The Measure of a Man

After the meal, Adam and Eve went about sewing themselves some leafy aprons (Genesis 3:7). God found these recently shy mortals, accepted their rudimentary attempts at modesty, but (like God always does) gave them something much better to combat nudity (Genesis 3:21). I believe that God, while not showy, is impeccably dressed. Therefore, I assume those coats of skin were tailored to Adam and Eve's frames exceptionally well. However, although God knew the number of hairs on Adam's and Eve's heads as well as the inches around their navels perfectly, he did not include size guides inside the ensemble. Ever since generations of Adams have assumed a confused size ignorance. Providentially, the modern Adam like the garden Adam has a lovely help meet, Eve.

In order for Eve to assist Adam in achieving his full fashion potential, we must gather his numbers. Eve's please proceed as directed below:

1. Ask your Mister to disrobe to his fashion foundation
Unlike women, the large portion of men are much more confident about their figure eccentricities. The man who enables his tummy to speak doesn't require exceptional delicacy in a measurement session. However, a "well isn't your chest a parade for latitudinous?" or "have you achieved an even more stately height?" goes a long way toward a robust male psyche. Once proper mental affirmations have been offered, ask him to stand straight yet relaxed with arms at sides. Then arm yourself with a soft measuring tape (he might offer his metal version but politely decline). Apply it like a good hug: snug but not tight.

2. Measure his neck (the dress shirt neck number)
Measure the fullest diameter containing the proverbial apple Eve offered Adam. A single finger should fit comfortably inside the ring; this will prevent shirt collar asphyxiation.

3. Measure his chest (the suit jacket number)
Ask Mister to breathe normally and measure a level line across his shoulder blades, under his armpits, and around the broadest part of his chest. This is commonly directly above his needless nipples (I apologize for the observant digression, but really why do men have them?) One finger should fit comfortably beneath the measuring tape and his chest.

4. Measure the waist (the trouser waist number)
Surround the area directly above Mister's hipbones with the appropriate number of inches. Take this measurement carefully, the fabric is this area should come close to all the gentlemanly essentials, but not touch, and absolutely never cling. (*If mister's tummy is rather convex, also take note of the broadest width in this area)

5. Measure the arm length (the dress shirt sleeve number)
Ask Mister to place his hand on his hip in preparation for a sleeve measurement. His sleeve length begins at the middle of the back, wraps around the elbow, and concludes at the wrist bone.

6. Measure the leg length (the trouser inseam number)
Before beginning this measurement, ask Mister to slip on a pair of shoes. If he likes he can also add socks. While silly, it is absolutely necessary. Now start your tape at the top of Mister's leg, and I apologize for being indelicate, but do not measure shyly. (The trouser leg should begin as early as comfortably possible; a sagging trouser crotch is unforgivable.) Then continue down the inner thigh to the conclusion of the pant line (just about the heel shank). This will allow the pant to fall cleanly across the top of the shoe in the front and just above the heel in the back.

7. Prepare calculations - While there were more measurements to fit Adam for a suit, we only need the bare basics to categorize his body type.

• Divide Mister's waist number by his chest number (waist/chest)
  
• Divide Mister's chest number by his waist number (chest/waist)
• Take note of Mister's full height
  

Now Eve, enjoy this time with your Adam and come back for further advice for prettying up the lone and dreary world of Men's fashion.

Should you like to offer your Adam additional assistance, gift him his very own virtual shopping session.

Live in the Beehive State

I will be hosted by my native state this week Wednesday, July 1st through Saturday, July 5th.

If you reside in the home of the Great Salt Lake and long for a face to face, tete-a-tete styling session, please contact me at reachel@cardiganempire.com to schedule either a mini or full appointment.

Merry Birthday Mrs. Nielson

Well officially birth"day" celebrations start tomorrow, but birth"week" celebrations could have initiated as early as last Saturday. Therefore, I believe this excessively extravagant imaginary birthday gift is aptly timed. Now although Mr. Bagley enjoys his livelihood, we are yet to hire a decent butler or fill the pool with Evian. With ridiculous wealth still fated on the horizon, this gift is only imaginary. But as long as we are enjoying imaginary birthday celebrations, let's truly enjoy it.


This is your laser cut armoire. I would like to see it in your bedroom. You can fill it with your minimalist television for secret movie night with Christian. You can also store a little hard back CS Lewis and George Eliot in it. A secret stash of dark chocolate and some secret love notes wouldn't be misplaced there either. (Please tie the written correspondence in little bundles with twine).



After we have moved the essentials into your armoire we will eat those Silhouette cookies I told you about. Except we'd put lots of buttercream frosting on ours. Drinking tiny, intricately designed cups of lemon chamoile tea, we would discuss recent Ensign articles, our visiting teachers, and fresh vegetarian recipes.

Love you Steph.

