue suits have different shades. One of the most popular shades of blue is the Navy Blue Suit color often referred to as the most versatile and de facto suit color in the United States. If you want the best blue suit combinations, then you should add a navy blue suit color to your wardrobe. Be recognized for what you’re putting on when you want to fit in. Need I say that navy blue suits are easy to customize. As a rule of thumb, the shoe colors that fit the navy blue suit color includes the black, brown or burgundy/red colors. The black shoe color gives it a business like touch, the red/burgundy color gives it a social feel while the brown color relaxes it all. One of the most common modifications of the navy blue suit is the pinstripes which when done modestly, can make you look amazing. A navy blue suit can serve as a regular piece of clothing for a frequent suit wearer or as the go-to option for a man who rarely needs a suit.

2. Tan Suit:  This color is apt for events during spring and summer months. If you have a dark skin shade, you’d definitely look great in this suit color. Tan suits are considered as business-casual wears and when combined with black shoes, they look great on the wearer. It’s one of the very popular suit colors around.

3. Gray Suit:  There are many shades of grey suits available in the market, but charcoal grey, medium grey, and light grey are the most versatile grey colored suits. Grey is the color of elegance, experience, and level-headedness. Charcoal grey suits don’t often go with a black shirt, so avoid wearing them. They are quite easy to match and goes along with a wide range of colors meaning that you are entitled to a large range of ties and shirts. It’s good for work, church, wedding and just about any formal occasion, you can think of. The medium grey colored suit, on the other hand, is much lighter than the charcoal grey colored suit which many often assume is black.The light grey is lighter than the others and has a casual appeal in such a way that denotes a break for the monotony of the usual colors. Grey is one of the very popular suit colors.

4. Black Suits: Many say it is not as popular nor as trendy as the navy blue color, but I doubt. It’s the right color for both formal and solemn occasions. It looks good on many skin shades and fashion experts believe it looks better on dark complexioned men. I bet it would easily go along with plain colors like white, blue and red. Black suits for men are a must have.

5. Brown Suit: Last but not least on our list of the most popular suit colors are brown suits. Brown suits represent conspicuousness and make the wearer strikingly different from all others. Men with dark skin complexions look best in it. Most fashion geeks say that this is the color that signifies rawness and affluence. It also gives out the rustic feel.

These are the most popular suit colors.

I don’t own too many suits, but hopefully, sooner than later, I’d add a few more versatile suit colors to my wardrobe.

Checkout the Must Have Fashion Items For Every Man

Men in Suit: Factors To Consider When Buying A Suit

There’s a popular saying I’ve heard over and over again… “Dress the way you want to be addressed”. I do dress with that sentence in mind. But, there are many factors that influence the obedience of that saying. And when it comes to suits, the first way to make an impression that can last is to wear a suit that suits you, keeping in mind these factors to consider when buying a suit.

I assume you have asked yourself one of the following questions

1. What color of suit should I buy?
2. Which color should I wear for this occasion?
3. Which popular suit colors are fit for office and interviews?

And so on…

Perhaps, you may have found an answer to the question on notable sites on the internet or your friend has told you that someone they know who’s into fashion thinks that black suits are the most versatile suits.

Or maybe you’re not yet satisfied with their reply…

Whatever the case may be, this post is for you.

What are the factors to consider when buying a suit?

There are quite a few factors to consider when buying a suit or should I say when wearing a suit. Suit styles for men differ generally from that of women. Check out these factors below…

1. Your budget: How much are you willing to spend on your suit and other clothing accessories as well as shoes?
2. Your taste: Do you like it cheap or expensive, designers or just anybody?
3. Your choice of colors: What colors would you like to buy? Blue, black, green, red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, tan, white, charcoal gray or navy blue? All are great popular suit colors. What color of accessories would you like to wear?
4. The occasion: Are you wearing it to the office, to a funeral, to a business meeting or for a casual evening dinner?
5. Your body: What fits someone else may not really look good on you. You should take into consideration details such as your hair color, your skin tone, and your eyes.

Like I said earlier, the color of your suit is the first opportunity you have to make a first impression. If you wear suits frequently, you’d surely want to stand out and look not just dapper, but also outstanding!

I might just do a post on how to look outstanding in suit… Check out this men’s color and pattern guide.

There are different varieties of men’s suits and they come in various suit styles and designs like 2-piece, 3-piece, single or double-breasted suits. There are tuxedos as well.

So, what are the major differences between a tuxedo and a suit.

The major differences between a tuxedo and a suit as summarized by MyTuxedoCatalog…

The primary physical difference between a tuxedo and a suit is the presence of satin.  Traditionally tuxedos have satin facing on the lapels, buttons, pocket trim, and a satin side stripe down the leg of the trousers.  Suits don’t incorporate any satin and usually have either plastic buttons or buttons faced with the same fabric as the coat (aka self buttons.)  Some modern tuxedo options have minimized the use of satin to a thin satin trim on the lapels and a thin satin bead down the pant leg, but the primary difference between the two is that tuxedos have satin on them and suits don’t. Of course, to every rule there are exceptions. Other physical differences like appropriate accessories generally only come into play when talking about traditional black tie standards.  For most modern tuxedo functions like proms and weddings, the lines between what is appropriate to wear with a tuxedo vs. suit have been blurred.  It’s common, though increasingly less so, to wear long ties and high stance vests with tuxedos.  However, this is traditionally a look only appropriate with suits.  Tuxedos are historically only to be worn with bow ties and cummerbunds or waistcoats (low stance vests.)

You surely don’t want to miss that…

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