What would you ladies like to give Stephanie? Post it in the comments for her virtual birthday celebration.

Lovely Guest: Family Photos

Gracious host, lovely by m has kindly invited Cardigan Empire over for a chat. The topic: Family Photography. Come over and share your favorite and less than favorite family photography experiences. And stay around to mingle with her other lovely guest bloggers.

Male Fashion Faux Pas

It is not good for man to be alone. Men can lift heavy things alone. Men can reach the top shelf of the cupboard alone. But most men can not make things pretty alone. That is one of the reasons woman became man's helpmeet. He needed a helper to expand his vision beyond outright function. He needed a lady friend to warn him against unsuspected fashion peril. Men may be smart and hard working and creative, but their dress might counter, "I have an insignificant quantity of self pride and never spell check my e-mails." Clothing expresses who we are, who we want to become, and the salaries we want to earn. My fellow women, below is a series of wardrobe hazards against which to protect your man.

The Cell Phone Clip
Some of the men I love and respect most have fallen victim to this fashion trap. Perhaps having the strength of technology at their fingertips makes them feel like an old fashioned gun slinger, ready to react with immediacy to any digital urgency. Fortunately, life threatening information requiring the accuracy of only seconds of reaction time is rarely delivered over a PDA. Unless you are Jack Bauer. Jack Bauer could justify a cell phone clip . . . but he doesn't. He keeps his phone in his pocket. Why? Because when he's torturing a terrorist or exonerating extreme actions with an elevated politician, he wants to communicate the dedication of his full attention. Just as a gun strapped to the hip of cowboy makes it hard to give the armed speaker full attention, so a technology device strapped to a professional delivers the air of a preoccupied business beaver. Yes a beaver, the castorid rodent is visible not only in behavior but also in their technology expanded waistline. Luckily, there are alternatives.

1. The first obvious answer is your pocket. However, when combined with an overstuffed wallet, a janitor sized set of keys, and other masculine essentials, it can lead to puffy pocket. This is as bad if not worse than the cell phone clip and should be avoided at all costs. The pocket should be reserved for minimalists only.
   
2. A blazer or jacket will not only slim and structure a midsection but comes with additional telecommunication holsters.
3. A briefcase or man bag presents another lesson which men can glean from their female counterparts. Not only can these storage accessories carry your IT device of choice, but they can also host your wallet, important papers, and some lip balm.

Tie Abuse
Ties began when our revolutionary grandfathers combined pony tails and horses. Multiple Great Grandpa's posterior hair would jauntily slap his neck as his horse cantered. To prevent this distraction, he began to tie his hair ribbons around his neck. This look eventually evolved into the bowtie and was lengthened into the traditional tie that we see today. Rich with history and tradition, ties allow the wearer to present respect to a person, place, or event. As such, they should be treated with dignity. The following list present examples of what may constitute tie abuse.

1. Improper Tie Length: ties should extend to the belt line. If the tie tip falls short of surpasses this goal, the wearer should re-tie until the objective is met.
   
2. Short Sleeves with a Tie: When a tie is fastened around the collar of a short sleeved shirt it spits in the face of formality. It communicates a submission to the letter of the rules, but an outright defiance to the spirit. It defiles the quiet dignity of the symbol, presenting it vulgarly against bare arms. If you must bare flesh, roll the long shirt sleeves to just below the elbow. Keeping that elbow covered will maintain the absolute minimum amount of professional dignity.
   
3. Themed Ties
   Ties are not conversation pieces. Stripes, solids, an occasional paisley, leaves little to talk about. Ties blatantly associated with a particular holiday, hobby, or genre make a joke of the wearer. Clothes should recommend you, not label you.
   

The traditions of formal wear keep a large portion of men safe, but the freedom of casual wear serious endagers the fashion reputation of almost any man. Take the following examples as fierce exhortations.

Socks with Sandals
If it's hot enough for sandals, it's too hot to wear socks. If it's cold enough to wear socks, it's too cold for sandals. In addition to this truth, I feel driven to offer a sartorial warning against the wearing of shorts and socks extended nigh the knee entirely. Again, if it is hot enough to wear shorts, it is too hot to bundle your shins. An athletic ankle or bootie sock is significantly more flattering to your legline and offers significantly more temperature comfort.

Walking Advertisements
If someone offers you free clothing, you will end up paying for it somehow. Usually you become a billboard, with a message printed, stitched, or emblazoned across your square footage. Having a logo protrude from every nook and cranny of your figure is too high a price to pay. Be discriminating in what you allow to grace your figure. You are your own brand. You personal essence should not have to compete with an endorsement for Joe's Plumbing.

Your man is now warned against fashion peril, but should you like to offer him additional assistance during this weekend's upcoming celebrations of male leadership, gift him his very own virtual shopping session.

What other fashion blunders have you dear wives saved your husbands from? Tell us in the comments.

The Well Loved Husband

It began in a board room. Having already gathered two times the gibber-gabber I needed for my next marketing plan, the gentleman persisted in talking. Speakers leaned forward with interest, both feet planted on the floor in a strong offensive stance. Listeners reclined with arms folded defensively across their chests and one foot critically propped against the opposite knee. And that's when I identified it: the male sock epidemic. Sharp, accomplished business men in the upper echelons of their companies wearing tube socks and Italian leather loafers. At that moment I vowed that my husband would never arrive to such a meeting in a droopy sock, pilling sock, threadbare sock, or anything but a perfectly groomed sock. His socks would be an indicator of my love and care over him. Over time I have gathered a handful of grooming points by which I care for my mate. I shall share these trifles with you, all of which can translate into Father's Day gifts for $10 and under.

1. Fine Dress Socks
I do not wear wool hiking socks with stiletto heels, and Mr. Bagley is not allowed to wear white tube socks unless his upcoming activities induce perspiration. Dark, medium weight, ribbed socks may be paired with jeans and a loafer. But dress slacks and shined shoes, require an ascension to men's hosiery. This category advances beyond hue to a texture both thin and supple. The color should be a shade lighter than the trouser, and I prefer to use it as an opportunity to introduce a pattern. Not only is it an additional point of interest in his ensemble, but it makes matching socks much less complicated. Buying at least two in the same pattern allows for ready replacements in the event of loss.


2. Clean Shaven Neck
Fathers unlike mothers have not evolved dorsal vision, the task of keeping them from being mistaken for werewolves therefore falls to the capable hands of their loving wives. You are not required to cut their entire quaff, but I suggest you trim their neck burns between barber appointments. If you shy from a wet razor, most electric razors have a trimming features which can be quickly applied to neck hair. Start from the natural neck line and proceed all the way down to the shirt collar.

3. Crisp Shirt Collars
Wrinkled shirts are only appropriate on rugby players. If your husband is under 22 and plays an aggressively European sport for a living, he may be able to fashionably wear a shirt that looks like it was pulled out of the hamper. However, if your husband does not fall into this narrow category, his shirt collar should never slump. Fumbled collars are not well loved, they are sapped of love, weak and vitamin deficient. Crisping can be had at an exceptionally low cost: namely the price of a spray bottle, heavy starch, and a heated iron (click here for more details). The gift of a freshly laundered and ironed ensemble on Sunday morning will ring with your kind considerations. And if that collar still doesn't stand up straight, add the power of collar stays.

4. Properly Hemmed Pants
The hem of mister's pants should extend to the break of his insole (right where the heel meets the rest of the shoe). Wavering even a half an inch above or below this sweet spot can be tragic. If you do not wield a sewing machine yourself, a drycleaner or tailor can quickly raise or lower a hem for a small handful of Washingtons.

5. Polished Shoes
Scuffed shoes are neglected shoes. Just as your husband needs to be stroked and caressed, so do his shoes. Sometimes all they need is a soft buffing, but if they have been scuffed, find a proper polish at your local shoe repair shop or nearly any grocery store and apply it to his footwear regularly.


Your gentleman of choice is now detailed from toe to head and back again. Should you like to offer him additional assistance during this weekend's upcoming celebrations of male leadership, gift him his very own virtual shopping session.

Male Mode

One cannot fashion an empire without outfitting all its constituents, especially one's partner in power. Therefore, it is decreed that the remainder of this week be dedicated to the XY chromosomal compound.

Click back for male body types and machismo fashion ranging from virile weekday to placid weekend.

Travel Packing Wardrobe Cluster

(2 Long Layers, 1 Vest, 1 Blouse, 2 Knit Tops, 1 Skirt, 3 Pants, 1 Bracelet, 1 Necklace, 2 Earrings, 3 Shoes)

1. Deco Darling Hoodie
2. Protean Pretty Vest
3. Shellseeker Cardigan
4. Budding Romance Skirt
5. AG Party Capri
6. Puckered Scoopneck
7. Brambling Blouse
8. Odette V-Neck
9. Sunset Park Pants
10. Seaside Trousers
11. Yesterday's News Cuff
12. Bubblegum Necklace
13. Little Larsen Posts
14. Toe The Line Earrings
15. Keds Taffy Mini A-Line Skimmer
16. Apepazza Malesia Sandal
17. BC Footwear Cocktail Hour Pump

Ten Day Forecast

Planes, Trains, & Layovers: Deco Darling Hoodie + Sunset Park Pants + Keds Taffy Mini A-Line Skimmer

Sunset Sights: Shellseeker Cardigan + Brambling Blouse + AG Party Capri + Apepazza Malesia Sandal + Little Larsen Posts

Act I Opera: Odette V-Neck + Budding Romance Skirt + Apepazza Malesia Sandal + Toe The Line Earring

Cooking Class:Protean Pretty Vest + Puckered Scoopneck + Seaside Trousers + BC Footwear Cocktail Hour Pump + Yesterday's News Cuff

Honey & Milk Facial: Odette V-Neck + Sunset Park Pants + Bubblegum Necklace + Apepazza Malesia Sandal

Melting Wax & Tablecloths: Protean Pretty Vest + Puckered Scoopneck +Bubblegum Necklace + Budding Romance Skirt + BC Footwear Cocktail Hour Pump

Farmers Market: Odette V-Neck + Protean Pretty Vest + AG Party Capri + Yesterday's News Cuff + Keds Taffy Mini A-Line Skimmer

Shore Skipping: Deco Darling Hoodie + Puckered Scoopneck + AG Party Capri + Keds Taffy Mini A-Line Skimmer + Little Larsen Posts

Museum Installations: Brambling Blouse + Odette V-Neck + Toe The Line Earring + Seaside Trousers + BC Footwear Cocktail Hour Pump

Last Hurrah: Shellseeker Cardigan + Puckered Scoopneck + Budding Romance Skirt + BC Footwear Cocktail Hour Pump + Little Larsen Posts

Grand Return: Puckered Scoopneck + Protean Pretty Vest + Sunset Park Pants + Apepazza Malesia Sandal

Clustering Commendations

When assembling a wardrobe cluster select approximately three colors as the basis of your color palette. In our example cluster we selected red, yellow, and blue. Using the hues of a favored garment print can be a lovely point of inspiration.

When embarking, try to pack by this formula: rather than one outfit per day, aim for one garment per 24 hours of adventure.

If you're not going to wear the item at least twice, don't add it to your knapsack.

There's never a good excuse for more than three pairs of shoes, and usually you can subsist on two.

Don't forget accessories, they take up a small amount of room and can significantly extend the variety of your traveling closet.

Folding in a few layers (sweaters, hoodies) may seem like a waste of carry-on space, but in reality these threads are mode multipliers. Wear your bulkiest overlay as you enplane. It will be a cozy friend in the chilly cabin as well as at the windy beach cafe.


Need help assembling your travel trousseau...

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Traveling fashion look book cheat sheet

Or book a Virtual shopping session to compile a complete portfolio for your upcoming adventure.

One & Only Carry-On Continued

A few more details on getting into a single carry-on. Then we'll move on to the core of your packing: a wardrobe cluster.



Need help assembling your travel trousseau...

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Traveling fashion look book cheat sheet

Or book a Virtual shopping session to compile a complete portfolio for your upcoming adventure.

One and Only Carry-On

Vacations are about rest. Rest from routines, rest from employment, and, if you really want to relax, rest from stuff. Accouterments can make life quite lovely, but trappings have a cost. Personal effects are a responsibility. They need to be carried, tended, mended, washed, and appreciated. Leave excess encumbrances in the secure cupboards and drawers of your home and only accept the liability of a single carry-on bag.

Should you select travel minimalism, your first reward will be efficiency. When properly packed, rollies and their equivalents breeze through security, finding repose neatly above your seat. They follow you loyally from connection to connection and would never ask you to wait on them after a long flight.

But as you continue, you'll also being to see that carry-on bags are carefree and impulsive. Should you opt to spend the day sightseeing before settling at your hotel, rolly tails behind you without any complaints. If you want to race to catch an earlier train, your single carry-on is ready to race on your whim.

And in reality, that single bag can even end up feeling luxurious. When you do unpack at your destination, you are free to stage your own high end boutique. With only a handful of impeccably selected items on the rack, your closet becomes a highly exclusive and elite event.

Post Script Answers to Anticipated Excuses

1. "But I have Kids"
   Get each of them their own carry-ons which they are capable of carrying themselves. School book bags are certainly acceptable.
2. "But I'm going to be gone for more than a week"
   I spent a month studying abroad in Europe living out of a single carry-on. Trust me, if my shoe-loving soul can do it, anyone can.

Come back promptly for the essentials of wardrobe clusters, the key to wardrobe minimization.


Need help assembling your travel trousseau...

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Traveling fashion look book cheat sheet

Or book a Virtual shopping session to compile a complete portfolio for your upcoming adventure.

Travel Size

Home bosom home, my passport is safely drawered with one more stamp to its experience and the contents of my luggage are indulging in a well deserved soak & swish.

Generous amounts of gratitude for the topic proposals. I feel confident we'll be able to address them all ere long. But this very week, while its fresh with familiarity, we'll plunge into packing a travel wardrobe.

And now: a nap, followed by a sweet potato & chile taco craving satiation.


Need help assembling your travel trousseau...

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Traveling fashion look book cheat sheet

Or book a Virtual shopping session to compile a complete portfolio for your upcoming adventure.